Elliott's Eccentricities

Yesterday one of my favorite artists, The Avalanches, released their Sophmore album 16 years after their debut. Here is an amazing single that I have literally been waiting 5 years for. It is… quite a trip….

Whoever thought that rappers cannot be nerdy and cool at the same time have never heard of Czarface. Checkout this bombastic track from the duo’s second album Every Hero Needs a Villain. While the whole album is littered with nerdy references, this one hits the hardest. Look out for references to Darth Vader killing Obi-Wan, Doctor Who, action figures, and the Flash, not to mention a plethora of sci-fi sound effects and samples.

Quiz: what genre of music gets the least amount of love from the blog? What is that you say… Pop Punk? Sorry avid reader but you are mistaken, Eric loves himself some pop-punk. So as much as the rest of the blog will hate on that particular craphole of a genre, it has a home somewhere on the log. What about “old school genres” like classical or jazz? Nope, John has those covered. Even current mainstream pop gets a bit of respect; some bloggers don’t deny that Lady Gaga and Adele make some good music. No, the genre that receives no love on the blog, no love at all, is Country.

No one on the blog genuinely enjoys country. We don’t listen to it, we don’t talk about it, and we certainly don’t blog about it. We probably couldn’t name more than a handful of country artists if we tried. Maybe we are biased against it because we’re from Philly, a northern city. Perhaps we have never been introduced to the great classic country singers (I don’t count Johnny Cash because he isn’t purely country). It could also be that Country is just a crappy genre that cannot possible contain good music.

I reject that idea. I think that every genre, including my mortal enemy pop-punk, has at least one masterpiece. A genre might be mostly terrible, but it has the potential to contain a good track. I must admit that Welcome to the Black Parade is a really incredibly song despite the fact that any other song like it makes me want to punch Eric in the face for supporting those bands by buying their albums. I am positive that there is great country music out there, I just haven’t heard it. Note that I haven’t listened to much country so that statement is not bashing too many songs/bands. So today I am taking the first step towards accepting Country music in to my heart (and the blog) by featuring a song by Toby Keith.

Recently a friend of mine forced me to listen to a country song that she thinks is fantastic (and hilarious). I resisted, thinking that it would be about “how his wife cheated on him in another guy’s truck so now he is drinking a whiskey in his truck that he loves so much thinking about how he loves America and trucks”. (That is what all country songs are about right?) She persisted so I eventually caved and gave it a listen. What I found was a pleasant surprise.

I wasn’t quite wrong in my prejudiced view on what the song would be about; Red Solo Cup is a love song directed at the red cups people drink beer in at a party. So sure, it falls into the stereotypical topics of country music, trucks, women, booze, trucks, cheating, and trucks. Yet it doesn’t make me roll my eyes because it doesn’t take itself seriously.

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10 1 - I wrote a song about a plastic cup 10 - I tuck a plastic cup into a miniature bed and give it a goodnight kiss Red Solo Cup - 1/10

The song is just funny. Right off the bat Keith claims that anyone who prefers beer in a glass doesn’t have testicles. The whole song is sort of sardonic yet genuine. He knows how silly the song is, yet I feel like Keith really does appreciate all that the red solo cup does for society. Just the fact that I can write the previous sentence and be serious is proof that the song is awesome. Anyone who has ever been to a college party has had experience with the so called red solo cup, and thus knows how pervasive they are. The red solo cup is an integral part of youth culture.

The word choice in the song is fantastic; it uses “yucky”, and “foreclosable” in the same song. It also rhymes “receptacle” and “testicle”. I also love the fact that the chorus “proceed to party”. “Proceed” just makes me picture a police officer not allowing the party to start until the red solo cup appears. It is such a formal word in a place that it just doesn’t belong, yet it works so well.

The background noises in the song are also great. The echoes of “Solo Cup” at the end puts a smile on my face. Lines like “that’s what I am talking about”, “what up, what up”, and “lifelong” permeate the song, filling me with joy. The cheering, wooting, and fight sounds make me feel like I am at a party with my trusted friend the solo cup.

