Amanda has always been the type of artist who breaks away from the shackles expected of her. She's been on every side of the spectrum, from being broke and living out of the strangest places, to being a street performer and loving it, to putting out records and touring across the world multiple times over. It's no secret that she hates studios and all the bullshit it comes with. So that's when she decided to go to Kickstarter. Why not use the website and put out an album all on her own? An album funded by her, funded by us, and us alone. We are the media. She set out to raise $100,000 so she could produce and distribute the album, as well as getting some good advertising in there. The response was staggering, and in the end she was able to raise $1.2 million. So, Theatre Is Evil
was born.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that I cannot stop listening to this album. I love every single song, and already know most of them by heart. Of course, my husband and I have been following its' entire journey (social media is one of the best things invented when it comes to things like this) and were more than happy to contribute some of our money towards the Kickstarter project. So we've been listening to the singles as they've released, and watched the videos over and over again. After the album was officially released, she also posted lyric videos on her YouTube page for every single song, of which I'm going to be linking to (you can click on the bold song titles!!) so all you Poppers can go have a listen if you haven't already, and I more than encourage you to do so.
The album starts off with a quick introduction by Meow Meow, an Australian-born cabaret artist, and then dives into the first full-length song Smile (Pictures or It Didn't Happen). Right of the bat this song has an epic feel to it. Ending on the note that she "doesn't want to die" makes it feel so amazing and sad at the same time. It gives me chills. But completely ignoring that, I love the title, because I can't tell you how often I hear "pictures or it didn't happen" in my household, haha.
Next up is The Killing Type. This was the last single she released before the album came out. This is easily one of my favorite songs on the album, and it's a very therapeutic one to listen to when I'm feeling frustrated. Blaring this loudly in the car with the windows rolled down is one of the best things ever. You'll find the actual music video underneath here, but just a heads up, it is definitely NSFW (not safe for work). And not in the usual Amanda Palmer way - there is no nudity. It's rather gory though, so be forewarned. But I love this video.
Do It With A Rockstar is next, and this was the first single that came out after the Kickstarter took place. This was a great song to get us excited for what was to come. It's one of my husband's favorites.
After that is Want It Back, which is insanely catchy. This song came out a little bit after Rockstar, and had a music video to go along with it as well. This music video is slightly difficult to find on YouTube because it is also NSFW, but this time in the usual Amanda Palmer way. Posting said video underneath, but I'm going to stress this again. THIS VIDEO CONTAINS BOOBIES. It's super creative and I love the way it was shot, but Amanda IS naked in it. Okay. Did I get the point across alright? Good. Don't complain to me later (she has a lovely body, though, so who would complain?).
Grown Man Cry is the first ballad on the album, and I love love LOVE it. It has a very Depeche Mode feel to it. Utterly gorgeous.
Trout Heart Replica is another, super sad, ballad.
Our musical number is next, A Grand Theft Intermission. I dig the hell out of it, and as a musician, would love to have the chance to play it some day.
Lost brings the beat back up a little bit. Really pay attention to the lyrics in this one. It's such a fun song, but the words have so much more to them than I realized when I first listened to it. Especially the last bulk of verse. It really stresses how even when people die, they never really leave you. They'll always come around to check up on you. In the right mood, it can really make you tear up.
Bottomfeeder is very intriguing. I love the way the music sounds in this one; it's one of those that makes me want to sway back and fourth continuously.
The Bed Song quickly became a favorite within the fan community. What a story it has. It starts out so cute and makes me smile, but as it goes it turns super sad. I feel like it captures some relationships perfectly, and even hit a few of my strings in some places too. That gives me chills.
When I first listened through the album, I don't recall my brain thinking about Massachusetts Avenue very much. I loved the catchy tune, of course, but it didn't seem to stand out. It was, however, one of the gems that stood out the more I kept on listening. I also have a feeling that this would be a really fun one to experience live.
Melody Dean is next, a woman who is there and convenient. She, however, is not the one you love. A very complicated situation.
Berlin is another big fan favorite. It starts off as another slow, gorgeous piano ballad. Then halfway through... it starts picking up and getting more and more intense. The melody gets better and better, heavier and even more intense, and it's easy to see why it's such a fan favorite.
Finally, we round it off with Olly Olly Oxen Free, and what a great way to end it all. So upbeat and so fun. I love singing really loud to this one in the car, and I can't even IMAGINE how fun it'll be live. I hope I get to experience it, like I'm planning to.
That, in a nutshell, is Theatre Is Evil. I hope everyone enjoyed getting the chance to listen to the songs. Did you? Then you need to pick the album up. Either get a physical copy, or buy it digitally from Amanda's website. She has a Pay What You Want option, because she believes music should be shared and enjoyed by everyone. The free version has the 15 tracks I've discussed above. You can pay a mere $1 for a high quality version PLUS 4 additional songs, and can pay up to $20 for it. I recommend giving some kind of money so you can get the extra songs, because if they're some of the same ones that were included in the digital copy my husband and I got for backing the Kickstarter, it's totally worth it. One of my absolute favorite songs is "The Living Room", one of the additional songs we got in our version. I hope that's one of the 4, because it really gets to me emotionally. Hard to explain how, but it's just so damn phenomenal. She also did a cover of Lana Del Ray's "Video Games", which is a song I despise but she makes tolerable. Amanda hates her as much as I do, but there was apparently an outcry for her to make a cover, so she figured why the hell not.
Theatre Is Evil is an amazing musical journey. There are so many emotions packed into this album, and you feel every one of them. This is completely different than the Dresden Dolls stuff, which is different than Amanda's other solo stuff. As I said, I can't stop listening to this album. It's pretty much all I've listened to since it came out on Tuesday and I'm beyond okay with it.
Please feel free to leave some comments!! Let me know what you think of the album. What songs are your favorites? Which ones elicited the biggest reactions from you? I'd really love to hear from everyone. Until then, Kerry out. :)
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