The dB's - Classic or Dud

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I saw these guys mentioned a couple of times on Pitchfork's "Greatest Albums of the 80's" list. Despite this, I decided to check out a couple of their songs. They seemed all right to me. Not spectacular. Apparently they were part of the jangle pop movement, but the songs I listened to weren't particularly jangly or poppy.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Sunday, 16 March 2003 23:24 (10 years ago) Permalink

The first 2 dBs albums are classics. After that, forget it. Will Rigby was a motherfucker of a drummer. The Collectors Choice set of their first 2 does nicely for anyone interested in post-Big-Star power-pop.

― Jess Hill (jesshill), Sunday, 16 March 2003 23:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

CLASSIC, and that includes most of _Like This_ and a big chunk of _The Sound of Music_. First two are definitely the best, though.

― mike a (mike a), Monday, 17 March 2003 00:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

I only have Repercussion, and while this kind of brainy power(?)-pop ain't for everybody, it's a fine good time. I definitely want to hear the first one.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 17 March 2003 00:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

In 1983 they were a big favorite. Boy I felt kinda ripped off when I heard Big Star the next year. But I still like them a lot, they had some very strong stuff. "Moving in Your Sleep" really gets me somehow. I think the conventional wisdom presented above is about OTM.

― Hunter (Hunter), Monday, 17 March 2003 01:07 (10 years ago) Permalink

Very Classic at the time of their release but only just small="c" classic now. Like Hunter pointed out, they obviously wear the Big Star influences, but I like 'em a lot also. And I definitely include Like This and The Sound Of Music in there also. "Amplifier" is a totally classic song.

― Chris Barrus (xibalba), Monday, 17 March 2003 02:29 (10 years ago) Permalink

Really overrated. Seemed better at the time they were released I remember really liking amplifier but its really just kinda boring. Why are they namechecked so much?

― girl scout heroin (iamamonkey), Monday, 17 March 2003 07:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

Not at all my favourite Powerpop act. Lots of great Powerpop around, but Chris Stamey & co are slightly overrated.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 17 March 2003 11:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

Peter Holsapple is a nice enough guy though.

― girl scout heroin (iamamonkey), Monday, 17 March 2003 13:51 (10 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, "Like This" isn't bad, much more conventional power-pop, sans Stamey. Peter Holsapple wrote good songs, very annoying voice, and they were probably the worst live band I've ever seen, esp. in light of what good musicians they really are. When I got the Collectors Choice reissue last year, I was struck by how good Rigby was. For me that made the difference, most power-pop tends to be a bit deficient in the rhythm section, but the two best pp acts had the two best drummers, Jody Stephens and Will Rigby. The first dBs album has a few weak moments but overall, that's a really classic record, very expert indeed.

― Jess Hill (jesshill), Monday, 17 March 2003 14:25 (10 years ago) Permalink

Keep context in mind. They may not sound like much now, but back when the first two albums came out, Big Star was still an OOP cult fave and no one else was making music like the dBs. A decent best-of would be well worth exploring for beginners.

― Lee G (Lee G), Monday, 17 March 2003 14:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

All-time classic for the sequencing of their first two records, and the countrified Lennon/McCartney duality of Chris Stamey (the "smart" one) and Peter Holsapple (the "soulful" one) as songwriters. If you just hear the singles, or a track here and there, then sure, whatever. But as LPs, you really couldn't do much better in the early 80s than Repercussion and Stands for Decibels. I like Like This but Stamey was gone by then to a disappointing solo career; The Sound of Music has three of my favorite songs but the sound is flat.

Search: Ride the Wild Tom-Tom, a collection of early tracks from when they were sleeping on the floor of New York Rocker.

― Neudonym, Monday, 17 March 2003 14:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

God I loved the NY Rocker ,I still have a stack of them on the fridge gathering mold spores. I like to see who was playing at CBGB's on any given day in 1979 The DB's certainly were on the scene at that time and yeah in 1979 no one was familiar with Bigstar. So I recant. Classic with the small c like the other dude said

― girl scout heroin (iamamonkey), Monday, 17 March 2003 15:19 (10 years ago) Permalink

dbs also did a nice version of Richard Lloyd tune "I Thought You Wanted to Know" aval. on one of those Rhino American Power Pop samplers.

