COMMONPLACES recorded: 2002 / released: 2003 label: Bankruptcy (BPE004) format: CDr issue: selected release running time: 36:22 aka: Catalpa *written by Cristopher Cerf

01: Cold Nola (Blues Reaper) 02: The War Began 03: Beige Field Relocation 04: Eyes of the Night 05: Afterwards 06: Release Don't Release 07: Pentacle Tree 08: Pronoun Rising 09: The Word Is No*

synopsis: i have both versions of this, and most likely the reader has neither, and probably never will. therefore i love the fact that i am me. some folks dance around with poisonous snakes in their mouths to have a spiritual experience. others eat wierd cacti or pour the blood of a freshly slain chicken over their heads. i guess i'm just dang lucky because all i have to do is toss in a cdr labeled "bankruptcy", and bankrupt is the last thing i am as soon as that silver disc begins to rotate and shower me with its waves of glory. it would be apparent that alot of care was put into this. why else would it be re-issued with two tracks not on the previous version, for my enjoyment and maybe one or two other people. we start out with "cold nola (blues reaper)" apparently about the white man singing the black man's blues. but when that slowly galloping beat and guitar kicks in, i hear that danzig element that i've heard before. i can see this guy going "awwwww yeah..... whoooo!!!" as he holds up a microphone with a hand adorned in a karate glove. this track starts out pretty catchy, but the real attitude begins when the signature CHAPEAU slop-lead solo kicks in and the remainder of this cut defiantly says: "F$%^ you if you don't like it." eat your heart out most definitely, my dear sir! "the war began" has this beat that makes me think of some girl in saddle shoes and a poodle skirt shaking her hips back in the "happy days era", along with some simple two part guitars and vocals with as much attitude as you can have without the neighbors hearing you yell. sure it's kinda cheesy, but hell, what would a pizza be like without cheese?? "beige field relocation" has a somber tone with a somewhat strangely ironic reverbed out "surf" type guitar, also with some more somber sounding keys towards the end. "eyes of the night" rocks you like a hybrid fonzie/richie speeding straight at you on a moped down a dark alley wearing a michael jackson jacket. "afterwards" consists of complete junk guitar doodling which leaves the listener with two options: 1) love it 2) you suck, end of story so just shut the f$%& up and realize you have no other options, because i am the official CHAPEAUgrapher and therefore the highest authority. "release don't release" surprises you with what i guess could be called a "low-fi impressionist canadian slop/black metal" song... ahh, and my personal favorite is "pentacle tree" with lyrics about the story of a homeless person's ghost, this story shows hints of the esoteric, and if the reader is interested they may refer to BLACK MAYONNAISE's liner notes in the split cdr with CHAPEAU on BRISE-CUL RECORDS to see an excerpt of these great lyrics. "...tree" is driven by a very simple, yet compelling drum machine beat. i most certainly float directly out of hell myself every time i listen to this track. "pronoun rising" dishes out a minimal plodding beat with a dissonant guitar chord, which definitely enhances the lyrics of this song, leading the listener to really think about what exactly is so important about being a member of society. "the word is no" contains lyrics written by someone else but basically adds to the message of "pronoun...", opening one's eyes to the fact that we live under a ridiculous amount of bullshit restrictions to be a functioning member of society, here we must say "the word of sin is restriction". it is stated that "commonplaces" is influenced by contemplations of being homeless. when i really give this demo my full attention there are times when my eyes really are opened, and i myself wonder what the hell i'm doing by working a 9 to 5 and not just walking around as a nomad and living off of fruits, tree bark, and fire-roasted crawdads. damn, i feel good. thank you, CHAPEAU. this release, just like the others, simply cannot be graded on some linear curve. if it was to be rated on some sort of scale, it's placement would be more like a diamond in indra's net, reflecting all other diamons as well as their reflections, ad infinitum. - M. Duncan (Black Mayonnaise), 2003