Saputello

"For me, it doesn't add a comma to Lumpy Gravy and the schizoids of Zappa." It's not that it's heretical to think so, but if there were even a single sentence in your review where we could understand WHY you think it doesn't add a comma, that would be preferable. Otherwise, it's hard to understand what we're talking about. For me, Zappa marked one of the many paths that could be taken with the collage technique; the Faust are different because they have different musical references (Zappa's references mainly included people like Varese and Stravinsky and he often excelled in orchestral scores). The Faust lack references to certain symphonic elements or jazz, while they develop a whole use of electronics that is absent in Zappa, and their sounds possess a tragic quality that is once again missing in Zappa. Moreover, among the albums you mentioned by Zappa, there are things that are really far from even the early Faust, such as Burnt Weeny Sandwich (but I also see totally different musical fabrics in Lumpy Gravy). The Faust also create a conflict between noise, music, and spoken parts, but these three elements have completely different contents compared to Zappa's (like the dialogues, for example). And one could go on for hours and days finding differences, in my opinion, but they're all just musings. Listen to IV; if you don't like that, then it means you and the Faust are speaking two different languages.

There would be many things to specify. Alright, let’s start with the most obvious point that, for an Italian audiophile, might be impossible to comprehend: all those records that Scaruffi praises are not just praised by him, and above all, he did NOT discover them. Is this so hard to understand? Can’t we step outside our little web garden every now and then? Alright, let’s move on. In my opinion, this is not their best album; my favorite is IV, which is much more mature than this one. In any case, I don't agree that it’s a mere copy of Zappa; there’s a much more "European" approach, and the sounds they produce are quite different. Let’s gloss over the pretentious statement that would relegate Faust and even kraut rock to mere imitation of Zappa. Let’s also leave aside the fact that you say, “those who have listened to Zappa's albums from the '60s have already heard all this, and done it much better,” and the “all this” in your review is explained not at all.

@ Purpulan: Sure, but Albini really hates all digital production.

Albini's philosophy has always mirrored the type of groups he recorded, where spontaneity was a fundamental component that should not be destroyed by invasive contributions to their creativity. But even without influencing them at all as a producer, he can follow the band's requests like no one else and fulfill them completely. In short, if you were to step into Albini's recording studio, I am sure that despite his absence of input in the arrangements, the sound that would emerge would be completely different from that of another studio.

Without a producer to record you, to charge you up, to motivate you, to give advice, to tell you what to include in the arrangements, to position the microphones far away instead of close, to believe in you (and I add that being produced by someone like Steve Albini also gives you a decent amount of publicity and a badass business card), without all this, I find that making a FUNDAMENTAL record is an incredibly difficult thing. And it’s not just a technical issue (the mixing), in my opinion.

Alright, it was just a slip, right? :)

More than a round of applause, they deserve a standing ovation, one of my favorite Italian post-punk/new wave bands. Great review.

I have to adapt to the person I'm facing; I've never told an asshole floating in the toilet "please move."

Do you know what two terminal stages say when they meet? "Fiquata."

Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with listening to a band like Dinosaurs Jr. in the painfully pathetic Placebo; everyone finds similarities based on their own personal parameters. Mocking ROOFTRAMPLER just because he hears influences from massive bands in the admittedly awful Placebo is the sort of thing only terminal losers do. On the other hand, it often happens that we associate bands and music that are worlds apart because our ears pick up on some elements of contact; music is one, thinking in isolated compartments is, yet again, something only terminal losers do. This is so sixteen-year-olds, for real. Now you can keep up this pointless argument that’s as useful as a Lamborghini without wheels, and sorry for the interruption, dogs.