Tago Mago & Hit to Death in the Future Head
IT'S A TWOFER
Can - Tago Mago (1971)
That first disc is just so good. I don't even really know what to say. The drums alternate between trance-like and funky. Damo Suzuki knows when to shriek and when to chant and when to shut up. All the songs feels very ritualistic. It's like hard-funk-meets-free-improv.
The second disc is neat, but kind of bloated and unfocused. I really like "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea," though. It's like an avant-acid-folk dirge/freak-out or something.
The real shame is that if they took out "Aumgn" and "Peking O," it would have easily been a perfect album for me.
4.5/5
Favorite track: "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea"
The Flaming Lips - Hit to Death in the Future Head (1992)
A fun psych-noise-power-pop(???) album. Like if Cheap Trick or Teenage Fan Club were into weirdo counterculture stuff and crescendoing blasts of distortion. The Flaming Lips are really great at pop hooks but also really great at being weirdos. That's a nice combination, isn't it?
SIDE NOTE!
The Lips are also amazing at naming things. I mean, come on. "Yeah, I Know It's a Drag... But Wastin' Pigs Is Still Radical" (1991 EP). "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart" (1993 studio album) "The Southern Oklahoma Cosmic Trigger Contest" (2001 soundtrack for the documentary, Okie Noodlin')... AND THE LIST GOES ON. How do they do it??
END SIDE NOTE!
5/5
Favorite track: "Hit Me Like You Did the First Time"