Out of all the Rebel's 7"s I've come across, this one just may be my favorite. I have nothing against Ben's more experimental electronic pieces, but he can write a solid "song" better than almost anyone alive. The evidence is here.
"The Idiot" (as heard in a more drunken version on the Country Teasers Live Album) is a retelling of the film "Stroszek," by Werner Herzog. The lazy shuffling music fits the feel of the film to a T and the lyrics work on their own to anyone who hasn't seen "Strozsek" (if you haven't, well, you should...it's a great movie) and is, in my opinion, far more effective than Ben's retelling of "American Beauty" on "Tarskoffsky's the Snackrifice." Not that it's bad in any way... His vocal sound effects to replicate the film's strange ending are a nice touch.
Other people's new year's resolutions, lamentations on being too lazy to record music, let alone leave the house, and an old Canadian folk song for rebels exiled to the States round out the rest of the E.P.
The closer, "Un Canadien Errant" first came to my attention in a live video on youtube with Ben and Sophie backed up by the French group, the Sentimentals (see it below). I was immediately pissed that i had no idea how to find a copy of this song. Over a year later i was hanging out on a friend's porch, helping him get rid of his 20 gallons of home-brew before he moved away, and this song came up. Needless to say I immediately insisted a copy and, presumably, another pint. I listened to it almost non-stop for the remainder of the summer. Definitely one of his "nicest" recordings.
But every song here is truly great, as you will soon find out...
1) The Idiot
2) Julie's Resolution
3) The Spastic
4) Un Canadien Errant
http://www.mediafire.com/?ztwin2znmc5
i agree, this release is by far the most consistent and mindblowing
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