| Author | Message | ||
     Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2175 Registered: 09-2006 |
...has a video of what may be Sonic Youth's final show ever. I haven't checked it out yet...seems like the last thing I read, Thurston & Kim were breaking up but it wasn't going to affect their tour or work. Geez, you can't even get over one thing without another one smacking you in the face... | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2268 Registered: 10-2004 |
What I had read was that there has been no official statement from the band as to their future, casting everything in doubt. That, and apparently Moore is going to do a solo tour in the winter. Maybe I'm wrong and there have been further developments, but that could explain Pitchork's "this could be their last show" bit. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1970 Registered: 10-2008 |
Apparently Pitchfork .... just love making groovy lists!! A lot to digest. with funky graphs and such like, but here it is, The Peoples List. http://www.pitchfork.com/peopleslist/ Initial thoughts, not surprised to see Radiohead clean up although I still don't "get" OK Computer despite loving everything that came since. I also still don't see what the fuss is with Neutral Milk Hotel(no4 on the list) although they consistently figure highly in these retrospective kind of lists so they obviously have loyal fans. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1971 Registered: 10-2008 |
... oh, and where is Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds? Seems to be an absolutely glaring omission that they can't even make a list of the best 200 albums of the last 15 years! I'd be embarrassed if I was Modest f'in Mouse! | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1972 Registered: 10-2008 |
Actually, if you dig deeper(and there is a LOT of info here) you will find that although Nick Cave doesn't appear in the top 200 he does appear in some of the sub lists. Check out the "MORE LISTS FROM THE PEOPLE" section, in the album by year category. Also there is actually a section where they break it down by age. Must admit that in the category 51+ ( I just squeeze in there!!) there is not a lot on the list I don't like! AGE: 51+ # POINTS RADIOHEAD OK COMPUTER ARCADE FIRE FUNERAL RADIOHEAD KID A WILCO YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA BECK ODELAY THE FLAMING LIPS YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS THE FLAMING LIPS THE SOFT BULLETIN SUFJAN STEVENS ILLINOIS ARCADE FIRE THE SUBURBS RADIOHEAD AMNESIAC SIGUR RÓS ÁGĆTIS BYRJUN ANIMAL COLLECTIVE MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION THE WHITE STRIPES WHITE BLOOD CELLS THE WHITE STRIPES ELEPHANT RADIOHEAD IN RAINBOWS LCD SOUNDSYSTEM SOUND OF SILVER THE STROKES IS THIS IT RADIOHEAD HAIL TO THE THIEF MASSIVE ATTACK MEZZANINE % DISTINCTION INDEX 6.33%BOB DYLAN LOVE AND THEFT 5.91%FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS 5.71%PJ HARVEY UH HUH HER 5.44%DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS BRIGHTER THAN CREATION'S DARK 4.43%BOB DYLAN MODERN TIMES 3.83%GRINDERMAN GRINDERMAN 3.42%CALEXICO CARRIED TO DUST 3.41%GILLIAN WELCH TIME (THE REVELATOR) 3.35%SONIC YOUTH A THOUSAND LEAVES 3.19%ROBERT WYATT COMICOPERA 2.98%NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!! 2.94%TINARIWEN AMAN IMAN: WATER IS LIFE 2.93%THE JOY FORMIDABLE THE BIG ROAR 2.89%CALIFONE HERON KING BLUES 2.86%SUPER FURRY ANIMALS GUERILLA 2.82%LUCINDA WILLIAMS CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD 2.75%BURIAL BURIAL 2.72%DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS THE DIRTY SOUTH 2.67%BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIX 2.66% | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2519 Registered: 10-2004 |
A fair amount of good music has come out of the past 15 years, and yet so little of it made it onto that list. I am definitely not Pitchfork's target audience. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 401 Registered: 02-2007 |
Agree, no Nick Cave which is strange. Intersting to see 3 Elliott Smith albums. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3023 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin loves these magazine lists. To my great surprise I've either heard or actually own 5 of the top 20. The only one of them that rated addition to my old iPod was "Soft Bulletin" and I have to say I could only hear that album in that fashion, with one song at a time interspersed with other music. The songs are really nice but the bombastic kiddieriffic performance made actually sitting down and listening to the whole album impossible. I suppose this is an age thing. The handful of Wilco albums I've heard have some real gems on them but also need aggressive pruning. Amusingly, I have a far smaller proportion of the remaining 180 entries, just some Belle & Sebastian, Walkmen and 69 Love Songs which, incidentally, I haven't felt the need to play in many years. It was cute and clever but I eventually need more than cute and clever to stay with something. I do have "Let England Shake" and think it is brilliant. Is this Pitchfork list too American? Perhaps we should come up with our own best-of-the-last-15-years lists? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1973 Registered: 10-2008 |
