Poised
to be a
mediary.
It's pretty rare that I discover an album completely on my own. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a straight line from someone else's record collection (mainly TFS's) to mine, or that I don't spend my few hours of free time everyday wandering the internet in search of other nerd dudes' recommendations and free samples. Even when it's not one of those two situations, I can usually retrace the steps (down to absurd details, like what shirt I was wearing and the feeling in the air) that got me to owning any album in my room, but every once in a while that trail goes totally cold, as is the case with The Covocation Of...'s 2001 album, Pyramid Technology. I think it may have been a Jason Schulmerich (then of Fantastic Records, later of Hell On Earth, and now of the Yawn Factory) recommendation based on my known appreciation for Unwound, Botch, Aesop Rock, Sam McPheeters, et al. I seem to remember him saying, "You'll like this." either right before or right after I bought it, but I can't be sure. I also seem to remember playing it, along with Lightning Bolt's Ride The Skies, for Tyler in my parents' computer room, and then him putting it on a tape with a Scorpions record (maybe Lonesome Crow?). That would make sense, but again, I can't be sure. Regardless, Pyramid Technology is fucking killer and more instantly satisfying than some of guitarist/vocalist Tonie Joy's earlier, arguably more essential projects (Moss Icon, Universal Order of Armageddon, The Great Unraveling, etc.). Kind of a dirty prog mega-rock thing, kind of a psych wah-wah version of the hal al Shedad, with Joy singing about dark forces the way Benjamin Britton Lukens sang about sad angels, albeit less British-ly (no pun intended?). Additionally, bassist Guy Blakeslee and drummer George France both slay harshly, and Chris Coady's production is the best shit ever. They don't make records like this anymore (as far as I know), and this was only six years ago.

The Convocation Of... - "Crimson King's Deceit"
The Convocation Of... - "Ramblin'"
The Convocation Of... - "Unlimited Outer Thought Broadcast"

Not surprisingly, Mira Billotte's version of "As I Went Out One Morning" is the best thing on the I'm Not There soundtrackt. Speaking of that...uhh sort of, check out Eddie Hazel doing "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Tasty licks! Also, every episode of Dr. Katz is now available on DVD. Get on it!