Chicken Switch

[Buick GN]

MADE IN THE USA

[PrickHonky]

i wonder why ipecac didnt do the usual thing with the chicken shit CD art (make it backwards so the cover is on the back of the case)

maybe because it isn't a Melvins studio album? I was wondering that myself.

[anaconda]

Cuz Mackie didn't do the artwork. That's her thing.

[PrickHonky]

Cuz Mackie didn't do the artwork. That's her thing.

I bet Mackie's artwork would have been much cooler.

[EmDee]

MADE IN THE USA

yum! i always grab a stack on road trips whenever i can find them...

[(the) Razor]

They should have just given the tracks out to Kevin and he'd remix the entire Melvins catalogue with his ridiculous slide bass and noise.

A+ album  I can hear it now.

[Captain CoryCory]

Prindle's reviw of this is pretty hysterical. You can almost feel the rage seeping from the computer.

"More like SHITken SHITch if you ask me!"

http://markprindle.com/melvinsa.htm#chicken

[blacksanta]

Prindle's review, 2 out of 10 and I have to say I agree




Yeah, more like SHITken SHITch if you ask me!!! Good Gravypants, what a terrible record this is. The band came up with a clever idea -- ask a bunch of experimental artists to create original 'remix' tracks not from Melvins songs, but from entire albums! -- and the artists responded by making a bunch of high-pitched noise interspersed with overdistorted buzzing. Great work, talented men of 'experimental' music! You've succeeded in creating the absolute WORST record in the entire Melvins catalog (aside from Shit Sandwich, whose title is so similar to Chicken Switch that you have to wonder if the Melvins are playing a joke on us here). Prick may have been frustrating and Colossus Of Destiny somewhat dull, but this is the first time the Melvins have released a record that is actively, brutally, infuriatingly ANNOYING.

I had actually intended to begin this review with the comment "It must be nice to not be able to play a musical instrument!" but according to online sources, most of these artists actually can -- so what on Earth drove them to convert classic Melvins works into unrecognizable, unlistenable shit racket!? Here are just a few of the highlights you'll encounter if you accidentally drop $16 into a record store clerk's hand and yell "Chicken Switch!":

RLW's "Over From Under The Dog, Girl & Boy Treatment" - High-pitched noise and low hum. Then more high-pitched feedback. Brilliant.

Farmers Manual's "disp_tx_skel_mach_murx" - This Viennese electronic music and visual art group brings us a difficult but extremely rewarding track featuring annoying vocal samples, digital squiggles, high-pitched signals, drumstick tapping, a voice saying "No" over and over again, then more squiggles, some pish-posh noises and even more high-pitched noise. Genius.

Christoph Heemann's "Emperor Twaddle Reemix" - This German musician takes intelligent avant-garde sonics to a whole new level in this slow quiet drone that's suddenly interrupted by a blast of cacophonous drums and high-speed guitar. Until somebody invents a new word that is four or five times stronger than "Godlike," this track will remain sadly free of appropriate superlative.

David Scott Stone's "Prick Concrete/Revolution M" - This longtime Melvins associate took that "Aaaaaaah" voice thing from Prick and just fucked around with it for several minutes. At first it sounded like a worthless piece of shit to me, but then somebody told me it was an outstanding piece of work from a true experimental virtuoso, so now I realize that it's just "challenging."

V/Vm's "She Chokes Her Dying Breath And Does It In My Face" - This infamous British 'artist hacker' lives up to his renegade reputation by 'hacking' out an overdistorted noisy annoyance that is most likely several songs being played at the same time. Pointless and stupid? No! Avant-garde!

Sunroof!'s "The Silky Apple Butter Of Youth" - Apparently this guy was in Skullflower, but I could've sworn Skullflower didn't play swishly smooth synth washes of Eno-ized boredom twaddle. Therefore, this unexpected change of style is difficult but rewarding. And by 'reward," I of course mean 'piece of shit.'

