Grandaddy

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The new Grandaddy album leaked. 'Sumday'.

Thoughts?

― Scott Warner (thream), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:08 (10 years ago) Permalink

I've got it queued on slsk and I am geeked to find out what "El Caminos In the West" is about/sounds like. But 12 tracks? I thought it was supposed to be an epic double CD.

And where the fuck are all the songs about Alan Parsons?

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

I really like grandaddy.

I hadn't thought about them for a long time until last week and I listened to all their records.

then I wondered what they were doing nowadays.

I think I'll have a look on imesh.

― RJG (RJG), Saturday, 22 March 2003 19:29 (10 years ago) Permalink

It's Gdaddy on autopilot. Not bad, but a little less inspired than their previous incursion into very samey material.

Hmmm... several songs with robot analogies...

― Scott Warner (thream), Sunday, 23 March 2003 01:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland = Best Christmas Song Ever.

― phil-two (phil-two), Sunday, 23 March 2003 04:40 (10 years ago) Permalink

I bought their last one on the strength of hype...and I'm sorry, but I just don't "get" whatever about them that is supposed to be great.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:15 (10 years ago) Permalink

their first album was exceptional
i didn't really get into the more recent one,although i saw them play live around the same time and thought it was great...

― robin (robin), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:19 (10 years ago) Permalink

I bought the last one too. Sort of liked it for a while, then got really bored of it and sold it back. I can only take so many sentimental songs about robots.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

Which would be... er... two?

This new one is initially disappointing mostly because it lacks what I loved about The Sophtware Slump: an unsubtle veneer of anachronistic electronics and synths. I'm a sucker for that retrofuturistic quasi-'70s stuff, especially in a pop context; "The Crystal Lake" and "Chartsengrafs" are what Weezer wish they could still be but hijacked by The Cars' junkyard band electronic-surplus-raiding Atari addict kids. This new one sounds like Wilco, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if (a) there weren't a Wilco already and (b) they hadn't lured me in a couple years ago with BLEEP BO-DOOP WHIRRRRRRR.

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:28 (10 years ago) Permalink

Tom's favorite band EVAH!

(Note: I am lying to a ridiculous degree.)

They were all right opening for Gorky's but I wanted to see Gorky's and not them, dammit.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:28 (10 years ago) Permalink

(Granted, I haven't paid much attention to the lyrics yet, which is another of their strong suits, so it'll probably grow on me)

(Also, at least "Now It's On" fills that whole robo-pop niche pretty well)

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

Which would be... er... two?

True, but then there are all the sentimental songs not about robots.

― o. nate (onate), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oh. Well... yeah. I suppose it takes a certain mood to listen to that sort of stuff. "Mopey and alone", maybe. An odd coincidence: the day I came home from the record store with The Sophtware Slump (an impulse buy from the used bin: "Hey, they did that 'Crystal Lake' song, and I liked that"), I found a copy of "Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest Kid on Earth" waiting for me.

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:40 (10 years ago) Permalink

i just downloaded it and I really like I'm On Standby and a few others. 's ok - i was never a huge fan but i own all their other records and this one is just as good as the others.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

the band for the bearded contingent of ilm

― keith (keithmcl), Monday, 24 March 2003 17:35 (10 years ago) Permalink

Do "goatee and sideburns" count as a beard? Also, what the fuck does beardedness have to do with Grandaddy?

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Monday, 24 March 2003 17:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

Can someone post a list of the songs with the real
lengths, just like someone did on the "Hail To The Thief"
thread?

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Tuesday, 1 April 2003 18:04 (10 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Grandaddy split up.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Friday, 27 January 2006 10:34 (7 years ago) Permalink

Shame.

― StanM (StanM), Friday, 27 January 2006 10:59 (7 years ago) Permalink

Boo! :(

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Friday, 27 January 2006 11:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

Shame. The Sophtware Slump was one of those magical moments where you buy a record and everything about your life at that point seems to fit together in context with the album.

They also encouraged me to grow a beard. Rock on.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Friday, 27 January 2006 11:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

I imagine I probably still like grandaddy but haven't listened to them in ages and never bought or heard the record that this thread was started for

oh, well, they split up

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 27 January 2006 11:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

i don't like this

― rizzx (Rizz), Friday, 27 January 2006 11:48 (7 years ago) Permalink

The split or the album?

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Friday, 27 January 2006 11:50 (7 years ago) Permalink

as the hermit said in life of brian, "oh damn damn damn damn".

a real shame.

― whatever (boglogger), Friday, 27 January 2006 12:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

Grandaddy had a weird position in the indie rock landscape. They were the band that sounded enough like one of your favorite bands to be worth checking out, but they were never anyone's favorite band. Did Sophtware Slump rank decently high in P&J?

