Entertainment For Lively Minds
I need help: I am obsessed with The Mars Volta
I am 41, and like the Mars Volta. What started as an emergency supplement to my King Crimson habit, has now overtaken it, and I find myself obsessing over this band.
It's not as if I don't understand the criticisms. They are prog, pretentious, loud, unsubtle, shrill, too prolific for their own good, cryptic, self indulgent, insert another obvious negative point here. Trouble is, that sounds like a convincing manifesto to me. An antidote to the so-called landfill indie that's out there. A band that's actually worth caring about.
I started with Deloused in the Comatorium, which sounded a bit like a mighty band with edges blunted by excessive opiate intake, and slightly compromised by Rick Rubin's involvement. That's exactly what it was (it was still exactly what I wanted to hear). By the second album, they had gone straight-edge, and in Frances The Mute, delivered the most utterly pretentious prog rock opus of all time (at that point). The singles that were released contained another 20 minutes of material to supplement it (you could edit it into the running order). It was preposterous. And fantastic.
Then the live album, Scab Dates. Edited from many dates, and with field recordings thrown in - avant garde, completely wrong by the normal rules, and yet still strangely addictive. Almost immediately followed by Amputecture, where guitarist/producer/leader Omar Rodriguez-Lopez handed nearly all the guitar duties to regular hired hand John Frusciante to concentrate on the production. The sound was settling in to something unique. Just as I thought it was safe, along came The Bedlam In Goliath, with new drummer Thomas Pridgen soloing throughout, and I can safely say that this is the most ferocious thing I have ever heard, as well as easily the most preposterous. The energy in the following clip is a joy to behold:
The current album, Octahedron, is a quieter affair, with more focus on melody and ambience, again completely addictive, and leaves you desperate to hear the next one. It is impossible to predict what they are going to do next - progressive rock that actually progresses.
Rodriguez-Lopez has released many solo records, about 13 in the last two years, that show some of the groundwork that goes into making a volta record. One of the best is The Apocalypse Inside An Orange, a sort of acid/psych/jazz/freakout with Money Mark on keyboards. It is how you would imagine a Miles/Hendrix album to sound. You can listen to it here: http://omarrodriguezlopez.bandcamp.com/album/the-apocalypse-inside-of-an...
So, I eagerly await a kicking from the massive. Should I get help?
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Not at all...
Whilst not obsessing to the same degree, I must admit that I've found their albums completely thrilling and preposterous at the same time. The musicianship (Whoops! Prog Word!) is incredible and none of their albums lack ideas, scope or ambition.
In the words of one A. Partridge, "Lovely Stuff".
No kicking here
I've got 'Deloused..' & 'Frances..' and while I can't say that they get extensive play from me any more there's certainly something about they're inventiveness and mad energy that scratches an itch that doesn't get scratched by other music. In that way, I suppose they're on a par with The Fall or Cardiacs for me (if you don't get a kicking for The Mars Volta, I'm sure someone will consider those 2 worthy of a shoeing!).
Cheers.
I just can't
I can do the worst excesses of King Crimson, but I can't manage the Mars Volta. My copy of Frances the Mute had a scratch and consequently skipped randomly. I couldn't tell during the first listen until I finally realised that 1 CD shouldn't last 2 hours.
brilliant
Well, it's not for everyone, that's for sure!
What about me Andrew?
Seasoned free jazz/ modern classical/ prog rock listener that I am, they should be right up my street: alas, the shrieky vocalist seems to dominate everything I've ever heard from them (can't stand it/him).How about the solo stuff? Is he on there too? I'm about to check out the Orange album you mention. Tips would be appreciated as R-L is clearly bursting with ideas.
Squeak vocalist (Cedric Bixler Zavala)
Is on some Rodriguez-Lopez stuff, but not all.
Recommended vocal-free work:
Apocalypse Inside An Orange
Old Money
Megaritual
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fungus
They are all on the site that I linked to in the main post.
Vocals too much for my brain
cross between the worst of Perry Farrell and Jarrett Reddick , although there is a hint of Plant there that almost saves it....love the Music though.
this is good
Do you like Biffy Clyro?
I'm equally as obsessed with them
first time I've heard them
Nothing like the mighty Volta, but I really like that clip... off to Spotify to listen to more. Thanks!
you'll like their middle two albums the most I reckon
'Vertigo of Bliss' and 'Infinity Land'...their first was them learning their art and wearing their influences on their sleeves and the latest has a much slicker, user friendly, unit-shifter production which has alienated a few die-harders out there...but they've been struggling since 1995 and guess needed a taste of popularity while not completely selling out ... their next will hopefully destroy.
I'm off to T in the Park for the Sat and Sun but was gutted to find that the Mars Volta were playing on the Friday night 'campers' night....I really wanted to see them live as that is usually when it finally 'clicks'.
Andrew
I loved your post - funny and well written -
- so being unfamiliar with MV, I listened to them courtesy Spotify. And, well - I admire your devotion is what I shall say. I think rather like some others above it's the vocals that I find unpalatable. Oh and the music - but apart from that...
Good post though
BTW - I had a quick listen to Biffy Clyro too. This I found more convivial but I'm not sure it's the same sort of thing as MV is it? Or did you just mean from an obsession point of view?
yeah, just the obsession ... it's another marmite band I think
they both have prog tendencies ... I reckon if I immersed myself in MV I could definitely grow attached ... but that's a big undertaking.
believe me
It really is a big undertaking, but we all do it with certain bands, don't we? I think you know you are in too deep with a band when you can fully understand why no-one else likes them, but still carry on regardless. You wear your dedication as a badge of honour. Is that the nature of a fan?
You are absolutely normal
I think The Mars Volta are one of those bands that are designed to be obsessed over. People tend to have a hard time "getting into it" but if and when they do, they become lifelong devotees (like King Crimson, Tool, System of a Down etc). Their music is so dense and enigmatic that you'll always be finding new things in it. Exactly opposite to something like, say, The Lighthouse Family.
I think they're great, although I don't listen to them all the time. I think I like the idea of them a bit more than the actual music (they once actually made me feel physically sick, although the fact that that happened somehow makes me happy). And I don't think I will be "handling the vocal chores" on that track of theirs on Guitar Hero World Tour for a while. Not until the next door neighbours move out anyway.
The Mars Volta give me hope, that intense and slightly pretentious young men will be listening to Prog Rock in some form or another until the end of time. Which is exactly how it should be.