I.V. Catatonia

      What the Hell is this crap? Were the first words I uttered after listening to the 70 minute I.V. Catatonia by Eric Alexandrakis. What twisted absurd person would have the balls to even create such a bazaar CD and try to sell it? With nearly a half an hour dedicated to sound blurbs of people talking, pots and pans clanking, static, TV show dialogue, screaming, and God knows what else.

      But once I found out the story behind the CD I actually appreciated I.V. Catatonia. The intent of the CD was to express Alexandrakis' bout with Hodgkin's Disease. The CD, which has 22 tracks, is broken into two sections: Treatments 1-6 and Treatments 7-12. The Treatments represent the Chemo treatments Alexandrakis underwent for his sickness. I.V. Catatonia is a roller coaster of music styles from electronica to 80's British pop.

      The first set of Treatments is very dark and bizarre and contains many sound bites. Selenium, Vitamin E, Beta Carotene, B-12, Vitamin C, Cat's Claw and Multi Vitamin & Mineral Supplement is a 32 second sound bite of a woman repeating "Take your vitamins please". It is almost hypnotic especially as it winds down at the end. While Always so Far Away (From Me) is nice pretty 70s sounding heartfelt song.

      Then there was the cartoony Sir Gawain and the Green Knight track, which had harpsichords mixed with that distinct British-Beatles-Pop-Rock sound, and though it is rather silly and short, it proves to be one of the best pieces on the album.

      Listeners might be tempted to fast forward through some of the fluffy out of place sound bites, but these pieces along with the several electronic ambient pieces act as conjunction and move the album along to the next level. This is especially seen in track number 11 the last track under Treatment 1-6, Drowning Spock. Drowning Spock is a nature piece with thunder, lightning, and ducks quacking. It serves as a connector to the increasingly upbeat songs that will appear in Treatments 7-12 like the electronic/alternative punk song Daylight Daylight and Hooligan Hotline (You Walk Away) and early 60s teenybopper sounding song.

      But what would have made this CD really worth someone's hard-earned money would have been if I.V. Catatonia were an enhanced CD. The music and the sound blurbs would have made more sense if there were a visual component. The average person would not see the artistic integrity of this CD without a little more explanation. Some music can stand-alone, others need a video to propel the song to fame, and this is definitely the case with I.V. Catatonia.

      Send your comments and questions about this article to JenniferJ@ybfree.com.

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