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 27 January 2006 15:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

i thought a new album was supposed to come out? this sucks

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 27 January 2006 15:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

oh I guess I should read the nme article

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 27 January 2006 15:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

Fuck. I really liked Sophtware Slump, it just fit perfectly in my life at the time. I'll give it a listen tonight and enjoy the memories. I always wanted to see them live, guess that's not going to be happening any time soon now :(

― Kv_nol (Kv_nol), Friday, 27 January 2006 15:49 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'm glad I saw them support the super furry animals in glasgow. I never did get along to any subsequent tours. Damn.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Friday, 27 January 2006 16:31 (7 years ago) Permalink

I did get to see five shows, so I am lucky (sorry, blatant bragging on my part here)

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Friday, 27 January 2006 17:34 (7 years ago) Permalink

i really enjoyed grandaddy.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 27 January 2006 17:47 (7 years ago) Permalink

Catching Grandaddy at The Paradise (Boston) in '03 was and remains, without question, one of my Top 5 Live Shows of All-Time (Radiohead at Glastonbury in '97; PJ Harvey at The Academy (NYC) in '93 -- also in there to give some context).

Suxxor that they likely won't tour for their swan song. Although there's no tellin' if Fambly Cat will be Sumday II or a return to Sophtware and/or ...Freeway form. If the former perhaps we should just immerse ourselves in the latter and thank Lytle & Co. for sharing the two with us.

All in all, Grandaddy'll be missed.

― Zimmer026 (Zimmer026), Friday, 27 January 2006 18:47 (7 years ago) Permalink

saw grandaddy, bright eyes & home at the khyber back in the day. the only time i ever saw any of those bands! sophtware slump was brilliant.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:05 (7 years ago) Permalink

i really liked them. dude's fondness for cats was a little creepy, though.

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:08 (7 years ago) Permalink

they were indeed thrilling live, they rocked those beards hard. saw them twice and it makes me feel good

― rizzx (Rizz), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:28 (7 years ago) Permalink

Did Sophtware Slump rank decently high in P&J?

this question is somwhat ridiculous as there are zillions of people that know what Sophtware Slump is as opposed to 50 who know what P&J stands for

― Rizz (Rizz), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:31 (7 years ago) Permalink

*who know

― Rizz (Rizz), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:31 (7 years ago) Permalink

yeah grandaddy were the shit, I saw them three? four times... the first as a fluke when highway came out at a label showcase, no idea who they were. after that it was exclusively when they were opening for bigger bands, they got the luxury of playing great sized rooms that really worked for their sound. oh and once I saw them play for free at justin herman plaza outside inthe cold here in SF. that was the last time I guess.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

Mark OTM. Despite some great recordings there was something dude-ish and off-putting about these guys where it would feel kind of embarassing or at least kind of boring to really love them. I really really liked Sophtware Slump at the time, but they peaked at being my second-favorite band of the times, and rapidly declined after I kind of got sick of that album and couldn't find too much to love in their first one. "Summer Here Kids" grates on me, although I adore "Go Progress Chrome." Never got any of the post-Slump releases.

SEARCH: A friend of mine turned me on to "MGM Grand," which is a great direction for their sound, more uptempo, lyrics less cloaked in dumb metaphors and just concerned with telling this kind of freaky, dream-like story of some kids throwing a sick lion off the roof of a building. The one track by them that I'll be putting on mixtapes twenty years from now, and for which I'll really mourn their breakup, is "Protected From The Rain," a very simple, affecting (somewhat emo-y) ballad.

DESTROY: All album titles. Maybe those were why it was hard to get really excited about a Grandaddy album coming out. I mean... "Just Like The Fambly Cat"?

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

I saw them play the Leadmill in Sheffield some time in 2003. The whole band and crew were in the curry house round the corner before the show. It was the last night of the tour and they seemed a little, ahem, drunk. Someone on the crew had slipped photos of Jason Lytle's dog into the visuals, which prompted him to stop the song and collapse in a fit of giggles. Also, the girl stood next to me was sick. Good times.

― Mike W (caek), Friday, 27 January 2006 19:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

P&J
26. Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker (Bloodshot) 344 (34)
27. Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump (V2) 339 (35)
28. Le Tigre: Le Tigre (Mr.Lady) 329 (29) *

― älänbänänä (alanbanana), Friday, 27 January 2006 20:54 (7 years ago) Permalink

something dude-ish and off-putting about these guys

their beards were what were so great about them! they didn't even remotely look like the kinds of guys that would be making soaring ELO inspired synth epics! they looked like a bunch of skaters!

