One song/one listen: Fin Fang Foom

by Wild Bill Heroic

So I'm going to try and do this every Friday... I'm going to listen to a song I've never heard before (to the best of my knowledge) and you're going to get my reaction to the song in realtime. Same rules as last time. The gods of websearch will lead me to my chosen band's page and I'll pick a song... by title. I then put on my headphones, turn the volume to a sadistic level, and let fly. I stop the sentence I'm on when the song's over, even if it doesn't make any sense.

See? That's the beauty of the thing - it might end up an F5 gibberish tornado! A CROSS-EYED GOD FINGERPAINTS A KANSAS TOWN TO SMITHEREENS. And there's nothing I can do about it! Plus, I'm rocking a head cold right now, so be prepared for some grade-A wooziness-impacted writing. Maybe I'm just exhausted. You'd think I'd be able to tell the difference by now.

ANYWAY

This week I've selected Fin Fang Foom. These guys are everywhere - especially Eddie. I think there must be at least three of him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been photographed in two places simultaneously. Get me proof of this and I'll make you a grilled cheese.

Don't ask me why, but I've never seen Fin Fang Foom live and have not given their music a fair listen before today. Let's rectify that.

I promise you this is the first time I've heard this jam. Headphones on & here goes...

Fin Fang Foom - Magnetic North (link)

That's a pretty guitar tone. Wow, that's a really pretty guitar tone and now here comes some bass. Shit, I can barely follow the bass. These guys are technical as hell. The timing alone could confuse a Nobel laureate, and there's not even drumming yet... there it is.

Holy shit, That comes together nicely. Very nicely. Very pretty, very clipped and precise. It's like looking out your window, your dingy window, at a cold morning across city rooftops. It's like riding the back of a pigeon through the city and you're looking over the top of its head, between its wings, as it goes... then the build and now we're moving a lot faster. Can't tell what the vocals are doing, but I dig. kind of like a middle ground between Sunny Day and Slint. Not as bizarre as Slint, but it's in there somewhere.

Now they're getting kind of mathy - an abrupt math phrase then back to the original speed. "Why waste your time?" is the first line I understand and this is some good mood rock. In fact, I'm typing too fast for what they're doing.

And now we're back to the pigeon's back as it ducks and weaves through alleyways and we're two inches tall, the city is no longer something we can manage or even understand. Fire escapes rise beyond us like the Sierra Mountains and the pigeon climbs higher. Smokestacks are our volcanoes. Traffic probably doesn't exist, it doesn't effect us, it's like a rushing river of idiot metal below wherever our ride takes us.

Whatever's happening, it's awesome, but it's going to take more than one listen for me to have any idea what the structure of that song was. This is some delightfully complicated shit. I'm confused as hell - and loving it.