SOUNDTRACK: KASVOT VÄXT-“Turtle in the Clouds” (1981/2018).
Back in 1994, Phish started covering a classic album for its Halloween costume. In 2015 they covered the Disney album: Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House, which pretty much meant all bets were off. So in 2018, they decided to cover an obscure Scandinavian prog rock band called Kasvot Växt and their sole album, í rokk. This proved to be a big joke–they were a nonexistent band. They had so much fun creating this band, that they even enlisted others to expand the joke. This included impressively thorough reviews from WFMU and from AllMusic.
The joke is even in the name: when translated together Kasvot Växt and í rokk means “Faceplant into rock.”.
Here’s some more details they came up with:
The Scandinavian prog rock band purportedly consists of Jules Haugen of Norway, Cleif Jårvinen of Finland, and Horst and Georg Guomundurson of Iceland. The album’s label, Elektrisk Tung, supposedly went out of business shortly after the LP’s release and little information about the record appears on the internet. Bassist Mike Gordon made a tape copy of í rokk in the mid-’80s and Phish would play it “over and over in the tour van in the early ’90s.” In the Playbill, guitarist Trey Anastasio insisted, “Every time the Halloween discussion comes up, we talk about Kasvot Växt. We honestly were worried we wouldn’t have the chops to pull it off or do justice to the sound, but when it came down to it, we just couldn’t resist any longer.”
The decision to go with an obscure album few have heard or even heard of appealed to the members of Phish. “We’ve paid tribute to so many legendary bands over the years, it felt right this time to do something that’s iconic to us but that most people won’t have heard of,” Gordon said as per the Phishbill. “And with these translations we’re really performing songs that have never been sung in English before.” Keyboardist Page McConnell added, “I love the mystery surrounding this whole thing. If those guys ever hear we did this I hope they’re excited because we absolutely intend it as a loving tribute.” As for what Phish fans can expect? “A weird, funky Norweigan dance album! Get out there and put your down on it!” exclaimed drummer Jon Fishman.
While the listings for the 10 tracks on the original í rokk were in a Scandinavian language, the titles appear in English in the Playbill. Phish called upon a Nordic linguist to translate the lyrics to English for tonight’s performance.
These songs do not really sound like a Norwegian prog rock band. They do sound an awful lot like Phish (although with a more synthy vibe overall. The band has this part of their live show streaming on Spotify under the Kasvot Växt name. And I’m ending the year by talking about each song.
This song is super funky–from the cool bass and keys sound to the lay it down riff. It’s also got a fun singable chorus.
The juxtaposition of the two sections is great. This is a highlight of the disc for sure.
[READ: December 20, 2018] “Acceptance Journey”
Carol moved to Rhinehorn for a six-month job at a private college. She had also just broken up with her “boyfriend”: “More exactly, she’d run out of their motel room after he’d become enraged at her for singing “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” in the shower and accused her of wanting to sodomize him.”
Carol was 57 and divorced and had debt from her ex-husband’s failed life-coach business. The temp job was routine and mindless, just what she wanted. She intended to make friends with no one until one day the neighbor, Duane, called over to her. He explained that his wife, Dana, knew the woman she was replacing (maternity leave) and teat they would love to have her for dinner.
It was a lovely family dinner. The food was good, and the children were charming. They prayed before eating. And somehow it made Carol shy of seeing them again. Where she used to walk in the neighborhood, she now felt the need to drive around. She drove out of town on various roads looking at billboards. One continued to catchy her eye. It was for something called The Acceptance Journey.
In late November she found an envelope in the crotch of her tree. It was addressed to The Grinch and it was from Estella, Duane’s daughter. It turned out not to be for her. It was, in fact, family folklore that the Grinch used that tree as a postal delivery system. Carol was tickled by this and offered to write back.
The letter she wrote was kind of dark, saying the Grinch was back to hating Christmas but that he still liked her. But the girl didn’t write back. Carol’s sister was surprised that Dana allowed Carol to write anything to her daughter “I mean, she doesn’t know you–you could have said anything.”
So Carol wrote again from the Grinch’s winged servant saying the Grinch felt bad about his behavior. The next night Estella had written back encouraging him to apologize.
There’s an amusing sequence where Carol remembers her time with her counselor that she and her husband used. Carol was mischievous in the session and when asked about the nae of a doll–to prove some point or other–Carol said “My name is Legion.”
The next day she went out to a new neighborhood and saw a small church. She assumed it was the one from the acceptance journey–she had now seen so many of thee billboards that she was very curious about it. She approached the church while the regulars where filing in. She tried to speak to the pastor as he as greeting everyone. He was kind to her but when she asked him about the acceptance journey he said “We don’t offer what you’re looking for.” She felt strangely devastated by this reaction.
Carol decided to go for lunch to a distant diner. She was startled to see Dana there. Dana sat with her and they talked a bit. Carol wanted to open up but was still thinking about that preacher.
It seems unlikely that Carol will every find Acceptance, but maybe Dana can get her to open up at the next dinner?
And for the first year ever, I have read all of the New Yorker stories the week they came out and posted them on their official publication date.
I Just Read About That... 
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