Boyd Rice
Music, Martinis, & Misanthropy
London,UK: New European Recordings, 1990
12" LP, 40:49
Edition size unknown
I first became aware of Boyd Rice through an interview for the RE/Search Publication Pranks. According to the biography section of his Wikipedia entry, this was a common introduction to the noise musician. In the interview he describes a time in 1975 when he found himself surrounded by a mob trying to meet then-first lady Betty Ford. He thought to himself "I wish I had something to give her" (I'm paraphrasing here, I can't find the title on the shelf), only to remember that he had a skinned sheep's head in the trunk of his car. He was hauled off and questioned by the Secret Service for trying to present it to Ford on a silver platter.
Under the name NON he pioneered many techniques involving vinyl records, including variable speed recordings and off-axis spindle holes.
On this acoustic collection of gentle contempt, he presents a series of spoken-word neofolk with lyrics like:
Do you ever wanna
Kill all the people who tell lies?
Some certainly deserve it
Not necessarily the big liars
Or even those who teach lies as truth
I'm talking about people
Who say one thing and do another
Or who tell you they sent something express mail
When you know they haven't
The record also features restructurings of works by The Carpenters, Rod McKuen, and Ragnar Redbeard and a duet on the Appalachian murder ballad "Down In the Willow Garden."
The title and album cover are a tribute to Jackie Gleasons's album Music, Martinis, and Memories.
I have that Jackie Gleason record cover !
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