East West Blast Test - Popular Music For Unpopular People

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 23 / 12 / 2005

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The concept of making music together while being apart was done over the internet by Panacea and DJ Spooky a few years ago, but in the case of East West Blast Test I think regular mail was used. On both occasions it proved a neat way to record 'together'. Record at will and use full freedom to record over another musician's tracks. 'Popular Music for Unpopular People' offers screeching art-rock made with punk ethics. On the East coast Dave Witte recorded drum tracks and sent these to Chris Dodge in California. The latter was in charge of the end result and was able to ask in guests. So 'Popular Music for Unpopular People' ultimately consists of drummer Witte and Dodge who was responsible for everything else. There's a digeridoo, a nice name for an instrument to be used on a Dodge recording but the album isn't anything hypnotic. Tailor-cut at 23 tracks 32 minutes, this archetype of an Ipecac recording whizzes along and is a hotchpotch based on staccato rhythym patterns. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek with for example loads of references to the P-Funk of George Clinton in 'The Fathership Invasion, it's a pleasure to bang your head to it. It's a light-hearted affair with the sounds of chirping birds in the background on some tracks, and a young child talking during a recording, probably Chris Dodge's while the parents try to shut it up - Fathership Invasion? Dodge was driven by Witte into throwing a bonanza and it works wonderfully well. 'Popular Music for Unpopular People' is like a storm, a whirlwind and a tornado. Imaginative and witty, the album puts the pun back into punk.

Track Listing:-

1 Kind of Black and Blue
2 The Last Drop
3 In the Dogloo
4 Unfantastic Voyage
5 The Fathership Invasion
6 Passport to Papua
7 Lithe
8 Senor Polyp
9 Don't Drink the Atwater
10 Unwanted Inches
11 Anne R. Kaye
12 Pope's Nose
13 Fabulous Slurry
14 Chasing the Dragon
15 Soft Robotics
16 Corkmaster
17 In the Multi-Purpose Room
18 Otoko No Niku
19 Long in the Tooth
20 The Great Carny Breakout
21 Yin Yin
22 Eight Hours North
23 Welcome to Geelong (Now Go Home)

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