ALEATORY #22: Fuck Buttons

Though it's a little late to say it, as everyone knows by now: Fuck Buttons, the experimental duo of Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power, are intense. Even their name is intense. While probably a noun, Davecat has always hoped their name was an imperative, or a declaration of dissatisfaction with traditional clothing fasteners. With a sound somewhere between blistering noise and epic post-rock, the two electronically shredded their way into our hearts with their debut full-length Street Horrrsing last year, and it's been zippers and velcro ever since. Both gentlemen took time out of their busy schedule to be the subject of our twenty-second Aleatory, and we are, as always, extremely grateful.

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AH = Andrew Hung
BP = Benjamin John Power

1. Favorite word?

Musk (AH)
Transparent (BP)

7. Favorite composer?

Arvo Pärt (AH)
Jon Hassell (BP)

11. Favorite music video?

Gihm's "Green Grass of Tunnel" (Múm) cover (AH)
"Window Licker" Aphex Twin (BP)

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

Portishead (AH)
Nirvana (BP)

16. Favorite campfire story?

The one about the girl's pet python that starved itself to eat her. (AH)
I don't know any good stories about campfires (BP)

18. Favorite pick-up line?

I bet you've got a fanny. (AH)
You and me and a bottle makes three (BP)

33. What's something you could teach anyone in an hour or less?

How to emotionally manipulate your mother. (AH)
How to deal with being emotionally manipulated by one's mother (BP)

34. What's the best joke you heard recently?

I went to a seafood disco last night... Pulled a mussel! (AH)
What did the 0 say to the 8? Nice belt! (BP)

38. What is your family like?

Slowly deteriorating (AH)
All over the globe (BP)

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?

Maths/History (respectively) (AH)
Science/art (BP)

43. What's the road ahead look like?

Wonderous. (AH)
Exciting (BP)

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

Under my ball sack. Peanuts. (AH)
I have nothing to hide, but if I did it would probably be down at the bottom of my bag. I'm pretty sure there are things in there that I didn't even know about (BP)

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

I still haven't come to that conclusion. I believe that will be an answer that awaits me on my deathbed (not to be too morose, but it's true). (AH)
I knew this was wanted to do this for a living ever since I was young so to be able to do this is a priviledge (BP)

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

The one where we played to an end of year student party. I should have cried onstage not off it. (AH)
We played to only our support band once in Birmingham and if I could do things differently I would have made sure there were at least a few people there (BP)

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

The whole set of one of the bands I heard last night (AH)
That X Factor winner's cover of Hallelujah by Mr. Leonard Cohen (BP)

76. Dream collaboration?

Kate Bush (AH)
Suicide (BP)

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

Sonic Youth Roundhouse 2008 (AH)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Camber Sands (BP)

91. Which single album should be in everybody's home?

Hounds of Love (AH)
Raw Power by Iggy & the Stooges (BP)

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

I could write a book on my thoughts on this issue... but basically, 4x4 car ads = good, ethical companies = bad. (AH)
Uggg. It depends. Leave me alone (BP)

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?

Peanuts. (AH)
Some of our first ever CDr's will probably never see the light of day. Just for me and Andy to drag out sometimes on reflect on how things have changed (BP)

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View Fuck Buttons' MySpace.
View Fuck Buttons' bio at ATP Recordings.

ALEATORY #14: The Burnside Project

Every once in awhile, a band comes along that just has everything you love crammed into one place. The Burnside Project is such a band: spry indie-rock guitars meet throbbing synths and techno beats, all while lyrics pour out Richard Jankovich's head that range from smart to smart-ass (I mean, c'mon, the guy gave an in-song shout out to Philip Seymour Hoffman years before that big Oscar win). Though their disc The Networks, The Circuts, The Streams, The Harmonies scored a minor hit with "Cue the Pulse to Begin" back in '03, they band has remained busy, releasing The Finest Example is You in 2005 and re-releasing their '00 effort digitially late last year. Now, Richard is busy doing lots of new songs and remixing under his Pocket guise, but, also, delivering terrifically sarcastic answers to Globecat's fourteenth Aleatory ...

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16. Favorite campfire story?

Unfortunately, I cannot remember any. It probably had ghosts in it.

26. Favorite badass?

Pat Buchanan.

33. What's something you could teach anyone in an hour or less?

Particle physics.