It's awful. It is simply AWFUL. Prior to its release, some clever nellie leaked a FAKE download onto the Internet, featuring things like Melvins riffs mixed with the vocals to "My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard," a funny reiteration of "Theresa Screams," and Bad Company's album track "Feel Like Makin' Love" in its entirety. Though the majority of the fake download was worthless noise, it was STILL BETTER THAN THE ACTUAL ALBUM.

I myself enjoy a total of two songs on Chicken Switch. A few others have their moments: Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo includes some funny spoken samples in his piece, Boredoms vocalist Eye Yamatsuka lays down some massive drums and chugging phased noise, and Matador Records duo Matmos creates a pretty wicked bass-driven song that unfortunately drags on forever with no changes. But as for full tracks that I can enjoy and respect from start to finish, the only 2 artists (out of 15!!!) that come through are (A) legendary Japanese noisemaker Merzbow, who converts a feedback-distortion loop into a hypnotic musical hook before piling on sick random computer noises, and (B) something or somebody called "Void Manes," who screwballs with the rhythm, bass line and ambient noises of "Night Goat" to convert it into something even creepier than its source material. If only the rest of the remix artists had the exact same musical taste as me, this could've been a great album.

It's the MELVINS, for Pete's sake. How hard could it be to take their already great music and make something good out of it? More to the point, why on Earth would you convert it into a bunch of piercing electronic feedback and tuneless go-nowhere distortion!? Again, I'm tempted to answer, "Because you have no talent!" but rumor sources claim that this conclusion is simply not true. I don't ferret out experimental music myself so I wouldn't know one way or the other. But the fact that most of these songs are irritating in the exact same way begs the question of how 'experimental' these artists really are. In fact, I'm starting to suspect that, just like any '60s burnout who claims he was just "experimenting" with drugs, these guys are practicing nothing but self-indulgence.

In conclusion, 10 of these 15 tracks are among the worst and least thoughtful piles of amateurish noisemaking in my entire 500,000,000,000-piece record collection.

You: "I know it's a difficult listen, but it's very rewarding!"

Me: "Anybody could create this garbage. ANYBODY."

You: "Oh yeah? Then why haven't they?"

Me: "Because they know it SUCKS!"

You: "Look, a bird!" (*bird flies by, takes shit on Holy Bible gripped in the loving hands of a small child*)

[anaconda]

I was the one responsible for the clever re-working of Theresa Screams

[moderndayviking]

Anyone have a link for the fake download?  I am not going to exude as much hatred as Black Santa about this record, but I will say it is easily my least favorite melvins record and I think it could have been much better. This coming from a guy that loves the Prick record.  I respect the fact that the Melvins are fans of these artists' work but the CD has no "feel" to it at all if that makes any sense.  It just goes from track to track never really grabbing your attention unless you are studying the tracks trying to solve which CD - Which song the artist is using.  Anyway if the fake one is indeed better it is worth the time spent listening to it to make that choice.  Prick 2 would have been good........

[(the) Razor]

Prick 2 would have been too easy. Records like Chicken Switch is what Melvins are all about. I think the next real album will be killer. 

[Like Stee]

Prindle: "If only the rest of the remix artists had the exact same musical taste as me, this could've been a great album."

That cracked me up.

Prindle is pretty much right on the money on this one though.  Merzbow is the only track I'll probably go back to with ANY regularity.

[Idlehanz]

I was the one responsible for the clever re-working of Theresa Screams

Not surprised

[anaconda]

Hey, I had already recorded it for themelvins.net tribute,
so i figured what the hell, throw it out there anonymously
on a few file sharing sites 

[Justafilthylurker]

I guess if you like songs to be actual songs than this isn't for you, but this is pretty cool piece of sound collage and each track has an identity with it still working as an album. I think, anyway. Also, Washmachine Sk8tronics- Even the rock guys should like this. It really rips. It has a part where it sounds like the song is a giant machine that charges up in each headphone. What's not to like?

I'm not suprised Prindle didn't like it, but his top rated Melvins albums are way different than mine and I'm more of a timbre and mood man while he enjoys loud guitars and the "pop hooks" and noise, but when it's repeated in a sick parody of a riff. Also, I don't think the man owns a pair of headphones due to the frequent references on his site to jamming his head between the speakers to make out whats going on in the mix.