SOUND BITES

PUSCIFER Telling Ghosts From: Conditions of My Parole Released: October 18 In case you couldn’t tell from the album artwork for Puscifer’s second album Conditions of My Parole , Maynard James Keenan doesn’t take his third band and oft electronica-tinged side project all that seriously.  Then, there’s the utterly silly, redneck-lampooning video for the album’s title track, crammed with enough mullets and whiskey bottles to convince you you’re watching a Jerry Springer production.  All of these stunts amount to crude slapstick that serves as a ludicrous distraction from the music.  And, in the case of Conditions of My Parole , I can’t understand why all the deflection. If Tool is the Maynard’s proud legacy in rock and A Perfect Circle its slightly lesser known but equally respected cousin, then Puscifer has been treated like his redheaded stepchild, designed to be pointed and laughed at like a common novelty act.  And debut album V is for Vagina suit...

If you guessed "Kenny & Dolly Christmas", you're sadly mistaken. Scroll it on down for the official video for "Conditions of My Parole", the title track from Puscifer's second LP.  Of course, Puscifer is the side project of Maynard James Keenan, who is also famous for his work in Tool, A Perfect Circle, and winemaking.  Those unaware of Keenan's silly side will likely take this clip as a bit of a shock, what with Maynard gussied up in his finest hillbilly attire whilst packing as many redneck clichés as humanly possible into its three minutes.  The video is presented on Puscifer's YouTube page as the "SHORTENED version", which leads this writer to believe that there's a whole other level of awesome here that we haven't experienced yet.  I'm hoping for a "Cops" tie-in.   While it's nice to see MJK has a sense of humor, it does kind of overshadow the fact that the new Puscifer album, even with...