Can you believe that of the 10-15 year olds who voted, their No1 album was Neutral Milk Hotel??!! Randy, apparently 135 of the 200 albums are American. Amongst the rest, England had 23 and Canada 16. I would have thought 100 plus for America is just about right. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4800 Registered: 05-2005 |
I really like the Neutral Milk Hotel album. Kevin, I'm not surprised by its placing. Those 10-15 year olds (I'm betting 95% of them are 14 or 15) would have heard their older siblings' copy of the album in most cases. It is a genuine underground phenomenon, and deservedly so as it's a genuinely great record. Its popularity is kicked along when it occasionally shows up in popular culture, such as in Friday Night Lights where the coach's daughter had a poster of the album and spoke about going to a Jeff Mangum show. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3026 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, IMO 135 out of 200 is too many when you consider how many sources of anglophone music are available. Way too many. I think it should legitimately be around 80. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2520 Registered: 10-2004 |
Randy, I agree with you about 69 Love Songs. That's where Magnetic Fields lost me. Their earlier albums were genuinely good, containing songs of real substance, especially The Charm of the Highway Strip. But 69 Love Songs is, like you say, a bit too cute and clever. As for this list, the first album on it that I own is If You're Feeling Sinister. If there's going to be a B&S album, at least it's that one. The first album on the list that I not only own, but genuinely and enthusiastically love is Stereolab's Emperor Tomato Ketchup, which doesn't come in until 185. There are several other albums that I am familiar with and/or used to own and/or maybe initially liked but then got tired of. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1975 Registered: 10-2008 |
On Neutral Milk Hotel. I don't know anybody in real life (ha ha!)who either a)owns it, or b)admits to liking it. Randy, are you saying that the 50 or so "excess" American albums should be replaced by albums from the UK? If so what albums would you put forward that the voters have omitted? Bearing in mind that we're discussing the results of this Pitchfork poll, and not what you and I might like to see included unfortunately. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2521 Registered: 10-2004 |
I'd be interested to see what people here think are the best 20 or so albums of the last 15 years. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1976 Registered: 10-2008 |
So, like Pitchfork this is albums from 1996-2011. As always I have no doubt missed out 2 or 3 glaring omissions, but I always have real problems trying to remember albums from more than 5 years ago! So no doubt I might add a few and delete a few if I remember some I have missed In no particular order beck - odelay sparklehorse - vivadixie etc stereolab - emperor tomato ketchup boards of canada- music has the right to children belle and sebastian - if you're feeling sinister flaming lips - soft bulletin low - secret name primal scream -xtrmntr radiohead - kid a wilco - yankee hotel foxtrot nick cave abbatoir blues/lyre of orpheus lcd soundsystem - lcd soundsystem burial - untrue radiohead - in rainbows drive by truckers - decoration day elliott smith - xo yo la tengo - i can hear the heart beating as one bonnie prince billy - i see a darkness orbital - insides carl craig - more songs about food and revolutionary art | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1977 Registered: 10-2008 |
Oh and my 20 is made up of 11 from America, 7 from UK(Radiohead appear twice so only counted once), 1 from Australia | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1978 Registered: 10-2008 |
And a quick glance at my list shows the most recent album is Untrue by Burial from 2007. Don't know if that says more about me, or more about the state of modern music in the last 5 years? | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2523 Registered: 10-2004 |
These are in no particular order, and I've also listed release years and countries of origin, since those details seem to be of interest. Stereolab - Dots and Loops (1997 UK) Wild Beasts - Two Dancers (2009 UK) Saint Etienne - Good Humor (1998 UK) Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country (2006 UK) Cathal Coughlan - Black River Falls (2000 UK) Aislers Set - How I Learned To Write Backwards (2002 US) High Llamas - Beet, Maize, and Corn (2003 UK) Paddy McAloon - I Trawl the Megahertz (2003 UK) Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart (2005 Aus) XTC - Apple Venus Vol. 1 (1999 UK) Cinnamon - Vertigo (1999 Sweden) Michael Head & the Stands - Magical World of the Strands (1997 UK) Broadcast - The Noise Made By People (2000 UK) April March - Chrominance Decoder (1999 US) Eggstone - Spanish Slalom (1998 Sweden) Mahogany - Connectivity (2006 US) Bebel Gilberto - Bebel Gilberto (2004 Brazil) Divine Comedy - Casanova (1996 UK) Wild Beasts - Limbo Panto (2008 UK) Razika - Program 91 (2011 Norway) Predictably the UK dominates, but there are three Scandinavian entries (Sweden and Norway), not to mention one each from Australia and Brazil, and a handful from the US. This was more difficult than I thought in that there were several albums I really wanted to include but had to cut to make it to 20. I listed two by Wild Beasts, which I think should be allowable since Pitchfork's list includes a gazillion Radiohead and Eliot Smith albums. I could have also included two by Cathal, but didn't for whatever reason. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1979 Registered: 10-2008 |
