The Noise of the Okies or “They Should Have Force-Fed Nixon This Album”
Last Friday’s post on Homestead & Wolfe inspired me to pull another Anopheles reissue off the shelf: the mighty Static Disposal, by Oklahoma’s own Debris’. As much as I enjoy the H&W record, this one is definitely more up my alley, musically speaking. And some fine day, when I draw up my definitive list of Best Avant-Noise/Art-Punk/Spazzcore Albums of the Seventies, this monster of a record will come in right at the top of the list.
I wrote about Static Disposal at length for Skyscraper magazine back in 2002, and rather than chopping up that article into blog-sized nuggets, I posted the entire article off-blog. Being now several years older and wiser, there are a few edits I would have made here and there, but I left the piece intact, as originally published. Revising your past work is a slippery slope… would someone please pass that on to George Lucas?
Please click for:
For those who felt that the Homestead & Wolfe tracks were a bit too, well, nice, might I suggest you try these on for size?
Debris – One Way Spit
Debris – Female Tracks
Debris – Witness
Vinyl addicts: last I heard, Anopheles still had a handful of these left on wax, but if that’s still the case, they’re certainly down to the last few remaining copies. So don’t waste another second! For those who prefer the CD format, you should be okay, but it won’t be in print forever—do not hesitate to snatch this up!
Finally, as the Nurse With Wound list plays a significant role in the Debris’ story (see the article), I’ll point you here for more background.
N/P Espers – s/t
I wrote about Static Disposal at length for Skyscraper magazine back in 2002, and rather than chopping up that article into blog-sized nuggets, I posted the entire article off-blog. Being now several years older and wiser, there are a few edits I would have made here and there, but I left the piece intact, as originally published. Revising your past work is a slippery slope… would someone please pass that on to George Lucas?
Please click for:
For those who felt that the Homestead & Wolfe tracks were a bit too, well, nice, might I suggest you try these on for size?
“Aeauhieeerahhhieeraaahhaaa. . .1-pft--2-3-FOUR!”. . .the record kicks off and you can virtually feel the spit in your eye. . . it seems perhaps a stroke victim’s take on the intro to Minor Threat’s cover of Wire’s “12XU”. . . “One Way Spit” kicks off the album with totally wacked-out vocals and screams, undoubtedly one of the all-time classic unsung punk rock songs. . .aggressive and passionate, with cool background vocals, subtle skronks of horns, lots of guitar spazz and artsy noise. . .energy and intensity reminiscent of the classic ‘80s DC hardcore band Void. . .basically, I was floored.
The second song, a (mostly) instrumental entitled “Female Tracks,” opens with a series of frequencies and modulations, which then unfold into a guitar-based spy theme of sorts. Horn runs splay all over, the image of Iggy Pop impersonating Ornette Coleman in a James Bond flick clearly comes to mind, as one deanna ‘D’ thrills the ears with her “sensuous mouthings.”
“Witness” wraps its horns and electronic whistles and gizmos and noise around the spoken word dada of a cartoon character in the tradition of Tom Waits’ auctioneer from “Step Right Up” or John Cale’s dark-humored Waldo Jeffers of the Velvet’s “The Gift.” An utterly bizarre story unfolds which reads like a stream-of-consciousness series of encounters with Jesus freaks, brought about by a flurry of Dali’s clocks; immobilization and hypnotism play a role in the final verdict, which, not surprisingly, remains unclear. More horns, more noise, more freeform freakouts.
Finally, as the Nurse With Wound list plays a significant role in the Debris’ story (see the article), I’ll point you here for more background.
N/P Espers – s/t
posted by Jonathan Wright at 9:40 AM EMAIL POST
