Who is The Mars Volta's creative force
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Topic: Who is The Mars Volta's creative force
Posted By: yoel?
Subject: Who is The Mars Volta's creative force
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 14:32
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ive been listening to alot of omar rodriguezes solo stuff lately and in my opinion its as good as or maybe better than TMV
is cedric so essential to the volta, or do you think that omar is the primary creative force in the band?
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Replies:
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 15:12
| In my personal opinion, I find Omar to be the primary creative force in the band. |
Posted By: Floydian42
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 15:14
| I didn't know he had solo stuff... is it very similar to the volta? |
Posted By: Sckxyss
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 15:30
| I always thought Omar was the driving creative force, but I think Cedric's vocals work really well with TMV's music. I haven't heard any of Omar's solo stuff yet; any recommendations? |
Posted By: CaincelaOreinim
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 15:53
| I think primarily it would be him, but I'm sure there's some input from Cedric...I'm not too sure about Omar's solo stuff myself...if you're in the mood to listen to one key signature and groove + dissonantly freak-out solos ad infinitum it's good...but just not the best. Prefer Volta by far. Apparently he also has a new one due out either this year or November can't remember entitled "The Apocalypse Inside Of An Orange". |
Posted By: Cheesecakemouse
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 16:27
| Omar, he writes the music and produces the albums, and is apparently a bit of a perfectionist. |
Posted By: yoel?
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 16:50
yes,
se disce bisconte, no buffalo
an excellent album, especially the song
'please heat this eventually'-a mass freak out
yeah his solo stuffs very similar to volta, even the vocals, thats why i think alot more of omar, cedric could be replaced, but thats not to write him off-he does write some of the craziest [therefore, best lol] lyrics ever and he also balances omar out, keeps him from getting too self induldgent
id say omars more experimental by himself also
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Sckxyss wrote:Posted By: heyitsthatguy
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 16:55
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Om3r basically writes almost every single part of the Volta's music his solo stuff has more of a solo oriented kind of Santana-ish slant I enjoy both but TMV more because it's better songwriting ------------- 
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Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 18:02
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Omar writes the music, Cedric writes the lyrics.
------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: Moatilliatta
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 18:39
Yes. Cedric writes the lyrics and also the vocal lines. ------------- www.last.fm/user/ThisCenotaph  
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Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: October 22 2007 at 23:30
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Omar is the brain Cedric is the talent ...well, Omar is also the talent... and Cedric is very intelligent too... ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: FruMp
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 04:06
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I like everyone else in the band better than cedric and omar. Also whoever writes the lyrics needs to be slapped. ------------- 
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Posted By: yoel?
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 04:25
cedric bixler zavala writes the lyrics, and no he doesnt deserve a slap, hes written some of the most obscure, nteresting lyrics around, just becuase you cant understand some of them dont say theyre rubbish, also hes managed to speak across three different languages, and still, no one knows the true concept of frances the mute, thats how mysterious the lyrics are
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Posted By: Lanor
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 04:46
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Maybe the concept is to get fanboys pondering for hours over what the concept could be about. At least Cedric's lyrics have developed since At The Drive In though. I mean they're still written in the same vein but sound like they could possibly mean something. |
Posted By: FruMp
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 04:56
It's not because I can't understand them, it's because no one can understand them, it's thesaurus assisted gibberish, so what if it's obscure? it doesn't make for compelling listening and it doesn't tell an interesting story. The lyrics aren't mysterious - they're incomprehensible and probably deliberately so that people will think it's some kind of ultra-modern masterpiece of linguistic skill. Writing indecipherable lyrics does not take skill, is not unique or creative and is not hard - anyone can do it. When I used to visit the comatorium forums one of my favourite pastimes was making up Mars Volta lyrics, and it's surprisingly easy to create something that no one would be able to tell apart from something Cedric had written for a song. -------------
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Posted By: Novalis
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 05:58
I don't think they are a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but they have some interesting phrasing, although it would be easy (as you say) to parody their style. I think his lyrics are chosen just as much for how they sound as what they mean though, and probably don't have much meaning as a coherent whole.
