Plays Pretty for Baby

Nation Of Ulysses | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (April 16, 1995)
• Label: Dischord
• ASIN: B000000JP5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Track Listings

1. N-Sub Ulysses

2. A Comment on Ritual

3. The Hickey Underworld

4. Perpetual Motion Machine

5. N.O.U. Future Vision Hypothesis

6. 50,000 Watts of Goodwill

7. Maniac Dragstrip

8. Last Train to Cool

9. Shakedown

10. Mockingbird, Yeah!

11. Depression III

12. S.S. Exploder

13. The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken by Storm

14. The Sound of Jazz to Come

15. N.O.U.S.P.T.D.A.

16. Presidents of Vice

Editorial Reviews

This is genius. This is a revolution, of both thought and sound. The Nation of Ulysses is unmatchable by any band ever; they have created a dialectic, a movement, and a youthful assault of the mind and senses. Like Greek to a Caucasian child, most will never understand even partially the spirit that lurks in these movements for it is about something higher than mere music. There is something that moves beyond the lingoes of "The Aspirin Kid" Ian Svenonious, the complicated scriptures that fill the liner notes, the infamous reputations of insane and overwhelming live performance. A warped hybrid synthesis of trashy garage rock, spastic jazz, and creative freedoms. Languages created and swallowed amidst the words and discordant melodies. Full of fervor, anger, wit, and remorse. Solid spastic percussion, swirling distorted guitars, droning bass, and swollen horns. Rambling exploding vocals spitting words of animosity and love, of rebellion and unity, of awakening and medicine. The Nation of Ulysses must prevail. ~ Blake Butler, All Music Guide --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick-ax through the temple, October 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Plays Pretty for Baby (Audio CD)

This thing is intensely unique. Combining elements of DC's straight-edge scene (Minor Threat, Fugazi et al) and New York's best noise artists (Sonic Youth, Richard Hell) with excessive socio-political diatribes, Nation of Ulysses create an album singular in its urgency. The CD struck me like a letter bomb, tempting me with an ambiguous spoken monologue in the first track, and then blowing up in my face with "A Comment on Ritual" (my vote for standout track). I can only wonder why these guys didn't get more attention. Were they too dangerous? In any case, I think if they continued, they would have spontaeously combusted within a matter of months.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars music to take over the world with!!!, July 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Plays Pretty for Baby (Audio CD)

Rhetoric beyond compare! Combines Situationist dogma with howling, American noise rock. Any album that has a song title,"The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken By Storm" has got to be good! A must buy! Good punk rock without usual clap-trap.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hey babe if this was Nuremberg..., March 24, 2004

By 

S. Colmus "walkn10" (Manchester, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plays Pretty for Baby (Audio CD)

One of the truly unique bands to emerge from the early-90s Dischord scene with their statement album. NOU can be writen off for any number of things: their penchant for sophmoric noise, comic-politico stance, overstated haircuts and suits, smarmy didacticism. Yet somehow, they overcame all of that and produced a album thats incendiary, informed and confrontational all at once. A true beam of inspiration.