Hey everyone. I am at a mental loss today. No fancy intro. Not much information about the song or band either. I’ll play it off as a minimalistic post.
Fuck Buttons are a UK based experimental electronic group. The following two songs are from their album Tarot Sport. I saw them live in Brooklyn about 2 years ago. It was full or hipsters and almost everyone was on magic of some sort. The scene was one of the best.
This song is flying in a ship the size of the most massive suns, through a space were light is something which you can touch as well as change your perception of, at will. “Surf Solar”
This song is wind surfing through snowy desert dunes in a sand storm, were the previously mentioned light reacts brilliantly to your movements as well as the particles of snow and sand caught in the wind. “The Lisbon Maru”
This band makes exalting music, something you listen to when you simply want to exist in other worlds. The songs are minimalistic in my opinion because they change very little over the course of what seems ages, and I believe that this sort of minimalism is what allows the mind to roam free and create.
So I was at a Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) concert last night in Philly. The town was really cool and the venue was really nice, and the crowd was not what I had expected. This was my first ever rap show, I decided to go on a freak whim, and quite frankly I had an amazing time. There was this creepy portal eyed cat however which stared at me during the entire show, but I persevered.
Basically the show was full of hipster and even nerdy white kids. The very front of the crowd was a living blob which on occasion knocked a bunch of people off their feet creating this moving hole. Farther back there was a pretty active mosh pit, which I honestly was not expecting at a rap concert. A mosh pit, for all who may not know, is where you go to dance by flailing your arms and throwing yourself in random directions expecting to hurt yourself and those around you. Usually they are reserved for hardcore rock shows. But I guess it was just a wild night.
OFWGKTA is making a big commotion on the rap scene these days. Their lyrics are extremely controversial and their entire act almost depends on the shock factor and vulgarity. They are a group of rappers from LA ranging from 16-19 years old. They rap about anything from sex, drugs, and rape to anarchy, self-consciousness, and general obscenities. Take this song as an example.
Tyler the Creator is sort of the leader of the group and this video, Yonkers, features him. Nothing about this video isn’t trying to disturb you; eating roaches, black eyes, and hanging yourself. Rap music isn’t for everyone. In my case for example, most of the lyrics go over my head, so some disturbing rap like this actually has a lessened affect on me, but I can still tell it is so because of the vibe of the beats. The one thing I like about this group is that they make all of their own beats. As someone who tries to do the same it is something I deeply respect.
Orange Juice has probably the coolest bass line I’ve heard recently, especially towards the beginning. The piano is nice a repetitive and the rap is as horrid as horridly possible; horrid in a way that would scare your parents into sending you away to a boarding school in Samoa (That happened to one of the members of the group when his parents heard the music). The flow, or the way the rap works with the beat, is quite professional. In my opinion rap is rap, so no matter what the person is actually rapping about it is the same. Many will disagree with me, but it definitely is about the fluidity rather than content. This beat apparently isn’t theirs, but one they borrowed from Gucci Mane’s song “Lemonade”. Whatever.
So take it as what it is. Rap isn’t going to leave so might as well explore it. And if you aren’t planning on making commitments, then you might as well start with the most extremely vulgar kind. Just please don’t take the lyrics seriously.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. I heard this quote somewhere a few years ago. I believed it to be true the moment I heard it, but never really did apply it to my life per say. In the past week or so however, I realized that it can apply to almost every aspect of life. Whittled down simply to the idea that the activities you do everyday can be systematically eliminated until only the ones that make you happy and cater to you who you are remain, this quote has immediate sprung relevance. You need to clean out the closet once in a while.
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I don’t listen to much hard rock. I filled out that niche for myself early in my life and adding any more like-bands to my repertoire would be redundant. If anyone remembers my Fall of Troy post, yes that is one of them. But today I want to talk about the other major one, which creates rock music in a much different fashion.
The Mars Volta is a band which has been famed for its beautiful progressive rock. Incorporating influences from krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and mathrock, their music is melodic, groovy and downright rockin. The band’s lead singer, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, has the most unique and talented voice you will hear. The debut 2003 album, De-Loused in the Comatorium, was the band’s best selling album and earned them critical acclaim. I’ll be bringing it to you today.
