Listening to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: L.W. Explorations Into Microtonal Tunings, Side 1

[@threestringsomg]

You are not alone Jim.....the world is slowly waking up to the most talented and prolific band that currently exists in this realm....imo of course....👻

[@JimNewstead]

lol. They are very interesting, creatively amazing.

[@threestringsomg]

@@JimNewstead if I did my top 10 bands all time list right now I suspect it would look something like this..... 1 Black Sabbath 2 Opeth 3 Iron Maiden 4 Broadcast 5 King Crimson 6 Ghost 7 King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard 8 Sparks 9 Cult of Luna 10 Radiohead My close contenders who would frequently be in my top 10 or near include R.E M., Alice In Chains, The Beatles, Faust, Nightwish, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, God Speed You Black Emperor, Porcupine Tree, Renaissance, ....I'm not including solo artists here of course....that would be super difficult (e.g Bowie has at least 11 perfect albums, Bob Dylan too and soooo many others....)

[@Dragic27]

@@threestringsomg damn if this isn’t the most King Gizz fan list of all time. Only missing Steely Dan and Yes

[@threestringsomg]

@@Dragic27 take out Steely Dan....I'm not a fan....find them incredibly dull.... love Yes!

[@HollisLopez26]

slowly... it's strange. I feel like having to grab my friends and family by the lapels, shaking them, trying to get the point through that it's them, that THEY, KGLW, they are the best out there right now! Marvel at them with me PLEASE

[@c11p]

"Clever" only scratches the surface of describing King Gizz. So much to unpack, and I hope you take the plunge, Jim. Give their song "The River" a shot next.

[@2510LuL]

How the microtonal stuff works is that the octave is split into 24 notes instead of the standard 12. And some of those "half-sharp" and "half-flat" notes are used in conjunction with a more standard western scale. It's common in Turkish as well as some other Middle-Eastern folk and traditional music and IMO is a lovely flare in psych rock like this.

[@elmer345]

Ugh I love this band so much

[@murdockreviews]

Hey JIm. I have to admit, despite several great tunes, this is not their strongest album, but rather a collection of random songs with some real gems in-between. The actual name of this album, however, is 'L.W.'. It is sort of part 2 to its predecessor 'K.G.'. They did a mictrotonal rock album a couple of years before that, which I think is better and called 'Flying Microtonal Banana'.

[@JimNewstead]

I realised about the album name after I’d already made the video…. Can’t wait to share KGLW from side 2. 😁👍🏼

[@ludwigii9329]

@@JimNewstead You can still edit the video title after you upload it, haha

[@JimNewstead]

@@ludwigii9329 indeed…. Sorted 👍🏼

[@boredom1843]

LW is their best microtonal album IMO, although rating gizz is a pointless endeavor

[@murdockreviews]

@@boredom1843 yeah, everyone's got their individual favourite, which goes to show how diverse and good this band is 🙂

[@HarryWful]

I absolutely love this album. O.N.E, Static Electricity and KGLW are highlights. Be sure to check out their thrash metal album "Infest the Rats Nest" at some point

[@samtrichard6888]

They actually modded their guitars to have frets between the frets to achieve the microtonal sound. It’s super popular in Turkish music and other countries from that region of the world

[@JimNewstead]

Clever them!

[@samtrichard6888]

@@JimNewstead this is also their third album in which they’ve explored microtonal tuning. They’ve also got Flying Microtonal Banana and KG (which came out a few months prior to LW)

[@JakobvonRaumer]

@@JimNewstead That's also the reason why they can pull it off live. There's a KEXP session of them playing songs from the Flying Microtonal Banana which you should check out!

[@AramaxTheHuman]

If you are interested in this microtonal stuff, I HUGELY recommend you listen to "holocene dream" by brendan byrnes, it uses 22 and 27 notes per octave instead of 12 ;)

[@listersays]

If you watch their "What's in my Bag" and Nardwuar interview you see their deep cut influences and also that they're just a bunch of blokes who like to jam, good mix!

[@daffyrwt]

So glad you're listening to more King Gizzard and also enjoying this album. This album is one of my favorites of theirs, all their microtonal albums are amazing, definitely recommend checking out Microtonal Flying Banana (which is Vol. 1) and this albums brother album K.G. (which is Vol. 2).

