More Forgotten Songs of the '90s: fulflej-Microwave
Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: fulflej-“Microwave”
Ask people about fulflej now and you won’t even get a shrug of the shoulders and that’s a fucked-up shame. Coming out of Richmond, VA in the mid-‘90s, the band were one of the first signed to Scratchie Records, formed by D’Arcy and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, ultimately known as one of the biggest label failures of the decade. Part pop, punk, shoegaze and even rap, fulflej were one of a kind and their masterpiece of econo living, “Microwave” speaks volumes to this.
Jason Gretchke talks in a kid’s voice about not having, among other things, CD’s, microwaves, VCR’s and other luxuries. But about halfway through is when the music kicks into full gear and starts going all over the place. With Iha flailing away on an e-bow, the band careens faster and faster down the hill until the denouement where Gretchke screams, “I OWN ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!”
After that, the band just excels in everything else going on and the music and the message just gets more powerful. By the end, the band and the listener are totally exhausted and ultimately, the listener walks away from everything like they’ve been on a hallucinogenic trip. One wonders why this quirky band didn’t break through, all you have to do is listen to the music and draw your own conclusions.
The band plowed on before drummer Matt Nelson left and recorded an unreleased album called To Keep a Long Story Long before disbanding. While the band's music is out of print, people should still try and seek it out, in order for their minds to be properly blown!
You can check out drummer Matt Nelson's fabric art here: http://designrustler.fatcow.com
Ask people about fulflej now and you won’t even get a shrug of the shoulders and that’s a fucked-up shame. Coming out of Richmond, VA in the mid-‘90s, the band were one of the first signed to Scratchie Records, formed by D’Arcy and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, ultimately known as one of the biggest label failures of the decade. Part pop, punk, shoegaze and even rap, fulflej were one of a kind and their masterpiece of econo living, “Microwave” speaks volumes to this.
Jason Gretchke talks in a kid’s voice about not having, among other things, CD’s, microwaves, VCR’s and other luxuries. But about halfway through is when the music kicks into full gear and starts going all over the place. With Iha flailing away on an e-bow, the band careens faster and faster down the hill until the denouement where Gretchke screams, “I OWN ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!”
After that, the band just excels in everything else going on and the music and the message just gets more powerful. By the end, the band and the listener are totally exhausted and ultimately, the listener walks away from everything like they’ve been on a hallucinogenic trip. One wonders why this quirky band didn’t break through, all you have to do is listen to the music and draw your own conclusions.
The band plowed on before drummer Matt Nelson left and recorded an unreleased album called To Keep a Long Story Long before disbanding. While the band's music is out of print, people should still try and seek it out, in order for their minds to be properly blown!
You can check out drummer Matt Nelson's fabric art here: http://designrustler.fatcow.com
Oh man, fulflej rules! I got to trade tapes with No Joke G (Jason) over the internet (this would be like 98). He did some awesome cut-ups and remixes of X-Files sounds, and the fulflej demo tapes were 90 minutes long . . . both of em!
ReplyDelete