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@conscience: I don't believe that being afraid of the pandemic is "bullshit", if that is what you mean. Not wanting to be harmed by covid seems quite reasonable to me. However, I also think it's pretty questionable to demand everybody get the vaccines right now, as they're literally still being tested.
Also, why should we accept more rights for the vaccinated as soon as everybody can get a vaccine shot? Those having already been vaccinated cannot be harmed by those refusing to get their dose. Everybody refusing to get vaccinated are of the opinion that the vaccine might be more dangerous to them than covid and I don't see anything wrong with that.
@punj: I'm not too familiar with the situation in the UK, but your assessment of BoJo's handling of the crisis does not really surprise me.
I'm simply fed up with the part of the German media who sort any criticism of the government under the category "far-right drivel". It's not as simple as that.
That's some solid questioning and deep thinking right there. You either fully support all of the government's policies or you're a conspiracy theorist. There's no gray area. No debate whether a "hard lockdown" is the right answer to the pandemic, no consideration of the debate among scientists regarding that topic. Well I guess if you can do your little media job from home you've got no sympathy for all the people that are going bankrupt right now because they had to close their business and the government in Germany does not support them enough during the lockdown. Much respect!
I really miss Bent's "smoker voice". He used to sound so incredibly intense. Nowadays the vocals sound so smooth, especially on the last album. Is it the mixing? The autotune? Have they just become "better" singers? A mixture of all that? I really don't mind the odd wobbly note, as long as they reocrd songs as devastatingly beautiful as Radiance Freq…
I love Thomas as well, he seems to be somewhere right in the middle between Geb and Kenneth, he can just groove along but he's also got those crazy jazz chops.
I've never felt that MP were stagnating, at least not in terms of their devotion to their craft. Like I said, one does not have to develop musically to continue to make great music. And I do indeed have the impression that MP have been "refining their formula", as you put it. That's a very good expression and perfectly sums up what I was thinking about.
But that's simply my very subjective impression…
Thanks for the interview. But I don't get Bent's "We suck at repeating ourselves" line. MP have been repeating themselves for the last ten years. He probably feels different because for him there is just so much to explore in the heavy psych / prog rock realm, but I really feel the last few MP albums have been variations on a theme, regarding the music. MP have always been a hard rock hippie band at heart, that part of their sound has been present since the very first album. The metal groove riffing, the jangling indie rock guitars, the postman rock parts have come and gone, while the Sabbath has always been strong with the guys. They've only decided to dig deeper and have been able to explore their prog leanings a little further as they've become better musicians over the years. I'm not trying to denigrate the guys, I still love their work. But it simply isn't very surprising to me anymore. That is not necessarily a bad thing. The music has to be good, the style is secondary (if that makes any sense). But the constantly evolving MP is a thing of the past to me. Maybe they'll surprise us in the future with their first reggae/ska album, now that would be something!
By the way, the new album is (as expected) really good!
Thank you both for your insight. I guess playing between 60 and 90 minutes back then was also already pretty taxing because of all the screaming. It's also noticable that in Gent there's hardly any jamming going on, which would be unthinkable nowadays. ThorEgil, would you maybe consider putting the Mezzago show up on Dime? I'm still missing that one.
Thanks a lot! 70 minutes seems extremely short even for 1993. Were they just bugged by their equipment failing them or were there other reasons?
Attention, attention: Incoming dumb pun!
*Image Dreadlock-Bent in 2020, "a little greyer, a little fatter" (some interview from 2016), crooning some old classic*
"There's need to hide! Please stay insiiiiiide!"
*Frantic headbanging ensues*
I'm sorry, I've had that one in my head for days after seeing this thread.
My bad, you were referring to What if… and I thought you were still talking about PTNU. But I'd also disagree with you here, I actually think the album version is ok.
I think I'd give both live versions of PTNU four stars, simply because I adore the song so much. However, I feel that both versions really lack the brass section, and the Amsterdam version is almost too rocky. Still, even when MP are not able to fully replicate their original vision, they leave 99% of all other rock bands in the dust.
Devotional, your write-ups are really excellent, I love the way you contextualise everything and give us the background information on many tracks, and the place MP where at when the shows were taped. You really did your reasearch, it must have been quite exhausting, but it was really worth it. And "poor English"? Kind sir, you must be fishing for compliments here! I only have one glaring mistake to criticise! The album version of Painting the Night Unreal is, as the title says, unreal! A true monster and one of MPs most underrated songs. I love Snah's playing on that one, especially his muted, pristine guitar solo!
Thanks for the insight, Kjelle! You should write a whole book on your time with the band!
My two cents on the Rome gig from 1994:
Home of the Brave: Ignorance might be bliss(ard)to some, but true happiness can only be achieved by fully taking in the sound of Bent's bass, the muscular rumbling of a signal emanating from an Ibanez bass distorted by a Marshall Guv'nor. Holy cow, how I love that sound! That's also what was missing from the Demon Box concerts a few years ago, that earth-shattering peal. Can't really think of a band that tried to rip off that particular sound, but somebody must have at least tried it, it's a sound too good to not steal! To quote Hank Rollins: "Makes you wanna fight and fuck at the same time!"
Giftland: I love the contrast between this and the first song. Had to think of Jimmy Page and his quip on light and shade. It's breathtaking how they can change from loud and noisy to playful and psychedelic in so little time, can't think of a band that could pull that off back in the nineties, can't think of one right now. I also can't believe that they never play this gem.
On My Pillow: Snah's singing is pretty rough here, I sometimes ask myself if they had become bigger if the cared more about pulling off the vocals live as well. I mean, I don’t mind their singing live, it sounds good to me when I’m standing in front of the stage, and the instruments drown out the voices quite often anyway, but maybe it matters more to the general rock audience?
Junior: I Love this song but I’m no big fan of Lars’ rock ‘n’ roll howl here. Did he sing it so he could also have his moment to shine and / or because Bent didn’t want to strain his vocal chords any more?
Another Ugly Tune: The singing is better on this one, and Snah plays a great solo!
Feedtime / Flesh Harrower: I adore the growl of Snah’s guitar! Again, this serves as a great contrast to the more melodic material. That’s also what I’m missing nowadays, the band bludgeoning you for minutes on end!
Nothing to Say: Just great!
Mountain: Nice little psychedelic solo by Snah.
The One… / California Dreaming: Ah yes, pure pop punk perfection. “Waiting…†is simply one of the greatest simple songs ever written, and the electronic version’s drive and strained voices highlight the bittersweet tragedy of the lyrics perfectly.
Plan #1: This one will always be a devastating beauty. Also the only Motorpsycho song with problematic lyrics that I can think of: “And made you a “n****r†in their conception of life� You could probably get away with that thirty years ago, but I highly doubt that Bent would write that line nowadays.
