| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1371 Registered: 05-2005 |
Richmond Fontaine - Thirteen Cities. This popped through my letter box this morning(previously had a "dodgy" download courtesy of a friend) - dont think this is released in the States for a few months yet but people from outside the States can buy it now (sorry LK!) a week ahead of its street date of 5th Feb - link here - http://www.richmondfontaine.com/merchand ise/index.php The reviewer at Americana UK certainly likes it -10 out of 10 no less http://www.americana-uk.com/auk/modules. php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&r eq=showcontent&id=2507 | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1372 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wailing Souls - Classic Cuts 1978-1984. Fantastic collection of 12" singles released on the Greensleeves label. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver Gang of Four - Return The Gift. The remixes on this are actually quite good, is it too much to hope that the new album slated for this year will be any good? Checking the sleevenotes for the Richmond Fontaine album and notice that Howe Gelb and Joey Burns both play on it. Does anybody know if the title of the album, Thirteen Cities, mean anything significant, or is it just a Richmond Fontaine thing perhaps? There is a map of all thirteen cities in the booklet - Spokane, Portland, Walla Walla, Laramie, Reno, Stockton, Mojave, Phoenix, Tuscon, Albequerque, Bullhead City, Yuma and Las Cruces | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1163 Registered: 05-2005 |
I reckon it's all the cities the Richmond Fontaine bloke has lived in. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1164 Registered: 05-2005 |
I listened to The Hold Steady's Boys And Girls In America on the iPod while out for a nice walk on Sunday. Man, what an albuum. Even better than the hype had led me to believe. If you like Springsteen, Thin Lizzy and The Replacements - and I most certainly do - this is the album you didn't know you were waiting for. The lyrics are great and I loved the references to On The Road. It made me feel smart, and that's never a bad thing. Mostly though, it's a great album because it rocks! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1166 Registered: 05-2005 |
LK, as a man for the gee-gees (in case you don't use that term in California, that means horses, not dancing girls) you must love Hold Steady's song Chips Ahoy. Wouldn't it be great to have a girlfriend who could pick the winners like that? You could live without the junkie part of the equation though! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1489 Registered: 03-2006 |
Absolutely man, that would be sweet. Maybe expand from there, put her to work coming up with some winning lotto numbers, stock picks, etc. I agree, too, that that's an outstanding album. So full of piss & vinegar and personality that it makes everything else out there seem pale and pasty. I like 'em all, but I think my favorite track is "Massive Nights". | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1374 Registered: 05-2005 |
Padraig,LK - as I predicted on these pages just before Christmas the British music mags were about to latch on to what we had known for a while, that The Hold Steady are fantastic. In the last month or so there have been a slew of 4 star rave reviews for the album, Uncut went one better and made it their 5 star album of the month. http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/the_hold_st eady/reviews/9194 | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 955 Registered: 03-2005 |
"Gee gees." What a great word. I haven't heard the Hold Steady. Do they really sound like Thin Lizzy and Springsteen? Currently listening to Karen Dalton's "In My Own Time." My idiot CD burner in the MacBook has deteriorated down to only accepting one single disc each time I boot up before it starts jamming. So this morning I got to load in Dalton. Kevin, did you ever get any 13th Floor Elevators? Comments? | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 561 Registered: 08-2004 |
The Birthday Party - Drunk On The Popes Blood Talking Heads - Remain In Light - Remastered R.E.M. - And I Feel Fine The High Llamas - Can Cladders Marvin Gaye - What's Going On? Innocence - Belief Stereo MC's - 33-45-78 Bowie - Hunky Dory The Coral - Magic & Medicine ... and some old faves, past their prime: Bunnymen - Evergreen New Order - Get Ready Stone Roses - The Second Coming BTW I've got the new Richmond Fontaine, which may well get a spin tonight. Also I listened to The Hold Steady last week & was less than impressed, the term heavy rock sprang to mind. No lover of Brooce , not this skinny guinea. But time will tell. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 956 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thank you Jerry. I think your post settles it. (Hold Steady dumped into the White Stripes file). | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 439 Registered: 01-2005 |
Lots of Talk Talk. "It's My Life", "Spirit Of Eden" and "Laughing Stock" as well as Mark Hollis (eponymus). I would love to see them reform! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1376 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, yes I downloaded the album you recommended and promptly forgot all about it! I will put it on my MP3 player and blast it out at work tonight. Jerry is right, The Hold Steady verge on Heavy Rock but just stay the right side of the line for me. I am no lover of Springsteen, I prefer to hear the influences they take from The Replacements and Husker Du | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1379 Registered: 05-2005 |
Speaking of British mags about to jump on bands, I detect the same level of hype about to be thrown on Cold War Kids. The album seems to have been released in the States for a while now, any of you guys got any thoughts on it? I got it from Napster, not really listened to it much - sounds a lot like Spoon to me. Horrible name for a band by the way! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1494 Registered: 03-2006 |
1) You're right - it's a really bad name. Real up to date - how long has it been since the Cold War? 20 years? 2) They supposedly have a heavy Tom Waits influence. I'm at the point, where, fuck, I'd rather just listen to Tom Waits. Bypass the middleman, etc.... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1200 Registered: 04-2005 |
Beware of indie rock bands that try to ape the Tom Waits sound. That combination gives you abominations like the first song on the debut Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album or several tracks on the last Modest Mouse record. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1169 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, The Hold Steady do very much sound like Springsteen and Thin Lizzy - maybe not your thing? Kevin, I can hear Replacements and Husker Du in THS, but not as much as classic American 70s FM radio. (I'm aware that makes it sound awful, but it isn't of course!). Kudos to you for predicting the push btw. I remember reading what you said at the time. LK, I love Massive Nights too. I think that might be the singer/songwriter's Irish background coming out - I didn't think anyone but Irish people described something great - as opposed to just very big - as "massive". It's a massive song, in both senses. It's the first straight ahead rock album I've loved in a very long time. Can't even remember the last such record. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1170 Registered: 05-2005 |
Last night I listened to The Pursuit Of Happiness' Love Junk on the headphones. It made me realise it could do with a remastering job. I'm sure it will happen one day. Maybe next year for its 20th anniversary. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 443 Registered: 01-2005 |
Padraig, How about a new topic, Albums that are in dire need of remastering? Number one on my list would be one of my favorites from 1987, Opal - Happy Nightmare Baby. I also have Love Junk, but have not listened to it in awhile. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1176 Registered: 05-2005 |
Build it Michael, and they will come. I used to think Dinosaur Jr seriously needed remastering and then it happened. The power of positive thinking and good vibes. (I am kidding with the new agey line above btw). | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2007 |
Costello-Armed Forces Josef K -Entymology Tom Waits-2nd CD of Orphans | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 963 Registered: 03-2005 |
Welcome to the board Frank. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1220 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yes welcome, Frank, Spencer!!! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 965 Registered: 03-2005 |
A House -- I am the Greatest. This totally hits the spot, what with easy guitar parts, tambourine and scratchy violin and lyrics like on "I am Afraid!" Thanks Spence and everybody else who gave the thumbs up on this band. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 481 Registered: 10-2004 |
Hey Spence, I remember in some thread, like 4 months ago, you mentioned the Jazzateers. What are the like? I've never heard them, as their stuff is impossible to find, but I've always been curious. Randy - I've never heard A House. What are they like? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1222 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, fuc*in great isn't it!! Glad you like it my friend. When I supported them years ago, I used to get tearful watching Dave Couse during soundchecks, esp when he used to do When I first met you, he used to do it on his own acapella, just to test the PA for the vocal, then he used to plug his acoustic Gretsch in and play like a Boeing 747 loaded with missiles had just flown into the venue!! Christ he's too good, what a shame they never made it BIG. Still, at least we got the music eh? I am listening to my two favourite songs of today! Ain't no big thing - Jimmy James and Vagabonds. Truly wonderful, pulls at the heart. and Come to me softly. Cheers Randy, you are the greatest! | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 430 Registered: 04-2006 |
mississippi john hurt - the okeh sessions 1928 | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 967 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm now onto "Wide-Eyed and Ignorant." If I remember right, these two discs cost me less than $2 each plus shipping. Spence, you clearly have a weakness for the bands who do spoken bits. Jeff, I'll see if my idiot computer will let me load in the discs to burn mp3 versions since at the moment I don't think I can come up with an adequate description. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1223 Registered: 05-2005 |
jeff, the jazzateers were great, you might be able to find their album (vinyl), release on Rough Trade in 83, its great. It featured graham skinner a great throaty singer who later formed the slick n shit Hipsway, actually some of their white funk was ok,but a tad namby pamby. But they were like a jangly iggy pop, even Gun club maybe, (Something to prove) your typical Scottish sound really, trax like (Heartbeat, texan), just great. Paul Quinn supplied backing vocals. Otherwise there was a release on cd of stuff, 'I shot the president' which featured songs from the original album plus trax with a new vocalist, which were inferior compared to the original album. The newer stuff sounded like Win (ex Fire Engines), who were wicked, like T Rex live!! Marina records was the label. You can sample their stuff from iTunes. They later went on to form Boourgie Bourgie who were great. Paul Quinn was vocalist, the band were slick and original. The music is undescribable really. A guitar work out for sure, but Quinn's voice rumbles through the land like no tomorrow. They need to have a CD release one day for sure. Randy, I do, I am playing Richard Jobson's albums now, mostly spoken word/poems etc, then on to The Stranglers - Feline, for some late night mello musak! Art is dead - Tatlin, oh Armoury Show, Armoury Show. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 169 Registered: 09-2006 |
