How We Quit the Forest [Enhanced]

Amazon.com
You can litmus-test yourself with the name alone. If you don't appreciate the stained-glass humor of a trio of corseted female cellists warping the moniker of the Mad Monk, chances are you're going to despise the creepy, Gothic-edged sonatas on this sophomore CD, easily one of the year's most curious releases. Get the gag? Good. You're in for one hell of a strange sonic trip, with campy bandleader Melora Creager as your wisecracking guide. "Strange" as in a nimble plucking of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" chestnut. Or an intensely fiddled send up of the DeBeers jewelry commercial, "Diamond Mind," with Creager commanding: "I want that diamond!/I want that thing!/A tennis bracelet, a ring!" Elsewhere, the disc is alternately jarring ("LeechWife," "Olde HeadBoard") and gentle ("Rose K," "Herb Girls of Birkenau"). Creager's subject matter gets downright sinister at times. Where else can you hear yarns concerning the ancient medical practice of leech application? Heel to shovel, Creager digs deep into the catacombs of the surreal until you have no choice but to dig Rasputina. --Tom Lanham

How We Quit the Forest,Rasputina,Sony,Alternative Dance,Alternative Pop/Rock,Dark Ambient,Goth Rock,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

How We Quit the Forest [Enhanced]

Average customer rating:

Better than the Dresden Dolls
Rasputina's best album after Thanks for the Ether
Excellent and strange.
Ladies and Gents,
Their Masterpiece

How We Quit the Forest
Rasputina
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Dance | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Thanks for the Ether
The Lost & Found
Cabin Fever
Frustration Plantation
My Fever Broke

ASIN: B000009NUG
Release Date: 1998-08-04

Tracks:

The Olde HeadBoard
LeechWife
You Don't Own Me
The New Zero
Rose K.
DwarfStar
Sign of the Zodiac
TrenchMouth
Herb Girls of Birkenau
Mayfly
Christian Soldiers
Things I'm Gonna Do
Diamond Mind
How We Quit the Forest
Watch T.V.

Amazon.com

You can litmus-test yourself with the name alone. If you don't appreciate the stained-glass humor of a trio of corseted female cellists warping the moniker of the Mad Monk, chances are you're going to despise the creepy, Gothic-edged sonatas on this sophomore CD, easily one of the year's most curious releases. Get the gag? Good. You're in for one hell of a strange sonic trip, with campy bandleader Melora Creager as your wisecracking guide. "Strange" as in a nimble plucking of Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" chestnut. Or an intensely fiddled send up of the DeBeers jewelry commercial, "Diamond Mind," with Creager commanding: "I want that diamond!/I want that thing!/A tennis bracelet, a ring!" Elsewhere, the disc is alternately jarring ("LeechWife," "Olde HeadBoard") and gentle ("Rose K," "Herb Girls of Birkenau"). Creager's subject matter gets downright sinister at times. Where else can you hear yarns concerning the ancient medical practice of leech application? Heel to shovel, Creager digs deep into the catacombs of the surreal until you have no choice but to dig Rasputina. --Tom Lanham

Customer Reviews:

Better than the Dresden Dolls.......2006-06-12

In my humble opinion. But if you do like them, you will enjoy Rasputina I think. A lot of similarities. Just listen to the audio samples to get an idea of what their sound is.

Rasputina's best album after Thanks for the Ether.......2006-04-17

How We Quit the Forest, Rasputina's second full-length album, doesn't have so much the melancholy quality that Thanks for the Ether does. Several of the songs are also more mellow than those on Thanks for the Ether, but How We Quit the Forest sounds much more like rock overall, although it is still of its own original genre and certainly cannot be called rock. Those who classify How We Quit the Forest as rock and Thanks for the Ether as "goth" are simply lazy and eager for easy labels. How We Quit the Forest uses much distortion, giving it a more grating, electronic, rock-like sound, and odd sound effects (such as the duck call on "LeechWife"). While several of the songs on Thanks for the Ether are based tightly on historical events, the stories in How We Quit the Forest tend to be more fictional or spoofy. The lyrics are also less enigmatic, cleverly ironic, and insightful; Melora seems to have taken an overall simpler, goofier direction with them. Even the "joke songs" are sillier and less interesting. Since I love the melancholy, ethereal, "organic" sound of Thanks for the Ether and the wonderful stories behind it, I can't say that this album or, in fact, any of Rasputina's other albums, is better than their first, but How We Quit the Forest is my second in preference, and as a work of art it's still pretty interesting, creative, and sometimes emotive. Many people like it better than Thanks for the Ether; many probably don't. I suppose you'd just have to find out for yourself. Here's my impression of the songs:

