Apples in Stereo: Her Wallpaper Reverie

Apples in Stereo: Her Wallpaper Reverie

1999

SpinART/Elephant 6 Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1.  i. Her Room Is A Rainy Garden (Wallpaper Reverie Theme)  2. ii. Morning Breaks (And Roosters Complain)  3. The Shiney Sea  4. iii. The Significance Of A Floral Print  5. Strawberryfire  6. iv. From Outside, In Floats A Music Box  7. Ruby  8. v. She Looks Through Empty Windows  9. Questions and Answers  10. vi. Drifting Patterns  11. Y2K  12. vii. Les Amants  12. Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend)  13. Ruby, Tell Me  14. viii. Together They Dream Into The Evening




Welcome to the 2014 Friday Night Record Party Wallpaper Catalog,

 (cracks a couple of your proximal phalanges with my especially dominant handshake) 

This year we have a tantalizing selection of wallpaper samples for your entire family to enjoy. Select the wallpaper that perfectly expresses your complex and unique personality from our 5 selections...

 Catalog No. 00006969696969

Royal Eyepunch

This evergreen favorite was designed by our top designer, Hans HanHanne, who was inspired by a spirited conversation with his wife, wherein he suggested she had inherited her mother's "fat-ass and legs." Hans' wife clobbered him on the noggin with a cast-iron sautee pan, which resulted in a dazzling endoptic light-show that inspired HanHanne's most beloved design...

 

 Catalog No. 000000000OU812  

August Brick

Why not throw away those old, outdated bricks holding your house up and replace them with this sturdy, stylish representation of bricks , pain-stakingly hand painted by renowned brick-painter Brock Brickman?

Catalog No. 00000000005150

Fake Vomit

Amazingly realistic PUKE! Looks like someone was SICK, SICK, SICK! Almost turns your stomach to use as a joke, it's so realistic. Made out of durable, high-impact plastic. Place by baby, dog, dinner table, midnight mass, loved-one's funeral, to pretend you've been sick. Revolting.

Fake Vomit.........99 cents

Catalog No. 00000000001994

Magic Eye

Relive the 3D image craze of the 1990's!  Hold the wallpaper sample up to your nose, then very slowly pull away, letting your eye relax...You will feel a very sharp pain in your right temple followed by a sickening twinge of nausea.  At this point the fun-lovin' image of a puppy should appear. If the image does not appear, please consult a physician immediately. 

 Catalog No: 00000000001972

Something/Anything? 

Hello, it's me. I've thought about us for a long, long time. Maybe I think too much, but something's wrong. There's something here doesn't last too long. Maybe I shouldn't think of you as mine...


Thank you for reading our catalog. We hope your family will find comfort in our wide variety of heart-warming wallpapers for many years to come...

- Slick Snailman, CEO and Vice-Janitor for Cashco Wallpaper Chemical Corp. LLC, Inc

 ..................................................................................................................................................

 I'd like to thank everyone for coming over to the blog today to read the promotional literature...

Anyway, "Her Wallpaper Reverie" is a 1999 release by Apples in Stereo. I almost bought this when it was first released but the track listing looked a little suspicious to me...What was up with all the roman numerals? Well, I went home and did some research and found out it was a 27 minute mini-album and all the roman numeral songs were just brief, instrumental interludes (except for "Drifting Patterns" which is a long version of these...). It's usually someone playing some toy-sounding instrument...

 So when all is said and done you get roughly 20 minutes (and about 7 songs) of the Apple's sweet,  sunshiney, psychedelic pop...

But everywhere I looked it was priced like a regular CD...No way I'm paying $14.99 for an ep, so I stayed patient and earlier this year I found a used copy for basically free at FYE...

The location I frequent is going out of business at the end of this month, and everything is reduced 50-70% percent...I mean, I wish the place wasn't going under, but at the same time I'm having a blast picking them over...

So I finally got to hear the elusive "Her Wallpaper Reverie" and boy, am I happy...The seven proper full-band rock songs are all great...This isn't psychedelia in the 13th Floor Elevators/Hawkwind sense.These aren't interstellar spacemen with LSD-blasted third eyes...No, these are the gentle, poppy psychedelic songs in the vein of late 60's, early 70's Saturday Morning TV shows...

 More Banana Splits than Syd Barrett...But not so "phony" sounding if you know what I mean...I think it's what the Banana Splits was probably aiming for, but didn't quite have the artistry to pull off....I guess what I'm trying to get at is soothing songs like "The Shiney Sea" and the Sgt Pepper flavored "Strawberryfire" just make you feel good...And "Ruby" is indie-pop heaven...Hits me right in the part of the brain that longs for well-constructed, sugary melodies...

