Pitchfork

Usually, when Negativland ventures into EP country, the result is a tight, savvy little package worth many a replay. Not so with Happy Heroes, a continuation of Negativland's fall from greatness.

Okay, so it's not that bad. "OJ Simpson and His Personal Trainer Kill Nicole and Ron Goldman" is classic Negativland, appropriating samples from OJ's workout tape with hilarious, if not predictable results. (Then again, with a title like that...) Out of the eight tracks on this disc, it's one of the few that strays from the "concept" revolving around Mertz pills, the magical drug that "makes up your mind." You get a couple of Mertz commercials and a jingle thrown in with the OJ track, a weak remix of a weak track from Dispepsi, a song featuring outtakes from an old Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial, and some new stuff that, while well executed, is ultimately forgettable.