“Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Count. Count who? One-two-three-four.”
Nothing better than a corny joke; clears the air of the seriousness. That’s the problem with the new generation-they’re too damn earnest about their shit to free their inner cornball so their souls can get open. Guitarist/composer/ freakazoid-by-nature Buckethead is straight out of the “silly-serious” school of music. Famous as much for his chicken-bucket hat/kabuki masque as his bootylaciously ill six-string rhythmatic/chromatic guest shots. On his new solo disc Monsters and Robots (Cyberoctave, COCD 47499, 50:58), Buckethead gets his stoopid freak on. Check the theremin guitar-shredded/tribal drum ‘n’ bass-stomped “The Ballad;” “Sow Whistle”‘s stone cold crazy pileup of DJ-mixed electro beats, monster metal guitar riffs and wiggy Bootsy-speak (“See you in the next world/You won’t be late/’Cause time has a way about being on time.”); “Nun Chuka Kata”‘s exhilarating funk, scratch ‘n’ riff tribute to ’70s Mahavishnu.
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