― Jess Hill (jesshill), Monday, 17 March 2003 16:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

I always felt there was something wrong with me that I liked _Like This_ as much as I did (and do). At the time I was shocked that it was not a top 40 record, but it also made me feel kinda lowbrow. Also, Stamey's and Holsapple's _Mavericks_ album was strong. Having never heard it, I scored it last year in a parking lot clearance- for 99 cents. It's about the jangliest janglepop around.

― Hunter (Hunter), Tuesday, 18 March 2003 05:59 (10 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Classic all the way. Stamey has just released a solo cd- Travels in The South that is one of the best things he has done. Given that it has been almost 13 years since his last proper release I guess he was able to scrounge up some songs.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 01:10 (8 years ago) Permalink

A story from back in the day. Bearsville's deal with Warner Bros. was about to end or already had (I believe; anyway, something like that). Jim Ford, the dB's' manager, sat down with someone at WB who held up a sheet of paper and said, "This is the marketing budget for ['Like This']." The guy then balled the piece of paper up and threw it into the trash can, explaining that WB would honor the contract and release the record, but that that was it.

It still sold a few thousand copies in Chicago, and funnily, my hometown of Norfolk -- the latter due in large part to heavy FM airplay by my best friend, who broke format at her powerhouse rock station almost every night to spin something from it.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 06:44 (8 years ago) Permalink

Like This was pretty popular back in Baaaastin when it came out, but college radio was the right venue for that. My friends on WHRB spun it all the time. A great record, with some great songs. But I don't like the new Stamey as much as I'd like to. Not fun enough.

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:46 (8 years ago) Permalink

Holsapple was always the funny one.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:52 (8 years ago) Permalink

stands for decibels is one of my favorite drumming records and one of my favorite production jobs. i dont really like repercussions that much; i may have to give it more listens - its a little too slow and verges on boring sometimes, which the first album never does.

that said, on the strength of the first album, total classic.

― peter smith (plsmith), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:56 (8 years ago) Permalink

The first album is a classic...one of the half-dozen essential power-pop albums. "Repercussion" is also good if not as strong as the first. "Like This" has its moments but I do not like Peter Holsapple's singing. The stuff after that I haven't listened to at all. They were a lousy live band, though.

Stamey solo records, I've heard "It's Alright" and his first solo album, the one with "Depth of Field." It's nice, the production is dated, though. "It's Alright" is actually very good, a few duds, but the title track is quite impressive.

They really were one of the first groups to take what Big Star did and extend it into the '80s, and as such always seemed far more credible than, say, Teenage Fanclub, who were always a bit underpowered for my tastes. And Will Rigby is a great drummer.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 14:12 (8 years ago) Permalink

i would go so far as to call the dB's (circa stands for decibels) art-power-pop.

― peter smith (plsmith), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 14:15 (8 years ago) Permalink

The first album is a classic...one of the half-dozen essential power-pop albums.

can i ask which are the other essentials?

― Michael Dubsky, Tuesday, 27 July 2004 14:28 (8 years ago) Permalink

Cheap Trick, Dream Police (that's right, you heard me, this is their best record)
Velvet Crush, Teenage Symphonies to God
other noms plz

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:16 (8 years ago) Permalink

Anyone have this:

― artdamages (artdamages), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:56 (8 years ago) Permalink

yeah, it's fun! hardcore version of 'judy,' including f-bomb by holsapple

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 16:14 (8 years ago) Permalink

Customers who bought titles by Db's also bought titles by these artists:

Fountains Of Wayne
Let's Active
The Shins
New Pornographers
Ministry

― artdamages (artdamages), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 16:16 (8 years ago) Permalink

i sold my CD copy of Like This on ebay a few years back for, like, 60 bucks and i regret it to this day.

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 17:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

The first album is a classic...one of the half-dozen essential power-pop albums.

can i ask which are the other essentials?

Why certainly.

