Megapuss is a band with the following members:
Devendra Banhart,
Gregory Rogove
Gregory Rogove is an American indie music drummer and songwriter. He is notable for partnering with indie artist Devendra Banhart to form the group '' Megapuss''. He signed a record contract with Knitting Factory Records in 2011.
Background
Ro ...
(of
Priestbird),
Fabrizio Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti (born June 2, 1980) is a Brazilian-American musician and visual artist best known as the drummer for American rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since 2001. A collaborative artist, he has been pa ...
(of
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...
), and
Noah Georgeson
Noah Georgeson is an American musician, producer, engineer, mixer and solo recording artist. Georgeson's debut album '' Find Shelter'' was released through Plain Recordings on November 28, 2006.
Early life and education
Born in San Anselmo, ...
(member of Devendra's band and his producer). Megapuss formed as a joke between Banhart and Rogove, where they created the song titles first and wrote humorous songs based on the titles.
Their debut album ''Surfing'' was released October 7, 2008, and featured a few guest performances such as
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series ''Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series ''Master ...
in the song "Duck People." Their album was more or less critically panned and deemed too light and crude, although many appreciate it for its humor and its solid songs.
''Surfing''
''Surfing'' is the only studio album by Megapuss. It was released digitally on September 16, 2008, and physically on October 7, 2008, on Vapor Records. Actor
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series ''Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series ''Master ...
contributed to the song "Duck People Duck Man".
Album art
The album cover, which depicts the band's two members,
Devendra Banhart and
Greg Rogove, fighting each other naked, proved controversial upon its release. Rebecca Nicholson wrote that it "takes nudity away from vulnerability, and even sexiness, and hands it right back to the likes of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
, circa their sock-donning period. Yes, it's obnoxious, but that has to be better than soft-focus sincerity." The booklet that comes with the album contains even more graphic nude images of Banhart and Rogove.
Singles
A single, "Adam & Steve" was released on November 7, 2008, along with a music video directed b
Amy Jo Diaz Allison Stewart described the song and music video as, respectively, "a freak pop version of
the Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
," and "entertaining as heck, like something
the Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
might have come up with after not showering for several weeks. And taking lots of drugs." The music video was also reviewed by ''Spin'', in which it was described as "a sweetly endearing, jokingly homoerotic display the likes of which hasn't been seen since, well, the latest
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...
movie."
Reception
The album was met with lukewarm reception after its release, with many critics dismissing it as an intentional joke.
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album has a score of 66%, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Track listing
#Crop Circle Jerk '94 4:30
#Duck People Duck Man 3:25
#To The Love Within 2:38
#Adam & Steve 1:46
#Theme From Hollywood 4:42
#Surfing 5:02
#Lavender Blimp 1:18
#Mister Meat (Hot Rejection) 0:25
#Hamman 3:46
#A Gun on His Hip and a Rose on His Chest 3:09
#Chicken Titz 3:56
#Sayulita 7:07
#Older Lives 3:27
#Another Mother 2:46
References
Supergroups (music)
Musical groups established in 2008
Collaborative albums
2008 albums
{{US-band-stub