Not feeling Pandemonium cd

[JSTHERACON]

I listened to it once and thought Bucket had some alright parts but I can\'t reccomend this to Bucket collectors. I think the majority will be sort of disappointed. Although it isn\'t a Buckethead release per se  it does say that on the cover. And while I appreciate the effort put into releasing this,I can\'t help but think this was done on a off day during Lord of The Rings press junkits. I think the reason this is selling is because of Viggo. But the truth is it lacks energy for spoken word fans and to me you would be better to get Saul Williams or The Last Poets or Gil Scott Heron which has not spoken word but great melodies and singing to it.

I got to say PASS to people thinking about buying this.
It seems like it was all phoned in on a off day for the Hobbits and Aragon. It\'s a recording but  he really needs to boost the energy. He might get inspired from listening to The Last Poets recordings.  He has good prose but I just sense that it\'s a off day in his Acting day.

The winner of the week is Eyvind Kang-Virginal Co-ordinates

I can only be honest with my feedback. And here is a huge piece of Honesty. Viggo would not be getting praise for this lp if he wasn\'t in a box office typhoon cultural explosion of a movie. That isn\'t to say he isn\'t talented in the spoken word. It\'s just it lacks energy to grab the listener. Some tracks are clearly filler on here like "Half fling" im not complaining what I paid for, I\'m just saying if you are gonna go into Spoken Word you are gonna have to step your game/energy up.

Travis, your rhodes part on here was cool as always.

But take away Aragon and you have a eh spoken word album.  My advice is get the Corn Bugs-Brain Circus instead it has more Bucket and a sense of funny storytelling from ChopTops.

[me_again]

My advice is get the Corn Bugs-Brain Circus instead it has more Bucket and a sense of funny storytelling from ChopTops.

Apples and Oranges JSTHERACON

I\'m sure Viggo is well aware that a lot of people go to his art shows, poetry readings and buy his CD\'s based on the success of LOTR. But if one or two of those people get turned onto a form of art that they haven\'t heard or seen before, then all the better. Could inspire them to seek out other spoken word artists like you mentioned. Just getting people interested in that sort of work in this day and age of *electronic* entertainment is extremely hard.

I think PFA was far more experimental (and yah, a bit weird in parts) than Recent Forgeries. I only wish I could purchase One Man\'s Meat and One Less Thing to Worry About, to hear more of his work.

In the meantime, I am one of those people have been rejuvinated into seeking out and supporting more of the local poetry readings. Who needs crappy "reality tv" when you can sit down with a nice cold Canadian beer  and listen to some wicked slam poetry.

 

[me_again]

I got to say PASS to people thinking about buying this.

Actually, I think this is what bugged me.    You could justify your opinion by saying - Those who are looking for a hard-core Buckethead fix, may not like this CD. Those looking to hear what\'s new in Viggo (and company\'s) artistic talents, may.

I noticed too, that Bucketheads name is very prominent on the cover of the CD. Maybe that had to do with the fact that Viggo is huge fan of BH and wanted to make sure he was given credit for his part.

[bhead51]

With all due respect, I highly disagree.  There\'s only really 2 tracks that don\'t have a distinct contribution from Buckethead.  Buckethead doesn\'t dominate this album, he fits in, seamlessly in my opinion.  His use of soft chords and riff-rock are awesome, and his use of feedback is absolutely amazing on this album.  I highly recommend this album to any Buckethead fan out there, as it is one of my favorite Buckethead albums.

It\'s not accurate to say this is mostly a spoken word album.  There\'s spoken word on 6 of the 13 tracks, and only tracks 02, 03, & 09 are really heavy on the spoken word.  And as for the spoken word, it\'s not meant to be "energetic," the monotone delivery is expressive of disillusion with the state of affairs in politics and culture.

Additionally, I\'d like to mention that Buckethead\'s contribution to this album is very distinct.  His soft chords and rock elements fit in nicely, and his use of feedback is awesome on this album.  Of course I respect differing opinions, but for me this is one of my favorite Buckethead albums; this isn\'t for those "looking for a hardcore-core Buckethead fix" in the sense that it isn\'t for those avoiding an ambient and experimental album or constantly streaming guitar.

