the celebrity motorcade

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		the celebrity motorcade	2:58	Play
2		she might try	3:33	Play
3		erich von stroheim	4:08	Play
4		still big	2:56	Play
5		at the factory	3:05	Play
6		old and lost rivers	4:31	Play
7		remember irving thalberg	4:23	Play
8		roscoe	3:01	Play
9		john garfield, first person	3:16	Play
10		parade gone by	1:03	Play
11		disneywhore	2:19	Play

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Description

described as a 38 minute tracking shot, "the celebrity motorcade" concerns itself with the notion of fame and, specifically, the stories of certain early 20th hollywood figures.

not really a concept album. but sort of. with lots of melody...and just as much melancholy.

chris arduser is a cincinnati-based songwriter and producer who has written many a tune for critically lauded comboes such as THE BEARS (which features adrian belew), PSYCHODOTS (which includes childhood friends rob fetters and bob nyswonger) and THE GRAVEBLANKETS.

CITYBEAT REVIEW by mike breen 5 / 4 / 2005

Performed, written and produced entirely by the pyschodots drummer/vocalist, Motorcade is a "concept record" revolving around characters from old Hollywood. Arduser gets into the head of comedian Fatty Arbuckle on "Roscoe," painting the tragic figure sympathetically as a victim of circumstance ("They called you Fatty/'Cause that's all they could see"), while "Remember Irving Thalberg" remembers the sacrifices of the unsung movie maven who revolutionized the role of "producer" in film. The thematic thread that runs throughout is fascinating and works incredibly well, but it wouldn't hold up without Arduser's tremendous songwriting. It never feels like he's forcing the theme into the songs (or vice versa), as "Thalberg" and cuts like "Disneywhore" and "At the Factory" are each strong enough to stand apart from the rest of the album. Other highlights include the early Who Pop of "She Might Try" and the wispy, fluid "Erich Von Stroheim." Brilliant stuff. Come for the stories, stay for the sounds.

CINCINNATI POST REVIEW by rick bird 5 / 5 / 2005

Arduser spins CD saluting early days of film

It's not just a CD, but a sort of filmography - in this case a salute to "the
silents" and Hollywood's groundbreaking directors and actors, especially those
under-appreciated or simply beaten down by the system.

The unusual, but wonderfully written and compelling concept album, "The
Celebrity Motorcade," is the work of veteran Cincinnati musician Chris Arduser
(The Bears, psychodots, Bluebirds, Graveblankets).

"I was slowly amassing tunes about the early filmmakers because I'm fascinated
by the '20s," Arduser said. "The silent cinema gets short shrift. It's summed
up in the image of Charlie Chaplin when there was so much else going on. I find
it endlessly fascinating. It was an out-of-control time."

Movie buffs will delight in Arduser's songs about such pioneers as Erich Von
Stronheim, Irving Thalberg, John Garfield and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, as the
CD concludes with a contemporary take on Hollywood art with "Disneywhore."

They are mostly bittersweet songs couched in Arduser's buoyant pop melodies. It
is, dare we say, a pop album that is actually educational with his take on
early Hollywood and celebrity.

The opening title cut sets the overall theme as Arduser explores that age-old
relationship between art and having to work within the system.

"I wanted to write songs that explore notions of fame and celebrity. So many of
us chase after it, myself at one point," Arduser said, remembering he had a
Nashville publishing and recording deal in the late '90s with mixed results.