Toyota - RAPIDPROTOTYPE

Go see them live. It is terrifying.

Like a lo-fi Mr. Bungle

Thanx jimmy this is on my 10 outta 10 high grade music list

IT'S MORE IMPORTANT WHO YOU KNOW

I hear some double nickels on the dime influence

got a real velvets vocal recording vibe in Q and A. liking it.

holy tri-tone bois

I've been waiting for that write up for so long

tapes are up on the bandcamp!

I fucking love Primus and I FUCKING LOVE TOYOTA

*FULL WRITE-UP PRT. 2*

Despite this, I still had no idea who Toyota was, save for the fact that they consider themselves to be a “sister project” of Stucko, which is another Bay Area “punk outfit,” despite only really sharing one member. But since then, I’ve learned quite a bit more details about Toyota and their stance on the project, namely through select articles and a brief Skype call I had with them. Only then have I learned about what -giant idiots- aspiring entrepreneurs they truly are.

As I previously stated, they’re committed to their capitalist identities, even going as far as solely refer to themselves as Toyota-branded cars (Camry as rhythm guitarist and vocalist, Previa as lead guitarist, Tundra as bassist, and Prius as drummer). They don’t even consider themselves to be a “punk” band, but rather a “business” whose only goal is to leech money from their consumers through the release of music on an outdated format, with that being outdated format of course being cassettes. Those cassettes are then sold by a label under the name of “Discontinuous Innovation Inc.”, which has since released a number of products that have likely made them dozens, I repeat, _dozens_ of dollars. I admit, it’s a brilliant venture, as Discogs’ marketplace has shown that those who participate in cassette culture are typically overly-impressionable and are more than likely to pay ridiculous prices for just another piece of plastic. These watered-down renditions of “punks” that exist today are a mouth-breathing demographic that can easily be utilized for a constant revenue stream. It’s absolutely genius.

They’ve since expanded on this “Discontinuous Innovation Inc.” front through the release of multiple audio cassettes under the same label. To name a few, there’s Stucko, which is a product that I’ve covered on my channel twice in the past, with the first instance of me sharing being the reason why Toyota contacted me in the first place. There’s a bizarre anomaly that has yet to be fully explored, AV2 2:27, which is a space-like “jam project” that’s likely created by board members to bring in more money. There’s also Houston and The Problems, which is rumored by D.I. Inc’s subsidiaries to be a collaboration project between Toyota and Stucko, though that is nothing more than speculation and shouldn’t be taken to heart. Then there’s Kno Polaticks, which is an old, non-satirical “punk outfit” imported from Blythe, England to appeal to the European demographic. I believe this project may no longer be in development due to a tragic fire that occurred within their sector (which is rumored to have started from an accident involving a faulty toaster oven and a plate of beans on toast). Every single one of these products are absolutely flawless and are _not_ under close supervision by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for rumors of lead-based plastic being used on the cassettes. They are perfectly safe for consumption, and should all be bought immediately. That is a factual statement, regardless of people stating that I am only playing along with their efforts for the fear of receiving a lawsuit from their division, because again, these are just rumors coming from D.I. Inc.’s restless child workers.

Despite statements from rival corporations and the CPSC saying otherwise, I still consider Toyota is the one of the best things to ever come from modern capitalism. This new cassette, which is entitled “Rapidprototype,” expands on the group’s disjointed sounds from their first release, and makes noticeable improvements to just about every facet of their musicianship. Even the recordings themselves have improved from past Discontinuous Innovation products, seeming as if their sound engineers have finally figured out this whole "four-track" thing out. Despite the massive strides they’ve taken to establish themselves as a unique entity, I find that so many consumers are still comparing Toyota to The Coneheads, which is apparently some silly band out in Indiana that shares some musical similarities. People consider The Coneheads to be “Devo worship”, while Toyota is considered to be “Coneheads worship.” I would refute these claims, but the influence is rather apparent and would honestly be difficult to disregard that connection. Which, seeing as The Coneheads are apparently an extremely popular "punk" band whose audio cassette tapes can sell for well over $50 on Discogs, means that this is yet another smart business decision made by Discontinuous Innovation Inc: to choose to rip-off a band of that hype-caliber. That way, people will hopefully purchase more of their cassettes in hope of flipping them on Discogs for inflated prices. Brilliant!

All that being said, Toyota’s music is far from a rip-off, and does more than enough to establish themselves as one of the most unique “punk” bands out there. Though sharing the same dissonance and other-worldly tone as The Coneheads, Toyota takes that influence and ups it to the nth degree to create a fine pedigree of alien-punk that can’t be easily replicated. The group makes excellent use of a second guitarist to add an extra level of discordance and chaos to their music, showing how down-right hectic it can be once the group chooses let go of the handle bars. The explosive introduction track displays this the best, which may explain why they chose to include that track three separate times in the tape. But once it’s re-constrained in the subsequent track, Toyota sticks to the style that they play best: tight-knit, dissonant punk that aims to stupefy with their abnormal song structures, being filled to the brim with inconsistent guitar work, false stops, drum fills, stunted vocals, jerky basslines, and a handful of moments where the entire song collapses on itself in the most confusing manner possible. Despite being limited to five (technically six) tracks, just like its predecessor, "Rapidprototype" seems to accomplish so much more. Coinciding the electrifying, quirkier type of songs you’re familiar with, Toyota takes a slight step away to experiment more than they already have. “Q and A”, is a slower composition that’s defined by the intelligible questions and statements made by the members, and “Aspartame” is literally composed of approximately 30% false stops. The final, unlisted track, is a stretched-out jazzy number that I’m assuming is a call-back to “Concept Model(s) I-V”, whose final track is just a slower rendition of “Art Guy.” Even if I’ve already listened to this tape dozens of times on end, “Rapidprototype” is still just as weird as it is infectious, just like the first time listened to it. That’s what I think makes Toyota so great and remarkable: the fact that there’s honestly very few punk bands that have their sort of sounds and are close to being _half_ as immediately-satisfying, and _stay_ satisfying. Their style is so unique and definitive, that it's almost impossible to get sick of. It’s not something that just any band can achieve, making them what I believe to be one of the best bands to come out of modern-day San Francisco, period. In a sense, Toyota truly is a discontinuous innovation. May the oncoming summer bring Toyota a greater amount of consumers and an even greater amount of profits.

