HYLI Vol. XXXIV - Voivod and Talking Heads
Andy sends Patrick some Canadian heavy-metal/thrash and Patrick sends Andy some '80s new wave.
I (Andy) got stung by a wasp last week and Pat fell down while running so I’d say things are going pretty great here at HYLI Inc.
Andy decided to write that one single sentence up above and thought that was a suitable introduction. This guy fucking sucks. It is true that I took a tumble while running. I dinged up my elbow and wrist in a not-great way but, ultimately, am still a picture of perfect health that will survive. Did y’all hear football came back this weekend? I enjoy the sport but am not looking forward to everyone, including my newsletter co-writer, incessantly talking to me about it until February. Get a new hobby. Hope You Like It.
(Andy: For the record, I wrote a real intro that didn’t get saved but I like when Pat gets grumpy more)
Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
Andy: Guess what I know about Voivod? Basically nothing. How did I come across them? Voivod were definitely named “Metallica” on Kazaa or Limewire back in 200X and I downloaded them and was definitely like “This isn’t Metallica? I don’t think? I’m like 12 years old I guess I don’t know anything.” (Patrick: this makes sense to me as my only frame of reference of Voivod is that Jason Newsted from Metallica joined the band). Isn’t that how everyone in our generation found a handful of bands? Just some dipshit uploading things with the wrong names. This is literally the only Voivod album I’ve ever listened to.
Anyway, despite not being Metallica they’re still pretty great. I always kinda felt like if Primus was loosely like “Hey what if we were actually a technical thrash metal band?” they’d sound similar to Voivod. It’s good thrash. Better than Anthrax that is for sure. Hopefully two weeks of good thrash put me back in Pat’s good graces. Hope You Like It.
Patrick: The thing about Andy that makes him fucking suck to be a person I’m friends with is my brain works in a way like “hey, I love my friend Andy, I’m gonna send him stuff every week that I think he doesn’t know about and will enjoy” and his brain works in a way like “I’m gonna send my friend Patrick some stuff he’ll love for two weeks in a row so that I can buy myself a month of being a depraved loser and send him stuff I know he’ll hate.” I just want him to treat me the way I treat him out of the goodness of his heart with no agenda or long game plan. What gives. (Andy: I do not do this. Pat is out here acting all open-minded then gets pissy when the drums get too fast)
Anyways, Dimension Hatröss rocks. I definitely get some vibes of Primus-but-thrashier or Metallica-but-funkier. There’s an old story of after Cliff Burton’s death that Les Claypool from Primus auditioned to be Metallica’s bassist but they turned him down because he was too good and they didn’t want to pull focus from Hetfield and Lars so enter Jason Newsted, who joined Voivod lol. Imo this album kinda offers something similar to Metallica with Les Claypool. I wouldn’t say Voivod’s bassist is, like, a top-tier bassist like Claypool is but this album sinks into some of the grooves that Primus is, and Metallica is not, known for while still maintaining a lot of the ingredients that make thrash thrash. I feel like “Tribal Convictions” is a great example of this. Super cool tune. Some of the guitar tones on this track rule too and differ greatly from the Metallicas and Slayers of thrash.
Yeah, it seems like Andy’s exposure to Voivod is about the same as mine now, but this is firmly up my alley and is definitely going to lead me to exploring more Voivod, especially the albums with Newsted, who is a killer bassist and someone who deserves more flowers than anyone, including his old bandmates, ever give him.
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Patrick: I didn’t have a huge frame of reference for Talking Heads until like seven years ago. My ex-girlfriend/current wife (Andy: definitely your better half) and I started dating around this time and, like most people newly dating, we made playlists for each other like absolute cornballs. My wife doesn’t read this newsletter (honestly, good for her) so I feel fine admitting that stuff like Maximo Park and Miniature Tigers are like nails on a chalkboard for me, but among those M bands, she also included stuff like Squeeze and Talking Heads, which fucking Rock. I remember visiting my parents for the holidays at the time and playing this album, specifically “Crosseyed and Painless,” and my mom entering my room like Cosmo Kramer (very unlike my Mom tbqh) and being like “yoooooo is that the Talking Heads,” and talking my ear off about Music (also very unlike my Mom, usually the opposite scenario is what would occur).
This shit rips. It’s been a normal fixture for me ever since. David Byrne has one of those voices that is super fun to imitate but that can never be replicated. His little goofball dork delivery (Andy: well said) perfectly matches the guitar parts from Jerry Harrison, and are fucking doused in gasoline and lit on fire by Tina Weymouth’s bass parts. Not to get all “haha lets talk TONE” in this newsletter because this isn’t ultimate-guitar.com, but goddamn she is one of the best bassists of all time. Listen to the bass in “Houses in Motion.” Simple but so effective. Absolutely perfect. I love this album and I love my wife and I’m glad she showed me this but I still don’t like Miniature Tigers, I’m sorry. Hope You Like It.
Andy: My biggest exposure to mainstream/popular music was through the wonderful Guitar Hero and Rockband (the better of the two imo) games of the 2000s. I was, and still am (shoutout Clone Hero) an absolute expert plastic guitar player (Patrick: I lied before, you have too many hobbies). Those games were my first introduction to so many well-known bands. Journey, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr… I’ll stop to save time. On Rock Band 2 I had two songs that I loved that weren’t metal adjacent: Talking Head’s “Psycho Killer” and Squeeze’s “Cool For Cats.” (Patrick: wow lol do you want the link to Megan’s playlist). They both rule. I often find myself coming back to “Psycho Killer” so I asked Pat what he thought about Talking Heads and he said some shit I don’t remember (Patrick: please print out and keep an encyclopedia of my texts).
Simply, I love this album. It is basically perfect for what it is trying to do. Such a fantastic quirky vibe. It is so much fun. I have no notes. Wikipedia wasn’t helpful but it seems like they must have used a million different instruments on this album. The only song I had heard before was “Once in a Lifetime.” “Houses in Motion” has interesting guitar (I think? What instrument?) texture throughout that I loved. I didn’t particularly love “Listening Wind” on first listen but it really grew on me with each pass. Guitar work is so fun. The album is so fun. Fun.
Thanks for this. I’ll probably work my way through the entire discography now. The whole thing was very my vibe (Patrick: peep the album before this, Fear of Music, next). I Loved It.