Crowded House and Split Enz

[Axver]

My listening stats to Finn are so lopsided in favour of Suffer Never, it's ridiculous.

Similar thing for me with One Nil really - first got it when I was seeking fairly different things from music and expected more in the vein of Try Whistling This. I only started to pay proper attention to it last year.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

this thread needs more discussion about the video i posted.

 

[Axver]

This thread needs more discussion about YOUR FACE.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

eww

 

[Catman]

this thread needs more discussion about the video i posted.

OMG I LOVE THAT VIDEOEOEOEOEOEOEOJAGL;DFSJGA SDJVSKDHF;LAKHSD;FCKHA

but srsly i just wanted to tag this thread. I'm digging these bands...

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

i love both of them too. i like some of their early stuff (like pre-mental notes) but some of it is a little too folksy for me. but mental notes is easily one of my favourite albums of theirs.

Hm, I don't know how much of their pre-Mental Notes stuff I'm familiar with. But I like the folksy stuff, so hey.

Dizrythmia is my favorite of their '70s work. But I like pretty much all of it-it's just so fun and strange.

it's funny, i had seen that first photo before and always thought it was such a strange photo, since it doesn't at all match the kind of music they ever made. i guess they were just wearing whatever was fashionable at the time and hadn't gotten to that point yet where they were wearing the weird suits and such.

Possibly, yeah. All I know is it made me laugh. A lot . The '70s really did make fashion victims out of EVERYBODY, didn't they?

whoops, i forgot to add the word "today" in my previous post, but you got what i meant. i guess the attitude back then isn't too surprising since reruns didn't really exist so stuff was just aired once, so i guess they figured what was the need of keeping things around?

Ha, yeah, go me and my reading skills, or something! LOL.

I guess that makes sense as a reason-I can see them thinking, "Who'll be interested in this years down the line?" But then again, I tend to be a bit of a pack rat type-"You never know, this could be worth revisiting/keeping/seeing again/whatever someday!", so yeah, my attitude would definitely be different.

It's a shame that whenever the Crowdies perform in Australia/New Zealand nowadays, they pretty much end up playing to huge audiences who just want the hits. The club shows in North America and Europe sound so much more vital and incredible. Just compare the setlists!

That IS very weird-you would think it'd be the other way around, given that most Americans would only know their hits, whereas most Australians/New Zealanders would know much more, if not all, of their music. Maybe the cult following here in the States helps them in that regard? I dunno.

Regarding the album talk, I like One Nil (or One All, whichever)-"Driving Me Mad", "Turn and Run", "Last to Know"-those are some of my personal favorite songs from Neil's solo work. But Try Whistling This is indeed fantastic (though I must be in a minority on liking "Dream Date"?).

I quite liked Intriguer, I do agree that between it and Time on Earth I prefer the former. But yeah, it'd be great to hear some more upbeat, weird material again, too.

And I'm with Axver on "Suffer Never". Though I think my favorite song from Finn may, MAY have to be "Angel's Heap"-I just think it's so lovely. But good stuff on there in general, yes.

And back to Khanada's request, so, if I recall rightly, they said they didn't win at that show, right? Who was it that beat them?

 

[Axver]

That IS very weird-you would think it'd be the other way around, given that most Americans would only know their hits, whereas most Australians/New Zealanders would know much more, if not all, of their music. Maybe the cult following here in the States helps them in that regard? I dunno.

Actually, it makes a surprising amount of sense - as you say, it's the cult following aspect. In North America and continental Europe (not so much the UK), they're playing theatres and clubs, mainly just to devoted hardcore fans. Very few people are going just because they heard Don't Dream It's Over on the radio. So the band are pretty free to do all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff. As a general rule, the smaller the venue, the less the band will be concerned with playing the hits.

Meanwhile, down here, they're one of the bigger bands, generally playing to arenas. So you've got heaps of people showing up just because the band's bigger singles are still thrashed to death on classic hits radio (I was going to make a list of the usual suspects, but it was going to be over ten songs). Except when they do special theatre tours, like they did in 2008, the crowd is weighted heavily in favour of casual fans rather than serious followers. That's especially why the 2011 New Zealand shows had shitty hit parade setlists; the shows were all "a day on the green" vineyard gigs, which are expensive and marketed at baby boomers with a heap of cash to blow on gigs for bands whose hits they remember from yesteryear.

