Mike Patton's "pop" project Peeping Tom kept fans waiting for a really, really long time. Consequently, the four years between its inception around 2002 and fruition in 2006 were a gestation period for urban-legend speculation about the record's sound to flood the public consciousness. Was he really working with Norah Jones? What did he mean by "pop record"? Given the thrashing, acidic nature of Patton's other projects like Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, and Tomahawk, nobody expected this album to be "Mike Patton Sings Boyz II Men," and most fans figured the notoriously enigmatic musician was just messing around. Peeping Tom makes a good case for itself as a popock record or even as an alternative hip-hop record, but honestly, the most telling way to describe the album is as a Mike Patton record. As usual, the esoteric songster has used a new project as the means to create an entirely fresh and distinct ock style. The hip-hop presence on the disc is obvious, but Patton has assimilated it into his project so nimbly that the music isn't easily classifiable as hip-hop, ock, or pop. For instance, on "Mojo," the album's first single, gangsta-style squealing synths and reverb bass push ahead while Patton embraces a slicker and smoother incarnation of his Faith No More-era voice, slinking through the song with his trademark blend of clean vibrato, nasal tension, and belting clarity. This is not any kind of ap-rock that's been heard before and bears no likeness to Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, or even Faith No More.
This track also serves as a good example of the self-deprecation that pervades the project. When Patton sings "Roll it up and smoke it again/Bottoms up and drink it again/Fix it up and shoot it again/I can't believe I did it again," he is keenly aware of the way the way it sounds for such an avant-garde songwriter as himself to recite perfect ock & roll clichés. His lyrics mock the self-important coolness of the music industry and self-parody his own place in it. The last line of the chorus is a particularly smart addition, painting on still another layer of sarcasm in how it parallels Britney Spears' "Oops...I Did It Again" -- which he quotes directly at the very end of the track. Patton is self-aware: the Britney shout-out shows that he knows this is the closest he's been to writing anything near radio material in 15 years. Simply put, the man understands irony: he knows exactly what he's doing in convincing waify songbird Norah Jones to sing "The truth kinda hurts, don't it motherf*cker?" on "Sucker," and he knows just how faux-clever it comes off when he sings "I know that assholes grow on trees/But I'm here to trim the leaves" on "Don't Even Trip." Of course, all this smirking could be interpreted as Patton thinking he's better than everybody else, but it could just as easily be an acknowledgement that the prestige he's garnered in the ock world for being so experimental and arty is really no more meaningful than the vanilla-flavored een pop stardom thought to be his antithesis. This very debate has kept fans and critics talking for years, and whether you think Patton is a narcissist or a walking slice of humble pie, it adds a satisfying dimension to what is his most accessible record since Mr. Bungle's 1999 album, California. That album, like this one, still sounds a little like psychotic carnival music, but that's why listeners love him.
Peeping Tom is a Mike Patton project by mail (well, more likely email or some sort of FTP/file swap set up). Think the Faith No More era Patton meets Ben Gibbard/Jenny Lewis Postal Service side project. This is probably the most accessible Mike Patton project since his days with Faith No More. Patton swapped files with such artists as Kool Keith, Rahzel, Nora Jones, Dan "The Automater", and ...
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Norah Jones swearing on this track was so unexpected that it nearly made me shoot Coke out my nose. ??Coca Cola??, that is. I almost strangled to death, really. Good times. Mentos and Coke anyone?
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Here's a review I wrote for StayThirstyMedia.com . " The unfair truth is that Mike Patton has done whatever he wants, whenever he wants for so long that it can be easy to take his fearless approach to music for granted. There’s never been a sell-out point, or a phone in performance, so it’s not shocking anymore to hear that he contributed to a Bjork a capella album and a Dillinger Escape Pl
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It's official, kids; I now worship at the altar of Mike Patton.About a year ago my sisterfriend VJ became obsessed with Tomahawk, and it was then that I began to hear Patton's praises sung. I sampled one of the band's tunes and, though I found the song listenable, I steered clear; I like hard stuff, but there was just not enough melody in it for me.Last winter, said friend and I were in a CD st...
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Danny Devito likes cool music. The man is a fan. And when fans have tv shows of their own, they can decide who they want to play at their wrap parties. Sunday night I was at the wrap party for a show with a really long name. An old friend of mine was in town, who did A&R on the first Handsome Boy Modeling School record and has since become close with Dan, who told us to come through. The A...
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So... I got some really unsettling news yesterday - bout my Da...As he is want to do - he tried to protect my Mum & I, saying that his cancer was caught in the very early stages - that his treatment would be minimal - we're now finding out that it was middle stages & treatment is going to be far more long term. I'm putting on the brave face for him - and of course for Mum - she's got enough wo...
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This weekend I head to NYC to see 4 shows: Songbird (Jeff Daniels - yum), Radio Golf (August Wilson's final installment in is 10 plays, 1 for each decade - I miss him), Journey's End (one of the most talented stage actors I was fortunate to witness in "I am my Own Wife" off-broadway - Jefferson Mays) & Spring Awakening (DUNCAN SHEIK & SEX - perfect together). It's four days in one of my favori...
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Mike Patton's band, Peeping Tom, has announced its US tour schedule, but has yet to decide who will accompany the band.From Peeping Tom myspaz page :03-30 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre 03-31 Austin, TX - Emo's 04-02 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues 04-04 Atlanta, GA - Center Stage 04-05 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle 04-06 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live 04-07 Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Ar...
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It's official, kids; I now worship at the altar of Mike Patton.About a year ago my sisterfriend VJ became obsessed with Tomahawk, and it was then that I began to hear Patton's praises sung. I sampled one of the band's tunes and, though I found the song listenable, I steered clear; I like hard stuff, but there was just not enough melody in it for me.Last winter, said friend and I were in a CD st...
More >
Been a fan since Faith No More's The Real Thing came out, and I haven't felt the need to feel otherwise. Whether it's FNM, Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantomas, whatever. The man's incredible.Peeping Tom- MojoTomahawk- God Hates a Coward
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Norah Jones swearing on this track was so unexpected that it nearly made me shoot Coke out my nose. ??Coca Cola??, that is. I almost strangled to death, really. Good times. Mentos and Coke anyone?
More >
Here's a review I wrote for StayThirstyMedia.com . " The unfair truth is that Mike Patton has done whatever he wants, whenever he wants for so long that it can be easy to take his fearless approach to music for granted. There’s never been a sell-out point, or a phone in performance, so it’s not shocking anymore to hear that he contributed to a Bjork a capella album and a Dillinger Escape Pl
More >
Danny Devito likes cool music. The man is a fan. And when fans have tv shows of their own, they can decide who they want to play at their wrap parties. Sunday night I was at the wrap party for a show with a really long name. An old friend of mine was in town, who did A&R on the first Handsome Boy Modeling School record and has since become close with Dan, who told us to come through. The A...
More >
Peeping Tom is a Mike Patton project by mail (well, more likely email or some sort of FTP/file swap set up). Think the Faith No More era Patton meets Ben Gibbard/Jenny Lewis Postal Service side project. This is probably the most accessible Mike Patton project since his days with Faith No More. Patton swapped files with such artists as Kool Keith, Rahzel, Nora Jones, Dan "The Automater", and ...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Five Seconds |
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| 2 Mojo |
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| 3 Don't Even Trip |
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| 4 Getaway |
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| 5 Your Neighborhood Spaceman |
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| 6 Kill the DJ |
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| 7 Caipirinha |
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| 8 Celebrity Death Match |
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| 9 How U Feelin? |
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| 10 Sucker |
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| 11 We're Not Alone [Remix] |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Peeping Tom")
