David Berthy Posts

Every so often while I’m in a record store I’ll swallow my pride, walk up to the guy or girl working, and risk subjecting myself to a contemptuous sneer by asking, “What is this?” Such was the case in Dave’s a few years ago when I learned about krautrock stalwarts Faust,who can get pretty out there. For one record, The Faust Tapes, they took Virgin’s money, holed up in a house in the countryside, did a lot of acid, and pieced together a sound collage consisting of, among other things, the sound of rattled forks, lyrics about naked germans, and squawking horns. You sort of get this vibe from the above photo. There's the thousand yard stare of the guy on the left, two band members are sheepishly drinking tea, the guy in the middle is utterly confounded that he should be holding a lute, and the gentleman on the right is standing on a box with a sinister-looking remote control. Such eccentricity can also produce genius, as evidenced by the more melodic songs I've included here. I’ve long loved the contrast bewteen noice and melody on “It’s a Bit of a Pain,” and “Jennifer" has a meandering, psychedelic quality that reminds me of “Green is the Colour,” the Pink Floyd song I posted a little while ago. Both are from Faust IV, the record playing in Dave's that prompted my brave foray to the counter. The guy working, by the way, was gracious and eager to share--another reason Dave's is my favorite record store in Chicago.

Faust