by Octavius Poirier
Captain Ahab is playing The Smell 13th Anniversary this Saturday night. If you’ve never seen them, then you MUST go. To be a person interested in music, or with any sense of humor, seeing Captain Ahab is obligatory.
If you don’t have any background on Captain Ahab at all, and you go into a show “cold” you’ll either be totally confused at how quickly the songs change or just how noisy and continuous everything is…or you’ll be stoked to see such a noisy no holds barred electronic experimental band. In reality, his songs are melodic, danceable, and fun as hell…they just get remixed and shortened like crazy live. This is why his live show is so amazing as an electronic act. The show is always different, improvised, and escapes the stereotypes of “live” electronic music whichKraftwerk demonstrates so well in the “We Are the Robots” video.
To me the themes and history of how his albums have developed makes Captain Ahab one of the most interesting electronic groups in Los Angeles since 8-bit.
Back in 2004, Captain Ahab’s first album The Sex is Next came out. I liked the album art, but the album in general was pretty straightforward, serious electronic music. At the time, electro had just had a revival with the label Morr Music, and bands like Peaches and Ladytron. Captain Ahab was touching on some of that old school techno we all knew and (maybe) used to love. I remember hearing about him performing at “Sloppy Joes” in Culver City to a group of KXLU DJ’s on one of their nights. Besides that one mention…. I saw the album at the station but it didn’t really strike me, so I didn’t book him at the electronic club I ran at the time called “Data Age.” Where is that club now? Closed.
In April 2006, After the Rain My Heart Still Dreams transcended the status quo techno music he was doing before. This album had more lyrics, it had elements that people into rock could enjoy, it partied like no other, and it blew my mind. Anyone who’s been to The Smell between 2006-2009 has probably seen Ahab at some point or another and had an amazing time.
But the key breakthrough with this album, like any major album in a band’s history, is that it had a strong concept. Pink Floyd was alienated, Radioheadmistrusted the government, Marilyn Manson introduced himself as Satan, The Beatles became Sgt. Pepper, 8-Bit were rapping robots on earth programmed to gamble, get drunk and high and kill humans, and Liz Phair was pissed off about her relationships with boys.
On this album……. Captain Ahab is an angry teenage girl.
Almost, every song is a different teenage girl empowerment ballad, sung with an obviously male voice. It’s simple, fun, disturbing, and really amazing.
At this time, Jonathan Snipes (singer/songwriter) added a dancer Jim Merson. Jim is the homoerotic muse of Captain Ahab, energizing the crowd, and acting like the ultimate fan of the music by stripping down to a black speedo and freaking all over the crowd in a sweaty, muscular, sex grind. He kind of embodies what Captain Ahab is all about, and the music is better if you imagine him dancing to it.
There are so many classic songs on this album.
“Girls Gone Wild” just tells it like it is. “I wanna show my tits on Television!…. I demand attention, I’m young and hot and I’ve done a lot of cocaine tonight.” This song was on The Office and was actually sold to Joe Francis (as I heard on IVOR’s show on KXLU.) “I Can’t Wait for Summer” is a teenage girls ballad to her X boyfriend saying, “Cuz it’s not Junior high anymore, and I don’t need to take your Sh*t no more!”
“Motivation” is one of the scariest songs from the perspective of a gold digging West Hollywood party girl. “I am much younger than you! Get the F out of my Way! Cuz I’ve got Motivation!” And it goes on like this….out of fifteen tracks, ten are totally catchy perfect amazing teenage girl ballads. I have to say, as a full grown adult male, I even find these songs empowering.
Is the music Ironic at times? I think so. Is it funny? Definitely. Is it crass? Yes. Will it cause you to turn down the volume when your parents are in the car? Yes….in fact, you might prefer to put on some “2 Live Crew”….ok maybe not. But you get the idea.
As a teenager, this is the rebellious music your parents hate, and the radio can’t play.
So you say, Captain Ahab cusses, plays ironic techno, electro whatever, and can get the kids at The Smell to dance. OK. So what. It’s a novelty act. Right? I say, no more than the Beastie Boys were when they did License to Ill.
Captain Ahab started off as typical electro, and found his voice with this album.
