| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4612 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've started a new thread because the previous one had got very long (and not just because I want to hide the shaming evidence of my cluttered accommodation...) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe/Sitting Still (1981 original Hib-Tone single). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4618 Registered: 05-2005 |
Ride - From Time To Time | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 391 Registered: 03-2007 |
Tom Rapp -Stardancer. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2378 Registered: 01-2005 |
Luca Bloom - Acoustic Motoerbike | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 819 Registered: 05-2005 |
Ahem Padraig, but the ALBUM is Carnival of Light. Try the ones before and after that song...1000 Miles and Natural Grace. Both are GLORIOUS 60's jingle jangle. That album is my favourite Ride album. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2224 Registered: 09-2006 |
My Bloody Valentine - Ecstasy & Wine Paul McCartney - Ram (Deluxe Edition) | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 820 Registered: 05-2005 |
Allen, I'm toying with the idea of the super deluxe version of Ram with Thrillington. What are the remasters like? | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2226 Registered: 09-2006 |
I got the two-disc, so I can't speak for Thrillington, but the sound on the first two discs is great - well worth the upgrade. Three of the bonus tracks have been released many times before, but the others are quite welcome. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2436 Registered: 10-2004 |
David Bowie - Lodger Flue - One and a Half Underground Life - Away 7" | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4619 Registered: 05-2005 |
New Order - Factus 8 EP | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4625 Registered: 05-2005 |
Various industrial/psychedelic artists - Head Your Mind. I dug this cassette out and played it for the first time in years and it still sounds great. I must have played it a lot when I bought it about 18 years ago. Long shot, but does anyone here have it on CD? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1837 Registered: 10-2008 |
David Bowie -Ziggy Stardust. I buy the NME for my 17 yr old daughter every week and this weeks is a 40 years anniversary Ziggy extravaganza. Loads of quotes from various musicians such as Johnny Marr, Noel Gallagher, PJ Harvey etc saying how amazing and influential Bowie was. Some cool Ziggy era posters included to boot. Playing it for the first time in a year or so last night I was struck by how much the piano seemed to dominate several songs in a way I'd never noticed before. I knew it was there before, but it seemed really prominent in the mix(its the first time I'd played it on my recently acquired Arcam amp and cd player), and gave a whole new dimension to the songs. I gave my daughter the whole speech about how great Bowie was (I'd tried in vain previously) and pointed out that loads of bands she liked were raving about Bowie in this weeks NME. I also handed her Ziggy to play - hopefully she'll stick it on and be bowled away. Its not as if she doesnt like "old" music, she likes everything from The Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Who, all the way through to The Jam, The Clash, Joy Divsion, The Cure and The Smiths. Even early White Stripes, which to a 17 year old is "old music" I guess. It makes me think that when I first started hearing things like Bill Hailey and Chuck Berry on the radio towards the end of the 60's/early 70's that I felt this was music from the dark ages, but it had only been made 10-15 years earlier. So something like Ziggy is the equivalent of Leadbelly or Cole Porter to her - frightening!! Anyway, hopefully hear the strains of Five Years from her room shortly!! | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1839 Registered: 10-2008 |
Au Pairs - Playing With A Different Sex. Dug this out after seeing The Au Pairs as part of BBC4'S Punk Brittania last night. Still sounds great 30 years later. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4630 Registered: 05-2005 |
Good luck with the Bowie education project Kevin. What I found with my daughter, who is now 10, is that before she went to school she really liked a lot of the music I exposed her to, including The Go-Betweens, but now she likes the same chart pop all her schoolmates listen to. I'm sure it will change back when she goes to high school and wants to be an individual again. Oh, her class was asked to do some exercise about the jubilee yesterday and she refused to do so. When the teacher, who is English, asked why, she said it was because she and both her parents are republicans! I was so proud when she told us! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4635 Registered: 05-2005 |
Josh Rouse - Dressed Up Like Nebraska | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2440 Registered: 10-2004 |
Yes, good luck with getting your daughter into Bowie, Kevin. Hell, if Ziggy doesn't take, just move up to the Berlin era and see how that does. That has always been my very favorite period of Bowie's work, ever since I got into him when I was 13. Or, perhaps try going back earlier in his career to TMWSTW, which was the first pre-Berlin-era Bowie album that I really go into. The great thing about Bowie is that he went through so many distinct phases that if one doesn't work, you can try another. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1845 Registered: 10-2008 |
