Music / Moxy Früvous

"Once I was the King of Spain (now I eat humble pie)
I was looking for off-handed ways to improve us (now I eat humble pie)
I'm telling you, I was the King of Spain (now I eat humble pie)
And now I'm jamming with Moxy Früvous! (once he was the King of Spain!)"

— King of Spain

A folk/pop group of The '90s and change, Moxy Früvous (commonly spelled Moxy Fruvous, Moxy Fru Vous, Moxy Frü Vous, or any of a dozen other variations) was formed in Toronto, Canada by musicians Jian Ghomeshi, Murray Foster, Mike Ford, and David Matheson. The band was characterized by a clever, occasionally biting wit, lush vocal harmonies, a wide variety of instruments, and a liberal political slant.

Riding the wave of Canada's alternative music craze started by the Barenaked Ladies, Moxy Früvous went out to have a successful career of its own. The single band they sound most like, though, is probably The Beatles, even down to a middle-eastern slant in some of their songs.

Moxy Früvous disbanded in 2001. Jian became the host of the arts and entertainment news radio show, Q, on the CBC Radio One national public radio network until October 2014, while Murray has become a supporting member of Great Big Sea. He and Mike have also formed a British Invasion-style band, "The Cocksure Lads," and appear live as the band on occasion.

Any previous hopes for a full Früvous reunion have likely been dashed following recent allegations and criminal charges of sexual violence brought against Jian Ghomeshi, which also led to his dismissal from the CBC.

Their complete discography is:

• Moxy Früvous (1992, demo, rare)
• Bargainville (1993)
• Wood (1995)
• The 'b' Album (1996, b-sides and other oddities)
• You Will Go To The Moon (1997)
• Live Noise (1998, live)
• Thornhill (1999)
• The 'c' Album (2000, b-sides and other oddities)

---

Moxy Früvous provide examples of the following tropes:

• Artistic License – Economics: "King of Spain" describes the king's economic policies as "laissez-faire" (it rhymes with "I don't even give a care") while naming three distinctly non-laissez-faire measures: lowering interest rates to ease poverty, shortening the work week, and universal food supplements for infants (although the choice of chocolate eclairs may need some workshopping from the neonatal nutrition standpoint).
• Author Tract: Several songs are unabashedly taking shots at right-wing targets - for example, "Michigan Militia." There's also their anti-gambling song, "The Ballad of Cedric Früvous."
• Break-Up Song: "Fly"
• Green Aesop: "River Valley"
• Folk-Pop Ümlaut: See the band's name (when properly spelled)
• In the Style of: "Gord's Gold" is a homage to Gordon Lightfoot.
• Libation for the Dead: "The Drinking Song"
  • Lyrical Dissonance: ...though at first it just seems like a typical drinking song.
• List Song: "Johnny Saucep'n"
• Literal Ass-Kicking: "Kick In The Ass"
• Loony Laws: The song "King of Spain" has a mild (and relatively benevolent) example:
  It's laissez-faire,
  I don't even give a care;
  Let's make Friday part of the weekend
  And give every new baby a chocolate eclaire
• Motor Mouth: "Johnny Saucep'n"
• Ode to Sobriety: "The Drinking Song", at the end.
• Prince and Pauper: The story of "King of Spain" - and name-checked in the same song.
• Protest Song: "Gulf War Song".
• Shout-Out: One song on "Live Noise" ends with a faintly sung "the statue got me high..."
• The Something Song: "The Drinking Song," "The Food Song."
• Studio Chatter: "Live Noise" contains a fair bit of it, having been pieced together out of concerts in four different New England cities. Examples include an improvised EDM number, an absurdist discussion of the Kasparov vs. Deep Blue chess match, and Jian telling the crowd how happy they are to be back in Pittsburgh... in Philadelphia.
  JIAN: "Well, we figured for the live album, Pittsburgh would be a cooler city to be in, so..."
  PHILADELPHIAN AUDIENCE: *boos*
• Supreme Chef: The title character of "Johnny Saucep'n," who is able to put together a menu that would put Iron Chef to shame in 30 minutes.
• Take That!: A number of the songs on The 'b' Album.
  • "The Greatest Man In America" to Rush Limbaugh
  • "Big Fish" to former Premier of Ontario Mike Harris
  • One of the few changed lines in their cover of They Might Be Giants' "Shoehorn With Teeth" stated "People should be beat up for skating like the Leafs."
• Vocal Tag Team: All four members are singers, and some of their most popular numbers are pure A Cappella.