quasi - c/d s/d

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i had this comp that came free with a mag, i got it ebout 4 or 5 years ago. anyway, "i never wanna see you again" was on it, and i listened to it quite a lot. i dug it up again recently, and it still sounds great: what a terriffic pop song! could have been the christmas no.1, it's that instantly catchy. no exaggeration. i saw them playing support to steve malkmus, and they were much better than he was, to be honest. seems they have more than one good song (and i'd still hold them in high regard if that was their only decent track. it's *that* good!) in their armoury.

so, what album is worth picking up? all of them? none of them? there are other fish in the sea, after all. but i like a good organ-driven pop-song...

weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:45 (twenty years ago) link

Featuring Birds and Field Studies are both good, haven't heard the first album, and Sword of God is a bit on the dull side (excepting Janet's fantastic "Curse of Having It All")..

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:50 (twenty years ago) link

Search: "All The Same". It's one of the great lost songs of the 90s.

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:51 (twenty years ago) link

there was an album before "featuring birds"?

which album is is on, dom?

weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:52 (twenty years ago) link

i just looked up the allmusic guide, so i have the answers! thanks all the same, guys! i've never seen the first album in anny shops in ireland, so i'm guessing its hard to come by. dom's song is on "field studies", so i'll buy either that or "featuring birds". i've also heard "the happy prole" which my friend once taped me. it's good,

fact - they sound much better than the drab, overrated elliot smith who they once backed.

weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:59 (twenty years ago) link

album before FB = R&B Transmogrification

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 22 May 2003 23:05 (twenty years ago) link

I have "Field Studies" and it is nice enough but especially worth having for the song "Smile".

dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 22 May 2003 23:07 (twenty years ago) link

field studies is my favorite. there's also a cd of stuff from befor r&b.t. but i haven't listened to it much. featuring: birds used to come with r&b transmogrification in the same sleeve - i dont know if it still does.

ron (ron), Thursday, 22 May 2003 23:10 (twenty years ago) link

classic! hurrah for quasi. teeth rotting sweet pop tones often supporting rather dark lyrics. a duo doin' the female drummer / male organ & guitar thing way before the current benchmark combo from detroit. and, janet's skills certainly surpass meg's. the last time they were in seattle, janet played a couple songs by keeping rhythm with her drum kit with feet and left hand while playing a melody on a small keyboard with her right hand. that's an impressive way to make two people sound like three or four. also, i've never seen someone bang on a keyboard like sam coombs. why doesn't this band garner more positive press / larger fanbase?

search: all the same, our happiness is guaranteed, a fable with no moral, ape self prevails in me still, etc...

j.a.e., Friday, 23 May 2003 00:59 (twenty years ago) link

individual songs are classic, but GODDAMN, every song is a happy melody with depressing lyrics. EVERY song. Even Featuring Birds is murder after like track 8. Sword Of God is almost entirely worthless, Field Studies has a few great songs. My fave of 'em all is probably either "You Turn Me On" or "Smile." It's only gonna get worse unless Sam Commes learns a new trick. Janet Weiss's songs are all very pretty though. She needs to make a solo album.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 23 May 2003 01:06 (twenty years ago) link

yup, true - but then they're quite inventive with their lyrics and the melodies are catchy, so why complain? All bands are a one trick poney if boiled down to their bare essentials. That said, I agree that I cannot listen to Field Studies without feeling incredibly melancholy.

dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 23 May 2003 01:09 (twenty years ago) link

yeah, and if we REALLY boiled a band down to their bare essentials, we'd probably have an EP of songs. So if they're gonna make so many albums, the least they could do is add something new to their bare essentials.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 23 May 2003 01:11 (twenty years ago) link

well anthony, cross your fingers. i have a vague recollection of reading that sam & janet were to record a new record soon. perhaps this one trick pony (albeit a cute & clever trick) will show us something new.

j.a.e., Friday, 23 May 2003 01:15 (twenty years ago) link

ha ha ha, janet weiss is the worst part of quasi and her songs are always the lowest of low points on quasi albums. she's as interesting as watching paint dry when she gets to do her ditties. R&B Transmogrification is still the best -- raw sugary blasts about suicide and hollow chocolate bunnies. Every albums since then has been a mixed bag, the low point being Field Studies. Coomes' Blues Goblins project is further proof that he would be infinitely better off severing his partnership with Weiss once and for all. The Blues Goblins album is ace, Coomes finally figuring out what to do now that he's not completely depressed.

jack cole (jackcole), Friday, 23 May 2003 01:43 (twenty years ago) link

B-b-b-but Janet is a kick-ass drummer.

