Black Flag - The Process of Weeding Out

Much like Family Man but with just instrumental rock and no spoken word (poor Rollins), The Process of Weeding Out differs from the last jam fest in that the tracks are longer and more developed than before (with the exception of the concise and upbeat punk tune "Screw the Law"). "The Process of Weeding Out" even has a nice and long fucked up overture, with Ginn playing an odd guitar melody interspersed with seemingly directionless improv that starts to increase in volume as Kira Roessler and Bill Stevenson engage in spastic temper tantrums on their instruments until the entire band launch into the thing that most closely resembles a main riff. Long-winded, ugly, and chaotic, these songs aren't for casual listeners, and very few will enjoy or identify with what these nutcases are doing. Luckily, I am one of those few people. Also, read this awesome message in the album booklet by Greg Ginn:

"The revolution will probably be televised. But I don't have a TV and I'm not gonna watch. With talk of rating records and increased censorship it may be getting difficult for some to speak their minds. Black Flag already has enough problems with censorship coming from the business sector. Some record stores have refused to stock and/or display Black Flag records because of objectionable cover art or lyrical content. Now, with additional government involvement, the 'crunch' is on. Hope does lie in the fact that fortunately these straight pigs show little ability in decoding intuitive data. For example, even though this record may communicate certain feelings, emotions, and ideas to some, I have faith that these cop-types with their strictly linear minds and stick-to-the-rules mentality don't have the ability to decipher the intuitive contents of this record. Of course, there may be a problem in that much of the public, most of whom comply with the whole idea of hiring the pigs in the first place, seem equally unable to intuitively feel and listen to music. Still here it is, 'The Process of Weeding Out'."

Favorite track: "The Process of Weeding Out"
Least favorite track: "Your Last Affront"

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Black Flag - Family Man

What an adorable cover.

This album is somewhat of an anomaly in the Atonal Lobe library in that it is part instrumental (with "Armageddon Man" being the only exception) and part spoken word, with the first half consisting of a few of frontman Henry Rollins' spoken word pieces (by the way, expect some spoken word/comedy albums to be posted here sometime in the future) and the second half consisting of primal rock jams.

The spoken word, although not Rollins' best (he would improve considerably over the following years), is mildly disturbing ("Family Man", "No Deposit, No Return") and even absurd at times ("Salt On A Slug", "Shed Reading (Rattus Norvegicus)"). It's an interesting window into the mind of a troubled youngster (which is understandable if you've read/heard about the kind of hardships that Black Flag endured on the road). That having been said, spoken word generally doesn't have as much replay value as music does, so I tend to skip to the music for a while before listening to the spoken word again.

As a lot of jazz musicians would, the band play songs that are based around a central riff/mode/mood, but deviate regularly for improvisation. The key difference here between Black Flag and most jazz musicians is that the latter are generally more concerned with solid and professional playing and usually don't make music that is so chaotic and atonal (unless we speak of someone like John Zorn). Black Flag, on the other hand, clearly don't give a fuck and instead thrash out with reckless abandon, giving the impression of something that is intact but just on the verge of falling apart. "Long Lost Dog of It" sounds kind of meandering and pointless, but "Account for What?" and the nicely titled "I Won't Stick Any of You Unless and Until I Can Stick All of You" kick a lot of sloppy avant-garde rock ass and have delightfully catchy riffs. The second of these tracks even made me break out into the laughter the first few times I heard it, since its main pattern consists of an angry uptempo hardcore riff followed by a sudden stop-start happy riff.

Even if these guys aren't particularly professional or technically proficient musicians, they at least play with a kind of raw energy and exuberance and don't just shred as fast as they can. Greg Ginn shows himself to be a very innovative guitarist, creating very memorable and hooky riffs with unconventional chords and note patterns (as he would to an even greater extent with his group Gone). The rhythm section clearly have a lot of fun with what they do too.

Favorite spoken word track: "Salt On A Slug"
Least favorite spoken word track: "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking"

Favorite music track: "The Pups Are Doggin' It"
Least favorite music track: "Long Lost Dog of It"

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The Residents - Hunters

I'm kind of ambivalent about Hunters, which is a sort of electronic ambient album with some jungle percussion that was made as a soundtrack to a Discovery Channel TV series about predators in the wilderness. Hunters isn't bad, and maybe it'll "grow on me" later, but for now I don't get much out of it. "The Deadly Game" shows promise with its mysterious keyboard hum and plodding jungle percussion beat, but the tracks after that are mostly a bunch of forgettable pastiches of incongruous musical segments rife with nondescript "intense" melodies and looped percussion. I understand that the musical vagaries and stark minimalism are due to the fact that the music was meant to be a background soundtrack set to the scenes of the TV series, but then why bother releasing the music by itself if it can't stand on its own? Was there any actual demand from the fans? Did The Residents really think it was that good? Did they just want another way to make money? Whatever the reason may be, I consider the album to be more of a curiosity than a very *good* album. Still, it's almost an hour long, and there are a few delightful ambient passages to be found, so don't take my word for it. Let me know what you think.

Also, this album, like a lot of others that I've posted, has cheesy timbre (albeit not to the same extent as The Tunes of Two Cities). Big surprise, right?

Favorite track: "The Deadly Game"
Least favorite track: "The Dangerous Sea"

The Residents - The Tunes of Two Cities

What an adorable album cover.

