Tortoise--Millions now living will never die....my personal sonic chiropractor

Tortoise's landmark instrumental record Millions now living will never die is a pretty cool record. It was not easy for me to get into at first, as my punk rock internal editor usually did not allow me to sit through any song that went on for much more than 4 minutes. But this is a great work, probably more revelatory for me because it referenced a lot of music that I had a lack of familiarity with, particularly German electronic music.
Except this music was made in Chicago, USA.

50,000,000 dead Elvis fans can't be wrong....

The term people use for this musical scene is Krautrock, which I kind of hate. It's just a stupid title which for some reason stuck. The only saving grace is that it takes what sounds like a bit of a slap but ultimately takes on a different meaning, because people recognized that something special was happening in this specific scene. It became simply an identifier of what the scene actually is, like branding. I think I'll just call it GEM for our purposes. Growing up I only knew about Kraftwerk because that was what crossed over to the mainstream, but little else. Still far far from any expertise on the topic, so perhaps a huge fan of GEM, dub, or jazz might not be as excited about this. But I think for a lot of music fans, this was a recording that opened up new sonic worlds, and influenced not a few musicians.

Millions now living will never die was Tortoise's 2nd full length, released on Thrill Jockey Records in 1996. Massive critical adulation ensued. Maybe even confetti. I think the kudos are justifiable. Entirely instrumental, the album is dominated by the 20+ minute composition Djed, which is apparently a reference to Egyptian mythology, about stability, continuity and rebirth. It comprises half the album. I will simply say it sounds great---Freebird for hipsters. Seriously, even though it is lengthy, there is a structure to the song, though not circular, more linear with ebbs and flows, ideas seamlessly integrated than faded out, as you would expect from a Jamaican dub track. All the musicianship is terrific, most noteworthy the percussion, but also the studio itself is like an extra musician in the room, seemingly a further leap forward in music technology.

After a hard stressful work day, I like listening to this album. It helps relieve my soul of some the venom that resides there. But it's not listening to music in an elevator--this is the sort of thoughtful, intelligent music that nourishes you instead of turning your mind to oatmeal. There is a lot of patience at work here. There are no quick fixes here, Djed is a journey. At times you have GEM propulsive beats and ostinato electro riffs, other times you have studio tinkering, with ghostly dub fades and organic found sounds; sometimes the music makes you feel like you are in your own movie soundtrack. Plus there are sections quite reminiscent of the Vince Guaraldi jazz that I used to hear on the Peanuts' holiday specials when I was a kid. I hear elements of world musics here also, with the percussive vibraphone and marimbas. It reminds me of Balinese Gamelan music. Sometimes the music ratchets down to a squeak, pulling the curtain back reminding us that there are a bunch of people doing this, in the way that an edgy film maker might do, tearing down the barriers between consumer and artist. The main gist is that these are guys who aren't afraid to try things, to take chances, and have the chops to back it up.



Tortoise was comprised of John McEntire, Dan Bitney, Doug McCombs, David Pajo, and John Herndon at the time. I'm not sure what they all do, as I figure they play a myriad of instruments. McCombs is the bassist for 11th Dream Day. Pajo was a member of Slint. Not a lot of info on the liner notes.

After the magisterial opener, the remainder of a album flies by rapidly. Glass Museum is a lovely prog sounding shoegaze tune with a big energetic vibraphone section two thirds of the way in. More of a conventional song as it returns back to the main theme throughout. A survey is a two minute duet of sorts of bass and crickets. The Taut and Tame is a jazz drone of a song interspersed with double time percussion. Grandma and Grandpa remind me of Eno and Byrne's trailblazing My Life in the Bush of Ghosts collaboration. This song teases a bit, as I keep thinking that the music is only any intro, and that a big disco dance beat is about to come crashing through.

Grandma and Grandpa segues into the somber Morricone homage Along the Banks of the River. If you've heard John Zorn's Big Gundown album, or his epic number Spillane, you have an idea of what this is. Tortoise are a decidedly worthy listen, but you just need to be patient. I like a quick payoff as much as the next ADDer, but sometimes an album of great subtlety can elicit equal rewards.

In many cases I write about music that might have fallen off the radar, about musicians who have not gotten their just due beyond critics and fellow musicians, or even groups that got some due but ought to be legendary. Tortoise are no great secret, but I just felt writing about them because I really enjoy this disc. If a few people find out about this disc via my post I would be greatly pleased. Admittedly I enjoy hearing a talented band that sounds a little like Big Star, Husker Du, or Ohio Players, but when you an artist or band doing something that no one else is attempting--well, hearing music like that is essential. Always interesting, ever courageous. The way bands ought to be.