Chris Smither - "Drive You Home Again" I've had it for years but lately every time I spy it on the shelf I've been putting it on. That old, smoky, mesmerizingly calm voice and guitar are absolutely transporting. And great lines keep popping up even when I thought I'd found them all. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 4 Registered: 01-2007 |
Thanks for the welcome, but I have a darker side and have done an LK and come back with an alternative monicker partly for the reason that if you google any names on the board the details and posts come up,and in some cases on the board it could be open to abuse. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 563 Registered: 08-2004 |
What's your old name name then Frank? Or should I say Dr. X! The Minus 5 - The Gun Album VA - Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 1976 Richmond Fontaine - Thirteen Cities James - Best Of Roxy Music - Roxy Music Dexy's Midnight Runners - Projected Passion Revue Sun Kill Moon - Ghosts Of The Great Highway Pet Shop Boys - PopArtMix - Pop Disc | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 318 Registered: 08-2006 |
By the way, Frank, as the originator of the "Whatcha Readin'" thread, your nom de plume isn't lost on me. Maybe I'll re-appear as Richard Ford. Or would that be too, how do they say - meta? | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 970 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hey Frank, thanks for making me really paranoid. Maybe I'll change mine right before I hit 1000. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 175 Registered: 09-2006 |
Sorry Rob, Frank ain't me... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 176 Registered: 09-2006 |
Oh wait, you said "Whatcha Readin'"...never mind. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 320 Registered: 08-2006 |
Frank's right. I got a ton of spam right after starting to post on this board, and I've thought about coming back under a different, less obvious guise at some point. Maybe "Hardin Smith." | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 452 Registered: 01-2005 |
The Best of Tim Buckley. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1506 Registered: 03-2006 |
What, you weren't tempted by the Nigerian get-rich-quick offers or the Viagra ads? | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 565 Registered: 08-2004 |
I feel sorry for the real Frank Bascombe. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1383 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, sorry but the 13TH Floor Elevators album just isnt for me. The vocalist has that Heavy Metal whine to his voice that I hate, I also found myself really disliking those strange little keyboard sounds that bubbled away in the background of the songs, at first it was ok, but then it appeared on track 2 as well, and track 3 etc. I'm sure its just me thats at fault, because I know its a well regarded album, not least by yourself. Richmond Fontaine - 13 Cities: gets better with each listen. The Fall - Reformation Post TLC: Some real crackers on this, but the track Das Boat is turgid nonsense. Barry Brown - Reggae Heights: 18 tracks of pure Dancehall niceness. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1513 Registered: 03-2006 |
I don't wanna "out" Frank Bascombe if he needs to be incognito, but I think I figured it out. His name rhymes with Barry.... Kev, reading the song titles for 13 Cities, you almost don't need to listen to the record. They tell a story all by themselves. I can't summon them up from memory, but they're all along the lines of, "Stuck In a Toilet in Yuma, Puking My Guts Out and Ruminating About Bad Decisions I've Made"...haven't listened to it much, but what I've heard has sounded good. I like that it's mor uptempo than their last one... I've managed to snag copies of the new Arcade Fire, which is nice, though it might be a bit too anthemic for some on this board. Also, the new one by David Kilgour, which sounds great. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1514 Registered: 03-2006 |
More on Hold Steady for them's that likes 'em. "Massive Nights" is very reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, though I don't know their repertoire well enough to pinpoint it. And also, and I hate to point out the Springsteen references too much, cuz I know there're some hatuhs on the board, but it also, to me, seems very reminiscent of a song of the Boss's called "Kitty's Back"...Great stuff, though - it's not imitative in any way... Also, there was a great song by a guy named Jim Carroll, called "People Who Died". The lyric of "Stuck Between Stations" makes reference to it, I think, with the line "There was the night we thought John Berryman could fly, but he didn't, so he died". Very similar to a line from the Carroll song. I don't think there's any way that could be entirely happenstance, or that Craig Finn hasn't heard the earlier song...Once again, not stealing - tribute, if anything... Carroll also wrote a great, highly entertaining junkie memoir called "The Basketball Diaries", which I recommend, if you like that sort of thing... | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1191 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Basketball Diaries was a good film too LK. Leonardo di Caprio played Carroll. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 5 Registered: 01-2007 |
The real Frank Bascombe is a tortured sole and has Prostate Cancer.Thought for a bit who to be and flet quite liberating taking on a new identity.But the security issue was a thing for me particularly if people I deal with on a day to day basis start googling then they can get all sorts of information. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 7 Registered: 01-2007 |
or even soul | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 973 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hey Kevin, no prob. I should have warned you about the jug. That little sound you hear is a jug half-filled with water that is shaken about and (I think) the "player" blows air across it. It's one of the stupid things a person on LSD might think is a good idea and every Elevators fan learns to tune it out. So much so that I totally forgot about it. It's interesting that Roky Erickson sounds like a heavy metal screecher to you; he just sounds like an insane Texan to me. Since the Clean have proven to be such a great discovery, tell me something about David Kilgour's solo records, Hardin. Or anybody else. Does he tone down the punky/whimsical quality when without the band? Frank, you gotta stop making all those pronouncements in favor of privatization of the NHS support services on here. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 13 Registered: 01-2007 |
Randy I'm NOT in favour of privitisation of NHS services, though they are seeping in to our precious resource. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1515 Registered: 03-2006 |
Randy, Kilgour tones down the punky, maybe not the whimsy... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1217 Registered: 04-2005 |
Listened to Beth Orton's "Trailer Park" last night and again marveled at how much I like it, especially considering how little I like her subsequent albums (though "Central Reservation" has its moments). Also, I recently discovered Neil Finn's "Try Whistling This" and am thoroughly enjoying it. But no, let's not start the Crowded House discussion again. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 181 Registered: 09-2006 |
Utopia - "Deface the Music" From that blessed time when they abandoned prog in favor of supercatchy pop-rock (a weakness of mine). As Beatles parody/pastiches go it's more fullblooded, clever and fun that what Neil Innes came up with for the Rutles. Jo Carol Pierce - "Bad Girls Upset By the Truth" Haven't listened to this in far too long a time. Half narrative, half song, the story of slutty Texan girl convinced she's doing Jesus' work...one of the most hilarious, touching, surreal, um...best albums ever made. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1387 Registered: 05-2005 |
Just downloaded a couple of albums from Napster - "Convicts" by You Am I, and some albums by Sloan including the latest "Never Hear The End Of It". I have never heard these bands before, but had always noticed their names being bandied about as groups who made good music. Both in the power pop vein apparently. Anybody got any thoughts on these two bands? Padraig I guess you will know about You Am I, theyre big in Oz arent they? | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1388 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thin White Rope - Moonhead. Not heard this for approx 20 years- they were lumped in with the Paisley Underground scene but they were much more intense than those bands. AMG sums it up well: "an album that sounds like Neil Young & Crazy Horse tackling Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures. All of the 14 songs, even a pounding cover of Jimmy Reed's blues classic "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby," are so wound up and tense that they sound like they could explode at any point; the fact that they don't, not even on extended guitar workouts like "Crawl Piss Freeze" and the epic closer "Take It Home," gives the album an at times almost unbearable tension. The songs all start from basically the same point -- dual-guitar leads over Jozef Becker's almost Krautrock-like steady pulses and Stephen Tesluk's throbbing, minimal basslines " The Shins - Wincing The Night Away. Not as good as Chutes Too Narrow, but thats like saying Unknown Pleasure isnt as good as Closer The Chills - Soft Bomb. Wonder if this great band will ever get their Josef K, Wire, Gof4 style critical re-appraisal, not that I'm saying they sound like these bands. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1518 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'm sure there are all kinds of purist, trainspotter arguments against buying and enjoying this thing, but I got the Paul Weller Hit Parade disc and it's tremendous, great fun and a testament to a tremendously talented guy. I, not being much of a purist, enjoy "one-stop", all the hits packed onto one disc comps, and this one doesn't disappoint. And, Allen, I have the Shins' (top-selling) disc in heavy rotation. I think it's outstanding and, to my ears, it does seem a little better, a little more accessible and coherent (though some might not consider that an improvement)...At any rate great stuff...Hats off to an indie band that doesn't make you feel like some pretentious nerd, sniveling in some bed-sit, thinking his tastes are somehow morally superior to everyone else's...Far too enjoyable for that... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 184 Registered: 09-2006 |
I think you might be meaning to address kevin there, LK... | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1389 Registered: 05-2005 |
hey Allen , I'm not a pretentious nerd, sniveling in some bed-sit, thinking my tastes are somehow morally superior to everyone else's. oh, hang on I see what you mean  | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1520 Registered: 03-2006 |
Wa wa wee wo! No asparagus meant to be cast on anyone... Since you're two of my favorite people I tend to confuse you. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1193 Registered: 05-2005 |
Last night I played The Auteurs' superb After Murder Park. Hadn't played it in ages. Also played several singles I got cheap from the bargain bin in JB Hifi (a brilliant one by Laura Viers being the standout). Also played the soundtrack to some back to the 80s high school reunion film (Romy something?). Never saw the film but it's a good 80s pop ST and I got it for a couple of bucks in a jumble sale! Right now I'm listening to an excellent 2 disc, 48 songs, compilation called Power Pop Anthems I picked up for 10 euro in Tralee, Co Kerry over Christmas! It's great. A lot of stuff I didn't already have on it. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1391 Registered: 05-2005 |