I'd say:

Big Star--#1 Record; Radio City
Marshall Crenshaw--Marshall Crenshaw; Field Day
Badfinger--Straight Up; No Dice
Todd Rundgren--Something/Anything (kinda beyond p-p but contains the essential "Couldn't I Just Tell You"
Everly Brothers--Two Yanks in England ('66, roots of American power-pop right here)
Move--Shazam; Something Else from the Move (contains "Fire Brigade" and "Wild Tiger Woman," both quintessential p-p)
Easybeats--Absolute Anthology
Left Banke--Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina (mo' roots of A.P.P.)
Records--The Records (spotty but includes "Starry Eyes" and "Teenarama," essential)
dBs--Stands for Decibels
Flamin' Groovies--Shake Some Action; Now (not entirely consistent but good stuff)
Cheap Trick--"If You Want My Love"; "In Color" I guess--not really as nuanced as the best power-pop, but their hearts were in the right place, and I'd call them the slightly watered-down populist wing of the genre)
"Blue Ash"
Chris Bell--I am the Cosmos
Raspberries--Starting Over

that's really about it. Teenage Fanclub, Jellyfish, etc., did some nice stuff but can't really think of one great album by them. Ditto Diesel Park West, who did the best Big Star rip ever on "All the Myths on Sunday" but whose LPs aren't too good. The Posies don't really cut it for me, although some nice stuff. The Shins are somewhat in the vein, but a bit too folky. 10cc tried too hard, although I like 'em OK. Tom Petty kinda did it, but too fuckin' populist for my taste. The Beatles, Byrds, Zombies, Who are often cited as the roots of the genre and I won't disagree, but I think the Everly Brothers in the mid-'60s were far more to the point of what power-pop became than any of them. The Small Faces and the Kinks certainly had their power-pop moments but overall, no. The Knack were really odious, although of course they had one big hit. Squeeze was good but they were something else, although there are a few things you could call power-pop in their ouvre. The Nazz weren't really very good. Dwight Twilley didn't make a really consistently good album.

I think Greg Shaw and those Bomp! people did the world a disservice with their lame-ass attempt to define the genre. Sweet isn't power-pop, and I don't think the Who is ultimately that important either. The roots of the genre lie in the American attempt to do the Beatles--and I think the Everly Brothers in the mid-'60s were every bit as good as the Beatles and had the necessary American dislocation and melancholy that makes the genre what it is. It ain't never been skinny ties and big chiming guitars and all that, nope.

Let 'er rip!

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 20:52 (8 years ago) Permalink

If you are looking for power pop, i'd say check out The Smithereens. They were a good band, especially the drummer, he was rock solid and could sing. The early two albums are better than the later few, so seek out "Especially for You" or "Green Thoughts" if you are curious.

I like Teenage Fanclub's earlier albums. They seemed to get more streamlined and cleaned up as they went on and I couldn't get into it as much. "Bandwagonesque" is good front to back, even if part of it is a total Big Star rip.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 23:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

I like the Knack, at least the first album. It's a lot more rocking then some of the records you listed, Eddie. Burton Averre was a really good lead guitarist.

What about Shoes, Rubinoos, and records I've never heard like the Quick's album on Mercury and the Milk 'n' Cookies album on Island?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 23:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

I got Stands For Decibels finally and am not really getting into it. I want to give it more time though. I finally gave up on Repercussion but I like "Happenstance," "Ask For Jill" and "Amplifier" off that one.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 23:51 (8 years ago) Permalink

my favorite dBs record is a set of the 6 albion singles packaged in one plastic envelope that I got a few years ago. It has pretty much all the best songs from the first two albums, as well as nifty Assorted Images artwork.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 00:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

dB's - definately classic. "stands for decibels" fucks with my head on a frequent basis.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 00:32 (8 years ago) Permalink

Shoes are great. 20/20, at least their first self-titled album, are also great. S/D Shoes "Tomorrow Night," 20/20 "Yellow Pills."

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:32 (8 years ago) Permalink

Teenage Fanclub's Songs From Northern Britain would make this list for me.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:32 (8 years ago) Permalink

Oh, and Dwight Twilley Band's 'Sincerely' is also a classic LP. There are two different CD editions, both out of print.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:33 (8 years ago) Permalink

Customers who bought titles by Db's also bought titles by these artists:
Fountains Of Wayne
Let's Active
The Shins
New Pornographers
Ministry

Ministry, now there's some power pop for ya.

"Amplifier" is definitely classic. Repercussion as a whole... not a dud, but certainly not on the power pop essentials list.

