First, start this video, watch it for a minute or so and then read the next paragraph…

One thing that struck me about the Orthrelm clip (check out more links in the Moody post) was that when I stopped watching it and just listened while performing other computer tasks, it stopped sounding like shredding and started sounding like an experimental remix. There were moments where it sounded like a piece of a song was being looped and the drums and guitars punched in and out of the mix. There were moments where the guitar work sounded like tabulated feedback: distorted guitar noise broken down into playable notes and patterns. There were moments where it sounded like a section of song was being put through a digital delay or echo set to infinite repetitions, with different delay rates and lengths punched in every 20 seconds or so. The music didn’t grab me until I started listening to it like that–like the deconstructed sounds the band is influenced by being played like normal music. What a strange back and forth of ideas. Meta-pre-post-modernist even.

But soon Rick and Tim’s conversation on Orthrelm reminded me of the band Hella, which I’ve never explored much, but respected for their talent, which is immediately apparent if not immediately accessible. And against the challenge of Orthrelm, they soon oozed pop-appeal. Take these videos for example.

“Biblical Violence”

“Ungrateful Dead”

And this one, which can’t be embedded.

Killer. The real winner, though, was Hella drummer and Orthrelm collaborator Zach Hill’s solo effort, “The Dark Arts”. This track is badass. I had seen the video once and wasn’t patient enough for the extended running visuals, however cheeky they were (and they are pretty chucklable). When I just now revisited the song and again stopped watching the visuals, the song itself came through clearly. It rules. Check it out.

I’d take this on to some Marnie Stern thoughts, but I just haven’t gotten into her. So I’m not. I’m stopping here.