Padraig, how is Tralee these days? Went for a day visit once when we were in Kerry in 1991, I remember it as a bit of a shithole to be honest. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1194 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kevin, I like a lot of You Am I stuff very much; though I am sometimes put off by their singer/guitarist/songwriter Tim Rogers who is one of the most arrogant people you could ever encounter. For me Hourly, Daily is their classic. I prefer the European version to the Australian version (there were a few different songs). They can be thrilling live (they blew away the Lemonheads when I first saw them; but that wasn't hard seeing as Evan Dando looked like he'd scored some primo skag in Sherriff Street before the gig). But they can also be very average live, ruined by Rogers unbearable self-regard. I like Sloan a lot too. I don't think any album is a particular standout (though I've not heard them all), but every one I have heard has several individual standouts. The new 30 song single disc is packed with great tunes. Very little filler considering it's 30 songs and 77 minutes long! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1195 Registered: 05-2005 |
Tralee has improved no end Kevin. The Celtic Tiger economy has refreshed all parts of Ireland. Back in 1991 the word shithole was a fairly accurate description though! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1196 Registered: 05-2005 |
The shop where I got that Power Pop antho - Roxy Records - was always a good shop considering the town it's in though. I was working in Tralee for a while in 1991 and went into Roxy Records the morning Dinosaur Jr's Green Mind was released. To my great surprise they had it. To their great surprise there was someone looking to buy their sole copy before they had even gotten it out of their new releases box! I often wondered if they then reordered several copies - thinking there was a rush on for Dinosaur Jr - which remained on the shelf for years! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 329 Registered: 08-2006 |
Listening to Bob Dylan's "Planet Waves." A lesser Dylan record, for sure, but pretty good. Because it doesn't get played much it sounds fresh everytime I put it on. Sandwiched between classic early period Dylan and "Blood on the Tracks," it tends to get the short stick, like "New Morning," which I also like a lot. Also: "Vee Vee" by the Archers of Loaf. One of my all-time favorites. If Pavement were the indie Beatles, AofL were the Stones. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 101 Registered: 07-2006 |
some call them/luke a poor man's suede, but i happen to really like the auteurs too padraig. i probably only listen to new wave somwhat regularly, but how i learned to love the bootboys was excellent too. listening to peter gabriel 3 at the moment. somewhat unsettling sunday brunch music, but no less remarkable. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 185 Registered: 09-2006 |
Definitely love me some Auteurs as well. Have to admit I prefer his next project even more, though...I play all the Black Box Recorder albums (even the B-side comp) regularly. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 102 Registered: 07-2006 |
i'm never sure where to start with BBR. given the type of stuff i usually swoon over on here, what do you recommend allen? | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1219 Registered: 04-2005 |
I wouldn't call the Auteurs/Luke Haines a poor man's Suede, Joe--they're something else entirely, even though they came up around the same time and, I suppose, were "competitors" for press and public attention. They dabbled a bit with glam sound, but the lyrics were never in that vein. "New Wave" is one of my favorite albums, but it was kind of diminishing returns after that, at least under the Auteurs name. Of Luke's other work, I like "Baader Meinhof" the best, but the first two Black Box Recorder albums, "England Made Me" and "Facts of Life" are must-haves (sorry to cut in on this, Allen). The third BBR album seems to be where the inspiration turned to formula, but I guess they realized that and dissolved the group. I have yet to hear Luke's new album as it hasn't been released in the States and I'd rather not pay import prices. "The Oliver Twist Manifesto" didn't thrill me--Luke seemed to be crawling up his own arse, as some might say. I'm hoping the new one reverses that trend. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 186 Registered: 09-2006 |
No problem...I'd agree that the third studio album is by far the weakest, though there are some great moments (A song about Andrew Ridgley, called..."Andrew Ridgley," for one). "The Facts of Life" is my favorite - the title song is one of those stellar times when absolutely everything comes together and you feel like you're walking on air when you're listening to it. The video (available with three other good ones on that B-side album) is great too. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 189 Registered: 05-2005 |
Remastered Treasure by the Cocteaus, Uninvited like the clouds(Cruchh), John wesley Harding (Dylan not the artiste) and Engineers - the sound of a glorious hot and steamy summer that we are finally having here. Totally agree with Padraig about You am I - arrogant, self rightous "I'm a rock and ROLLER BAY BEEEEE!!!!!!!!" idiot. Tried to "steal the show" from the Crowdies at the Opera House but were blown away by unpretentious talent. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 103 Registered: 07-2006 |
ha...andrew ridgley - terrific! now for someone to write one about his heartstopping wife. laughably broke at the moment, but i will check out those bbr records in the near future. thanks kurt/allen! i know all the stuff between the two bands circa suedemania 92/93 was something of a laugh and i hold a special place for the likes of the upper classes, etc well apart from my usual penchant for all things anderson/butler. i also think i surround myself with too many suedephiles who are a bit harsh on old luke. he wrote a lovely note after grant's passing on the board too. top bloke. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 104 Registered: 07-2006 |
i have that remaster of treasure too geoff...donimo is sublime. the heavens they open! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 974 Registered: 03-2005 |
Last night I listened to Augie March--Moo, You Bloody Choir. I would prune the playlist down to 10 (getting rid of the radio-pandering major label sound of "One Crowded Hour" for sure) and do have some difficulty with Glenn Richards' voice, but it is a worthy album. If they did more things like "Just Passing Through" I'd be all over this group. Then I put on a real favorite of mine: Martin Phillipps' "Sunburnt." I think I love this record even more than the classic Chills. Anyway I do right now. To anybody familiar with the old 4AD version of "Treasure," is the new one noticeably better sounding? | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1392 Registered: 05-2005 |
Just downloaded from Napster the 2 latest Triffids albums to be given the remaster/expansion treatment by Domino. In The Pines and Calenture were two of my favourites at the time, will be interesting to compare them now with hindsight - In The Pines has the lo-fi, recorded in a sheep shed sound, while Calenture was the first album with Islands big bucks behind it. The expanded In The Pines has 18 tracks(none of the extra tracks are demos-I assume they were left off the original vinyl due to space issues) including early versions of Blinder By The Hour and Trick of The Light which first saw the light of day on Calenture. Jerdacuttup Man was on the original In The Pines and Calenture if I remember correctly. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 977 Registered: 03-2005 |
I've been patiently waiting for those reissues and just got off Domino's site reading about them. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 331 Registered: 08-2006 |
This afternoon: Miles Davis, "Dark Magus," The Only Ones, "Special View," Sonic Youth, "Sister," Woody Guthrie, "Dust Bowl Ballads." Making a pot of Irish-influenced stew for a Super Bowl party I'm going to. It's currently 2 degrees F here in Chicago (-17 C, for them's who's interested), and if the Bears win, there are going to be a lot of stiff drunks littering the street tomorrow. Of course, the same thing might happen if we lose... | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1521 Registered: 03-2006 |
Geez Louise that's cold! What the frak makes it Irish influenced? Lotas taters, cabbage? Or did you drink a six of Guiness while you made it? Btw, who da ya like in the game, Rob? Since I don't care much about the game, I'm heading off to my fave seafood restaurant that's usually mobbed on Sundays. Today, we might even be able to get in without waiting in line... Did kind of wanna see Prince, but I guess that's what YouTube's for... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1221 Registered: 04-2005 |
Damn, Rob, your place must smell and sound great today. Nice selection of music...and I'll bet your Irish stew is wonderful. Like LK, I'll take advantage of the lighter traffic today and less crowded stores since I'm not that interested in the game. But since we have a fair number of members in the Midwest: go Bears! | ||
| pd Member Username: Peter_d Post Number: 16 Registered: 05-2005 |
re Luke Haines new album: Thematically, very similar to 'How I learned to Love the Bootboys'. Personally, I don't mind this, others might see it as a bit of a rehash (esp if your're paying import prices for it). Couple of standout tracks - 'Here's To Old England' and 'Bad Reputation'("Gary Glitter, he's a bad, bad man, Ruining the reputation of the Glitter Band" - great stuff). It was quite funny on his website - the new album was getting, lets say 'mixed' reviews on the forum - in the end he closed it down completely saying 'You had it but you let it go' ! Someone mentioned BBR's BSides album and for me, its probably their best album.. At the moment, listening to Junior Boys - 'So This is Goodbye' | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 332 Registered: 08-2006 |
Well, the stew came out great; the game, not so great. Ah, well. Prince, IMO, stole the show (I would have given Hestert that honor had the Bears won, but what can you do?). I watched the game at my local watering hole, and we had the TV hooked up through the music PA. We cranked the halftime show, everyone watched slack-jawed and he got a sanding ovation at the end. I love it when people are so blown away they cheer a performer who's on TV and can't hear them. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1522 Registered: 03-2006 |
Sympathies, Rob... At least Da Bears were ahead part of the time...I love Chicago so I was pulling for 'em...quelle bummer... Haven't found any video of the Purple One's half-time performance, but I heard that he blew the roof off the dump. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 333 Registered: 08-2006 |
Thanks, LK. I'm not really all that disappointed, though. The Colts are a great team, and I had the feeling the Bears' Super Bowl appearance was a bit of a fluke. BTW, you should look on YouTube for what I thought was the best commercial of the game: a 10-second Letterman promo that featured Oprah. Really well done. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1523 Registered: 03-2006 |
Found that - funny indeed, Rob... Btw, just saw some video footage of Chi-town. Holy crap! Colder than a well-digger's ass, huh? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 334 Registered: 08-2006 |
Oh, man, LK, I dunno where to start. It was -7 when I woke up this morning. I've got the heat in the house set at about 72 but the extremities - including my office - are more like 62. Stepping outside, the cold literally takes your breath away. Whoever's hogging all the warmth, c'mon already, share! I'd take 10 lousy degrees. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1524 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'm reminded of some of Amis' passages about Gulag life - about the "cold frisking you" or about perceiving the cold as pain...(Did you finish that novel yet?) Sounds terrible. Hang in there, pal. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 453 Registered: 01-2005 |
