when he sings about "the colored girls", it's not like we want to see the shit get beaten out of them in shabby hotel rooms
― BEMORE SUPER FABBY (contenderizer), Friday, 13 April 2012 02:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
I really hope the writer is 15, otherwise I feel a lot of second hand embarrassment for her right now.
According to her Twitter, she's a "Ranter, mother, teacher, music-scoffer." Cast your stones at http://somethingtocryfor.blogspot.com/
― Reality Check Cashing Services (Elvis Telecom), Friday, 13 April 2012 02:13 (1 year ago) Permalink
Playing With Fire and Recurring were a big part of my my teenage years. I have really loved a lot of Spiritualized (lguided melodies, pure phase and ladies) as well,but for me this is a bit of a damp squib, again.
― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Friday, 13 April 2012 02:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
contenderizer, i'm just questioning your reasoning for thinking it's exploitative. is it because the singer is a white male? could it be because the attacker in the video is a white male? would you feel differently if the attacker was some other race/gender? you say you don't want to watch a violent scene in a shabby hotel room, but you watch "tons of horror movies" and even the human centipede, which is on a whole other order of magnitude on the "exploitation-of-violence" scale. i'm curious about your reasons for finding this video as or more repugnant than pure empty gore. (because for me it seems to be aiming for something deeper than that, whether you think it succeeds or not.)
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 13 April 2012 03:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
I've seen, and will probably see in the future, lots of gnarly shit on film - really in this case it was the presence of the children that just made me not want to watch it
― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 13 April 2012 04:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
well, i didn't say i liked the human centipede, just that i've seen it (i loved the performance of the guy who played dr. heiter, for what it's worth). i'm not sure exactly why this video was such a powerful trigger for me. in part it's the fact that it successfully earned my sympathy for the protagonist. i really liked the trans prostitute character and didn't want to see bad things happen to him/her. in part, as shakey says, it has to do with the fact that there's a child involved. i don't deny that horrible shit happens in life, and i accept that art has a right and perhaps even an obligation to deal with it, but somehow the "music video" context makes it hard for me to tolerate this level of emotional brutality. i respect the video for the honesty and respect with which i presents its protagonist's life and struggles, but i strongly felt that the conclusion wallowed in cheap and cynical shock tactics that the context couldn't justify. the brutality didn't feel earned.
― BEMORE SUPER FABBY (contenderizer), Friday, 13 April 2012 05:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
^^^ I think that is kinda OTM....
― I'm not going leftfield on you... (hypehat), Friday, 13 April 2012 10:09 (1 year ago) Permalink
OK, well, I'm glad for the heads up that I should not, under any circumstance watch the video.
Given it's on Collapseboard, and Collapseboard is edited by one E. True, late of these parts - I can tell you from personal experience, that Mr True has a habit of taking blog rants, emails, etc. and dressing them up as "Album Reviews" and representing them as such, when the writer was under the impression that they were writing a rant, rather than a "review." Not that there is anything wrong with rants, but if your complaint about the piece is "that's a rant, not an album review" you might be right, and it might not be the *writer*'s "fault" it was presented as such. As a rant, as an op-ed, I liked it. (Probably a lot more than I've liked anything J Pierce has been involved with in the past 10 years.) ((Though a bit of fact-checking might have helped - Jason wasn't the posh one in Spacemen 3))
I'm kind of over those "statement videos" whereby an artist tries to catch some whiff of edginess by commissioning some ultra-violent video "with a message, maaaaaaannn..." It's been done, and done, and done, from Justice's Stress to MIA's Born Free to etc etc - and yet again, this seems like attempt of "ooh, controversy-bait, let's hope it gets banned to generate some hype for an otherwise unremarkable single."
Maybe that's not what's going on. Maybe J,Pierce genuinely cares about the exploitation of marginalised people, and this his way of "raising awareness, maaaaaan but I'm just not prepared to give pop stars the benefit of the doubt any more. He's just given me another reason not to watch the video/listen to the single, which is probably for the best, given my bitter ex-fan status.
