John Maus

That's not a bad headline! I thought it was gonna be "The Maus That Floored...Me" or something like that.

Every interview I read with that guy he's so Tragic and Heavy I LOVE IT

He actually sounded pretty exuberant! If intense.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/click-track/post/in-concert-john-maus-at-black-cat/2011/07/06/gIQAInK50H_blog.html

Washington Post writer hates the live show
an excerpt:

A number of questions run through your mind during a John Maus concert.

What's he saying? Is he being serious? Is he okay? Isn't this a Kajagoogoo song? Who told that kid dancing up front that was an acceptable haircut?

But one question comes up more than any other — what's the point?

When Maus performs, as he did Tuesday at the Black Cat's backstage, it's like '80s karaoke night minus the hits — plus a hint of crazy. For 25 minutes the 31-year-old electronic music composer stalked the stage, leaped into the air, pulled his hair and howled along to his pre-recorded music that sounded like the third generation audio cassette dub of a long-forgotten new wave band. The way he shouted, flexed and bulged his eyes you half expected his skin to turn green and for him to transform into The Incredible Maus.

Sounds like a review of mid-2000s Ariel Pink

All week I've been planning on picking this up after wory today, but now that BNM is going to mean it'll be sold out if they didn't order enough copies. Thats really my only beef with Pitchfork.

I've been a little lukewarm on his stuff prior to this album, but "Cop Killer" and all the iTunes samples I've heard make this sound like pretty much the perfect fit for my ears in 2011.

I've never seen him live, but the pics at that Washington Post link are pretty hilarious.

(to be fair, there are tons of bands I love where live pics of them wouldn't do any justice to how intense the shows can actually be)

Hmm. Do people really have a problem with "Rights For Gays"? I'm surprised that people would write it off as a piss-take.

John's live show reminds me of the live shows of other people I know who also went to CalArts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLpadyo9cFw

When I saw him last, his laptop was screwing up with the playback and he shook it and pounded it, in character, 'til it fixed itself. I love this guy.

Pfork article also singles out the gorgeous (imo) "Tenebrae" as a misstep.

Although I disagree with some people who see "Rights For Gays" and "Tenebrae" as missteps, or others who say "Cop Killer" or "Matter Of Fact" are missteps... there's something about John's ironic approach to lyric writing-- real, literate irony, the duality of meaning etc., not 'moustache on a trucker hat' irony-- that kind of makes these differences of opinion a non-issue? I mean, I feel like the unimpeachable pop hit "Believer" is in fact unsophisticated in comparison, but I am cool with the fact that somebody would prefer John Maus when he's singing about Jackie Chan instead of riskier stuff

0 stars in Slant

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/john-maus-we-must-become-the-pitiless-censors-of-ourselves/2552

When I find nothing redeeming in 90% of an album's content I will usually, out of something like sportsmanship, at least entertain the hypothesis that I just didn't get it. In this case, I can't bring myself to care. There's obviously some kind of art-school mindfuckery afoot here, and I suspect that Maus aspires to some meta-theoretical point on the level of "But really, what is music anyway?" And maybe reality is just the hallucination of a five-dimensional computerized intelligence! Generous guy that I am, I'll concede that We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves does, on some level, constitute music. Really shitty music.

I just...

There's obviously some kind of art-school mindfuckery afoot here I mean seriously, dude, what? How cynical must one have become to even think this is "obviously" what is going on? Critic in completely-not-getting-it and not-being-able-to-detect-earnestness-and-sincere-music-so-it-must-be-mindfuckery shocker...

What a piece of shit that review, gah. Can't get over it.

The "writer" weighs in in the comments there, saying: "Consider this a satire on an unlikely and undeserving cult hero."

Right.

Stopped reading at this piece of shit opinion: "The Walker Brothers produced little memorable music as a unit"

I know, so so wrong.

What a waste of bytes and time that review is, christ. It is unhealthily winding me up.

loved this dude last time I saw him

chillwave klaus kinski

i'm all about this album

http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/1/1730-john-maus/2784-live-at-glasslands/

I love this guy so much. Can't wait to see him live.

I like him, but i really don't get the huge critical adoration. Maybe dude is just so successful with justifying his retro shtick with intellectual/performance theory word-games it gives writers a boner.

Though i love this

There's just something about a metal skeleton coming out of fire that's really poetic and just extraordinary

Uh oh, I think I'm going to eat my own words with that 1st post.

Mmm... It seems people who don't particularly get the critical acclaim always call it things like a "schtick", like you do as well. I don't think his music is a "schtick" at all. He's got a distinctive style, but why do people with John Maus call it a "schtick" so often? Most bands have a particular style but their sounds doesn't get called "schtick". Is it the retro sound that makes people think his music is a gimmick, tongue-in-cheek? I think he's completely sincere about his music.

b/c lofi 80s appropriations are a schtick now? i think its pretty fair 2 say that what is distinctive about maus is his approach to publicity and interviews

i dont know anything about his interviews or publicity but his new album sounds like someone drowning in the deep end of chillwave, like dredging up the queasier elements.

that is, i like it

i can agree on characterizing dude as "queasy chillwave dredge"

chillwave klaus kinski

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 18 July 2011 00:55 (3 days ago)

not an upbeat churl then

someone link me to one of these interviews

This album is SO good. I've had little wisps of almost every single song in my head almost constantly over the past week.

It's pretty interesting to find myself muttering things like "cop killer, let's kill all the cops tonight, kill them" on the subway with my headphones on...

ya that song is the best

the deal with John Maus is that his hooks are better & catchier than the hooks of people working a similar angle. love this guy

It's pretty interesting to find myself muttering things like "cop killer, let's kill all the cops tonight, kill them" on the subway with my headphones on...
i find myself cringing at the lyrics -- especially this track. the sounds/melodies/hooks are so nice though.. the lyrics actually feel like total fluff. odd to see him rambling about conceptual stuff on youtube, considering this. i suppose the simplicity of it is interesting.

are all of the female vocals on 'hey moon' samples? i was surprised by this fact.

Fluff can be hard to do and nice to hear.

Female vocals on Hey Moon are by Molly Nilsson, the woman who wrote the song. Look a little upthread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ594IL_wyw

yah, thanks. i was curious if she actually sang (later) on the maus album track, or if her vocals were solely samples.

Couldn't tell you

Reviews are calling it a duet

I haven't even read much on this album but lol @ the critical reception of this vs. his earlier shit

plz listen to my new album on spotify

"Mr. Le Bateau Ivre, will you take 'We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves', to be your man, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; and promise to be faithful until death parts you?"

"Hey Moon! Believer! I do!"

Keeps on opening up, this beaut. Way more than his previous album even, which I did not think was possible. Album of the year. I'm calling it.

I listened to this once very recently, and found it unlistenable for the most part. is it a grower?

*caveat: since discovering that King Creosote/Jon Hopkins collab nearly all new music sounds relatively unlistenable to me, so i might just be biased.