The last time I saw 'em live (which was a while ago) they seemed to have a handful of new songs in their set that really broke the Quasi mold. R&B and "Bird" are great, but it has been getting a bit same-y on the recent releases. I'd love to hear 'em do something different well.

wl (wl), Friday, 23 May 2003 06:51 (twenty years ago) link

Sorry, should have been "kickass."

wl (wl), Friday, 23 May 2003 06:54 (twenty years ago) link

personally, i just dont get the "janet weiss is a kick ass drummer" thing (and I'm not picking on you -- i've heard it from others). she's pretty pedestrian, and, to me, not very exciting at all. but then, as is pretty obvious, i like Quasi because of Sam Coomes and despite Janet Weiss. really i just dream of sam getting together a band up to the calibre of Donner Party -- people who can really do what his songs need. stanley zappa's on the blues goblins album is superb and that's what sam need more of in my estimation.

jack cole (jackcole), Friday, 23 May 2003 06:59 (twenty years ago) link

c'mon, you've gotta admit she's better than her outta the white stripes.

Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 23 May 2003 07:30 (twenty years ago) link

ps: I like Quasi's sound very much but it does get cloying after a few songs. I have Featuring "Birds" and it's really all I need from them.

Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 23 May 2003 07:32 (twenty years ago) link

They're kinda one trick ponies, but the trick they pull is pretty impressive. Saw them support Elliott Smith a bunch of times (yes, I know I hate Elliott Smith, I was dragged along by a psycho stalker fan) and they blew him off the stage every night. I mean, you don't see Elliott Smith humping an organ onstage, do you?

Featuring Birds is the essential one, because of the most pithy lyrics ever written: Life is dull, life is grey, at its best it's just OK. But I'm happy to report. Life is also short which would have been written by Dorothy Parker, really.

kate, Friday, 23 May 2003 07:43 (twenty years ago) link

That lyric is just FANTASTIC! I've been enjoying "Sword of God" quite a lot, but it's all I have so far.

Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 23 May 2003 13:25 (twenty years ago) link

Heh. This is funny. I only got into Quasi--and they're *OK*, folks--for Janet, who is amazing, but moreso elsewhere (S-K).

The idea that she could even be brought up in comparison to Meg White makes me shudder...

John 2, Saturday, 24 May 2003 12:55 (twenty years ago) link

Janet Weiss is *OK*. I mean, she's the second best drummer to have played with Sleater Kinney, which is something, I guess.

"California" was the first song on pretty much every mix tape I made for about a year due to that opening line. The rest of the song isn't too bad either.

I agree that one Quasi album is enough. And Featuring Birds is that one album. "California," "It's Hard to Turn Me On," and "The Happy Prole" are all pretty classic.

Miranda (Miranda), Saturday, 24 May 2003 13:21 (twenty years ago) link

Ha! You gotta be kidding me--second-best S-K drummer? No way.

John 2, Sunday, 25 May 2003 02:23 (twenty years ago) link

Lora Macfarlane might be a great drummer (and she is) but she isn't as good as Janet. She's perhaps more creative but nowhere near as solid.

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 25 May 2003 08:51 (twenty years ago) link

and that's why s-k are so unimportant - solidity over creativity

mig, Sunday, 25 May 2003 19:22 (twenty years ago) link

S-K is unimportant and uncreative? If I call you a fucking idiot, will another ten spring up to take your place, or...?

John 2, Sunday, 25 May 2003 23:03 (twenty years ago) link

I would take S-K over 99 any day of the week, frankly

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 25 May 2003 23:04 (twenty years ago) link

sleater-kinney are currently learning the art of backcombing.

di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 25 May 2003 23:06 (twenty years ago) link

Someone seriously needs to dump every member of Sleater-Kinney so they can start singing about themselves again and avoid the campy shit and the global politics blah-blahs.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 25 May 2003 23:30 (twenty years ago) link

Anthony, what you said prooves you never really understood S-K in the first place.

Besides, listen to 'One Beat' and tell me Carrie didn't just come out of a relationship...

John 2, Monday, 26 May 2003 13:32 (twenty years ago) link

Oh!

Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 11:45 (twenty years ago) link

Quasi RULE!!!! Absolutely.

Have you heard Sam's other band, Blues Goblins - like the name suggests, a bunch of covers of early 20th Century blues songs, but all skewiff - I'm kinda very fond of them too.

Jerry (Jerry), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 12:19 (twenty years ago) link

anyway, "i never wanna see you again" was on it, and i listened to it quite a lot

great song. sing it quietly to your girlfriend while she's sleeping.

also great from that period was the tune "you turn me on" where he says something like "walt disney couldn't make me happy" which at the time i thought was a funny thing to say.

fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 14:06 (twenty years ago) link

"One Beat" and "Oh!," though overlong, are easily the best songs on the album (though "Step Aside" is great too), but reaffirm my point that the closer their songs are to home the better they are.

Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 20:22 (twenty years ago) link

Yeh, but whaddabout "Smile"?

The second best bit of music called "Smile" ever!

dog latin, Tuesday, 27 May 2003 22:54 (twenty years ago) link

jbr, meg white is better than janet weiss, though both of their last names are the same color.

jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 23:13 (twenty years ago) link

meg white is better than janet weiss

where's that 'funniest posts ever' thread?

electric sound of jim (electricsound), Tuesday, 27 May 2003 23:24 (twenty years ago) link

three months pass...
What does everyone think of their new album, 'Hot Shit'? I haven't fully absorbed it, but it feels kins of disappointing, with the absence of the Roxichord and all.

Patrick South (Patrick South), Saturday, 13 September 2003 13:48 (twenty years ago) link

I think Hot Shit is the opposite of disappointing, actually -- when I put it on, I gritted my teeth, expecting another step down in the diminishing returns Quasi evinced on their last two albums, and I was pleasantly surprised indeed. Especially after I left my apartment to check my mail, came back, and listened to a 30 seconds or so of a song until I remembered I was listening to Quasi. It's not a superduper album, but it sure ain't more-of-the-same-but-worse.

As everyone here has said, though, Featuring Birds is still the one to beat. Unless you count The Donner Party, whose second record is probably my favorite LP ever recorded. A few years ago, a complete Donner Party Double CD came out, which included the first two albums, an unreleased third album (so-so, but with three or four killer songs), and some live tracks. If you see it, buy it, no matter what the cost.

Jesse Fuchs (Jesse Fuchs), Saturday, 13 September 2003 15:22 (twenty years ago) link

I think the first 5 or so tracks on 'Hot Shit' are strong, but the rest doesn't leave that much of an impression really.

Patrick South (Patrick South), Sunday, 14 September 2003 22:17 (twenty years ago) link

Every Quasi album does tend to wind down toward the end, but in this case I think it's just that Track 6 is the longest and most boring song on the album. Skip that one completely and you might find some more good songs on the second half. After 3 listens, I unchecked it in my iTunes playlist, and I've enjoyed the album quite a bit more since.

Jesse Fuchs (Jesse Fuchs), Monday, 15 September 2003 16:06 (twenty years ago) link

five years pass...

listening to Quasi Field Studies into Hot Shit reminds me why this is one of my favorite bands ever.

CaptainLorax, Sunday, 25 January 2009 19:29 (fifteen years ago) link

oh and to random guy up thread: Field Studies is not a low point at all.

CaptainLorax, Sunday, 25 January 2009 19:30 (fifteen years ago) link

one year passes...

new album American Gong leaked. it's very cohesive and definitely guitar/bass driven this time around. the album is very good but some tracks fade into the background a bit. my favorite track is '7 - Death Is Not the End'. Sam hits some high notes and it sounds great. I don't know why he doesn't get as creative with his vocals more often

this album shows Quasi having fun

i'm being a jerk for some reason (CaptainLorax), Tuesday, 9 February 2010 03:19 (fourteen years ago) link

yeah, "Death..." is the fucking jam. I am bookending my radio show this week by opening with iLiKETRAiNS' "Death Is the End" and then ending with the Quasi track. Pretension!

Simon H., Tuesday, 9 February 2010 05:02 (fourteen years ago) link

erm Repulsion?

CaptainLorax, Wednesday, 10 February 2010 00:25 (fourteen years ago) link

four months pass...

American Gong just gets better and better. There's something about the sound that crackles even through the ridiculous compression. I love the twee aspects of their '90s albums but it's pretty cool that they could move past them successfully.

skip, Thursday, 24 June 2010 18:17 (thirteen years ago) link

three years pass...

