Wednesday, April 26, 2006

"Are you the American version of Belle & Sebastian?"

----No. We are the terrestrial version of an indie pop band called oaIEhDq from the planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, which is near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. oaIEhDq, in turn, is a shameful ripoff of the legendary XX!!XIIa, a quartet based on the planet HD 209458 b. They did a lot of great work with the aug chord.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Radio

Steven recorded a demo of "Radio." Diehard fans know that Sculpted Static first tried to record this song in winter 2002. The new version, in 4/4 time instead of 3/4, has been sitting around since the Davis summit in 2003. Steven finally wrote lyrics to it a few days ago.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Our House: the saga continues

Steven recorded more harmonies and did some clean-up on Mark's vocal track.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

"Who or what is Lucy, anyway?"

----Lucy is part of the mnemonic "Righty-tighty, lefty-Lucy." It's a song about screwing.

Monday, April 17, 2006

More work on "Our House"

Mark and Steven recorded harmony vocals for the "Our House" chorus. It's got an interesting vocal bit inspired by Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust."

Sunday, April 16, 2006

"Our House" and "Someday"

Yesterday, Steven recorded bits and pieces of "Our House" and today he recorded some harmony vocals. Meanwhile, Mark produced a song called "Someday" by Spencer, who will soon become our bassist.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

An exclusive interview with Ian Asbjornsen

NP: I AM NEON PHOSPHOR.

IA: Hi.

NP. IN AN EARLIER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, ARTA REPORTED THAT YOU WERE EITHER GRAVELY SICK OR DEAD. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT?

IA: Yes, I have been bedridden for the past 23 months. My nurse torments me with idiotic stories and kept me in a constant state of paralysis.

NP: YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED WITH THE TONICS SINCE JAN 2005, AND THAT'S JUST WHEN YOU RECORDED A FEW DRUM TRACKS. YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO 2003 FOR THE LAST TIME YOU GIGGED WITH THEM. TELL ME, IS THIS BECAUSE OF CREATIVE DIFFERENCES YOU HAVE WITH THE BAND, A DRUG PROBLEM, OR DEATH?

IA: As I said earlier, I was half dead, floating between light and darkness, briefly surfacing only to find a black sun and clouds of fire.

NP: THIS IS A TOUGH QUESTION. WHO OR WHAT ARE YOUR DRUMMING INFLUENCES AND HOW DO THEY FIND THEIR WAY INTO YOUR DRUMMING?

IA: Carl Palmer is one of my favorite drummers. Christian Vander is another. They both are/were extremely theatrical drummers with a passion for fantasy and were talented and creative composers.

NP: HAVE YOU CONSIDERED BEATBOXING?

IA: No.

NP: PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW YOU MADE THE "BARTLEBY" VIDEO AND SHOULD WE EXPECT MORE VIDEOS FROM YOU?

IA: I was driving to Toys-R-Us one day in Alhambra and I noticed that the Cube was emmitting strange pulsating sounds and lights. When I went closer to it, my compass went out of control and I fell into a deep trance. When I woke up, there was a copy of the movie in my hand and I was missing a shoe. Hopefully there will be a new video made this summer.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

An exclusive interview with Steven Chow

NP: I AM NEON PHOSPHOR.

SC: who the hell are you, my conscience?

NP: SILENCE, I AM ASKING THE QUESTIONS HERE. FIRST, IS THERE A NEW ALBUM AND CAN YOU GIVE ME ANY DETAILS ABOUT IT?

SC: i'm going to get into trouble for this, but here is the tracklist: 1. How Should I Begin? 2. Lucy's Revenge Pt. Two, 3. I Scream Tuesday, 4. Lucy's Revenge Pt. One, 5. Eruption (Van Halen cover), 6. Fuck B--h (in D# minor), 7. Never Mind, Horatio, I'm Dead, 8. 1983, 9. I Love My Style, His Royal Highness, 10. Ode To Wikipedia, 11. Murder On The Acela Express, 12. Thanks Again.

NP: EXCELLENT. THE WORLD WILL BE PLEASED TO HEAR THAT. SO WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY?

SC: stereolab, for their synth work and pop melodies. i've been obsessively collecting their cds. i've also been listening to the beatles from 67 and 68. specifically magical mystery tour and the white album.

NP: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE WAR?

SC: i'm against it.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

An exclusive interview with Mark Williams

NP: I AM NEON PHOSPHOR.

MW: hey phos

NP: LONG TIME NO CHAT. HOW'S IT GOING?

MW: it's going. dragging my heels through my last quarter as an undergrad

NP: CONGRATULATIONS. AND HOW ARE THINGS GOING WITH THE BAND?

MW: not as slow, but hard by it. having said that, we knocked out the basic tracks for "our house" and it sounds amazing so far

NP: YEAH? ARE YOU RECORDING A NEW ALBUM ALREADY?