Au Pairs - Sense and Sensibility. Maybe not as good as Playing With A Different Sex but still a very good album indeed. Hope they feature prominently in this Friday's BBC4 documentary on post punk. For those of you outwith the UK here is a Youtube link to the first two programmes in the series, each programme seems to be divided into chunks. The first programme concentrates on the years leading up to 1976 and the players involved. The second programme covers 76-78. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu ery=Punk+Britannia&oq=Punk+Britannia&aq= f&aqi=g1g-m1&aql=&gs_l=youtube.3..0j0i5. 14777.14777.0.15915.1.1.0.0.0.0.98.98.1. 1.0...0.0.diQoWrJBg_A Next week is the one I'm looking forward to the most. The post punk years have not been well documented in comparison to the punk years. | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 474 Registered: 05-2005 |
Sugar - Beaster forgot how great this band were | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1846 Registered: 10-2008 |
Listening to the third installment, File Under Easy Listening just now James. I quite liked this record at the time, but it always seemed to suffer in comparison to Copper Blue and Beaster. I'm sure if it had been the debut it would have been lavished with praise.Interesting to note from the sleevenotes that Bob Mould regrets the running order, he felt that side 2, with hindsight, had weaker songs then those that were earmarked for b-sides. Sounds like the recording sessions, like those with the first two albums were fraught as well. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2443 Registered: 10-2004 |
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds and Smile | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2969 Registered: 03-2005 |
Savoy Brown -- Raw Sienna I haven't heard this record in close to 40 years. While they made a lot of lousy records this is SB's truly great album. The mercurial lead singer/songwriter Chris Youlden would leave the band on the eve of recording their next album and that would be that as far as lasting quality is concerned. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 393 Registered: 03-2007 |
Padraig, If the cassette is 'Head Your Mind - A Dreamtime Sampler' featuring tracks by Ship Of Fools, Hybryds, Tekton Motor Corp., G.G.F.H., Kong, Drug Free America, Sonic Violence and Minister Of Noise then I have a copy on cd. Twelve tracks with a running time of 77 minutes 44 seconds. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 516 Registered: 01-2007 |
Just given PJ Harvey "Let England Shake" another listen, it still sounds great and pretty accessible as well. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4641 Registered: 05-2005 |
That's the one Hugh! I found it online for 1p from a seller in Birmingham! The postage and packing was several pounds on top though, of course. Hopefully it will arrive soon. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4642 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Beautiful South - Welcome To The Beautiful South. One of the greatest blue-eyed soul albums ever. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1853 Registered: 10-2008 |
Cabaret Voltaire - 2x45 | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 395 Registered: 03-2007 |
Padraig, glad you managed to find a copy and at such a low price. Overseas shipping costs are becoming quite prohibitive for low cost single item purchases. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1855 Registered: 10-2008 |
PIL - Metal Box. Playing this on the back of watching Punk Brittania. Absolutely ground breaking album, and Lydon, Levene and Wobble quite rightly featured fairly prominently in the programme. PIL were definitely the catalyst for other bands freeing themselves from the constrictions of the musical limitations of punk. I'm not saying that the other post punk bands wouldn't have developed without PIL, but would it have happened as quickly? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4649 Registered: 05-2005 |
Sugar - Copper Blue (Deluxe Version). Came in the post at last. The sound is definitely better than the original release, but the sound was very good in the first place. It doesn't make a vast difference. But I'm glad I bought it anyway as the live disc is a revelation. I don't usually like live albums, but this is great. The sleeve notes are also great and offer a very interesting and unexpected insight into how the album was recorded. Something else that really surprised me is how much I enjoyed the David Barbe sung songs (b-side and live tracks). I'd previously not liked them at all, just thought they got in the way of the next Bob song. Playing them yesterday they sounded great. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4652 Registered: 05-2005 |
I played Ride's Carnival Of Light earlier. Geoff often bigs it up here. Correctly so. I hated it when it was released. Now I wish I'd listened properly all those years ago. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1857 Registered: 10-2008 |
Sorry Padraig but can't agree with you about the sound of Copper Blue, it is a vast improvement imo. As soon as the chugging chords of The Act We Act emerged from my speakers I thought "whoa" and it kept up for the whole record. I have been suckered countless times over the year on so called remasters that sound either exactly the same or just louder, but this is one of the best remasters I have ever heard. Now Copper Blue is definitely louder, but it had to be. As an example a few months ago I put If I Cant Change Your Mind on a CD comp for the car, and I had to bump up the volume quite a few notches for it sound the same level as the other songs on the CD. Plus that song always sounded tinny as hell - not any more. Songs with additional instrumentation like Hoover Dam burst in to life now, before the detail was slightly hidden imo. My original CD was bought when the album was released, maybe your original CD was an earlier remaster than this current one and therefore you can't hear that much of an improvement? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4653 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've just played Copper Blue again and Kevin is absolutely right. It is a monster of a remaster. The separation of the instruments is outstanding. I was distracted by reading the sleeve notes as I listened yesterday. Tonight my only distraction was the Australia v Wales game. I got Copper Blue as soon as it came out 20 years ago Kevin. I bought a copy imported from the US to Sydney. I've mentioned this somewhere in these pages (and you commented on the price I paid back then!). I'm pretty sure it was never remastered until now. Copper Blue never struck me as an album which desperately needed remastering, as PJ Harvey's Dry, for instance, does. But now that I hear clearly how great it sounds, it obviously did need remastering to take advantage of 20 years of improved technology. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 1000 Registered: 04-2006 |
Public Image Ltd. - Second Edition. (a.k.a. Metal Box) this was a listening day. i haven't listened to all what i wanted. but the metal box was a must. just because of the punk britannia episode and the ''comparison'' to the new album. within the last thirty years i own this album i haven't listened to it very much. mostly i preferred their first and their third album. nevertheless when taste changed i sold their first album and also flowers of romance, but not the second edition/metal box. by listening to the album the reason is obvious. it is still a great album. what levine, wobble and lydon created was -kevin said it above- kind of an initial spark for the one or other. and my posts on the song of the day june topic needs to be rewritten: it is -for sure- poptones. ---------------- this is my 1000th post. in six years. in comparison with some other friends here not much. i hope i didn't bored you too much and i hope that -due to my not so good english- you understand always what i wanted to say. cheers, andreas | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1864 Registered: 10-2008 |
Andreas - I always understand what you say. Your love of music always shines through. I find it amusing when people from other countries apologise for their poor English. They have absolutely nothing to apologise for. It is us who only speak English who should apologise, like many of my generation I can hardly speak a word of French, German, Italian, Spanish etc, yet any time I have visited these countries the people I need to converse with have at worst limited English, most have decent English, and some speak it better than I do. I suspect and hope this is being rectified by the generations coming through. They realise it is now a global world, and a shrinking world, and they need to speak to their neighbours on an equal footing. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2230 Registered: 09-2006 |
McCartney binge. Not planned originally, but I started with one to celebrate his 70th and just kept going. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 824 Registered: 05-2005 |
Your starting early Allen! Isn't it the 18th? I've bought the Ram double remaster so I started with that last week. This week it's the mono White album. I love all those different mixes, differnt animal noises etc. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1869 Registered: 10-2008 |
Young Marble Giant - Colossal Youth | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 479 Registered: 05-2005 |
is there only one of them left Kev? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1870 Registered: 10-2008 |
Yes, and he looked like a bank clerk. Did you see him on Punk Britannia? | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2231 Registered: 09-2006 |
Geoff, I started on the 18th, went to bed, got up and started in again. Hair of the dog kind of thing...definitely agreed on that mono mix. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2448 Registered: 10-2004 |
Having a reggae binge this week: Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey Junior Murvin - Police & Thieves Michael Prophet - Gunman | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2449 Registered: 10-2004 |
Augustus Pablo - East of the River Nile Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture Lee "Scratch" Perry - Megaton Dub 2 | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2381 Registered: 01-2005 |
Balancing Act - Curtains Produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill. Andy also contributes some tasty guitar bits. Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2975 Registered: 03-2005 |
This is quite weird, I'm revisiting my early adolescent blues rock phase: Savoy Brown -- Blue Matter Savoy Brown -- A Step Further It's all about the great Chris Youlden but it is strange to be listening to these records I haven't heard in 40 years. I'm shocked at how brilliant some of the music is, particularly "Train to Nowhere" with its trombone orchestra, Youlden's big ballad "Life's One Act Play" and a dirty stonking version of "Don't Turn Me From Your Door." | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 1008 Registered: 04-2006 |
randy, i took the opportunity and listened to the 'a step further' album. you are right they were brilliant. a band doingthe blues in their own way. waiting in the bamboo groove. a stomping and grooving song! life's one act is beautiful. and not to forget the savoy brown boogie. wow! | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1879 Registered: 10-2008 |
The Gun Club - Fire of Love | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2976 Registered: 03-2005 |
