{"id":3660,"date":"2019-01-11T02:04:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T02:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chungus.com\/?page_id=3660"},"modified":"2019-01-11T02:11:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T02:11:46","slug":"hacker-basement-tapes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/hacker-basement-tapes\/","title":{"rendered":"TRANSONIQ HACKER REVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hacker Basement Tapes\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

reviewed by Steve Vincent<\/strong>

(Reprinted by permission.)<\/strong>

Mint For Pillow from Humungus Music
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\n\nCD: Mint For Pillow \u00a91998 Humungus Music
\nArtist: Lord Humungus
\nEquipment: Ensoniq ASR-10, Kawai R50, Casio SK-5, Tascam DA30mkII,
\nTascam DA38, Boss SE70, Logic Audio for Mac.
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\n\nMost artists I know wish for their music to speak for itself, more or\nless. But whenever I receive a CD or tape for review, I try to figure\nout the context in which the project was imagined, produced,\nengineered, and published. A corollary to my quest is the search for\nthe artist’s intent: what is this person trying to communicate? Often\nthe answers to my queries are quite direct in the liner notes or\naccompanying letter, but as often as not there is little included in\nthe packages I receive to give me clues, and I must piece together the\nevidence from the music itself. This is usually an enjoyable process,\nand many are the times I have found myself immersed in the music,\nhaving completely forgotten the questions initially energizing my\nreviewer’s quest. Part of my need for “answers” is driven by the\nobvious task I have of attempting to describe the music to you, the\nreaders of Basement Tapes. This demands some level of categorization,\nor at least a simile or two (“this music sound like such and such an\nartist’s work…”).
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\n\nMy first exposure to a Basement Tape artist happens when I tear open\nthe manila envelope from Eric and Jane containing the CD, tape, or\noccasional vinyl recording. “Mint For Pillow” is a CD with a\nminty-metallic green cover (like the wrapper to an Andes mint), with\nthe title, “Mint For Pillow” spelled out in chocolate brown mint pillow\nletters. The words themselves communicated nothing to my imagination,\naside from their literal meanings, and perhaps the association one\nmakes with one’s first night in a five-star hotel or a cruise ship,\nwhere you normally receive a mint on your pillow (the sheets having\nalready been turned down, of course; don’t ask me why they do this).\nBut no clue so far as to the music contained on the CD.
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\n\nI usually try to listen to at least part of a CD or tape before I read\nthe accompanying letter and liner notes. In this case, I listened to\nabout three of Lord Humungus’s tracks, then I put the CD away for about\na month and a half, because it sounded too raucous and clangy for my\nsensibilities at the moment. (It was probably New Years Day.) Coming\nback to it now, my mind is open, and I am delighted by what I hear.
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\n\nLord Humungus included a letter with his CD “Mint For Pillow” in which\nhe lists his musical influences (Severed Heads, Young Gods, My Bloody\nValentine, Curve, Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, New Order, Duran Duran,\nOrbital), his equipment list (see the top of this article), and a bit\nof his musical history, as well as a brief description of this project.\nFrom the word processor of His Lordship:
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\n\n“This collection of songs was recorded over the past year and a half or\nso, but some of the songs were originally written as far back as 1989.\nThis is the first true attempt at something remotely commercial. I’ve\nbeen a fan of sampling since I found out what it was, so nearly\neverything I do involves sampling one way or another. Also, I am a\nproduct of the ’80s and as such, most of my music is deeply rooted in\n’80s pop culture and the ’80s sound. Tongue in cheek is often the order\nof the day.
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\n\n“A large portion of the percussion sounds (hi-hats, kicks, snares,\netc.), as well as some of the bells and synth pads, are samples of me\nmaking sounds with my mouth. When I only had the tiny Casio sampler, I\nfound that the most versatile and cool sounds I could get were the ones\nI made with my own voice. When I got the ASR-10, I found that was still\nthe case, though to a lesser extent. There are also generous portions\nof stock ASR sounds, which unfortunately, are probably damn easy to\nspot.”
