The Odyssey continues with no remorse
and no regret. Kind of like a Metallica
song, but different. I’ve been at this
over four years now, randomly working my way through all the music in my
collection. I’ve got at least another
four years left but it as we all know, it’s the journey that counts.
Disc 539 is…. Angst
Artist: KMFDM
Year of Release: 1993
What’s up with the Cover? A creepy, square-jawed man gropes a large breasted
woman. Meanwhile a different large
breasted woman – this one much more severe – looks on with an expression
of…horror? Rage? Frustration?
I know – angst! That certainly
makes sense given the album title.
All of KMFDM’s albums feature this
angular, modernist art style by a guy named Aidan “Brute” Hughes. I love his stuff, and it really suits KMFDM’s
music, although I wouldn’t hang it on my walls.
How I Came To Know It: My friend Patrick put me on to KMFDM within the past
year. Patrick has good taste in music,
and has been the source of many a cool band for me lately. Don’t rely on the radio haystack to find good
music when there are people all around you who can point you in the right
direction.
Sheila
actually bought this record for me (and one other by the same band) when I
hinted broadly to her that it would make a good birthday present.
How It Stacks Up: I have two KMFDM albums, this one and it’s 1995
follow up, “Nihil.” Of the two, I prefer
“Angst” so it is number one.
Rating: 3 stars but a solid three stars.
When I was younger, and still inspired to go
nightclubbing, my favourite hangout was a local place called Scandals,
particularly on what they dubbed Alternative Tuesdays. As I grew older (but still liked to go
dancing) I sought out the same atmosphere at another local joint called
Evolution. In both cases, my favourite
dance music was a sort of industrial electronica mix that could both shake my
groove thing, and also help release some of the pointless rage and frustration
that comes as part of this package of experiences we call life. Although I didn’t know it at the time, KMFDM
was very likely one of the bands I was listening to.
KMFDM
is a band with members from a lot of countries that has been around for
years. According to the magic of
Wikipedia (which is never wrong) I discovered the full band name was originally
Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated as
"no pity for the majority” but they’ve long since just gone with letters. Good call – that is a bit long of a band name
for anything that isn’t modern indie.
The first word that comes to
mind when you put “Angst” on for a listen is ‘energy.’ This album has energy to spare. A mix of pounding beat, guitar riffs and
electronica sounds. This was the early
blend of metal and electronic music, and I personally think it is also the high
water mark for this style of music. It
is visceral, and pounding and it perfectly captures the sometimes empty but
indefatigable pulse of the modern post-industrial experience.
Metal would later come to rely
too heavily on the auditory battery of the double bass (something “Angst”
mercifully eschews) and electronica would become increasingly detached, focused
more on odd sound and syncopation than songs that have a defined melody (you
know, that sound like music). For me, this album and Ministry’s “Psalm 69” are
the sweet spot.
The opening track, “Light” is a perfect opener, mixing all those elements, along with
some sexy background vocals and a guy singing about KMFDM in a sort of
self-promotional way (“KMFDM, doing it
again” etc.).
This apparent narcissism is reflected throughout the
album, but if you pay attention you’ll see the band takes every opportunity to
undercut their own star power, and while calling into question various
authority figures and systems, also calls into question themselves. On “Sucks”
they sing:
“We don't have no lyrics, our
message is nil
We hate all DJs, they're makin'
us ill
Whatever we tell you is meant to
be crap
We hate all music and especially
rap”
Their message is rarely nil, but instead is often
commenting on a whole host of political and social questions, often very
pointedly. They couch what they have to
say in angst (there’s that word again) and dance licks, but these guys actually
have a lot to say. I suspect they don’t
hate rap or most other music either.
I will say that the messages are often a little too
simplistic, and tend to boil down into a “question all authority/oppose
everything” kind of vibe. I don’t think
it adds a lot to the topics they raise, but at least they raise them, and give them
an emotional outlet.
In fact, when dancing to this type of music I like
to slip in a move where I cross my arms crossed over my head, and mimic the poor
sods in Orwell’s 1984, forced to hate Goldstein at assemblies under the
watchful eyes of the state. It is the
irony of participating with the crowd, and yet recognizing the participation as
a reduction to individualism. In some
ways it is this same duality that makes this music work down in the guts, even
as it rejects itself.
Regrettably, as great a pony this music is to ride,
it only has the one trick, so a whole album of it can start to feel a bit
repetitive near the end. It doesn’t help
that despite “Angst”s amazing start, the quality does go down a bit by the time
you get to side two.
Still, for turning the music up loud and feeling the
power, this is as good as anything in my collection. For dancing it lets you get down into it and
still has enough melody to give your limbs something to do other than shuffle
(yes, that is a put-down for you, dubstep).
KMFDM is danceable, energetic and aware of its own
ironic self-promotion. A bit like disco,
in that way, I suppose, except totally different.
Best tracks: Light, A Drug Against War, Blood Evil, Sucks
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