The video for the song is really fantastic. It depicts all the typical things that can happen at a party, fights, encounters with angry drunks, and have naked women. The shenanigans that go down in the background are a joy to behold and almost always feature Keith’s best friend, the cup. Speaking of which, the breakdown where Keith calls the cup his friend cracks me up. It is so honest; it is exactly something a drunk person would say and exactly the way he would say it.

Some musical instruments aren’t meant to be used. The recorder, for example, is pretty much only used to teach toddlers how to read and play music; I don’t know of any composer/band/music act that has ever used one in earnest. The Theremin is similar, though it kicks complete ass, it is used sparingly. A whole slew of whistles and noisemakers fall under the category of sound effects and are barely used in music. The king of the non-instruments is one that everyone has played and no one has enjoyed listening to, the kazoo.

“Oh but Elliott” you might say, “jug bands use them all the time and Barbara Stewart played a kazoo at Carnegie Hall”. Well congratulations, not only do you know how to use Wikipedia but you also have a knack for being a killjoy. Please stop reading this article and go back to fact checking YouTube comments where you belong. Are the killjoys gone? Yes? Good, now I can get back to kazoos.

The universe has several constants, the speed of light, the permittivity and permeability of free space, and the fact that no one likes the kazoo. Its only purpose is to be given out in cheap goodie bags at children’s birthday parties to annoy the crap out of all adults in earshot. It is not a musical instrument; no one in their right mind would disagree, let alone use a one in a song. Of course this is “Elliott’s Eccentricities” and no one here is in their right mind. This week features the one band that proves the universe wrong by using a kazoo and using it well, the Silly Circus Band.

I must admit that I did not discover the Silly Circus Band, Eric deserves full credit for that. Several weeks ago Eric was reading a movie blogthat he follows from time to time when he saw a bizarre post. The blogger happened to be in Germany and saw the Silly Circus Band performing and decided to film them. They kept repeating “Silly Circus Band” so he googled it and found their myspace/bandcamp page. What he found impressed him so much that he told me to feature them.

At first I doubted him and refused to check them out because admittedly, the band’s name is stupid. There was no way that a band called the Silly Circus Band could possibly make music that wasn’t complete garbage. However one day he forced me to listen to them and I was astounded. It is quirky, different, and somewhat insane, yet still really enjoyable to listen to. To my surprise I found myself humming along to their tunes and actually enjoying myself. “Elliott’s Eccentricities” was created to discover and share bands like SCB.

I have search all over the web (the top page of Google search results) for information on the Silly Circus Band and found almost nothing. The band has myspace, facebook, and bandcamp pages that each contains very little information (in German). However from what I have seen and read, the band is full of crazy people. Their front man either wears a terrifyingly tight jumpsuit or a bathrobe in every video/photo I have seen of them; the blogger said he wears the robe all of the time, not just on stage. He also does this terrifying little step that I think he considers dancing. The rest of the band consists of guys in short shorts, trench coats, and shades and girls with ridiculous dyed red hair. I got a particular kick out of this Facebook post (translated into English by Google translate).

“A small correction for your band info: the television tower at Alexanderplatz is called “television tower” and the space AROUND the “Alex”. The tower is not “Alex”. Yes? Just as the penis is not “man” but is “penis” and the man is all around “man”. Logical, right?”

The band might be certifiably crazy, but their music, oh man their music, is really enjoyable. I would describe it as insane German folk. It features a lot of acoustic guitar, drums, vocals, accordion, and flute. Sometimes it will randomly breakout into a form of melodic-rap a la Dan Bejar. It is surprisingly diverse, some songs are very fitting of their name, Silly and upbeat, but other songs sound serious and sad (check out the song Mannomann). I am really sad I don’t speak any German (and that I can’t find any lyrics to translate) because I really want to know what they are singing. However, their best track by far is their self-titled Silly Circus, which if you might have guessed from the intro to this article, features the kazoo.