― Popcorn Supergay Receiver (Masonic Boom), Friday, 13 April 2012 11:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
If I had to make a no-doubt-ill-informed guess it would be that Jason Pierce isn't actually bothered about videos at all and the record company just punted the commission to someone they thought would make an impression. Which isn't to excuse it, but I'm not sure how much conscious input he would have had either.
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Friday, 13 April 2012 11:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
Ha ha, no one is responsible for anything, it's all just the gatekeepers.
(Though isn't Jason's wife a film maker, so he might actually be more bothered about it, than would appear?)
― Popcorn Supergay Receiver (Masonic Boom), Friday, 13 April 2012 11:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
so, anyone wanna talk about the album?
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
Sure.
i think the triteness of his lyrics is actually one of the band's many great qualities. it's like every rock n roll cliche boiled down to it's purest essence.
― caulk the wagon and float it, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 1:50 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
My kingdom for an eyeroll emoticon.
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
dude, he rhymes "day" with "day" in a like really pure essence way.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
Streaming it now ... had a really good feeling about it based on a couple of recent live recordings. People alluded to it upthread, but yeah this would have made perfect sense as the follow up to "Let It Come Down" (my fave SPZ album btw).
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:42 (1 year ago) Permalink
call it pretentious but i'm being totally sincere. it's why i like the lyrics of, say, "Home of the Brave" so much even though they're not particularly "good" lyrics. but i think i invest less importance in lyrics than a lot of people on here, so.
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
maybe that is an eyerolly thing to say, but that's been jason's strategy since day one (also true of the jesus & mary chain). idealization of cliche is the method.
― BEMORE SUPER FABBY (contenderizer), Friday, 13 April 2012 14:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
lol, song #9 is named after a mississipi records gospel comp.
― BEMORE SUPER FABBY (contenderizer), Friday, 13 April 2012 14:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
I haven't really listened to Spiritualized much since "Let it Come Down", which I loved with all my heart. I'm kinda interested in this stuff but this first song is pretty meh.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 13 April 2012 14:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
@scott, think about it. singers/lyricists in the popular music tradition have been rhyming words with themselves, rhyming "face" with "place", forcing "again" to rhyme with things that it doesn't, etc., since this shit all got started. just as Spiritualized's music pulls simple tropes from all over rock's history, J's lyrics take its most basic tropes (drugs, love/heartbreak, God) and play them out in a simple way. i'm not saying he could write better lyrics if he wanted to, just explaining why the band's lyrics work for me in an unusual way.
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
idealization of cliche is the method.
contenderizer otm
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 13 April 2012 14:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
I see what you're all saying about the mixing ... "You Get What You Deserve" is bizarre, *really* vocal and guitar heavy, then the coda happens and it's swimming in bass and the drums nearly disappear, like it's a rough unmixed demo. It has to be some kind of weird compression from the stream, I'm not sure what to make of it if it was mixed intentionally that way.
Great song though.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
i prefer to call it stoner laziness, but you can call it whatever you want to call it.
x-post
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
i always feel bad for his back up singers too. :(
i mean you could even pay someone to look up words that rhyme with "day" if you don't feel like doing it yourself.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
"You Get What You Deserve" is bizarre, *really* vocal and guitar heavy, then the coda happens and it's swimming in bass and the drums nearly disappear, like it's a rough unmixed demo
think this sounds great and am sure it's purely intentional. Jason's at his best using weird mixing methods (see also: Pure Phase)
― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 13 April 2012 15:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
i'm not really defending pierce, morbs, cuz i haven't loved a spiritualized album since ladies and gentleman..., but i do think that the referentiality and simplicity are intentional. for whatever that's worth.
― BEMORE SUPER FABBY (contenderizer), Friday, 13 April 2012 15:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
I Am What I Am lyrics are totally funny imho
― Jilly Boel and the Eltones (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 13 April 2012 15:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
wait, did you just call me morbs? take that back.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
I was listening to that Hatchback album Zeus + Apollo the other day and was thinking they should do a collaberation with Pierce.
― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
That is the second worst thing a person can be called imo.
― Respectfully, Tyrese Gibson (Nicole), Friday, 13 April 2012 15:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
...is this about where I confess that I still haven't heard the previous album and can't see myself getting all excited for this one either? I dunno, I think he just lost me somewhere.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:49 (1 year ago) Permalink
he should just hire songwriters. or cover good songs that already exist. same with nick cave. and any other spoonjunemoon lazybones out there. no shame in covering good songs. or hiring songwriters. people do it every day. the sound will still be sorta cool. million old country songs that are good and better than jayspace's stuff.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
or at least bury the vocals so that i can't hear every word.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 15:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
same with nick cave.
betcha can't say YOU'VE rhymed "Orpheus" with "orifice" anytime lately ya jackmunch
― caulk the wagon and float it, Friday, 13 April 2012 16:04 (1 year ago) Permalink
i was gonna but then i realized that they didn't rhyme.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 16:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
"That is the second worst thing a person can be called imo."
jackmunch is number one, right?
i was gonna leave, but now i'm curious what other names i can get called on here.
― scott seward, Friday, 13 April 2012 16:09 (1 year ago) Permalink
lol, you're not a morbius, scott
― BEMORE SUPER FABBY (contenderizer), Friday, 13 April 2012 16:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
not yet
I'm really liking this album, more so than I have recent Spiritualized ones.
The closing song is almost a Spiritualized pastiche yet still sounds great.
― groovypanda, Friday, 13 April 2012 18:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
After my initial excitement after hearing the live run-through last year, I'm completely detatched and uncompelled. At least A&E felt like Jason was pushing himself forward as a songwriter (and there are some genuine creepy moments on it), but this just feels like a scavenge through whatever was on Jason's hard drive.
Perhaps it's time to fire the band again?
― Reality Check Cashing Services (Elvis Telecom), Friday, 13 April 2012 20:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
He needs to start wearing that DRUGS NOT JOBS tshirt again, that will really go down well right now. It is a boring, expendable album for me and I dont take any pleasure in saying that. He does need to sack the band and then hire Hatchback as his new band and stop writing terrible lyrics. And get out of this 'pity me junkie' bullshit, that is the scant emotional landscape of all his albums really. Dont get me wrong I love a lot of Spiritualized, but this is mediocrity.
― Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Saturday, 14 April 2012 01:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
How long again did "Hey Jane" leak? I feel like I've totally heard this song before...
― billstevejim, Monday, 16 April 2012 05:45 (1 year ago) Permalink
Oh wait.. I heard it on the radio last night. That was it.
― billstevejim, Monday, 16 April 2012 06:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
I listened to this on Saturday and was pretty unimpressed, it picks up at the end a bit but otherwise it just feels like a trudge.
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Monday, 16 April 2012 08:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://thequietus.com/articles/08533-spiritualized-sweet-heart-sweet-light-review
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 16 April 2012 11:51 (1 year ago) Permalink
Thoughtful of the Quietus to put that Huh?.jpg next to that nonsensical first line.
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Monday, 16 April 2012 12:13 (1 year ago) Permalink
That's a terribly-written review actually.
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Monday, 16 April 2012 12:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
yeah that review is appalling. by "subterfuge" I think he means "antidote", although I'm not really sure
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Monday, 16 April 2012 12:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
I also don't think it's true that Spiritualized's reputation rests entirely on "Ladies and Gentlemen...".
― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Monday, 16 April 2012 12:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
The morose lyrical ambiance is off set by a winsome string / jangling guitar combination that sounds like Cast. There is a strong late 90s pop sensibility at play elsewhere, too. 'Get What You Deserve' smacks of something that Ian Brody of the Lightening Seeds would come out with, were he asked to write a song in the style of George Harrison
There's also a drum beat reminiscent of Shedd Sevan.
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Monday, 16 April 2012 12:28 (1 year ago) Permalink