Customer Reviews

Viva La Woman (Mcup)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't be deceived by the title of "Viva La Woman." Or, for that matter, by the metal-braed amazon on the cover. This album, by New York's expatriate duo Cibo Matto, lives up to the name of the band -- it is all about food. Their brand of trippy, sultry pop centers on apples, jerky, cake, chicken, and plenty of other foodstuffs.

It opens with the dark, plodding "Apple," before lurching into the hilarious, jazzy "Beef Jerky." Miho Hatori strikes just the right irreverent note as she sings a string of non sequiturs: "My weight is three hundred pounds/My favorite is beef jerky/I'm a vagabond, I'm a vagabond/My mom says, you are kinky."

From there on, Cibo Matto strikes the right balance between colorful pop and musical irreverence -- ambient sweeps, drum machines, surreal distortion, cutesy breakbeats, peculiar samples and trippy balladry. Above it all, Hatori offers bizarre recipes, tells you to know your chicken, and is shot with bullets of pepper. (I can't make this stuff up)

Certain bands are hard to describe, and even harder to pigeonhole. Cibo Matto is one such band, with their sparkling musical palette and their even more impressive menu. Really, how many bands are brave enough to compare all human emotions to foodstuffs?

Hatori lives up to her description in the liner notes -- she howls, raps, sings, moans and keens, sounding like a bubblegum popster on acid. It takes a pretty brave singer to howl "Extra sugar, extra salt/extra oil and MSG... Shut up and eat!/You know my love is sweet!" She's backed up by Yuka Honda's exquisitely mishmashy pop melodies, which are just a little too dark to be kitschy.

The lyrics are almost as wonderfully weird. At first glance, they look like a sequence of random food phrases strung together. But there are some clever puns woven in, especially in the finale "Artichoke," where Hatori compares her heart to an artichoke, and croons the double entendre: "Can you squeeze a lemon on me...?" Whoa, shades of Led Zeppelin.

Cibo Matto's "Viva La Woman" could have just as easily been "Viva La Lunch." This food-obsessed album is full of enchantingly offbeat pop, but shouldn't be listened to on an empty stomach.

This album never ceases to entertain me with its witty one-liners, nonsense, and yet utter meaningfulness symbolized in their non-stop allegories of food speaking for elements of everyday life.
They do this all so expertly, in a way that's trippy hip-hop to the next psychadelic level.
Each song has an eerie quality, interspersed by immaculately crafted samples, and of course, the off-the-wall attitude of these two, very talented Japanese pranksters.
One of the finest albums in avant-hip-hop. I can't stop loving it.

I stumbled upon this CD entirely by accident and had really no clue what to expect. What followed was this magical animae dream of lyrical food music.

Intially, I just giggled at the songs with the qirky lyrics about "Beef Jerky", chicken, "White Pepper Ice Cream" and "Birthday Cake". The rather thick Japanese accents where amusing and the lyrics were absolutely hilarious. I soon found that I couldn't get enough of this CD.

Although all of the tracks have incredible sampling and mixing skills, I think the most accessible track is "Le Pain Perdu", it has an incredible beat and is not quite as kooky and frenetic as the rest. Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori have an incredibly unique way of doing what I can only call New York Hip Rap with an animae twist. Thier version of "Candy Man" is by far the best I have ever heard.

What started out as one of my random, put this one on for laughs CD's has turned in to a tried and true staple in my CD changer. I still have friends over who hear it and initially giggle but then become intrigued and want a copy of thier own.

Viva La Woman isn't as musically mature as thier second effort "Stereo-Type A" but it is definately well worth a listen, or two or million.

Cibo Matto's first release, Viva! La Woman (1996) is a strange concoction - a unique mix of Hip Hop, alternative, electronic, dance, jazz and popular music influences that deosn't sound quite like anything you (or at least I) have heard before. Before I launch into my opinion on this astonishingly addictive and catchy album, I will make it very clear that I absolutely love it. I own a lot of CDs; some I have grown out of entirely, some I bought for only a couple of songs (or even one), some that were ultimately forgettable. Viva! La Woman, however, has remained one of my very favourite CDs - a kind of talisman to which I continually return for relaxation, escape, or inspiration for my own pursuits in music.

