The Mars Volta

the mars volta are allright........they have some amazing melodies, but the albums so far have been kinda mediocre

some good songs on both of them, but most of it is just filler

but i'm sure they'll continue to develop and eventually put out a great album

I happen to really like TMV. they, along with Rush, were the two bands that really got me into Prog rock.  Without them, I might never have discovered Yes, Genesis, Floyd, or KC.  I admit that it's hard at times to get into the band, and that some of the lyrics are hard to understand (ok, ALL of them,) but i think TMV have done something that many of the bands from the 80's missed:  Where as bands like Marrilion made great music, many people still compare them (at least Fish-era Marillion) to genesis.  TMV have actually taken the things that many of us love about prog (longer compositons, above-average musicianship)  and merged them with the energy of punk.  That to me is what progressive rock is: Taking music and pushing the boundaries, not just re-hashing the glory days of the genre.

So far I've only heard "Frances the mute" once so I can't form an opinion yet. It sounded quite nice. We'll see. 

"noise passages"? What're you talking about? The end to "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" and "The Widow" is awesome. I never skip them. It just takes some getting used to is all and an open mind. It also helps to not be old, sorry, but as you get older you tend to not like the fast n' hard parts of music. Like my dad, he used to love heavy metal stuff, but now he's seriously mellowed out and listens to contemporary Christian and pop and soft rock. It's kind of sad, really...

But my friends love the Mars Volta...I sense a prog comeback...

How many of the over 30's like this band ?. I struggle with them also. Maybe something new and different to this degree is too much of a barrier to overcome to "set in their ways" folks like me.
        Or maybe they're just rubbish

greenback wrote: gdub411 wrote: greenback wrote: i have listen some excerpts and, no, like tool, they really irritate me! vibrationbaby, you are allowed to give 0 star to their albums! I have learned this about your tastes. If it sucks...you like. If it is good ...you  hate! i always believed there are people who like what i hate and vice versa

I love ya just the same. You're like the obnoxious unruly child I never had....oh...wait a minute...yes I did.

Edited by gdub411

Reed Lover wrote: What you had him,or fathered an unruly child? I think we should know!

My daughter....Kayleigh...your typical 16 yr old teenage girl....enough said!

James Lee wrote: The-Bullet wrote: How many of the over 30's like this band ?. I struggle with them also. Maybe something new and different to this degree is too much of a barrier to overcome to "set in their ways" folks like me.         Or maybe they're just rubbish penguindf12 wrote: It just takes some getting used to is all and an open mind. It also helps to not be old, sorry, but as you get older you tend to not like the fast n' hard parts of music. Like my dad, he used to love heavy metal stuff, but now he's seriously mellowed out and listens to contemporary Christian and pop and soft rock. It's kind of sad, really...But my friends love the Mars Volta...I sense a prog comeback... Do people really think the age difference is that important? And by important I mean meaningful in any other respect besides an excuse not to have a reasonable thought. It's easier as a kid to say that adults don't like something because they're too old, and it's easier as an aging person to just assume anything the kids do is frivolous. Nothing that TMV is doing is all that difficult to understand (whether you like it or not) for anyone with a healthy range of musical experience. There were more difficult bands in the 70s and 80s, and nobody with exposure to Krautrock, RIO, avant-garde classical, or industrial music (the real stuff, like Einsturzende Neubauten or Throbbing Gristle) can truthfully call TMV "noisy".

I love you too James!

James Lee wrote: The-Bullet wrote: How many of the over 30's like this band ?. I struggle with them also. Maybe something new and different to this degree is too much of a barrier to overcome to "set in their ways" folks like me.         Or maybe they're just rubbish penguindf12 wrote: It just takes some getting used to is all and an open mind. It also helps to not be old, sorry, but as you get older you tend to not like the fast n' hard parts of music. Like my dad, he used to love heavy metal stuff, but now he's seriously mellowed out and listens to contemporary Christian and pop and soft rock. It's kind of sad, really...But my friends love the Mars Volta...I sense a prog comeback... Do people really think the age difference is that important? And by important I mean meaningful in any other respect besides an excuse not to have a reasonable thought. It's easier as a kid to say that adults don't like something because they're too old, and it's easier as an aging person to just assume anything the kids do is frivolous. Nothing that TMV is doing is all that difficult to understand (whether you like it or not) for anyone with a healthy range of musical experience. There were more difficult bands in the 70s and 80s, and nobody with exposure to Krautrock, RIO, avant-garde classical, or industrial music (the real stuff, like Einsturzende Neubauten or Throbbing Gristle) can truthfully call TMV "noisy".

Well, you're right to a certain extent. But I DO think that there is a tendency that as you get older you tend to like softer music. It's probably not genetic, predetermined stuff, but in the mind rather. When you're young, music has meaning and purpose. Your dreams and ultimate direction aim towards music, and it matters. You don't slip into pop and re-hash music. But as you age, your dreams fade and you lose direction and purpose. Then you wonder why you were so against pop, and are too complacent to enjoy faster serious music. The same thing happens with pre-teens and kids: they listen to pop because A: it is forced down their throats and B: they have no political conscience, they're too young.

That doesn't mean as you get older you automatically become laid-back and comfortably numb. If you keep direction and purpose, yeah, you could probably jam to heavy metal in your 80s. It's just a tendency to become complacent as you grow older and are disillusioned. Those not disillusioned (like music stars themselves, sometimes) keep at it and don't fall back. So any older people can still like faster stuff if they want to. It's all in the head, and ultimately your decision. My dad has become very numb lately, his job is a burden on him. He used to work for a company that was loose and fairly small-time, and he loved the same stuff I listen to. Then the company was sold to a big beaurocratic Dilbert-like megacorp and he's been beaten down, really. By the MAN.  And now he's lost his fighting spirit, and has been lulled into the mainstream. (musically at least - he still is very political and critical, but not activist anymore. he still has his opinions, but fails to act on them and in fact will sometimes do the opposite.)

Then there's the biological fact that as you age, your body slows down and eventually it may be sickening to listen to fast music. But that's not 'till you're REALLY OLD. I know, because I was extremely sick and weak and tried to listen to the Mars Volta and came very close to throwing up. But now that I'm healthy, I love listening to them.

So, uh, yeah.

Hey,Greg,just a friendly bit of advice-dont go out on the town tonight,in fact dont go anywhere!

In this mood you're likely to make a lot of err......... new friends.....