35. What's the best place you've randomly discovered while on tour?

The East Coast of the United States Of America - it is a lovely place!

36. Lyrics first or music first?

Differs on each track. Mostly, music first.

43. What's the road ahead look like?

Sleepy. Burnside is pretty inactive right now but my Pocket work is in full swing. Check it: www.music-by-pocket.com

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

Um...it's not. Well, actually it is - I work in music branding and licensing. But I don't think that's what you mean...

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

Way too many to count - probably at Pianos when I lost my shit and kicked a mike off the stage. That's about as punk as we get. It was pretty cathartic for us.

67. Do you reach any kind of personal catharsis when it comes to songwriting/performing?

I reach catharsis through kicking mikes off of stages, as I mention above.

68. Favorite interview you've ever been a part of (aside from this one obviously)?

No, this one is pretty terrible. My best interview was probably while on tour in Japan and I had no idea what they were asking - I just answered everything with "green and tumbleweeds."

81. If you could sync an album of yours to a movie (like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz), what movie would it be?

Magnolia.

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

I really like Rihanna and I will kick anyone with a mike who disagrees with me.

85. What's the biggest mistake you've made that you inadvertently learned a great lesson from?

Agreeing to do this interview.

88. What's your deepest source for musical inspiration?

The world around me, television, paranoia.

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

New Order for the upbeat parts, Replacements ballads for the part when everyone cries.

92. Which venue are you dying to play but have not yet had the chance to?

The Houston Astrodome.

94. What's your hardest song to replicate live?

Well, probably the ones we never played live like "Outside Tennebrae" or "An Easy Sell"

98. Would you say that there's somewhat of a political undertone to your music? If so, what motivates it?

Absolutely - though I keep it purposefully subtle. What motivates it? A deep and utter hatred for right wing lunacy and left wing failure to give a shit.

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

Have you seen our songs on TV?

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?

Loads of garbage - it's unreleased for a reason, in my opinion.

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Photo by Angela Langer.

Visit the Burnside Project's website.

ALEATORY #13: Pale Young Gentlemen

This is a first.

Here at Globecat, we receive e-mails all the time -- be it publicists, readers like you, or even band members themsleves: we happily sift through all of these, but something was quite different when Pale Young Gentlemen drummer Matt Reisenauer contacted us, eagerly discussing the second disc from his band's album Black Forest (Tra La La). We followed up on the lead, and soon found Black Forest to be a tragically beautiful album of indie-folk done right: dramatic without being theatrical, touching without being self-serving. Ripe with cellos, acoustic guitars, and singer Mike Reisenauer's pointed vocals, this is the kind of disc that will sound just as good five years from now as it will when you pick it up later this month. Yes, this is the first time we've featured an artist who has contacted us instead of the other way around, but, really, this is the first band to contact us who genuinely deserves to be on our Aleatory wall. Mike R. takes this opportunity to gladly discuss re-recording radio interviews, the big spoiler he knows about wolf packs, and how Rufus Wainwright gave one of the worst concerts he ever saw ...

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20. Favorite new band?

Our old bass player (Andy Brawner) left the band to work on his own stuff. He released an album called "A Sun Goes Down" as Time Since Western that is amazing.

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

Any half-diminished chord. Most chords/chord progression have a lot of baggage- they're hard to make your own- but these things add a lot of nuance, I think, so ended up using them a lot on the new record.

30. How many languages do you speak?

One and a half. For some reason, I remember a lot of the Spanish I learned in middle and high school. Or at least I think I remember it. Or at least nobody I knows more than I do and feels alright correcting me.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

I saw a thing on PBS about the origin of dogs and how they split from wolves. I won't ruin it for you, but a nicely done show.

36. Lyrics first or music first?

Same time. Back and forth. Like two young boys trying to outrun each other.

39. What's something you could probably beat anyone you know at?

I'm really good at trying to be funny.

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?

Who cares?

42. What's an image that haunts you to this day?

Once I saw a dog get hit by a car as I was pumping gas, a springer- spaniel, I think. It was very dramatic from start to finish.

44. Something you've heard, know is false, but wish were true with all your heart?

That people still listen to entire albums. I wish we were limited to 8-track players sometimes. Make everyone listen to the whole side at least.

45. What's the best lie you've ever told?

My brother and I used to be clowns with my dad. We'd perform skits and tricks on the street. This is totally true. Anyway, fooling another person with a magic trick has to be the most pleasant, guilt-free lie possible.

