[ASTRO] MFT and cohesion

[Michael Kepler <kepler@metro1.com>]

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Grant and some other folks said, in part:
<SNIP!>
> >
> >> Made From Technetium has rapidly become one of my favorite albums to
> >> listen to. I find myself listening to it as an album as a whole rather
> >> than a "bunch of songs". The is the first Astro-recording that has really
> >> struck be that way.
> >
> >MFT is not my own favorite, but it is undeniably more cohesive than most,
> >probably because (except for "The Sound Waves Reversing") it's all new tunes
> >recorded together as a studio project, rather than a singles collection or
> >(like "Is It ...") half new songs and half stuff they've been playing for a
> >while live.

As much as I love the track, "Sound Waves.." sticks out like a sore thumb
on MFT.  In my tape and MP3 compilations, "Sound Waves..." stays with
"UFOs..." and is omitted from MFT.

> 
> Cohesive... that's the word I was looking for. 

Yeah.  That really nails it down for me, too.  But I also think that
1000X was very cohesive as well, even though it wasn't a full length
release.  

If our ASTRO-boys were a typical lazy band they would have thrown
on tracks from "New Sounds..." and "UFOS.."  and added "400K Miles",
and called 1000X a new full-length release.  Frankly, I wouldn't
have complained, but putting out an EP of all-new stuff was alot
more honest.  Following up a few months later with a virtually all-new 
full-length studio album was really going the extra mile.

What amazes me is the vast difference in the sound between
1000X and MFT.  1000X, except maybe for "Universe City" is a very
bright and upbeat recording, while MFT is almost oppressively dark.

Although I listen to it almost every day, MFT doesn't have as much of
that "feel good" thing that originally got me hooked on MOA?.  I'm
not worried about MOA? going bad; I'm worried about them getting
too serious.  I decided to suspend judgement until I saw them
on the MFT tour, and I am happy to say that they are as fun as
ever.

> (Maybe it's their 
> equivalent to Dark Side Of The Moon... which I think would be much more 
> cohesive with Money stuck in the middle of it).
> 

Minor point: I assume you mean withOUT Money stuck in the middle.

If by MOA's "equivalent" to Floyd's "Dark Side...", you mean their
most cohesive recording, my vote would go marginally in favor of
1000X over MFT, but it is a close call.  The first MOA? album that
seemed to me like a unit rather than a collection of songs was
Experiment Zero.  When making tapes of earlier stuff, I would take
various tracks from various CDs and singles and re-sequence them at 
whim.  Experiment Zero was the first one I couldn't feel right about
breaking up or re-sequencing.

My first all-MOA? post in days, yahoo!

Mookie

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