Andreas, if you have either "Blue Matter" or "Raw Sienna" give them a listen. "Raw Sienna" is the only full-length studio album from that period. "Blue Matter" would probably profit from a bit more compression in the recording but the studio half is remarkable. With the exception of John Mayall's excellent mid-60s records which I never discarded until I bought CDs to replace them, I totally slagged off all of this British blues stuff when I went through one of those typical teenager changes of musical heart. In the case of Savoy Brown I remember being disgusted when Youlden left and they started doing feel-good boogie rock and not much else. It's nice to discover that I hadn't been listening to garbage in this case. (Ten Years After is another matter though; that will never be rehabilitated.) And then Kevin posts the Gun Club's first album, bringing the same music a generation forward. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1880 Registered: 10-2008 |
The Gun Club - Miami | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 1009 Registered: 04-2006 |
randy, i do not own any of the savoy brown albums. through the years i often stumpled over them, but never bought any album. as i read your post, i thought that now, as i can use 'spotify', i have to listen to them and with 'a step further' i choosed a perfect album. i also listened to'raw sienna' which i liked too. unfortunately 'blue matter' isn't on spotify. what i really liked is their -to my ears- special way to play the blues. brass and strings are added and this makes it in some way special. john mayall also used brass - and that's what i like most on the john mayall albums. i think i will try to find an old vinyl of the 'a step further' album. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 1010 Registered: 04-2006 |
right now - while packing bags- i listen to small faces - ogden's nut gone flakes | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2233 Registered: 09-2006 |
Marshall Crenshaw - Life's Too Short The Left Banke - There's Gonna Be a Storm: Complete Recordings | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4671 Registered: 05-2005 |
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Under The Covers, Vol. 1 | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1881 Registered: 10-2008 |
Stereolab - Refried Ectoplasm Vol 2. I can feel a 'Lab binge coming on. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2385 Registered: 01-2005 |
Velvet Undergroud - Velvet Underground Peel Slowly And See version. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2453 Registered: 10-2004 |
Howard Devoto - Jerky Versions of the Dream Microdisney - Everybody's Fantastic Pale Fountains - Longshot For Your Love | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4679 Registered: 05-2005 |
Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey - Here And Now | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1884 Registered: 10-2008 |
The Band - Music From Big Pink Stereolab- Mars Audiac Quintet David Bowie - Aladdin Sane | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2456 Registered: 10-2004 |
Music For Pleasure - Into the Rain The Cardigans - Life Ken Lockie - The Impossible | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 1106 Registered: 08-2004 |
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Born On The Bayou | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2390 Registered: 01-2005 |
I saw John Fogerty during the Premonition Tour when he tour stopped @ Pine Knob, 3 miles from my house on 6/18/98. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1887 Registered: 10-2008 |
New Order - Power, Corruption and Lies. On vinyl, as it should be heard. My daughter texted me just after 10 pm Friday night to say she was just about to see New Order in a tent at the T in The Park festival. She sensibly decided to watch them rather than the tedious Snow Patrol who were on a different stage at the same time! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4689 Registered: 05-2005 |
My Bloody Valentine - Soon (Andrew Weatherall Mix). Amazing version which didn't make the recent re-release package. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2391 Registered: 01-2005 |
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1888 Registered: 10-2008 |
Stereolab - Serene Velocity..... The Gun Club - The Las Vegas Story. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4691 Registered: 05-2005 |
Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy. Just reminded of it by their turn in an episode of Life's Too Short. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4702 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Waterboys - This Is The Sea The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4704 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Waterboys - Room To Roam (disc 2) | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2398 Registered: 01-2005 |
I wonder what happened to the Stereolab reissues that were planned a few years ago? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1897 Registered: 10-2008 |
Stereolab are due a reappraisal. I have absolutely submerged myself with their stuff recently, and can't help thinking if they were active and just starting out again just now they would be deservedly massive. Years ahead of their time, even if they pilfered from other genres of music to make their own unique signature sound. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1898 Registered: 10-2008 |
Oh, and there are some vinyl reissues just released. Don't know if this is the start of a sustained reissue campaign or not? http://boomkat.com/vinyl/550862-stereola b-transient-random-noise-bursts-with-ann ouncements http://boomkat.com/vinyl/550863-stereola b-mars-audiac-quintet | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 486 Registered: 05-2005 |
