Supersonic Scientists

by Marius Lien (Editor), Kristopher Schau (Contributor), Nils Henrik Smith (Contributor)

15 essays om låtene på Motorpsychos første samleplate

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Norsk religionshistoriker, skribent og journalist. Var ansvarlig for kåringen av norgeshistoriens beste plateutgivelser i «Morgenbladet topp 100».

Han arbeidet i Natt&Dag 2000–07, var i 2009 med på å starte fotballtidsskriftet Josimar, og har vært tilknyttet bladet siden.

Reviews

[Jørn Inge Frostad · Rating 4 out of 5]

15 essays on the Norwegian band Motorpsycho, each based upon a tune taken from one of 15 different albums by the band. Some of the essays are wonderful, some so-so, while a couple of them are throwaways. I especially liked the texts from Nils Henrik Smith, Anne Lise Frøkedal and Hedvig Mollestad, while Lars Ramslie's bloated, confusing and aimless biblical allegory, based on «The Golden Core» from the album «Timothy's Monster» seems to be put at the end of the book for good reason. A must-read for any devoted fan of the band nonetheless.

[Maarten Wagemakers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by a museum exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of Norwegian band Motorpsycho, the band invited 15 fans (and even one former member) to write think pieces focused on a single song, or sometimes the album the song was pulled from. The result would not only be bound in this book, but the compositions selected would also end up on a kind of career spanning compilation - not a greatest hits overview per se, but a way to highlight as many aspects of their kaleidoscopic, prolific body of work nonetheless.

The result is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some interesting pieces delving into Motorpsycho lore (controversies surrounding exclusive releases that are kind of hilarious in retrospect), you have former drummer and long-time member Gebhart delving into the troubled relationship he has with the first album after his departure, and there are a number of very warm essays interacting with the music and what these represent on a deeply personal level.

There are some throwaway think pieces, but these hardly overstay their welcome. It's Lars Ramslie's bloated, 60-page (a quarter of the entire book!) dissertation on Timothy's Monster's "The Golden Core" where the concept jumps the shark completely though. While he tries to interact with the material on a deeply lyrical level, unraveling the philosophical themes of the album (and the ones before and after it) by dragging Pink Floyd, Plato, Dante's Inferno and the Bible into it, he does so in a rambling way that lost me completely before even hitting the half-way point. Maybe I'll return to it at a later moment - as it happens Timothy's Monster is definitely one of my favourite albums, so this should be right up my alley - but as it is right now it didn't work for me at all.

[Jardar Østbø · Rating 3 out of 5]

For særleg interesserte:

I fjor sommar las eg Johan Harstads bok om Blissard, I år den her. På jakt etter eit toalett på Deichman Bjørvika her om dagen, fann eg denne samlinga med essay om eit utval av albuma til Motorpsycho. Openbart at Motorpsycho er eit sommerband. Med leilegheita for meg sjølv, tenkte eg det var ei passande anledning for å ta eit dykk ned i psychoverset - Inn i nostalgien, fyre opp albuma på stereoen, lese desse tekstane og mimre tilbake til dei gjæve åra der Motorpsycho var den beste musikken som fanst.

Eit sitat som stod ut for meg i lesinga var frå Anne Lise Frøkedal på side 82: “Det er umogleg å ikkje bli harry eller pompøs når ein skriv korleis ein låt utspelar seg”. Dette gjeld fleire av tekstane i denne samlinga, som ikkje er noko særleg anna enn harry eller pompøs, og ikkje minst ganske kjedelege. Spesielt tekstane som er meir musikkvitskapelege eller dei som er overdriven nostalgiske til 90-talet. Men det finst og nokre bra innimellom. Eksempelvis Frøkedal og Gebhardt sine, som koplar albuma dei skriv om meir direkte til sitt eige virke og oppleving.

Sovna i løpet av den siste teksten om Timothy´s Monster. Eg synest det reflekterer godt kva eg meiner om den teksten. Jamt over er ikkje dette ei bok eg kjem til å huske så mykje frå, men heldigvis er mykje av musikken framleis bra (Positive gjenhøyr: Phanerothyme, Child of the Future, Demon Box, Angels and Daemons at Play, Still Life With Eggplant og Trust Us! Negative: Black Hole/Blank Canvas, Let Them Eat Cake og It´s A Love Cult).