7 hours with the Mars Volta

On Wednesday as I was leaving for class, I decided to listen to nothing but the Mars Volta until I finished listening to their discography (in chronological order, of course)*. Though TMV was one of my favorite bands in years past (especially freshman and sophomore year of high school), I hadn't listened to some of their albums in months and months.

It took me about 7.5 hours of listening to get through the 5 studio albums, ep, and live album that comprise the Mars Volta's discography (in addition, there is live ep, but I haven't snagged it yet). Going back to old favorites was incredibly rewarding. While I won't say that all (or many) of my friends these days would be super-keen on them (i know #johnhashtag isn't), I am a big big fan of the insane drumming of Jon Theodore, the quiet/loud/quiet louds, the over-the-top lyrics, and Omar Rodríguez-López's otherworldly guitar playing. I haven't been able to see them live yet, but I would certainly travel to see them play.

If you haven't listened to the Mars Volta (or if you don't know them from The Zutons), you really ought to give them a try. Also, if you're reading this and are a fan, you should let me know so we can bro down to Tremulant EP.

Concertina (from Tremulant - 2002)

Cygnus Vismund Cygnus (from Frances the Mute - 2005)**


*took me less than two days
*fun fact: my myspace url is myspace.com/cygnusvismundcygnus1251, after this song (and the strokes' 12:51, obvs) .Yes, I had to spell that out for people often.