Here are two parts of an uncompleted song trilogy I wrote for the Amazons, the acoustic band I was in until I left San Francisco in April 2001.
I always liked the weird anti-heroes and losers in Greek mythology, two of whom figure in “Tales of Brave Procrustes” and “Roll Like Sisyphus.” (I always intended to write that third one about Icarus, mainly so I could be the first songwriter I know to get the word “heliocentric” into a lyric.)
These songs were recorded at our last show, in March 2001 with Lemons Are Yellow. I hope we can get the band back together for our 10-year reunion … Maybe I can finally finish that last song!
Read why Gary Heffern is “Brother P-Touch”!
Matthew Rothenberg (lead vocals, guitar); Jason Brownell (acoustic bass guitar, vocals); Todd Barker (drums, vocals). Engineered by Jason Brownell.
Write Icarus!
Did you read Camus on Sisyphus before you wrote this?
>>Did you read Camus on Sisyphus before you wrote this?
Robin: Many years before, yes … Greek mythology was this recurring motif for the Amazons (check out the name!)
I wanted the Icarus song to be slower than the other two … The middle eight. 🙂
I got “waxy wings” and “heliocentric.” I got some bits of melody. I never got that one together.
Jason and Todd were so great to work with — both talented and imaginative, both friends from distinct early phases of my life, pre- what we conveniently call “Che Underground.” The extensive vocal harmonies were something I’d always wanted to do … They labored mightily to accommodate my raggy-ass vocals! 🙂
And operating acoustic meant we could practice HARD in the same room my baby daughter was sleeping! I’m very grateful they were game to collaborate in a way that suited me … I couldn’t ask for a more welcoming creative environment.
I’m not sure I ever thanked them enough, so … There you go!
I started reading Greek mythology when I was about 10 and the myth of Procrustes and the concept of the procrustean bed resonated with me immediately, although I don’t think I fully appreciated it’s meaning until I was exposed to the philosophies of corporate management (and also neoconservatism, another school of thought that depends upon willful delusion ;^D)
Great to hear a song that references it!
This is from Wikipedia and it nicely sums up it’s useage for me:
“A Procrustean solution is the undesirable practice of tailoring data to fit its container or some other preconceived stricture. A common example from the business world is embodied in the notion that no résumé should exceed one page in length.”
Often observed in the company of it’s pal, Cognitive Dissonance…
BTW, topic for discussion:
Jonathan Richman opined, “I believe that any group that hurts the ears of infants sucks.” He’s also declared that no group should have more gear than they can carry into a gig in a single trip.
While I’ll make the occasional exception when I’m 100 percent certain no babies are in the area, I have generally come to embrace both of these tenets. I see very little reason for volume or weight to overpower any musical performance.
Agreed…In the art world they have a saying, “If you can’t make it good, make it big…if you can’t make it big, make it red.”
Volume being the equivalent of “red” sometimes.
Dave Ellison, Paul Brewin and Brian Phillips were part of my earliest acoustic guerrilla tactics, ca. 1985 … Then Paul Kaufman and I played our guitars in plazas around Europe summer of ’86 … Then I seriously supported myself playing with a street trio in Hamburg, 1987. All of those focused on covers, though.
The Amazons came after I’d gotten plumb tired of hauling amplifiers to Tuesday night gigs in SF and playing for the bartender and sound guy. Screw that! Busking, you can decide that ANYWHERE is your performance space (as long as the cops don’t stop you). We’d dominate open mics ’cause we were tight, we’d get some straight gigs, or we’d just create an imaginary rectangle on the sidewalk and kick out the jams. Setting up meant taking the guitar and bass out of their cases. We played a moving bus for a few weeks, as pictured above!
It was liberating, not only from the schleppery of all that gear and bad sound systems and stuff but from the constipation of San Francisco’s club scene. It’s hard for me to picture ever playing steadily in another combo that requires an electrical outlet to function.
I hope to hear a heliocentric song sung by the Amazons upon their 10 year (as in 10 revolutions of everything else around the Earth) anniversary!
Set your Icarus controls for the heart of the sun!!
These songs rock AND they are inspiring me to read up on mythology.
Another fun thing about doing the Amazons: The mechanics of the acoustic instruments we used meant my guitar was well and truly part of the rhythm section with Todd’s drums, while those big strings on the acoustic bass guitar supported any leads … Jason’s a far more adept soloist anyway, so it was an ideal matchup.
Charlie Christian was a genius, but he sure messed it up for guitarists who wanted to be rhythm players only! 🙂
Matt, now I think of your song every time this sort of this comes up at work:
“Table 2. Congruence coefficients of the Procrustes rotated factor structures of adolescents for grades from 6 to 12 with the Estonian adult (19–60 years) varimax structure”
I like a reason to hum while reviewing data.