It also has to be said that it is not a CD for everyone. People with conservative tastes in music will see the ostensibly nonsensical lyrics to be nothing more than, well, nonsense. Others may listen to a track like 'Apple' and discard it as dissonance. I suppose you have to approach a pairing (Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda) like Cibo Matto with an open mind. We're not talking John Cage or Kraftwerk here, but it has to be said that Viva! La Woman is radically different to the music that you will hear in the charts. The Australian charts, anyway...

I first came across Cibo Matto in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and again in Michel Gondry's fantastic music video for 'Sugar Water', and the love affair grew from there. It is hard to describe exactly what I find so addictive about Viva! La Woman. From the perspective of an audio production student, the album is an excellently-produced blend of the aforementioned musical genres, where sampled accoustics meet electronics to create some ridiculously catchy tracks that will stay in you head for... Well, its three years and counting for me, so far.

Then there's Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda's incredible vocals. The lyrics will at first seem whimsical, even childish. The more I've listened, however, the more the lyrics have combined with the music to articulate such feelings as love, sadness and jubilation better than any other album I own. Perhaps it's just me, but Viva! La Woman takes me on an emotional ride, stimulating my imagination all the while.

There's something more though. Like the cult TV show on which I discovered Cibo Matto, Viva! La Woman is just effortlessly cool. There's no better way of putting it. It's anything but ordinary, maddeningly catchy and really, really addictive. Highly recommended, and a worthy purchase for anyone who likes electronic and alternative music.

For the record, the 1999 follow up, Stero Type A, is brilliant as well.

Cibo Matto is great and something different, but in a [very] good way. I love the thick Japanese accent and the creative lyrics and I like how each song is different (something you don't get nowadays where all the songs by different artists sound the same).
Sugar Water is a very poetic song. The chorus in Beef Jerky is hilarious and catchy. Know Your Chicken is one of the catchiest songs ever made. (The bass guitar in that song is awesome!) And who can forget Birthday Cake? The vocals (as well as the lyrics) are great! Le Pain Perdu is a very solid song and Articoke has great lyrics.
One of the few quirks about this album, though, is the song Theme, which is kind of long and should have been the last song instead of in the middle of the album (in my opinion at least).
But, overall, this album is creative, fun, something different and a VERY enjoyable experience!

There's only one way to describe this album: Beastie Boys meet Duke Ellington in Japan! This album has something for all music lovers, from Japanese pop, to heavy metal, to rap, to jazz. The album's music is very beautiful and hypnotic, and just like the food used to metaphorically convey the songs' messages, the music is a mix of many ingredients to create a delicious new flavor. If you're a music lover looking for something worth listening to, pick this up. But be warned:before you can judge this album fairly, you must listen to the WHOLE album; the music takes unexpected turns.

Every Buffy fan knows that CIBO MATTO are the most memorable band from the show. This Cd contains the song Buffy does the sexy dance too, entitiled 'sugarwater' which is included on this Cd. I would not reccomend this Cd for pop tarts but if you liked what you saw on the show buy it now.

Cibo Matto's debut CD!Well,this one is definitely strange but give it a chance and you'll find yourself singing along in no time!The CD has wonderful tracks like the smooth Sugar Water,the hip-hop Know Your Chicken,or the screaming in Birthday Cake and Beef Jerkey.This band was new to me when I got this CD but I was already into Japanese music and an American/Japanese band is a rare find.The cute sounds of the band's broken English is enough of a reason to buy the CD. However,if the unique quality of this CD doesn't suit you,give their followup disc Stereotype A a try!

Cibo Matto's first offering is unlike anything you've ever heard. This, for most of us, is the tag line for many of our favorite cds, a sure-fire 5 stars. And in this case it's true--but make sure it's for you before you buy.
With every song about a different type of food, in every style (or uncategorizable meld)and tempo, in broken (hysterical) English, you get a cd of uncomparable energy, creativity and poignancy. Not every song is a silly melody of hysteria -- not every one is quiet, melancholy and deeper than first expected. The cd comes off as an experience, not as one or two good songs. To fully appreciate it, let yourself laugh at its incredible lyrics, scream along with "Birthday Cake," and whisper alongside the creepy and mysterious vocals on "White Pepper Ice Cream."

Listen.
Buy.
Love!

Crazy about food? Crazy about music with flair? I'm crazy about this whimsical and greatly sophisticated band straight out of Japan. Not only would I reccommend Viva la Woman, I would recommend Stereo-A, Smokey and Miho and the collaborative efforts. I demand a lot out of my music, but the addictive metaphoric lyrics take food examples and turn them into something wonderful. This is an album for those with a sense of humor, and high expectations.