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[24_hour_revenge_therapy]

i just bought their new(er) album, porcelain.  i liked it alot, but have to say i think their first one, wiretap scars, was better.  a lot edgier, a lot more brash.  porcelain seems a tad...soft.  still, all around good fun.  any other thoughts?

[Willis]

I only have Wiretap Scars and enjoy it.  Like you said, its got an edge to it that defnitely has some ATDIness to it.  I haven't picked up Porcelin but I have heard good things about it.  Sparta is definitly, IMHO, the better and less-pretentious of the two post-ATDI bands.  Aside from the 'fros, I listen to the Mars Volta and think "WTF is this shite?"

~~Willis

[24_hour_revenge_therapy]

thank god.  i thought i was the only one.  i have a friend that swears by the mars volta.  i just don't get it.  it's like one long guitar driven wank session.

[Willis]

Wow. Wow.  I don't know if I could say it any better.  Much applause are thrown (can you throw applause?) in your direction.

~~Willis

[24_hour_revenge_therapy]

you can throw applause, but it requires some cadavers and a chainsaw.

[Willis]

Hey, I have access to numerous cadavers in varied forms of...of...dissection.  As for chainsaws, I don't trust myself with one.

side note: don't you love the intimate nature of this message board results in corresponding with teh same person/people at a given time in multiple threads due to the fact that there are only, oh say 10 people here right now?

~~Willis

[24_hour_revenge_therapy]

i'm going to see you on the news, aren't i?  "man found with twenty dead bodies in various states of decomposition.  but first, here's mandy with the weather!"

and yeah. it's funny, but whenever i join a forum, i always seem to talk to the same three or four people, no matter what.

[Spencer]

I got on the ATDI bandwagon quite a bit after they broke up, so when I heard Wiretap Scars, I really enjoyed it, cause it, initially, sounded like more ATDI.

But as I listened to it more, it became its own sound, sorta simliar to ATDI, but not. ATDI Lite, so to speak.

Then I saw them at Coachella '04 and was almost literally bored to sleep. I mean, they were really *REALLY* mediocre. The new material that they played sounded *just* like the old stuff. Ever since then I just havent been able to listen to them at all.  As much as I hate to admit it, I think that if ATDI had stayed together, this is the direction they would have gone. I personally love the mars volta, so Im glad they split when they did, preserving the good name of ATDI, and at the very least, with TMV doing original, interesting things.

[jus]

Never hopped on the ATDI bandwagon. I did see Sparta play last year; they opened for Incubus in LA at the Forum (waits to be struck down for admittedly mainstream partiality to Incubus).

I thought they were okay. Fairly energetic performance, sooo... are they worth my 11 bucks?

[24_hour_revenge_therapy]

totally.  "wiretap scars" is great.

[Conatonc]

Wiretap Scars is alright. But I haven't listened to it in months and found I had no interest in their newer album when it came out. They seem bland to me. I also went to see them live on the Snocore tour a couple of years ago and it was not a real great show.

Mars Volta have plenty of flaws (as did ATDI), but at least a lot of their music is interesting.

[Johnny C]

I enjoy the Mars Volta precisely because it's wankery, frankly, but it's wildly insane and experimental wankery, risky, and also comes wrapped in the form of concept albums which have insane, incredible but (if you piece them together right) coherent plot.

Sparta I enjoy not so much.

[Benn London]

I only own WS, the first album, but I don't think there is much of a progression musically in the second enough to buy the second.

Don't get me wrong, I liike it, but I don't feel a need to own it.

[Sophi]

They're from my hometown? My friend's cousin was in At the Drive In, I don't know if he's one of the ones that transfered over to Sparta. I think he was.

[Johnny C]

Where do these relatives of bands keep coming from, and how do they keep finding Questionable Content? Like seriously, I only have enough "woahs" I can say before they become cliched.

I mean uh, yeah, they're from El Paso. Or they were. I think they moved to L.A. at some point down the road.

