Hey kiddies.
Forgot about the blog. Going to pick it back up but with less of the Monkey Business - just going to post what I'm thinking. Since nobody knows it is out here, it's pretty much a live journal.

So tonight I have to rave about The Mars Volta. Their album De-Loused in the Comatorium has been a constant favorite of mine for probably 5 years. It's a stoned out/smacked out tripper album, which isn't for everyone. A couple of the songs are fast forward material...but the strange thing is, the songs you skip are different depending on your mood. Basically, the intro cut and the 1st main song are so rocking you can put them on a mix that's gym worth. Later in the album, you get into Meddle-esque Pink Floyd space. But it all works. It just is original. I have to say it's one of the probably 10-15 albums I own that I consider "concept" - not in the storytelling manner of The Who's Tommy or similar. It's concept in that nobody really makes music that sounds like De-Loused, and they didn't reign it in. Of course Rick Rubin was in on the production - so it's just a good sounding record. It's not raw, but it's not expected or polished.

I suppose that Mars Volta's debut album is one of those moments that only a young band can have - no expectations, no blueprints. It has grown and grown on me, and in this day and age of blogosphere buzz, you can't say a nicer thing in my mind.