Good to hear and I am a huge Stereolab fan Kev and wish they were still around. I love all of the albums and believe they were improving as they went on. I seem to recall a series of posts on this message boards from a few years back along the lines of the diminishing returns theory of bands, I was genuinely excited with every release and think that Everybody's Weird Except Me the first track on the last album is superb and up there with anything from their output | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2984 Registered: 03-2005 |
Whereas I hear Stereolab and wish they'd break up and reform McCarthy. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2463 Registered: 10-2004 |
I'm with Randy. And I adamantly believe Stereolab's shelf date expired after Dots and Loops. | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 487 Registered: 05-2005 |
And they're off | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 489 Registered: 05-2005 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHPZ1JeB3 yQ&feature=related | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 490 Registered: 05-2005 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfA8PiGzV g8 | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 491 Registered: 05-2005 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neorgWi0P Fc&feature=related | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1899 Registered: 10-2008 |
I'm diametrically opposed to Randy and Jeff regards McCarthy and Stereolab, and at the risk of falling out with Randy I would hate to think Tim Gane would consider such a backwards step like reforming McCarthy. McCarthy to my ears were nothing special, not crap by any means but just another band that blurred with the countless other late 80's English indie bands with the standard bland and uninteresting vocalist. I think Tim Gane must have realised this when he formed Stereolab, rule no 1 get a vocalist that is interesting and charasmatic. And I say that as somebody who doesn't like female vocalists normally. I would temper all of this by saying that I can absolutely see why others would really love a band like McCarthy, they're just not for me. To my mind Stereolab were a forward progression for Tim Gane, and while I'm sure he is probably proud of his time in McCarthy I would love to know what his thoughts were regards both bands. Like I said in a post above Sterelab were by no means original, but they plundered well from their influences and built their own unique wonderful sound that is immediately recognisable. I agree with Jeff though, that after Dots and Loops (which I played last night)they kind of went a bit flat and were treading water. No disgrace after nearly a decades worth of inspired and very prolific ouput. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 306 Registered: 05-2005 |
McCarthy, I saw them at least twice. For me, they had something special. Concerts were nearly as good as those of the Gobs. Saw Stereolab also several times at the beginning, Tim Gane was nearly a friend... Their music was not too much my style at the time, so I lost them at the beginning of the nineties. Otherwise I'm happy they had success at least. I think I have to investigate their discography, I must have a sampler somewhere.. No opinion about a reformation of the McCarthy, | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2399 Registered: 01-2005 |
Finally! I hope the Stereolab Deluxe Editions make it to CD as well. I gave up on them at the end of the 1990's though and never bought their later ablums. | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 492 Registered: 05-2005 |
Cobra and Phases... which was the album after Dots & Loops consistantly tops the favourite Lab albums poll on the Stereolab website forum (although it's certainly not my favourite). Sound-Dust was the next and is one of my favourites, I loved Chemical Chords, Margerine Eclipse is very good. I actually cant see any fall off in quality and struggle to hear any real stylistic differences within their sound (although the later albums production is better) and am genuinely confused by Jeff and Kev's reaction against later stuff, it's not like they went country and western or anything. I like McCarthy but agree that 80s guitar thing has been and gone, alot of people love them for the politics too though so maybe that's what the nostalgia is for, certainly they broke no new ground sonically. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1900 Registered: 10-2008 |
James, for my money these albums are good but couldn't match what came before. As is the case with the output of most great groups these albums suffer in comparison, and not because they are bad albums. Agree about the production, some of the early albums sound a bit tinny but in saying that it gives the music a raw edge. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2465 Registered: 10-2004 |
I agree with Kevin - for me the post Dots and Loops albums just seem to lack something that the previous output had in spades. I feel like they stopped progressing forward, and spent the next decade either making sideways steps or indulging in quasi-experiments that just didn't excite me. To me, while Cobra Phases does contain some good songs, much of it sounds like a bunch of rejected Dots and Loops outtakes, and the albums after that just sound uninspired and at times self-parodic and stale. I feel like they'd kind of run out of new ideas. They also really lost something with Mary Hansen's passing, as her voice added a really unique quality to their overall sound. I think it's great, though, that latter-era Stereolab has its fans - more music for you to enjoy! As for the prospect of a McCarthy reunion, I think we can all agree that would never happen in a million years, but I do think they had enough unique characteristics to set them apart from the C86 pack. For one thing, their brilliantly insightful and sarcastic political lyrics were head and shoulders above what most other bands were doing at the time. Plus, they really did possess a sense of melody that was a bit more sophisticated than the average C86 jingle-jangle. But I also agree with Kevin that at the time, Stereolab was an intriguing progression, kind of a stylistic 180 for Time Gane at the time that was well worth pursuing. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4718 Registered: 05-2005 |