The Cocteau Twins "Treasure" has been remastered? Like Randy, I am waiting to hear from someone on the list to comment if the sound is improved over my old 4AD version. Treasue is my favorite CT. Currently listening to: John Cale - "Fragments Of A Rainy Season", which is out of print and used copies are going for bonzo bucks on amazon. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 108 Registered: 07-2006 |
i know guthrie remastered them himself, but i can't hear a huge difference between the two. that being said, i've only heard the original one a few times through my ipod as opposed to my cd on my housemates' revoltingly expensive stereo. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 190 Registered: 05-2005 |
I bought Treasure at a place called JB Hi Fi expecting it to be the old version. Only when I got it home did I discover it was the remastered version. It sounds like it always did....like the heavens had opened up or that you had "danced around a faery ring" and heard the faerie sing!...absolutely glorious!!! It was my first CT way back when it was just out and although not my absolute fave(BBKn), still can astound and delight. Aloyious is probably still my favourite Cocteaus. Only one song, Amelia, seems to have had its syth bass drum sound altered to be more trebly but it could have just been my system in my car. I was really tempted to buy the remastered "Milk and Kisses" too given that the remastered "Tishbite" on the eps compilation EATS the original. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 109 Registered: 07-2006 |
aloyious is one of my faves too. #1 still goes to the unpronouncable yet peerless "aikea guinea". how great is that lullabies to violaine comp that came out last year!?!? victorialand has served as the soundtrack to many a night's sleep in my bedroom over the years too. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1241 Registered: 05-2005 |
Talking of liz, anyone see her last week on Live from Abbey Road with Massive Attack? She still has it. Going to see them this evening, on watching them on TV last week, i feel it will be the best gig I will see this year, unless Robert F plays. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 980 Registered: 03-2005 |
Ok, you evil people are costing me money. I haven't listened to the Twins in forever. "Treasure" is loading onto iTunes now and I've gone and ordered "Lullabies to Violaine" (the cheap non-box version) which will allow me to see what they became after the initial post-4AD period which is when I dropped off. It's amusing to read the reviews on Amazon which complain about the "primitive" sound of their earlier work. That's my favorite stuff. Joe, "Victorialand" was a really distinctive album of theirs when it came out and, yes, it is a very good one to zone out to. The other thing that put me off the Twins was the live show I saw here in Los Angeles. I think it was around the time of "Blue Bell Knoll" but it might have been "Heaven or Las Vegas." I was sooo bummed out that they used so much pre-programming and didn't have a real drummer. I had no clue of the shoegaze bit and I thought it would be all about Liz Frazier on stage with stripped-down versions of the songs. I still think that's how they should have done their live shows but I guess that would have turned off all the folks who go to live shows to hear the records all over again. Question: Are the Comsat Angels any good? Somewhere I have one of the later "C.S. Angels" records and don't really remember it but I see a reissue of "Sleep No More" that Amazon is trying to flog at me. According to Amazon's little correlating system, people who bought "Sleep No More" also bought a lot of records by the Sound, who I think have been recently mentioned on here but I can't remember if it was favorable or unfavorable. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 568 Registered: 08-2004 |
Comsat Angels are good Randy, in that angsty & epic Bunnymen/Chameleons early '80's way. I have Sleep No More, Fiction & Waiting For A Miracle. They all come with a satisfaction guaranteed sticker. I haven't listened to the Cocteau's since Iceblink Luck, but I have the Peel Sessions on standby for tonight. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones A Teardrop Explodes - Kilimanjaro Wonder Stuff - 8 Legged Groove Machine Belle & Sebastian - Push Barman... Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 456 Registered: 01-2005 |
On a related CT note, I wonder if This Mortal Coil's albums will be remastered soon? | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 981 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks Jerry. That probably means I'll get it. I'm now listening to "Heaven or Las Vegas" mostly on the strength of Jeff's recommendation. I literally haven't heard this since shortly after I bought it as a new release. It sounds like an abstract Abba, not necessarily a bad thing. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1394 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, I was lucky enough to see The Sound and The Comsat Angels when they toured in 1981. They took turns about headlining which relected their equal status at the time as regards favourable album reviews etc in the music press. Both rode on the coattails of Joy Division and Echo and The Bunnymen, although they both had their own individual merits. If pushed, I prefer The Sound, but The Comsats were great for a 2-3 year period in the early 80s. Their album Sleep No More is my favourite, it has loads of Bunnymenesque tunes, the drum sound is really in your face in the mix, I remember reading at the time that the drums were set up in a lift shaft to give it an echoey sound. | ||
| Wolfgang Steinhardt Member Username: Berbatov Post Number: 53 Registered: 09-2006 |
I used to spend a very satisfying NZ-eve yesterday with Vorn - Thunk The Shrugs- An Awkward Silence Edward Gains- Edweird Dragstrip- The Holy Loner and the Crystal Drifter (EP) Powertool Records is a fine label - I still hope they are going to sign Mr. Phillipps one day... American Primitive II by Faheys Revenant Records, absolutely marvellous, mindblowing and so on - thank you Andreas! | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 112 Registered: 07-2006 |
i love heaven or las vegas....i know it's where a lot of their fanbase dropped off (and indeed, nothing they released after that really grabbed me) but it's a sweet album which benefits from a lot less of the excess production that might have stifled blue bell knoll a bit. i think the first couple of this mortal coil of albums (maybe up to blood? was that the last?) have been remastered. i'm pretty sure my copy of it'll end in tears is, but i'd have to check. love it anyway.....like nothing else in the world - including subsequent tmc records! | ||
| Peter_d Member Username: Peter_d Post Number: 17 Registered: 05-2005 |
Hi Randy, Peter here - I really enjoyed The Sound's 'BBC Sessions CD' - I have 'From the Lions Mouth' reissue also and the session tracks from it are just blistering in comparison imho..Adrian Borland was an amazing guitarist..the studio recordings lack something.. Actually a thread on BBC Sessions might be in order..has anyone got the La's one ? Is it worth 9.99 of my euros ? Thanks for any feedback | ||
| Lawrence Mikkelsen Member Username: Simplythrilledhoney Post Number: 74 Registered: 03-2006 |
I just got the new David Kilgour album, "The Far Now". It's very very good ... I guess it's more of the same, and no great change of direction from any of his other albums, but in my opinion it's probably his best set of songs since "Here Come The Cars". | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1545 Registered: 03-2006 |
Yoko Ono - Yes I'm a Witch Dinosaur, Jr. - Beyond Lucinda f-ing Williams - West Patty Griffin - Children Running Through Harry Connick, Jr. - Oh my NOLA All awesomely great, with the exception of the Connick, but I give him points for great intentions, which still count, in my book. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 355 Registered: 08-2006 |
You have the Lucinda CD already, LK?!? Is it great? Your ways are mysterious, my friend. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1546 Registered: 03-2006 |
Yes, it's great - at least to my ears. But then, I've probably established that I'm not the most objective fan of hers. But, at first blush, it seems full of songs that cut deep and leave a lump in the throat. One song, didn't catch the name yet, features some of the nastiest invective Ms. Lu has ever featured in a song. She, lambasting an ex-lover in it, resorts to some very low blows. Very entertaing listening... The Willner production is, in a word, unobtrusive. My advance copy didn't come with credits, so I don't know who played what, but it's full of great playing, too. As I recall though, Bill Frisell and Jenny Scheinman are on it. Dunno if you particularly care about her, but the Patty Griffin is nearly as good. Probably a career high for her. I've got a buddy that, through his job, can occassionally hook me up with promo copies. But, make no mistake, I'll buy the official copy of the Lucinda when it comes out, as I'm guessing you will. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1246 Registered: 05-2005 |
Some individual tunes... Lambchop - You Masculine You Winston Tong - Quotodian Richard Jobson - Etiquette Billy Mackenzie and Paul Haig - Walking on thin ice Albums... Talking Heads - The name of this band is talking Heads Orange Juice - Rip it up Caroline Trettine - Be a devil | ||
| Wolfgang Steinhardt Member Username: Berbatov Post Number: 54 Registered: 09-2006 |
More New Zealand The Puddle - Songs for Emily Valentine and the afore mentioned Vorn, Shrugs, Dragstrip again. Are they popular in NZ ? I just followed the recommendations at Powertool.de and don't know very much about these bands but they're really really worth to be checked out by afficionados of the antipodeans (I'm not shure if this is still a kind of english or am I inventing a new language?) and Monks - Black Monk Time (they invented a new garage) Dave Edmunds - Rockpile (I hear you knockin, but you can't come in) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1209 Registered: 05-2005 |
Lawrence, did you get the double CD version? If so is the extra disc any good? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 356 Registered: 08-2006 |
The Knife - "Silent Shout." Got this off iTunes some time back and only recently got around to exploring it. It's kind of creepy and beautiful at the same time. The aridity (is that a word?) of the electronics never drains the blood from the melodies, which are often quite lovely. Equally affecting late at night and early in the morning. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1213 Registered: 05-2005 |
Steely Dan's Aja. Got it for $2 in a jumble sale. Disc is very scratched and Peg didn't work through either hi-fi or kitchen boombox, even after three coatings of supposed disc fixing stuff. But I played through the DVD drawer on my computer and it works fine! | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 466 Registered: 01-2005 |
A combination of three Kate Rusby and two Laura Cantrell discs are playing random cuts on my 5 disc cd changer for the last couple of hours. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 992 Registered: 03-2005 |
Padraig, the hifi and the kitchen boombox just have better taste. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1216 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've loved Steely Dan for nigh on a quarter century Randy and I'm not going to be dissuaded otherwise now; even by a man of your near impeccable tastes! | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 194 Registered: 09-2006 |
P?draig is it now? Are you on your way toward changing your name to the Artist Formerly Known as Padraig? | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 195 Registered: 09-2006 |
