11 Days to Find a Home
I don't know what word Jacob Bannon screams two seconds into "Homewrecker", from the certifiably classic Jane Doe, but I'd rank it with metal's most brutal interjections, up there with Tomas Lindberg's "Go!" in "Slaughter of the Soul" and Ozzy's "Ooh!" in "I Don't Want to Change the World."
What he says doesn't really matter. As with almost every Converge song, it's all but impossible to decipher what Bannon is screaming. Not that his lyrics don't matter--they do, and are often quite good. But as with Frank Zappa or Mike Patton, there's more of an emphasis on the sounds of the words and the vocal melodies than the lyrics themselves. Even without being able to comprehend the words, I'd rank Bannon with young Henry Rollins as one of the world's most ferocious frontmen, "Homewrecker" being a prime example.
Showing posts with label mike patton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mike patton. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Fantômas, The Director's Cut
One of the only "supergroups" that ever lived up to that adjective was Fantômas, the avant-metal quartet starring Faith No More and Mr. Bungle's Mike Patton, the Melvins' King Buzzo, Slayer's Dave Lombardo and Mr. Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3's Trevor Dunn.
On 2001's The Director's Cut, they drastically reworked movie scores from a lineup that reads like a Kim's Video Employee Picks section. Some of the most acclaimed movie composers in history get turned into experimetal (sic) freakouts--would you like some grindcore with your "Godfather?" How about Mike Patton's creepiest, child-like singing for "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Night of the Hunter?" Stream it here and see how many of the scores you can recognize--it's about as hard as finding old blues songs in Led Zeppelin II.
On 2001's The Director's Cut, they drastically reworked movie scores from a lineup that reads like a Kim's Video Employee Picks section. Some of the most acclaimed movie composers in history get turned into experimetal (sic) freakouts--would you like some grindcore with your "Godfather?" How about Mike Patton's creepiest, child-like singing for "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Night of the Hunter?" Stream it here and see how many of the scores you can recognize--it's about as hard as finding old blues songs in Led Zeppelin II.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Dissidents
How does one make a political metal mix for someone who already has "War Pigs," "Peace Sells," "Cult of Personality" and "Bring the Noise?"
Dissidents
I ended up pulling up a little from everything. This is for someone who probably agrees with Cattle Decapitation philosophically if not melodically, so I'm throwing down the biggest metal trump cards. I picked "Blackened" over the other ...And Justice for All contenders by virtue of the fact that it rocks the hardest, and "Symphony of Destruction" for not having a verse about the Punisher, plus being still sadly relevant in an era of Morsis and Putins. Sepultura's "Kaiowas" landed here for proving that a metal band didn't need amps, or even lyrics, to send a message about forced evictions of natives in Brazil. I also dug up "We Care a Lot" from Faith No More's pre-Mike Patton days, a gleefully incisive takedown of the Live Aid and "We Are the World" celebrities which I'd still pit against anything Bono and Bob Geldof are doing today. I'll add that "We Care a Lot" predated The Book of Mormon ("I am Africa") and Get Him to the Greek ("African Child (Trapped in Me)") by at least 20 years.
More recently, the Political Metal flag has been raised by French progressive environmetalists (sic) Gojira and relentlessly confrontational deathgrinders Misery Index, the latter of whom earn the Thomas Paine and John Brown references on "Traitors" by being one of the only metal bands to put as much care into their lyrics as their music. But my favorite is Revocation, whom match their politically-charged lyrics (they recently debuted a song called "Fracked") with the most sophisticated metal that these ears have found over the past few years. "Pestilence Reigns," a chilling depiction of air raids, solves all of my problems with neo-thrash and technical death metal, giving the former a death metal makeover and the later a sense of songwriting direction.
Finally, I couldn't put together a political metal mix without including the most controversial metal single of all time. If you haven't heard it, that's because it's been banned from CD release since 1992.
Dissidents
- Metallica, "Blackened"
- System of a Down, "B.Y.O.B."