The Olde HeadBoard - One of the more rock-ish songs. Nearly impossible to make sense of the relation of the "old headboard" to the narrator and the situation she describes. Melora explains, on the concept of the song: "I think something a lot of people do that I do, and have done, is that you're with somebody new and you just make up who they are. All these wonderful things that might not have any bearing on reality. It's kind of like building a person." The notes for the music video also mention that "Fantasy people are much harder to get over. Especially when you have a big imagination." They made a lovely, colorful music video for this song (the only one they ever made, I believe), which you can find at www.waterstained.com. Not my favorite song on the album, I'd say, but a sort of nice one to open with, and I guess it's one of the "catchier" songs that are always strategically placed towards the beginning of albums.

LeechWife - Again, rock-like. Quirky sound effects and fake cheering in the background. This song is about a little girl deciding to become a "leechwife," and features the kind of anachronistic combining of antique subjects with modern language (for example, phrases such as "You don't need no New Age crap") that is associated with Rasputina.

You Don't Own Me - A slowed-down cover. About a young woman who enjoys her freedom telling her boyfriend or the men she dates in general not to tell her what to do or say or put her on display.

The New Zero - My favorite song on the album. It is sweet and sad and tells an engaging story. Her voice is small and mellow on this one and not as shrill as it almost annoyingly is on some of the other songs. About an Abominable Snowman-esque creature whom I tend to think of as a cyborg-wolf-seal-made-of-many-incongruous-parts-type thing and his escaping from the harsh ostracism of society to an ice hotel with a girl (either friend or lover, but I initially thought of her as a little misfit girl and that he might even be her imaginary friend). You get the feeling towards the end that they let themselves drift away, possibly into death. It's not exactly that they let themselves go; it's just that they didn't really care enough to forcibly stay ("I really don't care, and neither does he/If this hotel melts into the sea/Polished and so rare, this way that we see/The coldness helps, it's our favorite remedy").

Rose K. - This is a moving song about the pain of old age and its accompanying physical and mental deterioration (not even being able to remember the life you used to have, etc.), and not so much about Rose Kennedy herself as anyone going through that. It's soft and vaguely wistful, and not mocking at all.

DwarfStar - One of the joke songs that aren't semi-serious (like the ones on Thanks for the Ether, such as "The Donner Party") but aren't funny, either. I usually skip this one.

Signs of the Zodiac - A very sad and touching song, even with its rather impersonal tone. Melora has a way of just telling a story and being somewhat removed from it yet conveying its sadness and making you feel the sympathy that should accompany it. It's about a man who's just had a heart attack and is in the hospital, surrounded by his family and friends, and our inability to predict or prevent these events, no matter how neat or orderly we might try to make our lives ("Do you believe in the signs of the zodiac?/Haven't you found that the systems for planning always fail?/Can you avoid what gave Daddy his heart attack?/Have you tried everything, anything, all to no avail?").

TrenchMouth - A catchy, mocking song about a white-trash, Dixie flag-waving, no-good brother who has abandoned his little sister, the narrator. Probably the most rock-ish song on the album.

