Hezo Kittie

De-Loused in the Comatorium by Mars Volta

This post isn't going to make much sense and I'm kind of tired but I don't feel like sleeping because that means getting ready for bed and I dislike getting ready for bed.

Yeah, spending your nights awake and your mornings for sleep seems kind of stupid and boring for normal people but I like "exploring" the internet. That is, if you ever wanted to know something about anything, you can find it online. Or if you wanted to know other peoples opinions.

So I was looking up some background stuff on Mars Volta because I've really been enjoying their new album De-Loused for the last few days. I've said that quite a lot of times already, especially on this blog.

I stumbled upon a site called punknews.org which had news about what's happening with punk bands and some other stuff like that. And I went to their reviews section, and their site reviews new albums. The guy who reviewed it hailed it as an almost-second coming and gave it a 5 out of 5. I'm not sure that, even though this music (to me at least) seems groundbreaking, we can go so far as to say it's going to change the face of music itself, but I like all of the different styles they implemented into the album.

I like that the album is an album and by listening to certain songs in some crazy order would be to butcher the way the music was intended to be listened to, I guess. And though it has an overall latino-like feel to it, different styles do come up like sections of jazz among other things.

I was reading the reader reviews of the album and a lot of people bashed it, but really they have good reasons to, for the most part. The most simple argument a few people said was that it was shit put into a jewel case because it wasn't punk. Well, it's not punk but I find it really odd when people group this album into some form of category of punk; people who think this album is punk probably doesn't know the difference between Avril Lavigne and ummm...Danzig or something.

This will probably go down as one of my favorite albums because it's just...dense. My two favorite albums I've listened to are probably the Beatles' Abbey Road and Beastie Boys' Pauls Boutique because I'm always amazed through each listen. The albums were so dense and meticulously created. Sure, they're all different but they all have their vaguely similar characteristics. You listen to it and it's not the same thing every time. There's layers of different instruments or styles. Also, De-Loused was bashed as being pretentious and overproduced (Rick Rubin produced). I definitely disagree with that; the album is not a marketing ploy to cash in on ATDI's growing success right before they imploded; co-produced by the vocals/chief songwriter Omar, I believe he worked with Rick Rubin to achieve the sound he was going for.

The album is a dedication to a friend of Omar's, who committed suicide. It's a sort of concept album where the style and songs are themed to an extent, and it's based loosely on a fictional character's life until he commits suicide. I'm no music expert or anything, I haven't listened to a Yes album before or through the full Dark Side of the Moon or anything like that. I wouldn't know if they are just ripping 70s prog rock, but if 70s prog rock involves taking traditional songwriting and twisting it into something that pushes the listener to take in something wholly different than what would normally be released these days then it's definitely prog rock.

I'm guessing this all reads like bullshit but I'm not lying when I say that this is something rare and not only relatively original but as an album it just works. My first listen was like, "This is super latino and the drums are great and the choruses are amazing." Then the next listen is like, "Ohh shit this is flowing, and the guitar sounds weird, and music increases from the soft intros to the blasting, plucky guitars in the choruses and then down back into a smooth bass line with a few bars of reverb into some other shit" And then the next listen it's like the vocals are so...far ranging yet it doesn't always go balls to the wall when it doesn't have to like on track 9 televators. When I listened to that like after a few full listens and I become familiar with the album and I heard the honest, almost poetic vocals of televators and it gave me shivers. It probably seems like a shitload to be writing about one piece of music and that I'm overanalyzing music and its too artsy and pretentious and etc. etc. but when I get those involuntary shivers when a particular note is hit then I know I'm listening to damn good music. You don't have to appreciate this music as much as just pop in the album, sit back or lay down and close your eyes and listen.

reminds me why i love music.

ahhh so good. I'm not saying any of you people reading this now will like it much and I doubt you will but I guess the album really reflects my musical tastes. maybe I'm biased towards cedric's vocals but the vocals aren't simply nice sounding voice with added reverb or production effects to make it sound nicer but his voice becomes an integral instrument in the music instead of just saying stuff over music but emotions sounded through the vocals reflect the music. and the climactic ending is perfect.

Well maybe I do like a lot of different music. I love The Shape of Punk to Come by Refused and it's probably the opposite of De-Loused. It's a sucker punch in the face like "hey you fuckin like that apeshit buzzing guitars in your fuckin eyeballs man?! how bout i drop a jazzy fuckin stand up bass line in the middle of nothingness and then rant about how capitalism is evil and then croon to a tiny melody and then turn you on yo fuckin face and drop some melodic accordions."

Reader reviews, from both pro and against mars volta ppls, said that Sparta bites the dust and that they suck crap and etc. I honestly think Sparta is lovely and Wiretap Scars is a great listen. It can get generic at times and the vocals are second rate piece of crap suck crap sucksness but the stuff they did is real good.

Whoa, I just learned that the De-Loused cover art is done by that guy who did the Pink Floyd albums, among other things. Too bad I think it looks like crap but hey it's very pink floydy

I don't think this is entirely original because I hear it bears similarities to Yes and such but I don't know that music about music. All I know is that when I'm listening to this, me and the music just click and everything works and its like ah shit this is good.

Meh...sunrise. So in the end I'd say that was $6.99 plus tax well spent. T3 FUCKERS