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

I think I'm still waiting for this one...

57. Most rock star thing you've ever done?

When I was six, my mother told me to take my little garbage can up to my room. I paused and said "No you". My mom reacted in such a way that has prevented any more rock star moments.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

Once we played a show as a three-piece that was all-the-way embarrassing. Christ, we really should have rehearsed. I still regret it.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

Anybody that's actually making a living at this.

68. Favorite interview you've ever been a part of (aside from this one, obviously)?

We did an interview once for a local radio station that was being taped for a later airing, but the interviewer forgot to press record for the first 40 mins. of it. It's not a terrible thing to lose 40 minutes, but it is weird to re-answer the same questions and try to seem genuine. We ended up with a big inside joke we couldn't share with the audience.

69. There's got to be one: who has been your craziest fan?

We had a fan in Chicago once that wanted to pay us a hundred bucks to play "Clap Your Hands" again. We didn't do it, but maybe we should have.

84. Most disappointing concert you ever attended?

I once saw Rufus Wainwright at the Barrymore Theater. I think I remember wanting him to shut up and play the songs. The whole thing seemed kinda cheesy or something.

87. Ultimately, you will want to be remembered as …

Somebody's dad who wrote some nice songs.

96. The one thing that no one knows about you (yet)?

I am a fantastic cook and I'm really great at driving cars.

97. Your label wants to do a music video for a song off your album, and have inexplicably procured $1,000,000 as a budget, then decide that you'd best direct the visual accompaniment to your own music. What song do you choose, and what will your video look like?

I'd keep the money, split it with my band, and have my dad shoot it for free. I'd probably want to do "Kettle Drum" or "She's All Mine, I Think" because I've always pictured those songs taking place on my dad's property in rural Wisconsin.

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Visit the Pale Young Gentlemen's website.

ALEATORY #12: Grails

It's been a busy year for Grails, and it's not over yet. Back in May, the Portland four piece dropped their fifth full-length in as many years, Take Refuge in Clean Living, pushing their grungy instrumental psych into new and groovy places. In October, their sixth album, Doomsdayer's Holiday, comes out on Temporary Residence. And their 2005 EP, Interpretations of Three Psychedelic Rock Songs from Around the World, was just pressed re-released and pressed vinyl. They also toured with Nadja in June, are hitting up Athens, GA and NY in November, and in the meantime are probably working triple shifts at their day jobs, just because they can. Three of the Grails guys—guitarist Alex Hall, drummer Emil Amos, and keys-man William Slater—took a breather from their hectic schedule and were kind enough to be our twelfth Aleatory.

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12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

AH: Split decision between Metallica and (old) Van Halen.
EA: Dinosaur.
WS: Drive Like Jehu, Public Enemy.

13. Favorite Shakespearean play?

AH: Porky's 3.
EA: Zardoz.
WS: Henry IV.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?
WS: Very old books and forgotten manuscripts. Sea monsters of the late cretaceous.

16. Favorite campfire story?
AH: Hamlet.
EA: "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" - Ray Nelson.

17. Favorite plant?
AH: Robert.
EA: Francis.
WS: Treebeard.

19. Favorite foreign film?
AH: Irreversible.
EA: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.
WS: The Lady Vanishes, Throne of Blood.

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

WS: Flute, maybe cello.
AH: It'd be nice to actually learn guitar at some point.
EA: Either a ham-radio or some Harry Partch shit maybe.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?
AH: Eureka, California, 2004, I think. It was in some Italian restaurant. An hour before the show, our violinist ate a handful of mixed scrip drugs he had scored off some dude on the sidewalk. By the time we started to play he was still in the van, writhing in the backseat and clawing at the air. He kept losing consciousness during the set with his violin shrieking a wall of feedback. After the show he passed out in the car and we couldn't wake him up. Eventually he came to at 4 AM, and was furious because it was freezing outside, he didn't know where he was and he filled my voicemail with about 20 hateful, threatening messages.

EA: The time I remember feeling the worst was in around 2001 when someone put the loop for a song called "Canyon Hymn" on a cassette. Since all tape player motors play at slightly different speeds the sound man hit play and we slogged thru 8 minutes completely out of tune with it. I remember experiencing an intense/unparalleled degree of shame while I was putting my cymbals away.