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\n\nWhat does Lord Humungus sound like? (I’m also curious about what a guy\ncalling himself Lord Humungus looks like, of course… My\nself-inflicted nickname on a softball team jersey was once “Mr. Big”,\nand the only thing “big” about it was the mistake it was to make that\nmy nickname; the women in the bleachers cat-called me mercilessly, the\nguys derided me. I guess the implications and innuendo were just too\nmuch…) Anyway, back to the music: Mint For Pillow is truly creative\nexpression, not quite dance, not pop, not rave, but vocal-centric\nelectronic, with the music “close in” to the creative expressiveness of\nthe vocals. It is “electronic music”. This is most obvious in the\npercussion tracks and the sounds The Lord uses. As he mentions above,\nmost of the percussion samples were recordings of his own mouth noises.\nWhich one of us sample-maniacs hasn’t sampled our own voice and toasted\na few evenings creating sequences with the (literal) sound bites? In\nthe case of Lord Humungus, these homemade samples lend a very unique\nquality to his percussion tracks. I also heard samples of what I’d lay\nmoney was an SM58 being tapped on the windscreen. While Lord H.\nmentions no guitars in his equipment list, I heard a few instances of\nwhat sounds like highly-processed guitar and\/or bass, adding a slightly\nmore organic element to what could be “too” electronic of a sound. Also\nhelping to humanize these electronic tracks are generous sprinklings of\nhighly-processed vocal effects (reverse gate, pitch-shifted, etc.). All\nthese elements combine to make a very interesting and lively mix.
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\n\nTo my ears and musical sensibilities, it is the human voice that\ncommunicates the deepest and broadest levels of emotion, so I’m a bit\npartial to vocally-centered music. “Mint For Pillow” is such music,\neven though it is not necessarily the lyrics and their propositions\nwhich communicate; rather, it is often simply the sound of the voice,\nor a few choice words, which conveys the feelings. What kinds of\nfeelings are evoked in Lord Humungus’s music? Well, this listener got a\ngood dose of his tongue-in-cheek, mixed with a bit of anger at times,\nsome not-too-heavy cynicism, and even some eroticism (although tempered\nwith lightheartedness; this is no Enigma spirit-eroti-quest). In\ngeneral, I refer to this whole “layer” of musicality (this whimsical,\ntongue-in-cheek attitude) as “the blues attitude”, even though there\nisn’t the slightest hint of blues in this CD. The ability to weather\nlife’s hard knocks, come out of it with an intact sense of humor, and\nsing about it.
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\n\nEnough generalizations; let’s get into a few of Lord Humungus’s\ntracks:
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\n\n“Sharon and Karen” — The opener begins with cool processed guitar\npluckings, morphing through some vocal-like effects into a dance-floor\nbeat. Unfortunately the subject matter of the song, Sharon and Karen,\ndoesn’t hold much interest for anyone perhaps except Lord Humungus. On\nthe positive side, the vocals are wonderful, with lots of interesting\nand musical harmonies.
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\n\n“Before I Get Near” — Discordant harmony parts create an irritating\ntension in this 2nd track. It’s effective as a tension-builder, but not\nreally pleasant listening.
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\n\n“Man Fall In Water” — Dreamy vocal parts weave a hypnotic melody over\na very interesting sample-groove backdrop. Sampled chords (like\nextended orch-hits) are pitch-shifted over a multilayered percussion\ngroove. An airy time-delayed mallet-like instrument plays a brief\nmelody in the instrumental break. Overall, a mildly melancholic feel.
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\n\n“Quit Ridin'” — As happens often on this CD, the intro leads you to\nexpect one thing, then stops and the groove starts in a completely\ndifferent direction. This one begins with a heavy, darkish swelling\nover a beat that promises to make all hell break loose and kick ass,\nbut instead drops into a kind of electro-shuffle vocal tune. These\none-eighties certainly keep you from falling asleep. As do the lyrics,\nif you’re listening: “Quit riding me man \/ Quit riding me man \/ Quit\nriding me man \/ Or I’ll kick your fucking teeth in.”
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\n\n“Sweet Envelope” — “The paper boy was murdered today… I almost\ndidn’t see it happen.” This could almost have been a Beatles song on\nthe White Album, british accent and all. The vocal melody takes center\nstage in this short tune, in the style of “Dear Prudence”, and does it\nvery effectively. (The fact that he sounds just a bit like Sting\ndoesn’t hurt either.) This track showcases the songwriting genius of\nLord Humungus: a very memorable, engaging tune with only the bare\nminimum of accompaniment (a guitar strumming mostly one chord). Bravo.