David Bowie - Let's Dance. Hadn't heard it in probably a quarter century. I used to have it on vinyl, but finally got a CD copy a couple of days ago. Seven of its eight tracks were released as either A or B sides of singles. I guess the Dame didn't do outtakes or non-album b-sides. Not at that point anyway. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4719 Registered: 05-2005 |
My tuppenceworth on McCarthy. Seeing as Britain is now ruled by the sons of Thatcher - whose madam Medusa mother McCarthy railed against in the '80s - it would be a good time to reform. It was always their lyrics which separated them from the herd, but the mix of pretty melodies and serious-as-a-heart-attack lyrics was startling. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4725 Registered: 05-2005 |
I'm listening to UNKLE right now. They were definitely influenced by Stereolab. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4726 Registered: 05-2005 |
I saw Stereolab supported by Tortoise in Dublin in March 1996. Stereolab were great. My friends thought Tortoise were great too, but I didn't really enjoy it. They reminded me too much of prog rock, which I'd grown out of by then (and it was years before I grew back into it!). Review on another gig (Cork) from the same tour here http://songstolearnandsing.blogspot.com. au/2011/03/stereolab-and-tortoise-nancy- spains.html. (I've just realised I used to know the guy who has this blog and I also used work for the same radio station he works for now!). I bought a blue vinyl split 7" at the show. It goes for quite a bit online now as it was very limited. Listening to it now http://shotsoffreedom.blogspot.com.au/20 09/10/tortoise-stereolab-split-7.html | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4730 Registered: 05-2005 |
Palace Songs - Hope. A great, great EP from 1994. The players include a Hayes, a Murphy, an O'Hagan and a Corrigan. Will Oldham must have been looking for some genuine Irish country folk sounds on it! | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1910 Registered: 10-2008 |
Robert Forster - The Evangelist | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1920 Registered: 10-2008 |
Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2413 Registered: 01-2005 |
Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principal | ||
| Burgers Member Username: Burgers Post Number: 42 Registered: 05-2005 |
My take on Stereolab is that between 1990 and about 1996 they were the best band in the world. For me their best work was the singles compiled on Switched On in 1992. McCarthy I can take or leave. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 421 Registered: 03-2007 |
Decameron - Say Hello To The Band Originally released in 1973 and now out on cd for the first time. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1923 Registered: 10-2008 |
The Auteurs - New Wave | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2475 Registered: 10-2004 |
It's Immaterial - Life's Hard and Then You Die Modern Eon- Fiction Tales | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2998 Registered: 03-2005 |
Every time I read these "McCarthy -- meh!" comments I wonder if people have heard anything other than "I am a Wallet." That was a perfectly nice debut album but the band kept growing at rapid speed. By the time of the superb third and final album, Laetitia Sadier was in the band and the good sonic elements of Stereolab were already raising their heads. But McCarthy had songs and viewpoint, something Stereolab discarded. I've changed over to a new computer and decided to get one of the new huge iPods, taking my capacity from 60g to 160g. I killed the first new iPod with my effort to transfer the contents of the old 60g unit into the new one so I am tediously manually reloading music onto the new computer to go onto the replacement new iPod. I've decided to bias toward new releases since most of them haven't had enough listening anyway, gradually moving backward and omitting--for the moment--any newer CDs that the old iPod seemed to overplay in its shuffle mode. I am also temporarily bypassing some CDs in order to avoid the problem of having too many songs by the same artist while the total song count is relatively low. I am occasionally popping on older releases, just because. Where I am loading releases that were on the old iPod I'm checking its library to make sure to reject the tracks that I rejected before, as many of those were after-the-fact adjustments when I'd hear something in the car and go "that's really not very good." When I'd get home, I'd delete it. I have a huge CD collection and my eventual goal is to have a player that will whipsaw from 2012 French to 1959 rockabilly to 1980 post-punk to 1967 Italian ballad to 1972 under-the-radar indie. The old 60g unit had gotten pretty far toward that ideal (at 46g when I bought the new one but I was beginning to feel the proximity of the capacity ceiling). The old iPod has 13,717 songs on it including a number of lovely oddities sent to me by friends on this board, most of which I will need to burn onto CDR in order to transfer onto the new unit. So right now I'm hearing more Wild Beasts than I have before as well the new Jack Ladder and I think I can probably say with some confidence now that I vastly prefer "Your Future, Our Clutter" over "Ersatz GB." I've been able to hear some oddly overlooked releases such as Keren Ann's eponymous album and Gaslight Radio's "Z-Nation." Following the years backward the only Go-Betweens entry so far is "Oceans Apart" and I've omitted "Born to a Family" and "No Reason to Cry" because for me neither of those songs ever measured up, though they were still included on the old iPod. I'm up to only 1023 songs right now, having just added McCarthy's second mostly overlooked album as one of those "just because" entries. For the time being it is the only McCarthy on the unit and one of only a handful of pre-2004 entries. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1926 Registered: 10-2008 |