[@JimNewstead]

Takes some getting used to though!

[@Comrade.Question]

@@JimNewstead You started with their 3rd microtonal album - it's hard to quantity but I think their first one is closer to standard western music. On this one I think the odd intervals are baked deeper into the structures of the songs.

[@Lounge-lizard]

Glad you’re enjoying the king Gizz experience. To me they are one of, if not the best rock bands around today! They have just released their 20th studio album called “Ominium Gatherum” and it’s a mix of all the different styles they’ve dipped their toes into…. And it’s a beauty 🤘🏼

[@JimNewstead]

Lots and lots to discover with this band!

[@Lounge-lizard]

@@JimNewstead There certainly is Jim, you have a few gems to uncover yet

[@greysononeal1712]

I almost want to see his reaction to butterfly 3000 after the couple other he’s done.

[@kyles5513]

@@JimNewstead there is and you're the only one reacting to full albums on vinyl, so keep it going man!

[@kyles5513]

@@greysononeal1712 then Infest The Rats Nest immediately after.

[@sammalla5238]

You should definitely check out the album "Flying Microtonal Banana" by them.. It's their first jab on the Microtonal sound and it may not be as abrasive as this record but a very solid Microtonal project with that King Gizzard flare intact Cheers

[@grahamsregan]

Here we bloody go! I told you to not stop listening, and you haven't! I'm glad you're enjoying them, please just go through each album, some are hard to get your hands on, such as I'm in your mind fuzz( Try just digitally) But you won't regret a single one. Going in with an open mind like you do is so refreshing to see. Billabong valley is a personal favourite microtonal song from Volume 1. It has a sitar/spaghetti western vibe to it.

[@twelvemonkeys8786]

Wow Jim. You've smashed it again. Never heard of these guys and will be checking them out. Thanks, great upload as always. Thought it was 70s until i researched them 👍🏻 try Elder, Omens

[@mysterioushiggs]

Just to touch on something you commented on in the video: The DO preform these songs live. They also pretty much preform different songs at every single one of their shows, consecutive shows in the same city have zero repeat songs. And they play songs from all of their albums, dating all the way back to their first. The last time someone made a list of all the songs they preform live I believe it ended up being around 118 songs. I have no idea how they do it.

[@morpho5539]

This is the tip of the iceberg. You ought to check out their album Polygondwanaland

[@darkhoundslobber2028]

That is a cool looking record. And I always find the King Gizzard album art fascinating. Thanks for doing this record (all your choices are top-notch, ngl), not a lot of people I know listen to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard or are even willing to give it a shot, so watching and listening to you hear their music for the first time gives me a chance to pretend like a friend of mine actually took my recommendation and gave this awesome band a listen for the first time. Plus, you always give great thoughts and insights on the music because you really pay attention, and that is invaluable. Keep it up!

[@Mjwestneat11]

Hey Jim! Man I’m love your taste in music! I’m seeing KGLW in Columbus, OH in May. I am buzzing

[@TheSpiritVideo]

That was my first show. Saw them in Chicago back to back a few months ago. Best shows I've ever seen

[@DioHard]

They can pretty much play all of their songs live. Their active catalogue for touring includes more than 100 songs according to Stu (from KEXP session interview) Love your channel and vibes and especially your king gizzard and marillion ones, warmed up to yes with your videos! Big cheers and thanks for the good company! I'd love, love, love to jam to some All Them Witches with you. Anything by them really. If I would pick a record, maybe their self titled one or "Dying Surfer meets his maker". Anyway, Peace & Love, Peace & Love!

[@maxlangevelt8995]

Definitely heard the name of this band pass by before, never gave them a listen. This therefore was my first ever listen to this band. The feeling of this music was just amazing, and I have to say it is very different than the psychedelic rock I have listened to before. The songs were very strange, but they sounded so good! Maybe will check their other work out soon, as I’ve been in a music discovery mood lately. Anyway, good choice for the listen today, happy to have heard this side of the album and thanks for introducing it to me. Can’t wait for the next side to be uploaded to this channel.

[@JimNewstead]

Hopefully I’ll get around to sorting this out tonight 👍🏼

[@kyles5513]

They have 20 albums and just about every genre of music between them. Definitely worth "exploring" for lack of a better word.