Some things written here may be lies, but who knows? Toyota’s just one massive bit of satire, so why can’t I be a tongue-in-cheek asshole too? Well, I know I went overboard with this write-up, but ever since I uploaded their first cassette, I’ve had so many things I wish I would’ve said. They’ve been bouncing around in my head for a really long time, and now’s finally the opportunity for me to let it all out. It may have taken me two hours, but it was worth it, since I know this’ll be appreciated. By the by, I’ve got two other things that I _really_ want to post that aren’t gonna be requests. I spent some time in a hospital last night, but I did have my phone on hand to keep myself occupied. I took the time to browse music and catch up on anything that I may be missing due to my pre-occupation with the requests on my channel, and there’s two specific releases that I’m so surprised that almost nobody’s talking about. I do still have a few more requests to get out the door though, so I'd feel a little bad if I prioritized my own desires over theirs. Then again, my name's in the channel so... I dunno. I'll figger somethin' out, maybe get two videos out tomorrow to make up for it. Shit like Toyota and what I’m gonna post soon are the kind of music that makes life worth living, even if part of it may be in a hospital bed.

*FULL WRITE-UP PRT. 1 (SAME AS DESCRIPTION)*

New Toyota. Huh.

So this product just came out of nowhere, didn’t it? I got an email yesterday alerting me that Discontinuous Innovation Inc., the enterprise behind this project, had uploaded a new release out on their Bandcamp page. I figured that it would likely be another re-pressing of an existing product, be it a patented D.I. Inc. design, like their "Model Concept(s) I-V" audio cassette tape, or another collaboration effort with a different California-based firm, like the recent repressing of Acrylic’s self-titled EP. To my surprise, it was an _entirely new Toyota release_, complete with five distinct tracks. I was absolutely ecstatic, as I’m sure you can understand, because Toyota is one of the best things to come from San Francisco since their 1989 earthquake.

I didn't really get to say much about Toyota back when I first posted them. I was still new to this whole "punk write-up" thing at the time, and hadn't yet found a voice or stance that would best convey my thoughts and impressions on the group. I like to think that I've filled these shoes better over the past few months, so I'll start again from the beginning and iterate how... different Toyota is. I first received an email from an address that may or may not contain the phrase “kittencrazy”, which asked if I would please “inquire” about their first demo from their band that was inexplicably named “Toyota”. Attached to the email was a PDF, which contained a business-formatted letter, complete with a fake return address to the then-unfounded “Toyota International”, which I assume was a changed to “Discontinuous Innovation Inc.” as a smart business measure to avoid a lawsuit from the lesser-known corporation of the same name, and a signature which looks like it was signed in MS Paint. The businesses correspondent, who addressed himself as “Tundra” (even though I could see his real name in plain sight), plays bass in the project and provided a download to their “Concept Model(s) I-V” demo, which was unreleased at the time. I was completely floored by how unique this organization’s sounds were; it seemed so otherworldly and different that I could only assume it was some form of sheer brilliance that I haven’t yet been exposed to before. I, of course, agreed to Tundra’s offer to post their material, and he responded in the same pseudo-corporate letter form. In retrospect, I wish that I played along and responded in a similar format, since they all seem pretty committed to the identities they’ve assigned themselves and it could’ve been fun to humor them. That being said, Tundra eventually broke character in our emails like an idiot.

Shortly after posting their first audio cassette, I was offered to be sent a complementary sample of their product. I agreed and provided my address, but didn’t anticipate being sent an entire package that was roughly the size of a cereal box. Well, I opened it up to find that it _was_ a cereal box; Multi-Grain Cheerios, to be exact. The box was adorned with tasteful stickers of puppies, kittens, dinosaurs, small children, along with a printed return address for “Discontinuous Innovation Inc.” that contained their logo, while my address was handwritten with crayon and had my street name, Erie, misspelled as “Eerie”. Within the box was not cereal, but rather numerous pieces of crumpled up notebook paper, a handful of Vitamin C supplements, a coffee cup lid, spare stickers from the outside of the box, dozens of red paper clippings (that I assume originated from cutting the tapes’ inserts, as they are red as well), and finally, a Toyota cassette, which was attached to a bag of beef-flavored Top Ramen by a paper wristband that had “Capcom Cup 2014” printed on it. The abnormalities didn’t stop there; the cassette itself had my name, “Jimbo”, handwritten on a sticker located on the opposite spine of the case, a small message written on the insert in pencil, and another small message inside a spare fold on the j-card, which alluded to my fake-wife Linda (long story). Both the package and the cassette still stand to be my favorite things that anyone has ever sent to me, with the cassette easily being my most prized-possession in my _entire_ collection. So obviously, I have a little soft spot in my heart for Toyota.