My favorite Buckethead albums would be:
1. Praxis - Transmutations
2. Buckethead - Monsters & Robots
3. Buckethead - Electric Tears
4. Buckethead - Colma
5. Cobra Strike - 13th Scroll
6. Buckethead & Viggo - Pandemoniumfromamerica

[me_again]

Nicely said bhead51

[gkg]

bhead51 i totally agree and am glad to see someone else feeling the same.  what buckethead did here is become part of an ensemble and as with a classical musician in an ensemble he is not supposed to be dominating the score.  no one is.  this disc doesn\'t have a bunch of solo riffs for people to sail into - it\'s about a collective expression.  eccentrically and beautifully crafted.

[JSTHERACON]

And you are seriously in denial to say that being a actor isnt a serious factor in this.

And while half of it is spoken word and part of it is instrumental. It does seem like it was phoned in.
That\'s just my view.  But you know what? I bet you I am closer on target than you think. Naturally Buckethead\'s contribution stands out on this release.

And I really think there are lot of poetry/art albums out there that are alot more cohesive than this.  But the reason they won\'t get checked is pretty obvious because they aren\'t Aragon.

And while you may disagree, I still have to point out the obvious of this album. Putting Elijah Wood and the Hobbits on this album states my case quite nicely.

I believe this album was done on an off day during the LOTR/Peter Jackson press junkits. I could be wrong but I don\'t think I am.

And it doesn\'t really impress me that someone praises Chomsky. That\'s similar to someone saying the "da Vinci Code" book is a hot read.



I think when Actors do projects, they should take their time with it. I still think the delivery of it does need to be stepped up.  That\'s my view on it.  I think it is kind of obvious  recording a album in the middle of LOTR  storm is going to deplete it alot of the energy from it. I don\'t buy that disillusionmenf of America theory,bhead51.  I think rating this number 6 is completely over exaggeration of it\'s merit. I look at as a afterthought during Lord of the Rings hysteria.


I won\'t get into the obvious spoken word factor of black vs. White either. But I think theres a reason why Jack Kerouac/Allan Ginsberg blew up and Umar Bin Hassan didn\'t. But then thats a whole other wound no one wants to open up that I have observed in America in particular.

And that really isn\'t anything that far fetched what Im saying.
Because most people will run to a white edgy poet faster than a controversial black one.

[Megan]

JSTHERACON you got spunk as Travis said once- say your truth! I say both Brain Circus and pandemoniumfromamerica sound good and have alot to say each in their own way and won\'t set a body back that far compared to industry music so the risk is pretty low although sorry to hear it didn\'t work out for you JSTHERACON maybe just give it away?

Megan

[gkg]

indeed, thank you JSTHERACON for stating your truth - sad that it\'s something that needs to be congratulated in this society - then again there are a lot of things wrong with society in general.  you cover a WHOLE lot of ground in one block - too much to really apply it all to the reaction to one CD.  i think the CD may have tapped a wellspring of issues you feel strongly about.  not a bad feat for something you were unimpressed by.  

i never said the release of it had nothing to do with viggo et al being actors, though from what i understand he is genuinely not into that.  viggo did poetry, photography and painting decades ago.  exene (whose work i very much respect) put him into the punk scene as well - so i think this is less a check cashing/phone in thing then you see it as.  then again i could be deluded by his voice and the viceral imagry of his work.  

most curious to me is how very personally you seem to take it all.

white has dominated society for generations - it isn\'t going to change overnight.  i agree that people of all races have taken a back seat, not just in the US, to white, just as gay has always taken a back seat to straight.  ginsberg\'s homosexuality made it harder for him than other whites.

let me tell you something funny.  i\'m white, US decent, female = but i didn\'t come to live in the US until i was 6.  we moved to a place just outside of gary indiana - and i got the sh*t kicked out of me for weeks until my father taught me how to fight, because i was white and could not speak english - my parents had worried more about my fitting in in brasil than here.  all the other kids in my class were black.  when i finally hit back - the bully bitch leading the ring became my closest friend and started teaching me english.   not the english my parents were racing to teach me discovering i was held back for being "slow" but the street english i needed to survive.

sorry for the ramble - but before you get on your horse about who does what for what reason, examine your own attack on the motives of the people who made the cd - examine your own reaction to it.  and to what i said.

kudos for standing up - i\'d love to  understand what made you so angry.

