perennially -- timothy sellers
"bees" is being performed and recorded by me, sir lugless wheels on guitar, steve collins on theremin. juli crockett singing and whirling, lisa dee singing and jangling, david hurlin on drums, and natalie f playing bass.
soon we will add jared slucter on viola
past artichoke players include: eric potter, anna mcentee, lauren doran, alfredo ortiz, octavius, mike bedik, mark scanlon, ezra siegel, andy grzenia, ben eisen, craig polding, gerry porter, and sharon mcgunigle.
"26 scientists, volume 2: newton - zeno" is done -- but not released. it’s all me, with occasional guest theremin by steve, and guest drummer nick schutz from the kris special on "zeno."
i have been into the newish breeders record, "title tk" a lot in the past couple years. i like how great kim sounds, how simple the songs are, and how there are no potential hits.
now a deep breath and just some other swell bands that begin with "b" -- dave brubeck beck bix beiderbeck bjork blur big black frank black francis bauhaus beatles B-52s beethoven (ludwig van) beethoven (camper van) beat happening beastie boys billie holiday buddy holly bonzo dog band bob dylan bongwater butthole surfers belly belle and sebastian syd barrett benny goodman the blues explosion brian eno count basie
Sounds Like
Michael Erard writes in The New York Times science section "It’s been years since Timothy Sellers, then a budding naturalist, licked a slug. Now he writes pop songs about scientists who were less absurd about their empiricism."
RS at www.usedwigs.com writes about "26 Scientists Volume One: Anning - Malthus" : "What if…They Might Be Giants, Ween, and Camper Van Beethoven broke into Robert Pollard’s studio with a stack of science textbooks and more than a few six-packs? I imagine you’d wind up with something sonically similar to Artichoke’s latest. A fun and stylistically diverse collection of DIY pop-rock, this disc is the first of a proposed two based on the concept of stringing together 26 catchy musical biographies (one for each letter of the alphabet, of course) of historical scientists. That sounds way more highbrow than it actually comes across, though. From the cowboy swagger of "Einstein, Albert" to the percolating "Burbank, Luther," and from the megaphone-voiced rave-up "Galilei, Galileo" to the Beatle-chorused "Darwin, Charles Robert"," this is more School of Rock than science class. This should fit nicely next to the hotly anticipated 5-disc collection by Jay-Z addressing the elements of the periodic table. I hear that "Ununnilium" is particularly bangin’. Standout Tracks: "Malthus, Thomas Robert", "Fuller, Richard Buckminster", "Einstein, Albert", "Burbank, Luther" - RS
"26 Scientists, Volume One: Anning - Malthus." Sounds like a boring book? No way! Its an über-cool new album by the band ARTICHOKE. Featuring eclectic power-pop tunes, one written for a scientist for each letter of the alphabet, its brain-snappingly groovy. Could these folks be the next ARCADE FIRE?" So writes Michael J. Ryan, Ph.D., Curator and Head, Vertebrate Paleontology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
KUCI’s music director kyle olson writes:
"Previously, all I knew about this band is that KUCI had a copy of their album “20 Grit” which was covered in sandpaper and fucked up CDs around it and it sort of always twisted my biscuit. Now, when this album came, I learned that they are working on a two-album set of songs for Scientists (one for every letter of the alphabet). So far, they have one volume, Anning through Malthus, done. Now they put out an album which is, as the title suggests, a song-by-song cover of the famous Sex Pistols album. I was completely ready to pass it off as novelty, but you REALLY haven’t heard “Pretty Vacant” until you’ve heard it sung over a ukulele. No joke: this is REALLY FUCKING GOOD. It’s sort of folksy with great vocals, but with some more upbeat songs fused with electronics. “God Save the Queen” has a kazoo solo for Christ’s sake. What will it take to sell you this?!"
