Poster Children - Classic or Dud?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

All right, let's get the fans of the nineties' most underrated American rock band together here -- aren't these people geniuses or what? Just been relistening to their albums for some AMG review updates and goddamn, shame on me for forgetting just how great they are. Favorites, anyone? Junior Citizen in particular is still my drug of choice -- variety, brilliant songs and an ode to David Hasselhoff on top of everything else that doesn't feel at all like snarky irony. Get thee to the home page as well.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 August 2002 15:47 (10 years ago) Permalink

they were the ones that did I, and Dangerous Life right? those 2 songs were pretty good, i never heard them since though

― gareth (gareth), Sunday, 25 August 2002 15:50 (10 years ago) Permalink

The very same, but that's some of their earliest stuff -- do check out the page and get an overview of everything they'd done since, some really wonderful songs since: "If You See Kay," "Space Gun," "Blatant Dis," "Outside In," "He's My Star," "Junior Citizen," "Drug I Need," etc. etc. They're also hella friendly people, which isn't required but is always nice.

I should also note that in their instrumental semi postrock guise they're known as Salaryman and are quite good. And then there's the fact that John McEntire used to play drums for them so many moons ago before concentrating on you-know-what...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 August 2002 15:56 (10 years ago) Permalink

"Dynamite Chair" - fucking amazing.

― Jay Macke (Jay), Sunday, 25 August 2002 17:08 (10 years ago) Permalink

if you see kay appears to be the only gimmick they managed to get on alternateen radio, they need newer jokes because i haven't heard them since. being associated with john mcentire is definitely a negative. i assume they are bearded then?

― keith, Sunday, 25 August 2002 17:45 (10 years ago) Permalink

Sadly their albums dont seem to be distributed in the UK anymore.

I adore them so I do, only seen them once, in Amsterdam of all places supporting Steel Pole Bathtub and they were really special and engaging and lovely. I think I like 'Where we Live' the best, but really I can listen to any one of their tunes and it reminds my why I love music so.

Salaryman are ace too. Both albums. At the Salaryman / Long Fin Killie / Mouse on Mars / Tortoise gig in Camden they were the best band.

― Sandy Blair, Sunday, 25 August 2002 17:56 (10 years ago) Permalink

i assume they are bearded then?

I agree about the negative association, but no, no beards and no Tortoise sounds. *coughthereisthatlinkIputupyoucanclickonforinfohack*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 August 2002 18:06 (10 years ago) Permalink

I don't know about any John McIntyre connection, unless he produced their later records.

Johnny "machine" Hearndon was always a fill in whenever their current drummer quit, which seemed to be every other time they came around.

I haven't heard any of their records since "Tool of the Man", but they were alot of fun to see live back in the early 90s.

They used to play where I went to school once or twice a year back in those days, so I saw them live four or five times.

― earlnash, Sunday, 25 August 2002 19:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

He was a drummer for the band back very early on -- not for a long period, I think, but he was very much part of the whole Champaign circle with them.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 August 2002 19:33 (10 years ago) Permalink

I really like their Sub Pop 7" but I was rather put off them by "If you see kay" which I heard when I was heavily not into screamy music.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 25 August 2002 20:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

He's My Star is classic.

― Underclocked, Monday, 26 August 2002 02:07 (10 years ago) Permalink

McEntire was not in Poster Children. Herndon was. You're confusing the two.

[UNRELATED] And for god's sake, will people stop listing Tortoise as a band Jim O'Rourke's produced? All he ever did was two remixes.

― hstencil, Monday, 26 August 2002 17:05 (10 years ago) Permalink

Their live show is definitely Classic, but their albums have always seemed a little slight to me. Case in point, their two most recent albums, New World Record and DDD, both started out really strong ("Accident Waiting To Happen" and "6x6" for NWR, "This Town Needs A Fire" and "Strange Attractors" for DDD) but couldn't maintain the momentum through the entire running time. Daisy Chain Reaction is still their finest hour IMO, thanks to Albini's keep-it-simple production.

― Nick Mirov, Monday, 26 August 2002 17:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

McEntire was not in Poster Children. Herndon was. You're confusing the two.

Hm! How unusual, I'd always heard otherwise -- oh well! Them incestuous scenes, lemme tell ya. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 26 August 2002 17:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

If you haven't seen their DVD, Zero Stars, try to. It's by far the best "indie" DVD ever made -- the musical segments are suitably energetic (and hyperactively edited), and the "Tour Diary" bits are priceless.