WS: The aforementioned two were the first two that came to mind… Honorable mentions to the show where the very heavy Rhodes organ collapsed on top of me mid-song, trapping me beneath, and the show where i played despite having a 102 degree fever, during which our violinist flipped me off repeatedly from the other side of the stage because he didn't like the set list I'd written. I remember that one as somewhat of a Robitussin-induced waking nightmare.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

EA: I'll speak for Alex on this one and say it's a tie between Rita Coolidge and Clay Aiken.

71. How well do you feel your music lends itself to remixing or being covered?
AH: I hope that someone might actually cover a Grails tune one day, since it might confirm that we'd succeeded in making an actual song. Most instrumental music these days is either just riffs or drones, rarely ever real songs....

81. If you could sync an album of yours to a movie (like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz), what movie would it be?
EA: Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
WS: Dirty Dancing

93. Longest show you ever played? What was different?
AH: We've played probably a dozen shows in Europe where the promoter hadn't bothered to add any support bands, leaving us as the sole 'entertainers' for the evening. So we were obligated to go total GBV and play really long sets....which is fun for us but bad for the Italian people who are waiting for the techno DJ that's going on after the rock show.

95. Do you ever read your own reviews?
AH: Yeah, always. I've never understood the idea that a lot of people have about separating oneself from one's criticism. It's just part of the process.

EA: With the amount of dispassionate publicity you generally receive, we mostly just end up reading our own press releases that've been copied and pasted 4000 times. Between that, deleting spam and shredding junk mail modern life has become a refreshing break from reading Kafka. When there's not much tangible community left in the underground it makes us sentimental to watch old videos of the crowd spitting upon the faces of the members of Fear.

98. Would you say that there's somewhat of a political undertone to your music? If so, what motivates it?
AH: You mean in a topical sense? No, we don't have any 'Bush is bad' songs. Music like ours is more about focusing inward than outward. It's head music that benefits from a generous amount of dissociation.

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?
AH: A lot of stuff that will stay unreleased for good reason. But the rest is being compiled into a DVD project that should be out some time next year.

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Visit Grails' website.
Visit Grails' MySpace.

ALEATORY #11: The Vivian Girls

You can learn a lot about a band by their name. Xiu Xiu takes theirs from a depressing Chinese film about a sad girl and the eunuch who loves her. Menomena is named after a popular skit on the Muppet Show, later picked up by Dr. Pepper. Robert Allen Zimmerman, known for his poetic folk songs -- and better known as Bob Dylan -- took his stage name from Dylan Thomas. There are bands named after songs (Pretty Girls Make Graves, Radiohead), after art (Modest Mouse comes from a Virgina Woolf story; Steely Dan is the name of a sex toy in William S. Burrough's Naked Lunch), and medieval torture devices (Iron Maiden?).

The Vivian Girls take their name from outsider artist Henry Darger's 15,000-page fantasy novel (single spaced, and not including the hundreds of drawings and watercolors illustrating the text) entitled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion. Famous in underground art circles, The Realms of the Unreal follows the seven Vivian Girls as they suffer under the evil Glandelinians as martyrs. It is unknown which chapter is devoted to them learning to combine the fuzzy haze of shoegaze, punk's lo-fi aesthetics and the harmonies of girl groups like the Shangri-Las, but with 15,000 pages to wade through, it's got to be in there somewhere.

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3. Favorite key to write in?

Almost every Vivian Girls song is in the key of C or G. I like those keys on the guitar cause there's a lot of cool stuff you can do with open chords.

9. Favorite song to start/end a mixtape with?

I have problems finishing mixtapes. I usually just do a little more than half of it and give up. The last mixtape I made started out with "I've Had It" by Catatonic Youth.. sooo good.

17. Favorite plant?

Palm trees, cacti, really anything that reminds me of the desert or the beach.

22. Favorite vice?

Smoking cigarettes.

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

I think it would be really cool to be a good drummer. That's one of my lifetime goals, to learn drums. It's gonna take a while.

39. What's something you could probably beat anyone you know at?

Having a VHS collection of bad high school movies from the 80's and 90's.

41. If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would it be?

I used to think that I'd go on a commercial flight to the moon someday but that seems really scary to me now. I'd probably go to Alaska and then Hawaii if I could go anywhere, cause those are the only 2 US states I still haven't been to.

