The Great Project: Entry 1
For those of you unfamiliar with !!!, let me explain. Commonly pronounced “chk, chk, chk,” the three exclamation marks are meant to stand for any hard, powerful sound repeated three times. With a mix of horns, congas and deep, sexy funk, !!! is one of the most unappreciated bands of this decade. They are strange. They break the rules. They swear, a lot. In multiple languages. But damn, they make you want to move.
There are two live shows that have made me so sweaty I felt like a fat kid running a mile in gym. The Faint in New York and !!! at the WoW hall in Eugene. They only played for 45 minuets. However, no one person seemed to be mad. We were all so tired from dancing that we were ready for a break. What a great experience.
This album has one of my favorite songs from what I can now call “my college days.” ‘Intensify’ is a pounding song. Over seven minutes long and full of nothing but drug references. A sample:
LSD taught me a lot about me. I learned a lot, from smoking pot. Well maybe not, can’t remember what I forgot.
I don’t really identify with anything this band spits out, but thats not the point. This is music to let go to. I once knew a guy who you could swear was high all the time. He was socially awkward, loved ambient music and the first time I met him he had an authentic WWII gas mask on. But this guy loved music, and he loved !!!. He would strap on a bongo drum and dance around his room playing along. This is his music. And you should listen to it too. (By the way, turned out he was in the military and served a couple of times in Iraq. So, he was never high. In fact, he never touched the stuff.)
I own the vinyl version of this album.