[Tartar Martyr]

I can't believe some of you actually prefer Sparta to tMV.  Sparta is just another generic no talent rock band.  tMV, where I can see how it would turn some people off, at least breaks off of the radio rock curve.  Any member of tMV can play circles around his Sparta counterpart.  The blues lines Omar lays down on Francis are insane.  Perhaps the craziest thing about them though, is that they reproduce everything on the albums in their live shows.  Their manipulation of sound should at least be respected.  Sparta doesn't even live up to some of what atdi accomplished, I don't really see any reason to listen to them at all.

[ASturge]

hands up who hates both! (mars volta, sparta)

*puts hand up*

[a pack of wolves]

*Waves hand enthusiastically high in the air*

One of the two supported Les Savy Fav once. It's a testament to the quality of the music of both that I can't remember which one it was I walked out on.

[Druid]

*Holds up hand plus one dismembered zombie hand*

Sparta is boring and TMV is boring.
I enjoyed ATDI much then these two; maybe I've listened to too much Sonic Youth and the Boredoms.

[kilconey]

i saw sparta open for weezer.  they didn't do much for me.  the mars volta confuses me.

[californaya]

I have every album from At The Drive-In, Sparta, and The Mars Volta.

You could say I'm a fan.

[Kai]

*Hold's up two arms and a Toe*


I fucking hate The Mars Volta.

[a pack of wolves]

Apparently the Mars Volta are going to be curating 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' this year, which seems more than a little odd. They're no Shellac. Anyone who likes them have an educated guess about who they'd pick?

[I Am Not Amused]

In direct contrast to someone above me...

I, in all honesty, have no idea how anyone can even ENJOY The Mars Volta, much less like them more than Sparta.


The Mars Volta suffers from the same problems as jam bands: They forget the reason and purpose of the unit of a 'song.' A 'song' is not merely the instruments being played. It is not just a series of notes, usually in the same key and time signature. A song is an peice of art all of its own. What bothers me most about Mars Volta is that they never seem to see their music as anything more than their instruments being played at the same time. They can't see the forest for the trees, would be the proper statement.

This is why I like Sparta better. Sparta has their problems - their new albums is very samey and can be boring. Personally, I think Sparta has yet to top "Cut Your Ribbon," and think if they could even get near that level of a song for the entirety of an album, they would be wonderful.

The reasons I don't like Mars Volta is the same reason I don't really like At The Drive-In after In/Casino/Out. Relationship of Command, to me, seemed to have lost focus on making songs and seemed more interested in making noise.

Before some of you derride me for wanting all songs to follow a set pattern, I just want to clarify that I don't think that at all. Some albums outside the 'norm' of music but have wonderful 'songs' inlclude Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, Sigur Ros' Agaetis Byrjun, Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, Microphones' The Glow, Pt. 2.

All of these albums take different approaches to what 'songs' are, but still realize that a song has to be an entity in and of itself. And that every note must have purpose for existing within the context of that entity.

No, I have never taken a music theory class. What?

Ignore everything I just said.

[Jamoky]

In direct contrast to someone above me...

I, in all honesty, have no idea how anyone can even ENJOY The Mars Volta, much less like them more than Sparta.

Is it really that mind boggling that someone would have different taste than you?  Thats directed to Tartar Martyr too.

[Tartar Martyr]

In direct contrast to someone above me...

I, in all honesty, have no idea how anyone can even ENJOY The Mars Volta, much less like them more than Sparta.

Is it really that mind boggling that someone would have different taste than you?  Thats directed to Tartar Martyr too.

I understand that musical preference is completely subjective.  People may like things that I do not, and it's fine.  But with these two you have Sparta which is your cookie cutter pop-rock band circa 2005, and The Mars Volta which is at least trying to do something new.

It just seems like tmv is falling victim to the "too many people like them, they aren't cool" thing.  Which leads to people saying they just make noise etc. which is definitely true in some cases (part of the reason I like them so much, I love guitar noise), but unlike many noise bands, these guys have some serious chops.  All of them.  So in my opinion it gets to the point where even if you don't like them you should respect them, like Yes, or King Crimson (but only in the 70s).  Bands that put together some truly mind blowing stuff.

atdi was nice, but no one will care about them in 5 years.  I don't know many people who still listen to them now.  I'm not saying that tMV is going to be legendary, but they presented a very fresh, very unique product in De-Loused in the Comatorium.  Frances was weighed down by the silence, or mind numbing loops that occupied 20 minutes of the disc.  It needed to be cut down.  But it is still more fresh and innovative than 90% of what is being released today.