[gkg]

travis your filter cracks me up = pregnant dog?  bully b*tch...

[Megan]

oh wow JSTHERACON I didn\'t see your second post until now and I am with you on how the da vinci code sucked stinky rotten eggs- society sucks too in a lot of ways as you rant but what are we supposed to do about it?  maybe like start a thread about the unfamed poet you mention- and fame sucks too (Buckethead is a ninja genius about it)

by the way pfa is so durn cheap I bet fame subsidized it-

[Travis]

Thank you all for the quality of your discussion, this is just the discourse Viggo would have hoped for. The beauty of Impressionism is how it can tap into the part of the brain where dreams stay yet based enough on reality to say something about the world we live in.

That\'s Viggo on the Rhoades and the acoustic piano, I only played some percussion and Moog on the record.

Sorry about the filter, it came pre-loaded with "helpful" substitutions, I\'ll go tweak it a bit.

[bhead51]

JSTHERACON,

First of all, let me clarify my thoughts on celebrity status as a factor, which I hadn\'t touched upon myself until now. The consideration of celebrity status given the context of the release seems anecdotal.  This is an underground project of experimental music very far from the mainstream, sold on the Internet only, with no advertising and practically no exposure from the music media.  Thus I imagine very few purchasers are superficial fans who give the album irrational praise because Viggo is Aragon.  

Furthermore, I highly doubt that putting Elijah Wood etc. on here was a marketing ploy because this isn\'t even close to a mainstream release.  If Viggo wanted to make money, he could\'ve gone the easy way, it\'s not that hard for an even quasi-talented musician with an established fan-base and sexy looks to sell out.  More likely is that he invited them over to record after making friends with them on the LOTR set.

As for the spoken word thing, you might think Chomsky sucks, however those who perceive society along the lines of Chomsky, Zinn, etc. have a disillusioned feeling about the state of human affairs.  Personally, I think Chomsky is brilliant and Viggo Mortenson\'s spoken word (much of it covers of poets, anyways) both in style and content powerfully personifies the disillusionment experienced by many about societal and global corruption.  Whether or not you agree with Chomsky\'s perspective is matter of political debate and of no significance to the point at hand.

[me_again]

 And as for the spoken word, it\'s not meant to be "energetic," the monotone delivery is expressive of disillusion with the state of affairs in politics and culture.

A much lighter question here........... Has anyone here heard Viggo perform his stuff live? I have heard that he is quite monotone when he speaks. Actually, when you hear him in interviews, he\'s a bit mumbly, but when you really listen to what he is saying, it\'s all so very well thought out.

His tone on PFA does definitely suit  Back to Babylon and some of the other tracks. Maybe that\'s his natural "spoken word" performing style (?)

Perhaps when he\'s reading his poetry, he\'s not trying to act ... maybe he\'s expressing his real self.

And regarding all the discussion that has come from this subject - I thought PFA was a CD of Viggos words and some experimental sounds put together by a group of his friends. I knew what I was buying, and I wasn\'t dissappointed with what I got.

But maybe that\'s just too simplistic.

[Megan]

As for the spoken word thing, you might think Chomsky sucks,

actually jstheracon didn\'t say Chomsky sucked, I took the opportunity to say the Da Vinci Code sucked because I didn\'t like it and felt set up by all the hype.  Sorry for any confusion.  For the record here\'s what jstheracon said:

"And it doesn\'t really impress me that someone praises Chomsky. That\'s similar to someone saying the "da Vinci Code" book is a hot read."

Actually rather than a diss of Chomsky I saw this as more of a fame related analysis, about how easy it is to jump uncritically on bandwagons, that kind of thing.  Using the popular Chomsky and the Da Vinci Code as examples.  But it is just as easy to jump on a negative bandwagon as a positive one.

I will say that contrary to jstheracon\'s implication I do not think Viggo jumped on a bandwagon around Chomsky.  My sense is that he made his own critical assessment of Chomsky\'s work and felt strongly enough about it to bring attention to it like he did.  bhead51 it is clear on the Chomsky thread that you have made your own critical assessment of Chomsky\'s work as well.  

Megan