― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Saturday, 30 April 2005 21:55 (nineteen years ago) link
But all this seemed to mean was smoothing away the most jarring, spastic edges in their music, incorporate more 'pop' conventional funk rhythms & plain verse-chorus-verse structures. Even the best tracks like the one with Niobe on just didn't go anywhere, compared to their usual ever-shifting tunes.
As for previous work there are vocals on - Actionist Respoke, Doit, Die Seele Von Brian Wilson, Cache Coeur Naif, Schnick-schnack for starters.
― fandango (fandango), Saturday, 30 April 2005 22:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― fandango (fandango), Saturday, 30 April 2005 22:23 (nineteen years ago) link
― fandango (fandango), Saturday, 30 April 2005 23:20 (nineteen years ago) link
Or to put it another way, compare/contrast with Delay's Luomo project, which went for the sensuous feel of house first and only later added the strong 4/4 whomp. Mouse on Mars go straight for the whomp but don't seem too concerned with or even aware of how the music should feel. I'm not sure if this makes the album bad or just odd; it's one of those albums which I feel quite conflicted about while listening to it.
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 1 May 2005 01:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Brad Laner (Brad Laner), Sunday, 1 May 2005 02:17 (nineteen years ago) link
Fandango and Tim pretty much nail what falters with the new record. Their ability to shift genres was one of the things that drew me to them, but what kept me coming back was the way they always maintained that [x] element that makes them sound like them. Radical Connector sounds like MoM doing pastiche, for the first time in their career, rather than really inhabiting a genre.
Brad: Yes, it is honestly my opinion that this was the worst direction they could have gone in. I like it O.K., but it just seemed like a very boring thing to do in 2004 -- as if their pandering to the pitchfork set who just discovered that it's okay to like pop music. I was disappointed because I think those people are dense and I think one of my favorite groups can do better than them. Something folkier would have been great, despite any trends, because the folk elements in Niun Niggung and Idiology were interesting and distinctly their own -- which realy illustrates how they used to lead trends but fell behind with the last album.
But I guess you have your own opinion about what works for them, even if you're a dick about it.
― Sonny, Ah!!1 (Sonny A.), Monday, 2 May 2005 04:19 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 2 May 2005 05:47 (nineteen years ago) link
i also am one who feels this is their worst record, and feel "conflicted" listening to it for some unapparent reason. I can say that live, they had their vocalist/drummer centre stage pounding away, smiling, and i was just hankering for more knob twiddling and scattered beats/waves/whatever from the other dude. after idiology i bought radical connector without a thought, and i've not listened to it since. the new single (i heard after buying) i find extremely annoying. but it's only an opinion (personal reasons are unavoidable!) brad, and i dig that any of their albums can and are favourites to different people.
saying that, i'll take Instrumentals over anything else they've done.
― Aaron Ef. (aaron ef.), Monday, 2 May 2005 15:18 (nineteen years ago) link
-- Brad Laner (b...), April 30th, 2005.
Tne minute I first heard a MoM track I thought myself a fan cos I just loved the music. After that I several albums and they were all awesome, especially Idiology. When I heard RC it was the kind of gentle letdown that comes from a good release following back-to-back mindblowing albums. It was like playing Mortal Kombat III for the first time, thinking "Yes, this is cool, but sweet Jesus on a bicycle MK II was so much better than MK I - and so much better than the new stuff.
I like RC but I don't listen to it much anymore. If it wasn't MoM i probably wouldn't give it much of a chance anyways.
― Adam Bruneau (oliver8bit), Monday, 2 May 2005 15:38 (nineteen years ago) link
I thought it was fun, especially so to hear AGF in hip-hop producer mode even if it does (perhaps, inevitably) end up coming out a little tigerbeat6-ish.
― fandango (fandango), Monday, 2 May 2005 16:33 (nineteen years ago) link
with Connector they backgrounded the densely detailed squirky pure electronics that occupied the soloist position on previous records, and put all the detail work into the manipulation & editing of the vocals.
vocals are demanding, they have to be much louder than anything else in the mix to sound right, and when the focus is on them it kind of keeps the music from disruptively shifting around as much as earlier MoM -- Connector is much more straightforward. For me, the vocals are simply not to my taste & I miss the left turns; that's my problem. The jam at the end of "Spaceship" really grew on me & I'm still buying their next record on sight.
