Dee’s Enochian Alphabet - MP3
Recorded 1996 or Earlier
Released April 29, 2013 on Young Froth/Taypiss
Kevin Barnes - Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Bass, Tambourine
Written by Kevin Barnes
Push up close to extinction
An exchange of fetti complainers
I can stand on my hands, on my own two feet
Do we really need the change?
Oh man this is weak
Touch is a nice instrument
How sad it is to see that
My own face doesn't look familiar
Bend the fire, beat the fire, a new beginning, a nurturing friendship will rise
Been feeling like the Yolo as of late
It doesn't look good on me
A snowflake, coat of down
Eating macaroni makes angry teeth for a voice that comes dim, and I'm falling
Touch is a nice instrument
How sad it is to see that
My own face doesn't look familiar
Bend the fire, beat the fire, a new beginning, a nurturing friendship will rise
It's a picnic in a green shady place
You're fruity like watermelon
Take care of the box, keep the flowers in your pockets
For the man who has the elephants to "yeah" whatever you say
Touch is a nice instrument
How sad it is to see that
My own face doesn't look familiar
Pitchfork Interview Sep 14, 2011
Pitchfork: Do you have a personal history with cassettes?
Kevin Barnes: When I first started recording, I used a four-track and I’ve got an incredible collection of cassettes in boxes that I don’t want to get rid of-- especially from when I was living at my parents’ house and doing nothing but recording songs. I have tons of early recordings that I haven’t listened to in forever. At some point, I’ll pull them out and listen to them and cringe. I think that could be really cool to release them at some point, though. There’s so much there. It would only be for the biggest fans in the world. All ten of them.
In comparison to Absent Plot, Dee’s Enochian Alphabet is much more ambitious in scope. It introduces itself with a 3/4 ascending guitar part. It holds on the last note, accompanied by some tambourine shaking, then goes into a solid 4/4 rhythmic chord progression. The bass is a pleasant addition which helps drive the song. The vocal melody has an awkwardness to it which I can forgive due to how well-crafted the guitar part is. The pre-chorus evolves the verse into a more complicated structure. The chorus, however, is jarring, incorporating the 3/4 intro part with vocals on each beat. It’s an underwhelming payoff. The third time around, the chorus is vocal-less, then transitions into a strange, droning noise. In the background is the strumming and shaking of instruments and high pitched singing. Maybe this was inspired by the similar drone in the first section of Neutral Milk Hotel’s Pree Sisters Swallowing A Donkey’s Eye, released March 1996. The low fidelity is used to this song’s advantage as strange noises appear and disappear, being so buried in the mix and leaving too soon to be identified, and it’s intriguing. I love hearing Kevin mess with sounds, and this droning comes out of left field. Nothing like it exists anywhere else in his music. Even Exorcismic Breeding Knife with its scattered voices and noises allows each part to have its spotlight moment. Despite its flaws, this song is a must-listen for its great guitar part and its scope.
To me the lyrics seem like a nonsensical collection of phrases with not much more than a theme of friendship. The word “fetti” in the lyrics I took from Song Meanings is causing me to start doubting their validity. “Petty complainers” makes much more sense. I don’t think “fetti” is a word, and it sounds like it could be either. I doubt knowing the official lyrics could help me understand this song, though. The title refers to the enochian language, which Wikipedia describes as “an occult or angelic language recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England.Kelley was a spirit medium who worked with Dee in his magical investigations. The men claimed that the language was revealed to them by the Enochian angels. The language is integral to the practice of Enochian magic. The syntax and grammar of the Enochian language are highly similar to the English language.” Again, it has no apparent ties to the lyrics themselves. I think it may have just been chosen because it was a cool-sounding title.
Joann: You mentioned that you have a lot of recordings from the time of the Early Four Track Recordings. Would you ever consider releasing more of that?
Kevin: I’d have to find a cassette four track and remix them, I guess, or make a mix down of all the songs and put them on a cassette right after another. I could release them like that, but they would be hissy and extremely lo-fi, and only fit for people interested in hearing more from that time period. There’s a lot.
Availability
Digital - None
Physical - Rare
Source
https://pitchfork.com/news/43989-of-montreals-kevin-barnes-talks-new-album-cassette-box-set-his-career/
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