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10 1- I play the kazoo 10- I played the kazoo at Carnegie Hall Silly Circus -6/10

https://sillycircusband.bandcamp.com

(Sorry that the song isn’t embedded. I am having a hard time embedding the band camp player into tumblr)

Silly Circus opening reminds me a lot of the intro to Men at Work’s Down Under, also known as one of the best 80’s one hit wonders. Both songs feature a bit of percussion followed by a kickass flute intro. The flute line in Silly Circus is then interrupted by a kazoo of all things. Normally such trolling would throw me into a fit of rage, but the kazoo sounds good. SCB used the kazoo’s few strengths and minded its many weaknesses. The kazoo has an interesting timber and is rhythmically flexible, yet doesn’t have a lot of musical range and gets annoying fast. The kazoo riff (I am so happy I got to write those words next to each other), doesn’t try to do much; it follows a simple melody. Yet it makes up for it by creating a very pleasing rhythm that compliments the flute and drums well. By placing the kazoo with the flute and using it sparingly, SCB is able to balance the obnoxiousness of the kazoo and actually make it enjoyable to listen to.

Yet the kazoo is not the only thing going on in the song, underneath it is a folk song that is quite catchy by itself. The vocals are also great, they shift between pure singing, melodic-rap, and spoken word to create a really interesting rhythmic pattern. It makes German sound like a really lyrical language in a way that I haven’t experienced before (though admittedly I don’t listen to a lot of German music). I wish I spoke German so I could understand what they are saying, I am sure it is fantastically silly.

I swear, Jack White is not a human being. He can’t be; he is just too weird to be from this universe. I am convinced that he is a real life Johnny Depp character from a Tim Burton movie. I mean look at him! I don’t know how he managed to pull a reverse Viewtiful Joe, but I am glad he did.

Jack White is always on the right. Or is he…?

The funny thing is that, despite how crazy White looks or acts, most of the music he makes is fairly normal. The White Stripes has made some really incredible music that manages to split the divide between popular and artistic. I really don’t know a lot of people, be they hipsters or mainstreamers, who object to the White Stripes. That being said, every Beatles has their Revolution #9, and Jack White is no exception.

Rag and Bone might not be the White Stripes most eccentric track, but it is probably my favorite. Jack and Meg’s Deppesque personalities really shine through. The track follows them as they beg for free stuff. I like to imagine that the song is completely serious; that Jack and Meg really do wander into random people’s houses and creepily ask for stuff.

The thing is the track masks it’s bizarreness behind what sounds like a completely normal Stripes song. The general structure and chorus are fairly standard (and fantastic). It fits perfectly with the rest of Icky Thump and the entirety of the Stripes catalog. The song is so subtly eccentric that a couple members of the blog didn’t think that it really deserved an Eccentricity (don’t worry Eric, I will get on that suggestion next week). However the crazy is there if you pay attention.

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10 1- I saw Ghostrider 2. 10- I thought it was a good movie. Rag and Bone -1/10 Jack White in general – 10/10

The single greatest part of this track is Meg White in the background. She randomly interjects with whispers that just make me crack up. She whoos when she sees the inside of the house, randomly asks what stuff is, and mutters to herself. She completely sells the song; I can see her picking up things and pocketing them as Jack distracts the owner of the house. She says the second best line in the song, “I saw some stuff in your yard, are you gonna give it to us….or not….?” The line is so great that even Jack can’t ignore it, chastising her for being rude.

I said that Meg has the second best line in the song because Jack says one of the greatest, most eclectic lines I have ever heard. Towards the end of the song Jack devolves from coherency and starts saying random words that rhyme. What is great is that it works perfectly; it doesn’t feel out of place. To paraphrase, he claims that they are going everywhere from the west-side, to the middle-east, to twilight zones in search of everything from “techniques, turntables, to gramophones”. So take the last lick of your ice cream cone, because Jack White will steal it if you don’t. Wow, that is a terrifying mental image…

Wait, here is a scarier one…

Question: What does one of the most successful female entertainers of all time and Chinese food have in common? After half an hour of coming up with hilarious fake answers with Eric, I decided to just give you the straight one, Duck Sauce. In fake American Chinese food, duck sauce is that delicious yellow sauce you put on your egg rolls. In the music world, Duck Sauce is a DJ Duo that produces disco house tracks to club to a la Night at the Roxbury. One of such tracks is the hit single (in Europe) Barbara Streisand.