Herb Girls of Birkenau - One of the serious, sincere songs. About victims of Josef Mengele (the Nazi physician who performed cruel and unusual experiments on Jews) in the concentration camp of Birkenau, and is based on a Holocaust survivor's account. Melora says about her inspiration for the song: "[The author] was working in the field or something and saw, rising over the hill, a perfect line of perfectly clean, shaven-headed women with aprons, picking herbs, with the most lifeless, soulless, zombielike eyes. [You have] the contrast of perfectly pressed aprons, picking herbs on a beautiful day... It was a chance for me to write a song dealing with that without making fun of it. In fact, I tried to make it a heartfelt, serious song, without being goofy at all. I'm interested in extremes of mind and how people respond when they suffer like that."

MayFly - To be honest, this was one of the songs I usually skipped. Musically, it is not very interesting or noticeabe, but conceptually, it is. Melora says: "Yeah, that is heartfelt--and it's kind of existential and serious with very light, almost dated dance music as the [setting]. When I was in high school, I heard, 'Oh, the mayfly, it lives only one day; there's no purpose to its life.' And that was the first time I ever thought, 'What is the purpose to our life?' [laughs] Do we have one? And I think [our life] is the same thing; it's just longer and it probably feels the same to the mayfly as to us, and...that's okay with me!'" So take a closer look at this song. I really like the idea behind it and its approach to the life of the mayfly.

Christian Soldiers - One of the joke songs that must be skipped. I can hardly tolerate this one.

Things I'm Gonna Do - I like the lyrics and her vocals on this song. It's about someone who yearns to "spit in the face of a tried and true one." "My cave is lit with tiny lights/I climb the stairs and catch the sight/Of other people far below/I've heard of them, they think they know/I make no friends, I've got no spark/In my defense, I take apart/What's put together easily/This is all true, I'll make it be"

Diamond Mind - A funny parody of diamond jewelry commercials. It is basically spoken from the perspective of a greedy woman who is pressuring her fiance/husband to get her a diamond with classical cello skillfully weaving in the background. Clever how the music matches the tone of the woman (when she starts talking louder and faster, the playing becomes more furious, etc.).

How We Quit the Forest - A more "organic" song telling the story of an ostrich, an egret, and a peacock living in the same hut in the forest. The "forest" is a metaphor for society, the animals that inhabit it are the various members of society, and "quitting the forest" suggests mentally quitting the social rules, customs, and norms that normally dictate us when we allow them to, and coming more fully into one's individuality. The ostrich and the egret rent their flat to another bird, the peacock, considering that although "his belongings were meager...he was pretty, would bring good luck." Initially they have all these ideas about getting along fabulously with the peacock ("they would sing songs all around the piano and do the cakewalk"), but soon they find out that he's different from them, though not necessarily in a good way, because all three are quite petty and small-minded. Having to deal with economic pressures, they let him stay because he's worth the money, but "so still they sat by the fireplace, silent/A chill ran through them." Most of the song is just about the three birds, but there is an outside narrator observing them all in their foolishness and plight and I believe that the ending lines ("The scene wasn't what it used to be/The scene is never what it used to/So that's how we quit the forest") are referring to Rasputina themselves and their individuality. It's as though they are recalling having observed the members of society like the ostrich, the egret, and the peacock and decided that this was all silly and that they wanted to do something different. A little gem of an allegory here. Worthy of giving the album its title.

Watch T.V. - This is about someone who's lost a brother (I don't think in the sense that he died) and is sort of in denial or delusion. She just sits and watches TV all day, and is waiting for him to come back to her. He was the golden child, the "star" of the family as well as on TV, "the one who always smiled and talked for half an hour/Always new." Reminds me a little of "TrenchMouth" just because it's about a brother who deserted her and disappointed her in some way. A soft, gentle song concluding the album.

My favorite songs on this album would be "The New Zero," "Rose K.," "Signs of the Zodiac," "Herb Girls of Birkenau," "Things I'm Gonna Do," "How We Quit the Forest," and maybe "TrenchMouth." I do think that the softer, mellower songs are more the keepers. If you like Rasputina, you'll like this album. However, I think of Thanks for the Ether as the more adventuruous and complex album, with better lyrics and (or possibly just more noticeable) cello playing. It was just cellos and drums then, but now the band has taken a different direction that never really returns to the melancholy, completely instrumental sound it had on Thanks for the Ether.

