I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE LES CLAYPOOL FROG BRIGADE-Purple Onion (2002).

This is the first and so far only studio album from the Les Claypool Frog Brigade (line up slightly different from the live albums).  I think it’s one of his best solo releases in terms of overall musical complexity.  The addition of Skerik on sax makes a world of difference to Les’ songs and even better is percussionist Mike “Tree Frog” Dillon on vibraphone–which adds a new level of depth to these songs.  Also having a backing vocalist seems to add even more to them.

Psychotic circus music opens the saga of “David Makalster.”  It’s a riff on the news (where everything’s exactly as it seems).  The chorus is a fun vibraphone filled section–cheerful and fake.  It’s a decent song.   In true Les fashion, he follows it up with a Part II later in the disc in which the truth of the unhappiness is revealed.  Between the two songs it’s 11 minutes long which is too much for this one conceit, although I do like the way the part II revisits the first song in a different way.

But there’s so much else that’s so good on the record.  Like “The Buzzards of Green Hill” which opens with a jaw harp and some cool bass.  It’s a simple up and down riff that is incredibly catchy.  Later it’s got some great guitar and horn solos.  “Long in the Tooth” sounds like a Primus song, but the crazy sax noises turn this into something else entirely.  “Whamola” is a cool song that features Les’ work with the whamola, a one string instrument that features prominently on the song–it’s like a viola that you can do bends on.  It’s a great jam with Fish from Fishbone on drums and Skerik’s crazy sax as well.

“Ding Dang” sounds like it would be a silly song but it actually attacks all forms of prejudice–racist, homophobic ignorance all gets taken to task and then put to a rather cheerful-sounding chorus.  There’s some wild solos on this in song too.   Tolerance is a good thing.

“Barrington Hall” is an interesting creeping sounding song with vibes and bowed bass.  It feels like a kind of silly horror movie song.

“D’s Diner” opens with some backward percussion.  It has a creepy sinister bass line and some crazy vocal all about a yummy dinner.  It features Gabby La La on sitar and Norwood Fisher from Fishbone on bass.  “Lights in the Sky is an atmospheric song which is a bit too long.  “Up on the Roof” has a great slapping bass thing going on and the vibes solo is wonderful.

“Cosmic Highway” ends the disc with a pretty lengthy jam.  It has some great solos from the various instruments–I actually would have preferred this as an instrumental–I think it would have removed the slower parts.  But it’s a fun, trippy album closer.

And after this, Primus would (briefly) reunite.

[READ: January 19, 2015] “The Alaska of Giants and Gods”

In this story (which I imagine is the beginning of a new novel from Eggers), Josie has packed her kids into a (cheap rented) R.V. and has taken them to Alaska.

Josie used to be a dentist.  She was sued by a woman who claimed that Josie should have seen the cancer in her mouth.  Josie was so disgusted, she threw up her hands and said to take everything.  Which the woman did.  She felt the lower forty-eight states were full of cowards and thieves so it was time to get out.

And yet when they crossed the border, the Alaska she imagined was nowhere to be seen–no magic, no pure air, just a regular old city.

There is a feel of Douglas Coupland in this writing, especially about how all Americans are “blanks.”  Although this is territory that Eggers has investigated as well.  I also enjoyed that since she knew nothing about her roots she didn’t even know if she should travel anywhere special.  She’d heard her parents talk about Denmark and Finland, but “an uncle thought he could be helpful.  ‘Everyone in our family speaks English’ he said.  ‘Maybe you should go to England.'”

They decide to stop in Seward at Resurrection Bay.

While they are sitting there an older man asks her kids (7 and 4) if they like magic.  Josie is of course wary, but he seems safe.  He then invites all of them aboard the cruise ship he is currently vacationing on (he says he can bring guests for the shows).  Josie is about to say no but her kids seem very excited (especially when he says one of the magicians is from Luxembourg.  So they board the boat and get ready for the show.

The magicians are okay and get minor reactions from the crowd.  Josie starts feeling defensive of them and wonders why the audience isn’t clapping more–why are they so stuck up? Josie starts drinking and getting more cheerful towards the magicians (and more angry at the lumps who are not cheering).

The man had promised that magician from Luxembourg would be coming out.  When he asked if anyone had been to Luxembourg, a surprising number of people said they had.   But even his act didn’t earn very much applause.

It is the final magician–a man who doesn’t so much do magic so much as he just knows ZIP codes.  His whole act is asking people what their ZIP code is and he tells them what city it is.  This seems to make the audience go nuts.  Josie is appalled.  Until the last line makes the whole thing seems much sadder than it is.

I feel like a lot more could be made out of this scene and I hope Eggers expands it.