Whatever implored this duo to interject the famous entertainer’s name repeatedly throughout their epic dance tune is a complete mystery. The reasoning is probably similar to that behind their decision to feature “crotch faces” in their following single Big Bad Wolf; Duck Sauce loves a good laugh. This is also evident in the completely genius cover art for the single, Streisand’s 1980 album Guilty digitally edited so the faces on it are replaced with duck beaks.

Barbara Streisand heavily samples Boney M’s 1979 Gotta Go Home, a song that itself deserves an Eccentricity article; the only things I need to say to describe the music video are “hilariously bad”, “steel drums”, and “disco fabulous”. Gotta Go Home itself is based off of the hook line from Nighttrain’s 1973 not-hit Hallo Bimmelbahn. It took 37 years and three songs but that infamous hook line finally got the recognition it deserved; it is addicting as hell. All it needed was a heavier beat behind it and some variations to really shine.

The song is an instant dance classic. Something about the obscure sample combined with interjections of the notorious diva’s name makes people want to get up and dance. I have listened to this song on repeat several times over and for some strange reason it doesn’t get old, even though it is just variations on one hook. I was thoroughly entertained when I watched John play the song on Audiosurf (I don’t usually enjoy watching others play). It is addictive gold. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10 1- I like listening to Jimmi Hendrix’s fire. 10- I like to listen to Hendrix set hit guitar on fire. Barbara Streisand (the song not the artist) -2/10

The best part of being a music lover in constant search for new bands are the eureka moments that happen from time to time. You will be sitting at your desk or waiting for an opening act at a concert, completely ignorant of what is about to happen to your earholes. Then the band begins to play or you checkout a random video online and your world suddenly explodes into pure awesome. I am not talking about songs or bands that you need to listen to a couple times before you fall madly in love (like Swan Lake for me), I am talking about music that you instantly love on the spot.

It is the most incredible rush. You sort of scream out on the inside, “Holy crap yes this is fantastic! Where the Hell has this music been my whole life?!?!” One second your mild-mannered Elliott and the next you want to jump up and pulverize the support beams of the building you’re in with your fists because screw that building; it cannot possibly contain the amount of sheer awesome coursing through your veins. Almost every song that I have written about in this column has inspired this extreme joy the first time I listened to it. This week I stumbled upon yet another.

Earlier this week Mark, Eric, and I were hanging out at their place. We were taking turns playing albums as usual when Mark decided to put something new on. He loves to browse Jamando.com (where he discovered Brad Sucks) and just bumped into a band that caught his eye, Diablo Swing Orchestra. He pressed play and within seconds he and I were vibrating in joy. We both caught the DSO bug and got in a fist fight over who got to post it on the blog before the first song was over. Needless to say I won (I am a good fighter seeing as I pummel building support beams to dust regularly). So now I have the pleasure to bring you Balrog Boogie by Diablo Swing Orchestra. You might want to step outside before pressing play; your fists will appreciate it.

DSO is a band from Stockholm, Sweden with the most epic and elaborate back story. I am almost positive that the story is complete bull, but I like to pretend that it is true. You should definitely read it HERE. For those of you too lazy to get the juicy details, here is the story in short. 16thcentury orchestra is too awesome and the church tries to shut them down, they go on the run but soon realize that their time has come. They decide to hold one last giant blowout concert before they are captured and subsequently hung. Before they do so however they write letters to pass down to their ancestors to reform the Orchestra 500 years later. In 2003 two such ancestors get the letters and meet and reform the band with a modern flair.

The music the band plays is summed up pretty well by their name. It is a sort of epic dark orchestral swing music filled with epic Swedish (and sometimes English) vocal lines, intense guitar riffs, the occasional electronic flair, and demonic cello and brass. Diablo Swing Orchestra indeed. I feel like this music would be playing if I ever killed an ogre with my bare hands in the Swiss Alps. I really wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that their guitarist was none other than Swissgard Swissgelf.