Litttle Walter - The Best of: Chess 50th Anniversary Collection. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4741 Registered: 05-2005 |
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix Bonus 7" | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1929 Registered: 10-2008 |
Elmore James - Shake Your Money Maker - The Best of The Fire Sessions | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4753 Registered: 05-2005 |
Nick Lowe - At My Age | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1931 Registered: 10-2008 |
Jimmy Reed - I'm Jimmy Reed. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1933 Registered: 10-2008 |
Neu - Neu 75 | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4791 Registered: 05-2005 |
Nuclear Assault - The Plague EP. I bet Jeff is the only other person here who has even heard of this record. I have not played it in many, many years, but I recall loving it when it came out 25 years ago. Listening right now and it still sounds great. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1963 Registered: 10-2008 |
Gene Clarke - White Light Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz to Come DJ Shadow - Endtroducing | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 841 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, Despite what Apple says, you CAN retrieve stuff from old iPods. A guy on YouTube showed me how when my computer got stolen. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3021 Registered: 03-2005 |
Geoff, I've decided that I'm ok with slowly reloading the iPod. It allows me to hear things that I had not been hearing. And now after giving it a very long rest: Before Hollywood. It's very easy to understand why Lindy sought a share of the writer's royalties to the music she played on. You can make a very strong argument that the "pop music through a broken glass kaleidoscope" (I probably unintentionally altered that a bit there) effect is down to Lindy's brilliant drum arrangements. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1969 Registered: 10-2008 |
Afghan Whigs - Black Love | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1983 Registered: 10-2008 |
Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2424 Registered: 01-2005 |
Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians - Perspex Island. 21 years old but it still sonds good. Too bad that Robyn can't get the rights back from Interscope on Perspex Island, Globe of Frogs, Queem Elvis and Respect. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 630 Registered: 10-2006 |
Ash - Free all angels | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2426 Registered: 01-2005 |
Roxy Music - Country Life | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 543 Registered: 05-2005 |
Joni Mitchell - Don Juan's Reckless Daughter | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2430 Registered: 01-2005 |
Magazine - The Correct Use of Soap I can't believe it took me so long to buy this. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1992 Registered: 10-2008 |
The Fall - Perverted By Language | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1997 Registered: 10-2008 |
Gene Clark - Roadmaster | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 547 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wire - Manscape for some reason I didnt take to this when it came out and only listened to it a few times, cant imagine why as it sounds great now, like a demented Depeche Mode in places or Duran Duran if they were in a Dario Argento film | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 640 Registered: 10-2006 |
The VU - Live at the Gymnasium The perfect mix of lyrical audacity, tune, noise, and a unique voice. No wonder we all love them. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2241 Registered: 09-2006 |
Cosmo, that is a damned intriguing description... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2243 Registered: 09-2006 |
Swimming in the Roxy Music Complete Studio Recordings. Played the first four albums in sequence - the elements were all there for Bryan & co. to go any number of directions, including the ones they did. Very exciting to watch it develop. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4837 Registered: 05-2005 |
Linx - Don't Get In My Way. A great track from NME's C81. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4839 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Screaming Jets - Living In England. Now there's a metaller who can sing (see favourite artist thread). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4848 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Nits - Nest | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4860 Registered: 05-2005 |
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Cybele's Reverie is the most perfect pop song. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 446 Registered: 03-2007 |
