Four-disk epic comprised of tape loops (and accompanying movie) of smoke pouring off the World Trade Center. Melancholy defined. He has another 14-stage piece called, Melancholia, which is also tape loops. Very quiet, subtle, still. I listen to it alot.
Sigur Ros - "( )"[/b]
Icelandic hope mope shit. Apparently, they are pretty popular now. But the last time I saw them everyone talked incessantly through their whole set. Beautiful music. Traditional, like; guitar, bass, drums, etc. Very loud and climactic, and then back to long sustained notes. There's even a break on the LP. Good stuff. Packaging is phenomenal.
Judith & Holofernes - The Matan??a[/b]
Indie take on traditional Portuguese lament ("fado") songs. Beautiful stuff. Very sad. Lots of songs about drinking yourself to sleep. Lots of songs about regret. Lots of songs about waking up after a dream about seeing your dead friend swinging from an almond branch. This is my favorite. It's depressing, yet catchy. What a pop song should be, in my opinion.
And I can no longer draw the line
Where my hatred for myself ends
And my hatred for you begins
It's cute that such a self-depreciating Robert Smith-esque chorus could be accompanied by accordion. Buy it here.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See a Darkness[/b]
My girl considers this sad. It doesn't have the same effect on me. But I wake up, as you say, "kind of blue," just about every morning, so I tend towards stuff that's off the charts-sad. This is a good record, regarless of how it rates on the sad meter. Listen to "Madeleine-Mary." Disproving all those lazy dudes who say Steve Albini can't record anything except loud punk rock music...
Downer Trio - "3"[/b]
Joel R. Phelps of Silkworm (r.i.p.) fame. This album is 10 years old or something. I saw the Downer Trio in support of this record at Portland SXSW in one of the McMenamins pubs in the NW. I remember drinking a lot of Maalox that week. Stomach bleeding, sleeping on someone's floor, not showering, walking all over town, staring, longing. Downer Trio was fucking fabulous. Joel's voice can be really off-putting to some folks. I quite like it, though. I remember reading Phelps was working with developmentally disabled folks when he wrote this album, and several of the songs stem from the lives of those he worked with.
This is a song from an album we're getting ready to release. This is a quick mix from the same day the tune was recorded. =rough. Non-mastered, non-mixed, but it's worth noting in this thread. I've been listening to this song quite a bit the last two weeks. Kinda sad, but kinda hopeful.
Here's to love and laughter,
Like children of the seaside.
May we be young at heart, again.
Here's to peace and happiness,
Everyday of our lives,
And broken hearts on the mend,
And friendships that never end.
If you're ready to go off the deep end, let me know. I have thousands of others...
few bands irritate me as much as these folls. it's like the most navel gazing moments of radiohead fused with the most juvenile sub stina nordstrum "am i retarded or just stundedly childlike" vocalising.
Cat Power folks I spoke to after were floored at how incapable she was at live perfomance. One person said they thought she was going to start crying at one point.
that's exactly what im talking about. every review or mention of her live performance i've ever read since she came out has been exactly the above..
bascially that she can't play, almost has a breakdown everytime.
i just don't get this???
how's does one get booked?
why does one tour?
why do people go?
and when does the fact that you can't play live and it's a huge emotional ordeal for you to do so switch from being a sad reality to a dependable crutch to an outrite schtick and a live show in and of itself??
Cat Power folks I spoke to after were floored at how incapable she was at live perfomance. One person said they thought she was going to start crying at one point.
that's exactly what im talking about. every review or mention of her live performance i've ever read since she came out has been exactly the above..
bascially that she can't play, almost has a breakdown everytime.
i just don't get this???
how's does one get booked?
why does one tour?
why do people go?
and when does the fact that you can't play live and it's a huge emotional ordeal for you to do so switch from being a sad reality to a dependable crutch to an outrite schtick and a live show in and of itself??
she's very cute and folks love a spectacle and i think her awkwardness endears her to her fans even more.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See a Darkness[/b] My girl considers this sad. It doesn't have the same effect on me. But I wake up, as you say, "kind of blue," just about every morning, so I tend towards stuff that's off the charts-sad. This is a good record, regarless of how it rates on the sad meter. Listen to "Madeleine-Mary." Disproving all those lazy dudes who say Steve Albini can't record anything except loud punk rock music...
Check out the version Johnny Cash did w/ Will Oldham for added poignancy- my gf had to stop the car while we were on holiday when this came on.
If you're ready to go off the deep end, let me know. I have thousands of others...
