Ariel Pink is an original and may be he is trying a bit too hard at keeping it that way? Some people drop their new album by surprise, other ones push it at everyone’s throat with the help of iTunes, others prefer to stay traditional and simply release it with a following tour, but I don’t know, how many ways are there to release an album? What else can be done?
Pink is taking over Los Angeles for the released of his ‘Pom Pom’ album, or as he announced it, he is launching his ‘Ariel Pink’s Tantalising Tinseltown Take Over’ with its glamorous four-day program… Do you want to eat pink donuts while listening to Pink’s new album? Spend the evening at El Prado bar on November 11th,…Do you want to experience Ariel Pink as a DJ? Go to Gimme Gimme Records on November 13th. But this one is even better, what about getting your nails done (in pink obviously) by LA’s top manicure artists? Just go to Permanent Records on November 14th. But he kept the best for the end: At Origami vinyl you will be able to enjoy a Limo listening party on November 15th (however this requires a reservation here), and on November 17th, at the same location, you will be able to eat pizza with the legendary Angelyne (and other guests) … when I think about Angelyne and Ariel Pink, it all makes sense! She is Hollywood’s culminating nightmarish product whom I occasionally see around driving her hot pink corvette… just don’t get too close to her or you may not swallow that pizza in the right pipe, in comparison Michael Jackson looked natural… Seriously she is a sort of pre-Kadarshian, someone who exists solely because of our crazy pseudo-celebrity culture but I bet she is happy to be exposed again and participate to Ariel Pink’s album-celebration party…
So I am asking you, can Ariel Pink really take over Hollywood with donuts, pizzas and Angelyne? That’s a start,… meanwhile his new album is streaming on the Guardian, and I have a few words about it: it’s very long (17 songs!), it’s very eclectic and dense with all kinds of strange toy noises and retro dance flash-backs and some occasional interesting melodies. You could even almost hear some Brian Wilson-esque stuff turning comical in ‘Nude Beach A G-go,’ but the whole thing is so fragmented, so all over the place, so stuffed with cartoonish jokes (come on, a song called ‘Dinosaur Carebears’?) that it is very difficult to make an opinion at the first listening. Actually all the titles are funny as hell and when you learn that ‘Lord of Garbage’ ex-Runaways producer Kim Fowley contributed to ‘Plastic Raincoats In The Pig Parade’ and ‘Jell-O’ (just after ‘Sexual Athletics’, you’ll have a better idea of the tone. That said I’ll give a second stream to the album when I can.
I bet Pitchfork is gonna give an excellent grade to the album, and Pink is going to have a good laugh while shaking his pom pom. Enjoy your donuts.