Revised list already. Out go Bonnie Prince Billy and Nick Cave, in come The Fall with The Real New Fall LP (can't believe I missed that out!), and Jeff reminded me of Wild Beasts, so in comes Smother. the fall - the real new fall lp wild beasts - smother beck - odelay sparklehorse - vivadixie etc stereolab - emperor tomato ketchup boards of canada- music has the right to children belle and sebastian - if you're feeling sinister flaming lips - soft bulletin low - secret name primal scream -xtrmntr radiohead - kid a wilco - yankee hotel foxtrot lcd soundsystem - lcd soundsystem burial - untrue radiohead - in rainbows drive by truckers - decoration day elliott smith - xo yo la tengo - i can hear the heart beating as one orbital - insides carl craig - more songs about food and revolutionary art | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2524 Registered: 10-2004 |
Kevin, I nearly had Fall Heads Roll in my list but it didn't quite make the cut. Also, for me it was really a tie between Wild Beasts' Limbo Panto and Smother, both of which I like immensely. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4801 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jeff, Cathal Coughlan is Irish, not British. I'm pretty sure you know that, so I am very curious as to why you would casually disregard his heritage and list him as being from the UK? I know he lives in Britain and recorded the album there, but he is Irish. Nick Cave has lived in Britain for decades too, but Kevin managed to list him as Australian above. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1980 Registered: 10-2008 |
Padraig, that is maybe because Jeff is confused about this strange little corner of the world, I know I regularly am! At any given time we can be referred to as the UK, or Great Britain, or The British Isles (which does include Ireland). I am certain that you know all of that by the way, and Jeff is obviously an educated guy so his error was probably just an oversight on his part. I wish they would just decide on something like Britain, which is certainly more accurate and definitely more up to date than "Great" Britain. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4802 Registered: 05-2005 |
It riles me Kevin. There are an awful lot of halfwits in Australia who think Ireland is still part of the UK (despite 90 years of independence), so it would disappoint me if Jeff also thought this. I'm sure he doesn't though ... (and if he does, then I'm going to ask him how he's liking the Czech Republic). | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2525 Registered: 10-2004 |
Padraig, tell me something I don't know! Yes, I probably should have listed him as Irish since that is quite obviously his heritage, but Cathal has been based in and operating out of the UK for nearly 30 years, so I suppose this raises the question of where does one draw the line? O'Hagan is Irish too, and his band (of which he is the singer, chief songwriter, and arranger) may even include another Irish person or two for all I know, but the High Llamas have been living and operating out of London for their entire existence. So, which country would you list them under, Padraig? Stereolab singer Laetia Sadier is quite clearly French, but her band is English (and Mary Hansen was Australian) and based in London, so we list them as coming from the UK. But if one were to list Sadier's solo album would we then list her as French? Point being, this isn't always black and white. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2526 Registered: 10-2004 |
Okay, I think I've figured out how to accurately handle this situation, at least with the case of Cathal. In an article, a good journalist would most likely refer to him as something like "Irish expat based in the UK." Because to me it wouldn't be 100% accurate to list him simply as Irish. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4803 Registered: 05-2005 |
Sean O'Hagan is not Irish Jeff, he is English. That is why I did not correct you on listing him as being from the UK. His parents are Irish and he lived in Ireland for a period in this teens and early 20s (where he met Cathal Coughlan and they formed Microdisney), but he considers himself English, and has said so. Listen to his accent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lei1FFjb 4k, and then compare it with Cathal Coughlan's accent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwWdntQ-E WA. National identity matters Jeff. Maybe not to someone who grew up in America and was never in danger of being considered anything other than American, but I can assure you it matters to Irish people and those from most other countries. That's where I draw the line. Ask your girlfriend how she likes people who don't know the difference between Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4804 Registered: 05-2005 |
