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just johnAyatollah of Understatement (December 21, 2001)

This is my idea of a pop album, tho most others might call it experimental. Originally released in December 2001, it made #127 in the Canadian college radio album charts in February 2002.


This audio is part of the collection: Open Source Audio

Artist/Composer: just john
Date: 2001-12-21
Keywords: just john; ayatollah of understatement; experimental; electronic; subgenius

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States

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Reviewer: gonzo_og - - September 26, 2008
Subject: Ayatollah of Understatement by just john
Review by Sourpuss (y.caleb@ ALLSPAMMERSMUSTDIE gmail.com)

Let me preface this review by saying I have strange taste in music.

This album is not for everyone. It is not everyday listening. This album is for the tortured souls. At first, I thought it was just noise for the sake of noise. Upon listening to the WHOLE THING however, I sensed a method to the madness. This music obviously comes from the heart; a heart twisted and wrenched by years of abuse at the hands of a soul-crushing society. A heart that decided to FIGHT BACK with music. A heart with access to a lot of synthesizers.
just john's talent and skill can be heard peeking out among the chaos, like blips on a radar. Tracks such as DeChonka, Tryx, and Aftermath seem to nail this album together into a cohesive whole, despite it's chaos. Warped vocals, thundering drums, and spooky sounds are plentiful. If you are not afraid of DIFFERENT, this album will be worth a listen or three. Sure beats BIG LABEL CRAP.


1. Is Your News Safe? - Social commentary over muted, almost subliminal hardcore beats.
2. canoning - Complex and organic. It sounds like the denizens of the swamp had a party. It gets a little dark and exploratory near the end.
3. DeChonka - Again, complex. Reminds me of Vangelis for some reason. Very good track.
4. Making Your Vote Stick, Part 1 - More dark social commentary. Interesting use of effects on the vocals, and gloomy bells. It tolls for thee.
5. Fiveslaw - A little more funky, but still very dark. It's got a fever.
6. Surge! - Like a tribal drum circle piped through the Matrix. This track disturbs my sleep. Extremely scary lyrics on this one. Hard to describe.
7. vurf - More complex rhythms and melodies. It moves like jazz.
8. Haunt You, Babe - This song is the closest to "normal", with verses and such. I like the honesty.
9. Method 23 - This song would do well on the soundtrack to any Philip K. dick novelization, or an aboriginal production of "Through the Looking Glass".
10. The Polarizers - This one sounds like a blend of dub, techno, self-actualization seminar, and a hammer to the head. The longest of the tracks on this album, as it goes through the most changes. My download must have been corrupted, and I didn't get to hear the end.
11. Corporate Irony - Attention!! Attention!! All artists report to your noise cannons!! This is not a drill!! I repeat, this is NOT A DRILL!! Catchy.
12. Last Call for Archimeded - Do you mean ArchimedeS? That's okay, I forgive you, if only for the Miami Vice drums in this song.
13. Making Your Vote Stick, Part 2 - Dang. That's messed up.
14. Tryx - A little more straight-forward than the rest, this is a nice little dance number for the kids. If your kids are The Joker's henchmen.
15. Three Against the World - This one has an actual recognizable instrument in it, but I can't figure out what it is. Sounds like Mingus's nightmare.
16. Aftermath - A little more "musical" than the rest of the album, and a nice closer. It makes me feel a little better about the whole thing, like waking up from a nightmare, only to be greeted by a sunny day in which one gets a raise and a girlfriend.