The song Son et Lumiere creates a short lead into Inertiatic Esp, sort of like the sound of dread at an abandoned train station at night time. The vocals are eerie and distorted, the lyrics nonsensical yet frightening. The short drum build falls into a crash of musical ecstasy, as almost every instrument this band employs can be heard blaring away skillfully. “Now I’m lost” Cedric wails, as the song quickly changes displaying the technical side of the math-rock influence. It switches back and forth, not losing a beat… that is until the verses melt away at about 2 minutes.
This music takes heavy influences from past bands like Pink Floyd in employing a level of pure trippyness. The psychotic guitar lines are from none other than Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and display a level of musical creativity unparalleled by anyone. The song ends on a very creepy almost theatrical sounding note. But this is only the first song on the album.
Cicatriz ESP is a 12 beast and my favorite song on the album. This song starts with beautiful melody. The lyrics are in my opinion random one liners which are strung together to create maximum confusion upon listeners. “We’ll drag your halo through the mud, ash of Pompeii. Erupting in a statue’s dust, shrouded in veils. Because these handcuffs hurt too much.” The drum line is repetitive yet completely amazing. The song seems to float along like a river of honey, stopping once in a while to pick up the tension and remind you that this is still rock.
3:50 is my favorite part. The song just disassembles into a sort of pure bliss. The guitar and piano just create the grooviest jazz atmosphere I have ever heard. Like psychedelic lounge music it lulls you away from this planet as it then itself falls apart into nothing. This Pink Floyd esque nothingness has the sounds of creatures emulated by guitars and slowly builds back into a downright epic return of the main verse. Truly amazing in my opinion.
Televators is arguably the trippiest and most psychedelic song on this album. The beginning has the sounds of tropical jungle animals but is slowly overrun by this strange miasma and a classical guitar. “Just as he hit the ground, they lowered a tow that stuck in his neck to his gills”. This is the one song on the album where Cedric’s vocals stay relatively relaxed all throughout. The song is slow and chill, like sailing down a river somewhere in the Amazon, yet retains a certain level of creeping dread reminding you of any dangers that can befall you.
De-loused in the Comatorium is a masterpiece in every sense. Every song on this album can stand entirely on its own, yet as a whole it creates a story. The album actually tells a story of a friend of the band. Nicknamed “Cerpin Taxt”, a poet and an artist, he overdosed purposely on drugs and fell into a coma for several years. Upon waking up he committed suicide a few weeks later. The way they tied the tragic story in while maintaining the beauty just speaks of their insurmountable skill.
The Mars Volta has released 4 albums since this first one, each one maintaining the same level of artistic skill as the previous. I will most surely return to them at some point in time. In the meantime be sure to mentally make room for them by removing similar but sub-par bands.
-oko
P.S. Oh and here is the last song on the album Take the veil, Cerpin Taxt. Beware. The part starting right before 4 minutes might put you in a coma.
So last weekend on Friday I was in the city (NYC). After eating lunch I decided to go and check out the protests on Wall Street. As I neared, the first thing I noticed was an extremely congested block of people being rallied by the police. I sort skirted in and around, dodging police and staying clear of most of the protesters. A parade of them marched along the outline of liberty square, chanting something along the lines of “Down with the Wall”. In the middle of the square, tarp and make-shift mattresses made the place into a sort of campsite for those “occupying” Wall Street. The “campers” were kids just hanging out trying to be rebellious, while the protesters marching around and yelling were just strange characters trying to be noticed. I didn’t go to the event trying to be inspired or anything, but honestly I was a lot more disappointed than I thought I was going to be. This protest was way unorganized. The towers surrounding it weren’t going anywhere and were full of laughing brokers.
This protest is still growing impressively all over the country and it has even entered foreign countries as well. Even if it is unorganized, they are at least showing others that there are those who are standing up. Honestly, a protest on Washington would make a lot more sense, but regardless something is brooding on the horizon.
There was a group of people playing drums on the street in a very tribal fashion. This will never start a revolution. Tribal drum music is exactly opposite of what will garner the attention of the American populace and it is quite honestly counter-productive. What is needed is some real revolutionary music, like the kind that made the American Revolution successful. We need some post-rock.
A Silver Mt. Zion is a Canadian band (slightly ironic) goes by multiple names and originated as a solo-project by a guitarist from Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The band plays a brand of post-rock deeply rooted in strong political motifs. Their debut album, *He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms…, aside from being quite lengthy in title, is almost purely instrumental. It engenders the sort of feelings in people which would make those smug towers shake in fear.
