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Sorry to butt in, but is this forum really the place for this discussion? This is all just copy paste from Facebook threads, rehashed, nothing new (sorry), and I’m sure all of us are “blessed†to have our fb feeds bombed w these sort of “big insights†about the “regressive naive†left etc and must be fed up already. No need for lectures on stuff we all know? And no, this is not an attempt to shut down a discussion (or maybe it is ðŸ˜) and no, this is not an attempt to showcase my moral and intellectual superiority lol (or, maybe it is?😆). Jokes aside, I’m sure it feels current and pregnant, but this is a place to deal w Motorpsycho. Politics aside. Or at least *try* to link it to something MP-related, and not just “personal insights†we’ve all heard a thousand times before. Yes we are polarized, yes there exists fake news, yes everyone should be heard, yes the media is and has always been biased. Independent “free†mediasources w agendas w a laissez faire attitude to “truth†and “facts†are also problematic. Zzz. We all know this, I’m sure most psychonauts also follow the news, even if we’re all convinced that ✨space✨ really is the place. The Tower lyrics that Punj quoted might be a starting point if you want to have a topical MP discussion or dissection. (Arrogant? Moi?) Might be interesting, though I’m not so sure. Sorry again, I enjoy the commitment, and I’m only speaking for myself, but please, not here, not in heaven.✌ï¸
EDIT: If this is a Rush related discussion and breakdown of their lyrics I guess it’s all fine, and I’ll make sure not look up a Rush fanpage, if these exists. They must do. No, not a Rush fan, so I might not understand or appreciate this discussion like I’m sure I would if I was a committed Rushian.
Maybe hippie was the wrong term, maybe Gratful Dead / CSN-ish westcoast pop is closer, though I don’t like it anyhow;) Or the Beach Boys. Or the Doors. And yes, I’m sure we would argue. And I’m sure we’d hug at the end:)
Supernaut: “that certain sound in Kill Some Day, Plan #1, Starmelt and the like? Yup that's what got me hooked originally. This sonic magic, half buried in, half shining because of underproduction. The recordings weren't hammering your face with cinemascopic 90s alternative rock mixing.â€
Word! And of course the ✨melodies✨ which they seemed to be channeling at that time. Like all greats. And yes, Kill Some Day was my gateway drug. More than Jr, Feedtime, Come on in, DB (the song), Plan #1 and well, all of DB actually lol, this very song literally BLEW my teenage mind. (BTW, listened to the throwaway Baby Jesus II the other day on a MP nostalgia binge, even that song is a gem, and even Sanderfinger didn’t ruin it entirely;).
I really feel that the production on those records are close to magic, it’s like abstract painting, you sense the groove, the expression, the emotion, the discord. And the way they had a low singing voice on top of a high one (Trapdoor comes to mind, the moment the bass comes in: goosebumps) is just great, also acoustic guitars w electrics, mm! And the guitar-threading on Blissard.. so so nice. Ref the interview Punj linked to in another thread w Scheps, he was amazed about the production in those early records. Which might be a good sign regarding the new humdinger:)
New great songs post-Geb? Too many to mention, but of course Year Zero, Lacuna, I actually really like Ghost (I sometimes cringe at this particular version of emo-Bent (ref IALC) but this one works for me, the bass and guitar riff-thingy, I’m also a sucker for Painting the Night Unreal, the bass-playing on that song is just mind blowing, I even buy the sheriff line when delivered so convincingly, hehe, though the (underrated!) Phanerothyme is off-topic), the Tower, the Unicorn, Starhammer! That riff, wow, esp live. Hyena is a hit in the Hey Jane vein though I find it a bit too formulaic. But a good song, nice rhythm. The 29th bulletin (somehow reminiscent of Radience Freq.? Though not at all *there*). You Lose (nice drive, nice bridge) though yes, BHBC is a bit lacking in production. A record I rarely listen to due to my stereo situation is Child of the Future, but there are some great songs on that one. LLM is pretty great all over. And loads more.
Anyway, as I mentioned earlier I melted w MP in the 90s so for me those records are absolutely unmatchable from start to finish. They are in my DNA by now. But I do of course love the mature MP. And they are still heavier than heaven.
Lobotomizer to DB is an escalating joy to listen to, somewhat pubescent (esp lyrically), the band (re-)defining and finding themselves in public I guess? (Maiden Voyage is pretty pretty great though, Queen Chinee, How was I to Know, Blueberry: Superior to Lobotomizer!). But somehow the songwriting and production in this era didn’t match the ambition. Yet! Then came the mighty Monster and Bam! Full blown melodic and lyrical maturity. Something must have happened in that transition, not acid (lol;) but *something*, some new awareness, new inspiration. Let’s leave that to future biographers and researchers.
As a sidenote, for me the hardest thing to relate to in the MP discography is the hippie stuff like Go to California, Spin spin blah, and although some of this is evident on the Tower (the Maypole: “solstice ritual†“children singingâ€, “midsummer mayhemâ€, “fairy queensâ€, “a sight beyond compare†I dunno Bent…) they somehow land on the right side of things, maybe due to the changes in the melody. For me!
