Various - Kausing a Kommotion - Madonna Tribute

Kausing a Kommotion is the name of a remarkable compilation CD that’s been released locally on Andy Ortmann’s Nihilist label. The disc, a tribute to Madonna, stretches the boundaries of tribute albums in that, despite of an insistence in the liner notes that the disc “was executed with the utmost of sincerity to a most inspiring individual, “many of the tributes” are somewhat indecipherable as Madonna songs. Japanese noise sculptor Masonna’s version of “Like a Virgin” sounds absolutely nothing like Madonna’s; on the contrary, it sounds like, uh, pure semi-structured noise. On the other end, though, Women of Sodom’s version of “Like a Prayer” sounds as if it coulda been on Ray of Light.

From punk to electronic, to industrial noise, Kausing a Kommotion is playful and ironic at times, at others furrow-browed in its lofty aspirations and at still other times purely reverential. Most important, it contains, along with a few respected international artists, great St.Louis artists (the best of whom are BlackLight and Panicsville) who don’t get much recognition around these parts, I assume because a) they couldn’t care less whether they’re mentioned in these pages and b) rarely do they perform live, and if they do, they don’t inform us because- see a). Better yet, it’s a wonderful, unique idea in a local climate in which imaginative compilations are not to be found; instead we get boring comps of a dozen bands playing their songs, collections that don’t aspire to anything other than getting into the ears of their fans, and if lucky, winning a slot on Alternessential 5.
Masonna - Like a Virgin