Ok FNMblog are often asked the question, if you were to pick one Faith No More to describe the bands overall sound what would it be?
Yeah it's impossible to answer!! To try and do this with a band as diverse as FNM is ridiculous. They CANNOT be defined by one song alone, but it makes a great topic for debate. So in this 'focus on the song' I'm gonna put forward the case for MIDLIFE CRISIS.
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I am not answering that question, I am merely sharing my appraisal of the song. In my humble opinion this is one of the best FNM songs, four minutes of aural perfection.... Also in my humble opinion FNM are THE best band of all time. Therefore doesn't it mean that MC could very well be the best song of all time, in my very humble opinion of course.
The song is definitively FNM: the lyrics, the layers of sound, the heart pounding rhythms, the shift between moods. It is a true combination of all the elements that make up the band's ferocious originality, those elements we as fans love. Yes it's right to say FNM have a unique sound that cannot be pigeonholed by the relentless media, but to the trained ear this sound is unmistakable.
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Released on May 26th 1992 two weeks before the album 'Angel Dust', It reached number 10 in the Uk charts and number 1 in US modern rock chart. At the time of release the song was a taster of a newer FNM sound, one which had involved Mike Patton throughout the writing process. It was also a glimpse of how much the band had matured together and how their uncompromising style had developed. The band themselves confess they made a real effort to avoid the 'funk metal' tag given to them by the media.
'We all knew specifically what we wanted to avoid, the whole 'funk metal' thing, it was obvious that nobody wanted to follow those lines.' - Roddy Bottum
The emergence of this fresh band with 'Midlife Crisis' release is a very important event on the FNM timeline for several reasons. Firstly it alienated some of their existing fan base while also attracting a whole new audience. It's no secret that the record company protested about the song being the first single from the album. The band however were happy that this song would be a perfect way to unleash the 'Angel Dust' FNM.
Secondly the song also revealed the reinvented persona of Patton from bright, youthful and mischievous to the dark and twisted 'shit terrorist'. Whilst also highlighting his genius as a lyricist and musician.
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Roddy Q&A
Bill spoke about the writing process of the song in 1998:
'Everybody's responsible for this one. It was a keyboard part that started it....it was a period of time when everyone was waiting for us to come up with another record and promising us the world. All we had to do is what we do, but the way they saw we were a little defiant, which I think the lyrics reflect in a way. From my position I wanted to do a song that had only one note to the whole thing, but would still be a song. So I wanted it to have one bass part that never changed. It wasn't until we recorded it that our producer saw where I was trying to go, but at the time it seemed like shooting yourself in the foot y'know'
The video for MC is arguably the best FNM video of all time. Directed by Kevin Kerslake it is dark, dramatic and slightly abstract, a perfect visualisation of the song's temperament. In the video each member of the band is dressed in some crazy outfit, Bill sports a 50s gangster fedora and Patton welds a shovel like a trailer park serial killer!!
Religious icons and images of horses 'quartering' a body add to the harsh almost horrific onscreen drama. The clever soft focus close ups and group shots give us enough evidence to realise the band's image has undergone changes like the music since 'The Real Thing' era. The styling of this video seemed to become signature for FNM and to set the precedent for many videos to follow, 'A Small Victory', 'Digging The Grave', 'Another Body Murdered' and 'Ashes to Ashes' in particular have similar direction.
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I'm singing along to it now!!!!
Jim.
Yeah it's impossible to answer!! To try and do this with a band as diverse as FNM is ridiculous. They CANNOT be defined by one song alone, but it makes a great topic for debate. So in this 'focus on the song' I'm gonna put forward the case for MIDLIFE CRISIS.
I am not answering that question, I am merely sharing my appraisal of the song. In my humble opinion this is one of the best FNM songs, four minutes of aural perfection.... Also in my humble opinion FNM are THE best band of all time. Therefore doesn't it mean that MC could very well be the best song of all time, in my very humble opinion of course.
The song is definitively FNM: the lyrics, the layers of sound, the heart pounding rhythms, the shift between moods. It is a true combination of all the elements that make up the band's ferocious originality, those elements we as fans love. Yes it's right to say FNM have a unique sound that cannot be pigeonholed by the relentless media, but to the trained ear this sound is unmistakable.
Released on May 26th 1992 two weeks before the album 'Angel Dust', It reached number 10 in the Uk charts and number 1 in US modern rock chart. At the time of release the song was a taster of a newer FNM sound, one which had involved Mike Patton throughout the writing process. It was also a glimpse of how much the band had matured together and how their uncompromising style had developed. The band themselves confess they made a real effort to avoid the 'funk metal' tag given to them by the media.