I'm coming up on 200...ohmigod, alert the media! | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 20 Registered: 01-2007 |
Very much loving the Richmond Fontaine.It is a bit more accessible than before but that's not a bad thing. Quite often, longed for new releases disappoint but this doesn't. For me it is the best new release I've heard for a while.Interestingly it has a touch of Calexico about it with some great horns. Also enjoying The Hold Steady | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1250 Registered: 05-2005 |
Pad, heard Reeling in the years this morning, thouht it resembled Thin Lizzy in many ways, the rythm and vocal delivery style! Funny that! What a start to a week! Frank, Heard RF on Uncut give away cd for first time, sounds alright. Yet to hear or believe the hype on The hold Steady, who are they like? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1218 Registered: 05-2005 |
Must be your computer Allen! It looks fine to me. Your computer is not handling the fada over the first a in my name. Hey, you're right Spence, Reeling In The Years could easily have been a Thin Lizzy song! | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 197 Registered: 09-2006 |
Yes, very strange...last night it had the first a as a question mark for the first time ever, but now it's back to normal. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1552 Registered: 03-2006 |
Ry Cooder - My Name Is Buddy. Another stone classic for Ry. At first blush it sounds as good as any of his classic records, like "Purple Valley" or "Jazz" or "Bop Till You Drop". | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1556 Registered: 03-2006 |
Also...since seeing, and being blown away by, "the Departed", I can't get enough of "Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys...So I secured a cheap copy of the disc it's from, "The Warrior's Code" and, you know, it's surprisingly good. Okay, maybe a little ham-fisted, maybe a little meat-headed, but that's completely compensated for, in fact overcome by, the sheer moxie and passion they bring to the proceedings... Now, once I acquire the DVD, which comes out tomorrow, I'll be all set - gangster heaven. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1221 Registered: 05-2005 |
Did you hear they are making Departed II LK? It'll be centred around Mark Wahlberg as he was the only main character left standing at the end. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 199 Registered: 09-2006 |
The Beatles - LOVE An interesting idea, and in patches the Martins really make it work (Paul McCartney's "Helter Skelter" vocal fighting its way through the "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" guitars...the charming, funny idea of Ringo singing the first verse of "Octopus's Garden" over the backing track of "Good Night" like it's a tender ballad). But they don't go all the way with it: there are at least six or seven songs here where the only changes made are to edit them down to K-Tel compilation length, which I don't get at all. I think they might've come up with a better overall soundscape if they brought in a few other remixers to add to spice up the broth. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 200 Registered: 09-2006 |
Also: Marshall Crenshaw - Miracle of Science My Bloody Valentine - the untitled EP that has the girl in the grass with the butcher knife on the cover. American Pop: An Audio History - 9 CDs covering 1893-1946. Amazing shit...I can pull any CD out at random, put it on, and just be transported. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 572 Registered: 08-2004 |
Heard the new Arcade Fire CD Neon Bible last night & enjoyed. Lots of church organs & songs that build & build in that U2 styleea la Funeral. On top of this Toots & The Maytals - The Essential Collection | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1560 Registered: 03-2006 |
Are you serious, Padraig? It doesn't seem that they're left with much to work with. Much as I loved that movie and am jonesing for another installment, I'm, for me, atypically cynical about the idea of a sequel to that particular story. All the major characters have been killed off - the title of movie was definitely truth in advertising - by the end of the movie, yeah, they were all pretty much f-ing departed. Not sure what they'd base a new story on - the central theme of the movie, the two moles, would be absent. Plus, though I have to admit he acquitted himself admirably, at least adequately, in his role, I've never been that big a fan of Marky Mark. I've never forgiven him for the Funky Bunch. But who knows? I try to be open-minded. If some of the same people were involved, particularly Scorsese, there might be some requisite interest stirred up... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 996 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jerry, what is on "Essential Collection?" Toots has been reissued and anthologized so many times and a lot of the releases use crappy sound sources (oftentimes worn-out records) for the great early Leslie Kong recordings. For example I have yet to hear a proper clean master of "Do the Reggay" taken from tape instead of from a record. That song really cooks! In fact, just about everything from the period right after Toots was released from prison is furious and fantastic, but I've never found it in proper tape-master form. I just visited Amazon and see that there's been another plethora of reissues to sort through. I hate buying new copies of things I already have that turn out to sound as crappy as the old ones. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 469 Registered: 01-2005 |
A sequel to The Departed? I guess it could work, but still set in Boston? Maybe new mob fiqures to fill the void left by Jack's character? Some NY heavy hitters? Another sequel that might have worked would have been LA Confidential II. The first one was such a great piece of film noir. The Black Dahlia, now there's a piece of pot luck film noir if I saw one. Too many plots in the kitchen that don't blend together does not make a great movie! | ||
| Peter_d Member Username: Peter_d Post Number: 18 Registered: 05-2005 |
Maybe this thread should have a spoiler alert | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1223 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah, I thought about a spoiler alert Peter, but then I thought everyone who wanted to see it would have gone to see it in the cinema - sorry if you didn't! | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 495 Registered: 10-2004 |
Cathal Coughlan - Foburg After months of waiting for a US release that fell through at the last minute, I finally shelled out $24.00 and bought a copy straight from the man himself (er, his website actually....). I'm still absorbing it, and initial impressions are that it is not as good as his brilliant last outing, "The Sky's Awful Blue." But I'm still hearing some great stuff and his lyrics are as scathing and darkly humorous (or just plain dark) as ever. What else am I listening to now? The Hollies - misc (Thanks Randy) Del Shannon - misc mid 60s stuff (Thanks again, Randy) Robyin Hitchcock - Fegmania XTC - The Big Express (a woefully underrated album) The Wake - Here Comes Everybody | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1225 Registered: 05-2005 |
LK, read more about The Departed II at www.movieweb.com/news/20/17520.php or http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTra ck/view.bg?articleid=180439 | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1568 Registered: 03-2006 |
Cool. Thanks. I shall read that presently. I picked up the DVD today, even sprang an extra $3 for the deluxe version, which though it doesn't have a commentary track by Scorsese, has a documentary about him, as well as a featurette on the Boston mob, including details about the real-life boss Nicholson's character was on. I have a somewhat unhealthy interest/obsession in mobsters. For instance, I'm the only person in my circle who's read the autobiography of Sammy "the Bull" Gravano... | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1229 Registered: 05-2005 |
I went through a very serious mob phase in the early 90s. Lots of books and movies. About 18 months ago I picked up a book written by the children of the main character in Goodfellas but I haven't gotten round to reading it yet. It's about their life in the witness protection program. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 202 Registered: 09-2006 |
Haven't seen "The Departed" but just from the description and the reps of everybody involved I kinda guessed it wouldn't end too happily... Beach Boys twofers: Today!/Summer Day & Summer Nights...contains many of the wonderful songs also on the first BB album I learned by heart back in the 70s : the "Spirit of America" compilation 15 Big Ones/Love You...The first one the very definition of patchy, the second the superfragile classic that's been dividing fans for 30 years now... | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1230 Registered: 05-2005 |
Listened to Bike's Take In The Sun on the bus to town this morning. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1570 Registered: 03-2006 |
Allen, you must see it! Top notch stuff...a discerning cinephile like yourself will be in hog heaven... I kind of err on the side of thinking that record, "Love You", is a classic...it's hard, in my eyes, for the Beach Boys to do any wrong, though by that I mean the more or less original group, you know the one that actually had the Wilson brothers and not just that ho-bag, Mike Love...But yeah, that record is strangely haunting, and also, kinda weird at times. It's the one with "I wanna dress you up, cuz you're still a baby to me", right? Eeuuuwww, creepy.... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 204 Registered: 09-2006 |
I think it's a classic too...a somewhat hard-to-take one, because Brian's heart is so far out there on his sleeve and you can almost hear his mental state wavering... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 205 Registered: 09-2006 |
Superfragile classic..hey, it's song! Ready kids?: Superfragileclassicallaboutbrian'spsycho sis If you play it loud enough...uhhh..your cells go through mitosis...hmm, maybe not. Hey, I need some help here... | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 364 Registered: 08-2006 |
Count me in as "Love You" supporter. I love that weird little record. I'm not so keen on the fact I had to buy "15 Big Ones" to get it, though. Mitosis. Nice, Allen. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 496 Registered: 10-2004 |
Randy, I just re-read your posts up above about the Cocteau Twins. I, too, was a bit bummed when I saw them (twice) when they toured in support of Heaven or Las Vegas. I was bummed because of the drum machine, the slew of songs played from Blue Bell Knoll (and that they played only a handful of pre-BBK stuff), and the general stagnation of the band. Then I saw them about 6 years later when they toured in support of their last album and they had improved their live show profoundly. They brought in a real, *human* drummer, which helped immensely; they dropped one of the guitarists (going from an excessive 3 down to 2); and Robin Guthrie, possibly due to having visibly shed quite a few pounds, was a lot more energetic and passionate in his performance. Also, they were more generous that time around with songs from Treasure and other releases of the period. So, what you had was a slightly stripped down, more energetic and at times even slightly raw live performance that was a complete 180 from what I had seen 6 years ago. I haven't heard the reissues as I think the LPs sound fine, but I did buy that Lullabies to Violaine Vol. 1, and it's nice to have all those brilliant singles and EPs on one disc to listen to. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 497 Registered: 10-2004 |