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

One night I was out at a bar and playing darts with my friend Tim. Neither of us are particularly good at darts or knew how to score a game of darts so after a few weird rounds Tim said, "Okay, next person to get a bulls eye, the other person has to buy them a drink." I agreed, and then threw the dart at the board and it landed in the center! Tim was dumbfounded and then I threw the next dart and it landed in the center AGAIN! So needless to say, he bought me a drink that night.

49. Has your writing changed ever since you realized that you know that an larger audience will get to hear what you've made? What's changed/what's stayed the same?

I don't think so. My personal writing style and Vivian Girls' style as a whole have both changed a little as we've grown older / been in our band longer. But it's not even that much of a difference, just little things like paying more attention to certain details. I don't think we even care about the whole larger audience aspect. We just wanna make music that we like.

50. What's your religious tradition or background?

I was raised Catholic until I was in 4th grade, when my mom started taking me to the Unitarian Church. Then I stopped going cause I didn't really care. Most of my family is still Catholic, though. My uncle is like the most zealous bible thumper. It's insane.

55. You're curating a festival. If you could choose any two bands to open for you, who would they be?

Umm, I don't know if they'd be opening for us. I would like to open for the Wipers and Billy Joel. Is that crazy? I don't care. That would rule!

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

It was in July 2007 at Mauled By Tigers Fest. EVERYTHING went wrong. I was drunk and in a bad mood to begin with, and the basement was SO SWEATY AND HOT. Katy dropped her pick during our set and as she picked it up she hit her head really hard on this low pipe. Then the pipe started leaking all over us. The PA kept turning on and off, and so did our amps. It was a wreck all around. Also it was only the 10th show we ever played or something.

64. Weirdest promotion you've been a part of?

I don't think any?? Mountain Dew offered us some money to be on some weird compilation CD but we didn't do it?

70. What is a personal belief you hold that you would fight for to the death?

All of us really hate drugs. Like a lot. They're scary and they ruin a lot of peoples' lives.

71. How well do you feel your music lends itself to remixing or being covered?

Ninja Sonic, this rap group from Brooklyn, did a remix of "Tell The World" which actually sounded really good last time I heard it. I've never thought about what someone covering our songs would be like but I'm sure it would be interesting.

75. Very first song that you ever wrote?

The first song I wrote on guitar was called "Julian," it was about my 8th grade crush. It went "Julian, oh Julian, you are so very fine, and Julian oh Julian I wish that you were mine." So bad! I remember I got my first guitar and the first song I learned was "Doll Parts" by Hole and then I wrote "Julian" like 5 minutes later.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

When Katy and I were pulling an all-nighter driving from Chicago back to New York in June, we got pulled over twice in an hour. That sucked. Clearly you can tell how wholesome our band is considering this is the worst run-in with the law we've had.

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

Miley Cyrus - "See You Again" RULES. We listened to it so much in the car on tour.

86. With Radiohead's In Rainbows release and Nine Inch Nails doing boffo business with his online releases, do you see yourself ever doing some alterative kind of release for any of your future projects?

We're planning on putting out a 7" ourselves - like recording, mixing, and getting it pressed all on our own. That's basically it though.

88. What's your deepest source for musical inspiration?

Ex boyfriends. Bad dreams, bad vibes. Crushin' hard on dudes. Songs on the radio.

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Visit the Vivian Girls' website.

Visit the Vivian Girls' MySpace.

ALEATORY #10: Pocahaunted

Pocahaunted scares children.

Earlier this year, Amanda and Bethany played for a class of third graders, who described their sound as "scary Halloween music." It's not a bad description: their blend of drone, psychedelia and Native American music, full of reverb and foreboding, would make a great soundtrack to a haunted house. Remarkably prolific (their website lists well over 20 releases, often in runs of 100 or less), they are atmospheric in the good way, haunting without coming across as dark or gloomy, and of course, charming to talk to. The ladies of Pocahaunted:

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5. Favorite piece of equipment?

Amanda: Delay and reverb pedal.
Bethany: Holy Grail reverb pedal. I'd be nothing without one.

9. Favorite song to start (or end) a mixtape with?

Amanda: "Umi Says," by Mos Def.
Bethany: "Gold Dust Woman," Fleetwood Mac.

14. Favorite sound?

Amanda: Sax solos.
Bethany: The fan in my room blowing right at me when it's 400 degrees with 99.9% humidity.