― wetmink (wetmink), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:40 (8 years ago) Permalink

I got Stands For Decibels finally and am not really getting into it. I want to give it more time though. I finally gave up on Repercussion but I like "Happenstance," "Ask For Jill" and "Amplifier" off that one.

Yeah, those are the ones I like best off "Repercussion."

"The Fight" off the first one is a dud, I think.

As far as the Shoes go, I like them fine, especially the very first one. I guess my problem with it, though, is that they seem like a gloss on the real thing rather than the real thing itself.

And my power-pop aesthetic for what it's worth has not so much to do with "rocking." I want rocking, I'll listen to any number of other things. The Knack just seem one-dimensional to me. As does Cheap Trick, whom I've grown to like more the last few years. For my taste the whole power-pop thing is about not-exactly-rocking, you know? Seems to me there has to be a certain ruefulness about it, which is why I like Big Star or the Everlys so much. I don't see power-pop as a populist form, actually, which when you think about it is strange since the whole thing does kind of derive from the attempt to keep the Beatles alive, who were the most popular group ever (at least of their time).

That's a good comment about the first dB's album, "fucking with my head." That album is insidious in the best possible way, formalism gone nuts.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:47 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, but the appeal of "Ecstasy" by the Raspberries is how rocking it is, no?

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:56 (8 years ago) Permalink

That's a good comment about the first dB's album, "fucking with my head." That album is insidious in the best possible way, formalism gone nuts. (eddie hurt)

if you knew me well enough, "fucking with my head" is how i describe pretty much every record i love.

but yes, it is insidious! i remember the first time i heard "black and white" i didnt think much of it and then out of nowhere, i found myself singing it at the most random moments.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 01:59 (8 years ago) Permalink

Well, see, I don't really love the Raspberries all that much. "Go All the Way" doesn't do it for me nearly as much as Big Star's "When My Baby's Beside Me," and I'd say those are the canonical '72 power-pop statements along with Rundgren's "Couldn't I Just Tell You." The Raspberries were good but so damned tense, you know? But you have to say they're classic power-pop, I just don't listen to them all that much.

I forgot Nick Lowe's "Labour of Lust," which is pretty classic power-pop. "Cruel to Be Kind" is such a great single, and insidious...I mean, what is that weird sound that recurs in that song?

And yeah, Maria, I am pretty much enamored of the insidious...I don't know how much more insidious you can get than "Tearjerkin'" or "Cycles Per Second" or "Espionage" off that first dB's album. I need something offputting in pop a lot of the time; I've always had a blind spot when it comes to straightforward, rocking stuff...I find the Beach Boys insidious, and the Byrds and Love and the Zombies too, they're my favorite '60s groups.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 28 July 2004 02:10 (8 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

Thursday, Dec. 6, the dB's will be special guests of Yo La Tengo, whose annual Hannukah shows at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, have become an institution. They are $30 benefit shows, on sale now, and likely to sell out.

― Dr Morbius, Monday, 29 October 2007 19:04 (5 years ago) Permalink

I yield to no one in my love for the dB's. But as far as power-pop in the 80s (and 90s), all must bow before the mighty Green.

And damn, looks like I'll have to snap up a YLT ticket.

― Sara Sara Sara, Monday, 29 October 2007 19:36 (5 years ago) Permalink

Wasn't Gene Holder in Yo La Tengo? Damn, this is definitely one of those shows I wish I could attend. (It's also my birthday.)

Like This has now been reissued and is pretty damn cheap now.

― Mackro Mackro, Monday, 29 October 2007 19:38 (5 years ago) Permalink

I saw Stamey playing bass for Yo La Tengo in late 1985.

― dad a, Monday, 29 October 2007 19:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

They're also at Southpaw in Dec. The show they did at Bowery Ballroom earlier this year was fun, but Holsapple has lost range in his voice. Or more charitably, was not having a great night vocally.

― Thus Sang Freud, Monday, 29 October 2007 19:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

That's the Green that usta have Rudy Giuliani's ghostwriter playing bass in the '80s, right Sara?

I saw the dB's once in the '80s (post-Stamey) and once since (first reunion w/ Stamey?).

― Dr Morbius, Monday, 29 October 2007 19:57 (5 years ago) Permalink

That's the Green that usta have Rudy Giuliani's ghostwriter playing bass in the '80s, right Sara?