I'll graciously accept your compromise above! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4805 Registered: 05-2005 |
1 Paul Weller – 22 Dreams 2 Doctor Millar – Always Coming Home 3 Whipping Boy – Heartworm 4 The Go-Betweens – Oceans Apart 5 Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs 6 Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – The Boatman’s Call 7 Band Of Horses – Infinite Arms 8 PJ Harvey – Let England Shake 9 Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup 10 Wire – Red Barked Tree 11 Primal Scream – XTRMNTR 12 Bob Dylan – Time Out Of Mind 13 The Panics – Cruel Guard 14 R.E.M. – Accelerate 15 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend 16 HAL – HAL 17 New Order – Get Ready 18 Gemma Hayes – Night On My Side 19 The Jayhawks – Sound Of Lies 20 Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir 21 Robert Forster – The Evangelist 22 The Walls – New Dawn Breaking 23 Richard Hawley – Coles Corner 24 Paddy McAloon – I Trawl The Megahertz 25 PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea 26 Skinny Jean – Dolce Doggerel 27 Massive Attack – Mezzanine 28 Seán Millar – Of The People Part 1 29 Dinosaur Jr – Farm 30 Glen Campbell – Meet Glen Campbell | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1981 Registered: 10-2008 |
On nationalities - If Cathal was a football player he would represent The Republic of Ireland at international level, so case closed! If I could bring it down a further level, I've always been of the opinion that just because a cow is born in a stable it doesn't make it a horse :-) So as far as bloodline goes I am as Irish as Padraig is, but I was born in Scotland so legally I am British. Back to the list. I played Yankee Hotel Foxtrot last night and it sounded even more brilliant than usual. Possibly because it was midnight and I had headphones on, perhaps the ideal conditions for listening to this. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 402 Registered: 02-2007 |
22 Dreams - Paul Weller Odelay - Beck Gone Again - Patti Smith Time Out Of Mind - Bob Dylan The Boatman's Call - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds OK Computer - Radiohead XO - Elliott Smith Car Wheels On A Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams Grand Prix - Teenage Fanclub Mock Tudor - Richard Thompson Mule Variations - Tom Waits Apple Venus Pt1 - XTC Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco Greendale - Neil Young Songs From The Year Of Our Demise - Jon Auer Grinderman 1 - Grinderman Cruel Guards - The Panics Raising Sand - Robert Plant/Alison Krauss For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Sex and Gasoline - Rodney Crowell Beachcomber's Windowsill - Stornoway Let England Shake - PJ Harvey Sometimes - City and Colour The Last Broadcast - The Doves Back to Me - Kathleen Edwards The Cost - The Frames American Recordings 1,2,3,4,5,6 - Johnny Cash | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3027 Registered: 03-2005 |
The great thing about this is that I know that I haven't heard a bunch of things that will be on a best-of list for these same 15 years if I were to make another such list ten years from now. I am deeply distrustful of the records that sound sensational and easy from the get-go. I am almost certainly going to be sick of them in a short space of time. My perception is that those are the sorts of records that most modern critics go for. I limited myself to one entry for each artist. Some artists are frustrating. For example, Australia's Drones should have created a top 20 album but they never did, cutting too many records in too short a time and dispersing their brilliant work among lesser IMO "filler" material. No particular order: 1. Kate & Anna McGarrigle -- Matapedia (1996, Canada) 2. Jimmy Little -- Messenger (1999, Oz) 3. April March -- Chrominance Decoder (1999, U.S./France) American artist, French producer and in this case the producer is as important as the artist. 4. Paradise Motel -- Flight Paths (1999, Oz) They have several near-misses as well, including their post-reformation "I Still Hear Your Voice at Night." 5. Neko Case -- Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006, U.S.) The true "alt-country" artist IMO. She brings David Lynch sensibility to country. 6. Cathal Coughlan -- Sky's Awful Blue (2002, Eire) Jeff's choice is really just as strong. I selected this one because he selected the other. 7. Francoiz Breut -- Vingt a Trente Mille Jours (2001, France) Her last album (so far) L'Aveuglette is a good runner up. 8. Walkmen -- Lisbon (2010, U.S.) 9. Augie March -- Moo, You Bloody Choir (2006, Oz) I've never thought this record held together well as an actual album but it is their most mighty collection of songs. 