20. Favorite new band?

Amanda: White Magic
Bethany: Vivian Girls.

22. Favorite vice?

Amanda: Dark chocolate.
Bethany: Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade.

23. Favorite natural oddity?

Amanda: Unibrows and lisps.
Bethany: Cats with thumbs.

25. Favorite historical figure?

Amanda: Queen Elizabeth and Nixon.
Bethany: Bruce Springsteen.

49. Now that you know a much larger audience will get to hear the music you've made, has your writing changed at all? How? What's changed and what's stayed the same?

Amanda: I'm always like to Bethany, "Oh man, in that last review they really didn't like this or that, we've got to grow or move away from our previous songs..." But you can't think like that, the writing should only change because we change and our influences change, and we try to stay true to that. I think we've gotten more sophisticated in our recording, with more collaborations with other amazing musicians, and that always morphs and improves our sound. But Bethany's voice is our rock and it's what makes us Pocahaunted, so that will never change. I'm just trying to get her to go off even more insane, deeper, crazier, with more soul, and more intensity. And she always brings it.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

Amanda: Our worst show was at Echo Curio, when we played with our friend Jonathan. He was amazing, and the sounds he was making were totally beautiful but Bethany's amp was malfunctioning like crazy and feeding back, and I think we played for about six minutes. It was low... but when it was over we laughed. Like we genuinely laughed and hugged and got over it, so maybe that's not so bad after all.

61. What's the best advice you could give to a young, upstart band?

Amanda: Work hard and be sick and epic, I'd say. But I'd always say work hard, be sick and epic about anything. If you stay away from weird music trends and make yr own music then who cares if you don't get the recognition right away or ever? If they like punk and yr making experimental drone, keep on keeping on. If they like experimental drone and yr making experimental drone, then enjoy it while it lasts. And of course, work with the best people you can. They'll only make you sound better and go deeper.
Bethany: Move to Brooklyn.

65. Ever see yourself penning the score/soundtrack to a TV show or film?

Amanda: When we write a great song and we know it, like we hear it back and look at each other like, "oh yeah" — we always joke, oh just the perfect score for Last of the Mohicans 2. But it's changing now, we're trying to get more soulful... maybe like the soundtrack to an awesome movie about sad shit and redemption...
Bethany: The Sopranos movie.

70. What is a personal belief you hold that you would fight for to the death?

Amanda: My own aesthetics. And love, duh.
Bethany: Never eat mayonnaise.

72. A few years ago, Beck gave an interview for SPIN in which he lamented the glut of reality TV shows and blogs about musicians, wanting to know less details about their life because he felt they were more mysterious that way (he liked to envision Devo as living in a crazed art-deco pyramid when he was young, instead of just some guys in a tour bus). Do you feel that there's a lack of mystique out there for musicians in today's YouTube age? Do you feel your band carries any mystique?

Bethany: I guess it makes sense that there would be a total lack of mystique for this reason, but I am totally into YouTube—so I don't really worry about it. Pocahaunted doesn't seem to end up on the Internet as much, unless it's links to my personal Flickr site—so I think we are doing pretty good at keeping up the mystique.
Amanda: There's no mystique. My husband Britt used to be like, "I love that band, you can't even email them... they don't even exist on the Internet, it's amazing." We still get into that and get siked on it, then it comes time to email that band and it's like, oh shit, you can't even email those dudes. It's hard to stay mysterious when being out there comes with Flickr account pics, and YouTube videos, and Myspace comments... I hope we have a mystique, but we ruin everything when we speak. It's all jokes and Sopranos references. Not so strange at all.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?

Amanda: Raising ourselves to the highest level. Each release has to be just a bit better or stranger or cooler than the last one for us. I get so stressed and go crazy over every song, and Bethany just trusts our performance and relaxes. Working with Bobb Bruno and Cameron Stallones is so dope, though. So there's a lot of trust there.
Bethany: I think just the timing. I was about to move, and was trying to finish up my last semester at school in LA—and Amanda was working hard on Crops and Rawbers stuff, and trying to leave her job... so we both had a lot on our minds, and were pretty stressed out... but we finished it, so I guess stress doesn't matter now.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

Bethany: The time Amanda and I got yelled at for peeing in a vineyard.
Amanda: The cops yelled at us because we tried to pee in a vineyard on the way to our Halloween show opening up for Thurston. We were totally late, had to pee of course, and didn't realize it was illegal. Which led to my famous (not so famous) quote, "Whatever, I pee in everyone's wine, it's fine."

