Ariel Pink | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Ariel Pink is a Los Angeles-based one-man band. His lo-fi Baroque music was first discovered and then distributed by indie group Animal Collective, who began releasing volumes of Ariel Pink home recordings on their Paw Tracks label. In 2008, Pink formed a new band with keyboardist/guitarist/backing vocalist Kenny Gilmore, drummer/vocalist/guitarist Jimi Hey, and guitarist Cole M. Greif-Neill, who became known as Haunted Graffiti. Drummer Aaron Sperske later replaced Jimi Hey. Ariel Pink was born Ariel Marcus Rosenberg in Los Angeles on June 24, 1978. By age ten he was writing songs. His early influences were pop acts such as Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, 10cc, Fleetwood Mac, and David Bowie. After a stint studying visual art at the California Institute of the Arts, Pink switched his artistic focus to songcraft for good, recording over 500 songs for a vaults worth of music. In 2003, while attending an Animal Collective show, he passed a disc of his recordings on to the band via future Graffiti drummer Hey. The group soon began releasing Pink material on their Paw Tracks imprint. First up was 2004s warped The Doldrums, which gained Pink both critical acclaim and a cult following. Worn Copy (2005) and House Arrest (2006) followed. After the Paw Tracks releases, Pink emptied his backlog of recordings on various limited-edition/low-profile releases: Lover Boy in 2006, Scared Famous and Underground in 2007, and the compilation Oddities Sodomies, Vol. 1 in 2008. As the lo-fi movement became more fashionable and gained popularity, Pinks influence grew. He signed with indie label 4AD late in 2009. His first album for 4AD, Before Today, appeared the next year. Recorded with a four-piece band, it was his highest-fidelity recording to date, and it was a major critical success. In 2011, Pink released the 16-minute song "Witchhunt Suite for WWIII," which was previously featured on 2007s tour-only album YAS DuDette, as a single to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. He also reteamed with R. Stevie Moore on the double album Ku Klux Glam, which appeared early in 2012. In August of that year, the third Haunted Graffiti album, Mature Themes, arrived, boasting a darker, more eclectic approach that spanned 60s bubblegum homages and a cover of Donnie and Joe Emersons 1979 soul-pop song "Baby." In May 2013, Human Ear Music reissued Thrash & Burn, a 94-minute-long collection of musique concrète pieces Pink recorded in 1998 (the label had issued the set as a cassette-only release in 2006). Early Live Recordings appeared on the label by the end of the year. The 2014 double album Pom Pom found Pink returning to his solo moniker and featured songs co-written with Kim Fowley. In 2015, Pink provided backup vocals on recordings by Miley Cyrus, Mild High Club, and Soko. Pink and Weyes Blood collaborated for a 12" EP titled Myths 002, which was released by Mexican Summer in early 2017. Later in the year, Pinks solo single, "Another Weekend," was issued by the label. This preceded his first full-length in three years, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, which was inspired by the 60s cult musician and L.A. counterculture figure. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: Ariel Rosenbergs Thrash and Burn: Pre Released: 2006 Tracks: 2 Duration: 1:31:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ariel Rosenbergs Thrash and Burn: Pre Part 1 (42:02) 1 Ariel Rosenbergs Thrash and Burn: Pre Part 2 (49:54) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Ariel Pink With Added Pizzazz Released: 2010-07 Tracks: 5 Duration: 15:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 In the Heat of the Night (03:17) 2 Vapor Trailer (00:51) 3 Hot Body Rub (04:52) 4 19 (03:47) 5 I M NN7 (02:57) |