The very same. Ken Kurson was the bassist/ghostwriter. He also had a brief career co-leading the Lilacs (2 singles and 1 LP).

― Sara Sara Sara, Monday, 29 October 2007 20:04 (5 years ago) Permalink

i went to a Built to Spill show with Ken.

― Dr Morbius, Monday, 29 October 2007 20:10 (5 years ago) Permalink

SEARCH: "I Thought You Wanted To Know."

Right up there with "Another Girl, Another Planet" if you ask me.

― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 31 October 2007 02:36 (5 years ago) Permalink

"Black and White" puts a shiver up my spine everytime I hear it. That guitar hook and the way Rigby pounds around it. Mindbending!

― Brooker Buckingham, Wednesday, 31 October 2007 04:18 (5 years ago) Permalink

SEARCH: "I Thought You Wanted To Know."

The B side of this is a killer too...

― Michael Dudikoff presents Action Adventure Theatre, Wednesday, 31 October 2007 10:21 (5 years ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

more like Stands for Douchebags amirite

― wanko ergo sum, Saturday, 7 June 2008 14:07 (4 years ago) Permalink

'moving in your sleep' is the most romantic song i know

― poortheatre, Saturday, 7 June 2008 14:14 (4 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

heard "From A Window to a Screen" for the first time in a long time this morning. ah, the sound of being 26...

― johnnyo, Friday, 29 January 2010 18:24 (3 years ago) Permalink

First two albums twofer is as classic as they come, merely good with some great moments thereafter.

― PaulTMA, Friday, 29 January 2010 18:52 (3 years ago) Permalink

years ago, i covered the entire "repercussion" album out of boredom. gotta go find that...

― johnnyo, Friday, 29 January 2010 21:16 (3 years ago) Permalink

First two albums twofer is as classic as they come, merely good with some great moments thereafter.

xpost: this is a false opinion! (sorry,i'm kidding) But, Like This is bloody brilliant. "Spy in the house of Love" is one of the best songs from the 1980's that most people don't know, IMO

― pobrecito (outdoor_miner), Friday, 29 January 2010 21:25 (3 years ago) Permalink

i have a bootleg somewhere with mainly holsapple demos recorded in the run-up to "like this". it was pretty good, much better than the finished product imho.

― johnnyo, Friday, 29 January 2010 21:33 (3 years ago) Permalink

that sounds cool. why you no like like this, though? is it the 80's production values?

― pobrecito (outdoor_miner), Friday, 29 January 2010 23:29 (3 years ago) Permalink

it's ok i guess, but i really like the stamey/holesapple combo. without stamey, it all sounds a bit..samey. see what i did there?

― johnnyo, Monday, 1 February 2010 15:06 (3 years ago) Permalink

I take it back: Like This is fantastic really, just not quite on a par with the previous two. 'The Sound Of Music' is OK but pretty ordinary.

― PaulTMA, Monday, 1 February 2010 15:25 (3 years ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

I just realised the drumming on stands for decibels is the best drumming ever.

― Spikey, Wednesday, 29 September 2010 07:09 (2 years ago) Permalink

it is pretty great, yeah

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 29 September 2010 07:20 (2 years ago) Permalink

The version of "Spy in the House of Love" on Ride the Wild Tom Tom is worth seeking out, I think it's my favourite dB's song alongside "Moving in Your Sleep". Why didn't Holsapple write another twenty like those?

― Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 29 September 2010 14:38 (2 years ago) Permalink

6 months pass...

I just realised they put out a single for record store day ("Picture Sleeve") and that they've got an album in the works. the single is a Chris Stamey gem and the drummer does the b-side which is also nice.

― Spikey, Wednesday, 27 April 2011 11:07 (2 years ago) Permalink

I listened "A Spy in the House of Love" last night.

