#65 The Insect Year (2013)

Wouldn't it be something - for all our talk about aliens, other worlds and UFOs, etc. - if we had already been invaded by beings from other planets. But they were only able to multiply enough to upset the balance of our eco-system, not taking over mankind. I mean... look at the guy on the left. He's clearly a together kinda guy, an intelligent creature, who also carries an elaborate set of tools to help him analyze and survive the hostile world around him. He even looks like he might be a Commander of something. What we're putting forth is the proposition that we are already living amongst alien beings, just as shrewd and just as talented, that are ruling entire parts of the planet - whether inches under the ground, deep beneath the sea or floating in the air. One day they'll take over... that's sort of what the title track is all about. Kneel before your future leaders.

Listen
The Insect Year (Full Blown) (6:07)
Fake Skim One (3:06)
The Insect Year (Thawed) (6:26)


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#64 The Year Of The Snake (2013)

We were going to call it The Year Of The Cat. But, when the news hit the trade magazines, we got a call from Al Stewart's management threatening us with a "whazoo-sized lawsuit." Our mouthpieces talked to their mouthpieces, but nothing substantial was coming from the all night meetings, which were growing strained as the February 10th release date neared. That's when Al Stewart himself walked in, dressed in white and wearing a little too much makeup. He said he was suspicious of his lawyers' outrageous bills and decided "to drop in and see how my money's being spent." After listening to the pros and cons of the legal predicament for a few minutes, Stewart stood up and said he didn't care one way or the other about the title, but that we should keep in mind that on Feb 10th, shortly after the new moon enters Aquarius, the Chinese Zodiac was ushering in the Year of the Snake, and we should probably consider that title instead. "The monkey is the only animal that really knows how to handle the snake," he said... cryptically. So, we followed Al's advice.

Listen
The Snake (11:52)


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#63 I'm Gonna Die... Today (2012)

Bullying can affect you in many ways. You may lose sleep or feel sick. You may want to skip school. You may even be thinking about suicide. If you are feeling hopeless or helpless or know someone that is, please call the LIFELINE at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).





Listen
I'm Gonna Die... Today (7:15)


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#62 Moon My Peers (2012)

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like "I feel a bit light headed, maybe you should drive...." And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, and a voice was screaming: "Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?" We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all this for the trip, but once you get locked in a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon.

Listen Dog Killer (Evening Run) (4:24)
Moon My Peers (Composite Sketch) (8:50)
Dog Killer (4:44)


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#61 Frankenstein Tree (2012)

From that fateful day when stinking bits of slime first crawled from the sea and shouted to the cold stars, "I am man," our greatest dread has always been the knowledge of our mortality. But tonight, we shall hurl the gauntlet of science into the frightful face of death itself. Tonight, we shall ascend into the heavens. We shall mock the earthquake. We shall command the thunders, and penetrate into the very womb of impervious nature herself. For what we are about to see next, we must enter quietly into the realm of genius. Alive! It's alive! It's ALIVE!

Listen
Frankenstein Tree (Who Shall Separate) (7:52)
Dennie's Kegger (Remix) (7:34)


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soundsbox 1-5 (2012)

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soundsbox 1-5


Listen To...
soundsone
soundstwo
soundsthree
soundsfour
soundsfive

#60 John Carpenter's Blue Hawaii (2011)

We've never mentioned this before, as you'll soon learn why, but Rudy insists he can travel to the future via thought transmissions. Sort of like an out-of-body experience, but out-of-mind. Anyway, on one of Rudy's recent trips (side note: he does extraordinarily well on NFL betting sites), he told us he went to see a John Carpenter movie (in 2018) called Blue Hawaii. He clued us into the plot and we concocted this live soundtrack in the hopes of sufficiently freaking out John Carpenter - once he gets around to film pre-production and does a web search. Then he'll have to consider the idea of our soundtracking the film as some kind of pre-ordained fate. Some divine intervention. Which will eat away at him like a burrowing creature from one of his movies, gnawing at his brain like a persistent unanswerable question. Either that or he'll just chuckle and let loose the hounds. Second in a series. Recorded live.

Listen
Venusian Caravan Mirage (3:09)
Theme To John Carpenter's Blue Hawaii (8:02)
Theme To John Carpenter's Blue Hawaii (Reprise): Titling Rights (4:57)


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#59 Gravitas (2011)

"Episode In Argyle, Parts I & II" is, as the title suggests, two back-to-back takes. You'll hear the end of the first take at the 5:22 mark, when we break out The Art Chord. The Art Chord is our musical "uncle." When played, it means any given player is spent, has given up, has nothing more to offer, is bowing out, etc. So, after The Art Chord was signaled we just started bashing around, you know, before wrapping everything up and, inadvertently, we started a new take. Happens all the time, actually. The Art Chord reappears at the very end of the track, and also signals the conclusion of the nearly 17-minute title track, "Gravitas #68 -3," chiming in at 16:36, just prior to going black. It's just a little two note sliding blues thing. We left them in the mixes this time just to draw attention to the gravity of the situation. Recorded live in 32 minutes. Herb Out.

Listen
Episode In Argyle, Parts I & II (10:11)
Outside The Opium Den (Oscar Coverage) (5:34)
Gravitas #68 -3 (16:46)


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