I had totally forgotten Quasi after being obsessed with their earlier albums approx. 10 years ago. Then suddenly I find out they're playing my town so went along at the last minute and it was awesome! hardly any ppl (even fewer than last time round) but very fun. They have a covers EP! It has a cover of War Pigs which they did live!

kinder, Thursday, 5 December 2013 23:25 (ten years ago) link

two years pass...

I had a few threads to choose from, but picked this one because there's no Donner Party thread that I can find.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml2ddk2oz2E

dlp9001, Thursday, 16 June 2016 02:02 (seven years ago) link

two months pass...

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81%2BHLSlPoYL._SX425_.jpg
Sam Coomes-Bugger Me comes out tomorrow. Recorded with just an organ and old drum machine. I was into Quasi circa Featuring Birds, but I still like this dude's voice.
And this track is good fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8XkoSz-XG8

mizzell, Thursday, 18 August 2016 14:42 (seven years ago) link

two years pass...

*considers today's news*

Ned Raggett, Monday, 1 July 2019 16:06 (four years ago) link

two years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw-8S_3EhfI

god damn, weiss is pure energy

maelin, Saturday, 23 April 2022 22:56 (two years ago) link

<3 her so much

kinder, Sunday, 24 April 2022 12:45 (two years ago) link

RIP the Quasi Rock-Si-Chord.

H.R. MacGufnstuf (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 24 April 2022 12:51 (two years ago) link

six months pass...

https://consequence.net/2022/10/quasi-breaking-the-balls-of-history-queen-of-ears-2023-tour-dates/

After six years away, Quasi are returning soon with their perfectly-titled new album Breaking the Balls of History, which they’re teasing today with the new single “Queen of Ears.” Their debut for Sub Pop is slated for release on February 10th, 2023, and they’ll also celebrate the occasion with a North American tour.

Quasi’s Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss co-produced Breaking the Balls of History alongside longtime punk go-to John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Unwound, Treepeople, Team Dresch). They figured their 2013 record Mole City would be their last and were content to move on — that is, until Weiss broke both legs and her collarbone in a 2019 car crash, just months before that pesky pandemic began. So along came Breaking the Balls of History, an album motivated by life’s futility.

“There’s no investing in the future anymore,” Weiss says in a press release. “The future is now. Do it now if you want to do it. Don’t put it off. All those things you only realize when it’s almost too late. It could be gone in a second.” Coomes concurs: “When you’re younger and in a band, you make records because that’s what you do. But this time, the whole thing felt purposeful in a way that was unique to the circumstances.” Pre-orders are ongoing.

https://www.normanrecords.com/artwork/medium/226/194976-quasi-breaking-the-balls-of-history.jpg

omar little, Friday, 4 November 2022 16:20 (one year ago) link

three months pass...

This is pretty fun, I like it.

It's been kind of disappointing to see this fly under the radar a bit, especially with all of the hubbub when Janet left S-K. It seemed like a lot of outpouring of support for her at the time, so you'd think there'd be more excitement for this. I mean, I get it, Quasi was always going to be a lower stakes sort of thing than S-K, but she sounds great here.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 February 2023 16:26 (one year ago) link

Some of the lyrics are a little eh, especially in "Doomscrollers", but idk this is pretty fun.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 February 2023 16:45 (one year ago) link

yeah i like it, i'll always be down for their core distorted organ + janet weiss on drums thing.

na (NA), Wednesday, 15 February 2023 16:47 (one year ago) link

there are some dumb opinions on weiss and SK upthread, damn.

omar little, Wednesday, 15 February 2023 16:56 (one year ago) link

"breaking the balls of history" is the album name of the year

na (NA), Wednesday, 15 February 2023 17:01 (one year ago) link

they are just the coolest, this record sounds great

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/0030255357_10.jpg

sleeve, Friday, 17 February 2023 20:49 (one year ago) link

Portland represent

sleeve, Friday, 17 February 2023 20:49 (one year ago) link

Just gave this a spin and it's great. I think I've only previously heard Hot Shit and When the Going Gets Dark, and in my memory, those records had some high points with a lot of stuff that didn't catch my ear. Don't take my word for it - I'll have to revisit. But this one feels solid as hell.

peace, man, Thursday, 23 February 2023 00:09 (one year ago) link


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