Oedipus Schmoedipus

Naming the first track on your record “Set Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis” is statement. Of what, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s cool that he got Austin Powers to do a guest vocal. If you like the electronic lounge-pop of bands like Air and Stereolab, but wish they did it with a less deft touch, Oedipus Schmoedipus’ first few tracks might be for you. Perhaps you prefer Lynchian horror soundscapes, might I direct you to “It’s Business as Usual” or “Dirty Barry”? Coincidentally, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” appears in “Lost Highway” - it took me a minute to figure where I had heard it before. Speaking of David Lynch, the overtly digital jazz on “Miles” could’ve earned a spot in Mulholland Drive, perhaps as the soundtrack for the dance sequence on the soundstage of “The Sylvia North Story”. I’m doing my best with this one, but fuck me, it’s taxing. I mean, I could talk about David Lynch all day, but he’s not the focus here. A few days ago, in a review of Red Snapper’s “Our Aim is to Satisfy”, I bemoaned the list maker’s inclusion of albums for the late 90’s and early aughts that haven’t aged particularly well. Add this record to that pile. Not that this record doesn’t have its moments, but I suspect having a high tolerance for film noir-cheese is a requirement for full enjoyment. If you spend your evenings skulking around dimly lit alleys in a trench coat…boy, have I got an album for you. If you’re still reading this after all my shit-talk, let me recommend 3 records that occupy a similar musical space to Oedipus Schmoedipus, that have held up well and are actually worth hearing before you die. Two of the three, shockingly, are not included on the 1001 albums list: Air - The Virgin Suicides Stereolab - Dots & Loops (possibly the most egregious exclusion from the list) Tortoise - TNT (another glaring omission, imo) Or, you could just watch a David Lynch film or two.

Cool! Then weird.. Then cool! Then scary

What a fun, weird ride. Some great sax work here. Business as Usual was miserable to listen to. The whole project was strange, but at least he was trying something. At least it's not another "Debut album by British pop band" like 500+ of the albums on here.

Nice enough background music. In a list of 1001 albums I must listen to before I die, though? Let's let "background music" be a disqualifier, shall we?

It's like if Tom Waits was mediocre.

Soundtrack for a movie that doesn't exist

A brilliant surreal genre defying album. Part sleazy lounge music, part funk, part jazz - will be back for more

wowwwww!!! I had never heard of this artist, album, or any of these tracks before. This is most definitely an Elaine album. Weird, sometimes MJQ, sometimes frightening. Eclectic. Spotify played Badalamenti’s Dance of the Dream Man (from Twin Peaks) right after. All you really need to know.

Haven't you heard, my name rhymes with Elvis

Very atmospheric album, some great compositions, and also lots of crazy weird stuff. I enjoy the variety while still maintaining a sort of mysterious vibe throughout.

Simultaneously groovy, clever, funny, surreal, and odd. Super interesting!

So glad this popped up. Never heard of the guy before, now this album is in my playlists. Brilliant stuff

Making another soundtrack to an imagined film because nobody will let me make a soundtrack to a real film

I was not expecting this on the list. I thought this was an underrated oddity that no one actually listened to aside from anal music geeks. I had assumed that no one really cared about an album from that fella from Magazine that isn't the main fella from Magazine, clearly not. It's the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist, featuring Nick Cave, Billy Mackenzie and Jarvis Cocker, and it's every bit as quirky, sleazy and kitsch as the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist, featuring Nick Cave, Billy Mackenzie and Jarvis Cocker, should be. If the movie was real, it would for sure be directed by David Lynch. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this gem.

What's that cover? Am I listening to black metal today? Oedipus Schmoedipus? This must be weird AF. Maybe weird for the sake of being weird. Oh. Experimental music. I'm excited. I expect to hear some bells and electric drills and shit. A soundtrack to an imaginary movie? I heard something like that before... Was that a Barrett-era Pink Floyd cover? Wow. Wait a minute. It says... pelvis. So it's trip hop but it's actually trippy. A Miles Davis impression? Daring. A bit scary sometimes, ngl. Lol. I've never had an album that constantly surprises me for a while. What an experience. What a treat.