Oh, and I wanted to chime in on the Sound and the Comsats: I LOVE the Sound, and I would highly recommend 'Heads and Hearts' as a starting point. Very pop-savvy, heartfelt, sometimes pretty, post-punk. The CD reissue for this one includes the essential 'Shock of Daylight' EP from around the same time. Their 1st album, 'Jeopardy,' is raw and filled with early post-punk angst & minimal shards of synths creating a menacing atmosphere. 'From the Lion's Mouth' shows a huge leap in sophistication and songcraft - recommended. 'All Fall Down,' is a bit darker and artsier though still has some great, catchy songs. I'm not as into the Comsats, but for my money, you can't go wrong with their cool debut 'Waiting for a Miracle,' and my personal fav, their third album 'Fiction.' But, I bought those LPs in the dollar bin and I'm not sure how I would've received them if I shelled out $20+ for the CDs. These early records are perhaps a bit more difficult than the Sound. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1003 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jeff I think I'll check out the Sound and put the Comsat Angels on hold. Thanks. | ||
| Peter_d Member Username: Peter_d Post Number: 19 Registered: 05-2005 |
Pádraig, no worries, I'd seen it already - terrific film - ending a bit silly - people started laughing in the theatre I was watching it in ! | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 208 Registered: 09-2006 |
Forgot to mention, LK...I've wanted to see "The Departed" for awhile...the problem's a combination of little time recently and my aversion to going to a movie theater unless it's something that I absolutely need to see right now - theater audience these days drive me insane. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1005 Registered: 03-2005 |
The Chills -- Secret Box Disc 2 (Salvaged Bullion) Still and forever indebted to Andrew Kerr. Prior to that, "Hollies Sing Hollies," their worst album ever from when they were considering going cabaret (1969). But there are a handful of good tracks. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1260 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Fall - Reformation post TLC Turin Brakes: Live At the Palladium Gobees - BYBO | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 573 Registered: 08-2004 |
Sorry Randy I missed your question above. Toots And The Maytals - The Essential Collection Monkey Man That's My Number Bam Bam Pressure Drop Peeping Tom Aldina Dr Lester It Must Be True Love Scare Him Louie Louie Johnny Coolman Pomp And Pride Monkey Girl Water Melon Do The Reggae Reborn If You Act This Way It Was Written Down Sun Mooon & Star (Take Me Home) Country Roads Funky Kingston Pressure Drop 72 Redemption Song Time Tough Night And Day Don't Trouble Trouble Oh Yeah Bla Bla Bla Was My Number I Can't Believe It Sweet & Dandy Pee Pee Cluck Cluck Hold On She's My Scorcher One Eye Enos Never You Change Loving Spirit Revival Reggae We Shall Overcome Daddy's Home The sound is pretty good, no hefty hiss or crackle, it could be what you're looking for. | ||
| frank bascombe Member Username: Frankb Post Number: 22 Registered: 01-2007 |
Mrs Morgan BYBO Sea Breeze- Mrs Morgan gets about from Grants IYBR | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1008 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jerry, that program is nearly ALL early Leslie Kong productions! Plus a few of the best Warrick Lyn recordings. I don't see anything newer than '74. If the sound is good, that's EXACTLY what I'm looking for. What label is it on? Amazon doesn't list it. I DO see a 2 disc Trojan US antho called "Pressure Drop--The Definitive Collection" that might do the job but yours still looks better. the Sound -- Counting the Days (thanks Jeff!) | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1592 Registered: 03-2006 |
Randy, I know a happenin dude such as yoursef probably already has this, but you're aware of the Toots box set called "Roots Reggae - the Classic Jamaican Albums"? Nice little set - not very deluxe packaging, but it's got six classic albums, like Monkey Man, Roots Reggae, etc. in little paper sleeves that are facsimiles of the original covers...It's a helluva listening experience...I sign on to the high praise heaped upon "Pressure Drop", btw...don't know if it's the best reggae song ever made, but it's pretty much my favorite - and one that I've never grown tired of... Allen, "Departed" is (finally) out on DVD, so you can watch it in the comfort of your own crib. I know what you mean about crowds in movie theaters. Can I ask, plaintively, the musical question, "what the f is wrong with people"? Also, in this area the cheapest bargain matinee is about $8.50. By the time my girlfriend and I go, we'd just as soon wait and buy the DVD. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 574 Registered: 08-2004 |
http://www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk/titlev 4.php?ALBUM_ID=790&LABEL_ID=7 Randy, there's the double CD in question. I believe it was released last year. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1236 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jethro Tull. Really. | ||
| andreas Member Username: Andreas Post Number: 433 Registered: 04-2006 |
surprise. john fahey - on air. the great guitar koonoklaster captured on a extraordinaire night in bremen, 20th march of 1978. greetings into the night andreas, a fan | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1011 Registered: 03-2005 |
Body snatchers have gotten to Padraig. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1237 Registered: 05-2005 |
It was a momentary transgression Randy... Afterwards I played a CD that came with NME magazine two months ago. Twice. Some very good stuff on there (eg The Avalanches and Cut Copy). This evening I listened to a French dance/house/electronic compilation from 2000 called My House in Montmartre (I came across it on the shelf when placing the NME CD ahead of it). My daughter didn't like it. She asked me "Do you like this music daddy?" In truth some of it sucks. But some of it is great too and it was my first time playing it since a few months (maybe weeks) after I first got it seven years ago). After she was gone to bed I played a Josh Ritter album from 2003 which I picked up the other day for $10. It's really very good. He is American but seems to get most of his record sales in Ireland. After that I watched The West Wing. | ||
| Jonathan Evans Member Username: Jon Post Number: 84 Registered: 04-2005 |
I've just had my Cut Copy CD returned and mighty fine it is too. I've just purchased The Hours and Little Man Tate albums. I quite like The Hours, but Little Man Tate is probably 3rd rate indie Rock, its still got a couple of moments though. Also, Just finished Kraftwerk's Minimum Maximum which brings back some great memories of the tour... Cheers Jon | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1595 Registered: 03-2006 |
"All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone" - Explosions in the Sky "New Magnetic Wonder" - Apples in Stereo "I'm Your Man" - LC "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" - Modest Mouse "Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller" - JG | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1012 Registered: 03-2005 |
That's very funny Padraig. It's a good thing your daughter is there to be your quality control expert. Having my second listen to a batch of tracks by The Sound, courtesy of Jeff. Thanks for the link Jerry. It looks like Union Square Music might be a bit like Collector's Choice in the US, the only company to reissue quite a few esoteric releases here. My mania is getting my hands on the best sound source, so I'll figure out whether to get this or maybe the Trojan US antho. Theoretically the Trojan release should be pulled from tape. Currently I have the pre-"Monkey Man" Leslie Kong recordings on a crappy-sounding CD issued by Attack, which is clearly mastered from records. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1238 Registered: 05-2005 |
The 107 by The Triffids. One of the extra tracks on the BSD reissue. Great, unusual song. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 123 Registered: 07-2006 |
i love cut copy something mighty, but at the moment their shameless pushing of all things early 90s makes me feel a bit queasy. sure the kids will get there eventually, but a smidge of tact please. all the gordon's in my system is also probably to account for some of said nausea. currently listening to omd's sugar tax. so sad that maybe a dozen people ever bought this. bitterly green with envy when i went to their web site the other day to read about the architecture and morality tour they're doing next month...replete with 120 piece orchestra and peter saville light show. rock me melbourne, already. after all i've done for you. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 387 Registered: 08-2006 |
"Bootleg Series Vol. 1: The Quine Tapes" - the Velvet Undergound. Haven't played this in a while and it's rockin' my world this sunny Sunday. It blows my mind that Bob Quine had the good taste, determination and the ability to tape these shows 40 years ago. I plan on playing all three discs back-to-back this afternoon as the soundtrack for a little preemptive spring cleaning. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 210 Registered: 09-2006 |
Excellent housecleaning choice, IMO, especially on the three versions of "Sister Ray" the drone puts me in a remarkably meditative, almost hypnotic state that makes it not even seem like work. And of course Maureen drives me onward with her drums. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1242 Registered: 04-2005 |
Rob and Allen, don't you--like me--wish the Quine Tapes were of better audio quality, just because we'd be hearing perhaps the greatest live album ever? It's still great stuff, of course, but I find it sounds best with the bass turned all the way down on cheap, small speakers. I've heard rumors soundboard tapes of the SF shows exist, so maybe someday they'll come out. It would be nice not to have to tweak my stereo settings so much to make it listenable. As for what I'm listening to, here's what rocked my world on my Amtrak trip back to Seattle yesterday: Go-Betweens - "Here Comes a City" (Yes, it's perfect for train travel. Try it sometime. I was playing it over and over and over...) Lucinda Williams - West (Probably her best set of songs since "Car Wheels") Roxy Music - Stranded (I think this is my favorite album of all time...don't leave home without it) | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1262 Registered: 05-2005 |
Midlake - Roscoe. Watched the video on iTunes too. Associates - Affectionate Punch (original) Steve Reich - Six Pianos Steve Reich - Different Trains Glenn Kotche - Mobile Massive Attack - Mezzanine (I must have played this a hundred times, I still wonder at how and why they made it, its so good, I always hear something new) Loads of dub reggae, tons of the schtuff! its blowing my mind, (no weed involved) and the bass speakers. | ||
| Jonathan Evans Member Username: Jon Post Number: 85 Registered: 04-2005 |
I've got all of Billy Bragg's Peel Sessions on 5 CD's off someone (nudge nidge wink wink). So I've give them a good going over the weekend. Some fantastic stuff. Cheers Jon | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 388 Registered: 08-2006 |
Kurt, it's funny, because I'm not a big one for fan-taped bootlegs, but I kind of like the sound quality of the Quine tapes. I think it's partially responsible for what Allen (accurately) calls their "hypnotic" quality. Not to say I wouldn't love to hear them in soundboard form - actually ANY VU in soundboard form is A-OK with me - but the low-fi recording makes me feel like I'm eavsdropping, like the shows are overhead from the back of a large room. In a way, it feels even more intimate and real. I'm also intrigued and encouraged they titled them Vol. 1. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 389 Registered: 08-2006 |
Not to harp on this too much, but the version of "White Light/White Heat" on disc two is pretty much definitive. Wow. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 211 Registered: 09-2006 |
