77s Message Board | Print: Strangest song in the 77s canon

Posted by Kit on 07-11-2009 at14:19:

Strangest song in the 77s canon

Earache

what were they doing here? it's like sonic youth crossed with Rush...

Posted by Ping Pong Over the Abyss on 07-11-2009 at16:13:

How about the same album, but Deliverance? I remember reading somewhere that Mike said he got the idea from a very intense nightmare he had, in which he killed someone. Shocked

Posted by Rod on 07-11-2009 at16:56:

I'd have to got with Five in the Nave, myself.

Posted by Kit on 07-11-2009 at17:17:

I guess I never considered Five in the Nave a song, but it's strange indeed.

Posted by Rod on 07-11-2009 at20:00:

Now, that's funny. My point exactly. Smile

Posted by Kit on 07-11-2009 at22:21:

quote:

Originally posted by Ping Pong Over the Abyss
How about the same album, but Deliverance? I remember reading somewhere that Mike said he got the idea from a very intense nightmare he had, in which he killed someone. Shocked

Yeah I remember that as well. But "Deliverance" is probably one of the best parts (if not THE best part) of that album.

Posted by Doctor Love on 07-11-2009 at22:40:

tom tom fest

That whole album is weird to me. It sounds weird, the songs are weird, it's just .... it was our first album with Bruce and we were experimenting, finding our way as a new 'power trio' band. We wanted to call it "BRUCE" but he wouldn't go for it. He had a lot to do with it being different and strange, but Mark and I were in on it too. I have never quite understood where that album came from musically. I do know that we locked ourselves in a rehearsal studio for three months and jammed, and recorded all of the jams. I would then go home and listen to all of it and take notes. I only copied and brought back to the guys stuff I found interesting. There's a whole lot more we didn't use that was good -- some of this sort of thing can be found on our "Guilty Pleasures" fan club disc, but there is way cooler stuff than that on those tapes. I would love to release some of the best of it one day just so hardcores can hear what we were up to.

"Deliverance" was indeed about my recurring nightmare of having killed someone and not remembering where I put the body. It's a horrible dream, and I've had it at least 12 times. One of the most terrifying things I've had to go through in my life, because I would imagine that anyone with a conscience would not be able to deal with having murdered a person secretly, gotten away with it and then carried that secret around for the rest of their lives. The first time I had it I sat up in my bed and had to calm myself down for about 45 minutes, trying to convince myself that I had indeed never committed this crime. Well, at least not in that kind of way. Anyone who's participated in an abortion situation knows what I'm talking about, and at the time these dreams were occurring I never ever thought they had anything to do with that, but now I'm not so sure ...

"Five In The Knave" was a story I heard from Robert Vaughn & The Shadows' bass player Anthony Deluz, who's father had boasted about taking on five Navy guys at once in a brawl. I guess when he would get drunk he would reminisce on this and then start to rant loudly in Portuguese broken English, "Five in the knave!! Five in the knave!!" I always found this story amusing and used it in that silly piece which also pays tribute to the old "Slowly I Turned" vaudeville routine popularized by The Three Stooges and others:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slowly_I_Turned

"Earache" is just the three of us bein' bad and jammin' hard. Frank Zappa was a huge hero and influence on me and the guys in so many ways, and this piece is our little tribute to some of his more out there guitar wank ....

Posted by Ping Pong Over the Abyss on 07-12-2009 at13:03:

quote:

Originally posted by Kit

quote:

Yeah I remember that as well. But "Deliverance" is probably one of the best parts (if not THE best part) of that album.

Agreed. Especially the "ending." Tongue

Posted by Kit on 07-12-2009 at16:17:

Thanks doc

...for all the background info on the songs/TTB. I was always curious as to what went into the making of that record.

Posted by MarkyMark77 on 07-12-2009 at20:32:

Let me just say...

I love TTB. I love the power trio.

But it was a departure from "Pray Naked" and "Drowning" so I understand why some don't share my love.

My band played "Rocks in Your Head" as our opening song for two years. All of us played TTB regularly.

Posted by Kit on 07-12-2009 at20:54:

quote:

Originally posted by MarkyMark77
Let me just say...