― George, Monday, 26 August 2002 21:40 (10 years ago) Permalink

I love the tour diary/photos CD-extras on the RTFM disk. There's also a tour of their studio. I liked them enough to buy a few of their disks (always used, though), I guess, but they were never in my front line of artists.

― nickn, Monday, 26 August 2002 22:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Ooh, ooh, me like! It's been a bitch trying to find Poster Children albums here in Portugal, now that their Warner back-catalogue is out of print, but I've been finding them on used stores and cd fairs, from €2,50 to €7. And today... I received at home the "Just Like You" EP, the last out-of-print item that was lacking in my collection, and it had to be ordered from the states... Oh I'm a happy prick!

Favourites: Junior Citizen, RTFM, Salaryman s/t

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Monday, 27 October 2003 20:00 (9 years ago) Permalink

Yes. Daisychain Reaction for me. Bob Rising on the skins. Word.

― Johnny Badlees (crispssssss), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 01:03 (9 years ago) Permalink

I have Junior Citizen. This thread made me go look for it, thinking perhaps I had sold it. I was relieved that I had it, but not excited enough to put it on right now.

This capsulizes my feelings for the Poster Children. I wanted to see them with Fugazi last year, but I went to see Arab on Radar, Biz Markie, The Rapture and Kid Koala instead.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 01:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

OMG does this thread's existence make me feel old.
Hm. I sort of like feeling old today.

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 01:26 (9 years ago) Permalink

Well, they're releasing a new album next year, so I guess we'll have the chance to see if they're feeling old as well...

― JP Almeida (JP Almeida), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 13:06 (9 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Finally heard the new album, No More Songs About Sleep and Fire, and it may well be the best one yet. Of course, they've been on something of a hot streak since New World Record IMO (I see Nick Mirov would disagree).

"Western Springs" should be 2004's sleeper indie single, much like the NPs with "The Laws Have Changed" in 2003...but, alas, no one pays attention to the Poster Children anymore.

The video is here. Reminds me a little bit of several Talking Heads videos mashed together.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Sunday, 28 December 2003 01:53 (9 years ago) Permalink

4 weeks pass...

Revive: I am listening to their new album right now. Very good and spazzy.

― christhamrin (christhamrin), Monday, 26 January 2004 11:59 (9 years ago) Permalink

Hurrah, I was just thinking about them the other day! A new album, great, I shall order it soon. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 26 January 2004 16:27 (9 years ago) Permalink

a friend of mine just got it and said it was their best for a long time (not that they've had a bad one).....One of the few Fugazi openers I've seen that didn't seem weak in comparison to the headliners (although once I saw The Ex steal the show)

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 26 January 2004 20:29 (9 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

this was the first band i remember that talked a lot about their website.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Friday, 5 October 2007 15:22 (5 years ago) Permalink

I had never heard that If You See Kay pun until I heard that song, and still it had to be pointed out to me...I also owned their CD for many months before realizing it was actually called "Flower Plower"...

I used to love their female bassist...she would play that thing like she was wrestling with an anaconda...

― henry s, Friday, 5 October 2007 15:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

I've been listening to "He's My Star" on repeat for several weeks now... what a fantastic song.

― Poliopolice, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:08 (8 months ago) Permalink

great band

― Jandek at the Disco (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:13 (8 months ago) Permalink

Great band, one of the best live bands I've ever seen

― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:22 (8 months ago) Permalink

it's been a really long time since they released an album, hasn't it?

― Poliopolice, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:24 (8 months ago) Permalink

I also owned their CD for many months before realizing it was actually called "Flower Plower"...

looool I don't think I ever realized that until .... just now

― dmr, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:27 (8 months ago) Permalink

Yes and they would play the odd show every so often in the greater IL area, but I haven't heard of one for a long while, I haven't kept up with them, but I still love the records and saw them a zillion times in Mpls over the yrs

― chr1sb3singer, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:28 (8 months ago) Permalink

I don't have that record though. but my roommate did. (xp to myself)

― dmr, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:29 (8 months ago) Permalink

it sucks that all these top 40 fuckers stole their "If You See Kay" gag

― Poliopolice, Thursday, 30 August 2012 20:31 (8 months ago) Permalink

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.