Montag

"Prepare to be amazed. Prepare to be astonished. Prepare for the panic of joy that comes with owning such a recording. This isn't A recording. This is THE recording...."

So opens one of the Montag releases that have had such a profound effect on a small group of people. Really, Montag should be as big or bigger than Daniel Johnston, Wesley Willis and all of those other "outsider" acts -- and would have been if Bill Terry had a celebrity patron or a desire to perform in public.

Montag's first release was "Picnic in Cliff Park," a cassette that featured a picture of an immaculately-clad Montag tipping his top hat to a beautiful mannequin alongside him in that park. The cassette was a hit in the sense that you can no longer get a copy of it, but very few copies were made in the first place.

The second release was "The Second Hatefull Masterpiece" and it is certainly hailed by all of Montag's fans as his best work.

Montag has three different types of songs, all of which are extremely contagious:

-- The Pure Instrumental. Songs such as "Bye Earth" and "Riding to the Institution" have no lyrics and no vocal samples.

-- The Instrumental with Vocal Samples. No lyrics are sung but a sampler provides vocal chunks which are often nonsensical. Examples include "Veinte Uno" and "Will It Be For Extra Credit?"

-- The Silly Song. These have hilarious and/or terrifying lyrics sung by Montag, such as "You Scare Me," "Suicide Pact," "Umbrella Boy," "I Took Your Beat" and "Crazy About You." These are often the most memorable and catchy songs -- the kind that you find yourself singing while wandering aimlessly through the graveyard or schoolyard.

There is one Montag song that fits in none of these categories and that is "If You Don't Love Me Just Lie." This song will break your cold scenester heart into a million infinitesimal pieces.

Rumor has it that Montag will release his Compleat Works on a double CD in the near future. Watch for it.

You can hear Montag at an unofficial fan website: http://www.myspace.com/billterryismontag