Tag Archives: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

John Vs. “Please Heat This Eventually” by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Damo Suzuki

TAG: Skippable*
PERIOD: Amsterdam

I don’t like Can.

I can acknowledge that Can and krautrock as a whole are a huge influence on what Omar Rodriguez Lopez is doing with all of his recorded music. That doesn’t mean my opinion on it has changed just because I cite Omar as someone who influences me.

Please Heat This Eventually ends up coming off tailor made for Damo Suzuki. It was recorded as a live performance, as part of Omar’s 2005 touring with the ORL Group. As a digital file, it is one 24 minute track of improvised music. To the credit of Omar’s band, the majority of the song does sound like a Can piece. Presumably done to put Damo in his element instead of the acid-salsa attack of Omar’s normal style. Continue reading

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John Vs. “Omar Rodriguez” by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

TAG: Standard
PERIOD: Amsterdam
With the self titled, we’re into the first album of the Amsterdam period, and also the first publicly available sign that Omar was serious about recording as a solo artist. It does make sense, as apparently the record label contract for The Mars Volta requires an eighteen month gap between records, and since they don’t tour for that long, a burning mind like Omar’s had to be put to something. Still, I personally find self-titled records to be obnoxious. It presupposes a horrifying statement, that “This one recorded instance is this person.” And as Omar’s compositional and playing style expanded, his self-titled record seems like the fastest one to age. Continue reading

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