A brilliant surreal genre defying album. Part sleazy lounge music, part funk, part jazz - will be back for more

had to listen to it like 4 times to make up my mind and it got better each time

Struggling to get through this one. Every time one of these songs starts to develop into something good, he introduces something cheesy and it all comes crashing down. If the idea is to be the soundtrack to an imaginary film, I keep thinking it's a disappointing sequel to The Saint (which to be clear is already a pale imitation). The strongest feeling I get from this is that I'd much rather listen its influences (blaxploitation soundtracks, Madchester/electronica). Calling it a 2, but that's generous.

very good album - enjoyed it - a hidden gem and want to listen to more.

with an name like Oedipus Shmoedipus this album had high standards to live up to and it did it so well. absolutely crazy from start to finish. from truly uncomfortable techno/spoken word to melancholic piano led orchestral arrangements. crazy. so good

As with Moss Side Story, I loved this. It's amazing, I think. Each track paints such a picture. I'm going to listen to Soul Murder now because I want more Barry Adamson!

Interesting album; some nice Primal Scream esque grooves and abstract storytelling. Favourite song is 'The Sweetest Embrace' sung by Nick Cave.

Dit doet me aan Air denken. Beetje film-achtige muziek. Heel interessant project. Ik vind de melodietjes soms een beetje lift-muziek maar in combinatie met film-geluiden of een relaxte beat heeft het toch iets speciaals.

So ... what is this ?! The album seems to be all over the place in terms of tone and genre. I think it starts on "psychadelic 70's summer of love" then goes to "light goth" with some "trance 80's" and I just can't work out if I like it or not.

Hands up who has owned this for nigh-on 30 years? Just me then?! Surprised to see such an obscurity here, still play it quite regularly for the vibes (literally). I really enjoy its "cinematic" style even though this has its detractors in the peanut gallery here; also features one of Nick Cave's finer tunes and the fabulous voice of Billy Mackenzie. Funny how I knew Barry Adamson from this but not Magazine until recently! Hope you all enjoyed it

Some great jams counterbalanced by some absolutely bat shit ones. Best track: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis

Like a lot of others, I’m intrigued at this albums inclusion on the list. Another reviewer made the point that most of these odd picks are late 90’s, early naughties, usually British albums that have not been vindicated by history. I am left wondering whether or not this was nixed from later editions. As music, this is mostly enjoyable. The weirder tracks worked well at telling what little story is discernible and the more regular tracks were mostly fun little cod-Jazz, although I could have done without the version of Miles, the only actual Jazz standard on here, which Adamson has misnamed, intentionally or not, I can’t tell. My biggest problem is with the concept rather than the music. Making a soundtrack to a fake movie is unique, or would be if Adamson hadn’t done it four or five times by this point. But it doesn’t actually sound like any film scores I’ve ever sat down to. It’s supposed to be a Noir I guess, but so much of the songs sound so un-Noir-ish that it took me a couple of tracks to get that concept. Although, I praised the use of weirder tracks to tell the story, thinking specifically about the tracks with narration, I’m not sure they actually work as either music to be listened to independently of the album’s context, or as incidental music for a film. It’d be a little weird to have scenes from a film just pasted over the soundtrack with little rhyme or reason. The only album I can think to compare Oedipus Schmoedipus to is the other late 90’s British mostly instrumental music I’ve had the chance to listen to recently, Fatboy Slim’s Better Living Through Chemistry. And I think the difference is ultimately down to personality. I get more of Norman Cook in his music than I do Barry Adamson. The only thing that we have to base Adamson’s personality on is the concept, which is just a bit weird, and the titles, which are just a bit weird. And I’m not even sure he wrote all of the titles himself, because Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis is 100% a Jarvis Cocker line. It just doesn’t feel as if Barry Adamson puts much of himself into his music, and for that I’m not sure how I feel about the album as a whole. I’m gonna go 3 stars out of five, because I enjoyed it more than I didn’t, but this is the instance so far that I most wish we could give half rankings, cos this is definitely a 2.5 if ever there was one

Entirely too much moaning. Adamson’s album, styled as a soundtrack to an imaginary movie, works well when it leans into the instrumental aspects of a score. The spy/noir jazz is smooth, deadly, and bombastic, and definitely worth listening to again. However, some of the more experimental tracks are too avant garde for the casual listen, and are deeply creepy and/or sexual. Overall, a tongue-in-cheek, darkly comedic noir soundtrack that lands in some places and misses in disturbing ways. Stand out tracks include “The Vibes Ain’t Nothing But The Vibes”, “In A Moment of Clarity”, “Vermillion Kisses”, “The Big Bamboozle”, and “The Sweetest Embrace”.

