Okay, class, can anyone tell me one word to describe Mr. Bungle?
...
Anyone? Yes, Billy?
"Hardcore?"
Close, but don't quit your dayjob.
"I don't have a job. I'm twelve."
Well then, turn fifteen, grow a pair, and go work at McDonald's.
"I hear Ronald McDonald touches little-"
Shush, Billy!! Okay, since you children are so ignorant these days, I guess it's up to me to give you some edu-mah-cation. The best word I know of to describe Mr. Bungle is "unique."
"That's the best you've got? Man, you're a bad teacher."
Billy, if you value your life, you won't go to sleep tonight. Now, where was I. Ah, yes. Mr. Bungle is very unique. I guess you could thank Mike Patton. He is what you would call "crazy."
"Like Hitler!?"
Go die in a fire. So, this Mike guy, he's a little zany. Kooky, if you will. But that's alright, because he helps Mr. Bungle be what they are. He's got some wonderful vocals, too, as seen most in "Retrovertigo." His voice makes me swoon like a teenage girl at a Backstreet Boys concert in '99. A lot of the more bass oriented vocals on here remind me of the Beach Boys, for whatever reason.
"So he's got a great voice. So what? Mr. Bungle can't be great for just that"
You're not listening, I'm trying to explain. What really makes them so great is-
"It's a band!?"
...Yes. What really makes them great is their overall sense of, well, uniqueness. Or something. Not a single song sounds the same, and have structures so odd that it wouldn't be too far off to say they don't really have one. "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare" goes from some clapping type percussion and shakers to sounding like it would be on the beach. Then it goes to Patton saying a syllable in opposite ears, then back to the beach, then to a neo-Wipeout tom thumping fest. And this is all in the first two minutes. "None of Them Knew They Were Robots" is even more zany and unpredictable than the previously mentioned song. It starts off with some "terror" organ chords to a light ride melody and low vocals from Patton. Then it switches to some happy organ and processed vocals. That's within about the first minute. Nearly the whole album is like this. Unusual, and unpredictable.
The sound of this album is very much summed up by the cover. It sounds exactly like that tree looks like it would sound: an island, if you will. "Sweet Charity" even starts off with some seagulls, and a light, breezy melody that gives off a tropical vibe. Much like the background vocals at times, the melodies present throughout the album remind me of the Beach Boys. Which is odd, considering I've never really paid attention to the Beach Boys. Oh well. Remember when I said this album was unpredictable? Nothing better sums that up than the final track, "Goodbye Sober Day." It changes more than Michael Jackson's glove during one of his "slumber parties."
"What?"
Never you mind, Billy. Go back to sleep. Anyhoo, that one song is crazy. Almost as crazy as Mike Patton. The title sums up the song greatly. There's so much crap going on, your head will spin around several times. One of the many sounds has been reincarnated in the Mars Volta's L'Via L'Viaquez. That was rather irrelevant, but at least you'll get a
slight understanding of what this song sounds like. Towards the end, it breaks down into some odd tribal chanting and, you guessed it, a heavy guitar riff and a driving drumbeat. Didn't see that coming, did you? If you did, you've either heard it before, or you're Mike Patton (or some other member of the band, but who cares about them?). I keed, I keed. They're all important. Even that one guy with 11 fingers and a reading disability. Okay, that's false, but it doesn't matter, because I'm the teacher.
With
California, Mr. Bungle experiment more than hippies in the 60's. Damned hippies. Good for nothin, 'cept smellin' up the place and smoking the loopy lettuce. Anyways, this is a great album. Great. They do so many different things and they do them quite well. It also helps that it's painfully unique and unusual. The only real flaws are two not-so-great songs called "Golem II: the Bionic Vapour Boy" and "The Holy Filament." Other than that, this is pretty flawless. With this album, this group of multi-instrumentalists accomplished what I'm fairly sure they set out to accomplish: world domination.
"Eh, they're not that great."
I hate you, Billy.
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