So much more I wanted to write, so many great comments. And nice to read Ercarnars post, about connecting most w the Kenneth era, that’s exactly how it should be. And all this nostalgia aside, MP has always been about the NOW, luckily.
And yes, as someone said, MP is really a live-band, that’s when everything falls into place, whatever year, whatever constellation. Hoping to see the Drammen gig w elephant 9, should be good!!!
@Shakti â¤ï¸
EDIT: This is long and widing:
Thanks Hans for that beautiful text, and I so agree. Though for me that period would be cc 93-98 (how original…!). The reason is prob because I was hooked as a youth in 93 and developed a crush. On all levels. As you do in your teens. And it’s never left me, a bit sad but also pretty nice. A constant. That you can dip in and out of. And what a constant source of inpiration and comfort MP has been. Even though I don’t agree w all their choices. But I guess everyone who discovers MP at that age connects, be it in 93, 03 or 13. Maybe I don’t follow you into the Helmet-sphere (I was more of a Black Flag/Speed/Noise/Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr guy at that time, and amazed to realize I had a combination of all those in my neighborhood) though I do miss the urgency and intensity, though those years are over.
I actually wanted to start a thread like this, but w the premise: what do the psychonauts who discovered MP in the Kenneth-era feel about those albums? What hooked them on? Maybe I’m going away from the thread, but anyway. It would be great to hear those stories.
For me personally the Kenneth years were a bit of a blank, a lot of hit and miss, too much boneheaded rock (to [mis-] quote Bent in the Lydverket interview about LLM) though there are def highpoints on each record. The uniform design of the Rune universe also somehow doesn’t fit MP, even though it is Kim (I’m nerding out, but as you said, this is a free-space!) I can’t pinpoint the reason, but there’s something there. Though of course Rune is great. And Kim! And truly the right label for MP, just wish the packaging was a bit more … unconventional, like MP. It’s all connected. And I wish those records were a bit more unconventional, ref the triplet you mentioned starting off DB (or TM!), but again, they follow their muse, and we follow them, where they go we go, into old age, maturity, whatever, like it or not. And it’s all pretty great? The concept albums w Storløkken were esp amazing though, the Unicorn, what a record, what a statement. Also emotional. Kudos to Kenneth, also on the church concerts, just great.
Anyway, I guess I miss those years like I miss my youth, and they are part of my youth, I have the records and I’m glad things have moved on, and I’m happy they have moved on. That emotional bipolar urgency I felt connected to in their records 89-98 is gone (though they DO pop up now and again!), and I sometimes miss the directness, melodies, honesty and weirdness. I think this is also a lot due to Geb, and his force, dealing w the Siamese yin-yang couplings Bent & Snah, him really being forceful in his ideas and concepts and also an “original†MP member (a-propos another thread: Geb was the reason for TITS, without Geb I don’t think Tussler will ever reappear? Though we can all hope!) allowing weirdness into MP, a position I can only imagine it would be pretty hard for someone like Kenneth or Thomas to take. Or whoever. Being a new member in MP must really take guts, dealing w the legacy and at the same time developing it.
But – all this said, the Tower is IMO a really GREAT record, the vids out on YouTube, the recent RW, all this gives me great hope of a new URGENCY! And the news about the new record, I can’t wait! (Though Lars Horntvedt? Ok, I’m not going to be negative, but that softness somehow didn’t fit MP IMO, but who knows, it’s 15 years(!) since the Jaga sessions, Lars must have moved on as well). I’m positive! The muse is afloat and in space!
And President Block! Don’t get me started about the vocals!
This became a long text, hope I didn’t kill the thread. â¤ï¸
Kid A, Marc & Supernaut et al: I couldn’t agree more.. Old class and attitude, and the Snah Bent interplay, that’s it.
I guess you can perceive the sun, or the moon, in a thousand different ways, and none of them are fake
Sail on!
Its all rock mythology, which MP is also very aware of (ref their constant references), but maybe not important for everyone or in the bigger picture. But interesting to discuss nonetheless, does it really matter..?
Wise words Kid A👌, and lol bestfriend: Running a McDonalds as a vegetarian, great put!😆 Sums it all up
I agree with Punj, though I always perceived their (90s) comments about work ethics and drugs as a statement against “the music establishmentâ€, the Norwegian alt rock establishment in the 90s being the peculiar decadent party-rock scene in Oslo (the Turbo vs MP dichotomy). IMO they wanted to present themselves as an alternative, in all different ways, which they were (including hard-working and “serious†and as Bent himself recently stated, maybe a bit too self-important). I’m sure they’ve done tons of drugs of various kinds though, way back, just read the lyrics.. and feel the music.. Work-ethics-wise I’m pretty sure they run a tight ship, you can’t have this kind of output without a total commitment and a somewhat clean head. But being drugs-spokesmen, no I don’t think that fits their sensibilities.. way too introverted, private, intense and focused.. better to opt out and let the music speak for itself (again, Seltzer vs Bent). And yes, the 90s were really a different time, esp in Norway.