- Faith No More, "We Care a Lot"
- Living Colour, "Pride"
- Guns N' Roses, "Civil War"
- Suicidal Tendencies, "Send Me Your Money"
- Marilyn Manson, "The Love Song"
- Saul Williams, "List of Demands (Reparations)"
- Lamb of God, "As the Palaces Burn"
- Revocation, "Pestilence Reigns"
- Megadeth, "Symphony of Destruction"
- Ministry, "Thieves"
- Gojira, "Vacuity"
- Motörhead, "God Save the Queen"
- Sepultura, "Kaiowas"
- Rage Against the Machine, "Wake Up"
- Body Count, "Cop Killer"
- Misery Index, "Traitors"
I ended up pulling up a little from everything. This is for someone who probably agrees with Cattle Decapitation philosophically if not melodically, so I'm throwing down the biggest metal trump cards. I picked "Blackened" over the other ...And Justice for All contenders by virtue of the fact that it rocks the hardest, and "Symphony of Destruction" for not having a verse about the Punisher, plus being still sadly relevant in an era of Morsis and Putins. Sepultura's "Kaiowas" landed here for proving that a metal band didn't need amps, or even lyrics, to send a message about forced evictions of natives in Brazil. I also dug up "We Care a Lot" from Faith No More's pre-Mike Patton days, a gleefully incisive takedown of the Live Aid and "We Are the World" celebrities which I'd still pit against anything Bono and Bob Geldof are doing today. I'll add that "We Care a Lot" predated The Book of Mormon ("I am Africa") and Get Him to the Greek ("African Child (Trapped in Me)") by at least 20 years.
More recently, the Political Metal flag has been raised by French progressive environmetalists (sic) Gojira and relentlessly confrontational deathgrinders Misery Index, the latter of whom earn the Thomas Paine and John Brown references on "Traitors" by being one of the only metal bands to put as much care into their lyrics as their music. But my favorite is Revocation, whom match their politically-charged lyrics (they recently debuted a song called "Fracked") with the most sophisticated metal that these ears have found over the past few years. "Pestilence Reigns," a chilling depiction of air raids, solves all of my problems with neo-thrash and technical death metal, giving the former a death metal makeover and the later a sense of songwriting direction.
Finally, I couldn't put together a political metal mix without including the most controversial metal single of all time. If you haven't heard it, that's because it's been banned from CD release since 1992.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Song of the Day: Sepultura, "Ratamhatta"
Some of the best metal bloggers are freaking out this week over the image of Behemoth with producer Ross Robinson that's making it's way through the interwebs. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but of course people are assuming that this means one of the best black metal bands in the world is letting the guy who produced Korn, Limp Bizkit and Vanilla Ice's nu metal record take the reigns. But even if Robinson actually is producing the next Behemoth record, there's no need to raise a stink. Behemoth have been a great band for many years and they've earned your faith in them to make good music.
Not only that, Robinson has produced albums for more good music than you remember, including At the Drive-In, Blood Brothers and the Cure. But his best work is on Roots, Sepultura's last good album.
With every release, Sepultura gets more tribal and less metal, probably to distract listeners from the fact that they no longer have Max or Igor Cavalera. But Roots was a perfect blend of Sepultura's groove metal stomp and tropicália rhythms. I love the heavy percussion of "Ratamhatta," plus the call and response verses with Max Cavalera and Brazilian music hero (and future Oscar nominee, for Rio) Carlinhos Brown. Listen closely to also hear appearances from Mike Patton and a didgeridoo.
Artists like Paul Simon, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel get lauded for dressing rock music in worldbeat rhythms and for giving traditionally non-Western music an international audience. I'd argue that with Roots and "Ratamhatta," Sepultura and Ross Robinson deserve as much acclaim as any of them.
Not only that, Robinson has produced albums for more good music than you remember, including At the Drive-In, Blood Brothers and the Cure. But his best work is on Roots, Sepultura's last good album.
With every release, Sepultura gets more tribal and less metal, probably to distract listeners from the fact that they no longer have Max or Igor Cavalera. But Roots was a perfect blend of Sepultura's groove metal stomp and tropicália rhythms. I love the heavy percussion of "Ratamhatta," plus the call and response verses with Max Cavalera and Brazilian music hero (and future Oscar nominee, for Rio) Carlinhos Brown. Listen closely to also hear appearances from Mike Patton and a didgeridoo.
