Sucking on a Galaxy
Original Facebook post here.
Today's formative-album replay: Aliens Ate My Buick. Like Beck's Midnite Vultures, this tuneful joyride of an album by Thomas Dolby is a classic of white-nerd funk, and also like Beck's effort, it's as much a comedy album as a pop record. Not that all of Dolby's goofy verbal jokes are all that funny--it's the music that's particularly smile-inducing. The cosmic/comic influence of George Clinton would be apparent even if he didn't actually appear on the record. Dolby also takes time for his own oddball brand of introspection, in the long jam "Budapest by Blimp," but this record is almost entirely about the popping bass, the pop-culture pastiche, the loopy effects, as well as some sneakily virtuosic pop songcraft.
And maybe it's just because I'm buried in writing and arranging my Ed Wood musical, but give or take a few very '80s synth sounds, the sci-fi swing of the opening track (above) sounds more or less exactly what I hope my musical might sound like when I can have a whole band at my disposal.
Comments:
Today's formative-album replay: Aliens Ate My Buick. Like Beck's Midnite Vultures, this tuneful joyride of an album by Thomas Dolby is a classic of white-nerd funk, and also like Beck's effort, it's as much a comedy album as a pop record. Not that all of Dolby's goofy verbal jokes are all that funny--it's the music that's particularly smile-inducing. The cosmic/comic influence of George Clinton would be apparent even if he didn't actually appear on the record. Dolby also takes time for his own oddball brand of introspection, in the long jam "Budapest by Blimp," but this record is almost entirely about the popping bass, the pop-culture pastiche, the loopy effects, as well as some sneakily virtuosic pop songcraft.
And maybe it's just because I'm buried in writing and arranging my Ed Wood musical, but give or take a few very '80s synth sounds, the sci-fi swing of the opening track (above) sounds more or less exactly what I hope my musical might sound like when I can have a whole band at my disposal.
Comments:
Rob Weinert-Kendt I also feel I should mention that a major key to enjoying this album was sharing its delights with my college pal Craig Hausman. I feel like we practically listened to the whole thing together, and I can't hear "Hot Sauce" without hearing him giggle.
Albert Dayan Isn't funk maestro George Clinton co-author of Hot Sauce? I used to LOVE that album.
Rob Weinert-Kendt @Albert, "Hot Sauce" is a Clinton cover and GC himself appears on the funkadelic "May the Cube Be With You." Great video here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x94ky_thomas-dolby-may-the-cube-be-with-y_music
Albert Dayan That's right! It's all coming back...
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