OMAR RODRIGUEZ

The Mars Volta can jam. No doubt about it. Why not get the band together and record a few jams? Omar thinks it's a good idea. It's not a bad idea, but a good idea? Hmmm...it's all right, I guess.

So Omar's 2/3 self-titled album is basically a jam album. Omar rallies up some of the Volta boys, writes a bass line and turns everyone loose, except for the rhythm section. How bored do you think Juan got playing the same bass line for 18 minutes? I only make mine do it for 6! That's just cruel.

So I didn't realize this was going to be a record of jamming. The first track, being a 3-minute intro of non- jammed noises got me all hyped for some epic music (noting the track lengths to come). I was a bit confounded by what the album turned out to be. OK, the jams are good, I love the bass lines, the general feel of the pieces, and the improvisation these guys do is unlike any other, but it's rather boring to hear long jams over the same bass line. I prefer hearing largely composed music; the jams can be reserved for live performances or sections of a written piece (the way the Volta does it). I think we can all agree on that. I assume you are agreeing with me at this point.

One neat thing here is you'll notice the general idea of that 18-minute face slap/rub (it hurts and feels good at the same time) is that it will develop into part of "Viscera Eyes."

Omar just likes having fans pay for him to have fun - something I'm sure we'd all like to achieve - but, at this point Omar starts to hint at the future of his solo releases. They are either going to be The Mars Volta's abortions, long jams, or Omar's experiments with how interesting he can make boring us. I won't be buying any of it!