There can be no doubt about it: The Residents are a very interesting group. In my opinion, they're one of the most interesting musical groups ever to exist. Not all of the albums in their massive discography are zingers, but you can always rest assured that you'll walk away from your first listen of a Residents album knowing that you heard something completely different. For The Residents, no style, instrument, theme, or odd quirk is beyond consideration. No matter what your musical preferences are, chances are good that The Residents have at least one song (if not an entire album) that could potentially appeal to you in some way.

The Tunes of Two Cities is a concept album based around the contrast between two fictional cultures, the Chubs and the Moles. I won't go into too much detail, but supposedly the Chubs are a hedonistic and superficial culture, whereas the Moles are a dark and tribal one. The songs on this album alternate regularly between the music of the Chubs, which is silly and fun carnival pop, and the music of the Moles, which is dark and tribal ritual music. Unfortunately, the album is somewhat mired in cheesy synthesizer timbre (I seem to have a bad habit of posting albums with that problem), which wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that some of the fake instruments sound pretty grating, like the bleating horns and braying synth-voices. Thankfully, the two worst offenders on the album -- "Serenade for Missy" and "A Maze of Jigsaws" -- come first, so it's (comparatively) fair sailing after that.

I must say reluctantly that I enjoy the Chubs' music a little more simply because their style of music is more suited to this kind of timbre than the Moles'. I like the Moles' sense of layering, catchy noisiness, and unorthodox choice of instruments, but the intended atmosphere is lost with that rigid Fisher Price sound. The Chubs, on the other hand, come up with some pretty fun and playful carnival ditties, complete with swinging horns, synthesized "la-la"ing, tinkling vibes, buzzing synth-bass, and chipper melodies. All in all a good album, and fitting for a 90's video game (which is funny, since the album came out in 1982).

Favorite track: "Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)"
Least favorite track: "Serenade for Missy"

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Burzum - Hlidskjalf

This album, which continues in the vein of Daudi Baldrs but with more abstract ambience and less rigid medieval sounds, is my favorite Burzum release. The melodies are more minimalistic than ever, but they're also more ethereal and captivating than ever. Plus, the timbre is more befitting of the fake synthesizer instruments used here and isn't so painfully cheesy like it was before. The ancient Pagan themes are still clear, but the album sounds less like an attempt to recreate the sounds of those times and more like a genuine artistic reflection on them. Swirling keyboards, haunting counterpoint, thundering timpanis, peaceful neofolk plucking...It's quite beautiful. Also, "Der Tod Wuotans" has got to be one of the saddest (albeit enjoyable) pieces of music that I have ever heard.

Great night soundtrack.

Favorite track: "Tuistos Herz"
Least favorite track: "Frijôs Goldene Tränen"

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Burzum - Daudi Baldrs

It seemed logical to have a Count Grishnackh Day after Fenriz Day, so that's what I'm going with. Anyhow, this is a sort of neo-classical affair done on a computer (since Grishnackh was in prison at the time and it was the only way that he could make music), and while many would disagree, I find it to be a more rewarding listening experience than most of this man's "metal" material. In fact, I dare say that this prick's imprisonment was the best Burzum-related thing to ever happen to me, since it meant that he would be forced to abandon his grating-as-fuck screaming for a bit and just deliver the goods. All of the tracks on this album are fairly minimalistic pieces composed on fake pianos and fake medieval instruments, and conjure powerful images of ancient times and nature with their majestic themes and dark, mournful melodies. Like a lot of music that's composed on the computer, the music on this album gains its strength from layering and the beautiful harmonization of simple melodic phrasings. The repetition, while delightfully entrancing, can be a bit excessive at times ("Illa Tiandi"), and the timbre obviously isn't the best -- it sounds like it could go to a 90's video game -- but the music is good nonetheless.

I know that there's a lot of stigma surrounding the man behind the music -- it seems to get brought up any time the subject of Burzum's music is broached -- but I don't really care. Although I generally don't find out much about artists beyond their work, I do know from what little I've heard/read that this man killed another fanatical nutcase who threatened him and is supposedly some kind of pseudo-aristocratic racist prick. Big whoop. Good music is good music. Sure, I wouldn't bother with something by the likes of Hitler or Mussolini, but this guy clearly doesn't act upon whatever twisted ideas he has like they did. From what little I know, this guy seems to want nothing more than to live in seclusion on some farm and look down with contempt on anyone outside of his fiefdom. Power to him; let him sulk as much as he likes. At least his work is original and has integrity, the least of which could be said for even some of the nicest musicians.

Favorite track: "Móti Ragnarokum"
Least favorite track: "Daudi Baldrs"

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Burzum - Demo 2

Behold...The obscure instrumental demo versions of several of "black metal" solo act Burzum's songs (topus). It's cult, it's grim, it's frostbitten, and it sounds like SHIT. That's alright, though: I can enjoy some ultra-fuzzy demo production, and I'd take it over hearing Count Grishnackh's "feral" (a.k.a. "shitty") screams any day of the Solar Equinox. Unfortunately, a couple of the tracks ("Depressive Visions of the Cursed Warrior") have such inaudible guitar that you can hardly hear it beneath the pedestrian drumming. However, Grishnackh's ability to evoke dreamlike and sorrowful atmospheres with primitive and eerie minor-key metal riffs is quite a feat, and there's plenty of both droning repetition ("Spell of Destruction") and progression ("My Key to Purgatory") to keep the listener entranced. This is a good album to listen to while wallowing in suicide or contemplating solitude. In all seriousness, it's quite captivating, provided you can tolerate guitars that sound like underwater lawn mowers.

Favorite track: "Rite of Cleansure"

Least favorite track: "Depressive Visions of the Cursed Warrior" (to be fair, it's mainly because the guitar riffs are barely audible)

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