Interactive Poll: Outta This World

Kees:  The Comet Is Coming “Astral Flying”  High pitched something with repeating, flowy keys, drums start up.  Sort of a horn sound on keys, I think? joins in.  There are some deep thrums and the horn begins again with the same melody it struck up the first time, but now varies.  It becomes clear now that it is indeed an actual sax.  Excellent space/electronic rock.  Again The Comet Is Coming with “Journey Through the Asteroid Belt”  Wiggly wogglies and swirlies at the outset, drums are very far back in the mix.  Keys come to the fore, pretty quickly joined by the sax.  Very engaging piece. 

Anders:  Gnags “Fra en fremmed planet”  Begins with some sustained guitar notes and spacy sounds, like they are spiraling down.  Now I’ve opened the lyrics and indeed, the person is spiraling down to earth.  What a sad thing (and true) to find, as the singer describes what he’s seen in just two weeks.  The music is appropriately skewed sounding, as indeed it should be, we should be so much better to one another.  The pace picks up about halfway in and it turns into a real rocker.  There is a deep sarcasm in the music versus the lyrics as the rock part is very upbeat.  The piece slows down again and there is another spirally part.  It winds up with almost a church organ sort of sound and some swirlies.  Einstürzende Neubauten “Total Eclipse of the Sun”  Melancholy start, with an orchestral sound (but no orchestra, so pre-recorded?  As this is a live performance).  I quite enjoy the moodiness and the ominousness (if that’s a word).  Interesting machine adds some percussive pieces (a self-built instrument, or something I’ve not seen before).  Very tense piece, there is some nice sustained feedback on guitar and quite the vocal screech from the singer, about 3/4ths in.  You get the feeling he may have the power to summon the eclipse, by his sheer will. 

Christian:  Cat Stevens “Novim's Nightmare”  Haven’t heard this before, even though obviously, Cat Stevens is very well-known.  Begins with piano and bass, in a minor key (already a fan of that).  Such a gorgeous voice.  The song reaches a crescendo about halfway in, then drops back to feature the voice, with soft chorus behind.  Not sure if he’s speaking in terms of numerology, with 9 being the highest number, or is it something else? 

Tigerfeet:  Billy Lee Riley & The Little Green Men “Flying Saucers Rock ‘n’ Roll”  Wrangly guitars, a song about rockin’ aliens in a rockabilly form.  Fun novelty song.  Lemon Demon “Ancient Aliens” This one starts with a sort of eerily quiet vocal and swirly keys that come more to the fore, along with drums and guitars after the intro.  Reminds me a bit of Oingo Boingo crossed with Elvis Costello. Another fun romp with whatevertheymaybes.

siLLy puPPy:  Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds:  Just a part of the story, The Eve of the War.  Richard Burton narrates (beautifully, I might add).  An orchestral and electric ensemble with what sounds like electronic drums.  Flute-y keys and a string section carry a back and forth with one another.  Soaring lead guitars and lovely bass.  Richard Burton’s narration continues during the piece.  Justin Hayward’s unmistakable voice sings a chorus from time to time as well.  Piece ends with theremin-like weeoohs and Richard setting the tone for the rest of the story.  Steve Vai “Little Green Men”  Whirlies start the piece out with some antic voices and Zappa-esque complexity and sarcastic asides (expected with Vai, of course).  Song where my friend’s music show derives it’s name, “Light Without Heat.”  Megadeth “Hangar 18”  As one would expect, gets right down to metally business.  Lots of flashy guitar and driving beat here.  Keeps up the breakneck pace to the end.  Muse “Starlight”  Nice contrast to the no-holds-barred speed of the previous song.  Alt rock with a singer boasting a fine falsetto.  TOOL “Rosetta Stoned”  Heavy feed-backy, then crunchy guitars and a spoken vocal open the song. After a bit, an impassioned vocal and some dynamics shifts happen several times, all with an apocalyptic feel.  Vocals become a bit more effected, still impassioned, but less vehement.  More feedback guitar with relentless percussion and bass about 7 mins in, then layers of sound reenter the fray.  Comes to an abrupt end.  blink 182 “Aliens Exist”  Another one that gets right to it, kind of a They Might Be Giants tone here.  Humourous tone to the song with wailing guitars and steady beat.