From the other reviews on here, I was expecting some sort of hellishly unlistenable soundscape, but that wasn't too bad. At least it was trying something. It would have scored higher but one of my least favourite things in music is a horny Jarvis Cocker

Some cool stuff in this album. But mainly instrumental and weird. He is trying to make something different and that he achieved.

I respect Adamson - especially for Magazine - and admire the craft in this, and understand how this might work well as a film soundtrack. The words I caught are funny and entertaining; Jarvis Cocker’s opening turn is a grabber. Those elements aside, this left no more impression on me than passing air.

Strange mix of songs. I'm also mortified that a bass player would try to make a bass sound like it. It sounds like General Midi on Miles(tones). Jarvis, while a national treasure is a creepy man. I don't like him ejaculating out of my headphones.

1996 - Genre: Alternative/Indie (jazz, beat, hip-hop)

10/10 album full of so many different moods, it can be dark and tense or fun and upbeat just such a great work of art overall

Emotional rollercoaster. 4 Holy shit this is one unique album. I love it. Though some songs give me that bad 90s film feeling that I also get when seeing that DVD-ad: "You wouldn't download a car", I think it more than makes up for it with eeriness and diversity. "Vermillion Kisses" hit me like a train. 5

i want this to play in the background of my life 24/7

very cool

Experimental music. Brit oscuro.

Way way way better than Moss Side Story, despite this one having now Dave Graney input. Can see a lot of these being perfect soundtrack tunes

Oh this is awesome - one of my fave discoveries from this project so far! Starts off sounding like it's going to be a "Screamadelica"-era Primal Scream knock off, and then gets properly weird, I love it. Proto doom jazz! 💀 Fave track - "The Vibes Ain't Nothin' But The Vibes" and "It's Business As Usual" for being that one two punch that lets you know this album is not what you thought it was. "Dirty Barry" is awesome too. And I love a bit of Nick Cave, so "The Sweetest Embrace" is another highlight....

Damn, Adamson is a beast. What a strange, yet cohesive album.

That was strange and surreal. From dark to jaunty and upbeat at the drop of a hat. I’ve never heard anything like this. Great album.

This album is terrifying. It's been a long while since we had an album so shocking, disturbing and well... surprising. This album was a mystery, I'd never heard of it before, and after it was finished, I wasn't sure what I had listened to. Some of it I really liked, no questions asked. But, other tracks sounded as if they were hanging on the precipice of madness and horror... and were inviting me in. Taken as a whole, it gave me goosebumps, it was a moving and a wholly unsettling experience. Highly recommend.

Kinda all over the place but . . . very much not bad!

Hey, this is surprisingly good. I even knew a couple of the tracks. Also fun to hear Jarvis Cocker.

Experimental music. Brit oscuro.

burner!

Eeeeeediupis. Smeeedipus

Fabulous album of potential movie soundtracks, a complete surprise to me as no idea who Barry Adamson was. Now I can't get tracks like Miles out of my head. It's not just the memorability of the tunes, it is their diversity and the imaginative arrangements. Instantly likeable

кино ебаное. буквально. Барри Адамсон рил гений, сделать альбом как фильм это надо уметь. я в целом люблю такую кинематографичную музыку, арт рок или вроде того, под которую закрываешь глаза и музыка визуализируется у тебя в голове. а концепция этих альбомов вообще заключается в том, что это саундтрек к несуществуещему фильму. тут блин в альбоме скримеры есть, саспенс какой то. я реально пару раз шуганулся. очень сильная атмсофера, погружает шо пиздец. ещё и музыка на некоторых треках разрыв ебала. но только как же сложно послушать этот альбом. я не нашёл его ни на одном стриминге, на ютубе он забанен, даже блин в перезаливе в вк, где у него 2 прослушивания (реально 2), и то заблокирован второй трек альбома. но в целом остался прям под впечатлением. короче пизда оценка - 9/10

Great discovery. He also listened to Massive Attack

Can't believe I'd never heard of this guy before now. Had to look him up and see more of his works. Saw this came out early 90s. Sorry I missed it then, it would have been a staple of my more drug-addled days.

A lot of fun listening to this one.