I love visiting, this bright, friendly wonderland of effortless hooks and ornate harmonies. I wish I had heard it sooner, since I think it holds its own against early classics like Tone Soul Evolution.  If you run across a reasonably priced copy, go for it, especially if you're one of those people, like me, who wish that the Beatles had squeezed out a couple more albums in the "Magical Mystery Tour" mold...

Here's "The Shiney Sea" by the Apples in Stereo...

Apples in Stereo: Travellers in Time and Space

Apples in Stereo: Travellers in Time and Space

2010

Simian Records/ Elephant 6/Yep Roc Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. The Code  2. Dream About the Future  3. Hey Elevator  4. Strange Solar System  5. Dance Floor  6. C.P.U.  7. No One in the World  8. Dignified Dignitary  9. No Vacation  10. Told You Once  11. It's All Right  12. Next Year at About the Same Time  13. Floating in Space  14. Nobody But You  15. Wings Away  16. Time Pilot

This album caught me slightly off guard when it was first released. The Apple in Stereo change up their sound, drastically reducing the guitar and amping up the vocoder, strings and  keyboards, with an end result that comes off as Electric Light Orchestra mixed with Hall and Oates..

 Underneath it all though it's all still just the same straight up pop melodies that we've grown to love. This new instrumental approach doesn't always work, but honestly, it works a lot more often than I expected it to.  They really manage to  write some of their most infectious material to date.  The chorus to "Hey Elevator" sounds like some long lost 80's radio staple that you somehow forgot about. I get that same "where have I heard this before?" feeling from "No Vacation" too.   I almost feel like I have to warn you before listening to this song,  since it's so incredibly catchy, that it's going to take everything you got to keep it out of your mind.

I also have to say, in this age of terminal unemployment, $4 gallons of gas, and endless recessions, it's refreshing to hear someone who is still so damn optimistic about the future. It fits the throwback mood of the album quite well, due to the fact that I think the last time I heard a song that looked forward to the future was probably some time in the'80's.

Now let's take a look back at the events of 2010..

Chile is devestated by one of the largest recorded earthquakes in history. The Earthquake triggers a tsunami killing 525 people...Wow...that's really sad...

The Gulf of Mexico falls prey to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster . Surrounding beaches and wild life are covered in crude....Ugh...This is horrible stuff.. do I have to keep going...?

Tila Tequila is brutally attacked at a Juggalo Convention...Wait...what?! My God, what is this world coming to?! .Surely something good must have happened that year, right? It couldn't have been all gloom and doom!

 You Tube sensation, Justin Bieber continues his insidious  domination of the charts....People willingly listening to Justin Bieber?! That's more than I can take....the real 2010 is just too depressing...can we just take a look at fictional events that occurred in 2010 instead?



Apparently, this is the year Lisa Simpson gets married...



The Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union officially comes to an end, after the new star, Lucifer,  is formed due to a nuclear reaction on the planet Jupiter after the planet is engulfed by Monoliths.



The population of Planet Earth officially hits 10 billion, as foretold by the Bad Religion song "10 in 2010."

There. Aren't those fun facts a lot better? Eat it, reality!

Let's check out "Hey Elevator:" by the Apples in Stereo....

Apples in Stereo: Electronic Projects for Musicians

Apples in Stereo: Electronic Projects for Musicians

2008

Simian/Spin Art/Yep Rock Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Shine (In Your Mind)  2. Thank You Very Much  3. Onto Something  4. Man You Gotta Get Up  5. The Golden Flower  6. Avril En Mai  7. Hold On To This Day  8. The Oasis  9. On Your Own  10. Other  11. So Far Away  12. The Apples Theme Song  13.Stephen Stephen  14. Dreams

A collection of b-sides and rare tracks. Not bad stuff at all and it's pretty fun to hear all the diffferent eras of the band all in one place.

It turns out the Apples made pretty good decision on what they chose to put on and leave off their albums. Hardly anything here falls into the "lost classic" category, except for maybe "Shine (In Your Mind)" which is an incredible twee-indie pop song, that would be a standout on any of their releases.

At the same time, the outtakes show just how consistent the band is, as there's nothing here that's flat-out bad. It's all pretty good. Even the most negligible tracks  ("Stephen, Stephen," which was written for the Colbert Report, and "The Apples Theme Song" which is the background music for their website) are still fun. Although they should of included the song they did for the Power Puff Girls, which would have been a great fit for this CD.

Alright, I don't have much to say today so I'm going to just fill out the rest of this post with pictures of apples...

Here's a Macintosh logo...

 Here's a pretty Native American girl holding an apple...

Here's Fiona Apple at a Red Wings game...