ARTICHOKE - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Echangeriez-vous votre baril de Sex Pistols contre deux barils d’Artichoke? Non? Et bien vous avez peut-être tort… Non pas que les Californiens soient plus sauvages et brutaux que leurs collègues britanniques, bien au contraire, mais parce qu’ils proposent une relecture fort sympathique de "Never Mind the Bollocks," l’œuvre emblématique des punks londoniens: l’album est repris titre après titre dans un registre plutôt folk et avec beaucoup d’humour (le groupe aime les albums concepts originaux puisqu’il a déjà sorti un album intitulé "26 Scientists Volume One" célébrant 26 scientifiques célèbres, d’Einstein à Marie Curie, et s’apprête à sortir un "Volume Two"). Le groupe de Timothy Sellers s’attaque donc à celui de John Lydon et les chansons des Pistols, dépouillées de leur rage, révèlent des trésors mélodiques insoupçonnés; il faut dire qu’Artichoke les y aide bien en les accompagnant de guitares acoustiques, d’accordéons bucoliques et d’harmonies vocales habiles. Les morceaux, s’ils perdent bien évidemment en agressivité, y gagnent en ironie. Ainsi, le monumental "God Save the Queen" devient une ballade (faussement) enfantine qui rappelle le "I’m Sticking With You" du Velvet Underground. Le terrible "No Feelings" flirte avec la bluette. "Anarchy in the U.K.," dans un registre un poil plus jazz avec sa basse ronde et ses cuivres, est calqué sur le "Close to Me" de The Cure – Artichoke y a ajouté les bêlements d’un troupeau de moutons. Les coups de semonce de "Holidays in the Sun" sont reproduits en frappant une caisse à outils sur le sol. "EMI," charge contre la maison de disques des Sex Pistols, devient une folk-song enjouée. Mais Artichoke ne s’impose aucune règle: "Liar," "Problems" ou "Sub-Mission" conservent une tension rock… Les Sex Pistols sont les premiers à s’être parodiés (sur "The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle" - avec notamment une hilarante version disco de "Anarchy in the U.K."); mais ici, chaque morceau est subtilement réinventé, recyclé, détourné d’une manière tout à fait réjouissante. (Ré-)inventer, recycler, détourner : une démarche très punk finalement...
-- Christophe Dufeu POPNEWS Avril 2007
Am I the first one to get that "Abstract Red Adam" is about the short story, "The Circular ruins" by Jorge Luis Borges? Cool! Thumbs up to 26 scientists too, from a fellow traveler.
-- Lee
Few if any know what he means, but Mark "Flyingman" Caldwell of WAWL 91.5 FM somewhere in Tennesseesays "It makes u ponder over your smooth and wrinkled college cafeteria peas. Fun loud GMO Punk well deserving of a "nobel" spin on the radio."
artichoke is best known for 2 concept records about scientists, one for every letter of the alphabet, called "26 scientists, volume one: anning - malthus" and "26 scientists, volume two: newton - zeno." the first of those was written about in the new york times science section when it was released in 2005. artichoke is currently looking for a label to release the second one, which is all finished and mighty groovy -- according to the few who have heard it.
this year, artichoke is recording a concept record on the theme of honeybees. it will be called simply "bees." they are fascinating creatures, whose lives can be easily compared with our own, especially for the purposes of writing pop songs.
artichoke is also writing and recording some songs for an album called "historic highland park." this will include the rave-up biographical song "charles lummis." charles lummis was a prominent writer, founder of the southwest museum, and an advocate of preserving the land and culture of the southwest. the band is very excited to play the song at lummis day on june 1.
bandleader timothy sellers is collaborating with some swell musicians to record "bees" and "historic highland park." daniel leyson plays guitar with artichoke and has an excellent band of his own called the eternal triangle. juli crockett and lisa dee from the evangenitals are singing and jangling the tambourines on these records. jpl rocket scientist steve collins plays the theremin. david hurlin is the wild man on drums, and natalie f. has just joined in on bass. artichoke records and rehearses in a big old house on figueroa street in highland park that is sometimes called greeen records. and yes, there is an extra “e.” it makes it slightly greeener.
past artichoke records include "sing in traffic," "evaporation," "20 grit," "26 scientists volume one: anning - malthus," and "never mind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols by artichoke."
all of these cds can be purchased at the official artichoke website www.artichoketheband.com, at our shows, and several independent record stores in los angeles including the music-friendly sea level records in echo park.
and these 3 can be purchased like this:
thanks to all the wonderful friends, fans, and musicians who have been involved with artichoke since it started in 1999!!!
Thanks Timothy. No, there are definitely Rentals influences in there. Good to see Artichoke is still about 5 times more prolific than Pro Audio. KEep it up!
You guys were awesome last night.. I really enjoyed your set and your lovely back up singers! I have your email list you left at the club. Thanks for playing! I might have my own stage at this Years Eagle Rock Music Festival, and I would be honored if you guys would play on it.