10. P.J. Harvey -- Let England Shake (2011, U.K.) I've never been a big fan of hers but this knocks me out. I wonder how much credit should go to Mick Harvey. 11. Bright Eyes -- Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (2005, U.S.) 12. Betty Lavette -- I've Got My Own Hell to Raise (2005, U.S.) She deconstructs songs by contemporary female writers. 13. Dominique A -- Vers Les Lueurs (2012, France) His 1998 album "Remue" is the runner-up. 14. Fall -- Real New Fall LP (2004, U.K.) 15. Robert Forster -- The Evangelist (2008, Oz) 16. Vic Chesnutt -- Silverlake (2003, U.S.) 17. Keren Ann -- 101 (2011, Dutch Israeli) 18. Alain Bashung -- Fantaisie Militaire (1998, France) His final album "Bleu Petrole" is a strong runner-up. 19. Panics -- Cruel Guards (2007, Oz) I hovered over this one forever because "Sleeps Like a Curse" is also a very strong candidate. 20. Marianne Faithfull -- Vagabond Ways (2000, U.K.) | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1984 Registered: 10-2008 |
All these lists are prompting me to cue up albums to play over the next few days, some being played for the first time in months/years On CD: Wilco - YHF Radiohead - In Rainbows and Kid A Belle and Sebastian - If Youre Feeling Sinister Burial - Untrue Sparklehorse - Vivedixie etc Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children Yo La Tengo - I Can Feel The Heart Beating As One Via Spotify The Panics - Cruel Guards The Paradise Motel - Flight Paths Cathal Coughlan - Black River Falls and The Sky's Awful Blue Another from The Pitchfork Top 20 which I have been playing is Grizzy Bear's Veckatimest. I thought it was ok on release, but 3 or 4 years later it sounds fantastic. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2527 Registered: 10-2004 |
Geez. This is the third thread in the last few weeks where I've unintentionally ruffled someone's feathers. I'm taking an extended hiatus from this place. Adieu. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3028 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, I can't imagine you enjoying any of the three of mine that you've cued up. I recommend you listen to the Dominique A runner-up "Remue." It seems very much the sort of thing you might enjoy quite a lot once you get used to not understanding the lyrics. Jeff, I hope you don't stay away for long. Sometimes when people get grouchy at something you post it's not really about you; it's about them. Just breathe a bit and they get over it. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1985 Registered: 10-2008 |
Randy, I've always had a soft spot for Cathal C stretching all the way back to Microdisney. I liked Fatima Mansions as well, especially Viva Dead Ponies and Valhalla Avenue. I just zoned out with the solo stuff, no real reason just wasn't on my radar at the time I guess. Listening to Cruel Guards just now, on first listen seems to remind me of The Auteurs for some reason. Not really hitting home, but like you say Randy most of the stuff you like is not particularly immediate so not writing off just yet. I must be sleeping, because I missed the two other threads that Jeff thinks he pissed somebody off. Apart from the odd hiccup we all seem to get on most of the time, two things I think could cause perceived bother on here are a) the lack of an edit function, and b) sometimes what you type is not necessarily what you would say face to face. I know sometimes I post something and think "shit I hope he doesn't take that the wrong way, I could have put that across better". In my case I usually find either alcohol or lack of sleep(aka shift work) are major factors here. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4806 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jeff, I hope you won't stay away for long. I, and I'm sure everyone else here, would miss your always interesting and cogent arguments for why you love or hate something. I quite often disagree with you, but you always make good points which sometimes make me re-evaluate something I hate/love. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1987 Registered: 10-2008 |
Ok, I just don't get The Panics at all. I still hear a more sanatized version of Luke Haines from The Auteurs when the vocalist sings. Musically songs like the cringe worthy Don't Fight It are just sub standard Glastonbury anthemic sing alongs arent they? Dominique A is more to my liking, I will definately grow to really like this. The musicianship is top drawer and the arrangements are superb. You've got to admire his decision to stick to singing in French because this style of music could be really popular in the UK and US if he sang in English. Paradise Motel are interesting too, despite the terrible name. The song Dead Beats is fantastic and initially the album seems to benefit from the singers detached vocal style. Time will tell whether that remains to be the case though, as this style of singing is a hit or a miss for me and ultimately it will be how strongly the songs reveal themselves to be over an extended period that will win me over, or not as the case may be. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3030 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, I absolutely did not expect you to like the Panics. "Don't Fight It" is one of the tracks that I simply omit when it goes into the iTunes library. Aside from that I do think the songs are better than Glastonbury but this is indeed a relatively mainstream sort of band. Glad you're getting something out of Dominique A. IMO he is a top level artist which is why I got so pissy when there weren't any of his records in the Brick Lane branch of Rough Trade. A lot of what he does grows out of French song tradition so some of it will not resonate unless you have already been listening to the likes of Francoise Hardy from the '60s but he wanders across the musical boundaries pretty fearlessly. And I still think his new album, in terms of quality, rudely craps all over the overwhelming majority of what is being released in English right now. I remember you disliking the lead singer in Paradise Motel. The disconnect or tension between her vocal style and the often rhapsodic backing provided by the band is part of what defines them. But I still figured their music was too "acoustic" or academic to appeal to you. The band name is just a mistake. You expect the name to be applied to a middle American record label tax write-off mediocrity. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4810 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kevin, I would never for one second have thought you would like The Panics. In fact, I would think they were almost the antithesis of everything you stand for! I, on the other hand, love the Cruel Guards album. I especially love Don't Fight It, which is perfect Australian summer soul pop. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1988 Registered: 10-2008 |
Fair do's Padraig. We can't all like the same things, but somehow more often than not our tastes do blur together. As I said elsewhere Paradise Motel have a terrible name, but could The Panics have picked a name that was any more misrepresentative of how they actually sound? The name intrigued me, the music let me down! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4811 Registered: 05-2005 |
I like the name because I like the band, but now that you mention it, it does sound like it should belong to some heinous SoCal pop punk band. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 631 Registered: 10-2006 |
I bought three Panics cds in a moment of giddy, board-influenced enthusiasm. If anyone would like them, all I need is a name and address. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3031 Registered: 03-2005 |
Always a bad idea, Stuart! Visiting youtube is the safest way to go, as you have obviously since learned. I arrive at the Panics by my love for old-style (meaning 60s style) folk rock which is the base for what they do. Their early records were pretty good aside from Jae Laffer's unconfident singing no doubt driven by his awareness of his sub-wonderful voice. By the time of "Sleeps with a Curse" he had the confidence and I think the material was still very strong but they had gone to one of Oz' better current producers which meant that the record was more attentive to radio potential. With "Cruel Guards" they were backed by a mainstream label and the money and pressure that means. That's apparently where Geoff bails out but I think the album is still quite good. I do differ with Padraig on "Don't FIght It" though. The lyrics are vapid and the sound pushes too hard for radio appeal and the sound of the lonely Aussie wilderness is 100% absent. Then there's the new album which starts with a strong number and falls apart immediately afterwards other than a good song now and then. But I think it helps to have a folkie heart for much of the Panics' music to appeal. As a bonus to "Cruel Guards" they provided a CD with some covers flagging their infuences. This includes a cover of "Lazyitis" and also of Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings" and "Just Like a Woman." I loathe "Lazyitis" and love the two Dylan covers so that'll tell you what aspects of the Panics work for me. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4813 Registered: 05-2005 |
Which three do you have Stuart? I may be in the market for one of them. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4814 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, Don't Fight It's lyrics probably are vapid, and that can certainly ruin a song for me. But it doesn't in any way detract with this one for me. It's all about the feel, the groove. It's a hugely uplifting song and the FM radio sheen bothers me not a jot. Give it another shot Randy. Don't fight it. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 634 Registered: 10-2006 |
Padraig, Cruel Guard, Sleeps like a curse, and A house on the street... | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2058 Registered: 10-2008 |
http://www.anti-pitchfork.com/ Very droll! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3080 Registered: 03-2005 |
Sigh. I do wish Walker would do us a big favor and make ONE record of actual songs again. I will dutifully buy his new one and I will dutifully listen to it once. |