SOUNDTRACK: マキシマム ザ ホルモン–“え・い・り・あ・ん” (2013) [MAXIMUM THE HORMONE-“A.L.I.E.N” (2013).
This Japanese band has gained some ground in the United States (having two of their songs used in the anime Death Note). They are a heavy, heavy metal band which explores many different genres.
This song begins with a heavy metal guitar riff. When the song proper starts, it is clearly a heavy song sing in Japanese. The second vocalist (who screams like Yamantaka Eye with John Zorn) screams in an unmistakably Japanese way. And at 1:15, the song slows down into a very heavy almost mosh.
So far so good. The first big surprise comes at 1:44 when the song is hijacked by a funk metal bass line and the follow up section is a less scary sounding but still heavy metal.
And then it’s back to the speed and noise once more, complete with a pause and a “Go!” and then a series of “He!y Hey! Hey!” metal chants.
But the real surprise comes at 3 minutes when the whole song slows to a sweet section with whispered vocals by the (female) drummer? And then the entire song switches to a sweet song–delicate guitar and super sweet vocals with the new lyrics “Stop Stop Winny Upload.” The boys come back in, but now they are playing along to this poppy (but guitar heavy) “Stop Stop Winny” section.
This runs on until the end of the song which has the band members conversing in Japanese (about what, I have no idea).
It is one of the most jarring songs I’ve heard, combing at least five genres in its 5 and a half minutes (and several of their other songs do this too (check out “Yoshu Fukushu”).
This is to say nothing of the video, which opens with the band playing in a live setting. The guitarist has long hair and a beard and sings the first verses. The short-haired singer sings the really fast growly stuff and the bassist has a nifty side shave.
As the funk metal stuff starts, the band switches to a studio scene in which, why not, they all grow extra heads and limbs.
The Stop Stop Winny section switches from a segment with the drummer in a wedding dress singing gently. And then the final section shows the band in a psychedelic set with little kids and balloons.
It’s fantastic.
[READ: November 13, 2015] Jottings from a Far Away Place
Brendan Connell has this new book coming out (on December 1st) from the wonderfully named Snuggly Press. (I love that it says This is a Snuggly Book) on the title page verso.
Connell has written all kinds of books in his career but this one is something of a new style in his vast oeuvre. The title word “Jottings” is a giveaway because so many of the parts of the book are very short–notations, indeed, jottings, that may or may not relate directly to the rest of the pieces. I found the book a little challenging to read at first because of this. However, when I wrapped my head around what was going on, it really gelled. And when I read it a second time, with this in mind, it worked beautifully.
Connell has created a kind of labyrinth of a book in which some fragments lead to dead ends, but other fragments lead to longer stories. And when you hit on the right path you are rewarded with a longer story that is as well written (Connell’s eye for detail is, as always, exceptional) as it is interesting. But unlike the mythological labyrinth, there is no Minotaur if you take a wrong path–rather there is just a fragment that forces you to think about where it might belong. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 