William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops[/b] Four-disk epic comprised of tape loops (and accompanying movie) of smoke pouring off the World Trade Center. Melancholy defined. He has another 14-stage piece called, Melancholia, which is also tape loops. Very quiet, subtle, still. I listen to it alot.
Sigur Ros - "( )"[/b] Icelandic hope mope shit. Apparently, they are pretty popular now. But the last time I saw them everyone talked incessantly through their whole set. Beautiful music. Traditional, like; guitar, bass, drums, etc. Very loud and climactic, and then back to long sustained notes. There's even a break on the LP. Good stuff. Packaging is phenomenal.
Judith & Holofernes - The Matan??a[/b] Indie take on traditional Portuguese lament ("fado") songs. Beautiful stuff. Very sad. Lots of songs about drinking yourself to sleep. Lots of songs about regret. Lots of songs about waking up after a dream about seeing your dead friend swinging from an almond branch. This is my favorite. It's depressing, yet catchy. What a pop song should be, in my opinion.
And I can no longer draw the line Where my hatred for myself ends And my hatred for you begins
It's cute that such a self-depreciating Robert Smith-esque chorus could be accompanied by accordion. Buy it here.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See a Darkness[/b] My girl considers this sad. It doesn't have the same effect on me. But I wake up, as you say, "kind of blue," just about every morning, so I tend towards stuff that's off the charts-sad. This is a good record, regarless of how it rates on the sad meter. Listen to "Madeleine-Mary." Disproving all those lazy dudes who say Steve Albini can't record anything except loud punk rock music...
Downer Trio - "3"[/b] Joel R. Phelps of Silkworm (r.i.p.) fame. This album is 10 years old or something. I saw the Downer Trio in support of this record at Portland SXSW in one of the McMenamins pubs in the NW. I remember drinking a lot of Maalox that week. Stomach bleeding, sleeping on someone's floor, not showering, walking all over town, staring, longing. Downer Trio was fucking fabulous. Joel's voice can be really off-putting to some folks. I quite like it, though. I remember reading Phelps was working with developmentally disabled folks when he wrote this album, and several of the songs stem from the lives of those he worked with.
Sleeper Waves - Night of the Bleeding Stars[/b] This is a song from an album we're getting ready to release. This is a quick mix from the same day the tune was recorded. =rough. Non-mastered, non-mixed, but it's worth noting in this thread. I've been listening to this song quite a bit the last two weeks. Kinda sad, but kinda hopeful.
Here's to love and laughter, Like children of the seaside. May we be young at heart, again.
Here's to peace and happiness, Everyday of our lives, And broken hearts on the mend, And friendships that never end.
If you're ready to go off the deep end, let me know. I have thousands of others...
bambouche-
thanks for the recommendations. I will listen to some clips later when i get home from work where i have sound.
the fado recommendations sounds great. i quite enjoy that stuff.
always willing to go off the deep end w/ listening, perhaps not always as much with the living. but i try.
haha. this is funny. i used to work w/ both windy and carl. super nice people. they now have their own shop in Dearborn, MI. booked them a couple times too when i was booking shows in detroit.
but a bit too sparse for me.
funny that lots of the recommendations i'm getting are indie(ish) rock. nothing wrong with that though.
Cat Power she's very cute and folks love a spectacle and i think her awkwardness endears her to her fans even more.
your other questions are too difficult to answer.
maybe this is my over analytical self here but this is precisely why i fail to see her appeal in any sense.
it just doesn't seem plausible to me that you could legitimatly be that "akward" yet actually make a career out of it as well.
you'd think touring and being a "professional" musician for a number of years might actually lead to competence and confidence no?
it screams GIMMIC to me.
and this is most definatly a symptom of alot of problems with indy rock these days... that the precise reasons why a band is incabable of becoming "popular" or "mainstream" are the very reason they become championed.
she doesn't sell a whole lot of records. she makes good money touring, which supports her extremely sad and self-destructive habits. it is not an act with her - she is genuinely frightened of performing, being stared at. which leads to her need to medicate herself.
ideally, i'd like to think people go to her shows to support her as an artist. i gave it up long ago and would much rather just listen to the records. it is incredibly upsetting to me to watch her perform and honestly, i'm sure whether conscious or not, the rationale of some involves a sort of freak show 'look at the crazy girl go crazy' mentality.
the second time i saw her was in 1998, where she played three songs while laying on her back, praising the joys of robitussin. she couldn't remember her songs, and eventually fell asleep talking to the crowd (of 10). that morning she guessed my birthday, on the money, first try, and gave me a t-shirt as a prize. i'm always scared that i'm gonna read her obituary too soon.