This review better have been helpful; I spent ages writing it!

Excellent and strange........2006-04-06

This album quickly went from something I wasn't too sure about and kept to myself to something I play loudly, and with the door open, whenever the mood for it hits me. And that's pretty often. It may have become one of my very favourite records -- I'm still thinking about that. Regardless, "New Zero", "Sign Of The Zodiac", and "Things I'm Gonna Do" are certainly three songs I tend to be very VERY fond of.

I give the whole album a four, as there is no four-and-a-half; but I'd give at least half the songs on it five stars, easy. Maybe not their best produced album (that would be "Frustration Plantation"), but certainly their best overall work, I think.

Ladies and Gents,.......2006-02-28

I simply must add my voice to the crowd in this case.
Rasputina is an absolute must for anyone with any kind of taste for truly unique music.
This album, though rare, thus pricey, contains many utterly essential songs and some stunning art.

Don't hesitate.

Their Masterpiece.......2005-07-26

Addictive and irresistable, this is Rasputina at their best. I personally feel that the so-called "joke songs" work. It's part of the weird fairy tale focus.

The story-book "enhancement" on this CD is very cool.

Average customer rating:

How We Quit the Forest (Long-box)
RASPUTINA
Manufacturer: Columbia Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000KLKYI2

Product Description

Advance full-length second release, from this chamber-goth: grungy cello-driven female trio. Not available commercially in this form, it was sent prior to the album's release, for in-store play, to promote the upcoming release. Extremely limited, not many produced. Issued on Columbia Records, 1998, # CSK 41145.

Average customer rating:

Perfect
I loved it
melodic fairytales

How We Quit the Forest
Rasputina
Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Goth | Goth & Industrial | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Dance | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Pop | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000G1IX
Release Date: 1999-02-02

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Track: Transylvania Concubine (Marilyn Manson Remix).

Customer Reviews:

Perfect.......2001-02-02

Rasputina is in a category all their own. They are refreshingly different and talented. Melora's voice is unique, the way it falters and shakes, as if always on the verge of tears. I would recommend this album if you are just getting in Rasputina. They have such archaic grace when it comes to how they present their music. Each song introduces you into a new realm. A story unfolds as each note and word is heard. "The New Zero" is one of my favorites, it begins with the trilling cellos and does let up. "The Girls of Birkenau" is amazing, i never tire of listening to it. Other great songs include "Dwarfstar", "Signs of the Zodiac", "How we Quit the Forest",and "Watch TV". Though the whole album is brilliant, those are my favorites. Many people consider Rasputina to be goth, but they are too unprecedented and gifted to be categorized.

I loved it.......2000-06-22

"the new zero" is one of my favorite songs ever. There is no band quite like Rasputina.

melodic fairytales.......2000-06-14

the women in rasputina, pre pregnancy, are on the verge of artistic perging. They indulge every whim, but rather than making for a rediculously drawn out, undecisive
rant; rather it lays the groundwork for a beautiful & sometimes dark story to be told. these girls draw on their own personal symbolism, but one can't help but note
the referances to the old grimm legacy wherein they create fantastical narratives without shying away from the underbelly of things. These girls also took this album on
tour backing up marilyn manson in 98 i believe, but don't look for any major similarities between the two groups; Rasputina referances feminist theory at times & the
1800's concept of women (through dress & instrumentation) but subverts it into something wholly new & contemporary. "goth" cello rock with some history.

Rap Music:

Rap Music

rap music

Recommended Music:

Outpost Transmission [Import]

Symphony 40

The Long Road Home

Music: No Limits [Import]

The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers

The Reunion [Explicit Lyrics]

The Best of the Dixie Hummingbirds

Swirl

Se Te Ve Muy Bien [Import]

Tenor Arias [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD] [SACD]

The Jazz Selection

That Geller Feller

The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World

Brodsky Unlimited - A Compilation of the Brodsky Quartet's Favorite Encores - Elgar: Chanson de matin / Copland: Hoe Down / Brubeck: Strange Meadow Lark

A Collision