Pinball Mars
''Pinball Mars'' is the third studio album from Ohio alternative rock band Circus Devils. The album, written as a mini-rock opera, was released in 2004. All songs were written and performed by Robert Pollard, Todd Tobias Todd Tobias (born 1967) is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known for his work with Robert Pollard and his band Guided by Voices. Other projects include Circus Devils, Kramies, The Library Is On Fire, and musical th ... and Tim Tobias. Reception ''"Somewhere between the caustic noise of 2001's Ringworm Interiors and the more reined-in, sensitive concept album The Harold Pig Memorial (2002), Pinball Mars often sounds like arena rock anthems after they've been processed by two different mechanisms: one looking to make them into death-metal hymns to Satan, the other trying to discover what would happen if classic rock and free jazz had a baby"'' - David Heaton / Erasing Clouds ''"The soundtrack is one of blood-curdling fancy mer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Circus Devils
Circus Devils is an American art rock band founded in 2001 by Robert Pollard, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the Dayton, Ohio, band Guided by Voices. The band consists of Pollard (vocals and lyrics), Todd Tobias (music and production), and Tim Tobias (music). Circus Devils employs a wide spectrum of musical styles ranging from acid rock to ambient soundscapes. On the band's web site, the music is described as "garage-prog, or "art rock made by cave men." History Circus Devils was originally conceived in 2001 as a side project to Robert Pollard's main work with Guided by Voices. Between 2001 and 2017, the band released fourteen full-length albums. Beginning with the release of their first album, Ringworm Interiors, Circus Devils dismissed the styles of Pollard's other musical endeavors for a more experimental approach, taking an ominous and nightmarish tone, exploring the themes of good and evil. According to the group's whimsical website bio, Circus Dev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Experimental Rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with some of the genre's distinguishing characteristics being improvisational performances, avant-garde influences, odd instrumentation, opaque lyrics (or instrumentals), unorthodox structures and rhythms, and an underlying rejection of commercial aspirations. From its inception, rock music was experimental, but it was not until the late 1960s that rock artists began creating extended and complex compositions through advancements in multitrack recording. In 1967, the genre was as commercially viable as pop music, but by 1970, most of its leading players had incapacitated themselves in some form. In Germany, the krautrock subgenre merged elements of improvisation and psychedelic rock with electronic music, avant-garde and contemporary classic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alternative Rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s with the likes of the grunge, shoegaze, and Britpop subgenres in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. During this period, many record labels were looking for "alternatives", as many corporate rock, hard rock, and glam metal acts from the 1980s were beginning to grow stale throughout the music industry. The emergence of Generation X as a cultural force in the 1990s also contributed greatly to the rise of alternative rock. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop. The term's original meaning was broader, referring to musicians influenced by the musical style or independent, DIY ethos of late-1970s punk rock.di Perna, Alan. "Brave Noise—The History of Alternative Rock Gu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously. Originating in the mid-1960s among British and American musicians, the sound of psychedelic rock invokes three core effects of LSD: depersonalization, dechronicization, and dynamization, all of which detach the user from everyday reality. Musically, the effects may be represented via novelty studio tricks, electronic music, electronic or non-Western instrumentation, disjunctive song structures, and extended instrumental segments. Some of the earlier 1960s psychedelic rock musicians were based in contemporary folk music, folk, jazz, and the blues, while others showcased an expl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Todd Tobias
Todd Tobias (born 1967) is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known for his work with Robert Pollard and his band Guided by Voices. Other projects include Circus Devils, Kramies, The Library Is On Fire, and musical theater composer and lyricist George Griggs. Tobias began producing albums in 2002, first working with indie rock pioneers Guided By Voices on their album Universal Truths And Cycles. One year earlier in 2001, Tobias joined Guided By Voices front man Robert Pollard and brother Tim Tobias in the psychedelic rock trio Circus Devils (2001-2017). In 2012, Tobias began recording solo albums of instrumental, atmospheric mood music ranging in style from ambient to post-rock. Todd's debut album Medicine Show, released on Hidden Shoal Recordings. has been described as "a multi-faceted instrumental opus, evoking a shadowy steampunk dystopia." In 2013, Tobias released ''I RAZOR'', a soundtrack album for the experimental film of the same name, fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Harold Pig Memorial
