Standing in a Trash Can (Thinking About You) - ODam
Vampire Suite - VanVliet, Don
Butterfly Mind - Arcesia
They Told Me I Was a Fool - Jandek
Oh Baby, You Love's in Town - Rowe
True Love - Porter, Cole
"OUTSIDER MUSIC" refers to a genre of sonic exotica that in some ways is so wrong -- it's right! Outsiders could be the product of supernatural possession, damaged DNA, drug fry, psychosis -- or none of the above. These of... more »ten self-taught artists may lack conventional tunefulness and self-awareness, but they display an abundance of earnestness and passion. And they're worth listening to, often surpassing all contenders for inventiveness and originality. This CD is a counterpart to the book SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z: THE CURIOUS UNIVERSE OF OUTSIDER MUSIC (A Cappella Books/Chicago Review Press), and it was produced by the author, Irwin Chusid. The text explores such avatars of outré sonics as The Shaggs, Daniel Johnston, Harry Partch, Syd Barrett, the Song-Poem industry, Jandek, the Cherry Sisters, Captain Beefheart, Florence Foster Jenkins, Wesley Willis, Wild Man Fischer, and countless other musical eccentrics with cult followings. This CD features songs by artists profiled in the book. From the uninhibited howling of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy to the arrested-adolescent passion of Daniel Johnston; the LSD-cabaret crooning of Arcesia to Joe Meek's rare, wobbly "Telstar" vocal demo; the Shaggs aboriginal backwoods rock to Lucia Pamela's vertigo-bent outer space lunacy -- SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z promises an unforgettable romp through music too strange for radio but too fascinating to ignore. For more information on the artists featured on this CD, buy the book (available on Amazon.com). Then behold the magic, the visionary nature of outsider sonics. You may never want to come back inside again.« less
"OUTSIDER MUSIC" refers to a genre of sonic exotica that in some ways is so wrong -- it's right! Outsiders could be the product of supernatural possession, damaged DNA, drug fry, psychosis -- or none of the above. These often self-taught artists may lack conventional tunefulness and self-awareness, but they display an abundance of earnestness and passion. And they're worth listening to, often surpassing all contenders for inventiveness and originality. This CD is a counterpart to the book SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z: THE CURIOUS UNIVERSE OF OUTSIDER MUSIC (A Cappella Books/Chicago Review Press), and it was produced by the author, Irwin Chusid. The text explores such avatars of outré sonics as The Shaggs, Daniel Johnston, Harry Partch, Syd Barrett, the Song-Poem industry, Jandek, the Cherry Sisters, Captain Beefheart, Florence Foster Jenkins, Wesley Willis, Wild Man Fischer, and countless other musical eccentrics with cult followings. This CD features songs by artists profiled in the book. From the uninhibited howling of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy to the arrested-adolescent passion of Daniel Johnston; the LSD-cabaret crooning of Arcesia to Joe Meek's rare, wobbly "Telstar" vocal demo; the Shaggs aboriginal backwoods rock to Lucia Pamela's vertigo-bent outer space lunacy -- SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z promises an unforgettable romp through music too strange for radio but too fascinating to ignore. For more information on the artists featured on this CD, buy the book (available on Amazon.com). Then behold the magic, the visionary nature of outsider sonics. You may never want to come back inside again.
Charles A. Miller | Kings Mountain, NC, USA | 03/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"About a million years ago, when our far-from-human ancestors were still huddling together in a damp hole in the ground, picking lice from each other's armpits, music was born. Those peabrained hominids found they enjoyed barking and howling at the moon together, harmonizing as it were, and gradually incorporated a whole range of yelps, shrieks, farts and belches---which they could and did perform for the sheer exhilaration of the act. Yeah, this was the essential music, the primal music, with a weight and currency all its own, long before the spoken word polluted our ears. So, here we are a million years later, and we've forgotten the primal origin of music, it's been bred out of us---now we PAY a relative handful of polished schmucks to serenade us, because we fear that our own music, our own barking & yelping frenzy, is somehow unworthy. And this is what we now call the REAL world. Thank Christ for schizophrenia... Indeed, only a complete retreat from "reality" can deliver us to the roots of REAL music---and this is where I finally get around to endorsing "Songs in the Key of Z"... This is the real thing, baby, unencumbered by social dictates, false morality, political agendas... My most excellent advice: Don't try to rationalize the contents of this album WHATSOEVER. Don't just TRY to sing along, but really get INTO it, and howl your ass off if it feels good. Rock over London, Rock on Chicago, Northwest Airlines: Some People Just Know How To Fly."
An amazin album
Macke | Sweden | 03/12/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"thank god that somebody sat down and put these gems together. They shine like rare diamonds in a musical climate that is becoming all the more narrow and predictable. Buy this album. You will not be dissapointed"
Worlds but A World
ludwigshih | Taiwan | 01/01/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes we are so accustomed to MUSIC big companies made for us. I think it's not too bad for us to listen to something different. If you wanna know what music but MUSIC is. Go out and buy it! You will know there are many worlds in our only one WORLD."
Except for the grace of God...
B. Rice | 07/06/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Here is music from blessed retards and mentally ill people from around the "World" (most from the U.S.) There is also music from individuals that fall somewhere between retardation and mental illness, as well as a few that fall between the cracks in the cracks. _ I love this album. _ It's slightly more tasteful than a freak show, and a lot more tasteful than Maury Povich. Some songs blow in my opinion, but that's true of almost any album.... Final statement: Unless you are outstandingly boring and dull-witted, you will really like some of these tracks. Take the trip; it's worth the money!"
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1