― milton parker (Jon L), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:19 (nineteen years ago) link
― T. Weiss (Timmy), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:45 (eighteen years ago) link
― Josh (Josh), Thursday, 18 August 2005 17:17 (eighteen years ago) link
― T. Weiss (Timmy), Friday, 19 August 2005 20:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alexander (Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith), Friday, 19 August 2005 21:33 (eighteen years ago) link
These guys were fantastic tonight at O2 London. So fun..
― mmmm, Sunday, 27 April 2008 23:58 (sixteen years ago) link
Ugh seriously is this band ever going to tour the US again? The last time they played, Ratatat and Junior Boys were opening for them
― mink della reese (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 23 March 2011 17:42 (thirteen years ago) link
and when are they going to release new material? any idea what they're up to??
― frogbs, Wednesday, 23 March 2011 18:36 (thirteen years ago) link
man, autoditacker really needed some time to marinate with me. listened to it tonight and i have to say it's probably as good as the first two.
― am I diversified? (blank), Sunday, 17 July 2011 06:40 (twelve years ago) link
THERE IS A NEW ALBUM
― I have one thing to say: "Roxanne Shanté" (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 13 February 2012 19:46 (twelve years ago) link
and it's out there..
― Algerian Goalkeeper, Saturday, 3 November 2012 11:01 (eleven years ago) link
well its a mini-lp
― Algerian Goalkeeper, Saturday, 3 November 2012 11:03 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.residentadvisor.net/images/news/2012/mouse-on-mars-wow.jpg
― Algerian Goalkeeper, Saturday, 3 November 2012 11:05 (eleven years ago) link
I wish I'd been here in 2002 when the real discussions were taking place about this group. They've been my favorite for many years now, I consider them to be far and away the most important and best act going. There are very few people who understand this!!!
Parastrophics is my favorite album from this year, even if it isn't as good as the old days (Autoditacker, Idiology).
I'm going to read through this whole thread and regret not being here to say, "YES, I AGREE!"
― dojo, Sunday, 4 November 2012 17:48 (eleven years ago) link
Looking forward to the "mini-LP."
Yo wait... guys... the mini-LP isn't the "new album." That's Parastrophics. It's a full length and it's astoundingly brilliant. Their best album since Idiology, or Radical Connector for people who came to them through that.
As for me, I love absolutely everything they've done from Yamo to Noisemachinetapes to Von Sudenfed to Microstoria+Lithops. Not sure if I'm missing anything there. Maybe GOFLEX.
I don't know if it's that my taste is just on a higher level than most, or if the band is just well tuned to my individual sound-interests. Personally I think time will show, and in 20 or 30 years it will be a lot easier to tell that these guys were doing something completely unique. Kind of like how Radiohead fans find out about CAN and realize the truth. About as contemporary as it can get, on some of their prior releases and at times on Parastrophics. Completely different strata.
― dojo, Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:00 (eleven years ago) link
Lol, dojo, I love Mouse on Mars and it's great to see someone so passionate about them, but I don't know if it's that my taste is just on a higher level than most is a statement likely to get you crucified on ilx.
― emil.y, Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:11 (eleven years ago) link
hahaha guess I should give parastrophics another listen since it didn't do much for me and now I'm a little worried about my taste levels!
I'm a pretty huge fan of their stuff up to idiology but that one never fully clicked despite my trying really REALLY hard to like it. kinda gave up after that.
― original bgm, Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:26 (eleven years ago) link
^ same here. my taste level confirms that the pinnacles of Autoditacker and Glam have yet to be matched.
― nerve_pylon, Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:35 (eleven years ago) link
Autoditacker is their best, Glam is slightly overrated if you really understand why MoM are the BOMB.
Being crucified is my specialty. Haha. I've seen repeatedly people who supposedly love electronic music but always go completely silent when MoM is mentioned. I have a habit of letting people hate me. It's for their own good, right?