Listen to Drunkship of Lanterns, or Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt.  Don't get caught up in the lyrics.  Just turn it up loud and feel the music.  If you get bored or fall asleep or just don't enjoy it, go back to indulging in My Chemical Romance, or Deathcab or whatever.

So I have kind of forgotten what I was talking about at the beginning.  This is what I was trying to say.

Sparta = generic, who cares, sound like handfuls of other bands
The Mars Volta = innovative and unique in todays music market

[Druid]

It just seems like tmv is falling victim to the "too many people like them, they aren't cool" thing.

I haven't liked them from the beginning.

[a pack of wolves]

So in my opinion it gets to the point where even if you don't like them you should respect them...

The Mars Volta = innovative and unique in todays music market

It all depends on what you generally listen to though, doesn't it? If, like me, you're regularly rocking the likes of Captain Beefheart, Guapo, Oxbow, Boris, Like A Kind of Matador, Hella and The USA Is A Monster someone like the Mars Volta is going to sound comparatively tame and conventional (nothing wrong with that in itself though) instead of innovative and unique, and there are plenty of bands way more out there than those lot. So why respect them if I don't like the songs?

[Spencer]

The Mars Volta suffers from the same problems as jam bands: They forget the reason and purpose of the unit of a 'song.' A 'song' is not merely the instruments being played. It is not just a series of notes, usually in the same key and time signature. A song is an peice of art all of its own. What bothers me most about Mars Volta is that they never seem to see their music as anything more than their instruments being played at the same time. They can't see the forest for the trees, would be the proper statement.

This is the exact reason why I dispise Jam Bands, explained far better than I could verbalize.

I love TMV though. But I agree with the statement.

[I Am Not Amused]

Sparta = generic, who cares, sound like handfuls of other bands
The Mars Volta = innovative and unique in todays music market

See, but what is so great about being innovative or unique if it's unlistenable? Everclear and Weezer are two bands that have albums on my top 25 albums of all time list, and it's certainly not because of musical innovation, you know? It's because they had great hooks, quality lyrics and were just plain fun and exciting to listen to.

There are bands that experiment like hell and do different stuff, but that doesn't mean they're any good. Look at a band like Badgerlore, while some people may like it, I just find it kind of pointless. They do different stuff, but why listen to it if it doesn't sound that great?

On the other hand, there are a lot of bands that may sound like a certain thing, but there are subtle, small, but EXTREMELY IMPORTANT differences between bands that make the same type of music. I dunno, I guess it just seems like your argument would mean there's no real reason to like bands like Nirvana or Green Day.

Maybe I'm wrong and completely off base with your opinion. Whateves. I'm just trying to explain my own :)

[KharBevNor]

I dunno, I guess it just seems like your argument would mean there's no real reason to like bands like Nirvana or Green Day.

But, there is no reason to like bands like Nirvana or Green Day.

[Johnny C]

Zing!

I mean, I like both bands. But still, that was so awesome I had to comment.


Oh, uh, carry on with your topic.

[californaya]

atdi was nice, but no one will care about them in 5 years.  I don't know many people who still listen to them now.

*raises hand* I do. I've listened to them ever since I first heard One-Armed Scissor.

There are still plenty of people that love ATDI, myself included, and, as it would be the case for any band, as long as people are still listening to them, they will be cared about. Hell, I still listen to Haddaway.

To each their own, you know. We all have different views on what good music is/should be. *shrugs*

[Skibas_clavicle]

Sparta really doesn't do it for me. They're a tad bland.  

However, despite people's animosity (much noted, and understood) toward The Mars Volta, I really like them. I got their first cd right when it came out and I really like Frances The Mute. Also ATDI is TEH SEX.