[@maxlangevelt8995]

@@kyles5513 funnily enough I forgot commenting on this video and I came across it again after finally “Exploring” KGATLW and I must say it has been an amazing journey! I haven’t heard every piece of music yet but I have already listened to a few albums completely in the past week!

[@HollisLopez26]

"we're on track three. I don't know where that happened?" Yep. haha.

[@dbp192000]

they play it all live...and quite well

[@aaronrice4607]

Alright! The Gizz train keeps rolling! I'm still waiting for that Infest the Rats Nest review! Maybe check out their new baby the Dripping Tap. It is just 18 min long!

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks for listening and the suggestions!

[@kyles5513]

@@JimNewstead do it!

[@WarmGravy1973]

"K.G." and "L.W." should be considered as a double album.

[@ThatAlexGuyIST]

I saw static electricity live in amsterdam earlier this year. Hoo boy was it a treat

[@josephferreira4917]

This will be my first listen to this Album .

[@Rowenband]

Never heard them before. I loved it a lot. Makes me think of Kikagaku Moyo. Jim, if you liked that one try KM, this Japanese band is excellent. Try the album House in the Tall Grass.

[@JimNewstead]

There’s one I don’t know! Thanks Chris 👍🏼

[@Jesusspop]

Yes, I’m pretty sure you’ll love Kikagaku Moyo !

[@davidryan7386]

worth the explore - thx - had ignored em.

[@Kontroversial88]

You should probably check out the Oh Sees. KGATLW got much inspiration from them.

[@threestringsomg]

Yeah Def all the ones you mentioned sprung to mind first as key influencers...60s psychedelic music too, likes of United States of America and 13th Floor Elevators,...The Beatles of course and many others. They cover so much interesting territory whilst still being undeniably themselves....🤔👨‍🎤

[@myaimistrashgaming5175]

‘Yes’ was a big inspiration for Stu

[@pharlain]

Hahaha yes somehow play this live (and flawlessly), they actually have this on KZbin with live in Sydney and Melbourne with their return post covid. You should really check it out!

[@brandonsnapple4767]

Yes!! Another gizz video. So much to dive into with this band. Im currently in love with their new album Omnium Gatherum. It’s super diverse and really good in my opinion.

[@brandonsnapple4767]

Would also like to suggest I’m In Your Mind Fuzz. Definitely one of my all time favorites.

[@markdrechsler5660]

This is one of the KGLW albums I’ve not heard before. Despite the different tuning, it still sounds just like KGLW. I wonder how they do that? I quite like this. Looking forward to side two!

[@wyntresnephew8552]

This is better in my opinion than KG but only by a slight margin. KG has some incredible moments on it that can go toe to toe with some of the best stuff here. Wait till you hear the final track.

[@JimNewstead]

Oh man , KGLW is incredible!

[@bisket2003]

Ello Jim! You've got great taste ol chap!

[@JimNewstead]

Well, thank you very much old bean!

[@Comrade.Question]

All of the microtonal notes they use are quarter tones, so halfway between our standard notes. Oddly enough even though a half sharp or half flat sounds simple enough it's the furthest out of tune you can get from the chromatic scale.

[@JonPickles]

Be Careful with KG. They have albums covering all genres so this is unlikely to be repeated. Some great albums mind. Loving this one.

[@Comrade.Question]

@@JonPickles Microtonal instruments are on all of Microtonal Banana, KG, and LW, two songs off Gumboot Soup, one song off Sketches of Brunswick East, and one solo on Nonagon Infinity. I think there might be a sample of microtonal music used on The Grim Reaper but not 100% sure about that.

[@JonPickles]

@@Comrade.Question gumboot soup is one of my favourite

[@mackymintle7806]

Want list. I like your slick new editing!👍 I’m going to probably copy done of that 😜

[@JimNewstead]

Nice! Thanks fella 👍🏼

[@ariholder4762]

The album is called LW

[@JimNewstead]

I know. It’s in the title but I missed it when talking about the record. Thanks!

[@devon8419]

Yes!!

[@wyntresnephew8552]

Heyy I've been waiting on this

[@JimNewstead]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@wyntresnephew8552]

@@JimNewstead Yup!