“Sit in the middle of three galloping dogs” opens with scratchy radio transmissions. The message is that a revolution is imminent. “Let us not sleep as do others, underline it, but let us watch. We are to be watchmen of this empire. And to be sober, be serious…” The transmission fades and a drum beat takes over, beckoning the violins to begin their epic wails. Their sound melts over itself as the beat coolly keeps it under control.
At about three minutes the drummer goes all out, picking up the tempo and the ante. The violins respond with a beautifully reverberating stutter and a guitar in the background shreds away furiously. This song is immensely powerful yet beautiful.
“Blown-out joy from Heaven’s Mercied hole” is like the actual sound of a revolution happening. A stand-up bass accompanied by lyrics sets the mood amazingly. “Don’t tell me that I am free, cause I have not been well…. lately”. The instrumentation is almost jazz-like in sound, yet a very sad form of bluesy-jazz. The 9 minute piece winds to and fro, but never really builds, just maintains a steady atmosphere of depression. The vocals at the very end create a perfect cap on the piece, making it whole in every regard.
“13 Angels Standing Guard ‘Round the Side of your Bed” is probably one of the most beautiful pieces you will ever hear. Less revolutionary and more just downright eye-openingly sad, this seven minute piece starts with the gentle meows of angels. A harp like instrument strums humble notes and again the violins sneak their way in playing a melancholy tune. Towards the end of the song even more angels call out, now with shriller yet ominously more powerful voices. This song is actually supposed to be about black bloc protests, where everyone wears black, covering their faces and appearing as one big ‘black bloc’.
If someone took a large pair of speakers to the protest and played this album from start to finish, glorious things would happen. First and foremost I predict that a silence would sweep over anyone who heard it. That silence would spread to anyone listening and the impression made would only be more silence. From silence emerge words. And hopefully those words can be those of reason.
Tired, I had reached the stands and took a seat. The cookie slowly wearing off and the alcohol long gone, I now was overlooking the area were I had been dancing just before. The massive crowd of people pulsated like a giant dark blob which had entrapped dozens of glow sticks and now was showing them off. And for everyone making up this blob, the bass was going over all of their heads, literally. Sitting in my seat I felt like the bass was an invisible entity floating in front of me, yelling. At least it was in sync with the pretty lights. Not long after I had sat down, the main stage emitted a thick cloud of fog, followed by lasers of quickly alternating color to illuminate it, creating probably the most memorable image of the night. As if an album cover had found its place in real life, this was literally a rainbow cloud.
This past Thursday, the electronic Musician named Pretty Lights came to Binghamton. The resulting concert was probably one of the best live events I have ever been to. He DJ’d all his music in amazing fashion, while his sound and lights guys made sure that the show was absolutely spectacular. Also, there was a ton of people and the venue was amazing.
Pretty Lights made sure to stress during the show something which I already knew. All of his music is Free. You can find it all on his beautifully designed website. That’s very generous of him considering its quality. I guess he is in it for the shows. Let me show you some of his music. He describes it as Electronic, hip-hop, soul. I’d say that’s pretty accurate, but you can be the judge too.
“Finally Moving” starts out with a guitar riff, but it is quickly evident that the song is electronic. Piano and even violin are accompanied by synths, sampled vocals, and electronic drums. The vocals definitely put the soul into the genre. The song is slow and relaxing, yet all the different parts of it create a wonderful atmosphere which easily transports you into some sort of imagination. The song is long and rightly justified in being so.
“Total Fascination” is the first song of Pretty Light’s which I was exposed to, and let me tell that not only was I hooked but completely fascinated. The song is definitely a single of sorts as it stands out heavily from the rest of his music. Again the gospel-esque vocals build an interesting beat up until synths are introduced and the song takes on an intense change for the better.
Dance music which makes you completely rock out is rare nowadays, but this would definitely be it. It is not repetitive like trance or techno and it is not over encumbered by lyrics like hip-hop. Pretty Lights’ music is the perfect mix of sounds and samples which has created a niche of its very own which no one expected. It is nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary, but rather perfect execution to the full extent of the saying. Also it is very good music to do your homework to.
&)
-oko
P.S. The picture at the top is from the show I was at. And here is a video.
The Music Court 