Alright...enough with Apples that aren't in stereo...Here's the Apples in Stereo with "Shine (In Your Mind)"

Apples in Stereo: New Magnetic Wonder

Apples in Stereo: New Magnetic Wonder

2007

Simian records/Spin Art/Yep Roc Records

Track Listing: 1. Can You Feel It?  2.Skyway  3.Mellotron 1  4. Energy  5. Same Old Drag  6. Joanie Don't U Worry  7.Sunndal Song  8. Droplet  9.Play Tough  10. Sun is Out  11. Non-Pythagorean Composition 1  12. Hello Lola  13. 7 Stars  14. Mellotron 2  15. Sunday Sounds  16. Open Eyes  17. Crimson  18. Pre-Crimson  19. Vocoder Ba Ba  20. Radiation  21. Beautiful Machine Parts 1-2  22. Beautiful Machine Parts 3-4  23. My Pretend  24. Non-Pythagorean Composition 3

Alright, this is more like it!  The Apples in Stereo return after a five year hiatus with a big fat, overstuffed epic record, with 24 tracks running almost an hour. Compare that to their last album, which only had 11 tracks and ran under 30 minutes.

 And they make the most of this hour too. Sure, there's some  material here that might be classified as "filler" but not filler in a bad away. These aren't simply "songs that don't quite work."  These fine fillers are usually very brief experiments with a vocoder, a Mellotron, or  some new scale he invented for the album called the Non-Pythagorean scale. So it's interesting stuff. And speaking of the vocoder, they use it a lot on this album, as the band touts a slick new ELO influence. And man, there's some knockout pop songs here!

"7 Stars" is so transcendent in its glorious hookiness that I can't not rewind it over and over. "Same Old Drag" is also fantastic, sporting a very 70's electric piano sound and one of Robert Schneider's most memorable vocals. They even resurrect (and improve) the "Velocity of Sound" production on part 1 of "Beautiful Machine." Most surprising of all,  as the album goes on they even summon up a bit of cosmic grandeur...To be honest I didn't even know they had it in them!

I recall this record being a nice surprise when it came out and revisiting it has been a blast, with its endless array of ever shifting instrumentation, and inventiveness there's never a dull moment. In fact, I wish there was a disc 3! Can we have some more of this, please?!

Here's "Same Old Drag" by the Apples in Stereo...

Apples in Stereo: Velocity of Sound

Apples in Stereo: Velocity of Sound

2002


Spin Art Records/Elephant 6

Format I Own it On:Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Please  2. Rainfall  3. That's Something I Do  4. Do You Understand?  5. Where We Meet  6.Yore Days  7. Better Days  8. I Want  9. Mystery  10. Baroque  11. She's Telling Lies (Bryce's Mix)

This record gets a bit of a bad rap, and I can't say it's wholly undeserved. They drastically change their sound, making it huge and buzzy. It still sounds like the Apples brand of fizzy pop but they just put giant drums and Ramones style fuzz guitar under it all, which I love. But the unbridled optimism isn't exactly punk, maybe its closest relative would be Weezer with diabetes. When this approach is matched with a good song, like on highlights, "Baroque," "Mystery," "Please,""I Want" and "Rainfall," it reeaaallly works. The added caffeine makes the sugar rush that much more potent.

The real problem is that they didn't bring as many great songs as we're used to, and this heavy handed approach makes the slower material almost unbearably monotonous. "Where We Meet" would have probably been a pleasant  psychedelic distraction on their last album but here, it just seems like it goes on forever and the melody doesn't support its weight. The sequencing leaves something to be desired too, since it starts out ridiculously strong with the first two tracks, then it drops out for the entire middle, but then rebounds again once "I Want" starts. In fact, the whole last section of the album is probably my favorite material  the Apples have ever done. I am head over heels in love with "Baroque." I love everything about it, the thick warmth of the guitars and all the Beach Boys "Ba Ba Ba" harmonies. One of my favorite things about the 2000's...That and the fact we never had to see those dumb "2000" New Year's eve glasses ever again...

Man, I hated those things...I Imagine the same people that wear those would have no problem with wearing one of those "Cat in the Hat" hats...I hate those too...

 Enough of the bitter hate-fest, let's get happy and listen to "Baroque" by the Apples in Stereo...

Apples in Stereo: Discovery of a World Inside the Moone

Apples in Stereo: Discovery of a World Inside the Moone

2000

Spin Art/ Elephant 6 records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Go  2. The Rainbow  3.Stream Running Over  4. 20 Cases Suggestive Of...  5. Look Away  6. What Happened Then  7. I Can’t Believe  8. Submarine Dream  9. Allright/Not Quite  10. The Bird That You Can’t See  11. Stay Gold  12. The Afternoon

These guys seem determined to record an alternate soundtrack for "Yellow Submarine." The Apples in Stereo deliver track after track of watery psychedelic 60's influenced pop on what turns out to be  their best album.

