Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters

Astronautalis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fighting Records
• ASIN: B000F5WN2S
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,577 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Short Term Memory Loss

2. Meet Me Here Later

3. Seaweed Sheets

4. Lost at Sea (Pt. 1: That Sinking Feeling/Pt. 2: The Getaway)

5. A Love Song for Gary Numan

6. Barrel Jumping (A Man of Letters)

7. Astigmatism

8. Skeleton (Everybody's Favorite)

9. My Dinner with Andy

10. Xmas in July

11. Down and out in the Bold New City of the South

12. Meet Me Here Later (Reprise)

Editorial Reviews

When he stepped off the stage of the world famous Scribble Jam Battle (proving grounds for such rappers as: eminem, slug, and sage francis), Astronautalis knew it was time for a change. After spending the last 8 years as a well-respected battle rapper, and rising from lunchrooms to concert halls, the thrill was gone. His famous freestyle skill was all there, but the creative void was no longer filled by the braggadocio and machismo of the battle circuit, he needed something more. On the long ride home from Cincinnati to Dallas, his headphones full of outlaw country and Ôshoegazer' rock, he began to shape his new path, and pen the words of the new Astronautalis. Blending styles of indie rock, electro, and talkin' blues into hip-hop, this rapper has developed a sound like no other. He traded in his verbal weapons of mass destruction for songs about the railroad, lost love, and surreal dreams of sharing doughnuts with tupac and grapes with fat joe. His music has become an amalgam of synthesizers, old funk drum samples, and what can only be classified as Ôan unnatural obsession' with slide guitar. Making the audience question, Ôis this rap?' His live show is a theatrical mix of music and performance art, a lecture and stand up comedy, audience guided freestyles and well crafted songs. A show that has shared the stage with everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to The Polyphonic Spree, and taken Astronautalis all the way from the back porch at a 30 year-old texas Bar-B-Que to the Van's Warped Tour, and all points in between. It makes you wonder how a bow-legged, colorblind suburbanite with a mohawk could ever learn to rap like this. "What other MC do you know who's as well versed in Modest Mouse as he is in MF Doom? Astronautalis' rhymes are brilliant, but his DIY background and work ethic separate him from the pack of ironic white rappers." Ð ALTERNATIVE PRESS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out of left field, June 3, 2008

By 

B. Cooner (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mighty Ocean & Nine Dark Theaters (MP3 Download)

I've gone back to an online e-card of this album a friend sent me months ago for several listens while wishing I could buy some of it online, so thank goodness this work is finally available here. Musically Astro's all over the place but I don't care because he knows what he's doing. I get the idea he's a rapper first and foremost, which he's certainly good at, but I'm here primarily for the moody indie-rock stylings such as Short Term Memory Loss or Love Song for Gary Numan, which flow along quite smoothly. Heck even though they gave away the latter track with the aforementioned e-card, I'm going to buy it anyway because I enjoy it so much. Here's to hoping he continues to produce new and interesting stuff in the future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Off The Wall Good, April 26, 2008

By 

Michael A. Oleary "Goya Lion" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters (Audio CD)

Astronautilus blends hip-hop with all sorts of other musical genres. He does it gracefully and with an inspirational degree of skill. There's some country music to be found here, as well as traditional rock, piano-bar stuff, and just plain wierdo music. I'd say he's as informed by Tom Waits and Beck as he is by Jay-Z or Eminem. He's got his own thing going on completely, though, so it's tough to make comparisons.

The lyrics themselves defy hip-hop conventions completely. For example, on one song he talks about being stabbed over dinner for spilling a glass of wine. It's killer good, bizarre, and fresh.

His flow is solid and his delivery spot on. I have no doubt he can stand up against any MC and do himself justice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What I always wanted Beck to be, October 17, 2008

By 

irishauthor "irishauthor" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters (Audio CD)

While Beck makes his living off of Dadaist ramblings, Astronautalis's lyrics in this album are clever- not Isaac Brock brilliant, but similar in their style and intent, and smart enough to make you smile and see things from a different angle. He does not lean on cliches, that much I can promise you.

Astronautalis not only uses multiple instruments (pretty well, I might add) he also uses the studio production as a separate instrument. He balances out riffs and chord progressions with well-made beats, ambient sounds, and field recordings of rain and some sort of stand-up routine stuck in there.

I lost my first copy, and am thrilled to see this is online so I can get it again.