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Ku Klux Glam Released: 2012-02-12 Tracks: 60 Duration: 2:23:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Desperation Passion intro (00:23) 2 Dutch Me (02:43) 3 No Zipper (03:24) 4 Come My Way (03:04) 5 Desperation Passion (01:38) 6 I Love to Meet People, I Hate to Know Them (02:31) 7 P (00:21) 8 Whunt12for3 (01:49) 9 Cherrybaby Come Out 2night (02:18) 10 Desperation Passion dos (01:06) 11 Lo-Fi No Cry (02:14) 12 Fadermasturbater (03:44) 13 Jacuzzi Spa (02:15) 14 Steviepink Javascript (05:56) 15 MG82cx (03:06) 16 Carmen Come On (02:55) 17 Haunted Graffridgerator (02:26) 18 Bar-B-Cutie Klux Clamsauce (08:29) 19 Desperation Passion g1 (01:09) 20 Doldreams (01:16) 21 Desperation Passion g2 (00:45) 22 I Hope That You Premember (03:05) 23 What Else Am I Not Supposed To Do? (01:55) 24 Breakfast Burrito Deluxe (01:59) 25 Breakfast Burrito Deluxe dos (01:55) 26 Breakfast Burrito Deluxe tres (01:58) 27 Sacred Snow duo (00:59) 28 IN PEICES (05:26) 29 Decision 2012 (01:10) 30 R. Stevies Brain FLAC (03:06) 31 SteviePink Javascript Redo Theme (06:21) 32 Ariels Brain (00:18) 33 Organ Trumpet Tower (00:54) 34 Pull (00:29) 35 Desperation Passion g1/2 (01:06) 36 Nostradamus Camus (02:16) 37 Another No Answer (05:12) 38 Haunted Graffridgerator KKG KGB (01:41) 39 Nu Wav (02:22) 40 Nostradamus Sumac (02:11) 41 Sacred Snow ap (01:00) 42 Sacred Snow rs (00:54) 43 Sherrybaby rmx (04:41) 44 Decisions rmx (01:11) 45 Computer Spunkfest (01:03) 46 Barbacutie rmx (04:04) 47 Pull rmx (00:36) 48 P rmx (01:53) 49 Desperation Passion rmx (01:57) 50 Uncomfortable (01:20) 51 Jacuzzi Spa rmx (01:14) 52 Bedroom Rock and Roll (06:06) 53 Dutch Me Kareoak Me (02:45) 54 Horne of Plenty (00:51) 55 Maushaus (00:37) 56 Spring Break Lucky Streak (03:24) 57 Douche Me (Keel Her) (03:33) 58 Chasing an Echo (03:26) 59 Me 2 (00:38) 60 Closing Credits (03:54) |
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: pom pom Released: 2014-11-17 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:07:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade (03:29) 2 White Freckles (02:47) 3 Four Shadows (03:39) 4 Lipstick (03:20) 5 Not Enough Violence (06:04) 6 Put Your Number in My Phone (02:53) 7 One Summer Night (03:56) 8 Nude Beach a Go‐Go (02:19) 9 Goth Bomb (02:42) 10 Dinosaur Carebears (05:24) 11 Negativ Ed (03:17) 12 Sexual Athletics (04:03) 13 Jell‐o (02:02) 14 Black Ballerina (05:51) 15 Picture Me Gone (05:39) 16 Exile on Frog Street (04:47) 17 Dayzed Inn Daydreams (04:52) |
| pom pom : Allmusic album Review : The first work attributed solely to Ariel Pink since the late 2000s and his first solo album, Pom Pom finds an uneasy balance between his early days and his later albums with Haunted Graffiti for 4AD. With slightly murkier production values than either Before Today or Mature Themes, the sprawling double album nods to Pinks home-recording days, but features a far wider cast of collaborators -- including Spiritualizeds Jason Pierce and rock polymath Kim Fowley -- than any of his previous music. Similarly, these songs encompass some of his most engaging pop and some of his most aggressively weird music. While Pom Pom isnt as fragmented as the collections of his early work, the sides of Pinks music often feel polarized, especially compared to how well they complemented each other on Before Today and Mature Themes. The albums pop side might fare slightly better, at least on the first few listens: "Put Your Number in My Phone" may be even catchier than Before Todays "Round and Round" or Mature Themes "Only in My Dreams" (and the fact that it appears a quarter of the way into Pom Pom suggests Pink is aiming for a disorienting listening experience), while "Dayzed Inn Daydreams" delivers more gauzy AM pop that sounds like it was channeled from the early 70s. Elsewhere, the breezily disturbing "Lipstick" could be an 80s new wave ballad written by Brian DePalma, and "Picture Me Gone" mixes mortality and technology into something equally witty and bittersweet. Some of Pom Poms more overtly wacky tracks, like the novelty rock and musique concrète