Mature Themes, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

4AD, August 20, 2012

Track Listing: 1. Kinski Assassin, 2.  Is This the Best Spot?, 3. Mature Themes, 4.  Only in My Dreams, 5. Driftwood, 6. Early Birds of Babylon, 7. Schnitzel Boogie, 8. Symphony of the Nymph, 9. Pink Slime, 10.  Farewell American Primitive, 11. Live It Up, 12. Nostradamus & Me, 13.  Baby

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So this is your brain. A craving for schnitzel. Meat hammered and coated in bread crumbs, then fried. And this is your brain on Mature Themes by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti.

“Schhhhniiiiitzeeeellllll!!!!!!
La da di da di da da di da
Schhhhniiiiitzeeeellllll!!!!!!
La da di da di da da di da”

-from “Schnitzel Boogie”

Cravings suggest familiarity: a longing for something known, liked. I’m thinking a generous helping of The Byrds or The Beatles, or maybe a classic intergalactic delicacy from The Pipers at the Gates of Dawn.

The first time I heard Mature Theme’s “Baby,” I didn’t know it was a cover of a Donnie and Joe Emerson song from 1979. I mulled over the choice of a cover as the album’s first single and came to the same conclusion every time. The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?

“She’s a nympho at the discotheque
She’s a nympho and I’m a lesbian
And yet I’m also a nympho”

-from “Symphony of the Nymph”

Nymphomaniac lesbians? I picture a rush to the exits as the band plays on. Those left standing are in for treat however, a zany ride featuring a dizzying tour of musical genres and influences—all threaded together by a slew of killer hooks that really hit the spot.

“Is this the best spot, is this the spot? G-spot, (is this the best spot?), H-bomb G-spot, H-bomb, let’s go!"

-from “Is This the Best Spot?"

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier. The following program is intended for mature audiences and may not be suitable for all viewers.

“I want to talk about mature themes
And I wanted to be good
To be good, to be good
And I wanted to be good, my baby”

-from “Mature Themes”

Certainly, we all want to be good (to be good, to be good) but what of the divide between fact and fiction, best laid plans and execution? No matter how many code of conduct courses you pass on your rise up the corporate ladder there undoubtedly remains a dirty joke or two with racy punch lines nestled somewhere between your certified core and newly-minted ethics.

“Blond seizure bombshells and the blow jobs of death
Bring on the bog and shemales hopped up on meth”

-from “Kinski Assassin”

Well alrighty then, bring on the shemales hopped up on meth!

“Backlit jacuzzi
Want to fondle your ass”

-from “Kinski Assassin”

Take comfort in knowing that some things are just meant to be. Like the obligatory nothing is certain refrain but death and taxes. Take comfort in the familiar. Listen to all that great harmony in music history. Soak in bleachers full of hope at Wrigley (in spring) or ride shotgun in pickup trucks next to drivers with mullets in Munster.

Take comfort in 1977. Punk rock forever.

“I will always
I will always
Have Paris”

-from “Kinski Assassin”

-G

First published by Library of Inspiration: 03/01/2013 | Terms of Use

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