Honestly the very first Mars Volta show I saw w/ a female bassist, Ikey & Jon is still among the best show I've seen. It was basically King Crimson jamming On The Corner in a small club blowing hardcore kids minds. I never really listened to them on record but that show was awesome.
― Oblique Strategies, Friday, 25 January 2013 00:21 (eleven years ago) link
really sad, they were great until around 09 or so, but i think they could've made another great record and kept touring until they dropped. i wrote about the first time i saw them: http://www.splicetoday.com/music/the-mars-volta-r-i-p/
― you are my capitalism (spazzmatazz), Monday, 28 January 2013 17:24 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.llss.tv/bosnianrainbows.html
― Defund Phil Collins (stevie), Sunday, 20 October 2013 09:09 (ten years ago) link
Interesting piece here: Cedric on why he stopped smoking pot.
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 17:06 (eight years ago) link
answer: "i became a scientologist"
― Cory Sklar, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 17:08 (eight years ago) link
dunno if its upthread but there's a podcast from the last year where cedric talks about the last ATDI usa tour. one of their friends in el paso had terminal cancer and was about to die, so he gave the band and their crew his "death stash" - trunks full of heavy duty opiates. sorta strange considering they still performed like they were made of 100% crack cocaine
― flappy bird, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:18 (eight years ago) link
this explains a LOT. i was checking out some of their later albums and i couldn't believe how godawful they sounded. who listens to that mess?
― scott seward, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:18 (eight years ago) link
the actual last atdi tour was a dumb reunion where they played coachella and sucked real bad and omar barely moved bcuz his mom just died and cedric was a new scientologist so he was being weird.
― Cory Sklar, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:20 (eight years ago) link
i saw them in 2003 or something, cedric's hair was super crazy, it was post-afro when he just let it grow and he was just this shrieking ball of hair onstage, it was very beautiful
― marcos, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:25 (eight years ago) link
maybe kind of like this but in my memory it was much longer
http://clubpix.kingsnake.com/data/8248MarsVolta_0254-med.JPG
― marcos, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:26 (eight years ago) link
https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-mars-volta-announces-18-lp-box-set-unreleased-material-included/
full disclosure: I wrote the liner notes for this.
― Ray Cooney as "Crotch" (stevie), Friday, 5 March 2021 08:17 (three years ago) link
Can you explain how they got 18 LPs out of it? They only had six studio albums, five of which would be double LP length, then there's the EP, then an album of outtakes...that only adds up to 13 pieces of vinyl to me.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 5 March 2021 12:40 (three years ago) link
I've not seen a finished copy yet so I'm not sure, but Deloused was 2LP, Frances The Mute was 3LP (last LP 1-sided with etching on flip side), Amputechture was 2LP, Bedlam was 2LP, Octahedron was 2LP and Noctourniquet was 2LP, so that's 13 LPs, plus one disk for the EP, plus two for Landscape Tantrums, the unreleased first take of Deloused, plus a disk each for Plague and Eunuch, so I think that's how they get to 18LP.
― incredible pant century (stevie), Friday, 5 March 2021 13:30 (three years ago) link
Frances The Mute was 3LP (last LP 1-sided with etching on flip side)
This is interesting to me, because it sounds like they may have added the song "Frances the Mute" to the album proper. Not "spend $500 on a vinyl box set when I don't even own a turntable" interesting, but interesting nonetheless. Congrats on the liner note gig, too, btw. I'd like to write more liner notes myself.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 5 March 2021 13:40 (three years ago) link
Thanks - I've been doing more and more sleevenotes during lockdown, and they're a lot of fun. The artists actually want to get the stories behind their work on the record, and enjoy the fact they have final word on what reaches the page (and I'm fine with that, tbh), though there isn't a single one of them that hasn't bulldozed through every deadline in sight as the artists prevaricate over the placement of every punctuation mark (and I'm fine with that too, tbh, as I appreciate that level of exactitude).
― incredible pant century (stevie), Friday, 5 March 2021 13:44 (three years ago) link
would buy a TMV book if you fancy expanding it
― imago, Friday, 5 March 2021 14:02 (three years ago) link
watch this space...
― incredible pant century (stevie), Friday, 5 March 2021 14:05 (three years ago) link
I'm surprised there's never been a TMV book. There's absolutely a story there, and Cedric and Omar are great interview subjects (I've talked to them together once, and interviewed Omar solo once after that).
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 5 March 2021 14:12 (three years ago) link
Oh, it's definitely coming [he said, obliquely!]
― incredible pant century (stevie), Friday, 5 March 2021 17:34 (three years ago) link
!