[@xlerb_again_to_music7908]

Great fun! :)

[@WardenOfSouls]

Ahhh wonderfull music :) By the way, i probably said that already. But the Klone Song i can recommend most ist called "Grim Dance" and i would actually go so far that, as of now, it is my favorite Song period. It just ..reaches me in a way i can't really describe. But i discover so much fun and awesome music everyday, it's not easy to keep an overview hehe :D Music is just the most versatile and creative way to express yourself. It's basically like magic...something so ..weird and wonderful, hard to understand and completly unique

[@JimNewstead]

Music is…. Magic 👏👏👏

[@jasonuzzardo6508]

you just have to close your eyes and listen. KGLW is the hardest rocking band right now. GO SEE THEM LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!

[@TheSpiritVideo]

KG and LW was when I discovered the bes damn band in all the land

[@threestringsomg]

Ah one of my albums of last year by Fling Buzzard and the Rizard Schtizzard .....ooooooh yeeeeeeeeeah....👨‍🎤❤️‍🔥 I think Butterfly 3000 edged it in my 2021 top 10 but its superb...👌

[@BayouMaccabee]

I think their newest album, "Omnium Gatherum" (released earlier this month) might be their best album of their entire discography so far. That new album is so good.

[@threestringsomg]

@@BayouMaccabee I hope so.... Butterfly and Polygondwanaland and a few others are tough competition for any album....

[@BayouMaccabee]

@@threestringsomg Yeah, there are a few of their records that I can't get through either. Actually, "Butterfly 3000" is one of those that I just really don't like much at all. But, they certainly have something in their big catalog for pretty much everybody. My personal top 5 King Gizzard albums are: 5) K.G. & L.W. (go together as a pair) 4) Polygondwanaland 3) Infest the Rats' Nest 2) Gumboot Soup 1) Omnium Gatherum Those beautiful, prolific, Aussie bastards have created a ridiculous amount of great music in such a short period of time, which is simply amazing when I think about that fact alone.

[@threestringsomg]

@@BayouMaccabee just bought the new album (didn't know about it til you mentioned it ....sounds great though too soon for me to reliably rate it)... Glad you also highly rate Polygondwanaland and the probably even by some fans overlooked Gumboot Soup. My top 5 would not be too dissimilar....4 of the 5 are in my top 10...I am surprised Butterfly 3000 has not caught your imagination yet....but you never know....I'd have it just behind Poly. I really love Papier Dream Balloon, Murder of The Universe and Nanagon Infinity too....so my top 10 off top head would be..... 1 Polygondwanaland 2 Butterfly 3000 3 Gumboot Soup 4 Nonagon Infinity 5 L.W. 6 Papier Mache Dream Balloon 7 Infest The Rats Nest 8 Flying Microtonal Banana 9 Murder of The Universe 10 K.G (I'm sure this first part will grow on me sooner or later when I've paid it more attention)👨‍🎤🎸👍

[@BayouMaccabee]

@@threestringsomg Great minds think alike! :-)

[@kyles5513]

If you listen to all their albums like you have for nonagon and this one, I will definitely sub.

[@JimNewstead]

I will do, just takes some time!!!!

[@shawnlilly5934]

Did you skip KG? It’s supposed to be two records KGLW (king gizzard and the lizard wizard) and they go together

[@haydechman]

Flying microtonal banana flows into KG which flows into LW but yeah KG and LW go together a bit more than FMB

[@JimNewstead]

I didn’t realise that I’d skipped it at all, but have it in order now so will listen in reverse. As far as the listening experience goes, and that its Gizz, I don’t think a non linear approach will make a drastic difference!

[@haydechman]

@@JimNewstead definitely wont make much of a difference. Its mainy just a fun detail.

[@shakypuddin9857]

Love this. One of a new bands doing this type of music. Still waiting for you to react to blues for allah by the Grateful Dead.

[@JimNewstead]

The wait is nearly over…. I had to source a good record, and clean it. Scheduled soon!

[@geneleonard4368]

Hello Jim ! I want to suggest the prog super group UK 1st album UK & their 2nd album " Danger money " they prog classics Also how bout some Flower kings they are incredible !

[@JimNewstead]

Hi Gene, I have already listened to and made videos for UK’s first album, not listened to their second yet.

