"... we wore our orgone energy domes like barren moans for lowfily lonely solitary mallsoft vapor homes in our delicate emissions-strategy unit telepharaonicization disutility facileity tonic manumonofactualization septic ununification fecesility organizizizizekgismizzation, yearning to connect once more to the Tmek Tmek Tmek Tmek Tmek Tmek Tmek that old good old good good old good good GOOD shit, you know like back in the old days good GOD a'mighty y'know but JAZZ JAZZ is the only thing that's gonna last... JAZZ JAZZ was and was is was is and WILL BE, JAZZ y'know is the only thing that is the only only thing that courses you know that surges that slowed-down improvisation is composition that's all all all all all that other BULLSHIT is here TODAY and gone TOMORROW... but I'm telling ya, JAZZ... JAZZ is the only thing that's gonna LAST!!!"
- text from TMEC's official website
The Most Ever Company (est. either 6,000,000,000 B.C., 8 B.C., 0 A.D., 1142, 1492, 1957, 1972, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, or 2019, depending on who you ask) purports to be an anonymous art collective based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to their website, TMEC has "published millions of books, hundreds of thousands of hours of audio, trillions of seconds of video footage, and decillions of awesome cool stuff for YOU to enjoy."
Pseudonyms and sub-projects attributable to TMEC:
- The Beatles†
- Booberboys
- The Caveboys
- Chimp Change
- Dick, Piss & Balls
- Donk Lab 1
- Fetus Gang
- The Futurist Quartet
- Horselover Fat
- Iron Curtin
- Joe Sixpack & The Americans
- Raymond Weilacher
- Seraphim 266613336 Wings
- The Spooky Crew
- Teenagers Unite!
Other Projects by TMEC:
- An audiobook of Finnegans Wake
- Sheet music transcriptions of Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and other works
- Comic anthology zines featuring bizarre fan tributes to things like My Little Pony, Sailor Moon, and toilets
- Live concerts featuring note-perfect covers of classic Progressive Rock, obscure Avant-Garde Music, Vaporwave, Daft Punk, Radiohead, and nostalgic anime theme songs
- Indie films and short videos, many of which remain available here
Tropes May Ease Confusion:
- Avant-Garde Music: Just one of the many genres represented in their back catalogue, but certainly among the most prominent.
- Concept Album: Pearl Harbor Harbor is one, as is Teenagers Unite! Rock n' Roll Rebellion and Roving Boner, to name a few.
- Doing It for the Art: Their goal seems to be to avoid any form of repeatable branding or marketability whatsoever, prolonging indefinitely the chaotic sense of limitless creative potential typically "outgrown" by artists with any sort of money-making potential.
- Fun with Acronyms: Their website offers a few alternatives as to what the initials 'TMEC' actually stand for, with at least one of their videos credited to The Mega Evil Corporation.
- Genre Roulette: Styles tend to vary wildly from one sub-project to another, although a distinct flavor of Outsider Music tends to linger whether the act in question is loose, absurdist Hip-Hop or rigorously-composed, highly technical avant-garde Progressive Rock.
- Kayfabe Music: Unsurprising, given the clear influence of The Residents on their overall approach.
- Parody:
- Pearl Harbor Harbor purports to do for late '90's / early 2000's anime theme music what Third Reich n' Roll did for '60's bubblegum pop.
- Their concept album Roving Boner spoofs ELP's Tarkus.
- "Fry On You Crazy Oyster" by The Beatles† is an elaborate send-up of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," emulating the latter's extended nine-part structure.
- Shout-Out:
- Iron Curtin's "Dehumanize Yourself and Face to Bloodshed" references CBoyardee's infamous Dilbert 3 video... and Bad Dudes.
- Iron Curtin's "No Object No Form No Relief No Salvation" is based on Bubsy 3D Remastered.
- The album Kurt Cobain (recorded under their The Beatles† pseudonym) contains many references to Classic Rock, lifting riffs and lyrics from Neil Young, "Louie Louie", Deep Purple, Cream, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, The White Stripes, The Flaming Lips, as well as (of course) Nirvana and the original Beatles themselves, to name just a few.
- Iron Curtin's "Dehumanize Yourself and Face to Bloodshed" references CBoyardee's infamous Dilbert 3
- Stylistic Suck: A deliberately cheesy, low-budget aesthetic pervades many of their indie films, comics, and music projects. I mean... just look at their website.
-
Spiritual Successor: To The Residents. - The Cover Changes the Meaning: Many of the tracks on Pearl Harbor Harbor, not to mention this cover of Owner of a Lonely Heart. Mostly averted with their TMEC Plays Live series of cover albums, though.
- What Could Have Been: Their previous website recounted how TMEC Rep was once contacted by the management for The Kronos Quartet, who were looking to purchase one of their Captain Beefheart transcriptions. Performances of original music by TMEC composers were also discussed, but plans ultimately had to be scrapped when TMEC Rep's lack of business acumen resulted in negotiations breaking down.