This was not my first taste of Adamson, but wow is this one incredible. He mixes so many different styles on this one. There is a DJ Shadow like quality to this, only more in the "art rock" vein. Not his best, but an excellent part of his catalog 9.1/10

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Barry Adamson before. I’m not entirely sure what to expect of this album. The name Oedipus Schmoedipus makes me a little wary. Oedipus was a bit of an odd fellow, wasn’t he. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Sweetest Embrace This was a really pleasant album. It felt alt-rock at times, and instrumental jazz at others but somehow it works really well. It even has tracks that sound closer to an orchestral soundtrack. The lack of vocals in a lot of the songs really helps the music shine, and the tracks that do include singing can be appreciated all the more for it. This album is so versatile, spanning many genres yet tying together fantastically. This surprised me, and I like it a lot.

So groovy. Loved learning the history behind this record and the strange context it came from

Very very cool

Wow. Front to back I've never been able to feel a story through music as vividly as this album. Set the Controls as the front and ending credits does a great job. Something Wicked feels like a character introduction. It's business as Usual introduces conflict and dirty Barry turns it up a notch. The track is noisy, claustrophobic, sinister, and kinetic. Achieved in the Valley of Dolls is clever and triumphant. Vermillion Kisses is a worthwhile interlude. The big bamboozle is big and boisterous. The Sweetest Embrace is the finale and mourns the ending of the story and the death of innocence. Then the album ends with a well-timed credits track, it doesn't overstay it's welcome and leaves the listener on a positive note. I think that the three songs with lyrics were all excellent. The album gives enough space that it isn't a 50-minute assault. It builds things up and the transitions, like that between the smooth tracks like Miles or a moment of Clarity, feel organic. Rather than a roller coaster with twists and turns, it feels like a lifetime with ups and downs, fasts and slows. This album surprised and impressed me over and over again. I won't be listening to it often, but I will certainly revisit in whole when I want to experience the rich soundscape that it is. As a concept and as it is executed, I believe that it is near perfect.

No idea what I was getting into, but Set Controls For the Heart of the Pelvis came out of the gate with such a groove that pegged my ranking needle on a 5. Incredible! Then that familiar Spooky sample opened Something Wicked This Way Comes and I added that to my favorite Halloween songs playlist in the first thirty seconds. Really nice, atmospheric, right up my alley. Barry Adamson was sorely missing from my consciousness. Terrific!!!!

Wowee! Whatever I was missing in Adamson's Moss Side Story, I have found in spades in Oedipus Schmoedipus. A compelling listen from start to finish. Hands down, this is a thumbs up!!

I am totally diggin’ what this Barry Adamson cat is puttin’ down!

Not at all what I was expecting from the cover! Really enjoyed it.

interesting album, some songs are compositions over random recordings, some are upbeat piano pieces others are just stories like it alot

Odd. But quite enjoyable. Glad I’ve heard this now.

A strange album that fitted my Sunday mood. Definitely revisit.

really interesting to listen to, and a nice mixed bag

- sexy, silly, - low key, mellow - interesting and mildly out there

Really enjoyed listening to this excellent album. I am familiar with Adamson's work only through his band Magazine, which did not prepare me at all for the music on this album. Full of funky rhythms, jazzy flourishes and a huge sound. Check out the Big Bamboozle for Ellington style big band jazz. 4 🌟

Calming, unintrusive, chill out good background for socials.. cafe del mar meets miles Davis

Possibly the best part of the trilogy of soundtracks for movies which don't exist albums. Set the Controls... is a particular highlight.

Previous to today, I cannot say that I have heard of Barry Adamson. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pretty hooked from track 1. The middle section of the album got a bit dark for my tastes (especially 'It's Business As Usual', the stalker-y answering machine piece), but I'll give it a pass being that it's spooky season. Speaking of spooky... I enjoyed the sample of Spooky on Something Wicked This Way Comes. Overall, I probably won't listen to this again as a full album, though I do intend on adding some of the tracks to my 'Music To Work To' playlist. This was a fun find for me. Smug side note. 'In A Moment Of Clarity' was reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks score, so I was right chuffed to find that not only is Badalamenti listed as a similar artist to Barry Adamson, but Adamson also contributed to the score of David Lynch's Lost Highway.

Bien aime, ca commence fort, pour tomber dans le bizarre et finir fort. Jazzy et experimental on dirait parfois. 4

Really enjoyed listening to this excellent album. I am familiar with Adamson's work only through his band Magazine, which did not prepare me at all for the music on this album. Full of funky rhythms, jazzy flourishes and a huge sound. Check out the Big Bamboozle for Ellington style big band jazz. 4 🌟

Nuts in a good way

You would have thought that making one album that is a soundtrack to a movie that doesnt exist is enough for most artists. But here's the second one from this man. And this one was great fun. First track is some Madchester/Acid House fusion with Jarvis Cocker singing and then its just a wild ride into weird jazzy and funky tracks until suddenly Nick Cave is appearing on The Sweetest Embrace with his lovely vocals. Nice!

