New Mars Volta material

Ho-Hum

I think these guys although very pretentious are capable of making great music, ie Deloused in the comatorium. They've gone a little downhill since but I still do enjoy their work.

Anyway here is the new track from their forthcoming album
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=zDtb9cBG73k

Their new drummer sounds very promising

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDtb9cBG73k

here it is..

--edit

just watched half the video.. not at all impressed, but I'll wait until the whole albums comes out. wasn't too impressed with their last offering either for a long time, but I did pretty much love deloused from the first, maybe second listen.

Ho-Hum

Mordeth wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDtb9cBG73k

here it is..

LOL sorry my bad couldn't figure out how to do that

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you get the code for the video from the www.youtube.com/bleh link , this time it was "zDtb9cBG73k"

the code is [youtube]zDtb9cBG73k[/youtube]

MoominPapa

Class!
know what you mean, when they haven't got their heads shoved up their own a$$e$ they're sublime when they have they're not
Never have the good fortune to see them live but I suspect Cedric is the greatest front man. Of all time.

Karl Hungus

Ho-Hum wrote: »

I think these guys although very pretentious

What are they pretaining to?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

–adjective
1. full of pretense or pretension.
2. characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.
3. making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious


feyl karl

Karl Hungus

Mordeth wrote: »

–adjective
1. full of pretense or pretension.
2. characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.
3. making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious


feyl karl

Thanks for that Mordeth, but I know what it means. Let me put it another way... What aspects of their music are pretentious? I don't see any pretense, or that they're pretaining to anything, or for that matter any assumptions of dignity. An outward show, perhaps, but not more than most bands?

Honestly, I find the word pretentious used far too much, and it's never specific.

Ho-Hum

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Thanks for that Mordeth, but I know what it means. Let me put it another way... What aspects of their music are pretentious? I don't see any pretense, or that they're pretaining to anything, or for that matter any assumptions of dignity. An outward show, perhaps, but not more than most bands?

Honestly, I find the word pretentious used far too much, and it's never specific.

OK the specific reasons I personally find The Mars Volta a bit pretentious is the tendency for nonsensical lyrics, pointless 5 minutes interludes of traffic going by (or some other randomness) in between songs, songs that start off in the middle of a solo. Despite this I still am a fan and I think they're great when they actually make music as opposed to the above listed wankery.

nyarlothothep

Ho-Hum wrote: »

OK the specific reasons I personally find The Mars Volta a bit pretentious is the tendency for nonsensical lyrics, pointless 5 minutes interludes of traffic going by (or some other randomness) in between songs, songs that start off in the middle of a solo. Despite this I still am a fan and I think they're great when they actually make music as opposed to the above listed wankery.

The lyrics seem nonsensical on the surface but when you know the context for them they make a lot of sense. Televators is about their artist friend who committed suicide, some of the word imagery is quite evocative about his many suicide attempts like this line

"Was he robbed of the asphalt that cushioned his face?"

I think their lyrics are very idiosyncratic if anything else, so its understandable that they are fairly impenetrable.

A lot of poetry doesn't make sense on a first reading. Its trying to convey meaning in a fundamental way by bypassing the representational aspect of language in getting the reader to grasp the essence of subject matter in an emotional or physical way. Paradoxically this makes poetry more oblique than prose. But imo if TMV explained the meaning behind the lyrics, it wouldn't come across so much as gobbledygook.

I agree though that the random aural soundscapes and the solos (as much as I like big epic solos) are quite tiresome, esp with regards solos on the last album where they just seemed to go on forever.

damonjewel

Musically I think they are great but there is something I find very offputting by them which I can't quite put my finger on. I should like them, that is, if you were to tell me in the street about this new band and told me about their sound, I'd be straight off to get it. But something about them doesn't hang right with me

I think if they chilled a little they could be like the Mothers of Invention. Any ideas which tracks I should check out to tell me I've got it wrong?

MoominPapa

damonjewel wrote: »

Any ideas which tracks I should check out to tell me I've got it wrong?

This should set you straight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ayKK8E7gc

eljono

MoominPapa wrote: »

This should set you straight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ayKK8E7gc

Can you tell me what the name of that track is please?

Karl Hungus

eljono wrote: »

Can you tell me what the name of that track is please?

L'Via L'Viaquez

damonjewel

Man that was pretty freaking cool, any more? Its completely different to the first tune

MoominPapa

Good example of their live chops
Son et Lumiere + Inertiatic esp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JovRNx40c6E

they're some band, seriously cool mutherf*ckers. I think they are deliberately obtuse on record, listening to their albums for the first couple of times can be very frustrating what the stop start nature of a lot of tracks and the random non musical interludes filled with street sounds, traffic and so on. But when the music kicks in they're awesome.

Rustar

I was going to rip into that "pretentious" label as soon as I saw the first post, but looks like I don't have to now.

"Pretentious" was a word used by critics back in about 1972 by critics describing Yes, ELP, and Gentle Giant. What I realized they were finally saying was, "I don't understand it."

Sure, there are odd and different constructions in progressive music, both lyrically and musically, but that's part of the whole scene. There's a branch of music called 'Experimental', which is even less approachable than progressive music, but that is valid as well.

I see it this way - Popular music is generally determined by the average person, who forms the greatest number of people in society (remember your Bell curves). There are a whole bunch of people who are not average, however, and they need their ear candy as well.

I can hear the Yes/King Crimson influences easily in Mars Volta. Just because they pay homage doesn't mean they're "pretending" to be something they're not.

Shiminay

Are Mars Volta the remains of what was At The Drive-In? If so I must check out their stuff as ATDI forking rawked!

Ho-Hum

Kharn wrote: »

Are Mars Volta the remains of what was At The Drive-In? If so I must check out their stuff as ATDI forking rawked!

They are indeed, Cedric and Omar formed The Mars Volta and Jim Ward formed Sparta, another band well worth checking out.

Shiminay

Cool. Saw ATDI in TBMC a few years back. Their support act's singer got so langered in town before hand he ended up puking his ring up on stage Not funny for those of us right at the front, thankfully there was no splash damage!

Alter-Ego

I loved Deloused.. and Francis the mute. They kinda went downhill after that.

"The Widow" ftw!

eljono

Karl Hungus wrote: »

L'Via L'Viaquez

Cheers man

Karl Hungus

Rustar wrote: »

I was going to rip into that "pretentious" label as soon as I saw the first post, but looks like I don't have to now.

"Pretentious" was a word used by critics back in about 1972 by critics describing Yes, ELP, and Gentle Giant. What I realized they were finally saying was, "I don't understand it."

Sure, there are odd and different constructions in progressive music, both lyrically and musically, but that's part of the whole scene. There's a branch of music called 'Experimental', which is even less approachable than progressive music, but that is valid as well.

I see it this way - Popular music is generally determined by the average person, who forms the greatest number of people in society (remember your Bell curves). There are a whole bunch of people who are not average, however, and they need their ear candy as well.

I can hear the Yes/King Crimson influences easily in Mars Volta. Just because they pay homage doesn't mean they're "pretending" to be something they're not.

Extremely well said, Rustar, and I couldn't have put it better myself.

I find the word "Pretentious" is thrown around far, far too much.

Ho-Hum

Pretentious, moi?

shortys94

Mars Volta are great, didnt like their most recent album but their upcoming one sounds good, listened to Goliath on youtube.