This chan thing is just retarded. i find this type of "artist" incredibly irrittating. people who get joy out of the trainwrecking behavior of others is just pathetic.
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
I've got a sort of melancholy minidisc in rotation this morning, but also with some tracks that could maybe pick you up a little, let's see:
Cymande - The Recluse Calvin Keyes - Tradewinds Sylvers - We Can Make It If We Try Ann Peebles - Troubles, Sadness, and Heartache Rotary Connection - I Am the Black Gold of the Sun Desi Young - I Don't Know Why I Love You Roy Haynes - Senya Chocolate Milk - Time Machine
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
what you're saying is borderline insulting.
i really don't think depression, fear of social situations, destructive behaviour and artistic talent have an expiration date. those things are romanticized in retrospect - the fact that folks live very difficult lives in their heads and out in the world has nothing to do with style or time period.
This chan thing is just retarded. i find this type of "artist" incredibly irrittating. people who get joy out of the trainwrecking behavior of others is just pathetic.
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
while i'll always remember her the way i did when i was 21, i feel the same way you do now.
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
what you're saying is borderline insulting.
i really don't think depression, fear of social situations, destructive behaviour and artistic talent have an expiration date. those things are romanticized in retrospect - the fact that folks live very difficult lives in their heads and out in the world has nothing to do with style or time period.
True. BTW: most popular rock exists because of the whole tortured soul thing (teenage angst, anyone?), not despite of it.
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
what you're saying is borderline insulting.
i really don't think depression, fear of social situations, destructive behaviour and artistic talent have an expiration date. those things are romanticized in retrospect - the fact that folks live very difficult lives in their heads and out in the world has nothing to do with style or time period.
i don't see any reason to pay money for someone to do something I can do better.
few bands irritate me as much as these folls. it's like the most navel gazing moments of radiohead fused with the most juvenile sub stina nordstrum "am i retarded or just stundedly childlike" vocalising.
I can understand this reaction. 90% of the criticism I hear about their music is precisely what you're describing. "They're so pretentious!"
Pretentious, sure. But I'll take pretension over formulaic showbusiness or pained detatchment any day. I actually rate pretentiousness just below a lack of pretense in presentation. And both are above schtick.
re Catpower: I saw her and Bonfire Madigan at the Neil Young tribute in Prospect Park last summer. Both performers played without episode. A duet, even.
True. BTW: most popular rock exists because of the whole tortured soul thing (teenage angst, anyone?), not despite of it.
exaclty.. and that's why 90% of it is unlistenable navel gazing drivel.
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
what you're saying is borderline insulting.
i really don't think depression, fear of social situations, destructive behaviour and artistic talent have an expiration date. those things are romanticized in retrospect - the fact that folks live very difficult lives in their heads and out in the world has nothing to do with style or time period.
i agree it has nothing to do with time period... people will always be fucked up.
the notion of the fucked up tragic artist figure is however a completely cliched one and has been so for a very very long time.
it's one thing to have an artist like Nick Drake who is depressing and romantically tragic in RETROSPECT, but didnt use this to his ADVANTAGE to have a career.
Cat Power is settup under the assumption that this poor woman is so conflicted and tortured that to even get through one song of her performance is a small miracle.. but that has precisely become her PERFORMANCE.
there's a big differance there. anytime an artist is presented with a situation where they can resist change and essentialy rest on their laurels and their schtick i think that's a huge detriment to the concept of creativity and art in general.
if people want to wallow in depression and make that their career than so be it.. its obviously a very succesful career move, and frankly it sets up your legacy very neatly (so long as you OD, off yourself, die in a gutter).
I find that kind of careerest self fulfiling prophesy to be incredibly UNCREATIVE and patently unoriginal.
I play music.. and i would consider it the greatest gift in the world to be able to do so as my LIVING... that is a blessing. I think music is a positive experience.. one that is fundamentaly rooted in human consciousness as a joyfull celebritory life affirming practice.
but obviosuly notions of exestential malaise prevent a great many people from being able to express this form of UNIVERSAL positivity. It's just a much easier road to go down, the one to self destruction as oppossed to the one of affirmation.
if people want to support other people in their wallowing, and they get pleasure out of it than fine im not going to stop them but id rather smoke twiddle sticks with a big smile on my face HAPPY in the fact that a bunch of strings on a peace of wood when strummed cause me to forget all the cares in the world.
I can understand this reaction. 90% of the criticism I hear about their music is precisely what you're describing. "They're so pretentious!"
Pretentious, sure. But I'll take pretension over formulaic showbusiness or pained detatchment any day. I actually rate pretentiousness just below a lack of pretense in presentation. And both are above schtick.
this is a great concept : )
i would argue that bands like Wire and gang of four tread that line to absolute perfection.
oh and wendy and carl sucks, nice people but man i still didn't even like them when i saw them when i was high as fuck on weed and opium, shit did nothing for me
Comments
Four-disk epic comprised of tape loops (and accompanying movie) of smoke pouring off the World Trade Center. Melancholy defined. He has another 14-stage piece called, Melancholia, which is also tape loops. Very quiet, subtle, still. I listen to it alot.
Sigur Ros - "( )"[/b]
Icelandic hope mope shit. Apparently, they are pretty popular now. But the last time I saw them everyone talked incessantly through their whole set. Beautiful music. Traditional, like; guitar, bass, drums, etc. Very loud and climactic, and then back to long sustained notes. There's even a break on the LP. Good stuff. Packaging is phenomenal.
Judith & Holofernes - The Matan??a[/b]
Indie take on traditional Portuguese lament ("fado") songs. Beautiful stuff. Very sad. Lots of songs about drinking yourself to sleep. Lots of songs about regret. Lots of songs about waking up after a dream about seeing your dead friend swinging from an almond branch. This is my favorite. It's depressing, yet catchy. What a pop song should be, in my opinion.
And I can no longer draw the line
Where my hatred for myself ends
And my hatred for you begins
It's cute that such a self-depreciating Robert Smith-esque chorus could be accompanied by accordion. Buy it here.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See a Darkness[/b]
My girl considers this sad. It doesn't have the same effect on me. But I wake up, as you say, "kind of blue," just about every morning, so I tend towards stuff that's off the charts-sad. This is a good record, regarless of how it rates on the sad meter. Listen to "Madeleine-Mary." Disproving all those lazy dudes who say Steve Albini can't record anything except loud punk rock music...
Downer Trio - "3"[/b]
Joel R. Phelps of Silkworm (r.i.p.) fame. This album is 10 years old or something. I saw the Downer Trio in support of this record at Portland SXSW in one of the McMenamins pubs in the NW. I remember drinking a lot of Maalox that week. Stomach bleeding, sleeping on someone's floor, not showering, walking all over town, staring, longing. Downer Trio was fucking fabulous. Joel's voice can be really off-putting to some folks. I quite like it, though. I remember reading Phelps was working with developmentally disabled folks when he wrote this album, and several of the songs stem from the lives of those he worked with.
Sleeper Waves - Night of the Bleeding Stars[/b]
This is a song from an album we're getting ready to release. This is a quick mix from the same day the tune was recorded. =rough. Non-mastered, non-mixed, but it's worth noting in this thread. I've been listening to this song quite a bit the last two weeks. Kinda sad, but kinda hopeful.
Here's to love and laughter,
Like children of the seaside.
May we be young at heart, again.
Here's to peace and happiness,
Everyday of our lives,
And broken hearts on the mend,
And friendships that never end.
If you're ready to go off the deep end, let me know. I have thousands of others...
Sigur Ros - "( )"[/b]
few bands irritate me as much as these folls. it's like the most navel gazing moments of radiohead fused with the most juvenile sub stina nordstrum "am i retarded or just stundedly childlike" vocalising.
that's exactly what im talking about. every review or mention of her live performance i've ever read since she came out has been exactly the above..
bascially that she can't play, almost has a breakdown everytime.
i just don't get this???
how's does one get booked?
why does one tour?
why do people go?
and when does the fact that you can't play live and it's a huge emotional ordeal for you to do so switch from being a sad reality to a dependable crutch to an outrite schtick and a live show in and of itself??
she's very cute and folks love a spectacle and i think her awkwardness endears her to her fans even more.
your other questions are too difficult to answer.
Check out the version Johnny Cash did w/ Will Oldham for added poignancy- my gf had to stop the car while we were on holiday when this came on.
He's not kidding...
what's this about? Contemporary? never heard of it.
bambouche-
thanks for the recommendations. I will listen to some clips later when i get home from work where i have sound.
the fado recommendations sounds great. i quite enjoy that stuff.
always willing to go off the deep end w/ listening, perhaps not always as much with the living. but i try.
recommend away.
haha. this is funny. i used to work w/ both windy and carl. super nice people. they now have their own shop in Dearborn, MI. booked them a couple times too when i was booking shows in detroit.
but a bit too sparse for me.
funny that lots of the recommendations i'm getting are indie(ish) rock. nothing wrong with that though.
maybe this is my over analytical self here but this is precisely why i fail to see her appeal in any sense.
it just doesn't seem plausible to me that you could legitimatly be that "akward" yet actually make a career out of it as well.
you'd think touring and being a "professional" musician for a number of years might actually lead to competence and confidence no?
it screams GIMMIC to me.
and this is most definatly a symptom of alot of problems with indy rock these days... that the precise reasons why a band is incabable of becoming "popular" or "mainstream" are the very reason they become championed.
ideally, i'd like to think people go to her shows to support her as an artist. i gave it up long ago and would much rather just listen to the records. it is incredibly upsetting to me to watch her perform and honestly, i'm sure whether conscious or not, the rationale of some involves a sort of freak show 'look at the crazy girl go crazy' mentality.
not sure if anyone mentioned this or not...
Ooooooo, good one!
her audience is complacent and so is she... so whether or not the suffering is real or fake it does nothing but fuel her career...
Karen Beth- The Joys of Life
i find this type of "artist" incredibly irrittating.
people who get joy out of the trainwrecking behavior of others is just pathetic.
this whole notion of the tortured soul is so positively 19th century vincent van gogh BS. I mean i thought this crap went out with clement greenburg and the 1950's jackson pollack types.
Cymande - The Recluse
Calvin Keyes - Tradewinds
Sylvers - We Can Make It If We Try
Ann Peebles - Troubles, Sadness, and Heartache
Rotary Connection - I Am the Black Gold of the Sun
Desi Young - I Don't Know Why I Love You
Roy Haynes - Senya
Chocolate Milk - Time Machine
huge cosign. Made with honey slides which Neil describes as honey with pot baked into it.
I like to call this genre Bathtub music. My Fave:
A tour de force of moodiness.
what you're saying is borderline insulting.
i really don't think depression, fear of social situations, destructive behaviour and artistic talent have an expiration date. those things are romanticized in retrospect - the fact that folks live very difficult lives in their heads and out in the world has nothing to do with style or time period.
True. BTW: most popular rock exists because of the whole tortured soul thing (teenage angst, anyone?), not despite of it.
i don't see any reason to pay money for someone to do something I can do better.
like get up onstage and suck.
holla
ok,
another one of my all time classic melancholy albums
although i just got the LP and realized that its lacking 2 songs that are on my old cassette.
oh and,
i think i'd actually pick this over On the Beach. again side 2 is the godhead depression music (although it ends on a goofier note)
I can understand this reaction. 90% of the criticism I hear about their music is precisely what you're describing. "They're so pretentious!"
Pretentious, sure. But I'll take pretension over formulaic showbusiness or pained detatchment any day. I actually rate pretentiousness just below a lack of pretense in presentation. And both are above schtick.
re Catpower:
I saw her and Bonfire Madigan at the Neil Young tribute in Prospect Park last summer. Both performers played without episode. A duet, even.
exaclty.. and that's why 90% of it is unlistenable navel gazing drivel.
i agree it has nothing to do with time period... people will always be fucked up.
the notion of the fucked up tragic artist figure is however a completely cliched one and has been so for a very very long time.
it's one thing to have an artist like Nick Drake who is depressing and romantically tragic in RETROSPECT, but didnt use this to his ADVANTAGE to have a career.
Cat Power is settup under the assumption that this poor woman is so conflicted and tortured that to even get through one song of her performance is a small miracle.. but that has precisely become her PERFORMANCE.
there's a big differance there. anytime an artist is presented with a situation where they can resist change and essentialy rest on their laurels and their schtick i think that's a huge detriment to the concept of creativity and art in general.
if people want to wallow in depression and make that their career than so be it.. its obviously a very succesful career move, and frankly it sets up your legacy very neatly (so long as you OD, off yourself, die in a gutter).
I find that kind of careerest self fulfiling prophesy to be incredibly UNCREATIVE and patently unoriginal.
I play music.. and i would consider it the greatest gift in the world to be able to do so as my LIVING... that is a blessing. I think music is a positive experience.. one that is fundamentaly rooted in human consciousness as a joyfull celebritory life affirming practice.
but obviosuly notions of exestential malaise prevent a great many people from being able to express this form of UNIVERSAL positivity. It's just a much easier road to go down, the one to self destruction as oppossed to the one of affirmation.
if people want to support other people in their wallowing, and they get pleasure out of it than fine im not going to stop them but id rather smoke twiddle sticks with a big smile on my face HAPPY in the fact that a bunch of strings on a peace of wood when strummed cause me to forget all the cares in the world.
one of the greatest albums of the 90s, for real
oh and wendy and carl sucks, nice people but man i still didn't even like them when i saw them when i was high as fuck on weed and opium, shit did nothing for me