Album Review: VultureMoose - Unreal Reality

So, since we don't post a podcast every Monday now, we've decided that the Monday's sans 'cast, will be a joint blog post of some kind by us. 2 weeks ago it was a video showing some behind the scenes on our lives. This week is a review of an album by both of us. The album is called "Unreal Reality" and is by friend and former guest of the We're Friends! Company/Conglomeration/Amateur Rotary club VultureMoose!

How we did this was we both listened to the album independently of one another and wrote something about each song. Dash wrote what could be considered a story in a stream consciousness journey he went on while listening. James started out trying to break down the songs and analyze them tonally and with regards to structure, tempo, etc. But then, like Dash, he just wrote what he felt and saw in his mind. Then they wrote something about the album in general. And here we go!

1. "Good For Your Soul":

Dash - Walking to the sky. The sun is blue. A line of my friends bid me farewell and give a piece of themselves for courage. The vocals become more and more enveloped in the sound…the beauty of this journey is going to be overwhelming.

James - I know this song! VultureMoose has played it live. First images that come to mind: church and Andrew W.K. What do those drums remind me of?! Ghostland Observatory! One of the lyrics are “like a goddess to the sea”, and he definitely sounds like he’s underwater. Neat. This is his sermon, we are the parish.

2. "Kingdomm":

Dash - Immediate rad! Sailing to the horizon on a sea made of pixels and fruit loops. Crazy creatures surface from the depths and give high fives. The ship gains wings. The clouds are pin-up girls blowing kisses. Our vessel is going 5,000 miles an hour. Outer space.

James - Upbeat time! More vocals! Sounds like a continuation of the first track. Love that slight fade that goes into some weirdo keyboard/synth thing at around 1:42. The end bit reminds me of M83. “I could disappear and that’s just fine.” Yes! What’s that sample from?

3. "ForeverVoices":

Dash - There is a battle in the stars. General Mustache and his solar brigade advance. The stars are flickering so brilliantly. Will we win?

James - Oh shit. What is THIS?! Crazy drum sounds, even crazier vocals! Love the repeating loop in the background. This is a mixture of melody and dissonance. People are marching to this song wearing neon capes, holding staffs made of candy.

4. "Zoned":

Dash - A black hole made of love stops the carnage. Through it, everyone who was fighting watches as time disintegrates. General Mustache hugs everyone. Space Rainbow.

James - Simple, slow song. I dig the percussion that isn’t that main drum beat. I enjoy how he cuts out everything but one or two elements during this song.

5. "Discovery":

Dash - Ohhhhhhhh shit! Bar hopping? No. Fucking planet hopping. There are so many parties. This ship can only get to so many. Watching so many different beings as they celebrate in their own way. Traveling between planets, watching space turn into dizzying colors.

James - Space! That’s what this song is! Happy, but the lyrics are slightly melancholy. Maybe. I was gonna say this reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it’s more Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Fun journeys through space with friends. Some sad times, some great times. Like this one a lot.

6. "Skippie":

Dash - What's in that cave? Let's go down. Down. Down. Down. Space bats! They're purple and emit light-up gas! The center of this planet is full of women! The women hand each of my crew a flower that shows them their earliest dream. Each person gets a smooch then it's time to to go.

James - IT’S TIME TO FUCKING DANCE. Everyone clap and spin! And be totally happy and thoughtful. Think about who you love. Dance to this song with the ones you loves!

7. "Into the Valley":

Dash - The ship has broken down. And in half. We are trying to reconnect, but there's a time tornado.

James - WEEEEEEEEEE. Yeah yeah yeah! This song totally energizes me. Can’t not move to it. It also seems to be saying, “I could be industrial, but I’m not gonna.” That’s something I’d love to hear, a harsh, angry, industrial VultureMoose album. Oh man, love the weird vocals. This needs to be in a chase scene. A guy running from men in suits.

8. "How I Began":

Dash - A celebration for the fallen. There is still so much to see, and they wouldn't have wanted us to stop for very long. We continue with only half a ship. Singing a tale of our comrades exploits as we approach a new solar system.

James - Running up stairs. No no! Running up a downward moving escalator that matches your speed. But never ever giving up. The earnest-ness in the act is almost cartoonish. A very, “Hey, we can do it!” song.

9. "Everything Under the Sun":

Dash - Morning on Robot Moon. They're friendly, but cautious. All we want is fuel. All they want is stories. Buildings made of math equations. We help them understand sadness and they weep with joy.

James - Oh man, love love LOVE this song. This is a robot screaming in frustration. An automaton who refuses to be automatic any longer. Multitudes of other robots look on to the one walking away from his work. And they watch it rip itself apart in a protest of servitude.

10. "Wishing Well":

Dash - Robot Moon turns into a giant carrier. They allow us to take command. We set a course for home. The stars are jiggling to the beat of this song. This song is how the robots express gratitude.

James - Puppy dance party! And a big ol’ bear is the DJ! This song is fucking grooooooove-tastic. Clap your paws and wag your tails!

11. "C Song":

Dash - Coming back always seems much quicker than leaving, in a way that feels like it invalidates the journey. It isn't until you realize the memories will be with you until you die that anything even seemed worthwhile.

James - We’re on a ship headed to new places! And everyone’s the captain! Also the ship’s alive! Oh wow, love how it gets slightly somber for a few seconds at 1:00 and again at 1:52. Giant mountains loom in the distance, but we’ll break through. Right? Night falls and we’re right in front of the mountains. We decide to go around, rather than through. We’re slightly scared and in awe. The mountains are eons older than us. And the mountains smile at us!

