SOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD MILKMEN-Not Richard But Dick (1993).
After the mature Milkmen of Soul Rotation, they followed up with this mini disc (at 28 minutes it’s probably an EP (even the title suggests that maybe it’s an EP) but it’s not considered one).
This album is a bit more twisted that Soul Rotation, although it still offers some of this newer more mature music.
The two most twisted songs are the largely spoken-word “I Dream of Jesus.” It’s a rant in which the singer (who now goes by the name Arr. Trad.) talks about his mother keeping Jesus in a bottle, and the ramifications that that can have. (It also features a sung chorus of “Jesus Loves Me”). “Let’s Get the Baby High” has vocals that are processed so who knows who is singing. But the title is pretty much spot on for the content of the song.
And you can pretty guess who is singing “The Infant of Prague Customized My Van.”
Butterfly Fairweather once again sings the bulk of the songs. And most of them are fast rockers. The first song, “Leggo My Ego” could have been a hit (with the cool keboard opening) and “Little Volcano” probably should have been a hit, it’s very catchy.
He’s also on vocals for some of those mellow songs (that remind me so much of Dromedary Records’ Cuppa Joe. In fact, “Not Crazy” could have been done by Cuppa Joe.
The final song is a wonderfully hilarious Lou Reed impersonation with simple guitar chords, and a tin whistle! It’s a very mellow spoken word piece about “The Woman Who was Also a Mongoose”.
Not Richard But Dick is no longer in print (Hollywood Records really gave DM the shaft). I’m not sure if it’s worth tracking down at this point, but there’s some interesting and fun stuff on this disc.
[READ: April 7, 2010] Antwerp
Continuing with Roberto Bolaño’s fascinating melange of styles, Antwerp (technically the first “novel” he wrote (circa 1980 although he didn’t have it published until 2002) is a series of numbered sections. I’ve heard it described as a prose poem, and, given his (at the time) recent switch from poetry to prose, that makes sense.
I had read an excerpt from this some time ago, and I found it difficult to read as excerpts. Unsurprisingly, I also found the entire thing a challenge as well. And that’s because, wow, there is so much crammed into these 79 pages, and there are so many different points of view and so many unclear events (written in great detail, but trying to piece those events together…phew) that even after reading it twice, I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 