commentary
• ok, here is another re-recorded new offering. written while in scotland, around 1993 or so, as a projection of the life ahead of a girl that lupMixy met there and consorted with frequently.
the song was originally cut with manic buzz function on a crappy fostex cassette 4 track around 1995 or so, with mike chrastil (bass, drums) and sean moriarty (vox). the recording took place in a tiny practice studio on the campus of indiana university. the basic tracks for at least five songs were recorded there over the span of one weekend. there really seems to be something to be said for not having all the options in the world, when it comes to efficiency.
it was released on shoe-ins (an introductory compilation from gayshoe records), and buzz function's cassette only release those aren't ficuses. siren was reviewed along with all the other selections by jim santos in his demorandum column in alternative press (available now via his demo universe site). his scathing review flowed off of the members of buzz function like water from a duck's back. of course even now years later, the verbatim review can easily be recited from memory...
“A male Natalie Merchant croaks tuneless songs played by an indescribably lame band”
but that is only recalled due to the succinct and thorough nature of the criticism, rather than any nerves that might have been struck, right? in one sentence, he was able to depict his views on every aspect of the endeavor. no mean feat. well, maybe a little mean, but...
during a portion of the 90's, the song was also one of the staples of monkey paw, a band that rocked suburban basements everywhere. (well, at least one basement somewhere.)
they looked like this.
in any case, the current version of the tune is available on this page via the embedded realPlayer right above this (growing insanely long) text. if you don't have the free version of the realPlayer, it is probably worth your while to get it, if not for this song, then for all the video and audio content “out there” in the real format.
so, after completing the 2k4 version of the song, lupMixy went back and listened to the version from shoe-ins/ficuses, smugly anticipating confirmation of how far he had come during the years between. he chooses to chalk up the results of his little experiment to the coloring effects of nostalgia.
what might you think?
use the review box up there to the right if you are so inclined.
garageband review update: overall score down to 2.4 from a peak of 2.6 where it threatened briefly for the honor of most highly rated lupMixy song in gb.com history. talk about your world's tallest midgets. overall summary of reviews so far. vox almost universally hated, except by those that liken them to lou reed and enjoy their uniqueness. oh the irony. eggers, is that ironic? drums are hated more on this track than some in the past, but can they be faulted their humanity. i'm sure the reviews would like the drums better if they saw drumMixy grooving behind his peter criss set. maybe the next tune needs some roto-tom runs to make the connection clearer. guitar lines got more than a few shout outs. fluteMixy's existence was noted, seemingly enjoyed by some.
upon close listening to an earlier mix of siren today out on a sunny day in the park it was thought superior to the currently "disseminating" version. looks like it might go back in the shop, slowing work on new tracks. the world will have to remain without the complete album for a little longer now, it seems.