I love TTB. I love the power trio.

But it was a departure from "Pray Naked" and "Drowning" so I understand why some don't share my love.

My band played "Rocks in Your Head" as our opening song for two years. All of us played TTB regularly.

Oh I don't get me wrong, I don't consider TTB to be any kind of dud. I was disappointed at the time it came out that they seemed to have abandoned their mopey pop side, but I actually grew to appreciate the fact that they took some chances on that record. "Rocks In Your Head", "You Still Love Me", "Outskirts", "Flowers in the Sand", "Don't Leave Me Long", and "Deliverance" are all pretty great.

Posted by Cynthia on 07-13-2009 at06:17:

Re: tom tom fest

I've never really listened to that album much at all. It didn't appeal to me, and now I guess I see why.

As far as the dreams go, I don't know a lot about well, anything, but I have opinions and thoughts... I think that sometimes we dream about things that can be so far from the truth they could never happen, because if it was bad but also a truthful revelation, it could hurt so much it would be unbearable, so in a way we dream about something worse but still with meaning, so that the less bad, but truth doesn't hurt as bad. As a way for our mind to protect ourselves and hearts. (I'm not good with verbalizing my thoughts, so I don't know if that makes sense at all.) But they can still have hidden meaning. Like in this case, you would never really murder someone, so it's a way to get a point across without really hurting you emotionally. The real panic here seems to be not in the murder but in the losing of the body. Maybe there was something else bothering you and you were worried about it being too big of a deal. ... I hope this isn't being too pushy, I just don't like seeing anyone struggling with things so I'm offering encouragement. And as depressing as my dumb opinion is, it's still encouragement because what you literally dreamed wasn't true and God's grace is huge. Just remember - I don't know anything about anythings - it's just a dumb opinion.

Also, speaking about not being able to sleep, I've heard that warm milk can create tryptophan (an amino acid) in our bodies and that it is also a sleep agent. You can also buy tryptophan supplements in health food stores. I drink warm milk whenever I have trouble sleeping because I have too much bothering me on my mind, and it has never once not worked. But every one is different. I was just thinking about this because after what happened to Michael Jackson. Those kinds of things can become addictive.

Posted by dennis on 07-13-2009 at07:59:

I like Tom Tom Blues a lot.
Big Grin

Posted by dennis on 07-13-2009 at08:05:

Michael Roe/Mark Harmon • Orbis

but as long as we are talking strange, how about that wonderfully strange disc "Orbis?"

Posted by Marti on 07-13-2009 at09:22:

RE: Michael Roe/Mark Harmon • Orbis

quote:

Originally posted by dennis
but as long as we are talking strange, how about that wonderfully strange disc "Orbis?"

Kudos for Orbis that occurs farther out in the outskirts.

Posted by Kit on 07-13-2009 at09:22:

I keep forgetting I don't have Orbis.

Posted by juan ahmal on 07-13-2009 at10:18:

people are strange

TTB has been my favorite album since I the first time I heard the first notes of Rocks In Your Head, but now that I think of it, I always only listen to side one. Side one (for those of you that have the cassette) just flows so nicely, but side two can be a little disturbing if you're not in the mood. I guess I like Earache though, because it reminds me of The Stellazine Prophesy off Safe As Milk.

Posted by Ping Pong Over the Abyss on 07-13-2009 at14:31:

quote:

Originally posted by Kit
I keep forgetting I don't have Orbis.

Confession time: I've had Orbis forever, but still haven't listened to the whole thing. Red Face

Posted by Rod on 07-13-2009 at14:49:

Now that I think about it, Pray Naked is a pretty odd song, but one of my all time favorites. It never fails to make me smile. "What's that spell? PRAY NAKED. What's that spell? PRAY NAKED. I'm smiling now.

Posted by 77 bc on 07-13-2009 at15:32:

Shocked

quote:

Originally posted by Rod
Now that I think about it, Pray Naked is a pretty odd song, but one of my all time favorites. It never fails to make me smile. "What's that spell? PRAY NAKED. What's that spell? PRAY NAKED. I'm smiling now.

Just glad you didn't post a pic of you praying naked while smiling!

Shocked