The Field Mice: Cl*ss*c Or D*d

i find it hard to take

the two are in some connected together in my mind.

I remember gareth said something about how hood's 'the cold house' reminded him of leeds but 'the leeds of robbie keane.' and I think this in someway relates but I can't get to grips with explaining why nor how.

this may be another folk method vs. pop method dichotomy, at the level of instinct rather than purpose.

(v.late reply to ESOJ - they both wouldn't exist without acid house, & I discovered them both through tom's top 100 singles of the nineties)

Young Gods, watch out, the Field Mice are behind you and they're signalling to overtake!"
- simon reynolds in melody maker circa 1991!

haha if I could chop them in half & keep the bit that did "Triangle", "Humblebee", "Missing The Moon", "It Isn't Forever", "Let's Kiss & Make Up" (& the others of that ilk) . . .

(btw ned is that where you lifted yr stephin merritt jab from? or does the phrase "death & my cock is the world" have some sort of propah-musical origin?)

I'm sure it has to be!

(did the post-FM pre-TBS band have many tracks in that sort of electronic style?)

find mp3s of "the way that stars die" or "monotone." you might see if you like the marine time keepers as well, they have a nice NPL thing going on their album. and alaska is fantastic.

An excess of Field Mice stuff is just rather *too much*. I like them in moderation; at their best, they are rather better than the twee stereotypes they are often monikered as; look at "Missing the Moon", "Indian Ocean", "Tilting at Windmills" (comparable as someone said above to what Seefeel and Disco Inferno were up to) and "It Isn't Forever" (hypnotic spirallings; sublime clatter from after 5:00). These are very atmospheric, inventive drifts. And the more straightforward stuff, sonically, can be much as excellent: "Coach Station Reunion", "Between Hello and Goodbye" (an aural clearness like Aztec Camera's "High Land, High Rain", though more muted and slight a song in comparison to Frame's), "If You Need Someone" (very New Order bassline), "Willow", "Canada" (positively jaunty, yet bittersweet; Willie Nelson ought to cover it) and "Emma's House". Most of those are more upbeat than their standard. And that standard can, across the 2-CD compilation, stultify a bit. There's a lack of contrast in style and tempo for much of CD2. It is largely there where for me the criticisms start to ring true; rather too much repetition, and nothing much interesting musically. The lyrics and vocals start to weary too, without odd, indie-ambient stuff like "Tilting at Windmills"... one can only take so much of these plaintive, earnest tones, and the word retread comes to mind with a lot of this material.

cozen can you give details on this docu?

or at least an awareness of different dramatic devices

Yeah, I really enjoyed that EP as well. I'm very excited.