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:05 (7 years ago) Permalink

they were huge sounding live, "crystal lake" especially. too bad everything they put out after "slump" was kind of shitty. "slump" is a classic now.

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

this will cheer everyone up:

http://www.stewdio.org/jed/

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:08 (7 years ago) Permalink

you know all the times I saw them I never heard them play Crystal Lake, it was like the avoided playing their hit or something

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

thanks, cutty. that was awesome.

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

weird - I saw them at a Noisepop show in 2000 and thought they were horrible, tons of equipment problems, tuneless twiddling... never bothered with the albums, all their titles seemed so cloying and proud of their "look at me, I'm making a pun!" cleverness.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

something dude-ish and off-putting about these guys
their beards were what were so great about them! they didn't even remotely look like the kinds of guys that would be making soaring ELO inspired synth epics! they looked like a bunch of skaters!

-- kyle (akmonda...), Today 1:05 PM. (akmonday)

Jason Lytle was a pro-skater prior to blowing his knee to bits and taking up music.

To you folks unfamiliar with Grandaddy's hometown/base, they were from MODESTO, CA. I don't know how many of you have ever been there, but guys, this is not Los Angeles, San Francisco, or San Diego... it's the backward suburban central valley that Steve Malkmus paid tribute to with "Take me down from the ridge where the summer ends/We'll watch the city spread out just like a jet's flame"... and unlike Pavement (SM in Portland/Spiral in Seattle), Grandaddy were lifers.

I hadn't seen them since their record release party for Sophtware Slump at the Cafe Du Nord in June 2000 (it was a great show). I actually only heard one song of their's since then ("Now It's On" which I think is a great song!) but I often see members around (friends of friends) and they're always been really cool, mellow dudes, dudes.

Steve

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:19 (7 years ago) Permalink

TS: Modesto vs. Visalia

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

Dude Grandaddy did not play Noise Pop in 2000 (although your band did).

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

modesto = lacey peterson

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:23 (7 years ago) Permalink

And if you mean 1999, I was at the show too and had a song dedicated to me, yes, Steve Shasta by one of the opening bands!

― Steve Shasta (Steve Shasta), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

steve shasta posts on ILX now!

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

haha - yeah I'm mixing up my years (sorry)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:28 (7 years ago) Permalink

steve shasta is my factcheckingsecondcousin

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Friday, 27 January 2006 21:41 (7 years ago) Permalink

Modesto = Gary Condit/Chandra Levy, too.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Friday, 27 January 2006 23:47 (7 years ago) Permalink

Modesto also =(more or less) American Graffiti

― wmlynch (wlynch), Saturday, 28 January 2006 00:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

why the general non-love for sumday? not as varied as the slump, but a brilliant realisation of a different period in the band's life - or so it seemed to me.

the rugged and splintered entertainment center is a top post-sumday tune too.

― whatever (boglogger), Saturday, 28 January 2006 00:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

I was at the same show! And I was also next to the girl who was sick! Wow.

Didn't Elbow support if I remember rightly? I bought the Any Day Now EP that night I believe.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Saturday, 28 January 2006 23:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

RIP, I liked The Sophtware Slump a lot. Everything else was just OK, and they probably would of done better if they took chances and released that doulble album instead, last time out or manybe they didn't have enough good songs for a 2CD set?

― BeeOK (boo radley), Sunday, 29 January 2006 02:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

Never got to see them live, though i had meant to see them in Glasgow on the Sumday tour. I have a rather cool Grandaddy frisbee. I second the love for Protected From The Rain upthread, it's a beautiful, beautiful song.

― Michael Lambert (Michael Lambert), Sunday, 29 January 2006 18:43 (7 years ago) Permalink

Fambly Cat leaked, it's pretty good. There are some crazy loud guitar songs on this. The first song is terribly sad. Best song: Where I'm Anymore, with the "meow meow meow meow meow" background vocals.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 10 February 2006 07:35 (7 years ago) Permalink

Best song: Where I'm Anymore, with the "meow meow meow meow meow" background vocals.

Heh...that one bugs the hell out of me.