Artists like Paul Simon, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel get lauded for dressing rock music in worldbeat rhythms and for giving traditionally non-Western music an international audience. I'd argue that with Roots and "Ratamhatta," Sepultura and Ross Robinson deserve as much acclaim as any of them.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Metal is Going to the Dogs
Metalsucks has a great Dogs Playlist this week. Here are a few that I would've added.
- Primus, "Too Many Puppies"
- Fugazi, "Bulldog Front"
- King's X, "Dogman"
- Butthole Surfers, "Underdog"
- The Giraffes, "Dog Sex #1"
- AC/DC, "Dog Eat Dog"
- AC/DC, "Given the Dog a Bone"
- The Dillinger Escape Plan and Mike Patton, "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things"
- Dead Kennedys, "Dog Bite"
- Dead Kennedys, "The Man with the Dogs"
- Testament, "Dog Faced Gods"
- The Melvins, "Sky Pup"
- The Melvins, "Dog Island"
- Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, "Evelyn, a Modified Dog"
- Motörhead, "Dogs"
- Mother Love Bone, "Stardog Champion"
- Pearl Jam, "Pilate"
- Head of David, "Dog Day Sunrise"
- Jimmy Ågren, "Lester Howlin' Dog"
- Gogol Bordello, "Dogs Were Barking"
- Stillwater, "Fever Dog"
- Andrew W.K., "Golden Eyed Dog"
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Pig Destroyer at Public Assembly
Five things learned from Pig Destroyer's CMJ show:
1. Hipsters can get down.
The blend of CMJ pass holders and metalhead ticket buyers was an awkward one, unable to work up a mosh pit for the first three acts. However, smartphones and plastic cups disappeared within seconds of guitarist Scott Hull's first grindcore riff, kicking off a night of involuntary movement to some seriously undanceable music. Now you know why their latest, Book Burner, is streaming on NPR.
2. Early Graves needed Makh Daniels.
It's agonizing and unfair. Shortly after releasing the first great thrash album of this decade, Early Graves lost their lead singer to a van accident. They're carrying on with a new singer and noble perseverance, but they sound like they belong in the hardcore heap now.
3. Book Burner was worth the wait.
Five years after Phantom Limb, Pig Destroyer have gotten better at everything they do. Calling it grindcore seems like a disservice, like all those Napalm Death records that you listened to just once or Cattle Decapitation before they got into jazz. The riffs thrash, the drums threaten to kick everything out from under and the songs are addictive.
4. The lyrics still don't matter.
Early reviews of Book Burner are making much of how singer J. R. Hayes reads Henry Miller and Cormac McCarthy and brings their influence to his lyrics. Advance copies must come with lyrics sheets, because I couldn't understand a word that he screamed all night. However, like Mike Patton or Frank Zappa, the sounds that he brings together and enunciates in his lyrics are engrossing, unsettling and funny enough for you to not worry about Tropic of Cancer.
5. The show matters.
Pig Destroyer headbang in place, incite horns-flashing and bellow the names of their songs, just like hundreds of club metal bands you've seen before. But it felt like they invented every move.
1. Hipsters can get down.
The blend of CMJ pass holders and metalhead ticket buyers was an awkward one, unable to work up a mosh pit for the first three acts. However, smartphones and plastic cups disappeared within seconds of guitarist Scott Hull's first grindcore riff, kicking off a night of involuntary movement to some seriously undanceable music. Now you know why their latest, Book Burner, is streaming on NPR.
2. Early Graves needed Makh Daniels.
It's agonizing and unfair. Shortly after releasing the first great thrash album of this decade, Early Graves lost their lead singer to a van accident. They're carrying on with a new singer and noble perseverance, but they sound like they belong in the hardcore heap now.
3. Book Burner was worth the wait.
Five years after Phantom Limb, Pig Destroyer have gotten better at everything they do. Calling it grindcore seems like a disservice, like all those Napalm Death records that you listened to just once or Cattle Decapitation before they got into jazz. The riffs thrash, the drums threaten to kick everything out from under and the songs are addictive.