I'd agree the sound is partially responsible, Rob...the major element is of course that magic ingredient, repetition. In the hands of the uninspired it can be deathly dull, but when used wisely and followed intuitively it produces magic. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 577 Registered: 08-2004 |
Nick Cave - The Boatman's Call The Atari's - Welcome The Night Recoil - Unsound Methods Pulp - Freaks Radiohead - Kid A Run DMC - Back From Hell | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1245 Registered: 04-2005 |
Forgot to mention a few things from my long trip that provided pleasure, ambience, or whatever: The Knife - Silent Shout Gillian Welch - Hell Among the Yearlings And since Kevin hasn't been around to laugh at us for our most shocking listening confessions: Jackson Browne - LK's Definitive Comp (thanks again!) Funny how much sense JB makes when you're in a melancholy mood driving down the California coast in a rental car. Of course, if I'd seen Darryl Hannah hitchhiking, I would have thrown the CD out the window before stopping to give her a ride. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 393 Registered: 08-2006 |
How'd you like that Knife CD, Kurt? I've been diggin' it a lot of late. BTW, welcome home. Hope the return trip wasn't too arduous. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1270 Registered: 05-2005 |
The new roughs from the forthcoming Winnebago Orchestra long player, its genius, its a stunner, like portishead and brel and curtis mayfield, reading joan as policewoman, cept with Vashti Bunyan at the controls sipping green leaf tea, whilst her mate in the group plays darts with william burroughs. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1601 Registered: 03-2006 |
Kurt, my pleasure. Probably no accident that JB's stuff seemed to work so well for you. He probably wrote most of those songs in the same melancholy mood, driving down lonely coastal roads in California. Btw, you could well see Daryl Hannah hitch-hiking, given the state her career is in. Hollywood is not kind to actresses over 40. I am also a fan of that Gillian Welch record. Call her what you will, Americana, alt-country..to me, she's just a gifted songwriter and a mesmerizing singer. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1246 Registered: 04-2005 |
Rob, I haven't heard the Knife CD enough to speak intelligently about it, but it seems like they're doing something a little new and different with synthesizers and songform that I find quite interesting. The car stereo is never the way to hear things best, so I need to give it a proper hearing on a better system, which I can do now that I'm home. Thanks, by the way, for the well wishes. And a big shout-out to Amtrak for getting me back to Seattle in comparative comfort and without totally robbing me blind for the price of a ticket. LK, I must have heard some early Gillian Welch that put me off, because I expected her to have a whining, affected voice, but I didn't find that to be true at all of "Yearlings"--she sounded great. Definitely an artist worthy of more exploration. Finally, I still can't believe Kevin isn't making appearances. Confident that it's now safe to reveal our guiltiest pleasures, I'll share the album that's really been rocking my world. Listen to it objectively, and I'm sure you'll agree it makes LBATBDE seem very weak indeed: Michael Bolton with Kenny G - Sings the Great Kenny Loggins Songbook (Seriously, that's on 24-hour-a-day rotation in hell, I'm sure) | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 395 Registered: 08-2006 |
Somewhere, Kevin has just experienced an intense, shooting pain. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1602 Registered: 03-2006 |
Though it's fun as hell to think about his reaction to different mellow sounds, I do wonder about the Kev. How long has it been since he's been around? Coupla weeks? Three? Often when people lambast artists on this board, I think, "they're not THAT bad"...but I gotta say, that unholy trinity you bring up, Kurt, are truly irredeemable, completely without worth. They should be pelted with rocks and garbage, smacked in the face with fish, etc. Kenny Loggins reminds me of Denis Leary's bit about how you should be able to sue certain wussified artists for making you a wimp if you listen to 'em: "Your Honor, I listened to Dan Fogelberg and didn't get a BJ till I was 28 years old"... On the Knife: You know I listened to that disc and it is really good and interesting and they are undoubtedly talented songmakers. It's just that something about it leaves me cold - it is cold, come to think of it. Admittedly, this could just be me, could just be my long standing bias against music based primarily on synths... | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 81 Registered: 05-2005 |
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix Liza Gerrard - Best of Latin Quarter - Modern Times Pernice Brothers - Live a little Propaganda - remixes and extended singles A Hawk and a Hacksaw - the way the wind blows Killing Joke - Hosannas... Kirsty McColl - Tropical brainstorm | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 216 Registered: 09-2006 |
Ah, I see my previous post has been deleted...good, I was going to come back and ask Admin to do it. Let's try this instead... I can remember the moment when Dan Fogelberg went from a dislike to an active hate...it was in the middle of that song about meeting his old lover in the grocery store. Let me Google to make sure I've got the lyrics right... "She said she'd seen me in the record store She said I must be doing well I said the audience was heavenly But the traveling was hell." He sings that last line in an anguished moan and draws out the word "hell" like his ordeal was equivalent to that of, oh, a concentration camp victim,thus revealing the true, almost obscene depths of his self-pity. So yeah, that's where all the venom in the deleted message came from... | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1272 Registered: 05-2005 |
TROU Grand Prix is fantastic isn't it!? Hard to believe its 12 or 13 years old now!!!!! Propaganda sounds good, i always liked Dr Mabuse. Didn't they do a Josef K song Sorry 4 Laughing? Typical, as I think Ms Brucken was attached to Mr Morely i believe! I have been mostly listening to last nite and today: Roxy Music - Flesh and Blood. Doctor Love Pwer - Ann Peebles (Thanks Randy) The Blue Aeroplanes - Fruit The Concubines e.p. and Best of Nick Lowe. Got some more dub in de car too! Ciao! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1604 Registered: 03-2006 |
Sorry to get you so worked up, Allen. The Fogelberg, he inspires that kind of reaction. That is a just horrifically bad line. The kind of lame-o, punny "wit", that thinks it's a masquerade for some kind of profundity... For some reason it reminds me of another horrible line from a dissimilar artist, Robert Plant: "You were pumping iron and I was pumping irony". | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 399 Registered: 08-2006 |
I'm still ruminating on what genial and seemingly mild-mannered Allen might have said that would have required the intervention of Admin. No, don't tell me. I prefer the mystery... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1249 Registered: 04-2005 |
Who is Dan Fogelberg, anyway? I know sensitive girls in high school and college listened to him, but I was somehow spared actually hearing any of his music--at least overtly. I couldn't tell you the names of any of his hits, though suppose I've heard them in elevators and supermarkets. All I knew was he was generally rated as the worst of the sensitive singer-songwriters. LK, where did Plant sing that painful line? I have trouble hearing that in a Zep song. Sounds more like something from the '80s, probably awash in synthesizers. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1611 Registered: 03-2006 |
Dan Fogelberg was the alternative of choice for those tortured, sensitive souls who found Jim Croce too hard-rockin' and scary. Hard to describe him beyond insipid and weenie-fied. Put it this way, if Lilith Fair had existed back then, he would've had no trouble scoring an invite to appear... That little gem comes from a song called "Heaven Knows" off of the oh-so-cleverly titled, "Now and Zen"...to my credit, though I remembered the line, I had to use Google for complete attribution of it... | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 403 Registered: 08-2006 |
Scanning stations the other day while I was driving to a meeting, I alighted, for a moment, on a station playing Fogelberg's "Leader of the Band." I only heard maybe 20 seconds, but it was like someone hauled off on my ear's solar plexus. My radio dial should never leave NPR. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1612 Registered: 03-2006 |
Hard to imagine more ball-less music. Even the Kennys (Loggins and G) won't let Dan hang out with them. He's too big a pussy. | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1250 Registered: 04-2005 |
Wow, that's really saying something, LK! I guess my journey on earth has been a lucky one, considering I can't recall any Fogelberg songs. Speaking of terrible songs, does anyone remember that weird, awful "I've Never Been to Me" song? Who's that by? I used to have a friend who listened to MOR radio and I'd hear it once in awhile in the '80s. It was so ungodly awful that it was like an Ann Magnusson parody of pretentious pop, but I think the singer was serious. Worst song ever, maybe? | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1018 Registered: 03-2005 |
There are so many candidates for worst song ever. That's why I think somebody should do an anti-tribute album on which each artist must do his or her level best to make something good out of a deeply hated song. Btw, "you were pumping iron and I was pumping irony" sounds like a great line to me if it's tossed off quickly on the way to something else. If I came up with that, I'd feel pretty clever. Except that if Robert Plant sang it, he got the roles reversed. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 487 Registered: 01-2005 |
Let's face it, James Taylor and Carol King's huge success spawned a whole host of lightweight singer/songwriter types that flooded the market. Add the Eagles into the mix with their copycats and we ended up with singer/songwriter Armageddon. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1412 Registered: 05-2005 |
.... and now we have an even more horrible scenario(yes really) where these bland nobodies are outnumbered by countless faceless,talentless,airbrushed female singer songwriters - they are bloody everywhere and they are almost universally crap. PJ Harvey is an honourable exception, but even she hasnt done anything of note for a decade. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 488 Registered: 01-2005 |
Let's face it, James Taylor and Carol King's huge success spawned a whole host of lightweight singer/songwriter types that flooded the market. Add the Eagles into the mix with their copycats and we ended up with singer/songwriter Armageddon. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1613 Registered: 03-2006 |
Oh, dear. Tell me you're kidding, Randy. You don't really think that's a great line. It's God-awful. It tries too hard and thinks it's way cleverer than it is, while it, in fact, means nothing. How do you "pump irony"? What instrument is used for that, exactly? Maybe my jaundiced opinion is influenced by actually having heard (and seen, in a video) the Golden God intone those lyrics...the air of pomposity and faux grandiosity he adds makes them seem even sillier... Sorry to be so anal-retentive, but I am "Lyrics-Guy", after all...And, if you ever get the urge to include a line of similar ilk in one of your songs, please, wait..it'll pass...you're much better than that. Hey, I thought of another puke-inspiring mastapiece. Who sang "Sometimes When We Touch"? That song causes retching at 20 paces. It makes me want to gouge out my ears, if that's even possible. The next lyric is "the honesty's too much". Now, once again, what the f does that mean? Well, nothing. It's another false profundity that sounds touchy-feely, but is in fact devoid of informational content. Plus, the super-constipated, gravelly, sensitive-guy vocal is beyond cringe-inducing. Jesus wept. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 221 Registered: 09-2006 |