Funky sound. Jazzy, instrumental. 2nd half of album is kinda strange.

This does sound like a soundtrack album. Really atmospheric & interesting.

Mahtava yllätys. Piti useamman kerran ihan kuunnella.

uma das melhores descobertas dos primeiros 50 álbuns

bela descoberta. qnd aparece o nick cave é a mais

The greatest soundtrack to a movie that does not exist. Barry Adamson is a maestro. Side note, if you are a fan of the classic, first Bad Seeds album, this should appeal

This is such great fun. The whole album is a fun trip. No real standout tracks but keen to give this another spin.

Fun experiment, I guess

Experimental. Curioso. Volver a escuchar

I didn’t know what to expect with this album. No idea who Barry Adamson is but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Interesting and weird enough for a low 4, has some weird scary parts

Started strong, but lost me in the middle. Good nonsense overall.

As a sparrow hums a nursery rhyme and a terrier shouts at a stick in the river, this record thumps me square between the eyes. I hadn't prepared for such a klaxon of obtuse clanking and tonking tones. My heart skips a beat like a plastic bag dancing around a set of temporary traffic lights, like a burnt out stripper trying to arouse a lonely businessman, who hasn't had an erection since 1998, like an unwashed chimney sweep eating doughnuts with his filthy hands, like a dying owl choking on a mouse, like an under pressure table tennis player serving for the match, like a hotel receptionist trying to check in an unruly group of teenagers, like a dropped baton in a relay final, like an unopened can of beans thrown into a lake, like a bridge over troubled water, like a worrying itch on a gonad, like a virgin, like a freshly shaven muff, like a piece of shit on the roof of your mouth. I like it.

weird but good. big band jazz meets avant garde. fun fact, oedipus was a mother shagger. married his own mum, albeit without knowing it was his own mum but still.

Väldigt intressant

Pretend soundtracks of varying styles (often jazz) held together by a consistent standard of quality

Yeah…. Detta ägde hårt…

A very accomplished album from an extremely talented guy. I get the impression from other reviews that most people were probably unaware of Barry Adamson before listening to this. As a long time admirer of his work with Magazine, I have to confess to being less familiar with his solo work, though I knew it always slanted more towards soundtrack work (for films, it should be added, which were never made). The album erects a sort of moving backdrop across its run time, almost like snapshots into a variety of film scenes which never quite form a coherent whole. One minute it’s a sensual neo-noir crime scene, the next a sinister foreboding befitting a psychological thriller. If, in this regard, Adamson is equal parts musician and illustrator here, then it might be argued that this album does the musical equivalent of labouring this point on certain tracks. But this album’s diversity is ultimately never too disparate as to feel incoherent. Plus, it has Billy Mackenzie doing vocals on “Achieved in The Valley in the Dolls” so it’s a winner for me.

One of the most unexpected listens from this list so far. Real haunting and unsettling music wrapped in an engaging narrative. I really need to check the rest of the music if it's like this.

A little sentimental,love the vibes ones and sax tone ones

An engaging mix of genres and moods; suffers due to its lack of cohesiveness (and is perhaps best understood as an compilation of sorts rather than a narrative), but this is also what keeps it extra interesting. This album is an odd journey, taking you through snippets of different fleeting movie scenes. The first track is a wild ride and it even seems that there will be consistency in the first few tracks... but the mood is harshily broken in "It's Business as Usual". After that, there are some dull moments here and there (as well as some really interesting ones) until we reach the gem "The Sweet Embrace". For its originality, experimentalist nature and some nice "lounge" tracks that I will revisit, this album is a four for me.

I looked this album up, and it definitely hits the tone of a fake movie soundtrack. I really liked some of the songs, but Dirty Barry was unbearable. I think some of the ideas on this album were done better by other artists, but it still sounds relevant to this day. Best Songs: Vermillion Kisses, The Sweetest Embrace, Worst Songs: Dirty Barry

Interesting weird but Interesting

8/10

Never heard it before. Enjoyed it. Probably listen thru his catalog.