Classix Nouveaux - Nasty Little Green Men

JD: Classix Nouveaux “Nasty Little Green Men”  Begins with a repetitive keyboard and percussion, then guitars, and vocals enter with a sense of urgency.  80’s ish sound, with a classic verses/chorus structure.  Guitars are a little wangly and there are some fun whirlies on the keys.  Klaus Nomi “Total Eclipse”  Singer’s look is a mix of other-worldly and mime, with an operatic delivery, must be 80’s as well, I’m guessing from the rest of the band and the sound of the piece.  Fascinating to watch and listen, as it combines styles musically and is very campy/theatrical. 

Logan:  Tubeway Army “Praying To The Aliens”  Electronic whaaas and deedlees with a robotic type voice (80’s again?).  Music is very angular, going with the general robotic sort of delivery.  Oh I see it is Gary Numan, I almost said reminds me of him, lol.  Didn’t know where he came from (space, lol?).   Mica Levi “Alien Loop”  Begins with space whirlies, I like the more free-form start of this to the previous one.  An ambient piece of music, it is more aligned to how I feel about space than the rigidity of the first piece. 

Cristi:  Hail Spirit Noir “Alien Lip Reading”  ‘Eavy metal, here, mixed with a bit of psych.  Vocals are a bit different than one would expect with such a heavy, swirly outfit.  Theremin swirls drift through.  The vocals remind me more of late 60’s, in that the vocals are effected more than one would hear would later metal.  Warlord “Aliens”  Right on in to heavy guitars and drums after a short swirl entry.  This is a driving metal song, with some really high falsetto notes occasionally from the lead singer.  Comes to a dead stop in the middle, then picks right up and goes into an quasi-Middle Eastern sort of riff, then the driving guitars start up again. Air “Space Maker” Echo-y percussive beat, guitar strum, bass and piano.  This one has a more ominous sound to it.  Electronic keys shimmeringly join in, helping to create a more complex and sophisticated sound than the previous two.  UFO “Space Child”  This one I do remember from the past.  A bluesy sound to the vocals, in a slow ballad sort of piece.  Scorching guitar lead. 

Shadowyzard:  Keldian “Starchildren”  Plinky angular keyboards and steady guitars and drums get this off to a steady start.  Doubled up and harmonizing vocals kick in.  Another driving metal piece, this has a nice break in the middle with strings (probably done on keys?) and a second break with plinkies, adding interest to the piece.  Bruce Dickinson “Starchildren”  Wastes no time in getting heavy with driving drums and a strident vocal.  These are not light little starchildren, dancing airily about, they are the dark side of potential alien invasion.  Hope they don’t make it here soon, lol.  Celestial Asylum “Sumeria, Realm of the Gods”  Begins with a Renaissance-styled guitar.  Vocals come in, very like a group of minstrels, male and female both.  Very courtly in feel, as perhaps ancient Sumeria would indeed likely be.    Very pretty and rustic. 

George:  The Firm “Star Trekkin’”  I loved Dr Demento!  I don’t remember this, though, it is quite fun, as expected.  A light take on matters celestial, a novelty romp and cleverly done.  The video is like a Pee Wee’s Playhouse Claymation, but of course all based on Star Trek.  The Tubes “Space Baby”  I remember when they were all the rage in SF clubs, never did get a chance to see them live, though.  There is a sense of tongue-in-cheekiness to the piece.  Not at all in the same style, but reminds me of Zappa in the sense of it’s commentary and theatrical feel.  All competent musicianship here, there are some really fun vocal harmonies near the conclusion.  Styx’s “Come Sail Away,” as done by Eric Cartman. As expected, quite the sendup of the original, done in Cartman’s voice.  The piano playing is quite well done, joined with full band as the piece slowly builds.   Everything is quite straight-forward except for the vocal.  The center section is quite woogly for a moment or two, before going back to the arena rock style of band behind the vocal.  Well done!

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. 

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