Bell A carillon, which is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, is tuned so that the bells can be played serially to produce a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A traditional carillon is played by striking a baton keyboard with the fists, and by pressing the keys of a pedal keyboard with the feet. The keys mechanically activate levers and wires that connect to metal clappers that strike the inside of the bells, allowing the performer to vary the intensity of the note according to the force applied to the key. In
Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt slightly more tuneful than the more ambient, experimental second section[...] Mostly what you get are Frusciante's acoustic-guitar scratchings and stream-of-conscious ramblings." The first "Rolling Stone" review of the record, however, was positive: "All in all, [the album is] a mess—but definitely a fascinating, often lovely mess. As one might expect of an album titled "Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-shirt" this is twisted, cool stuff." The "Boston Herald" said that while the album was "a stark display of Frusciante's acoustic guitar virtuosity" and "eerily beautiful", the singing was "terrible; his high notes will drive the neighborhood dogs into a