No Surprises

July 11, 2012 4:03 PM

As recorded in Tom's mom's garage by the infamously unfamous punk ingenues Roddy's O-Face. From their first and only album, Lofi Computer.

I joked in the challenge discussion thread about doing the whole album as a fifteen minute super obnoxious punk tour de force—strip down this lush, mostly downbeat album to its bare riffs and chords and melodies and turn up the tempo to double time, get the whole thing done as a fifteen-minute EP—and I've been playing with making that actually happen.

This is one of three that I did takes of today, and there's a lot of what I would normally think of as problems with the tracks but this might be exactly right for the dumb kids being loud in a garage scene, so, okay!

posted by cortex (13 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite

Wooooooo! Right on!
posted by TwoWordReview at 4:30 PM on July 11, 2012


Repeal the Anti-Kinder Egg law now!!! Surprises for all.


This fucking rocks.
posted by Elmore at 4:52 PM on July 11, 2012


Ha, rockin!

And actually this makes me think: this would also work really well with an In Utero-grunge treatment. At least the version that I can hear in my head.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:05 AM on July 12, 2012


Yeah! While listening to this for the 3rd time, I envisioned a music video of the singer stumbling home drunk after a show, but on the way Thom York keeps jumping out at him from various hiding places, and then the Greenwoods mug him.
posted by hanoixan at 7:44 AM on July 12, 2012


Ha!
posted by cortex at 8:11 AM on July 12, 2012


Love the obnoxious tag
posted by azarbayejani at 1:30 PM on July 12, 2012


Fantastic! Can't wait to hear more like this. And you're absolutely right to leave it rough - too much polish steals the energy from this kind of music.
posted by InfidelZombie at 3:03 PM on July 12, 2012


Can't wait to hear more like this.

You've got about 26 minutes to go! It's sort of torture to knock out a few tracks all on one day like I did because it means I have to sit back and let the clock run out.

And it's funny, I thought of you specifically, Red On Strike as a band actually, when I was banging super rough demos out for these and finding that a couple of the songs feel like they could use a little bit more of a bluesiness compared to the relative straightness of the loud blitz thing I went in intending. I could totally hear Red singing Lucky at 180 bpm over you guys.
posted by cortex at 3:39 PM on July 12, 2012 [1 favorite]


I've got this song for the challenge too, so if my plan to spring it on them at practice next week works out we'll see how it compares to your take. We're pretty ruthless with covers though, it either clicks fast or it's gone. I can always do a solo version
posted by InfidelZombie at 5:00 PM on July 12, 2012


You crazy. And I mean that in a good way.
posted by idest at 4:58 AM on July 13, 2012


One of the best mid-60s era Stones vibes I have heard in ages. I can totally imagine Keef singing this.
posted by Ardiril at 7:44 AM on July 13, 2012


Yes! Totally Yes! Love it. This is the third one so far on the mefimusic player and I love it. Raw and beautiful, with a fab backstory that sits perfectly with the music. Brilliant mate.
posted by marienbad at 2:49 PM on July 15, 2012


Very good.
posted by faustdick at 6:55 AM on July 16, 2012


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