If Captain Ahab stopped his career with After the Rain My Heart Still Dreams, his catalogue of songs would be amazing. His knowledge and his love for all different types of electronic music really comes through with these songs. It’s not just derivative of what’s been done, but it manages to do it better, by combining everything in his power; IDM, drum and bass, minimal techno, acid, and influences from Skinny Puppy, Marilyn Manson, Aphex Twin, and maybe evenAvril Levigne. At the same time, he places meaningful lyrics and themes into a style of music which is often plagued with meaningless catch phrases ala Daft Punk.
One day, Captain Ahab enters a contest to write a song for the new movie “Snakes on a Plane.” So naturally they write a hip hop song called “Snakes on the Brain” and win the contest. Their song is in the final credits of the movie, and the video features Jim and John in full hip hop gear and dreadlocks complete with hoochy mama girls in bikinis. One of the greatest Captain Ahab songs is on this EP called “Rich as F*ck.” “I’m Rick as F*ck and I don’t give a F*ck, I know you want to F*ck, because I’m Rich as F*ck.” Can there be any better lyrics to represent a dance club on the sunset strip filled with a bunch of diagonal striped shirt douches? No.
Around 2006, I attended the premier of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Booty” at The Smell, and my friend from High School was horrified as the crowd cheered and laughed as the character on screen had sex with the bleeding wound of his opponent. That’s kind of a long story, so you have to watch the video. You might wonder if watching this video will get you arrested, but apparently,Youtube thinks it’s ok.
And just when you think Captain Ahab has possibly run out of ideas, his long awaited new album The End of Irony is released in Spring 2010. Oh, and it kicks ass. And yes, they are attached by an umbilical chord. Oh, and Captain Ahab is no longer this teenage girl with all the looks and all the power claiming things like “I know you wanna F*ck Me!”
On this album he’s one step higher.
He’s basically God, and is possibly even more powerful than that. Similar to the previous album, the second track is an homage to dungeons and dragons style sword fantasies. “Ride” and “The Calm Before the Sword” are both amazing radio hits. But after this track “Death to False Techno” gets the crowd chanting “Crucify him! Crucify him!” just like you remember from church on Good Friday.
He challenges the concept of equating power with the phallus with the track “I Don’t Have a Dick.” He says in the breakdown disclaimer in the song “I am not all powerful because I don’t have a dick, I am all powerful and I don’t have a dick. I am not promoting the removal of dicks.” This is one of my favorite songs of the year.
So this is all funny, fun, etc. But then the album takes a strange turn. There’s a track called “Feel Anymore” which is a party song which is great to dance and sing along to, with a message which really represents an angst and malaise typical of youth. It’s powerful and downright freaky to see a bunch of kids yelling the lyrics “I don’t know what it means to feel anymore! I don’t know what it means to Love Anymore!”
In the next track “Kill Me” he sings, “If you wanna rule the world, you’re going to have to kill me.” And then there’s other songs about forming the world “With My Own Two Hands” forming mountains and valleys out of clay, and a song about ending the world “with my cold cold heart and my blood red hands, I don’t care what your
government represents.” This song feature Aaron Feinstein from Manson Family Picnic.
So the album starts out silly, then turns balsphemous, then crass turns to melancholy, and then at the end of “The Loneliest Man”, it gets real serious. My hair stood on end when I first heard this. I still don’t know where this comes from, but there’s a recording of an older wise Asian man at the end of the track. It brings images of a Japanese WWII capitulation speech, or Ho Chi Minh addressing his people during Vietnam, but it could even be a peaceful monk forced into war. It might not even be a real speech. But, the seriousness in his voice, and the overall tone of leadership is really moving. His speech includes several lyrics from the overall album “In this time of national melancholy… it is only natural to not know how to feel anymore.” “We must give them a face to fear….for it is in his name that we take action for him…..he who has created this great nation with his own two hands from earth and clay.”
Anyways, it’s a serious speech. It gives the album a heaviness. It’s like pulling the mask off the clown and underneath is this real problem and a real movement which we’re now being asked to get up and fight for. Are you gonna drink the Koolaid? All this stuff you’ve been listening to and joking around with…..Could be serious. It’s difficult to explain, but he slaps you in the face at this moment and makes you think about your position in the world.
And the last track he eases off a bit and says, “The only thing I wanted to teach you, was LOVE!”
What an emotional rollercoaster!
It’s a great album. Go see them this weekend at The Smell on Saturday Night!
Go ahead and download their Free Live Album here.