'We all knew specifically what we wanted to avoid, the whole 'funk metal' thing, it was obvious that nobody wanted to follow those lines.' - Roddy Bottum
The emergence of this fresh band with 'Midlife Crisis' release is a very important event on the FNM timeline for several reasons. Firstly it alienated some of their existing fan base while also attracting a whole new audience. It's no secret that the record company protested about the song being the first single from the album. The band however were happy that this song would be a perfect way to unleash the 'Angel Dust' FNM.
Secondly the song also revealed the reinvented persona of Patton from bright, youthful and mischievous to the dark and twisted 'shit terrorist'. Whilst also highlighting his genius as a lyricist and musician.
Australian Unique Single Cover
I remember first hearing MC, a crude 1 minute tape recording taken from the radio. I didn't know how to react, I liked it, but I like many others I found it a radical move from their music so far. I thought I knew them well but found I really had only scratched the surface of understanding. I didn't feel alienated or disappointed, I was excited and intrigued. I played that recording over and over guessing at the lyrics until the official release of the single. At this point the new FNM package had become more familiar helped along with hearing the MC b-sides of 'Crack Hitler' and 'Jizzlobber', and the publicity surrounding the band. Although this was all a world apart from 'The Real Thing' FNM it had to be the natural progression for a band this complex and talented.
The mood of MC shifts between sombre and erie then brilliantly euphoric and sensational.
Mike Bordin's perfectly timed rhythms introduce the song including a sample taken from Simon & Garfunkel's 'Cecilia'. Bill Gould describes his bass line as 'a lesson in discipline' pounding away on one note. A wave of Roddy Bottum's keys then wash over, drenching us with sound while Patton's growling vocals roll in total synchronisation with the percussion and keys. Patton chooses words that are sharp and clear and like a snake spiting venom at its prey he seems to over pronounce each syllable. And his harmonies throughout the song are clever and precise, much more adventurous than those on the previous album. Jim Martin's guitar crunch leads the chorus and brings the first taste of a major key lifting the melancholy feel, and we hear the familiar Patton voice of old giving us the most inspiring yet twisted lyrics on the album. The next verse and a chorus follow suit but then the middle section hits with a 'Roddy sample fest', noises whirring from left to right taken from Beastie boys' song 'Car Thief' screeching into the breakdown. A glorious melodic outburst that makes us want to stand up and thank the stars for stereo, volume and Faith No more!! The song grinds to a halt and we are led out with a wonderfully layered chorus.
An elaborate description?...... Yes but this song deserves so many adjectives!
Mike Bordin's perfectly timed rhythms introduce the song including a sample taken from Simon & Garfunkel's 'Cecilia'. Bill Gould describes his bass line as 'a lesson in discipline' pounding away on one note. A wave of Roddy Bottum's keys then wash over, drenching us with sound while Patton's growling vocals roll in total synchronisation with the percussion and keys. Patton chooses words that are sharp and clear and like a snake spiting venom at its prey he seems to over pronounce each syllable. And his harmonies throughout the song are clever and precise, much more adventurous than those on the previous album. Jim Martin's guitar crunch leads the chorus and brings the first taste of a major key lifting the melancholy feel, and we hear the familiar Patton voice of old giving us the most inspiring yet twisted lyrics on the album. The next verse and a chorus follow suit but then the middle section hits with a 'Roddy sample fest', noises whirring from left to right taken from Beastie boys' song 'Car Thief' screeching into the breakdown. A glorious melodic outburst that makes us want to stand up and thank the stars for stereo, volume and Faith No more!! The song grinds to a halt and we are led out with a wonderfully layered chorus.
An elaborate description?...... Yes but this song deserves so many adjectives!
Roddy mentions using 'Cecilia' in the writing of Midlife Crisis in the recent FNMblog Q&A:
'it was one of the first songs i heard when i was a kid and i think i sampled it cause i had a funny relationship with it. the song was kind of built around the rhythm of that sample.'
'it was one of the first songs i heard when i was a kid and i think i sampled it cause i had a funny relationship with it. the song was kind of built around the rhythm of that sample.'
Roddy Q&A
Bill spoke about the writing process of the song in 1998:
'Everybody's responsible for this one. It was a keyboard part that started it....it was a period of time when everyone was waiting for us to come up with another record and promising us the world. All we had to do is what we do, but the way they saw we were a little defiant, which I think the lyrics reflect in a way. From my position I wanted to do a song that had only one note to the whole thing, but would still be a song. So I wanted it to have one bass part that never changed. It wasn't until we recorded it that our producer saw where I was trying to go, but at the time it seemed like shooting yourself in the foot y'know'
Simon & Garkfunkel - Cecilia
Beastie Boys - Car Thief
Of course FNM has always thrived from the inner tensions caused by the different personalities of the members, it's always been a part of the process. Most of all during the writing of 'Angel Dust' the relationship between Jim and rest of the band is documented to be the most strained. I think this can be heard within the song itself Roddy's poppy electronic samples versus Jim's earthy rock guitar chords. The turmoil between light and dark. Like an angry stormy sea raging while clouds roll gracefully along high above.....In other words it's rocks!!
