Frances The Mute

[mrs jesus]

just picked up the album today.. it's not as frenetic as de-loused and thus far not as good. and i was under the impression that there would only be 5 songs that you'd be able to switch between, but there are 13

there are 13 tracks, but only 5 songs.

 

a disc with 5 songs on it would only be considerred an EP.

what the hell are you talking about?

 

how can there be 13 tracks but only 5 songs?

 

i don't get it ;)

[borntohula]

what the hell are you talking about?

 

how can there be 13 tracks but only 5 songs?

 

i don't get it ;)

13 tracks as in places that you can skip to on the CD. but those thirteen tracks arent individual songs 100% of the time. sometimes they're just the beginning of a new movement, in the same song.

 

for example,

 

the first song "cygnus...vismund cygnus" has 4 different parts to it, and you can skip to those individual parts. but it's all the same song.

 

any better?

[mrs jesus]

yeah, but that's fucking weird

[BritSavant]

i was reading a little blurb about the album somewhere that that's what they had to do, because EP's are defined by tracks, not by track length. this is what i read. if i can find it again, i'll be sure to enlighten you.

You read wrong.

 

An EP (for extended play), is the name given to vinyl records (or CDs) which are too long to qualify as singles but too short to qualify as albums.

 

Ergo, an EP is considered by its overall length or artistic reasons...since the distinction between a CD EP and a CD LP is considered somewhat arbitary. MGB's Loser Anthems EP has 7 different tracks on it, Cave In's Jupiter LP has 8 tracks. The Fiery Furnaces EP is longer than a lot of LPs.

 

The number of tracks plays a part, but designating an EP is purely down to the artist.

[borntohula]

i was reading a little blurb about the album somewhere that that's what they had to do, because EP's are defined by tracks, not by track length. this is what i read. if i can find it again, i'll be sure to enlighten you.

You read wrong.

 

An EP (for extended play), is the name given to vinyl records (or CDs) which are too long to qualify as singles but too short to qualify as albums.

 

Ergo, an EP is considered by its overall length or artistic reasons...since the distinction between a CD EP and a CD LP is considered somewhat arbitary. MGB's Loser Anthems EP has 7 different tracks on it, Cave In's Jupiter LP has 8 tracks. The Fiery Furnaces EP is longer than a lot of LPs.

 

The number of tracks plays a part, but designating an EP is purely down to the artist.

i agree with what you are saying. since the fantomas LP "delirium cordia" is only one song the entire time.

 

perhaps making it 13 instead of 5 was more of a way to avoid confusion? or to have it be sold as an EP by retailers who were unaware of it's length?

 

i wish i could show the article i read so i dont look like im making this up. too bad we never think of these things before.

[Truffle Pigs]

wow.......$10 for an album?????thats awsome!!

 

;)

[badseed]

Such a wicked album too. <3

[saturnine]

An Open Letter to Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

 

Dear Cedric and Omar,

 

I am writing to you to voice my distress over the recent release of Frances the Mute, your second album together as part of the Mars Volta. Yes, this is a review of the album and yes, I did consider writing it in a more conventional review format (even going so far as to complete one), but it didn

[Dan #2]

i kind of thought that when i got the album. There is some stuff that i would have loved to have edited out, but still, MV is still pretty sweet.

[saturnine]

yeah.. i'm really only interested in the 32 minutes of cassandra geminni.. that could've been the best EP ever.

[Dan #2]

It seems like the last two to three minutes of every song equal shit.

[saturnine]

yes, seems so.. too much atmosphere, not enough one-armed scisscor

[borntohula]

i disagree... people are so ready to dismiss the mars volta album as being 'pretentious' or 'wankery'... because it's the easy way out.

 

all this article seems to be complaining about is the fact that the mars volta are not at the drive-in. they aren't what they used to be and the author finds it uncomfortable to listen to as a result.

 

i applaud cedric and omar for their change in direction. at the drive-in were headed towards a certain pop-punk death had they continued on the same course. changes were made and the resulting material was ultimately fresh and vibrant. they distanced themselves from a band that was essentially holding them back from being their true, huge expansive selves.

 

also, cedrics lyrics are different, sure, but they certainly aren't a sign of weakness... his use of both spanish and english works perfectly because the music itself is a melding of the two cultures. even if the lyrics could be simply dismissed as nonsense, regardless of what cedric is actually saying, his delivery is sensational. i'm sorry, but when he croons "and when Miranda sang, everyone turned away, used to the noose they obey..." i was just enamoured. his projection is incredible. that, coupled with the rest of the band's talents, and you get an epic album. not once did i find it monotonous. it doesn't take you anywhere unecessary... the album isn't exactly perfect, but i don't consider it a disapointment either.

[saturnine]

certainly not disappointing, but i think we could all do without the extra 10-15 minutes of atmospheric nothingness

[mrs jesus]

certainly not disappointing, but i think we could all do without the extra 10-15 minutes of atmospheric nothingness

and why is it that you want to see them live so bad?

 

if you can't handle the album i suggest you stay home for the show.

[saturnine]

listen, assclown...

 

shut up.

[mrs jesus]

listen, assclown...

 

shut up.

no, YOU listen

 

if you don't like the "wankery" you're gonna be bored as hell seeing them live. fact.

[saturnine]

i didn't say anywhere that i didn't enjoy the wankery.. i said i didn't like their little atmospheric interludes. i don't want to hear crickets chirping for 5 minutes.

[mrs jesus]

i hope your nose falls off your face

[saturnine]

and lands in your tea!

[mrs jesus]

fuck you, my man

[borntohula]

man there should be a thread strictly devoted to your fights. that would be entertaining.

[saturnine]

or boring as all hell

[borntohula]

awww, you're just being modest.

[Disestabulistic]

It's taken me 5 months, but I have come to truly love this album.

 

I loved it when I first got it, I listened to it all the way through on the drive home form Victoria, but I found it difficult, confusing, meandering etc. By the time Omar's gentle acoustic guitar faded away I was exhausted from just sitting there and listening.

 

After that, I would only listen to little bits, mainly the beginibg of Cygnus, the beging of L'Via, and most of Cassandra Gemini. This didn't work at all.

 

I began listening to it very rarely, but when I did, it was all the way through. Each time, I appreciated it more.

 

Finnally one evening, I put it on, and it clicked so to speak. It all made sense, the ambient codas to most of the songs, the choice of sounds, the alternate sparsness and density. I have come to the conclusion that Frances the Mute is even better than their debut.