81. If you could sync an album of yours to a movie (like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz), what movie would it be?

Amanda: Probably some James McAvoy movie. We love him.
Bethany: The Dark Knight.

83. Have you ever thought of pulling a Jack White-styled Raconteurs/White Stripes thing and be in multiple bands at once? If so, what would the other band sound like?

Amanda: Bethany's would probably sound more beautiful than anything in the world (Enya meets Kate Bush meets Mazzy Star) and mine would just be straight up afro funk or stupid acid jazz. Or we'd probably just try to hang around with rappers and hope someone would let us sing the hook.
Bethany: Yeah, I'm down. I'd like to be in a really poppy band that just sounds like The Beach Boys. Amanda would probably hate it.

84. Most disappointing concert you ever attended?

Amanda: Kraftwerk at Coachella. It was like a car commercial. Straight up.
Bethany: I don't know. It wasn't Billy Joel, that's for sure.

94. What's your hardest song to replicate live?

Amanda: We can't replicate any of them. We can't replay any of them. So I guess, all of them.

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?

Amanda: So many weird live sets with different awesome friend musicians. And a few songs that I was like, no no no not good enough for the album. It gets shelved, and then Britt just archives it for us in case we get wistful one night and re-listen and go, ooohhhhhhh yeah.

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Visit Pocahaunted's Myspace.

ALEATORY #8: Titles

... and in step the indie-rockers. With a laid-back style the mixes both backwoods rock drawl with indie quirkiness, guitarist Brad Amorosio began working as Titles after his previous Connecticut college rock act bailed out. Soon, with the help of drummer John Miller, a fleshed-out sound emerged, and as of later this year, a new album as well. Brad sits down with Globecat to take part in its eigth Aleatory ...

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1. Favorite word?

I don't know. [Editor's Note: That's actually three words.]

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

1960 Gretsch Clipper.

14. Favorite sound?

Lightsabers.

26. Favorite badass?

Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York.

45. What's the best lie you've ever told?

Probably something on a job interview.

53. So far in your career, what's been your biggest regret?

No regrets.

54. So far in your career, what's been your proudest accomplishment?

Putting out our last record.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

They are all OK. Even the worst ones have some value.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

It would be fun to float on the crowd in an inflatable bubble.

65. Ever see yourself penning the score/soundtrack to a TV show or film?

Not anytime soon.

76. Dream collaboration?

When is that Dangerhorse record coming out?

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

I liked that Jessica Simpson song with the roller rink video ["A Public Affair"].

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

"Hello Goodbye"

90. Sexiest thing about you?

Post nasal drip.

91. Which single album should be in everybody's home?

The first Huey Lewis and the News record.

97. Your label wants to do a music video for a song off your album, and have inexplicably procured $1,000,000 as a budget, then decide that you'd best direct the visual accompaniment to your own music. What song do you choose, and what will your video look like?

We'd probably do something with animatronic dinosaurs.

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

Depends what the ad is for. Car insurance? Hamburgers? Sure, what the hell.

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Visit Titles' website.

ALEATORY #3: Masaki Batoh of Ghost

Since 1984, Ghost has been a staple of Japan's incredible psych-rock scene. Led by Masaki Batoh, and featuring legendary guitarist Michio Kurihara (who played with Boris on 2007's incredible Rainbow, as well as with Damon & Naomi), Ghost's sound is ever-changing, and as such, impossible to pin down. From blistering hard rock to acid folk to sparse, spacey instrumentals to banjo-centric jams, Ghost does it all. Last year, they released their eighth full-length, In Stormy Nights, as well as Overture: Live in Nippon Yusen Soko 2006, a CD/DVD set chronicling a completely improvised show held in a warehouse, with the band separated from each other and the audience locked in for the duration.

Just back from a visit to the states, where he was touring with Helena Espvall of Espers and Damon & Naomi, Batoh gratefully agreed to take part in our third Aleatory questionnaire, in which he shares his love for the classics and displays a humble charm throughout.

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1. Favorite word?

"Monarch takes no heed of this miracle
But his hands are only used to persecute us on this ground"

— Agrippa d'Aubigné ["God"]

2. Favorite board game?

I don't do it. But a little Igo or Shogi.