I had a hard time picking which song I would write on because their entire first album, The Butcher’s Ballroom, is fantastic. So I decided to choose none other than the track that almost made me destroy Eric and Marks apartment, Balrog Boogie.  It starts off super jazzy with a funky bass line before kicking off a demonic swing that I swear could make the dead rise and dance a la Disney’s Skeleton Dance. I highly recommending muting the youTube video and playing Balrog Boogie while watching it, starting the video somewhere around 1:31, it synched up really well for me and kicked some serious ass.

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10 1- I casually reference Metalocalypse. 10- I casually reference old school Disney cartoons. Balrog Boogie - 6/10

Balrog Boogie sounds a bit like something Genie from Aladdin would jam too, if he was played by Nick Cave instead of Robin Williams (what is with me tonight and the Disney references?). It has a real swing to it. By opening with a demonic voice and closing it with evil laughter, DSO makes me feel like they are playing music straight from Hell. The female vocals shift between playful and epic in an instant which really drives the song. I did a quick search online and couldn’t really find a good translation that made any sense, a real shame. The song builds on itself until in closes in an epic finish. This song is a complete trip and one hell of a find. I really owe Mark for finding it (I’ll probably start by paying for his medical bills induced by the beating I gave him).

Everyone who loves music has a short list of special bands that they hold close to their heart. Something about these bands just resonates with the person. Listening to music by these bands is almost an almost divine experience. When I write about music these are the bands that first pop into my mind whenever I make a comparison. People who consistently read my articles (I.E. no one in the world except Eric) could easily guess my particular short list. It is fairly straightforward seeing I mention them all the time. They are Man Man (mentioned 6 times), Pink Floyd (also 6), The Beatles (6 again), and The Marshmallow Ghosts (4 times).

The Marshmallow Ghosts are an odd duck on my list for many reasons. The first reason is that I am positive that 95% of you have never ever heard of them besides when I mention them. The second reason explains the first; they are not a “real” band. They are a side project of Black Moth Super Rainbow and a couple other bands. The lineup for the band changes every year (apparently). They have only release a couple 7”s and an LP (that I know of). The band only plays around Halloween because they are a Halloween band. Wikipedia doesn’t believe that they exist; it is really hard to get any information on them. The third reason is that they are not in my top five favorite bands of all time yet are on my shortlist unlike Led Zeppelin (which is in my top 5). Also, they are not one of the best bands of all time. Yes, Man Man is one of the best bands of all time. Don’t argue, you are wrong.

That being said, the Marshmallow Ghosts accomplished something truly incredible with their self-titled LP; they personified fall and Halloween. I can listen to their album on a beautiful spring day and be whisked to late-October. The air around me becomes crisp, the leaves turn red and orange, I can taste pumpkin, and I can feel ghosts surrounding me. Yet not only does the album catch the mood of the season, the music on it is really good. It has some rocking beats and catchy tunes. One of such tracks is The Hearse Song, the video is taken from Corpse Reviver #2 (see below).

On the eccentricity scale ranging from 1 to 10 1- I celebrate 4/20. 10- I celebrate 4/20 on the 21st (I am looking at you Snoop Dog). The Hearse Song-5/10

The Hearse Song is not the most Halloweeny of their tracks, yet it shows what the Marshmallow Ghosts are capable of. The haunting voice of the singer drones like a moaning ghost (in a good way). The background synths create a really twilight-zone-esc atmosphere. That being said, this track is a bit more poppy than their other songs which focus more on the ambience. The upbeat melody and drumming drive the song into one you could almost dance to. I know I would, but then again that is just me. Speaking of the drumming, it is really top notch. The drummer is absolutely fantastic and is one of the people who inspired me to learn to drum.

I discovered the Marshmallow Ghosts last fall when they opened at the BMSR concert. Steve and I were completely blown away by them; in my opinion they upstaged Black Moth and were the best part of that night. After their set we immediately bought their Trick or Treat 7” and self-titled LP and got it signed by their female singer/guitarist (or was she the bassist?). We talked for a bit and she was really cool, if not completely scared by our excitement that was pretty much bubbling over at that point. I have to admit that I have a major crush on her, she was really great on stage (and also really cute).