Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid comparably rad acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to post-Nevermind panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Song ”Land Of Sunshine”

Written by Patton (L); Gould, Bottum (M)

Released 1992

Appears on Angel Dust album

Produced by Matt Wallace

Guitars by Jim Martin

Key lyric ”Do you feel sometimes that age is against you?”

Single? Yes, promo only (preceded by “Midlife Crisis” and followed by “A Small Victory”)

The climate As the opening track of Angel Dust, “Land Of Sunshine” welcomed listeners back to a now bleaker land of Faith No More, in which singer Mike Patton — fresh off recording and touring with Mr. Bungle — began to contribute more than just lyrics.

Awesome song elevated to supra-awesomeness by keyboardist Roddy Bottum’s vertiginous, carnivalesque arpeggios throughout the chorus, which underline the song’s — and the band’s — recurring thread that life is seasickness.

Didja know? According to Wikipedia, “Land”‘s lyrics were inspired by fortune cookies and a Church of Scientology questionnaire. Oh so that’s why Tom Cruise bumps this jam.

–ADF

I didn’t watch VH1′s recent Behind the Music on Courtney Love, because I didn’t know that it had been made, because who the fuck knows what’s on VH1 these days? I don’t even know what channel VH1 is on my cable system. Fuck.

ANYWAY, Elise at Reign in Blonde posted the below clip from the show, in which Roddy Bottum and a woman who claims to be Courtney Love even though she looks almost nothing like the Courtney Love I remember discuss her days as the vocalist for Faith No More. And, oh yeah, the fact that they slept together. Elise put it best: “If I’m to believe that those two banged uglies, then him being gay now makes perfect sense.” It also makes sense that he doesn’t find this annoying — he’s clearly some kind of Zen master, with infinite patience for stupidity and lack of an indoor voice.

Jump to 3:10 to see the bit about Faith No More. If you told me that the blonde lady isn’t really Courtney but the real Courtney has now had enough plastic surgery that she can successfully pull an Andrew W.K., well, I wouldn’t be surprised.

-AR

So I read on The PRP that Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum is doing the score for something called FRED, the Movie, starring someone named Fred Figglehorn. Now, unless it’s Pixar, I really don’t much about what’s going on in children’s cinema these days; I assumed that this was the the height of modern kiddie movies. Fred Figglehorn is apparently a YouTube star, because we’ve gotten to a point where there’s such a thing as a YouTube star, but, again, that didn’t mean all that much to me.

But, hey, I love Roddy Bottum! I’m a huge Faith No More fan! And I’ve only heard one Imperial Teen song, but I thought that it was catchy enough. So I decided to do some homework on this Fred Figglehorn fellow.

And, holy shit, is he ever annoying.

Click to read more…

Well, after the official Coachella announcement, we’ve all been impatiently waiting for the reunited Faith No More to announce some more U.S dates. Sure enough, keyboardist and active Twitterer Roddy Bottum revealed this week that a New York show would take place on Monday July 5th. Unfortunately, it’s happening at the Williamsburg Waterfront. Yes, friends, it appears that if you want to hear the band run through hits like “Epic” and “Falling To Pieces,” you’ll have to venture into the stank humid heart of hipsterdom. Tickets go on “special presale” on March 16, with a password to be provided by Mr. Bottum. So you might wanna start following him on Twitter.

Maybe it’s just me — but I suspect not — but outdoor metal shows in the summer in cities with high humidity are about as much fun as gluing your testicles to your anus. Essentially, that’s what it feels like when you’re pressed in with sweating fans of varying grasps of the benefits of personal hygiene. Combine that with obnoxious hipsters and limited access to (filthy) portable bathrooms, and you’ve got the least satisfying concert experience ever.

My only hope is that Old Spice will sponsor. Then I’ll consider going.

-GS

Four words before I start this little rant:

FUCK YOU CHUCK MOSLEY.

Now that that’s outta my system…

We’ve known for awhile that Mosley, a.k.a. “The former Faith No More singer no one cares about,” had re-recorded the FNM classic “We Care A Lot” for his new solo album, Hel-lo! Does Anyone Remember Me? I mean I know I’m Not Mike Patton but I Gotta Eat, Too! And while that immediately struck me as a terrible idea, the fact that FNM keyboardist Roddy Bottum was playing on the track gave me hope that it wouldn’t be terrible.

But, hey, guess what? It’s terrible.

Click to read more…

Former Faith No More (or “Faith No More,” as it’s mysteriously written on his website) vocalist Chuck Mosley is offering a new song, “Tractor,” for free download. And while I expected it to suck big hairy hippo nuts, it’s actually pretty decent.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. This is not a Faith No More song. But it’s kinda catchy, the guitar solo is really simple but I dig, and Mosley’s voice seems to have aged pretty well – he doesn’t sound like he has a cold the way he did back in the We Care a Lot/Introduce Yourself days. I would definitely give the rest of his album a listen based on this song.

Mosley’s new solo album, Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food, is available now. Apparently it features the third re-recording of “We Care a Lot,” with updated lyrics. And while the very thought of such a re-recording irritates the shit outta me, FNM keyboardist Roddy Bottum plays on the track, so I guess I kinda-sorta don’t have any right to complain.

Download the song here, then come back and let us know what you think.

-AR

Did anyone else have the Faith No More Video Croissant VHS back in the day? It was a collection of all the band’s music videos up ’til that time (through Angel Dust, if my memory serves correctly) interspersed with band interviews. One of said interviews was Roddy Bottum recalling a time when FNM were doing a support stint on the Guns N’ Roses/Metallica stadium tour; apparently someone threw a bottle full of urine up on stage, and Mike Patton decided to pour said urine all over himself. That’s not quite as bad-assed as the members of The Black Dahlia Murder drinking urine – as they claim to have done on their Majesty DVD – but then again, BDM did it by accident, Patton did on purpose. So I think Patton wins the “batshit crazy” award.

Not quite as batshit crazy but still at least bird poop nutty: this video of Patton swallowing a shoelace from a sneaker thrown on-stage during a recent show in Budapest. Why would he do this? To cement his reputation as one of the best front men of the past twenty years? Because he has an actual chemical imbalance? Because he was just really hungry? Who the fuck knows.

Skip to the six minute mark to watch.

Meanwhile, FNM still have yet to announce any U.S. tour dates. I’ve heard people closely connected to the band speak with confidence that the dates are forthcoming, and I’ve heard people closely connected with the band swear that Patton is being a pain in the ass and the dates won’t happen. Let’s hope the people in the former category are correct.

-AR

[via Blabbermouth]

More than a year ago, I wondered aloud: “Say, what the fuck did ever ever happen to Chuck Mosley?” It had been so long since anyone heard from the former Faith No More singer that I even misspelled the dude’s name, and not a single one of you left a snarky comment correcting me.

Well, now it seems that Mosley has a solo album, Will Rap Over Hard Rock for Food, coming out August 11, presumably being released to capitalize on all the ink the reunited, Mosley-less FNM are getting. And while I appreciate Mosley having a sense of humor about his lack of success in da biz in the years since he split from FNM, I’m not sure that advertising yourself as rap-rock in 2009 is the smartest way to go if the acquisition of sustenance is your goal. Unless you’re hoping people will throw eggs at you, and that you can then proceed to lick the yolk from your clothes.

Click to read more…