Nature Tapes is the third EP by Lemon Demon, a musical project created by American musician Neil Cicierega. The EP was released digitally through Bandcamp and other streaming services on March 24, 2014, though all songs on its tracklist were released prior as singles. It later had physical distribution in 2019 by Needlejuice Records. Nature Tapes received a positive reception, with "Two Trucks" and "Brodyquest" becoming viral memes.
| Nature Tapes | ||||
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| Released | March 24, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2010–2013 | |||
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| Length | 25:51 | |||
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| Lemon Demon chronology | ||||
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| Neil Cicierega chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Nature Tapes | ||||
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Background
editWhile Cicierega worked on his seventh studio album, Spirit Phone, he released various singles between 2010 and 2013 of songs that would not appear on the album.[2] On June 1, 2010, Cicierega released a video and single titled "Brodyquest" (stylized BRODYQUEST) on his main YouTube channel which pictured actor Adrien Brody going about his daily life in a comedic manner.[3] "Really Cool Wig" was released as a single on November 18, 2011, followed by "A Mask of My Own Face" on October 18, 2012.[2] All three singles were performed live in November 2012 at the anime convention Youmacon alongside other Lemon Demon songs, including "Goosebumps".[4]
In 2013, Lemon Demon released four singles: "My Trains" on January 23, "Two Trucks" on May 3, "Everybody Loves Raymond" on October 28, and "Jaws" on December 31. "Everybody Loves Raymond" originated as a MIDI demo created by Cicierega in 1998, making the song the longest developed by the band. All seven singles were condensed into an EP to clean up his Bandcamp page on March 24, 2014. Nature Tapes was released on vinyl, CD, and cassette in 2019 through independent label Needlejuice Records, and later a MiniDisc release in 2020. This re-issue retroactively added the singles "Goosebumps" and "Sexy DVD". Both singles were released with music videos, with the former on May 30, 2011, and the latter on April 13, 2010.[2]
Reception
edit"Brodyquest" became a viral video upon release. Stephen Colbert would bring up the video during his interview with Adrien Brody in a 2016 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[5] Entertainment Weekly mentions that Brody was originally shown the video by his father and made it his ringtone for a short period.[6] The Times and Varsity also praised "Brodyquest",[7][8] while the video was also featured on Polygon's list of the greatest achievements in dumb internet video.[9] The song was added to Rock Band on March 30, 2012.[2]
"Two Trucks" has additionally become an internet meme for its humorous depiction of sexual activity between pickup trucks, amassing 50 million streams.[2] The song was included at number eight on Vox's 2020 quarantine playlist.[10] It has also appeared in drag shows.[11]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Neil Cicierega. Physical releases additionally include a download card for the EP and remixing stems for every song except "Sexy DVD", except for the CD release which already has the full EP and stems.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Really Cool Wig" | 2:38 |
| 2. | "Two Trucks" | 4:07 |
| 3. | "A Mask of My Own Face" | 3:30 |
| 4. | "Everybody Loves Raymond" | 3:35 |
| 5. | "Jaws" | 4:10 |
| 6. | "My Trains" | 4:04 |
| 7. | "Brodyquest" | 3:47 |
| Total length: | 25:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 0. | "Sexy DVD" | 1:29 |
| 1. | "Really Cool Wig" | 2:39 |
| 2. | "Two Trucks" | 4:04 |
| 3. | "A Mask of My Own Face" | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Everybody Loves Raymond" | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Goosebumps" | 2:32 |
| 6. | "Jaws" | 4:09 |
| 7. | "My Trains" | 4:04 |
| 8. | "Brodyquest" | 3:48 |
| Total length: | 29:53 | |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from the album's liner notes.[12]
- Neil Cicierega – vocals, instruments, programming, engineering, production, artwork
- Mark Kramer – remastering (Needlejuice pressings 2019-2021)
- Angel Marcloid – remastering (Needlejuice pressings beginning in 2022)
References
edit- ^ "Lemon Demon - Nature Tapes". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Becker, Sarah (April 16, 2024). "Timeline of Lemon Demon's 'Nature Tapes'". AudioPhix. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Holliday, Laura (June 26, 2023). "YouTube's Comments Are an Internet Treasure We Must Protect". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Block, Dustin (October 5, 2012). "Youmacon 2012, Detroit's anime, manga, gaming, J-pop convention, is Nov. 1-4". MLive. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Colbert, Stephen (February 25, 2016). Adrien Brody Appreciates "Brodyquest," Among Other Fine Art (YouTube video). The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Shamsian, Jacob (August 27, 2014). "Adrien Brody's next trick: turning into Houdini". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Wang, Ian (February 3, 2017). "Sampling: music's most maligned art". Varsity. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Dean, Jonathan (March 20, 2022). "Adrien Brody: 'Ageing? It's a cruel business'". The Times. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Broderick, Ryan; Davis, Sarah; Kesvani, Hussein (June 1, 2021). "The Greatest Achievements In Dumb Internet Video". Polygon. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ St. James, Emily (April 6, 2020). "How to survive quarantine, in 215 songs". Vox. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Butler, Charlie (February 18, 2022). "Dragtime! Presents: Unhinged is chaotic, erotic and utterly euphoric". Varsity. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ Nature Tapes (Media notes). Lemon Demon. Needlejuice Records. 2019.
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