I've never really shied away from the fact that I'm a big fan of The Mars Volta (I’ve actually called myself "a fan-man" & "queer for them")...TMV from here on out. I've never really explained how it all came about, but I’d like to, in the self-inflated belief that hearing my bizarre journey with TMV might spark a chord with anyone.
It all began with The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
I'd alway been a fan of ATDI & was saddened when they ceased (for a time). But after the Drive-In, I got Tremulant. "Cut That City" was ATDI becoming something else. "Concertina" is perhaps the first true TMV song. Then "Eunuch Provocateur" played & I heard strange backward masking. I spun it around. "Have Mommie or Daddie ever had to...have Mommie or Daddie ever had to spank you?" then a voice out of some crazy dream sez: "I’m very fond of this..." & goes on to recite The Itsy Bitsy Spider. I felt a flash of satori. I'll just have to keep an ear on this band.
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The first full-blooded TMV came in the form of a strange tale of madness...De-Loused in the Comatorium. It tells the story of Cerpin Taxt, a man who goes into a week-long coma after attempting suicide by intentionally overdosing on a mixture of morphine & rat poison. In his comatose state, Cerpin enters a dream world where he is put through a series of trials by the Tremulants (here we go again, layers on layers & a storybook to boot [included here]), creatures from his own mind that inspire his art. In the end, he comes out of the coma. He feels only fit for the dream world. He once more attempts suicide, this time by jumping off of a bridge, this time succeeding.
The story of Cerpin Taxt alludes to the death of El Paso, Texas artist & close friend of Cedric Bixler-Zavala...Julio Venegas (1972–1996).
I've included the essential "Drunkship" / "Eriatarka" / "Cicatriz Esp" arc & two more.
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Next came Frances the Mute. I've only included "The Widow", "L'Via L'Viasquez", & "Miranda (excerpt)" here to introduce the other female members of the cast. The entire five sides of this opus are the most cohesive musickal work I know. Listen to it in its entirety for maximum enjoyment.
Frances the Mute is about a diary discovered by former TMV bandmate Jeremy Ward while he was employed as a repo man. Ward saw resemblances to his own life. It's mainly about the search for his biological parents. Before Ward's 2003 death from an apparent overdose, he took it upon himself to finish the unknown writer's work. TMV frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala later used the writings as a blueprint of sorts for Frances.
Frances the Mute is Cygnus' mother, L' Via's sister, & Miranda's daughter. Although possibly a deaf-mute, this could be completely metaphorical. If it is in fact literal, she may have been in the care of the Church somehow, or working for them in some capacity. In any case, she was raped by at least one priest while others looked on. Her sister L' Via was a witness to this act. She ran away. Frances bore a baby, Cygnus, who it appears was taken away from her & most likely raised in a Church-run orphanage. It seems that Frances fought the Church on this, trying to protect her baby from them, vowing they would not take him. They did. She may have threatened to go to the secular authorities with her story as a means of blackmailing them into giving her Cygnus. It appears she was killed to silence her.
Vismund Cygnus is a twenty-five year old, HIV positive, IV drug-addicted prostitute. He seems to have some deep guilt for being born male. His hatred of himself combined with his male aggression lead him to rape & murder. Cygnus takes his revenge through raping & infecting (thus effectively murdering) 25 people, becoming the very thing he most fears & despises in other men.
One of Cygnus' sexual liasons is The Widow.
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Amputechture...Cedric sez. "I love the way that Rod Serling's 1970s series Night Gallery had that common thread, that it was a gallery & every painting told a different story. I guess I'd like that to be true of this album, too. The subject matter is all different, but the song do all come together in a strange way. Every song would be a different episode that kind of relates in the way that Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 film 'Magnolia' has all these different characters who all come back together in the end."
This one blasts off with a bang, let's listen to the Vs..."Vicarious Atonement" / "Vermicide" / "Viscera Eyes". "Vermicide" is such a perfect capsule that the only minor minor complaint I've ever had was that it is much too short for a TMV song...only 4'15".
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The Bedlam in Goliath...As origin stories go, this one's a doozy. While on tour, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez bought The Soothsayer, an antique talking Ouija-style board at a Jerusalem curio shop. The band used the board as a game, part of its after-show wind-down ritual. Then, according to Omar, things got strange.
Through the board, certain spirits started visiting night after night. Their communications partially inspired the lyrics & sounds TMV developed for Bedlam.
When the band went into the studio to record, chaos ensued. Rodriguez-Lopez says the messages coming through the Soothsayer board got scary. The studio flooded. There were a series of equipment malfunctions. Fearing the spirits were behind the problems, Rodriguez-Lopez says he broke & buried the board so the group could finish the album. It sounds preposterous, but spend some time with The Bedlam in Goliath. The paranormal visitations begin to seem almost plausible.
For the the Mars Landing compilation I've chosen "Agadez" & "Conjugal Burns".
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Octahedron...Similar to the band's third studio album, Amputechture, the album does not contain a single unifying narrative. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala notes that the album is "not really" a concept album: "I thought it was going to be but never really got around to writing about anything in particular. Just a lot of instant song composing & regular themes that I wouldn't even want to elaborate on (kidnappings; vanishings; 'what if' scenarios about how to get Republicans out of the White House if they'd got in."
I decided to drag out the "EVIL" here: "Since We’ve Been Wrong" / "With Twilight as My Guide" / "Luciform".
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Noctourniquet is a concept album centering on a character based on the mythical Greek figure Hyacinthus & the English nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy. The main character lives under The Whip Hand. His mother is The Malkin Jewel (her local stripper nom de pole). She loves to leave our poor boy alone at night while she strips. She sarcastically calls him Lapochka (li'l dear) & at the same time scares him with tales of the boogeyman Moloch.
I posted my favorites...The Malkin Jewel / Lapochka before here.
I’m including "Empty Vessels", "Imago", & "Vermalady".
With Twilight as My Guide
Drunkship of Lanterns
Eriatarka
Cicatriz Esp
Miranda (excerpt)
Vicarious Atonement
Ambuletz
Imago
Vermicide
The Widow
Since We’ve Been Wrong
Vermalady
Conjugal Burns
Televators
Viscera Eyes
L'Via L'Viasquez
Agadez
Empty Vessels
Luciforms
Enjoy,
NØ
Thanks for this. I've asked several friends to make a fitting comp of this band but several friends suck.
ReplyDeleteWell, everybody sucks, just differently. Hope this is a good mixture. I know it's long (ish), but TMV like to go on some. One of their finer points.
DeleteI'm gonna take the plunge into TMV with this comp... Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWonderful summary of TMV, one of my personal favorite sonic experiences ever, De-Loused is . Your compilation is a perfect jumping off point for the uninitiated. Great stuff! Thank you.
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