Subjects of huge buzz at South by Southwest 2005 for their circus-of-insanity live show, Philly's Man Man comes across like Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart collaborating on a klezmer-influenced soundtrack to your scariest nightmare about killer clowns. The stripped-down opening track on their sophomore LP, "Feathers," almost borders on accessible, with a simple waltz-time saloon piano and multi-tracked vocals that sound about one whiskey shy of a drunken sea shanty. But by the time you get to track two, "Engrish Bwudd," the band has clearly given in to the temptation of overindulgence, with the whoops, wails, hollers, and growls of a musical madman singing "fee, fi, fo, fum" complemented by falsetto counterparts squealing "I smell the blood of an Englishman." It only gets weirder from there, with all manner of unusual instruments, discordant cacophony, and outlandish shrieking that'd make the Boredoms sit up and take notice, and please-quiet-the-voices-in-my-head psychotic freak-outs all finding their place in Man Man's alternate universe musical reality. Most of this stuff is just too damn weird for all but the most experimental music listener, but when the band reigns in its more outlandish tendencies on tunes like the almost poetic "Skin Tension" and the chugging "Black Mission Goggles," you get the sense there are some fine songwriters lurking beneath all the kitchen-sink craziness.
My take on a Man Man show early last month...fun stuff. The full review's up at PopMatters today. Man Man + Who Shot Hollywood5 October 2007: Pearl Street — Northampton, MAMan Man is, if anything, still evolving, and, these days, you better be prepared for a surprise, especially when the time comes to play new songs.by Jennifer KellyMy fascination with Man Man goes pretty well back to the beg.
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Sooooo....last night my friend The Todd and I made a little trip to see Modest Mouse at Lupo's at the Strand in Providence. I've been to shows there before and always enjoyed the venue. It's cozy, yet big enough to support better known acts, has fair drink prices ($5 for a 16oz. Sam Adams) and is relatively easy to get in and out of. However, last night presented a totally different view of ...
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My take on a Man Man show early last month...fun stuff. The full review's up at PopMatters today. Man Man + Who Shot Hollywood5 October 2007: Pearl Street — Northampton, MAMan Man is, if anything, still evolving, and, these days, you better be prepared for a surprise, especially when the time comes to play new songs.by Jennifer KellyMy fascination with Man Man goes pretty well back to the beg.
More >
Sooooo....last night my friend The Todd and I made a little trip to see Modest Mouse at Lupo's at the Strand in Providence. I've been to shows there before and always enjoyed the venue. It's cozy, yet big enough to support better known acts, has fair drink prices ($5 for a 16oz. Sam Adams) and is relatively easy to get in and out of. However, last night presented a totally different view of ...
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Should anyone doubt my procrastination prowess, I can provide an excellent example. You may recall that I decided I needed new glasses a while back. Well, a mere six months later I finally did it--I found new frames! It took the end-of-the-year pressure of having to spend money left over in our health-care reimbursement account to do it, but I managed it.Man Man --"Black Mission Goggles"...
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so this is my first post, i figure i better talk about some music rather than myself. not too interesting of a guy anyways.but man, man man are quite the interesting band. and fortunately enough i was able to see them last saturday along with the extraordinaires and mouser (sort of). i got to the 40 watt right as mouser (local athens band) was finishing up their set. from what i heard of them t...
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Stelios Phili STAFF WRITER This is not a declaration of my sexual orientation, but rather, a proclamation of my unconditional love for the absurd gypsy movement that is Man Man . Everyone knows that, at its core, PopSense is run with a thoroughbred Gypsy mentality - we shall raid and pillage with our profound love for music and cultural obscurity and nothing can stop us, our filthy caravans a
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Feathers |
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| 2 Engrish Bwudd |
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| 3 Banana Ghost |
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| 4 Young Einsetin on the Beach |
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| 5 Skin Tension |
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| 6 Black Mission Goggles |
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| 7 Hot Bat |
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| 8 Push the Eagles Stomach |
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| 9 Spider Cider |
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| 10 Van Helsing Boom Box |
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| 11 Tunneling Through the Guy |
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| 12 Fishstick Gumbo |
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| 13 Ice Dogs |
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