― a. begrand (a begrand), Friday, 10 February 2006 08:46 (7 years ago) Permalink

After two excellent albums in a row, always looking forward to more material from Grandaddy.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 10 February 2006 11:37 (7 years ago) Permalink

well, this'll be the last time you have something to look forward to

― willem -- (willem), Friday, 10 February 2006 12:08 (7 years ago) Permalink

i love the 2nd song, have to get used to the others for a while i guess, lytle's vocal parts seem a little different than before. the intro is very sad indeed

― rizzx (Rizz), Friday, 10 February 2006 21:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

Heh...that one bugs the hell out of me.

it is from the POV of a lost cat, therefore = most ILX friendly song ever

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 11 February 2006 00:34 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

http://jasonlytle.com/famblydemos.php

― StanM, Wednesday, 26 March 2008 21:05 (5 years ago) Permalink

sorry for the bare link, but it's all explained there :-)

― StanM, Wednesday, 26 March 2008 21:08 (5 years ago) Permalink

Not even seen the link.
Just saw the thread.

If you old timers were there.Leeds Festering.1964. or ws it 2004? Jase having a pop at the so called punkers on the mainstage? He called it quits shortly after.

How could the fat old bearded skater compete with all that make up and gloss?

And ZERO tunes

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 27 March 2008 00:38 (5 years ago) Permalink

To clear it up. not that anycnt is listening
GRANDADDY= ELO

Grandaddy = Class

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 27 March 2008 00:41 (5 years ago) Permalink

Hmm. Fambly Cat is the only Grandaddy album I haven't heard, and I'm not sure if I want my first listen to the songs to be demo versions. Then again, although I like Grandaddy alright, I haven't listened to them in a few years and probably wouldn't pick up Fambly Cat unless it was $3 or something, so it's likely I won't hear it for several more years anyway.

This is the most difficult decision anyone has ever faced.

― Z S, Thursday, 27 March 2008 01:35 (5 years ago) Permalink

Another Grandaddy obscurity (Sophtware Slump era) my friend Dave turned me on to: "Our Dying Brains," which has a really effective/affecting cut-n-paste job on the wordless chorus vocal.

― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 27 March 2008 03:23 (5 years ago) Permalink

not a huge loss really having missed the boat on 'fambly cat'

― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 27 March 2008 04:17 (5 years ago) Permalink

grandaddy's relative success now seems like a long-distant surreal dream...how could it have happened?

― akm, Thursday, 27 March 2008 05:19 (5 years ago) Permalink

the possibility i may one day hear one of this band's songs again is somehow very depressing

― electricsound, Thursday, 27 March 2008 05:22 (5 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

The instrumental hooks from one of their songs (no vocals) is featured in a new car ad - for a Dodge SUV, I think. It came on the TV, and it was driving me nuts. I knew it was something I'd heard before - maybe even something I used to own - but I couldn't place it. Some internet searching revealed that it is in fact Grandaddy's "AM 180".

http://stereogum.com/archives/commercial-appeal/grandaddys-am-180-defuses-bombs-walk-marathons-sel_009098.html

I didn't even own the album - but I guess I'd heard the song somewhere.

― o. nate, Monday, 5 May 2008 03:24 (5 years ago) Permalink

it was also the theme for charlie brooker's screenwipe in the UK (which surprised me) and something else i can't remember (some radio show?)

ah, grandaddy. how i loved "under the western freeway" and "the sophtware slump". how disappointed i was by everything that came after. how i wept tears of boredom watching them live at the QMU.

very, very strange band.

― grimly fiendish, Monday, 5 May 2008 10:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

"Just Like The Fambly Cat" is a wonderful, wonderful album. "Where I'm Anymore" is Grandaddy's best song (unless the last two of Sophtware Slump count as one). The closing track is one of the saddest things ever. Wow.

― Just got offed, Sunday, 1 June 2008 02:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

Wow, this whole time I thought the line from AM 180 was "We'll defuse bombs, walk 'round in thongs..."

― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 1 June 2008 04:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Listening to "Go Progress Chrome" today and loving it all over again. Great sound. I wonder whether the Homestarrunner guys were listening to this when they came up with the voice for Strong Sad, though.

― Doctor Casino, Monday, 25 April 2011 15:17 (2 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

http://www.prefixmag.com/news/grandaddy-reforms/62660/

― StanM, Friday, 2 March 2012 16:41 (1 year ago) Permalink

huh that's cool. they were surprisingly good live.

― tylerw, Friday, 2 March 2012 16:44 (1 year ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

gotdamn, theres like 6 grandaddy threads...

Jason Lytle's new shit has some hot jams. "Your Final Setting Sun" especially.

― billstevejim, Monday, 22 October 2012 22:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

only heard the new one once, but it sounded kinda blah to me? will give it another go, my wife loves this dude, so i'll probably be hearing it a lot.

― tylerw, Monday, 22 October 2012 22:45 (7 months ago) Permalink

I started with that one song (track 10) because it was recommended. It's not an even album but the standouts are as good as Grandaddy.

― billstevejim, Monday, 22 October 2012 23:18 (7 months ago) Permalink

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