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

Acoustic guitar, banjo.

10. Favorite lyric?

Seneca, Dante, Saisei Muroo, Rohan Koda, etc.

11. Favorite music video?

I don't have TV or DVD system.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

Hokusai at British museum. Buddhist statue at Japan national museum. Goya, Bruegel and Bosch in Madrid.

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

I don't have any correct musical name on chords. Actually I don't play in standard tuning. Sorry, I'm very bad at musical knowledge.

31. Other than musician, what career would you most enjoy?

My occupation, acupuncture and moxhibation to cure people in sickness.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

How I love American people very much. But how I hate their government. "Honk to impeach!"

38. What is your family like?

Very ordinary, peaceful one outside of Tokyo.

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

Hide nothing. Drainage only.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

In 1984 we were arrested because we played in front of [a] police building.

64. Weirdest promotion you've been a part of?

Oh Buddha, in-store show[s are] always very weird to me......

65. Ever see yourself penning the score/soundtrack to a TV show or film?

Soul is desertful*, directed by daughter of movie director who [did] Suspiria.

71. How well do you feel your music lends itself to remixing or being covered?

None did it, maybe.

74. Better to burn out or to fade away?

Better to cure everybody, hopefully by music, too.

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

In 1988, Live Temple show at Seiryu temple.

90. Sexiest thing about you?

No idea.

93. What was the longest show you ever played? What was different?

We always play very long in Japan. In foreign countries it used to be very short, at least 2 hours, because we usually play improvisation.

98. Would you say that there's somewhat of a political undertone to your music? If so, what motivates it?

Maybe yes. Because politics is ours, not for politicians who let slip the dogs of the WAR. If we say [we] agree to WAR, there's no insist[ence] for music.

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Visit Ghost's website.
Visit Ghost's page at Drag City Records.

Photo by Hiroyuki Ishii.

* DAVECAT: I'm not sure what film Batoh is referring to; I can find no reference to it online. I suspect the title he mentions is the result of translation from something (Italian? English?), to Japanese, then back to English, or (as is frequently the case) that one of her films was given a different name for its foreign release.

ALEATORY #1: Phil Elvrum

Few discographies are as intimidating as Phil Elvrum's. As The Microphones (and later as Mount Eerie), Elvrum crafts nothing but powerful, complex indie-rock epics that transcend their bare-bones recording environments to become something far more orchestral in nature. As a producer, he's helped create soundscapes for artists like Mirah, Little Wings, and Beat Happening. As an interviewee, he becomes the first subject of the Globecat Aleatory -- that famed list of 20 randomized questions -- and his responses are as wickedly funny as they are surprisingly insightful. Ladies and gentlemen: Phil Elvrum.

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1. Favorite word?

The word "favorite" is terrifying for me. I can not choose favorites. I can't say "best" except in ironic hyperbole. So all these answers are not favorite or best or worst or anything. They are just one answer of many. I hope I make sense.

4. Favorite person to have worked with?

Julie Doiron, recently.

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

Printing press.

7. Favorite composer?

G.I. Gurdjieff & Thomas deHartmann.

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

Eric's Trip.

13. Favorite Shakespearean play?

Macbeth.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

The entire Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA.

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?

Gary Snyder.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

French.

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

Still haven't.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

So many horrible ones I can't choose. In many cases nothing could have been done.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

secret

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

"Lisa, It's Your Birthday" by "Michael Jackson" in that one Simpsons episode.

71. How well do you feel your music lends itself to remixing or being covered?

Poorly. My songs are too much about my own weird shit. It would seem weird coming from someone else. Remixes would be fine though I think.

73. Are there any songs that you're working on right now?

Yes.

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

I feel no guilt. I love so much weird normal people stuff. It's just music.

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

Sunn O)))

92. Which venue are you dying to play but have not yet had the chance to?

I would like to play on the Earth's moon.

96. The one thing that no one knows about you (yet)?

I just ate a burrito.

98. Would you say that there's somewhat of a political undertone to your music? If so, what motivates it?

Maybe, yes. I feel like we humans could do better. I am motivated to say what I think because people are paying attention to me.

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

In most cases bad. But what if it was a TV ad for something I really felt ethically obliged to help promote? Like a tall frosty Heineken?

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Visit Phil Elvrum's website.