Idiology is I think their most "important" album. It's the one where they push their aesthetic to its furthest limit. Not in terms of noise, but in terms of concept. They manage to create hyper-futuristic pop music while also having a certain... Schoenbergian purity... unity of structure and sound. It's utterly new. Perhaps just as new to the "song" form as Schoenberg was to the classical form back in the day. They deconstruct every level of the sound object world... from the concept-sound to the sound-sound to the production-sound to the melody-sound. LOL. They reduce pop music to an avant-garde art form with just as much validity as any given Beethoven or Mozart. The possibilities become endless.
Not only this but their melodic sense is always really enjoyable, their live show is perhaps the ONLY one which manages to blend live instruments and experimental electronics properly, and their philosophical interest adds a further dimension to the sound.
― dojo, Sunday, 4 November 2012 18:40 (eleven years ago) link
MoM's new internet only label, 'Recommended Records' -- have they no shame?
I always knew that green sock on the cover of their 'Diskdusk' single was a Henry Cow reference
http://www.mouseonmars.com/rr/
― Milton Parker, Thursday, 17 January 2013 19:06 (eleven years ago) link
so far it's germanic beat scene shit that sounds amazing but is a little stiff, IDM-y, and scattered for me...so, very MoM.
― keef qua keef (Jordan), Thursday, 17 January 2013 19:46 (eleven years ago) link
So far "deef" (release rr-001) is alternating Stock, Hausen and Walkman-isms with icily well-produced 2003-style IDM which can't quite decide whether to be melodic or glitchy, but it's possible this post says more about my lack of more recent/relevant reference points than deef
anyway, definitely hoping to keep track of this new netlabel project thing, thanks!
― a panda, Malmö (a passing spacecadet), Thursday, 17 January 2013 19:59 (eleven years ago) link
Ha, cheeky bastards. Loving Parastrophics now I've actually got around to hearing it, btw.
― emil.y, Thursday, 17 January 2013 20:00 (eleven years ago) link
Has anyone seen them live this tour? I caught them last night and it was stellar.
― ferreira rocher (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 5 March 2013 15:35 (eleven years ago) link
I really wish I could replace all the album versions w/ recordings of what they did live last night
― ferreira rocher (Stevie D(eux)), Tuesday, 5 March 2013 15:36 (eleven years ago) link
Saw them last week... Was low keyed and frentic, and surprisingly fun to watch despite being pared down to its "classic" set-up (ie. no Dodo the drummer), and selecting only 2012 tracks.
― peepee, Tuesday, 5 March 2013 16:01 (eleven years ago) link
ugh i missed them
― mimosa pudica (clouds), Tuesday, 5 March 2013 23:10 (eleven years ago) link
me too :(
― Gunoka Cuntles (Matt P), Tuesday, 5 March 2013 23:41 (eleven years ago) link
Ya I really wish they'd played more old stuff (or any at all tbh) but on the flipside it makes me wanna relisten to WOW
― ferreira rocher (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 00:37 (eleven years ago) link
this is adorable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGUVbkwWL_0
― festival culture (Jordan), Friday, 25 October 2013 18:22 (ten years ago) link
"give an artist 10 minutes in the studio and see what they come up with" sounds so much more appealing than the reality of "give an artist 10 minutes to just noodle and jam and fart out whatever they can for 10 long minutes"
― Stevie D(eux), Saturday, 26 October 2013 03:57 (ten years ago) link
It's all true!
http://www.iflscience.com/space/there-really-giant-mouse-mars-0
― Tuomas, Wednesday, 25 November 2015 20:50 (eight years ago) link
new album tomorrow guys
― frogbs, Thursday, 12 April 2018 03:21 (six years ago) link
big fan of the first three but for me more mouse on meh at this point
― the late great, Thursday, 12 April 2018 03:30 (six years ago) link
what!!!
― the masseduction of lauryn hill (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 12 April 2018 03:37 (six years ago) link
Ideology and audio tracker are their peaks
― Droni Mitchell (Ross), Thursday, 12 April 2018 04:28 (six years ago) link
Fuck Varcharz was really good even tho the 20 glitch tracks at the end were a bit wtf
― Droni Mitchell (Ross), Thursday, 12 April 2018 04:30 (six years ago) link
GLAM
― startled macropod (MatthewK), Thursday, 12 April 2018 04:42 (six years ago) link