Manipulator Alligator is one of the finest musical projects I’ve heard that absofuckinglukely no one seems to listen to. What gives, guys? This man, one Matthew Hoppock of Kansas City/Salinas/etc., Kansas is the one behind Sanitary Records, and has put out bands like Saturday Looks Good to Me, Boo Hiss, Real Live Tigers, Nedelle, Quiet Bears, Half-Handed Cloud, Colin Clary, Grumpy Bear and lots of others. And you know what, he’s a damn near flawless songwriter, vocalist AND musician, and goes back and forth between acoustic songs and electronic patchwork pieces without it seeming strange at all. He can be super experimental one minute and the next write what basically amounts to a simple, heartfelt country song, and god dammit they’re all so good! Not to mention he’s one of the most kind, gentle, selfless people I’ve met. Oh, AND he’s married, has a kid, works, and is (was?) attending law school in addition to making amazing music and running a wonderful record label. Sadly, I’ve heard say that he’s going to stop making Manipulator Alligator songs, which I completely understand, given his situation, but still think is an EFFING CRIME, because there are so many people who have no idea, NO IDEA, how amazing this man is. Below I’ve posted two of his songs, two that I found on his website/myspace/purevolume, but I don’t even think listening to just these can give you a full idea of how wonderful Manipulator Alligator is. I’m not entirely sure what other releases he has planned other than a split with…ehm…Tinyfolk (which should be out on Sanitary within the next month or so), but I would recommend buying anything you can get your hands on from Sanitary.

MP3s:

Manipulator Alligator - Nina Simone

Manipulator Alligator - You Grow Out of That Bag

LINKS:

Sanitary Records Home
Manipulator Alligator Home
Manipulator Alligator Myspace