(AUDIO!!) the best thing the Disco Biscuits (n)ever played...
4-9-99's Bionic Basis (courtesy of Chris Killian; thanks!)Basis for a Day is the quintessential Disco Biscuits song. Back when I was getting into the Disco Biscuits and I would discuss their trancefusion music and the dirty dance party it would produce with my jaded Phish phan phriends (sorry, it had to be done there), they would always counter any good thing I had to say about my new favorite band with:
"They may be good, but they don't have a Y.E.M."
(Quick note of explanation: Y.E.M. is probably the quintessential Phish song, a carefully orchestrated opus with defined sections and some perfect examples of a band building up tension and releasing it with a bombastic aural orgasm.)
Inevitably, I would counter with:
"You may be right, the Disco Biscuits don't have a Y.E.M., but Phish doesn't have a Basis."
And it was true. No matter how good Phish was (and let me tell you, at times they could be incredible), they never had a Basis.
As far as songs go, Basis for a Day really doesn't have much to it. The only semblance of lyrics is the repeated synchronized shouts of "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" at the raging freight train of a tune's most climactic moments. The song is actually a journey from Point A (a composed introduction) to Point B (a composed climax) to Point C (a composed ending). Each of the these orchestrated sections come complete with their own peaks and valleys, making Basis for a Day a combination of freeform journey amidst tightly knit destinations.
The Disco Biscuits have a strange tendency to play the beginnings and endings of songs in, well, let's say, a non-linear manner. Sometimes the beginning comes after the end, and sometimes the beginning and end of a song will be played days apart. It tends to make them a complicated band to follow, as oftentimes their sets zig and zack back and forth between tunes with a reckless disregard for listeners' state of comprehension.
On April 9, 1999 at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, the Disco Biscuits played this ridiculous show:
Set I: Run Like Hell> Little Shimmy In A Conga Line, Bazaar Escape, Voices Insane, Basis For A Day> The Thieving MagpieSet II: The Very Moon> Hot Air Balloon, Above The Waves> Basis For A Day, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.> Above The Waves
Encore: I-Man
(thanks, PhantasyTour for the setlist! LINK)
Notice where Basis for a Day is in the setlist. It is there twice, which means that, in this particular case, the beginning was played separated from the middle and end. And that is where Chris Killian came in. He edited the two separate segments of the song into one super-duper continuous version of the song, creating what will forever be known as...
THE BIONIC BASIS!!
Here is what Chris had to say about his project:
The name, and what Chris has to say about the track, is fitting. It is just that good.The marriage of the 4/9/99 basis, an unholy alliance that will rule the world for all eternity. This is tDB at their peak (imaginary, as it didn't quite happen this way).
Listen to it. Dance to it. Bang your fists off your steering wheel while playing it at 120 decibels. (Regret the hearing loss later.)
posted by Unknown @ 2:01 PM
1 Comments:
try it now, i fixed the link so it is now a downloadable mp3.
it is sick.
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