"suicide in progress": another great moment in cowbell virtuosity.

[dead mike]

for several years now, it has seemed as though the cowbell as a device of musical irony had long since played itself out.

i think it may have peaked with will ferrell's and christopher walken's now-legendary "more cowbell!" SNL skit, and by the time high school kids started posting thousands of videos of themselves imitating that skit for increasingly diminishing humor returns, the cowbell had become yesterday's catch-phrase: a "don't have a cow, man" of self-aware musical hipsterism. not even queens of the stone age's attempt to resuscitate the basic idea by substituting the cowbell with a wood block on "little sister" could save the cowbell's usefulness as anything but something to hang around a cow's neck.

that is, until "suicide in progress" was released to the salivating masses.

dale crover has long been a cowbell virtuoso, taking it to strange, new places unimagineable to the blue oyster cult. exhibit A, of course, is the cowbell on "let it all be," which acts as a counter-beat to the primary rhythm of the song's first half. when you remember that The Bootlicker debuted a good solid six months before the "more cowbell" skit, the melvins' cultural impact -- far beyond that whole inspiring kurt cobain to become a rockstar jimmyjazz we're all too familiar with -- cannot be denied.

i have my criticisms of Nude With Boots as a whole, to be sure. but the sassy, earnest-but-winking spurts of cowbell on "suicide in progress" -- especially when paired with the ribbon crasher -- have restored my faith in the cowbell's longevity. played out? sure. but now, much like roller skates and the skinny tie, the cowbell has now been imbued with a post-ironic sheen: "it's  so uncool, it's cool -- just don't tell anyone."

all this raises the question: will the ribbon crasher follow the same trajectory as the cowbell?

DISCUSS.

[turnacus]

Let's not forget the rhythm hand claps on that one ASA song.

We're just missing symbol catches in the "percussive tricks of the 70's" repertoire.

[meanclown]

sidebar: for more cowbell virtuosity, perhaps the greatest ever, see Barrie Wilson of Procol Harum fame...the man was un-fucking-believeable! ("power failure", "bringing home the bacon", "simple sister", etc.)

[(PAUL)]

What about the gong?

[Ron Maiden]

exhibit A, of course, is the cowbell on "let it all be," which acts as a counter-beat to the primary rhythm of the song's first half.

i thought that was a wood block or does it change to a wood block? i might be wrong so dont take this as me calling you out or anything. just trying to remember. shit you may have just listened to it for all i know.

[Mad Arab]

Fu Manchu likes the cowbell.

[rhett E rock]

as long as there's not a skit about ribbon crashers on SNL...god help us.

[(PAUL)]

Does anyone even care about SNL anymore?

[rhett E rock]

i watched the best of John Belushi DVD this weekend.  does that count?

[Andy]

Fu Manchu likes the cowbell.

Tell me abaad it! They have a handful of good songs but when I saw them live it was either 'generic stoner rock song' or 'generic stoner rock song with loud cowbell'.

[Uncle Fester]

the ribbon crasher is just too unknown to the public and even most melvins fans to be as famed as the cowbell. Dale does alot more with the irbbon crasher than what he does with the cow bell. I mean... who else fucking uses a ribbon crasher other than dale? I know I used to use one until..... Did I ever tell anyone that I gave him my ribbon crasher? Why? because Im an idiot. Do I regret it? Yes! Is my drumset just an ordinary drumset now? YES.

[Ron Maiden]

who else fucking uses a ribbon crasher other than dale?

Ches SMith uses one in Theory of Ruin

he so fucking awesome with them. great fucking drumming on those recordings.
Alex Newport of fudge tunnel sings/guit
http://www.myspace.com/theoryofruin

The track "Double Negative" amd "Profiteering" have  it for sure.

[bathroom creep]

The track "Double Negative" amd "Profiteering" have  it for sure.

Yeah, and they sound really good.


I know the drummer of Muse uses a Ribbon Crasher.

[Metalhead Cow]

I'm surprised no one else has pointed this out but...
There's no cowbell in Suicide In Progress. There's a little tambourine. mabye that's what you were hearing?
Or have I just gone crazy and never noticed the cowbell part the millions of times I've listened to the song?

[manleedanlee]

i hear me some cowbell on that there song.