MW: in some capacity. we're definitely back on the recording wagon. though you're reasonably surprised, what with the recent minting of 50 copies of "get things done," whose box arta's using as a laptop stand, i think

NP: IS THE NEW ALBUM GOING TO SOUND LIKE "GET THINGS DONE" OR WILL IT BE A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE BAND?

MW: well, all the current songs aren't well defined right now, so it's hard to say. but i have a feeling it's going to be a bit different. hopefully, that'll be due in part to our playing most of these new songs as a live band before recording them. and i sure as hell ain't going to write anymore "greenback" shit

NP: CAN YOU GIVE US TITLES OF THE SONGS BEING CONSIDERED FOR THE ALBUM?

MW: jeez.

NP: IT'S TO SATISFY OUR CURIOUS FANS.

MW: well, the first couple of tracks will be a straight-up cover of superfly. but played as one seguing piece, like the second side of abbey road. after that we'll probably just have five or ten different cuts of the song "get things done." we'll call this one "golden hits", probably. or "the album." you should ask arta, probably. steven and i just write the songs. he's the arbiter.

NP: A SNAPPY ANSWER TO A STUPID QUESTION, THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION: WHICH BANDS/ARTISTS HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY?

MW: i just bought superfly and tom waits' first album. the former, of course, is amazing. the jury's still out on the latter. it's a little, ah, norah jones, if you know what i mean. i have talking book on heavy rotation. a bit of the byrds, too. they've got some really hot guitar work. i listened to a cd of elvis' no. 1 hits i picked up for 5 bucks for about three days straight. suspicious minds is a great song. and, you know, all sorts of other crap.

NP: LAST QUESTION: WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMMING WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OF ON NEON PHOSPHOR?

MW: song appreciation stuff. whether that be "great moments in rock'n'roll" or analysis of production techniques. it always brightens up my day.

NP: THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK. THIS IS THE END OF THE INTERVIEW.

MW: this is my last response: thank you.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Great moments in rock: shellfish

Shelled molluscs and crustaceans have been making cameo appearances in rock-and-roll for decades now, and today is a salute to their efforts.

The B-52s - "Rock Lobster"
Amazon.com says, "The magnificent 'Rock Lobster' remains unmatched in terms of its relentless, spastic power to move one's feet." Its lyrics include: "Lots of trouble/ Lots of bubble/ He was in a jam/ S'in a giant clam." New wave. And speaking of wave...

Pixies - "Wave of Mutilation"
The outstanding track off Doolittle features these lyrics: "I've kissed mermaids, rode the El Nino/ Walked the sand with the crustaceans."

The Sugarcubes - "Regina"
Before Bjork went solo, she was in this Icelandic pop band. She sings, "But Mrs R. with none/ Sun with false teeth/ Give me lobster and fame." To which Einar (a rapper in the band) replies, "I really don't like lobster!"

Elvis Presley - "Sand Castle"
Even the King has sung about shellfish on more than one occasion. Here are lyrics from "Sand Castle": "The fiddler crab plays his violin/ On the back of a dancing whale."

Elvis Presley - "Crawfish"
Even more explicit lyrics about our shelled sea-friends: "Now take Mr. Crawfish in your hand/ He’s gonna look good in your frying pan/ If you fry him crisp or you boil him right/ He’ll be sweeter than sugar when you take a bite/ Crawfish."

Steven, who is famously allergic to anything that turns orange when cooked, once wrote a song called "Shellfish." In it, he declares, "Cowards hiding in their caves/ Killer sea crustaceans/ Don't belong in the ocean." Later, he describes a physical struggle with one such creature: "You fight and snap your feeble jaws/ I'll just snap off your claws." The song was vetoed for silliness.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney was a singer/songwriter who penned or performed an impressive string of hits during the early 1960s. Few people remember him today, mostly because of the oldies stations policy against anything before 1964. Nevertheless, you might recognize some of his compositions: "He's A Rebel," performed by the Crystals (and produced by Phil Spector), "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson, and "Only Love Can Break A Heart" and "It Hurts To Be In Love" (performed by himself). Pitney died on tour in Wales and the world is poorer for it.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

"What's going on in the world of Tonic?"

----Tonic is an American post-grunge rock band formed in 1993 by Emerson Hart, Jeff Russo, Dan Rothchild, and Kevin Shepard. They were signed to Atlas Records and Polydor in 1995... As of 2005 all three members are working on solo projects. With Russo working on the True Solo Album, and playing everything himself. It is not known yet if it will be released with a backing band, or if it will be left as an album with just Jeff. A full-length release from Emerson is in the works as well. Lavery had been writing songs for numerous projects including feature-length movies, such as The Passion of the Christ, and Elektra.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

"Our House" mix

Steven made a new mix of "Our House" with fake drums and an organ track.