The Police - Mother

[NAD]

The Police were never metal, nowhere close. But this song is one of the noisiest and atonal nightmares ever done. Lyrics:

Well, the telephone is ringing,
Is that my mother on the phone?
Telephone is ringing
Is that my mother on the phone?
The telephone is screaming
Won't she leave me alone?
The telephone is ringing
Is that my mother on the phone?

Well every girl that I go out with
Becomes my mother in the end
Every girl I go out with
Becomes my mother in the end
Well, I hear my mother calling
But I don't need her as a friend

Oh, Oh mother
Oh mother dear please listen
And don't devour me
Oh mother dear please listen
Don't devour me
Oh women please have mercy
Let this poor boy be
Oh mother dear please listen
And don't devour me

That is all.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

perhaps it's a work of genius... but i skip that aural trainwreck every time... that and Miss Gradenko

 

[NAD]

perhaps it's a work of genius... but i skip that aural trainwreck every time...

Heehee, this is the usual reaction from what I've observed.

I think this song is the reason I enjoy some of the really bizarre groups I listen to, I've been listening to this Mother song since I was 5.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

I'll take the pleasant, easy sounds of the conventional "King of Pain" or "Wrapped Around Your Finger" over the much too challenging "Mother" hahaha

 

[NAD]

I'd say Synchronicity II is my favorite from the album, but I love the whole thing. Just felt the need to call attention to this wacky one.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

It is a great album... "Tea in the Sahara" is a soothing tune that often goes overlooked....

I've always been interested in the exploration of atonality... like that done by Alfred Schoenberg (sp?) ... but it always seems to turn out rather unlistenable... perhaps there's a reason we constrain our music to 7 notes...

 

[NAD]

I use a lot of atonal stuff, I've found that you can squeeze in flatted-fifths all over the place and if you play them quick enough, they don't sound overtly harsh.

I remember Steve Vai talking about having a guitar made for him with 15 notes to the octave, never heard if that came about though.