John Vanderslice - Mass Suicide Occult Figurines
(Barsuk)
One of the main differences between many of the modern rock bands
you hear on the radio and the indie rock bands that you don't are
that the ones on the radio put the emphasis on singing and the
lead singer whereas the indie bands put the emphasis on the music.
On this spectrum, John Vanderslice (former singer and guitarist
of MK Ultra) is closer to what you hear on the radio, as the
music on his solo album is not very vivid or inspiring.
However, if John Vanderslice has a talent, it is taking an odd
or off-kilter idea and molding it into lyrics that are meaningful
and insightful. The best example of this is his notorious
song (if you watch enough ZDTV) "Bill Gates Must Die." You'd expect
a song with that title to be either a lame parody or a bunch of
pro-Linux or pro-Mac hate speech, and, well, you'd be wrong.
The song is about "teeny tiny teens... pouring out of my machine."
The blame is on Bill Gates not for his greed but for creating a
beast that makes sticking to your morals almost impossible with
the incredible ease of access to pornography.
Those who do watch too much ZDTV may have seen John Vanderslice next
to tears after getting a threatening letter from Microsoft about
their concern over the morbid nature of the song and the implications
of its title. Unfortunately, the Microsoft letter was a publicity
stunt and hoax but an amusing one. Also unfortunately, the hoax
might be a little more amusing than his music.
Vanderslice's previous band, MK Ultra, died with a few more songs left
unrecorded, and three of these songs appear on his solo album. Much of the
music on this album is keyboard-based pop, but the MK Ultra songs add
a few rockers to the mix. But, for both the pop songs and the rockers,
Vanderslice's full, strong voice is the driving force and key to the
success of Mass Suicide Occult Figures (the name of the album
taken from the lyrics of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Song Against Sex").
If this record reminds me of anything, it is Frank Black's first solo
albums after the Pixies broke up. The guitars and keyboards are equally as
clean and catchy, the voice is equally as odd and quirky, and the recording
is equally as glossy. John Vanderslice is no Black Francis (but then
again neither is Frank Black), but if this interests you at all, I strongly
encourage you to visit
johnvanderslice.com. Not only
has he written a full history of his Microsoft hoax, but he also provides
this entire album for free MP3 download.
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