4. The lyrics still don't matter.
Early reviews of Book Burner are making much of how singer J. R. Hayes reads Henry Miller and Cormac McCarthy and brings their influence to his lyrics. Advance copies must come with lyrics sheets, because I couldn't understand a word that he screamed all night. However, like Mike Patton or Frank Zappa, the sounds that he brings together and enunciates in his lyrics are engrossing, unsettling and funny enough for you to not worry about Tropic of Cancer.
5. The show matters.
Pig Destroyer headbang in place, incite horns-flashing and bellow the names of their songs, just like hundreds of club metal bands you've seen before. But it felt like they invented every move.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Song of the Day: Faith No More, "Midlife Crisis"
What if David Lynch managed a rock band?
David Foster Wallace once took a shot at defining the word "Lynchian" as "a particular kind of irony where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way as to reveal the former's perpetual containment within the latter." To me, that's Faith No More and "Midlife Crisis."
The song is from the record Angel Dust, named for the dehumanizing drug with a pretty name. The album cover, a lovely image of egret, opens up to display a cow hanging from a meat hook. Watch for the white horses in the video above, then stick around to see what they're doing.
See if you can also catch snippets of Simon & Garfunkel in the intro and the Beastie Boys in the bridge. Other than a New York base, the two don't have much in common, but they're snug together inside Faith No More's original score.
As with all FNM songs, I can't figure out what this one is about. They've always been more concerned with the sounds of the words in the melody than the meaning behind the lyrics, so don't try to make head or tail of couplets like "You're perfect, yes, it's true, But without me you're only you/Your menstruating heart, It ain't bleedin' enough for two." Just hear how they roll off Mike Patton's tongue, with the range of a choirboy and the lungs of a demon.
One of my favorite moments in any song I've heard comes right after the pause at 2:38. With brilliant aptitude, the band layers the vocal melodies from the verses and chorus on top of each other in perfect synchronization. When writers gab about how musicians see the world differently from the rest of us, this is what they should be talking about.
Two summers ago, I caught Faith No More's U.S. reunion tour and fell into ecstasy. I screamed along to every word while gearing up for my favorite moment of "Midlife Crisis." After two-and-a-half blissful minutes, the band drew out the pause almost longer than I could stand. They returned with "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder instead.
David Foster Wallace once took a shot at defining the word "Lynchian" as "a particular kind of irony where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way as to reveal the former's perpetual containment within the latter." To me, that's Faith No More and "Midlife Crisis."
The song is from the record Angel Dust, named for the dehumanizing drug with a pretty name. The album cover, a lovely image of egret, opens up to display a cow hanging from a meat hook. Watch for the white horses in the video above, then stick around to see what they're doing.
See if you can also catch snippets of Simon & Garfunkel in the intro and the Beastie Boys in the bridge. Other than a New York base, the two don't have much in common, but they're snug together inside Faith No More's original score.
As with all FNM songs, I can't figure out what this one is about. They've always been more concerned with the sounds of the words in the melody than the meaning behind the lyrics, so don't try to make head or tail of couplets like "You're perfect, yes, it's true, But without me you're only you/Your menstruating heart, It ain't bleedin' enough for two." Just hear how they roll off Mike Patton's tongue, with the range of a choirboy and the lungs of a demon.
One of my favorite moments in any song I've heard comes right after the pause at 2:38. With brilliant aptitude, the band layers the vocal melodies from the verses and chorus on top of each other in perfect synchronization. When writers gab about how musicians see the world differently from the rest of us, this is what they should be talking about.
Two summers ago, I caught Faith No More's U.S. reunion tour and fell into ecstasy. I screamed along to every word while gearing up for my favorite moment of "Midlife Crisis." After two-and-a-half blissful minutes, the band drew out the pause almost longer than I could stand. They returned with "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder instead.
Monday, July 2, 2012
California Metal
My sister is moving to California this month, and I agreed to make her a corresponding mix CD. This was before I realized that there are a lot of songs about California. I figured that I'd work things out simply by not including any bad California songs, but I'm still struggling to cut down 40 or so great tracks into an 80-minute CD.
Some outtakes:
The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton, "Hollywood Squares"
Two of the most idiosyncratic artists in metal bring out the best in each other, taking noise and melody to parts unknown.