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 5 March 2021 17:35 (three years ago) link
👀👀👀👀👀👀
― imago, Friday, 5 March 2021 17:44 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvsHmMsoTp4
classic
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Monday, 8 November 2021 22:57 (two years ago) link
I've been on a TMV kick lately after years of not listening to them. I feel like it's the only music that can overcome the craziness at my workplace these days.
― Dinsdale, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 20:50 (two years ago) link
amputechture is their best album y/y?
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:09 (two years ago) link
I saw them live once in 2005 behind ... I don't know the name of the album, but I do remember that they absolutely killed it. Jon Theodore was on drums.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:13 (two years ago) link
i wish i had ever seen them live
as much as i love theodore i think thomas pridgen was their best drummer, which, they’re both monsters
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:26 (two years ago) link
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:09 (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
cmon you know this to be untrue
a better question is whether it's their second best album, which I'd say it is
― imago, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:28 (two years ago) link
i saw them live a bunch (even with og bassist eva! she plays with cher now) they were super dope at first and pretty ok until JT left and they kind of lost the plot. pridgen never sounded right. the first one is the best, amp is next, the rest is whatever.
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 21:29 (two years ago) link
There's kind of a slow and subtle decline in quality across the first three albums. The debut is amazing, the follow-up is great (especially once you tack the title song back on), Amputechture is good but they're clearly trying to shake people off. The next two albums I find pretty hard to like, but Noctourniquet is surprisingly strong. I saw them in 2005 also, and they were amazing. I've talked about that show on ILM plenty of times - legendary salsa pianist Larry Harlow (who died this year) came out for a while.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 22:00 (two years ago) link
i saw them open for system of a down. they played 2 songs in 45 minutes and i think i fell asleep.
would definitely give them another chance now though
― DT, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 22:51 (two years ago) link
I never saw Mars Volta, but I saw ATDI open for The Get-Up Kids in front of maybe 100 people in the middle of an interior courtyard in a student union and they were fan-fucking-tastic.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 9 November 2021 22:59 (two years ago) link
I've got the first track from Frances the Mute in my iTunes, and after each listen, I feel like I've heard a triple album from them, I'm sated.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 23:27 (two years ago) link
I became a fan around Octahedron (bought the CD) or maybe Bedlam in Goliath idk. The former had slightly more concise songs IIRC which I appreciated.
― DT, Tuesday, 9 November 2021 23:30 (two years ago) link
Really been feeling the epic half-hour suite off Frances recently, their concentration span and ability to build an idea, detour from it and then return at the perfect moment is truly impressive.
― thing that i used to think was cool but now i just don't have time for (stevie), Wednesday, 10 November 2021 08:44 (two years ago) link
I'm a big fan of Bedlam
― Dinsdale, Wednesday, 10 November 2021 20:00 (two years ago) link
new single
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 04:24 (two years ago) link
New song is only about 5 minutes long but the video is 11 minutes and worth watching all the way through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYAR6bpf85Q
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 18:14 (two years ago) link
oooh this is all very promising, love what they do with the video
― imago, Tuesday, 21 June 2022 18:21 (two years ago) link
Tour dates in the fall, too:
Sept. 23 – Dallas, TX @ The FactorySept. 25 – Atlanta, GA @ The TabernacleSept. 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Opera HouseSept. 29 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5Oct. 1 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music HallOct. 3 – Washington, DC @ The AnthemOct. 5 – Toronto, CA @ Massey HallOct. 6 – Detroit, MI @ The Royal OakOct. 8 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon BallroomOct. 11 – Denver, CO @ Mission BallroomOct. 14 – Seattle, WA @ Moore TheatreOct. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The WarfieldOct. 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 18:25 (two years ago) link
Did not repeat not see video or tour coming, thanks!
From The Mars Volta - "De-Loused in the Comatorium" - C/D?