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Posted By: heyitsthatguy
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 06:38
I can vouch for this, the fans on The Coma's main Mars Volta subforums are surprisingly easy to dupe. Someone made a thread that the new album's concept was based on Starcraft and it went on....for 12 pages  That said I think they do lyrics more for SOUND rather than meaning, but who knows, and honestly, WHO CARES, its just music -------------
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Posted By: CaincelaOreinim
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 11:57
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God forbid you people should learn some new words and be challenged a little bit. I happen to like his lyrics with "meaning" and "sense" these days being in my eyes highly overrated/reached an apogee of familiarity, false sentiment, and stagnation. For the most part that is...you know, exceptions to every rule. Cedric's lyrics hark back to the surrealists, if you're not familiar with their techniques it's your loss I suppose or if you are, then you don't like them, move on. I'm rendered much more effusive by music these days without actual words and their "intent" which is fallacious and open to interpretation to begin with getting in the way. I approach vocals as just another music track...with only slight attention paid to the lyrics; I find most people who cling to "what someone's trying to say" to be problematic to say the least...there is no way to gauge what another is thinking period so they (being the lyrics) can only speak for yourself. If you want "meaning" perspicuous or spelled out for you listen to someone far more digestible...that's all...if you want to interpret, think for yourself, be challenged a little bit and not be dismissive when things "don't make sense" then CBZ's lyrics are for you. |
Posted By: FruMp
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 13:48
Scathing. I'm the kinda guy who enjoys well considered paintings that convey beautiful imagery be it realistic or surrealistic, it seems to me like you're a big Jackson Pollock fan - we'll never agree on this but I'll elaborate on my position anyway. I personally don't really listen to vocals that much or pay attention to lyrics but in my view why would you have someone talking gibberish which is left open to your interpretation when you could have someone sing exactly the same yet with clever metaphors, an engaging story and humour. This is my personal opinion and it's a predictable insinuation that you made that people who hold my opinion or similar opinions are simpletons unable to think for themselves - maybe we are but we hate it regardless. Anyway If that were really the case then why the hell am I on prog archives in the first place? -------------
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Posted By: heyitsthatguy
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 14:29
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/\ because prog RAWKS I also personally find humor in occasion in TMV's lyrics, even if its not intended to be so however, sometimes you just stumble across a line that's just cool for no reason whatsoever I THINK I FEEL A MISCARRIAGE COMIN ON -------------
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Posted By: debrewguy
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 15:04
So can we assume that many of Jon Anderson's lyrics in the early to mid 70s affect you in the same way ? Along with some Gabriel & Crimson word plays ...  I do see what you mean. Some lyrics almost figure better as "music", i.e. the vocal as another instrument in the mix. But I'd hate to see musicians, or rather lyricists staying away from that style. After all, one could make a musical comparison to some of Krautrock or Fusion where there seems to be no "organization" or "structure" apparent to the composition. But some groups carry it off, & some don't (As Cedric seems unable to do for you). But then there are still people arguing over what Stairway to Heaven is about.  ------------- "Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case. |
Posted By: CaincelaOreinim
Date Posted: October 23 2007 at 18:25
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FruMp, no eliticism here my friend...just saying you don't appreciate his lyrics, I do...however, the insinuation that I was off-handedly referring to you and others as simpletons/lumpen are solely your own machinations; had I implicitly stated 'you're an idiot' (and don't see that rendering as saying such!) there'd be problems! And with surrealism, everyone always assumes the painting side of things...there was a lot of writing as well...and I think the problem you're having is solely stylistic? Cedric refuses to lay things out simply either (and who the hell am I to say/know what he's thinking which leads again back to the intention fallacy) because he doesn't want to - as a writer myself for instance I'm tired of conventional means of telling stories and plot as it were -, that's just his style/preference, or he's being a dick; either way, this can be misconstrued when formatively, he's just engaging in what is simply known as PLAY to the experimentalists/postmodern/avant-garde people...I appreciate it; perhaps you don't, and this is where we move on, hehe! God listen to how pedantic I'm being, years and years of college education/academics for you! And yes, debre, I'm a fan of Gabriel's, Anderson's old stuff, and the Crimson stuff...but this is NOT to say everything else is trash, hear me hear me, etc. Ahaha, arguing about what Stairway To Heaven is about solidifies my point that lyrics are pretty much nugatory and given meaning (literature as well; hell, not to open a can of worms, but look at the state of the world based on readings of the Bible...yikes!) only achieved by the eye of the beholder. Blech, I'm done! |
Posted By: FruMp
Date Posted: October 24 2007 at 00:19
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/\ you use big words
-------------
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Posted By: jmcdaniel_ee
Date Posted: October 24 2007 at 12:06
"The kiosk in my temporal lobe is shaped like Rosalynn Carter." 
TMV's lyrics used to bother me a lot more. But then I imagined if I could insert coherent lyrics against the frenzy of music. I don't think there's any better lyrical style to fit their music. It's chaotic and ultimately strange, and needs suitable lyrics. If Bob Dylan wrote lyrics to TMV, they would be really out of place.
Hell, I have no clue what he's saying in Spanish, and it's probably just as incoherent as English. Sometimes I don't notice when he changes languages. That shows you how closely I pay attention to the actual ideas behind the words.
Can comes to mind: it's not important what Damo's singing about. Some styles don't require an eloquent story line.
As far as Omar (the original intent of the thread), I think he's one of the top musical geniouses of his new generation. No man is an island, but his creative style borders on being completely original.
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Posted By: Sckxyss
Date Posted: October 24 2007 at 17:01
Really? I always looked at Peking O as a beautiful, cohesive piece of poetry!
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Posted By: jmcdaniel_ee
Date Posted: October 25 2007 at 12:58
Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. Wasn't that adapted from a TS Eliot work?
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