'you're perfect yes it's true but without me you're only you'
This unforgettable line of prose surely stands out as some of the most powerful and poetic of all Faith No More's lyrics.
Midlife Crisis doesn't play out a story with characters as is the case with several songs on 'Angel Dust', it rather creates a mood which intensifies and shifts like Patton's schizophrenic vocals.
As with most of his lyrics Patton has never really elaborated on the meaning but he has said that its not so much about a midlife crisis, as he couldnt empathise in what it would feel like, but 'it's more about creating false emotion, being emotional, dwelling on your emotions and in a sense inventing them.'
The band have described the track as their attempt to make a slick pop song and were surprised to find it described as dark and heavy by critics. In testament to this the song actually had the working title of 'Madonna' which was continued be used on set-lists.
'you're perfect yes it's true but without me you're only you'
This unforgettable line of prose surely stands out as some of the most powerful and poetic of all Faith No More's lyrics.
Midlife Crisis doesn't play out a story with characters as is the case with several songs on 'Angel Dust', it rather creates a mood which intensifies and shifts like Patton's schizophrenic vocals.
As with most of his lyrics Patton has never really elaborated on the meaning but he has said that its not so much about a midlife crisis, as he couldnt empathise in what it would feel like, but 'it's more about creating false emotion, being emotional, dwelling on your emotions and in a sense inventing them.'
The band have described the track as their attempt to make a slick pop song and were surprised to find it described as dark and heavy by critics. In testament to this the song actually had the working title of 'Madonna' which was continued be used on set-lists.
Patton explains this:
'The song is based on a lot of observation and a lot of speculation. But in sort of a pointed way its kind of about Madonna...I think it was a particular time where I was being bombarded with her image on TV and in magazines and her whole schtick kind of speaks to me in that way...like she's going through some sort of problem. It seems she's getting a bit desperate.'
It's impossible for us as fans not to read into the song and attribute meaning. I find the theme of 'age' or more precisely different stages of life regularly occurs on 'Angel Dust'. MC seems to describe the fear of growing old and becoming obsessed with the things that happen during old age.
It's impossible for us as fans not to read into the song and attribute meaning. I find the theme of 'age' or more precisely different stages of life regularly occurs on 'Angel Dust'. MC seems to describe the fear of growing old and becoming obsessed with the things that happen during old age.
The video for MC is arguably the best FNM video of all time. Directed by Kevin Kerslake it is dark, dramatic and slightly abstract, a perfect visualisation of the song's temperament. In the video each member of the band is dressed in some crazy outfit, Bill sports a 50s gangster fedora and Patton welds a shovel like a trailer park serial killer!!
Religious icons and images of horses 'quartering' a body add to the harsh almost horrific onscreen drama. The clever soft focus close ups and group shots give us enough evidence to realise the band's image has undergone changes like the music since 'The Real Thing' era. The styling of this video seemed to become signature for FNM and to set the precedent for many videos to follow, 'A Small Victory', 'Digging The Grave', 'Another Body Murdered' and 'Ashes to Ashes' in particular have similar direction.
'Midlife Crisis' has been a permanent fixture on FNM's setlist ever since 1992 and is one of those songs that transfers perfectly to the stage. Its always eagerly awaited by the crowd and everybody sings the chorus along with Patton with a sense of joy and pride, dare I use the word 'anthem'... Of course any live performance of the song will take your breath away but one in particular was featured on hanging with MTV. This live show aired in 1992 and songs from the session feature on the FNM video release 'Video Croissant'.
I saw the MC performed live for the first time at Wembley stadium in 1992. Every time I hear the song to this day it conjures up images of Patton creeping and crawling around the stage back arched like that venomous snake again in attack position before throwing himself on the ground like he's being poked back with a stick. The last time I saw it played live was at Brixton last year (2012), Patton still arches his back and bounces on his toes like it's a necessary position for the performance.
So that's it. kind of my case for 'Midlife Crisis' to represent the unique style of FNM. Sorry if it was a bit elaborate and long-winded but to me it is the best example of their incomparable twisted perfection, the music and the lyrics. It will be played at my funeral along with 'Surprise! You're Dead' and that line from the lyrics will reside on tombstone when I'm gone!!! It reminds me if my youth....of 1992....and of how FNM became so important.
So that's it. kind of my case for 'Midlife Crisis' to represent the unique style of FNM. Sorry if it was a bit elaborate and long-winded but to me it is the best example of their incomparable twisted perfection, the music and the lyrics. It will be played at my funeral along with 'Surprise! You're Dead' and that line from the lyrics will reside on tombstone when I'm gone!!! It reminds me if my youth....of 1992....and of how FNM became so important.
Jim.