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\n\n“Wooden Eye” — My favorite track on this CD, “Wooden Eye’s” lyrics\nwere co-written with Laura E. Half-spoken lyrics with a limey accent\ncause one to crack a smile over the young man’s broodings. Comparisons\nof one’s misfortunes over having a wooden eye (“I can’t see shit”) with\nhaving a wooden leg, etc.
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\n\n“I Say Cry” — If Korn lost their guitars and had to “sing” with\nlaryngitis (I can dream, can’t I?), their hard rap might sound like\nthis. But I could listen to this a lot longer.
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\n\n“Long Pleasure” — Totally cool vocals, and vocal effects, propel this\nsong towards an equally cool instrumental break that makes an entrance\nlike a shreddin’ guitar solo, but ends up being a more flutish keyboard\nsound. The solo section ends with the only musically effective use of a\nsteam whistle (or train whistle) sample I’ve ever heard (at 3:15). Two\nthumbs up on this creative montage of tongue-in-cheek eroticism (two –\nor three — puns intended).
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\n\n“SWB Goes Shopping” — While a sampled harp plucking a minor melody\nwould normally fail to engage me in the intro to a song, once the\nstring pad comes in you can hear more musical genius from The Humungus\nOne. The harp plucks a plodding 8th-note pattern, but after a few\nmeasures electronic percussion fills between the cracks with\nhyper-drive hi-hat and snare rolls, but not overdone. There is a\nwonderful balance here between sensitive, almost classical elements,\nand obtuse electronica. This CD ends with perhaps the most ingenious\ntune of all.
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\n\nLord Humungus’s vocals remind me at times of Wang Chung, Sting (well,\njust once), the Beatles, and Greg Lief (who’s Greg Lief? Anyone who\nprocured a copy of the Hacker Compilation Tape, circa 1990 or so, heard\nMr. Lief’s immortal “To Kill A Cow”.). And it’s the vocals on this\nproject that tie it together. As mentioned above, often the lyrics are\nobscured by the vocal’s place in the mix, effects, or just plain\npurposeful garbling, but it is the vocals, perhaps more accurately the\nvocalizations, which make “Mint For Pillow” sound unique to my ears.
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\n\nWhen asked about how he recorded his vocals, Lord Humungus stated:\n“Some vocals were recorded with a Realistic dynamic through the ASR’s\ninputs (yeesh!), some through a borrowed SM58 (great microphone) and,\nonce I purchased it, my SM81 (which I will record with henceforth).\nMost vocals were recorded dry and with minimal or no compression. I\nfound it easier to record vocals with the SM58 than with the SM81,\nhowever. All the vocals were tracked on the DA38, with about a million\noverdubs. It was incredibly easy to overdub and comp tracks on the\nDA38.”
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\n\nHis Royal Humungusness at times sounds just a wee bit sloppy in his\nproduction, with some sequence-timing glitches audible and an\nunbalanced (to my ears) mix in places. This is explained in part by the\nfact that Lord H monitors through headphones. But there is no question:\n“Mint For Pillow” expresses lots of musical genius. My only real big\n“suggestion” would be to place a stronger track in the first position\non the CD.
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\n\nIf you enjoy listening to any of his lordship’s musical influences\n(Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, Orbital, etc.), I have no doubt you would\nbe glad to get a hold of “Mint For Pillow.” Email Lord Humungus at\ninfo A T chungus.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hacker Basement Tapes\u00a0 reviewed by Steve Vincent (Reprinted by permission.) Mint For Pillow from Humungus Music CD: Mint For Pillow \u00a91998 Humungus Music Artist: Lord Humungus Equipment: Ensoniq ASR-10, Kawai R50, Casio SK-5, Tascam DA30mkII, Tascam DA38, Boss SE70, Logic Audio for Mac. Most artists I know wish for their music to speak for itself, more or less. But whenever I receive a CD or tape for review, I try to figure out the context in which the project was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3660"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3660"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3669,"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3660\/revisions\/3669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chungus.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}