― My mom is all about capital gains tax butthurtedness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 27 April 2011 11:14 (2 years ago) Permalink

I hate being like, "whoah, that dude got old," because it will happen to me -- soon -- but whoah, Peter Holsapple is unrecognisable:

― Chuck_Tatum, Wednesday, 27 April 2011 12:38 (2 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

I never really listened to these guys outside of a few key tracks (always meant to check out their debut), but man, the new one is pretty ehhhhh.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 27 July 2012 03:32 (9 months ago) Permalink

I mean, its well played, but it really sounds pretty tame and AORish? Like there's no spark or anything, just competently played songs with pretty corny lyrics.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 27 July 2012 03:34 (9 months ago) Permalink

I dig it, it hits all the right spots in my head. They sound so happy playing together and they know how to craft a tune.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 27 July 2012 03:41 (9 months ago) Permalink

agree with both heated and boing - love me some db's - and while i like the new one in spots it is kinda ehhhh - pains me to type that too

― jimmy_chop, Friday, 27 July 2012 11:14 (9 months ago) Permalink

weirdly, because them becoming a constantly-touring act isn't really a possibility I don't think, the songs on this one sound like they'd really open up & kick ass live - like the road would really get them into a great pocket. I like this album a lot, really enjoy the tunes, but -- well, when what you're playing is a sort of 60s-inflected melodic rock you've sort of agreed to table concerns about "vitality" or "spark" in favor of just showing your wares

― tallarico dreams (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 27 July 2012 12:45 (9 months ago) Permalink

Yeah, I mean, I totally recognize that they are really great musicians and know what they're doing, I'm just pretty sure what they are doing right now, in 2012, doesn't hold my interest.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:30 (9 months ago) Permalink

I dunno, I think it's a surprisinly good album, certainly superior to The Sound Of Music. Stamey's songs are particularly good. I think it has quite a bit more edge than their solo careers have had of late. The only time it descends into cheese is 'She Won't Drive In The Rain Anymore' which suggests someone's been hanging out with too many Blowfish.

― Supper's Burnt (PaulTMA), Friday, 27 July 2012 16:22 (9 months ago) Permalink

only great track on the new dB's is "Send Me Something Real." the old Television-Richard Lloyd heave-ho on guitars. the rest, some good, a few rather pallid. their subject is the same old middle-aged angst and I don't think they do it very interestingly, for the most part.

― Edd Hurt, Monday, 30 July 2012 23:50 (9 months ago) Permalink

when what you're playing is a sort of 60s-inflected melodic rock you've sort of agreed to table concerns about "vitality" or "spark" in favor of just showing your wares

I don't see that there's any reason whatsoever why this has to be so.

― timellison, Tuesday, 31 July 2012 00:08 (9 months ago) Permalink

Well, I'm 45 and the lyrics on the new one speak to me, the sound is warm and invigorating and I'm drawn in. How much does ones distance from an albums themes factor into it's enjoyment?

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 31 July 2012 02:30 (9 months ago) Permalink

I'd be totally willing to overlook the clunky lyrics if I was being drawn in by anything else, but it just felt so, almost, clinical, to me. But thats not really the word I want to use either, I'm really struggling to explain why I don't really enjoy this album. It has something to do with this smirking ex-coworker of mine that would totally have found this to be the most clever thing ever and would take great pride in pointing out to me how "smart" they are. Admittedly, a lot of this is my projection, but I'm not enticed by anything here, beyond a could of great hooks that are too good to fuck up.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 31 July 2012 02:45 (9 months ago) Permalink

I'm old enough to have bought the first 2 dB's albums on vinyl when they came out--1981--via mail order. So the middle-aged angst aspect of it is about someone my age. I think they are honest about it and I think they've earned the right to examine their plight, such as it is. I do love "Send Me Something" and enjoy the rest of the album, but it lacks the spark of the old dB's--even Like This had more bounce to it. I actually think Holsapple has gained as a singer, altho his yelping voice is still strangely callow. I saw Stamey and Holsapple a while back and thought they were great, and their last duo album was pretty good, and addressed the middle-aged angst thing pretty well. I respect these guys a lot, but their new record reminds me why I think rock 'n' roll is music that young people should do, if not necessarily music for young people...

― Edd Hurt, Tuesday, 31 July 2012 03:54 (9 months ago) Permalink

Well, yeah, in my mind it's a step down from "Like This" and "Sound Of Music" (which I adore) but taken on it's own merits, it's a very satisfying listen. I guess I'm just a sucker for the Stamey/Holsapple team because I think their two collaboration albums are great too whereas their solo work is very missable.

Will Rigby's song with "when I replied to your reply to my reply to your reply to my reply to your letter" is one of my favorites.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 31 July 2012 14:21 (9 months ago) Permalink

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