The UK's kind of in between the two. The band were pretty successful for most of their career there so you get a decent amount of people showing up just for the hits, but not so many that they massively outnumber the hardcore fans who want to hear Love This Life or Kare Kare or She Goes On or whatever.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

OMG I LOVE THAT VIDEOEOEOEOEOEOEOJAGL;DFSJGA SDJVSKDHF;LAKHSD;FCKHA

but srsly i just wanted to tag this thread. I'm digging these bands...

awesome! had you ever heard of them before? if not, you should definitely check out both bands, they touch on a lot of different musical genres so no matter what kind of music you like, chances are you'll at least like something.

Hm, I don't know how much of their pre-Mental Notes stuff I'm familiar with. But I like the folksy stuff, so hey.

Dizrythmia is my favorite of their '70s work. But I like pretty much all of it-it's just so fun and strange.

oh yeah, i love dizrythmia too, as any of my facebook friends might've picked up on. that's probably my favourite of theirs too. the fact that i got neil and tim to sign my vinyl copy of it helps a little too.

 

[Axver]

Frenzy is the best Enz. Fact.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I'd love it if Crowded House did another concert at Sydney Harbour or whatever and just played Together Alone to a bemused crowd. And then if someone yelled out 'play 'Better Be Home Soon'', Neil would wade into the crowd and beat the shit out of him. Cuddly Neil.

 

[Catman]

So I finally got around to listening to "Together Alone" -- really solid album! Which one should I check into next??

 

[Axver]

I endorse Kieran's proposal.

So I finally got around to listening to "Together Alone" -- really solid album! Which one should I check into next??

Most people would say Woodface - it was, after all, their biggest seller and it's the only album to feature Tim Finn as well as Neil. Personally, though, I'd recommend the self-titled debut; it also did sensationally well and features some of their biggest hits (including their two US top tens). I reckon the self-titled debut and Together Alone are, by a pretty good margin, the band's two best albums.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Frenzy is the best Enz. Fact.

eww.

So I finally got around to listening to "Together Alone" -- really solid album! Which one should I check into next??

temple of low men is my favourite of theirs.

 

[Catman]

Most people would say Woodface - it was, after all, their biggest seller and it's the only album to feature Tim Finn as well as Neil. Personally, though, I'd recommend the self-titled debut; it also did sensationally well and features some of their biggest hits (including their two US top tens). I reckon the self-titled debut and Together Alone are, by a pretty good margin, the band's two best albums.

temple of low men is my favourite of theirs.

Thanks, guys

I appreciate the recommendations!

 

[Axver]

It's a shame the rest of Temple of Low Men isn't as good as I Feel Possessed and When You Come.

Perhaps I'm in a minority, but I've become quite sick of Better Be Home Soon just thanks to overexposure.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Actually, it makes a surprising amount of sense - as you say, it's the cult following aspect. In North America and continental Europe (not so much the UK), they're playing theatres and clubs, mainly just to devoted hardcore fans. Very few people are going just because they heard Don't Dream It's Over on the radio. So the band are pretty free to do all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff. As a general rule, the smaller the venue, the less the band will be concerned with playing the hits.

Meanwhile, down here, they're one of the bigger bands, generally playing to arenas. So you've got heaps of people showing up just because the band's bigger singles are still thrashed to death on classic hits radio (I was going to make a list of the usual suspects, but it was going to be over ten songs). Except when they do special theatre tours, like they did in 2008, the crowd is weighted heavily in favour of casual fans rather than serious followers. That's especially why the 2011 New Zealand shows had shitty hit parade setlists; the shows were all "a day on the green" vineyard gigs, which are expensive and marketed at baby boomers with a heap of cash to blow on gigs for bands whose hits they remember from yesteryear.

The UK's kind of in between the two. The band were pretty successful for most of their career there so you get a decent amount of people showing up just for the hits, but not so many that they massively outnumber the hardcore fans who want to hear Love This Life or Kare Kare or She Goes On or whatever.

Yeah, now that you put it that way that definitely makes more sense. It just strikes me funny how the tables turn in a way on how both areas of the world respond to them.

Those New Zealand gigs you mention sound kinda sad. I totally get the nostalgia thing and all that-it happens here in the States with American bands all the time (see nearly any '80s hair metal band, for instance), and as I noted in the "Random" thread, people like the hits and not everyone's a diehard, so they're going to show up and that's fine. But yeah, it would be kind of fun if the guys were able to move around within their setlist a bit anyway and throw some fun curveballs into the mix.

oh yeah, i love dizrythmia too, as any of my facebook friends might've picked up on. that's probably my favourite of theirs too.

Hehe . It's good stuff, definitely. Some classic songs on there, love the styles of music they use throughout, short and sweet in running time yet still manages to be unusual and fun and weird...I love it.

Frenzy may not be as cohesive as some of their other stuff, but there are still some songs I love from that one, too.

the fact that i got neil and tim to sign my vinyl copy of it helps a little too.

*Narrows eyes in envy*

I'd love it if Crowded House did another concert at Sydney Harbour or whatever and just played Together Alone to a bemused crowd. And then if someone yelled out 'play 'Better Be Home Soon'', Neil would wade into the crowd and beat the shit out of him. Cuddly Neil.

I love "Better Be Home Soon", but this scenario still would be hilarious to witness.

I like Temple of Low Men, I think there's quite a few great songs on it ("Sister Madly", "In the Lowlands", to name a couple personal favorites) but for some reason I don't listen to it as much as the others. It does have "Into Temptation" on it, though, and that's my favorite Crowded House song, so there's that (weirdly, sometimes my favorite song and favorite album by a band are not one and the same).

I honestly don't know what my favorite Crowded House album would be-I think it depends on my mood some days. I do agree, though, that the self-titled one is lovely, and Together Alone is all sorts of amazing ("Nails in My Feet" and "Fingers of Love" alone...). I do like Woodface, too, though.

Glad you're liking what you've heard so far, Catman, hope you enjoy the other stuff you check out !

 

[Kieran McConville]

Temple of Low Men has its moments alright, but Better Be Home Soon isn't one of them (or maybe I'm just jaded from its exposure on commercial classics radio over the years). Into Temptation is great. So is When You Come.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Those New Zealand gigs you mention sound kinda sad. I totally get the nostalgia thing and all that-it happens here in the States with American bands all the time (see nearly any '80s hair metal band, for instance), and as I noted in the "Random" thread, people like the hits and not everyone's a diehard, so they're going to show up and that's fine. But yeah, it would be kind of fun if the guys were able to move around within their setlist a bit anyway and throw some fun curveballs into the mix.

ugh, they were. i saw the very last one in auckland. it sucked. it's the only time i've been asked to sit down at a gig, and the only time i imagine i'll oblige someone for asking. i realised the songs they were playing weren't worth standing up for anyway.

*Narrows eyes in envy*

haha, sorry! i probably won't get it signed by anyone else though as i doubt i'll meet anyone else from the band.

i do have a signed copy of the remastered mental notes cd but as that was sold through the fan club, it's not quite the same as me handing my copy of dizrythmia personally to the guys.

oh, and tim also signed my copy of escapade.

oh oh and all the guys from crowded house signed my vinyl copy of time on earth. okay, i'm really done now, honest!

(weirdly, sometimes my favorite song and favorite album by a band are not one and the same).

ha, i hadn't realised that, that sometimes that doesn't line up for me either. it sure doesn't for crowded house or split enz. (for anyone keeping score, for me it'd be crowded house: world where you live/temple of low men; split enz: dirty creature/dizrythmia.)

 

[Catman]

I've been going in chronological order now -- really enjoying these guys (can't say which is my favorite atm) What would you say is the best place to start w/ Split Enz??

Perhaps I'm in a minority, but I've become quite sick of Better Be Home Soon just thanks to overexposure.

heh, I quite like it! But then again, I hadn't heard it before last night

 

[Axver]

It's probably not ideal to go chronologically with Split Enz, unless you feel like you need some folky, arty prog rock in your life. I would suggest True Colours is the best starting point - it's very accessible, it's their best known album, it captures them at the height of their new wave-influenced phase, and it still has all the endearing quirkiness that made them unique.

Starting with True Colours, Time & Tide, and Waiata (called Corroborree in Australia) is probably best, then work backwards to the somewhat more bizarre and out-there Frenzy and Dizryhthmia. Avoid Conflicting Emotions! And when you get up to the final album, See Ya 'Round, you'll discover that had they stuck with the original plan of it being an EP, it would have been one of the best EPs ever. Shame stretching it out to an album didn't work out so well - but it is a clear harbinger of Crowded House all the same.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Dizryhthmia

but yes, as much as i hate to admit it, i agree with axver. i am usually all for going in chronological order, but split enz are one of two bands i love that i absolutely would not recommend going in chronological order for, unless their earlier albums were your bag.

i'll admit when it comes to the enz (who i like better than crowded house, but that's just me), dizrythmia is my favourite album of theirs. dividing it by eras, my favourite early album is mental notes. late 70s is obviously dizrythmia, then my favourite 80s album is time and tide. but true colours is their most accessible by far. i'd only suggest starting with something else if you were a huge prog rock fan or something, otherwise you'll get to under the wheel and never want to hear them again, which would suck since they're so awesome (and so is the song).

 

[Catman]

Just came in to say that I am loving the hell out of Time and Tide

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

yay!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Glad to hear it, Catman ! I'll echo Khanada, Axver's post is pretty well spot on. I first heard the band through a best of of theirs and that was nothing but their '80s songs-that side of them definitely is likely going to be easier for people to enjoy/get into. The '70s stuff didn't bother me, 'cause my dad liked some of that weird '70s style prog/art rock type music, and I tend to like folksy songs and stuff that heavily features strings and piano and all that as it is. But I also do know that sort of sound won't be everyone's bag. Hopefully you'll like the '70s stuff, though, or at least some of it, though, when you do get around to hearing it.

ugh, they were. i saw the very last one in auckland. it sucked. it's the only time i've been asked to sit down at a gig, and the only time i imagine i'll oblige someone for asking. i realised the songs they were playing weren't worth standing up for anyway.

Poo. That does sound lame. I can't imagine ever sitting down at a concert-I go to a show, I want to be dancing around (or at least, what I like to refer to as "dancing" ) and jumping about and getting all into the show. Sorry you had a bleh time.

That said, however...

haha, sorry! i probably won't get it signed by anyone else though as i doubt i'll meet anyone else from the band.

i do have a signed copy of the remastered mental notes cd but as that was sold through the fan club, it's not quite the same as me handing my copy of dizrythmia personally to the guys.

oh, and tim also signed my copy of escapade.

oh oh and all the guys from crowded house signed my vinyl copy of time on earth. okay, i'm really done now, honest!

...if and when you do see/meet them again, you need to take me with you. Comprende?

ha, i hadn't realised that, that sometimes that doesn't line up for me either. it sure doesn't for crowded house or split enz. (for anyone keeping score, for me it'd be crowded house: world where you live/temple of low men; split enz: dirty creature/dizrythmia.)

Yeah, it's a weird thing, for sure. I agree with you on Dizrythmia, and I've made mention before of my love for "Message to My Girl" (I know some of you have heard it more times than you care to count and all that, but for me I just think it's a really sweet, romantic song and all sorts of loveliness, so yeah), so there's an example right there.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

...if and when you do see/meet them again, you need to take me with you. Comprende?

definitely! i got to meet all of crowded house and tim finn (and liam finn, as it was when he was still opening for crowded house) in nashville. so there you go!

 

[Catman]

definitely! i got to meet all of crowded house and tim finn (and liam finn, as it was when he was still opening for crowded house) in nashville. so there you go!

ooh! ooh! Me, too! Me, toooooo!!


Went through Split Enz's 80's stuff last night, aaaaand... I really liked it. All of it Will be delving into the more esoteric 70's material later today!


This thread has been well worth my time

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

ooh! ooh! Me, too! Me, toooooo!!
cool, it'll be a party in nashville! i usually have to drag along people who like to road trip to concerts, but don't really know that much of their work. so when i saw the crowdies and they opened with recurring dream, i'm having a heart attack and it's like "what's this song?" and then i had to go to jail for assault and that was a really uncomfortable drive home.

Went through Split Enz's 80's stuff last night, aaaaand... I really liked it. All of it Will be delving into the more esoteric 70's material later today!

This thread has been well worth my time

i'm glad to hear you're enjoying their stuff so much! they're easily one of my favourite bands. (i like them better than crowded house )

keep reporting back on what you think of what you listen to. have any tracks in particular stood out to you so far, or do you think you can put yourself in the tim or neil camp yet (hint: there's only one right answer here)?

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

definitely! i got to meet all of crowded house and tim finn (and liam finn, as it was when he was still opening for crowded house) in nashville. so there you go!

Woohoo! *Starts working on saving her money, makes note to start looking for travel options/tickets to Khanada's neck of the woods should the Finns come back that way...* .

Echoing her questions as well, Catman, I too definitely want to hear more about your thoughts on what you're hearing. I'm glad you're liking everything and this thread has proven useful-it's this place that kickstarted my love for the Finns, so good to see the trend is still going.

 

[Catman]

Still haven't gotten to their 70s stuff yet I'm just really enjoying a lot of the stuff I've just heard (namely "Six Months on a Leaky Boat," which seems oddly current, and "One Mouth is Fed," a song I'm currently addicted to).

I this thread


EDIT: Also, Neil Finn's voice is fantastic.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

EDIT: Also, Neil Finn's voice is fantastic.