• Omnivore Recordings is proud to celebrate New Roman Times by presenting an expanded reissue on CD, digital, and double LP. Released in conjunction with the band, and following in the footsteps of last year’s Omnivore reissues of Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and Key Lime Pie, New Roman Times features new artwork, extensive notes from Lowery and four previously unissued tracks culled.
• Home page for the band Camper Van Beethoven with community discussion pages, discography, tour dates, news, social media links and more.

When I finally put 'New Roman Times' in my CD player I was floored. Bands that are reunited after a 15 year hiatus simply don't make albums as good as this. In typical wise-guy Camper Van Beethoven form, guitarist David Lowery has said, 'We decided to get back together to. Camper Van Beethoven 9:30 Club Washington, DC Jan 14, 2010. 16-bit/44.1khz. 01 Intro 02 Waka 03 The Long Plastic Hallway 04 All Her Favorite Fruit 05 Sweethearts 06 Tania 07 Eye Of Fatima (Part 1) 08 Eye Of Fatima (Part 2) 09 Mao Reminisces About His Days In Southern China 10 O Death 11 Skinhead Stomp 12 She Devines Water 13 New Roman Times.

New Roman Times is an album by musical group Camper Van Beethoven, released October 12, 2004 on Pitch-A-Tent Records. It is the band's first studio album of new material since they released Key Lime Pie in 1989 before dissolving in 1990.

Background and recording[edit]

The core lineup on the album consists of David Lowery, Jonathan Segel, Victor Krummenacher, Greg Lisher, Chris Pedersen and David Immerglück, all who played in earlier lineups of the band. With former Camper member Chris Molla participating on a few songs as well, the album features many members featured in the band's late 1980s heyday. The album also features some songwriting and musical contributions by Johnny Hickman, the guitarist in Lowery's band Cracker, who was also a member of the Estonian Gauchos, an early-1980s precursor to CVB that had also featured Lowery and Molla. Cracker drummer Frank Funaro and accordionist/keyboardist Kenny Margolis, both of whom were featured in Camper's live shows prior to the album's release, are listed in the credits as 'live band blood and guts.'

The album is set in a surreal, alternative universe in which the United States is split up into separate, hostile countries. Texas is a right-wing, Christian country, while California is a left-wing utopian state, although in the story it is engulfed by civil war and occupied by right-wing security forces. This is a cryptic commentary on the red state/blue state political division that exists in the US.

The main character is a Texan around the age of 20 who enlists in the army after an event similar to 9/11 occurs. In the beginning of the story, he is very nationalistic and gung-ho about defending his country. He fights in the war and is wounded, losing a leg. He returns disabled and disillusioned with the fight. After an uprising in California, he joins the right-wing security force called 'The Texas Bureau' that maintains peace there. After being disillusioned with that work as well, he joins the 'rebels,' who are portrayed as kind of hippie/skater/surfer eco-warriors who are allied with Mexico and with space aliens. At the end of the album, he prepares to be a suicide bomber, presumably for his new cause, although the album's deliberately obscure storytelling style makes the ending unclear. The album features other characters as well, including space aliens, right-wing militia members, a retired intelligence officer, and mentally disturbed homeless people.

The title, in addition to commenting on the theme of the album, is a play on the typefaceTimes New Roman. One of the songs, 'That Gum You Like Is Back In Style' is derived from a line in David Lynch's cult TV show Twin Peaks.^[1] Another, 'Come Out', is a cover of a piece by minimalist composer Steve Reich.^[2]

Camper Van Beethoven New Roman Times Rare

Novel[edit]

In 2018 a novel based on the album was released, called New Roman Times, authored by Evan Brown.^[3][4] Lowery and Segel had the following to say about the story:

'How did it come to all this anyway? It’s been a very confusing time, hasn’t it? Well, here’s one of the many complicated stories that should bring some understanding of the real players involved, to bring you up to speed on the events of today. So much of it rides on the tales of these characters.”

-Jonathan Segel

'New Roman Times was intended as a kind of commentary on the fakish red/blue narrative that emerged in the media in the lead up to the Iraq war. The crazy conspiratorial elements were thrown in because it’s a Camper Van Beethoven album. The fact our 2003 unreality better matches 2018’s reality should bother us all.'

- David Lowery

Camper Van Beethoven New Roman Times

Track listing[edit]

1. 'Prelude' – 0:55
2. 'Sons of the New Golden West' – 2:55
3. '51/7' – 4:44
4. 'White Fluffy Clouds' – 5:01
5. 'That Gum You Like Is Back in Style' – 4:56
6. 'Might Makes Right' – 2:46
7. 'Militia Song' – 2:10
8. 'R 'N' R Uzbekistan' – 1:13
9. 'Sons of the New Golden West Reprise' – 0:21
10. 'New Roman Times' – 4:47
11. 'The Poppies of Balmorhea' – 3:23
12. 'Long Plastic Hallway' – 5:09
13. 'I Am Talking to This Flower' – 2:30
14. 'Come Out' – 1:44
15. 'Los Tigres Traficantes' – 2:30
16. 'I Hate This Part of Texas' – 2:45
17. 'Hippy Chix' – 4:27
18. 'Civil Disobedience' – 6:25
19. 'Discotheque CVB' – 5:48
20. 'Hey Brother' – 2:46

References[edit]

1. ^'Season 1, Episode 2: 'Zen, or The Skill To Catch A Killer'
2. ^Murphy, Matthew (12 October 2004). 'Camper Van Beethoven: New Roman Times'. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
3. ^'New Roman Times'.
4. ^'New Roman Times'.