collision of "Dinosaur Carebears," take a while time to warm up to, and some, like "Exile on Frog Street," are just too long. However, for every song like these, theres a "White Freckles," a fine tip of the hat to Frank Zappas legacy. Likewise, Pinks Fowley collaborations feel like the passing of the torch from one eccentric to another, whether its "Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade"s surreal sugar high, "Jell-O"s whitebread satire, or the risqué surf-pop of "Nude Beach a Go-Go" (Azealia Banks version of the song on Broke with Expensive Taste was even more successful and surprising in context). Indeed, sex is never far away on a Pink album, and "Sexual Athletics" mix of cartoonish lust and romantic longing feels like Mature Themes in a nutshell. Though the way Pink zigs and zags on Pom Pom can be dazzling or confusing depending on listeners patience, in its own way its one of the best representations of what makes his music fascinating and occasionally frustrating. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Myths 002 Released: 2017-01-27 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Tears on Fire (03:23) 2 Daddy, Please Give a Little Time to Me (01:40) 3 Morning After (03:57) 4 On Another Day (04:58) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Dedicated to Bobby Jameson Released: 2017-09-15 Tracks: 13 Duration: 49:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Time to Meet Your God (02:40) 2 Feels Like Heaven (03:16) 3 Death Patrol (03:20) 4 Santa’s in the Closet (03:01) 5 Dedicated to Bobby Jameson (03:50) 6 Time to Live (05:43) 7 Another Weekend (04:14) 8 I Wanna Be Young (02:36) 9 Bubblegum Dreams (03:12) 10 Dreamdate Narcissist (02:28) 11 Kitchen Witch (03:38) 12 Do Yourself a Favor (03:40) 13 Acting / Ode to the Goat (Thank You) (08:10) |
| Dedicated to Bobby Jameson : Allmusic album Review : Ariel Pink followed Pom Pom -- a wild album even by his standards -- with a set of songs inspired by an artist who defined outsider status. For a few years in the 60s, Bobby Jameson was a fixture of L.A.s psych-rock scene before dropping out due to mental health and substance issues, then reemerged in the late 2000s to share his thoughts on life and the music industry on his blog and YouTube channel until his death in 2015. He proves to be a potent muse for Pink on Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, an album that gives a little more shape to the themes of wish fulfillment, disappointment, and mortality that hes explored over the years. In a sense, the album sees Pink reclaiming some of his own outsider status: It appeared on Mexican Summer instead of 4AD, the home of some of his most popular albums, and it returns to the murky sound of his earlier work, which Pink uses as an expression of Jamesons past and his own. The title tracks moody verses and bright, shiny choruses reflect L.A.s duality, while the similarly quixotic psych-pop of "Dreamdate Narcissist" falls somewhere between the Strawberry Alarm Clock and the Electric Prunes. As amusing as impish takes on matters of the afterlife and death like "Time to Meet Your God," "Time to Live," and the Zappa-esque "Death Patrol" are, Dedicated to Bobby Jamesons subtler subversions are among its best. On songs like "Feels Like Heaven" and "Bubblegum Dreams," Pink delivers candy-coated pop fantasies with ironic cores, while "Another Weekend" and "I Wanna Be Young" use slightly decaying soft rock to convey their strangely poignant wish fulfillment. Of course, it wouldnt be an Ariel Pink album with too many limitations, even though the obvious path to success would mean cutting oddities like "Santas in the Closet" and "Acting," a collaboration with Dam-Funk that sounds like every word has quotation marks around it. Regardless, Dedicated to Bobby Jameson is a weird, catchy, thought-provoking celebration of individuality that offers one Pinks most appealing balances of sugary accessibility and irreverent indulgence. | ||