Agreed on the Plant...I can't begin to imagine a context where such a line would make a lick of sense. Dan Hill was the unfortunate "Sometimes When We Touch" guy...I know that because it came out in the mid-70s, when I was pretty much glued to the radio...with the result that there's quite a few songs that I hated then and hate now but which are still imprinted firmly on my memory, if not my DNA. In his small defense, though, I think the line quoted actually does make sense...I think he's saying that he and his lady love are so naked ly open with each other that touching each other can almost be too intense to take. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1615 Registered: 03-2006 |
Dan Hill! Of course... Actually, I kinda knew that's what ole Dan was trying to get across, but I think I like your version much better, man. Do we have a budding songwriter here?... | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 407 Registered: 08-2006 |
Man, I know that song, in the same way I know people get beheaded in Baghdad, Britney doesn't always wear underwear and lots of other unpleasant stuff, but I never knew its perpetrator was named Dan Hill. Rats. Another addition to my mental vault of horrors. | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1616 Registered: 03-2006 |
The effect is largely the same, Rob, you're right. Metaphorically speaking, Dan has beheaded our ears and flashed his shorn hoo-ha at them... Why is this stuff so funny? Are you out there, Kurt? This sounds like a great book pitch for Sasquatch: "1001 Unspeakably Bad Songs"... | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 224 Registered: 09-2006 |
One that goes hand in hand with that one: "I love you more than I loved you before And where I'll find comfort, God knows (heartfelt sob on 'God') 'Cause yooooooooooooooooooooou left me just when I needed you most." | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 225 Registered: 09-2006 |
And...a little too obvious, but I'll bring 'em up anyway, those Twin Towers of yecch: "You Light Up My Life" and "Feelings." Gotta give it up for songs that became self-parodies upon the moment of their release. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1024 Registered: 03-2005 |
You know what, maybe it's a gay thing, but "you were pumping iron and I was pumping irony" makes perfect sense to me. It's just a wordplay on the disconnect between books & music geeks like me and so-called "jocks" of which we have quite an overabundance where I live. Well, that's what I'd be doing with it anyway. But I've never heard the actual song you are talking about. And if that line was the big hook line then, yeah, it'd be pretty terrible. It is essential that it be tossed off once and once only, quickly in between other lines. Since when do all the words in song lyrics have to be juxtaposed in conventional ways? I occasionally run across something in a Dylan song that gets me thinking "you were just faking it here, weren't you Bob?" The musically excellent "Ballad of a Thin Man" is loaded full of embarrassing lines. And, hey, its Dylan . . . . I can't believe I'm sticking up for Robert Plant. Fortunately, the title "Sometimes When We Touch" is not conjuring up a musical memory and I'll bet I heard it if it comes from the mid-70s and got heavy rotation. Oh and that's okay, you don't need to send it to me. Ignorance is bliss. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1276 Registered: 05-2005 |
Momus - "Sex For The Disabled" See 2nd verse [ from the album "The Poison Boyfriend" (1987) ] Lyrics Before the accident you were just a square And I was a Hell's Angel in leathers and long hair Before the accident you were a fanatic And I was a motorbike mechanic And which of us was stronger then And which of us was stranger A woman pumping iron or a liberal Hell's Angel? Before the accident when my somersaulting Triumph Entered the gymnasium of the female Goliath And I don't know if you felt for me Or if you shared my dreams But when my speed machine hit your weight machine I know you heard my screams And across my leather jacket it says 'Sex for the disabled' And across your macho breasts 'Get fit for life' Before the accident you kept out of sight Working behind curtains till your body shape was right The only man you touched was your tutor in karate I (beep)ked every eligible party And which of us was crippled then And which of us more painful? A woman pumping iron or a liberal Hell's Angel? Before the accident when I careered akimbo Through your plate glass window And as I lay in agony from a thousand savage cuts You privatised the hospital and you wished me luck And across my leather jacket it says 'Sex for the disabled' And across your macho breasts 'Get fit for life' Before the accident, before '79 Before the wheelchair that was such a different time Every man an anarchist, we were all into 'Zen And the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' then And which of us were hawks and which of us were doves? When you broke off peace talks and we broke off free love Before the accident when you came to power And the poor got on their bikes and we got off ours And the Age of Aquarius changed overnight To an Age of Economists serving the right Yeah, our Triumphs turned to wheelchairs, oh don't times change? And maybe we had nothing to lose but our chains So now you're the angels, the thugs in authority And we're just another castrated minority And across our leather jackets it says 'No sex for the disabled' And across your macho breasts 'Unfit for life' | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 408 Registered: 08-2006 |
Ah, Randy, I envy you your innocence. I'm quite sure you sleep between than LK, Allen and I do. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 409 Registered: 08-2006 |
Between? Wha? Make that "better." | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1617 Registered: 03-2006 |
Geez Rob, I know we're all good pals, but man... What Randy, Robert Plant's gay? Wait, I just read your post more carefully...I see...But you know, in La., I worked with this really meatheaded, macho guy in his 20's, who was a complete metalhead. His (real) name was Shawn and he maintained, for reasons that elude me now, that all of the members of Led Zep were gay. I kid you not. So, I really enjoyed handily bursting his moronic little metal bubble when I pointed out that the lead singer of Judas Priest, his favorite group, actually was gay, and because this fact is easily Google-able, he quickly had to eat major crow. What a sweet memory. Good times... So Randy, defending Robert Plant? Who's next? Ted Nugent? Enuff Z'nuff? Metallica? You know some of those lyrics on "Kill 'Em All and Let God Sort 'Em Out" were surprisingly subtle and evocative... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1253 Registered: 04-2005 |
Man, this thread got interesting the day I didn't have time to look at it at work! LK, I know there have been a couple of "worst song ever" list books, and considering our misheard lyrics book is a ripoff of someone else's dated original idea, it's not out of the question that we'd do a horrible songs book. But I wish we could find a different spin--it's easy to bash craptacular people like Fogelberg, Dan Hill, any performer named Kenny, etc. Worst songs by acclaimed artists (a thread we've done) is more interesting to the music geek in me. Any you guys want to write a book on it? In general, though, I don't get that much say in the books we actually sign and produce, but I tend to argue against the music titles that our acquisitions editors suggest despite my great interest in the subject because commercially they tend to be such duds. Too many duds, and I don't have a job. I love the Robert Plant "irony" line debate. Keep it going, gentlemen! Here's a question: if Robert Forster had written it, would we think it was sterling wit, or just another Brunetti/spaghetti cringe-inducer? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1239 Registered: 05-2005 |
LOL at your freudian slip Rob! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1631 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'm hurt that no one picked up on my Enuff Z'nuff reference, though. That's some seriously obscure shit. But ah...perhaps justifiably so... Two more songs in non-stop rotation in Hell: "One Tin Soldier, the ballad of Billy Jack" by Coven (?)I had to look that up - I guess things weren't as holy roly back then and folks weren't as sensitive to the good old Satanic and witchcraft references...And, "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle, noted (?)Christian songwriter... Not sure I ever saw Billy Jack, but it was one of those cult-y kinds of things, like "Walking Tall" was when I was in junior high. WT, for those who don't know it, is the true life story of Buford Pusser, who literally carried a big stick that he used to batter his opponents into submission - he was "Big Stick Man". | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 1031 Registered: 03-2005 |
I am clueless as to Enuff Z'nuff (lotta work typing that). Buford Pusser? How is that pronouced? Like something oozing, or something meowing? Oh, answer Kurt's question LK. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 1414 Registered: 05-2005 |
Dont Drive By Truckers have a song about Buford Pusser - was he a sherrif or something? | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1633 Registered: 03-2006 |
Yeah, you're right, Kev, they do. It's told from the moonshiner's point of view and Pusser is the enemy. One of their songs is even called, "The Buford Stick". Leave it to them to come up with a fresh point of view. But yeah, Pusser was a sherriff, trying to crack down on the people making illegal liquor in Tennesee. Seems pretty quaint now, doesn't it, compared to, I dunno, meth, crank, etc. A harmless way for some good ole boys to supplement their income. I've tried moonshine, btw, and it's terrible. Someone had some at a party, once, and was passing it around for shits and grins. I don't see why anyone would drink it, if they had a choice. It, the stuff I had anyway, was the complete opposite of smooth - it tasted like it literally could remove paint. Lord knows what it does to your insides... Pusser, I believe, is pronounced like one of our feline friends, Randy. Where's Allen, the movie man, for a definitive ruling? And Kurt's question, which I just noticed...I have to admit, Forster could pull that line off. I am persuaded, by the way Randy, by your defense of the line and the context you see it in... I was kidding - I didn't really expect anyone to know Enuff Z'nuff, with the possible exception of Padraig. They were a fairly crappy metal band that had maybe a little less than their allotted 15...I think they gathered a tiny bit more notoriety than they should've, due to their lead singer shagging Madonna. Exclusive club, that, eh? | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1634 Registered: 03-2006 |
Reading the entry in Wikipedia on the Puss (as perhaps his good friends called him), it states that he was shot eight times and stabbed seven. Wow! That's pretty gangsta - I think that's even more than 50 Cent... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1257 Registered: 04-2005 |
LK, I have a friend who normally doesn't like rock music, but for some inexplicably reason had a couple of Enuff Z'nuff's CDs and insisted to me that they were great, like an '80s Beatles. He played a track or two for me and the only words that came to mind were "hair metal." Weren't they big favorites of Howard Stern's? That's probably all you need to know about them. I think I remember hearing a story about the singer detailing his tryst with Madonna on the air. And thank you for your truthful answer about the Plant line. Randy and I are working on a book called "Robert Plant: Unheralded Lyrical Genius." |