What's up with US Maple?

Has anyone seen Invisible Things? They're playing here this weekend.

Who are Invisible Things?

Mark Shippy and a crazy drummer http://invisiblethings.bandcamp.com

Well then yeah, you gotta go!

Oh, I listened to some of their music on bandcamp before, just didn't recognize the name. It's cool! Don't see how they would do it live, but would be interesting to see what they try to do. Plus yeah, that drummer is pretty nuts, seems like he would be fun to watch.

http://www.furious.com/perfect/usmaple2.html

This paper investigates the surprising parallels between U.S. Maple's notion of "reorganization" and Jacques Derrida's polyvalent corpus known as "deconstruction." I will focus, in particular, on how Al Johnson's vocals expand and critique the linguistic side of Derrida's theories through what Marcel Cobussen terms "deconstructions in music" (musical performances that act deconstructively on other musics).

woah that looks awesome

Cosign. Al Johnson is just amazing.

That essay is beautiful, though "Le Click" has always made me thing of NIN shreds when it comes on

i dig the enthusiasm (and at the same time i'm turned off by it) in the Ruccia essay, but wishful shoehorning abounds therein. parallels don't "exist" until they are drawn, are such parallels "surprising"? are they sufficiently investigated? (nope) what does the investigation enable? any acknowledgement of / investigation of alternative interpretations (and their "utility")? i'm sure Ruccia is an absolute sweetie, and that this was fun to research & write, but this was kinda bringing coals to Newcastle.

It's that time of year again, the BEST time of year!!! The time I remember that U.S. Maple is one of the greatest bands of all time and go on a listening spree! Fuch yeah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW-AgYj77A0

This is the best day of the year so far. U.S. Maple day needs to happen more often.

Fuck what I would give to see this band now

Yeah, I am a dope for never seeing this band live, though I would have had a brief window to do so. Still, bums me the hell out.

One of the amazing things about seeing them live was realizing how intentional even their weirdest and most shambling material was. They could replicate that sound of a band playing while tumbling down a flight of stairs so precisely.

My own ability to precisely replicate posts from two years ago is equally uncanny, it would seem.

Hah pretty much every post of mine in here is a variation of "U.S. Maple is the best".

i am still wondering what al johnson is doing, like he's off making a masterpiece and not telling me
like what is he doing aside from writing this in april of 2013?!

This Masterpiece Creature is procreating (now this should put the (B.F.R.O.) folks on their collective smarmy assess; she’s breeding and birthing on each block depositing 2 to 4 pre-owned or slightly used Chevy Cavaliers,be it the sporty sedan or the more sensible four-door. Oddly enough all Chevy Cavaliers here are born between 98 and 02,’ also born healthy with a Sanyo CD player and roomy ashtrays.

The Cavalier is the official pace car of Dubuque. The Cavalier occupies the second and third quadrant on the Dubuque family crest. She is our quixotic metal, our roboid…roboid. That is my word: roboid - I just made it up! All of you take witness for I have coined. Everywhere you look, every 50 feet or so, there’s another gooey newborn, a Chevy Cavalier-year’s 98’ through 02’

But that’s neither here nor there.

i loled at "roomy ashtrays"

Hah yeah. He was on Twitter for a moment, then he was gone. There is some live footage of him somewhere above doing a solo performance/reading.

saw Dead Rider over the weekend and they kinda reminded me of like, i dunno, El-P fronting the Minutemen? the drummer had a somewhat pronounced jazz-funk feel and they were all wearing different hats. they also had a fog machine.

the bass was not as Minutemen-y as the drums iirc

No fog machine at the show I saw a couple of months ago, but there's video of much of the set here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfu6shiyD_Q

I'd just go with Bowie + US Maple as the best summation. Really like these guys. Great video. The influence of Al Johnson hangs heavy on their live attitude...

Invisible Things album is fuckin incredible

I need to re-visit Dead Rider - kinda bummed I missed that show. The thread always gets a LHi3S listen outta me.

http://pitchfork.com/news/61509-tortoise-return-with-new-album-the-catastrophist-share-gesceap-plot-tour/

"The album features vocals from Yo La Tengo's Georgia Hubley (on "Yonder Blue") and U.S. Maple/Dead Rider's Todd Rittmann (on a cover of David Essex's "Rock On"). "

The album cover is horrifying

I saw Dead Rider the other night, now pared down to a trio, they remain the greatest band currently active.

seeing invisible things tonight with the ex
whee!

How was it La Lechera? Should have been a good pairing!

Amazing show!! A guy I know is friends with the invisible things drummer (Jim?) and told me he is a professor and specializes in a particular type of Sri Lankan drumming insert heart eyes emoji here !!! <3 I'm really tired now but super great show.

Awesome!

This is one of those weird things, because everyone knows David Bowie and almost nobody knows Dead Rider, but the overlaps between what they've been doing and what Bowie is doing now are kind of major. This live video, btw, is seriously fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkgl_N91bU4

It's time to go down the U.S. Maple listening hole again. This is awesome:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JarSldMzLfo

― grandavis, Wednesday, 8 January 2014 18:32 (1 year ago)

YES

I can't remember what originally compelled to click this thread and start listening to the music, but US Maple has to be one of my favourite ILM finds of the year and possibly fave ILM find full-stop. Been listening to Acre Thrills and Talker on near-enough constant repeat over the last few weeks. Their whole approach feels so fresh to me at the moment.

They are a treasure that only grows more wonderful with the passage of time. A true wonder of a band.

We're only talking five relatively short albums, but there's something in them that keeps me thinking there's even more (that I missed the last time) when I go back to them, despite playing them many times. It's not that I'm missing anything specific, but they have that quality that suggests so, keeps them fresh IMO

Interviewed Al years and years ago, just dug up a couple of great quotes:

A lot of people who may come see the band but who haven’t heard the records may think it’s improvisation. I really want to get away from that. It may sound silly, but in my heart of hearts, I would like U.S. Maple to be taken in as a Black Crowes song can be taken in, on some levels.

I don’t think we’re that complicated. We continue to go back to the still to generate this liquid that has the same ingredients as early Journey. I’m telling you, they’re there. The difference is the arrangements. They’re just presented in a different way.

!!!!!!!! acre thrills documentary surfaces online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loni6SVagbw

so cool to hear them talk about songwriting and how they worked as a band...and Country Kitchen and Hardee's namechecks

Pretty sure this is the same thing that's been up for a while. Still great, but I don't think anything has been added.

Purple on Time is literally a masterpiece

New Dead Rider album in September: https://deadrider.bandcamp.com/album/crew-licks

greatest band!!!!!!

I still rock a Purple on Time era Maple shirt and man not many people recognize it but the ones that do it's like we are BFFs

actually was at the May Day parade and met a woman who went to college we Shippy she was like "Why are you wearing my friend's band's shirt?" I didn't get the sense she knew they had gotten much acclaim

Holy shit @ the Grateful Dead cover on the new Dead Rider album!

there's a new shippy ensemble album out too
https://billingtonshippywyche.bandcamp.com/album/billington-shippy-wyche

just make your bedroom GODDAMN GREAT!

high SCHOOOOOOOOOL

did US Maple and Jesus Lizard ever play any Chicago doubleheader sets where David Yow & Al Johnson did a band swap? that woulda been pretty neat, they shoulda done that

there's still time