''The Harold Pig Memorial'' is the second studio album by the American psychedelic rock trio Circus Devils, released in 2002. Conceived as a concept album, each song depicts an episode in the life of biker Harold Pig as told by Harold's friends at his wake. Reception Erasing Clouds's Dave Heaton wrote, The album has an epic sweep to it which makes it feel like a journey. While the nonsequitors and genuinely creepy stretches make Circus Devils' music likely too odd for your average music fan, this isn't a hapless "side project" but an intricate, intoxicating epic showcasing a unique, hybrid form of rock.On behalf of AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ..., Karen E. Graves added, Pollard's patented vocal hooks are sprinkled throughout and vicious guitar solo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Five (Circus Devils Album)
FIVE is the curiously titled fourth studio album by the experimental/psychedelic rock band Circus Devils. Released in 2005, FIVE is considered among the band's least accessible albums due to the fragmented moods and styles and the experimental nature of the music. All songs on FIVE were written and performed by Robert Pollard and Todd Tobias. Reception "Multi-instrumentalist (Todd) Tobias keeps things primal-n-futuristic while (Robert) Pollard's lyrics allude to the horrors of the human race in a way both cryptic and imaginative. Much like ''Gang of Fours attempt to wise us to the consumer world, ''Circus Devils'' forewarn of a world consuming us." - Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ... "The previous (Circus Devils) albums were experimental ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as All-Music Guide by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Erasing Clouds
Erase may refer to: *Data erasure, a method of software-based overwriting that completely destroys all electronic data *Data remanence, the residual representation of data that has been, in some way, nominally erased or removed * ''Erase'' (album), a 1994 death metal album by Gorefest *"Erase/Rewind", a 1998 pop/rock song by The Cardigans *"Erase", a song by All That Remains from the 2002 album ''Behind Silence and Solitude'' See also *Deletion (other) *Erased (other) Erased may refer to: * "Erased", a 2002 song by Paradise Lost from '' Symbol of Life'' * "Erased", a 2009 song by Dead by April from '' Dead by April'' * ''Erased'' (manga), a 2012 Japanese manga series by Kei Sanbe which received an anime televi ... * Eraser (other) {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Pollard
Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to his work with Guided by Voices, he continues to have a prolific solo career with 22 solo albums released so far. With nearly 3,000 songs registered to his name with BMI, Pollard is among the most prolific songwriters of his time. In 2006, ''Paste'' magazine listed him as the 78th-greatest living songwriter. In 2007, he was nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize. Early life and education Pollard was born in Dayton, Ohio, where he has lived all his life. During most of his childhood and adolescence, sports were his main interest.Eric T. Miller (January 5, 1996),Robert Pollard, Who Are You?, ''Magnet'', accessed August 23, 2016. When Pollard began to show interest in music during high school, his father tried to discourage this. Pollard attended Northridge High School in the Dayton suburb of N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2004 Albums
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest composite number, its proper divisors being and . Four is the sum and product of two with itself: 2 + 2 = 4 = 2 x 2, the only number b such that a + a = b = a x a, which also makes four the smallest squared prime number p^. In Knuth's up-arrow notation, , and so forth, for any number of up arrows. By consequence, four is the only square one more than a prime number, specifically three. The sum of the first four prime numbers two + three + five + seven is the only sum of four consecutive prime numbers that yields an odd prime number, seventeen, which is the fourth super-prime. Four lies between the first proper pair of twin primes, three and five, which are the first two Fermat primes, like seventeen, which is the third. On the oth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Circus Devils Albums
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term ''circus'' also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'Penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River, England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed significantly over the next fifty years, with large-scale ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |