Random Music Talk XXIII: Give Me Butt Meat or Give Me Death

[PhilsFan]

i definitely agree with this. the songs i'd ditch are Go to Sleep, The Gloaming and I Will.

Go to Sleep is fine, albeit not great. The Gloaming at least led to a pretty solid live song.

 

[PhilsFan]

happy birthday by the way. are you 21 now? i still can't get over the fact that you can drive at 16 in America, smoke at 18 but can't legally go and buy a drink til you're 21.

Thank you. I am 20. It's quite the tease.

And I started drinking before I started smoking, so take that government!

 

[iron yuppie]

Hail isn't so much incoherent (it is, especially with that odd Will Will Suck/There There/I Will/Punchup/Myxomatosis run, but that's hardly its biggest issue) as it is uninspired. Most of the songs feel less magical/substantial than the weaker moments of OK Computer and Kid A.

I think that HttT is very much an album of its time. The nondescript but palpable fear that runs through the album encapsulates very well how I felt about the general political and social climate in 2003.

I see that you were quite young in 2003, so that may have something to do with it. But, then again, maybe you were already politically cognizant at that age. I don't want to sound condescending, even though I probably am right now. Apologies for that.

 

[lazarus]

Oh BTW, yet another American songwriter better than Tom Petty?

Alex Chilton.

Sorry, El Mel.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I don't think I've had as much a differing opinion on one album than I've had with Hail to the Thief, if that makes any sense. To me there is such a massive gap from the best song to the worst.

My 2c.

 

[the tourist]

I have never understood the hatred of We Suck Young Blood. It's up there with Is That All on the head-scratch-o-meter.

 

[MadForIt]

Har Mar Superstar is one of the great USA songwriters

and In Rainbows is a classic album

Down in the New Up is my favourite tune on there, and this kid does a great cover of it!

YouTube - Down Is The New Up - Radiohead Acoustic Cover

 

[cobl04]

Anyone know much about The 88? I've just discovered they do the theme song to Community and they also soundtracked one of my favourite moments in tv, when Robin and Ted were forced to break up in season two HIMYM:

Robin: so what do we do now?
Ted: well, we can stay together and pretend like these things don't matter; or we can take back the blue French horn.
Robin [starting to cry]: you stole a blue French horn for me...
Ted: I would have stolen you a whole orchestra. [They embrace]

 

[LemonMelon]

Oh BTW, yet another American songwriter better than Tom Petty?

Alex Chilton.

Sorry, El Mel.

Hahaha, can't argue with that. Although I will say that Chris Bell was a necessary cog in the Big Star machine. Chilton was more than capable of writing excellent songs after he left, but Bell (as evidenced by his terrific solo "album") was his match.

And Hummel wrote Way Out West, so there you go. Lots of decent songwriters in that band. It's like picking the best songwriter in Teenage Fanclub.

 

[IWasBored]

Streetlight Manifesto is coming to Penn State. That means nothing to probably any of you, but I'm excited.

nice. that reminds me i need to double check when they're playing here, because i'm going to be sad if it already happened.


oh...and:

I find your opinions fascinating, personally, though that could be because I find hate awesome.

might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

 

[IWasBored]

Har Mar Superstar is one of the great USA songwriters

stop posting.

 

[PhilsFan]

might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.

I'm such a charmer, I know.

 

[If you shout...]

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Go Seahawks.

This was my most recent post on the site.

This was a complete success.

!

 

[PhilsFan]

Time to start drinking again, I suppose.

Go Eagles.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Bono_212, Mikal and Corianderstem all like the Packers. I think.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

"Bring on all the pretenders. I'm not afraid."

~ T.A.S.

 

[PhilsFan]

I'm assuming Taylor's middle initial is A?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

You know what happens when you assume?

You are correct.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Where the fuck is everybody?

How about that U2 band, huh?

Crazy motherfuckers. Recording an album on the down low with some producer named Risk Rat.

The lead singer is fat and awesome and wears sunglasses ALL THE TIME.

The lead guitarist is bald and plays arpeggios.

The drummer is kind of a tool.

The bass player used to be cool.

I love them to death.

 

[PhilsFan]

I'm here. I just moved back into my dorm room for the second semester of this academic year. I'm watching football. My roommate won't be here for a while. Chillin'.

That U2 is something else.

 

[lazarus]

Har Mar hangs out at my local bar a lot, as well as many parties in the neighborhood. Guy's pretty amazing at karaoke, which shouldn't be a surprise.

In other name-dropping news, Zooey Deschanel-Gibbard was at the bar last night. This would have been a lot cooler a couple years ago.

 

[iron yuppie]

I learnt from EYKIW that Fez-Being Born is the single most innovative track in recorded music history, or something like that...

 

[martha]

Where the fuck is everybody?

How about that U2 band, huh?

Crazy motherfuckers. Recording an album on the down low with some producer named Risk Rat.

The lead singer is fat and awesome and wears sunglasses ALL THE TIME.

The lead guitarist is bald and plays arpeggios.

The drummer is kind of a tool.

The bass player used to be cool.

I love them to death.

yes.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I quite (Lorelai would be mad at me for using that word) like the lyric to Fez-Being Born. It's a good bit of poetry from Bono. His vocal, especially some of those wails early on in the track, is pretty damn strong, too. Not a favorite track or anything, though. If I was Ebert (or Siskel, R.I.P., Go Bulls) I'd give it a thumbs up, but not a rave review.

 

[PhilsFan]

I actually really like Fez-Being Born and felt that it was a step in the right direction for the band, but this board has incredibly overrated how out-of-the-ordinary it is. It's like none of them knew keyboards can play in tones beyond a grand piano.

 

[lazarus]

I quite (Lorelai would be mad at me for using that word) like the lyric to Fez-Being Born. It's a good bit of poetry from Boner.

You said it. And I love how it parallels sex and badminton with its two verses:

Cock--Being Engorged

Six minutes
On the Lance's Mom
Broken rubber, burning rash
Pay the pimp and taxi home
Check my nail-scratched back--
Chickenhead slut got mad

Games...flash past...
In memories
A serving shot, a speeding cock
I´m being engorged, and needing love
The crowd roars, cock-curling wail
Elbow first then fist
The bird sets sail


(in going to find that lyric I came across a great stretch on one page where Cori, phanan, BoMac, Elfa, and NSW all were 'cockfying titles )

 

[iron yuppie]

Speaking of U2, I'm rather concerned about this whole Danger Mouse project, especially considering how many people seem to be expecting a radical change in direction to emerge from it. I do not doubt that U2 can make a solid album at this stage, but I also do not at all believe that they are going to release anything that resembles musical innovation.

If this project sees the light of day - which is still to me a sizable "if" - I fear that the backlash is going to be substantial.

 

[martha]

If this project sees the light of day - which is still to me a sizable "if" - I fear that the backlash is going to be substantial.

You mean on Interference or in real life?

 

[iron yuppie]

Across the spectrum, I think. Because Danger Mouse is seen, either rightly or wrongly, as a genius, a U2 album with him at the helm that still sounds exactly as one would expect a U2 album to sound is going to be taken as evidence that U2 has lost all inspiration. It seems that was already the critical consensus with No Line. A second promise of change left unfulfilled will spread throughout the fan-base as well.