Like a Mars Volta album that you can play to your parents
June 9, 2010 11:28 PM   Subscribe

Omar Rodríguez López of Mars Volta fame has released an album in collaboration with the wonderful John Frusciante which sounds exactly like you imagine it would. It's available as a name-your-price download (also for free) and any amount you pay will be donated to a good cause. Frusciante was also involved in López' latest production which is available under the same conditions.
posted by cronholio (15 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm downloading this right now. If I know anything about Omar Rodríguez López, i'll be back in about six hours to comment on how it was.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 11:33 PM on June 9, 2010


Does this have anything to do with Lady GaGa? No? Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were on Metafilter...

Just kidding. Will Download ASAP.
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:09 AM on June 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


(What kind of music is it? That would help me understand if it's work downloading for me.)
posted by orthogonality at 12:47 AM on June 10, 2010


@orthogonality: You can preview the tracks right on the page. (or rather, pre-listen)
posted by cronholio at 1:03 AM on June 10, 2010


I guess I'm not cool enough for Lady Gaga or López. I liked At the Drive-In and the first Mars Volta album, but that's all I could handle. Maybe I'm not high enough?
posted by Roman Graves at 1:21 AM on June 10, 2010


I guess I'm not cool enough for Lady Gaga or López. I liked At the Drive-In and the first Mars Volta album, but that's all I could handle. Maybe I'm not high enough?

Don't worry, because you are cool enough to register your ambivalence with the public complaint department.
posted by abc123xyzinfinity at 4:51 AM on June 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


You can listen to the whole album online, not just snippets. And if you start listening to one track, it'll play the next when the first is done, and so on.

But if you can't listen to flash-based audio: it's melodic instrumental rock, with some interesting effects sweeping around.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:55 AM on June 10, 2010


Did The Mars Volta ever release anything that was comparable to Deloused in the Comatorium? Every now and then, I try to revisit their later stuff, and can never get into it.
posted by schmod at 7:03 AM on June 10, 2010


Whoa. The first beat on the ORL album is deep. Not what I expected at all! Thanks for this post!
posted by nosila at 7:03 AM on June 10, 2010


Yeah, the Mars Volta crew has been disappointing me a bit lately, but I'm still excited about these albums!
posted by fuq at 8:18 AM on June 10, 2010


If it's been disappointing you 'lately' you should read the italics at the bottom of the page where it says 'this album was recorded many years ago'.
posted by spicynuts at 8:26 AM on June 10, 2010


Interesting...now that I've listened to about 3/4ths of the album, it's eerie how much it sounds exactly like all of my own noodlings around in GarageBand. And as much as I do really like it I have the same criticism of this as I do of my own work: it sounds unfinished, more sketches or frameworks for songs, than actual songs and it sounds like workshop stuff. But like I said, I like it.
posted by spicynuts at 8:44 AM on June 10, 2010


I promise I'm not being all "I liked their older stuff better" but man do I wish At the Drive-In had never broken up and that I hadn't discovered them a month after they broke up, thus making it so I can never see them live.
posted by haveanicesummer at 9:00 AM on June 10, 2010 [2 favorites]


Yeah, the minimal electro beat that bookends Sepulcros is some Throbbing Gristle shit, I probably could have listened to that for 30 minutes instead. Juan Alderete (bassist) really tears it up on this record, though, and Omar's brother Marcel is on drums... he must have leveled up in the last couple of years, because holy shit. He's a lot better than he used to be. The rhythm section makes up for the directionless guitar work (in my opinion).

Most of Omar's solo work is available on the BandCamp website to preview & download; I'd recommend Xenophanes for people who actually want to listen to songs, rather than an extended jam session. If you would like to be punched in the face for 28 minutes, try Cryptomnesia, his collaboration with ZACH HILL. Both from last year.

Personally I think Omar is the 21st century Zappa, and will be beloved by all 20 years from now. Probably hated by most until then, though.
posted by synaesthetichaze at 2:20 PM on June 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


Me too, haveanicesummer. Me too.
posted by zztzed at 2:48 PM on June 10, 2010 [1 favorite]


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