Padraig, when did you come across The Nits? Nest was originally released in 1995 in Holland as a two disc set. The second disc was called Quest. It contained a selection of b-sides from singles and songs which the band elected not to use on the album. It was a limited release and went out of print very quickly. I missed out on it but Tom Telman who, as well as being the band's lighting engineer, also runs their website, sent me a CDR copy some years ago. I adore them. Henk Hofstede is a wonderful singer/songwriter and Rob Kloet is an amazing drummer/percussionist. The Nits - In The Dutch Mountains | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4869 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hugh, I came across them 20 years ago when someone in my circle of friends got a Pixies bootleg tape which was from a concert broadcast on (I think) Belgian radio. As we did in those days, everyone copied the tape and we all loved the part of an unusual track at the end of the tape (which was obviously the first track played after the concert on the radio ended). None of us knew what it was, but all loved it. Somehow, someone found out who it was (pretty difficult in those pre-internet days). It was The Train by The Nits. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4870 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Verlaines side of the Dunedin Double EP. Brilliant stuff. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4871 Registered: 05-2005 |
Now listening to Versus' Bright Light/Forest Fire single. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2004 Registered: 10-2008 |
http://thequietus.com/articles/10069-the -associates-sulk | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4880 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've just played Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow) by The Monkees as it popped up on iTunes. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2448 Registered: 01-2005 |
Stan Ridgeway - The Big Heat I wounder if Stan could have had a career writting film scripts? Practically every song on the Big Heat is worthy of a film treatment. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4922 Registered: 05-2005 |
Various R.E.M. singles and EPs, mostly with live b-sides. It was a joy to hear World Leader Pretend for the first time in a very long time. Avalanches - Since I Left You mix tape. I picked it up for $5. Seeing as it samples The Beatles and many others not known for being lenient to such things, I assume it wasn't widely distributed! Amazing what you can find in record shop bargain bins sometimes. The Japanese Popstars. Irish, despite their name, and obviously fans of Underworld, Orbital and Chemical Brothers. A great, lost album. Do you know their work Kevin? I reckon you'd like them. My Blood Valentine - Isn't Anything, remastered version. What a stunning remaster. And what a still astonishing record. It is the equal of Loveless in many ways, though it's a very different record and sound. The Cult - Edie (Ciao Baby) single. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4925 Registered: 05-2005 |
Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters (NMW C81 version) | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2013 Registered: 10-2008 |
Padraig, never heard them, or even heard of them at all. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4927 Registered: 05-2005 |
That should say NME, not NMW, of course. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2449 Registered: 01-2005 |
Is anyone going to spring for the new double disc (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) treatment of R.E.M's Document? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4928 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've got the previous four and have ordered Document Michael. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4929 Registered: 05-2005 |
I scrolled blindly through iTunes and then pressed play. Abba's S.O.S. is what has come on. Good choice, random scrolling finger (I thought my finger had gone well beyond A though). | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4930 Registered: 05-2005 |
The same method has now moved me further along the alphabet to Chairlift's take on Prince's Darling Nikki. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4934 Registered: 05-2005 |
It was 20 years ago this week that Automatic For The People came out. In Australia it came out on NSW's Labour Day. Today is NSW's Labour Day. I recall 20 years ago phoning various record shops until I found one which was a/ open, and b/ had Automatic... in stock. HMV did, so I went into town and got it. Good times. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 4935 Registered: 05-2005 |
In honour of the day: R.E.M. - Star Me Kitten (William Burroughs version) | ||
| Pat Boland Member Username: Pat_boland Post Number: 76 Registered: 05-2005 |
The 25th Anniversary edition of Document has been competing with the new Calexico album on the car stereo this weekend. Document has more in common with Fables than I ever could have imagined back in 1987/88/89. Welcome to the Occupation and Maps & Legends are certainly cut from the same cloth. World Leader Pretend represents the third installment in a trilogy similar to Grant's Cattle & Cane/Unkind and Unwise/The Ghost & The Black Hat. Not sure if R.E.M. ever produced an equivalent to Boundary Rider though. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 2452 Registered: 01-2005 |
I foundly remember listening to Automatic For The People numerous times on the balcony of my old apartment 20 years ago. It was a nice album to listen to during the fall season that October. Is was also a nostalgic soundtrack to close out living in that apartment for 8 1/2 years. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2018 Registered: 10-2008 |
Pixies - Come On Pilgrim. 25 years on it still sounds frightening, sordid, crazy and kinky as hell. A slap in the face to all the wussy c86 brigade. http://thequietus.com/articles/10217-pix ies-come-on-pilgrim-anniversary |