Tool, "Ænima"
A 12/8 finger extended to L.A. gangbangers, scientologists and folks who don't believe in climate change. The weirdest song to ever win a Grammy.
Public Enemy, "Burn Hollywood Burn"
Metal by association. Dig Flavor Flav dropping punchlines before he became one--the Driving Miss Daisy reaction still makes me smile.
Guns N' Roses, "Move to the City"
In title alone is this appropriate for my baby sister.
Guns N' Roses, "Paradise City"
As grand a statement as ever recorded, but not the GNR song I'm picking for the mix.
Soundgarden, "Outshined"
These days, Chris is probably looking Minnesota and feeling California.
Kid Rock, "Cowboy"
I love this song. My sister, like most intellectuals, does not.
Some outtakes:
The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton, "Hollywood Squares"
Two of the most idiosyncratic artists in metal bring out the best in each other, taking noise and melody to parts unknown.
Tool, "Ænima"
A 12/8 finger extended to L.A. gangbangers, scientologists and folks who don't believe in climate change. The weirdest song to ever win a Grammy.
Public Enemy, "Burn Hollywood Burn"
Metal by association. Dig Flavor Flav dropping punchlines before he became one--the Driving Miss Daisy reaction still makes me smile.
Guns N' Roses, "Move to the City"
In title alone is this appropriate for my baby sister.
Guns N' Roses, "Paradise City"
As grand a statement as ever recorded, but not the GNR song I'm picking for the mix.
Soundgarden, "Outshined"
These days, Chris is probably looking Minnesota and feeling California.
Kid Rock, "Cowboy"
I love this song. My sister, like most intellectuals, does not.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Song of the Day: Faith No More, "Epic"
Years ago, Richard and I caught a movie in Times Square. As was our tradition, we celebrated the event by visiting Dave's Tavern, the area's last surviving dive bar, and enjoying the free peanuts, pool table and company of the heavily-tattood bartender, Reina. We punched some of our favorite songs into the jukebox.
As each one of our tunes came on, a patron in the back, near the pool table, shouted his approval. "White Zombie, that's what up!" "Beastie Boys, you guys rule!" Each time, we acknowledged his kind words and went back to our Yuenglings. That was until the unmistakable first chords of Faith No More's "Epic" blared through the PA. Our fan lost his mind.
"FAITH NO MORE!" he screamed. "FAITH NO MORE! Yes! Yes! Youuuu wannnt it alllll..."
Flailing his arms, pulling all stops on his air instruments and struggling to hold on to his beer, our new companion looked like too much fun to ignore. Richard and I sang along with the chorus and flashed horns at him while he went completely nuts to Jim Martin's mind-bending solo, each one of Mike Patton's voices and of course, the greatest question of them all, "What is it?"
As the instruments cut out, leaving Roddy Bottum's piano outro to clean up the mess, our friend lost a few steps and dropped his pint, which shattered on the floor amongst the peanut shells. He looked back up at Richard and I. "That's all there is to life," he said in an amazed tone. "You just die."
He walked out of the bar.
As each one of our tunes came on, a patron in the back, near the pool table, shouted his approval. "White Zombie, that's what up!" "Beastie Boys, you guys rule!" Each time, we acknowledged his kind words and went back to our Yuenglings. That was until the unmistakable first chords of Faith No More's "Epic" blared through the PA. Our fan lost his mind.
"FAITH NO MORE!" he screamed. "FAITH NO MORE! Yes! Yes! Youuuu wannnt it alllll..."
Flailing his arms, pulling all stops on his air instruments and struggling to hold on to his beer, our new companion looked like too much fun to ignore. Richard and I sang along with the chorus and flashed horns at him while he went completely nuts to Jim Martin's mind-bending solo, each one of Mike Patton's voices and of course, the greatest question of them all, "What is it?"
As the instruments cut out, leaving Roddy Bottum's piano outro to clean up the mess, our friend lost a few steps and dropped his pint, which shattered on the floor amongst the peanut shells. He looked back up at Richard and I. "That's all there is to life," he said in an amazed tone. "You just die."
He walked out of the bar.
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