They really stretch themselves here and try on genre after genre which oddly enough, helps them finally establish a really distinctive sound. "Go" is bouncy carnival madness and  yet it sounds like the Apples, "Submarine Dream" is slo-mo psychedelia and  yet it sounds like the Apples, "The Bird That You Can’t See" sounds like freakin' Parliament-Funkadelic and against all odds it still sounds like the Apples!

(I should get to this album sometime around 2018!)

"Stream Running Over" even modernizes their sound by adding a fat beat and it works! In fact it's probably the most ridiculously catchy track on planet Earth  (its closest rival being "the Rainbow" which is also on this album.)

I'm telling you, I've listened to the shit out of this album over the years and I'm still not even remotely tired of it...The only tracks that really grate on me are "Go," which finds them finally falling into  the "Austin Powers" 60's parody I mentioned yesterday. You could totally see him go-go dancing to this...



I also never totally got into "What Happened Then" either...it mostly just reminds me of how awesome "Strawberry Fields Forever" was...But skip those two tracks and it's all gold! (By the way, it seems a lot of people really like "Go," so I could be wrong about that one...Hasn't grown on me in the 13 years I've heard it, but who knows...)

I bought this album when it originally came out at the Media Play in Saginaw, Michigan...



Apparently Media Play no longer exists...They were pretty cool for a big box store cos they sold Cd's, electronics and books... I used to live in a tiny village called Hale that had no record stores within a 120 mile radius, so I used to drive halfway down the state just to buy records...Internet hadn't really hit there, (I think it was only a couple years ago you could get actually get DSL) So I used to drive a 100 or so miles to this place twice a month to pick up Apples in Stereo CD's, Monty Python videotapes, and various books...I can't tell if that was awesome or if it sucked...

Oh well, time to bust out the Matlock screenshot again....


Let's check out "The Rainbow" by the Apples in Stereo...

Apples in Stereo: Tone Soul Evolution

Apples in Stereo: Tone Soul Evolution

1997

Sire Records/SpinArt/ Elephant 6

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Seems So  2. What's The #?  3. About Your Fame  4. Shine A Light  5. Silver Chain  6. Get There Fine  7. The Silvery Light Of A Dream  8. The Silvery Light Of A Dream (Part II)  9. We'll Come To Be  10. Tin Pan Alley  11. You Said That Last Night  12. Try To Remember  13. Find Our Way  14. Coda

Ohhhh, yes. I like this one. Totally 60's revival, yet manages to avoid the obvious Austin Powers parody sort of thing. Think the Beatles "Rubber Soul" as filtered through Brian Wilson's late 60's  guilelessness.

I first got into the Beatles during the late 90's and absorbed their entire output at a rapid rate. I listened to all their albums hundreds and hundreds of times and I wanted more, more, more! They had cast too long a shadow over all my other records, and nothing else seemed to do.

I came across this album and it served as a perfect bridge for getting over the Beatles and back into indie rock and other types of music again. "Seems So" and "You Said That Last Night" sounded just like lost 60's pop singles and I became obsessed with the beautiful psychedelic ballad, "The Silvery Light Of A Dream (Part II)." The production was immaculate, it has the slight patina of 90's lo-fi yet  nothing was out of place: silvery guitar leads, hand-claps, perfectly placed harmonies...

A lot of people seem to have a problem with front-man Rob Schneider's whimsical (and a bit nasally) vocals but I think it's perfect. I mean, he totally nails the difficult inflections required to make "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" work...



No, I'm just joking, here's the correct Robert Schneider...



But if for some reason if his relentlessly cheerful voice gets to you, then check out Hilarie Sidney's vocal turn during the swooning "Silver Chain." I  can understand the criticism that this is pretty lightweight stuff (particularly in the lyric department) and there's nothing even the slightest bit innovative here, but that doesn't really bother me.

I honestly don't see anything inherently wrong in indulging your nostalgia for  60's sunshine pop and constructing your own tribute. I for one, am glad someone did it!  Like I said, this works pretty well when you need something new to listen to after you burn through all your 60's albums. And then once you're into this, you can move onto the other bands in the like-minded  Elephant 6 collective (The Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, etc.) and suddenly you have a whole new world of music to explore! Yay! 

And what does one serve to drink at their Friday Night  Record Party while listening to this sweetly psychedelic pop...



...That's right! Electric Kool-Aid!

While we're wigging out, let's reflect back on other notable events of 1997:



Insane UFO dealth-cult Heaven's Gate drinks the Kool-Aid and commits mass suicide...



When the authorities searched the bodies they discovered each member carrying a five-dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets, which turned out to be the fare to ride the UFO trailing the Hale-Bopp comet...Hey! That's cheaper than taking the Valley-Metro!



And the late great Steve Jobs reclaims his role as CEO of the Apples in Stereo...



...alright, I feel myself crossing the line into pure nonsense....That means I better stop for the day, but you can stick around and listen to "Seem So" by the Apples in Stereo....