Lloyd Marcus - American Tea Paaaaaar-TAY!

My fellow Americans! Not too crazy about any presidential candidate this year? Here's someone more entertaining then all of them put together: an ultra-conservative black man!  Who can sing like a Motown star! We truly live in an age of wonders.

Lloyd starts off this 2009 release dealing, like any good politician, in generalities - stuff that anyone can get behind. He even takes a swing at Louis Armstrong's chestnut "Wonderful World."  But then you get two back-to-back bits of hilarity, the somewhat baffling (and thoroughly dated) "Twenty Ten," and his "My Girl" parody, where Marcus sings the praises of the likes of Sarah Palin and the already-forgotten Michelle Bachman. Classic. Just the thing to 'take back America' to the good ol' days of slavery, segregation, lynchings... "What a wonderful country this is!"

But hey, if nothing else, he is a pretty decent singer. A patriotic round of applause for our representative from the great state of Utah, Windbag, for sending us this one.






Lloyd Marcus - "American Tea Party"

1	American Tea Party Anthem
2	We the People
3	Feet to the Fire
4	Wonderful Country
5	Twenty Ten
6	Our Girls
7	Hello Mom, It's Me
8	Let the River Flow
9	United We Stand
10	Can't Afford the Sunshine
11	Dance with the Devil
12	It's About Love

I'm Still Bringing Weirdness Back...

Last year, I reported on the latest sightings of sicko songsters in our society. Not only are they still at it, but some serious competition has joined them. Maniacs rejoice!

Bretts Milk "Daddy's Breath" (release date: Oct. 15) is creepy electronic "pop", like '80s New Wave gone evil. At its most subtly atmospheric, it suggests the darker side of Barnes and Barnes. Upbeat tracks resemble dance music that no-one in their right mind would ever actually dance to. Vocals, sometimes distorted, sound like the Singing Resident in need of a psychiatrist. Or an exorcist. Great fun!

That Ostrich Von Nipple album was probably my fave new release of last year, so am thrilled  to hear him guesting on this equally brilliant album. Occasional guitarist for The Residents, Nolan Cook, who also appeared on Von Nipple's LP, applies his twisted 6-string shenanigans here as well.

Bretts Milk "Milky Nipps"

Perhaps an even stronger contender for album-of-the-year (so far) is Macula Dog's self-titled release. Someone on their Bandcamp page says "It's like the Residents performing covers of Oh, No!-era Devo inside the universe of Pee Wee's Playhouse," thus saving me the trouble of writing a review - I was going to compare this great band to those very same folks, including Pee Wee!

Macula Dog [listen for free, Name-Your-Price download]

If your head isnt caving in yet from all this elegant eccentricity, it very well may after witnessing this stupendous 9 minute video from another avant-tarde veteran, Petunia-Liebling MacPumpkin and her Electric Phantom posse. So impressed was I by the surreal hallucinations and audio manifestations of the vid that I just had to subject Ms. MacPumpkin to a brief interrogation.

Petunia-Liebling MacPumpkin - "Veggie Medley": the vegetables will get you if you don't watch out!

- Do you do all the visual effects/photography yourself? If not, would you like to give a shout-out to your collaborators?
Melody McGinn the caretaker at Electric Phantom does the majority of the visual effects/photography/editing. In this particular story however, Jimmy L. Wright made all of the veggies, Alien and Halbert (the dog). Jodie Lowther created the "set" for part 4, and Frederick Barr the "set" for part 2. 

- Where do you shoot your videos? Do you have a studio?
We shoot the videos on greenscreen at Electric Phantom.

- You are in Florida, correct? Is there any strange/experimental art/music scene near you?
Yes! From Orlando originally and now in Gibsonton. hahha I believe there is a noise scene around here, but I don't go out much.

- Do you plan on releasing this music, or is it only the soundtrack to the video?
Oh it's already been released..One more video to go and the album has been completely visualized.  http://www.electric-phantom.com/merch.html

- Do you (like me) not really like vegetables, and this vid expresses your fear/guilt having been raised by your mother always trying to get you to EAT YOUR VEGETABLES?! 

Actually Im a vegetarian but I had the same exact experience with meat. Maybe this is revenge. 

- Do you perform live?
No. I'm sorry. :(