12. "Cruiser":

Dash - The time tornado brought the rest crew back home before us! It's name is Wes. Sitting back home, watching the sun dip. Dreaming of everything. What are we gonna do tomorrow?

James - Water space. Aquatic galaxy. There seems to be an urgent message in this song.

Unreal Reality sum up:

Dash -I hope Jeff never stops making music. There is so much joy and beauty to what he creates. I wish a could write a coherent, analytical review of the musicianship or whatever of this album, but I'm too stoked out. The track by track thing I did is everything I need to say. I was taken on a journey of awesome wonders.

James - Totally fun and joyful. Jeff knows how to make your heart sing and your booty shake. In terms of criticism, there were times when I could tell that drum beats would come in before I heard them and they did. The songs seem slightly formulaic in that they start out with one or two sounds and then build from there and then the sounds go away one after another. Also, the percussive beats in some of the songs were very similar. As a whole, this album totally flows and the songs work really well together. What's interesting about what I didn't love about this album is that those aspects aren't flaws. They're just things I don't love that I bet tons of other people enjoy. Also, Jeff writes great lyrics. Kudos friend!

This album isn't available yet, but when it is we will be sure to tell all of you.

-Your Friends

PS, Isn't neat that both of us had similar images in our heads for the songs? We both felt the theme of space throughout the album, and with "Discovery", we both mention having fun in space. And with "Everything Under the Sun", we both thought of robots! That's crazy!

Love Your Friends

So in Episode 29: "Loops, Loops, Loops", listener and all-around wonderful guy Jeff (AKA VultureMoose) sent us a really touching email that we read on the air. It's about the passing of a dog named Buzz. Here it is:

Hey James and Dash,

I'm going off topic with what you want to hear this week, but I feel like it's important. I'm talking about animals and our connections to them.

Last night, while hanging at Rachel's, her dog Buzz was out of it, so to speak. He had thrown up earlier in the day and was just lying down too much, tail not wagging. The mom was nervous all day, and I knew something was wrong. Around 10pm, Rachel's mom and dad take the dog to a 24/7 vet. We hear nothing for awhile. I head home because I need to get up for work early and need sleep. When I get home I give Rachel a call and I hear what I didn't want to: they had to put Buzz down because of stomach bleeding.

Now I've never had my own dog. My parents had one when I was real young, but I've never experienced it. However, I grew really close with Buzz over the two years since meeting Rachel. He was great, happy, fun...everything you could want. Hearing this brought me way down because it came out of nowhere and I feel more pain for an animal who has no say in what happens.

What I'm talking about is the connections we have with animals. They are innocent, good-natured and welcoming for the most part. They give you attention and you give them attention. Dogs in particular are always happy to see somebody. Humans...not so much. We hold gripes, get angry, etc. etc. When I look at the simplicity and beauty of animals, I feel bad and ashamed of how we act as humans sometimes.

I'm ranting, going off on tangents, but I needed to talk.

Point is: Out of nowhere a great companion died. Rachel and her family are grieving over it, and I, for the first time, feel true sadness for an animal, never having one myself. If it isn't too much, maybe the next podcast you could dedicate to Buzz. He was a cool ass dog and cared for people as much as people cared for it. It may seem goofy...but I would appreciate it. People have strong connections with animals.

-Jeff

I've had three pets die in my life. Grease Monkey, Precious and Quorthon, all cats. I reacted differently to each death. With grease's, I was more confused. With Precious, I was scared and clinging. With Quorthon, I was in disbelief and devastated.

I had different relationships with each of them. Just like with our fellow humans, animals come with distinct personalities and we meld with them in different ways. Our pets are not just things to be played with or bothered by, they are living creatures who feel, albeit more instinctively, emotions just like us.

Do not treat your pets as you would furniture or an annoying kid. Don't think of them as "just animals" or unimportant. All they want from you is affection and love. Treat them as you would a friend or a family member that you care for. Understand that what you give them will be given back.

Dash recorded a song in tribute to the late/great dog Buzz. It's not a requiem, and it isn't full of gloom and sadness. It's like what our relationships with animals should be: joyful. Download it.

In memory of all animals friends and family who are gone, we love you.

-James

Now playing: Old Man Gloom - Christmas Eve, Parts I, II, & III

Episode 30: Bags, BBQ, Ecstasy

30 episodes! We're middle-aged! Finally, time to have a mid-life crisis, marry a beautiful woman we don't love and realize our entire lives have been for nothing! Hooray!

DOWNLOAD IT.

We discuss:

James dealing with a psychotic child!
Aliens inside Dash!
A great email sent to us by Jeff (Juice)!
Cheddar cheese!

Songs discussed:

Wonderful Night by Fatboy Slim - Listener Cullen's suggestion
Death Goes to the Winner by Harvey Milk - Listener Jeff's Suggestion
Click the song title links to listen to the songs and the band name links to learn all about the bands!

Music:

Jaga Jazzist - "Press Play"

Babatunde Olatunji - "Akiwowo (Ah-Key-Woh-Woh)"

James Shimoji - "Funky"

Mulatu Astatke - "Yegelle Tezeta"

Stuff we want to hear from YOU:

Work-relationship stories!

Being on ecstasy stories!
AN ANSWER TO OUR CONTEST! (Click to find out all the details!)
Anything ever!

Here's the Babybel Logo:
As always, we welcome and would love you to email us about anything! So hit us at wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your friends