[@geneleonard4368]

@@JimNewstead Your right now i remember i must be losing my mind ...lol Carry on ✌️😎

[@calebhopkins3346]

Lw is a good one! But far from there best.. Here is my Tier list feel free to share yours! These are not ranked withing the tiers btw. And I don't think they have any bad studio albums, just underwhelming S. Nonagon Infinity, flying microtonal banana, Infest The Rats nest A Polygonwanaland, I'm in your mind fuzz, fishing for fishies B 12 bar bruise, float along, gumboot soup, lw C quarters, paper mache dream balloon, murder of the universe, kg, made in timeland, butterfly 3000 D eyes like the sky, oddments, sketches of Brunswick east, butterfly 3000 F

[@joshthomson1998]

Funny cause a lot of your bottom albums are some of my favorites like Sketches, Butterfly 3000, and Timeland.

[@calebhopkins3346]

@@joshthomson1998 I definitely rather have those bottom ones than not,

[@MaraxisArcanist]

Nice creative edit with the "journey to the record player" bit. I enjoyed those little touches. The album itself...eh, maybe not so much. 😁 The up-tempo bit after about the 20:00 mark is decent though.

[@JimNewstead]

There’s a brilliant track at the end of side 2….

[@MaraxisArcanist]

@@JimNewstead I'll watch for it!

[@melvinwomack3717]

Check out these bands hard stuff ,bullet and hella

[@IllumeEltanin]

About 11 minutes into the video. I'm very much enjoying the instrumental parts. But the vocals aren't doing much for me. Ah... Captain Beef heart and Zappa influence? No wonder the vocals aren't connecting with me. I'll post what I thought after listening to side 2 when it's uploaded.

[@JimNewstead]

Thanks Pam…. Always keen to try new stuff!

[@threestringsomg]

The snare sometimes is KGLW downfall on a couple of records.... production wise.... nobodies perfect...

[@JimNewstead]

Hi, I’m Nobody 👍🏼

[@paulb808]

I think Static Electricity may be the best song they've ever made. Until Gilgamesh....

[@davidryan7386]

influences? secret chiefs 3 i bet

[@davidryan7386]

picks up where Krimson's talking drum leaves off, esp last song!

[@neilcurran1589]

Hi Jim, try the psychedelic porn crumpets ( terrible name, great band ). They're along the same vein as this. I would recommend " hymn for a droid" or " found god in a tomato". Try it - you'll like it !!!

[@JimNewstead]

Oh I don't know, I think it's a GREAT name!

[@Conesworth]

@@JimNewstead doubling down on the porn crumpets recommendation! Another great psych rock band from Australia. I would recommend their albums High Visceral (Part 1) or SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound

[@palantir135]

Never heard of them but I’ll give it a try. He’s singing on the top of his voice and can’t really reach the highest notes. Not my thing this kind of singing. I looked it up; they’re psychedelic once and awhile and then and that explains a lot. I like the Pink Floyd psychedelic kind of music but I have problems with this music. There are weird sounds throughout the whole side and I don’t like them at all. Still don’t like the singers voice when he’s singing with a more normal voice; feels like scratching like a fork on a plate to me. Conclusion: not for me this band. Klaus Schulze, one of the great pioneers of electronic music and Krautrock, died last Tuesday 😢😢 He also played in Ash Ra Temple and in Tangerine Dream. If you never listened to him, start with these albums: Moondawn, Timewind, Digit, X, Dune.

[@wyntresnephew8552]

There are 2 singers here.

[@palantir135]

@@wyntresnephew8552 oké 😃. I really don’t like the one who sings in the normal register, he has a scratchy sounds mixed in that Makes me feel uncomfortable.

[@JimNewstead]

Fair enough buddy, I’ll defo look up Klaus Schulze 👍🏼

[@wyntresnephew8552]

@@palantir135 Yea I'm too big of a fan of his singing in this album either.. And even on their other album, it can really be a hit or miss for me(although not as much as this album) I prefer Stu's voice instead. He has a good range and most of the time, whatever way he's trying to sing, it fits the instrumental pretty well.

[@lesblatnyak5947]

Sorry bud but this sounds like a bad acid trip. Not my pot of tea.

[@JimNewstead]

No probs buddy, it’s certainly an acquired listen!