And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders

And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders
Studio album by The Ex and Tom Cora
Released	October 19, 1993
Recorded	January 15-22, 1993 at the Friends Studio, Amsterdam
Genre	Experimental rock art punk free improvisation world music
Length	57:03
Label	Fist Puppet
Producer	Dolf Planteijdt, The Ex, and Tom Cora
The Ex chronology
Scrabbling at the Lock (1991) And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders (1993) Mudbird Shivers (1995)
Tom Cora chronology
A Beautiful Western Saddle (1993) And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders (1993) Cyberband (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Trouser Press	favorable

And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders is the second of two albums by Dutch punk band The Ex in collaboration with avant-garde cellist Tom Cora.

Reception

Dean McFarlane of Allmusic writes that the "second album of this winning collaboration [...] continue to indulge [the group's] collective love for European folk themes and free improvisation." He praised the "the delicate melodious folk [...], curious improvised sound-searching" which "marked a new tangent the group followed into a total free-form improvisation inspired by the likes of avant-garde jazz associates Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg." Despite this, he writes that the group " never left their punk roots behind" and concluded by calling them "one of the genre's most interesting and inventive groups." Trouser Press wrote that while the album was slightly inferior to its predecessor, this "denser, darker album [...] has its share of great songs, particularly "Dere Geliyor Dere" (another Siral piece) and two excuses for singer G.W. Sok to run off at the mouth and sound good doing it: "What's the Story" (with lyrics taken from an interview with film director Sam Fuller) and the hilarious fake materialist manifesto, "Everything & Me."" The track "War O.D." ("the climax of many of the Ex's shows with Cora") was praised as "one of the sharpest songs they've ever written, politically and musically." Bill Meyer wrote for Chicago Reader that both the collaborative albums "reveal an intoxicating chemistry. The Ex push Cora to play more directly than usual, while his improvisational chops and broad musical vocabulary have facilitated the live realization of the promise shown on Joggers and Smoggers [...] his delicately plucked accents articulate the Oriental flavor of "Okinawa Mon Amour." He may be only one player, but he has an unusually broad and exotic musical vocabulary, and with his assistance the Ex can now improvise and successfully interpret European and Asian folk songs onstage."

Track listing

1. "Dere Geliyor Dere" - 4:20
2. "The Big Black" - 5:33
3. "What's the Story" - 2:19
4. "Lamp Lady" - 3:48
5. "One-Liner from China" - 1:32
6. "Everything and Me" - 3:59
7. "New Clear Daze" - 4:41
8. "Oh Puckerlips Now" - 4:04
9. "Empty V" - 2:25
10. "Okinawa Mon Amour" - 2:26
11. "Dear House" - 4:41
12. "Conviction Going Gaga" - 1:36
13. "Stupid Competitions" - 4:15
14. "Hickwall" - 3:11
15. "War OD" - 6:12
16. "Untitled" - 2:01

Personnel

• Terrie (guitar)
• G.W. Sok (vocals)
• Luc (bass)
• Andy (guitar)
• Katrin (drums, vocals)
• Tom Cora (cello).

Recorded at Friends Studio, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Produced by Dolf Planteijdt.

Notes

• Cogan, Brian. Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-313-33340-8.
• Mount, Heather. "Three Looks into The Ex". In Crane, Larry. Tape Op: The Book about Creative Music Recording, Volume 2. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2010. pp. 230–233.
• Robbins, Ira A., ed. The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The all-new 5th edition of The Trouser Press Record Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0684814374.
• Sok, G.W. A Mix of Bricks & Valentines: Lyrics 1979–2009. New York: PM Press, 2011.
• Temporary Services. Group Work. New York: Printed Matter, March 2007.