they added the pre-release version of comatorium to their bandcamp: https://themarsvoltaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/landscape-tantrums-unfinished-original-recordings-of-de-loused-in-the-comatoriumi listened to this version about 1000 times on a burned CDR before the album came outtotal classic btw― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Sunday, March 27, 2022 1:45 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglinkjon theodore is a fucking beast, his drumming on this still blows me away as much as it did when i first heard it― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Sunday, March 27, 2022 1:49 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglinkDid not know about the original versions now on their bandcamp, thanks!Good old alb, though takes some getting used to, worth it.Included with some other outliers in a Voice round-up I did back in Nov. ov '03:Mars Volta. Whose big bananaspots slip electrically elsewhere: through stabsof light (purple bursts of trans WhoZepYesRush-QueenQueensJaneRageSystemRedHotFugaziSantanaAtTheDrive-InEmoScreamo trajectory),which nevertheless tendto bounce off crystalline towers of voice, on account of "Joycean wordplay" inthe midst of Revelation. It's a challenge, but appropriately so. For inst.(one of their easier pieces), song-title "Cicatriz esp" can refer to headshrinkand/or vaccination mark: Either way, you're in goood hands, Mr.De-loused at the Comatarium blackhole-visionary guy. Whose defiantlycreative/self-destructive internal cosmography (runs) rings throughricochet-maze/shields of gloved ones Mars Volta's implosively arty art. Once, beforeartist-junkie-De-Loused dedicatee Julio Venagas woke up and finally succeeded in killinghimself, he and MVs/ex- At The Drive-Ins Cedric and Omar were friends, and it shows. Awww. It's true!― dow, Sunday, March 27, 2022 3:08 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglinkVery fun album. Cedric is a good instagram follow for old wrestling clips, though his recent Will Smith take was lame― hrep (H.P), Tuesday, March 29, 2022 12:46 AM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglinkAlso, from my Pazz & Jop comments on 2011 picks:Thought I had more about Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Telesterion, but it's sharp-edged, fluid analog musk, more astute than noodley, any purple more blended than The Mars Volta's reigning peacock screams. Latin rock with jazzy tendencies, rec to fans of early Santana, Rock En Espanol, whatever just went out of print on Shadoks. A personal Best-Of; you can stream it on Spotify, and a ton of his other albums here:https://orlprojects.bandcamp.com/(Zechs Marquise, Omar's younger brothers' band, also has a 2011 album. Getting Paid. It's uneven, but worth checking out here: http://zechsmarquise.bandcamp.com )― dow, Monday, April 4, 2022
i listened to this version about 1000 times on a burned CDR before the album came out
total classic btw
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Sunday, March 27, 2022 1:45 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink
jon theodore is a fucking beast, his drumming on this still blows me away as much as it did when i first heard it
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Sunday, March 27, 2022 1:49 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Did not know about the original versions now on their bandcamp, thanks!Good old alb, though takes some getting used to, worth it.Included with some other outliers in a Voice round-up I did back in Nov. ov '03:Mars Volta. Whose big bananaspots slip electrically elsewhere: through stabsof light (purple bursts of trans WhoZepYesRush-QueenQueensJaneRageSystemRedHotFugaziSantanaAtTheDrive-InEmoScreamo trajectory),which nevertheless tendto bounce off crystalline towers of voice, on account of "Joycean wordplay" inthe midst of Revelation. It's a challenge, but appropriately so. For inst.(one of their easier pieces), song-title "Cicatriz esp" can refer to headshrinkand/or vaccination mark: Either way, you're in goood hands, Mr.De-loused at the Comatarium blackhole-visionary guy. Whose defiantlycreative/self-destructive internal cosmography (runs) rings throughricochet-maze/shields of gloved ones Mars Volta's implosively arty art. Once, beforeartist-junkie-De-Loused dedicatee Julio Venagas woke up and finally succeeded in killinghimself, he and MVs/ex- At The Drive-Ins Cedric and Omar were friends, and it shows. Awww. It's true!
― dow, Sunday, March 27, 2022 3:08 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Very fun album. Cedric is a good instagram follow for old wrestling clips, though his recent Will Smith take was lame
― hrep (H.P), Tuesday, March 29, 2022 12:46 AM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Also, from my Pazz & Jop comments on 2011 picks:Thought I had more about Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Telesterion, but it's sharp-edged, fluid analog musk, more astute than noodley, any purple more blended than The Mars Volta's reigning peacock screams. Latin rock with jazzy tendencies, rec to fans of early Santana, Rock En Espanol, whatever just went out of print on Shadoks. A personal Best-Of; you can stream it on Spotify, and a ton of his other albums here:https://orlprojects.bandcamp.com/
(Zechs Marquise, Omar's younger brothers' band, also has a 2011 album. Getting Paid. It's uneven, but worth checking out here: http://zechsmarquise.bandcamp.com )
― dow, Monday, April 4, 2022
― dow, Tuesday, 21 June 2022 18:28 (two years ago) link
i like both the video and song a lot
― gman59, Tuesday, 21 June 2022 18:39 (two years ago) link
That's cool, obv the second half of the video is much better than the first. I wish they had included a bit of background info for people though. Presumably filmed in Cuba?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juego_de_man%C3%AD
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 19:04 (two years ago) link
Thanks again to Omar for my gateway to Frusciante Beyond RHCP (had to correct that from "Beyoncé," as conditioning kicks in again):https://orlprojects.bandcamp.com/album/omar-rodr-guez-l-pez-john-frusciante
― dow, Tuesday, 21 June 2022 19:39 (two years ago) link
The video, I think, was filmed in Puerto Rico, but I could be wrong. The song is wonderful, and yet not the best thing off the new LP by far.
