What can I say? I have nothing to say.
This is an album review that I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning last Thursday (starting from 11:00 at night) that I had to write for pop music class, which was due over a week ago. No one really cares, but it's here just for the sake of archival purposes. It's also one of the biggest loads of bullshit that I have ever written in my life; next to the Holy Bible. Although, I think it was bullshit that was very well done. Bill Clinton knows how to do that very well.
MR. BUNGLE
California
TRACKS
1. Sweet Charity
2. None of Them Knew They Were Robots
3. Retrovertigo
4. The Air-Conditioned Nightmare
5. Ars Moriendi
6. Pink Cigarette
7. Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy
8. The Holy Filament
9. Vanity Fair
10. Goodbye Sober Day
BAND MEMBERS
Trevor Dunn: bass
Danny Heifetz: percussion
Clinton “Bar” McKinnon: tenor sax, clarinet, keyboards
Mike Patton: vocals
Trey Spruance: guitar, keyboards
PRODUCER
Mr. Bungle
GUEST MUSICIANS
Bill Banovetz - English horn
Sam Bass - cello
Ben Barnes - violin, viola
Henri Ducharme - accordian
Timb Harris - trumpet
Marika Hughes - cello
Eyvind Kang - violin, viola
Carla Kihlstedt - violin, viola
Michael Peloquin - harmonica
David Phillips - pedal steel guitar
Larry Ragent - French horn
Jay Stebley - cymbalom
Aaron Seeman - piano on 6
William Winant - timpani, mallets, tam tam, bass drum
Have your ears ever heard so many different noises at one time? Have you ever found yourself out in the forest, some several hundred miles away from civilization and then just listened to all of the different animals and mysterious beings crackling about in the middle of the night? Mr. Bungle’s California (1999, Warner Bros) is packed with just as many different types of sounds and distortions and numerous other “things” that could just possibly make some sort of a noise. Their equipment/sound/guest musician/anything else list is so diverse and varied, that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint their exact musical genre; which leads me to simply say that they are an experimental band (emphasize on the “mental” portion of the word, if you please) whilst on some sources they are just plainly categorized as “various.” The band itself consists of only five members (Trevor Dunn on bass, Danny Heifetz on percussion, Clinton McKinnon on tenor sax, keyboards and clarinet, the all-too-eccentric Mike Patton on vocals, and Trey Spruance on guitar and keyboards) and a guest musician list whose length is the equivalent of the Olson Twins’ Christmas wish list. The list of [practically] hundreds of different instruments and sounds (including video game sounds, snippets of Frank Sinatra songs and even middle eastern sounds/music) stretches even longer. This band’s literally amazing ability to be able to incorporate so many different genres, sounds, and people into their work is like working with an opus of the population of a small country. Due to Mike Patton’s genius and brilliant experimental nature and mind, along with the band’s insatiable support, talent, and wits, California is generally given a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.
To many, California is considered as Mr. Bungle’s most “approachable” and “normal” album; and to think that the instrument/sound list is perhaps one of the longest (if not, the longest) that I have ever known. It is the change to satirizing 1950s and 1960s pop music, imitating bubbly vocals and beachy tunes, while also incorporating their famous technique of incorporating at least ten more genres into one song. Key tracks such as “The Air-Conditioned Nightmare,” “Ars Moriendi” and “Pink Cigarette” stand out significantly due to the intense originality and boldness in their nature, both lyrically and instrumentally. All songs on this album are compiled together in a roller coaster-like manner, starting out from mild to wickedly insane, to soft and mellow, back up to ferocity – this stretching and twisting of the human psyche ends with an absolutely pounding song, “Goodbye Sober Day,” (not to mention that each song itself goes up and down, back and forth just as much) and leaves the listener exhausted, yet refreshed – maybe even perhaps to commit an act just as intrepid as the album itself.
This record was so diverse – so tantalizing, so shifting in all ways possible, that I myself consider it to be quite beautiful. Just to imagine Mr. Bungle in the studio – Mike Patton emitting his ingenious Frank Zappa/Beethoven-like composer mind to his bandmates and on paper, and then in music form; and what could possibly be going through this band’s mind as they compiled and thought up of which instruments and sounds to incorporate into their music – is just absolutely mind-boggling to me. Measuring up to the rest of Mr. Bungle’s rather small catalog (sadly), it is one of their best. Not as many different genres had ever been used as much in their previous records, yet this one is done just as magnificently. A prime example of this incredible variation of styles and sounds is “Ars Moriendi.” In just 4 minutes and 10 seconds, we go through so many different moods and actions, it is as if one is flashing through a state of undomesticated insanity - like zapping through a time warp or some kind of time/space continuum or being thrown down the side of a mountain that is 27 miles long and hitting every sharp branch, rock and alpaca – the ups and downs, the joy and the mellow; it is just completely overwhelming to everybody who listens to this song.
To be honest, I have no idea what 80% of the lyrics on this album mean. Each line is a different visual than the next and prior. Alas, each visual is sharp and very well described with Patton’s excellent songwriting capability. In songs such as “None of Them Knew They Were Robots,” several verses are strikingly powerful:
From history
The flood of counterfeits released
The black cloud
Reductionism and the beast
Automatons gather all the pieces
So the world may be increased
In simulation jubilation
For the deceased...
Yet, some songs are lighter, but still are just as deviant and are making fun of the cheesiness of classic movies and music genres. For example, “Pink Cigarette” gives us the visual of an old-fashioned ‘50s film noir romance, but the style in which the vocals are sung and the instruments are performed gives it a mockingly humorous taste. The guest musicians were just absolutely critical in this album’s case, in order to achieve such a diverse sound. “The Holy Filament” is actually quite a beautiful song, for it is soothing with the slow melodies and the overlooking piano. It ends as if the listener is drifting away to an eternal, yet peaceful, sleep. Consequently, just one track irks me quite a bit. “Vanity Fair” and its almost nonsensical and immature sound are unnecessary to this almost flawless record.
California is recommended for the true and devout appreciator of oddities and unique hearing sensations. It is a utopia for those who just love to swallow up “weird.” Yet, it has its fair share of more “approachable” songs for the stubborn folks. The appropriate age group that would most likely be akin to this type of music would be older and more mature teens, those who are in their twenties, thirties, and possibly even their forties – just basically to any of the open-minded who truly admire good musicianship and wit. However, to the untrained and sealed-shut mind, this album may get a “WTF?” reaction or a complete shun because none of the sounds and genres may not seem to blend together perfectly at first listen. Overall, anybody who is basically sharp with a good sense of humor and appreciation for all things unique and eclectic would drool over Mr. Bungle.
Christina N. @ 12:31 AM
