What used
to be a term referring to a tiered tower with multiple eaves has
been
transformed into an underground grunge band by singer- songwriter
Michael
Pitt. Although, the New York based band, Pagoda, has been
around since 2001,
they just released of their debut self-titled
album from the record label Ecstatic
Peace / Universal last February.
The album has been
three years in the making and is preceded only by a rare demo disk
and a couple of appearances on the soundtracks: The Heart is
Deceitful above all things and Last Days a Gus Van Sant
movie that Pitt starred in.
Last
Days was an artistic guess at what Kurt
Cobain’s last days on earth might have been like. The movie
showcased the video for Pagoda’s “The Happy Song” on its DVD
release. In the video Pitt, dressed as Cobain sings, “This cross
bears a billion lost souls,” while two semi-naked women wander
through wearing black cloths over their heads with menacing silver
face masks and black electrical tape X’s on their nipples. The
video exposed many new viewers to Pagoda’s bizarre and slightly
dark brand of grunge, despite the lack of enthusiasm generated for
the movie. Many more fans first heard of the band from their MySpace
page (www.MySpace.com/pagoda),
which allows viewers to check out some of Pagoda’s music free of
charge.