Bonsai Superstar

Brainiac | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 21, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Grass Records (Dead)
• ASIN: B00003ZAMG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,226 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hot Metal Doberman's

2. Hands of the Genius

3. Fucking With the Altimiter

4. Radio Apeshot

5. Transmissions After Zero

6. Juicy (On a Cadillac)

7. Flypaper

8. Sexual Frustration

9. To the Baby-Counter

10. You Wrecked My Hair

11. Meathook Manicure

12. Status: Choke

13. Collide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best album of the 90's, June 1, 2000

By 

Tony Youngblood (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonsai Superstar (Audio CD)

Half of the customer reviews I have read for Brainiac called them the best band of the nineties, and it's easy to see why: they are. No one comes close to their detuned space funk punk intensity. I have listened to Bonsai probably more than any other album in my life, and I find something new in it every time. Brainiac takes massive chances, refusing to let bar cords be bar cords. Elements of John Spencer, Sonic Youth, and James Brown, yes, James Brown!, can be heard in the mix, but they don't "sound" like anyone. They are, in themselves, a new form of music, much like the Pixies were in the 80's.

I interviewed Brainiac in St. Louis for a college rock show about a month before the singer, Timmy Taylor, died in a car wreck. They were extremely nice guys, and I'll never forget the experience. People don't quite understand when I tell them I wouldn't have traded meeting Brainiac for ANY other rock band. "You'd want to meet some unknown Ohio band over Nivana or Metalicca? Why?" Listen to this album and you might understand.

Taylor's death is one of the biggest tragedies in rock history -- moreso than Cobain or Hendrix: Taylor died BEFORE his band had the chance to change the face of music. But the evidence lies in their brilliant albums, and maybe someday, people will start catching on.

Be sure to check out the guitarist's John Schmershal's solo debut. He uses the pseudonym John Stuart Mill. He takes accoustic folk style songs where Brainiac took rock.

If you're into bands like the Pixies & Jon Spencer, you'll like this right off the bat. If you're into Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit, don't even waste your time.

Tony Y.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freak-Out cyborg punk funk, January 2, 2005

By 

Issac Boulton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonsai Superstar (Audio CD)

Probably one of the most unfairly neglected bands of the 90's (up there with Built to Spill and The Dismemberment Plan), Brainiac proved they were light-years ahead of their time. Bonsai Superstar sounds like a macabre amalgamation of Devo, Nirvana, Funkadelic, and the Pixies. Timmy Taylor sounds scarier here than ever before. The beat-boxing that kicks off the incendiary "Sexual Frustration" is absolutely haunting. John Schmersal's addition really kicks in. Both the experiments and the rock tracks work wonderfully in this setting. However, Bonsai Superstar is not quite as easy to listen to as Hissing Prigs in Static Couture, but the rewards are numerous. My personal favorite track is the subtly funky "Status:Choke". Brainiac were definitely taken too soon, but fortunately we have Enon to fill their shoes. For newcomers to the band, start with Hissing Prigs and then move to this one. Peace

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best alien invasion of the nineties, April 3, 2001

By 

Daniel (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonsai Superstar (Audio CD)

To the extent that I have any sort of generation, I'd like to hereby honor this disc with being the Voice of mine. It's as acerbic as any around, but a hundred times smarter. Just when you think it's about to kill you, it's urging you to take your vitamins. Just when you think it will save you, it grins from ear-hole to ear-hole and ZAAAAPS you with its death ray. From the most toppled-over riffs imaginable, Brainiac scavenge gleaming moments of pure electroshock bliss. This band seemed to understand right way what so few ever do: if you're going to follow your muse, follow her all the way over the top. Half-way measures only confuse.