― politics is about vibes and the vibes are off (stevie), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 19:52 (two years ago) link
idk if she was being facetious but my partner asked me if i was listening to mon laferte when i had this on
― diamonddave85 (diamonddave85), Tuesday, 21 June 2022 22:26 (two years ago) link
This song! WOW
― jaywbabcock, Saturday, 2 July 2022 18:00 (one year ago) link
EN MI CENTURITA EN MI CENTURITA EN MI CENTURITA EN MI CENTURITA
(baila si quieres más)
― trippie redd's privat chef uh is it medium purple aww (gaudio), Tuesday, 5 July 2022 03:46 (one year ago) link
I see they have entered their ELO phase. Not hating it!
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 5 July 2022 16:51 (one year ago) link
Another one. Gorgeous and politically engaged. This is fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7MuV_qNsa8
― jaywbabcock, Friday, 8 July 2022 16:42 (one year ago) link
Has there been any official album announcement yet? Stevie's post clearly implies one is in the can and "out there", but I haven't seen anything.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 8 July 2022 16:54 (one year ago) link
new record didn't immediately grab me but the clips I've seen of the live shows definitely sold me on it, very good indeed, kind of regret not taking a road trip to Seattle to hear it in person, have seen them twice before in sports arenas and I think a theater is definitely where you want to be for a mars volta show
― Florin Cuchares, Saturday, 31 December 2022 07:25 (one year ago) link
my favourite album of 2022. Vigil is a stunning song.
― his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Sunday, 1 January 2023 17:38 (one year ago) link
Huge fan of the first three Mars Volta albums. The new one makes a strong EP. Still have some great memories from the De-Loused and Frances tours back in the day.
― I can't tell if he's trolling or not (ilxor), Wednesday, 4 January 2023 04:20 (one year ago) link
havent listent to this group since bedlam but this new one is great, and very different, like a more rockin dirty projectors idk
― im a beacon of light (Spottie), Friday, 6 January 2023 07:39 (one year ago) link
So an acoustic version of the new album came out today and...nobody gives a shit?
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 22 April 2023 03:27 (one year ago) link
Oh, I didn't know it was out - it's excellent, though.
― dicbo=v2-ubswizzb&hrt (stevie), Saturday, 22 April 2023 18:55 (one year ago) link
Lots of albums come out and people don't give a shit about most of them. I'll check it out though
― change display name (Jordan), Saturday, 22 April 2023 20:38 (one year ago) link
Lots of albums come out and people don't give a shit about most of them.
True, but there were no reviews posted on any of the major music sites. Brief news items back in March when the album was announced, but this week, nothing. Seemed surprising to me.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 22 April 2023 23:13 (one year ago) link
it’s an acoustic version of a record that already came out
sometimes these get covered and sometimes they don’t idk, i’m not particularly interested
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 22 April 2023 23:40 (one year ago) link
Thanks for the head's up on this. I really liked the album and had no idea they'd released an acoustic version. Listening now and it sounds exactly like you'd expect, but it's also really nice to hear the songs in this context.
Whoever's doing PR on this is sleeping on the job. I guess it got lost in the shuffle of Record Store Day. Incidentally, I just learned there was also a Mars Volta RSD release (not this).
― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 24 April 2023 20:05 (one year ago) link
I forgot this was coming out, but tbh it's not exactly near the top of my "must check out" list and I even say that as someone who has everything else they've put out.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 24 April 2023 20:07 (one year ago) link
Ok so the new album. There's moments of greatness for sure, but my main gripes are:
Too much Cedric. The dude never stops singing the whole goddamn things. There barely any breathing space. No air. It's just a guy singing at me nonstop.
Not enough Omar. There are like no guitars on the thing. I like guitars and stuff.
Won't be returning to it very often. Last song might be my fav tho.
― kurt schwitterz, Tuesday, 25 April 2023 01:14 (one year ago) link
ok i take it back, i had no idea this acoustic version of the s/t would be jazz volta!!! it’s gorgeous
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 13:28 (one year ago) link
huh, well Brad's endorsement certainly has my more curious than anything else I've read about it so far...
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 13:47 (one year ago) link
It's great. Omar took spare takes of Cedric's vocals to Puerto Rico after finishing the s/t album, ten reorchestrated them for acoustic instruments, setting them to specific Latin rhythms. It's subtly ambitious - Omar's roots in tradition Latin music have been at the heart of all TMV's stuff, and have only become more explicit in recent years, and this album is a triumph in that particular mission. He told me he sees it as being a quietly political album, too. They're some of my favourite TMV songs, and these versions are excellent.
― dicbo=v2-ubswizzb&hrt (stevie), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 15:56 (one year ago) link
great, the same album in completely different arrangements is gonna be in my top five of the year two years in a row
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 18 May 2023 22:12 (one year ago) link
De-Loused in the Comatorium turns 20 tomorrow. I wrote about it for Stereogum.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 23 June 2023 14:27 (one year ago) link