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I'm instantly intrigued by artists who include manifestoes in their work as Ego Plum does with his newest CD "The Rat King". The "Twenty Observations and Guidelines" he posits vary from common sense as artistic ideology (4. Achieve artistic clarity and unbounded creativity through diet and exercise) to hyperbole as discussion point (15. David Blaine is the most important surrealist artist in the world today). As with any good manifesto the reader is bound to find things are that are thought provoking (5. There is more art in a right cross from Ali than a brush stroke from Dali), confusing (10. Be pro-drug but don't use them), and almost comical overstatement (19. Obtain financial security by any means so spontaneous action can be unbridled. I.E Sleeping at any given moment). Financial security and sleeping are good things and all, but obtaining them by "any means"? Murder for hire? Bootlegging music? Are those really acceptable ways to obtain the luxury of an unrestrained sleep schedule?
Utilizing a manifesto is a double edged sword for an artist. On one edge it's a great way to get the audience to seriously think about your work. On the other edge it's a great way to get the audience to seriously think about your work.
Musically "The Rat King" is wonderful. On Ego Plum's first recording with the Ebola Music Orchestra you'll find fractured fairy tale new wave molded into a sinister circus soundtrack. You can line up the likely influences in your head. There were so many great smart/arty/quirky artist in the 80's that you can hear echoes of on this CD: Oingo Boingo, Devo, Pere Ubu... but the more I listen the more I hear the Residents and XTC. I'm not sure if it's XTC playing the songs of the Residents or the other way around, but it's a prime listen either way. The twisted, avant-garde bits bring the listener to the dark carnival midway that has become a primary artistic metaphor for America's hidden underbelly. But it's the XTC-like harmonies and hooks that place Ego Plum and the Ebola Music Orchestra in the field of clever pop music. As such they can trace their roots back all the way to the Beatles and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". I'm all for music that is both accessible and challenging, but pop music may not be the best place to encourage the audience to apply critical methods.
First and foremost pop music has to be catchy and enjoyable. You should want to listen to it over and over again. And I do want to play "The Rat King" repeatedly. Hell, I have. If the Spinal Tap maxim ("There's a fine line between clever and stupid.") is true than another rule may be true for pop music: There's a fine line between clever and confusing.
Despite my love for the Doors I'll be the first to admit that good pop lyrics rarely make good poetry. Or even make that much sense. We're accepting of that because, well, it's pop music. Ego Plum doesn't create just pop music he makes well crafted, ambitious music that he encourages us to think seriously about by including a manifesto. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to get people to think too deeply about lines like "i dance so sexy- no people no music- i dance so scary- no people no music" (Death of a Cannibal Chimp) or "i teach the knuckle ball- one you can't hit at all with any swing- i teach athletes to sing the chinese anthem in key" (The Harpsichord). If we think about the lyrics we're also forced to wonder about the singer's point of view. Is Ego singing someone else's stories or his own? Is he sideshow barker or sideshow performer? When he sings about his "thin and pre-pubescent girlfriend", on I've Got a Crush on You, we are left wondering: Is she thin like a pre-pubescent girl or is she actually a pre-pubescent girl? If she's the latter is this just the song writer taking on a role like all of those Johnny Cash songs where he kills people or is this song as wish fulfillment?
I'm not saying that Plum's a failed lyricist. There are some very nice turns of phrase here: "there's a time to harm 'em and a time to p.t. barnum" and "children are covered with sores from all of your encouraging pats on the back". Some striking images are also evoked "what's it like to lift up some bark and watch red ants feast on a dead baby lark". What I'm saying is that some lines might be better left sung and enjoyed than pondered.
Applying critical methods will generally raise more questions than answers about art. That can be a good thing but when applied to pop music it can also be befuddling and, perhaps, get in the way of simply enjoying the music. I do have to respect Ego Plum for daring the listener to take an active and analytical part in what is normally a passive experience. It shows that he cares about us as much as he wants us to care about his music.
Ego Plum and the Ebola Music Orchestra:
http://ebolamusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ebolamusic
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