Spoon - Hot Thoughts

Is Transference a break-up album?

I think its the sound of the band breaking up more than a relationship Britt was having, but I could be wrong.

Not getting into this album, feel a bit turned off by the obviousness of the titles and choruses. Where are the beasts and dragons, the monsieur valentines, the sister jacks and japanese cigarette cases? Have they strayed too far from the mystery zone?

i forgot how well executed My Mathematical Mind is - they ride on that single chord for a full 3 minutes until when it finally resolves in the final bars it feels like total collapse

Pink Up is Sex & The Church from The Buddha Of Suburbia and I claim my £5.

I've nursed a theory for a while that Spoon alternate between a sort of extroverted and introverted mode from album to album

so Telephono, Girls Can Tell, Gimme Fiction, and Transference are introverted mode - somewhat darker tonally or nocturnal in vibe, more abstract and atmospheric, and (recently) more defined by groove-oriented compositions

and Series of Sneaks, Kill the Moonlight, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, They Want My Soul are extroverted mode - on the whole more kinetic, brighter, less moody, more immediate songwriting and production

I'm not saying there's like a night and day difference between the two but I think there is something there in terms of general impression. And I think Hot Thoughts continues the trend, though it is maybe more of a synthesis than its immediate predecessors which I thought made the difference especially stark.

they've been working on a plan

this sounds like their best album since Gimme Fiction so far.

I often make the mistake of thinking of Spoon as a meat'n'potatoes indie rock band whose songwriting manages to elevate them above roteness. But I put this on and started doing some work, and there are textures and sounds in here that made me think 'Oh what is this I'm listening to? Is it house music?' or whatever...

Their production, especially since Kill The Moonlight, is fabulous. Even just their meat'n'potatoes stuff. The textures they get out of drums and guitars shame most other indie bands.

"I Ain't The One" is "Editions Of You" re-imagined by Coldplay

here are textures and sounds in here that made me think 'Oh what is this I'm listening to? Is it house music?' or whatever...

― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Monday, March 27, 2017 10:16 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this exactly. Also why I really, really love "Pink Up."

debut at number 17.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga debuted at number 10. Get to work folks! Even thought it's far from my favorite Spoon album there's not 17 better new albums than this one.

that's a fall off from previous peaks. Check out the last two.

first Spoon album released since billboard started counting streaming right?

Damn the last two were both top four! Is Matador dropping the ball? This album got great reviews!

This album is great.

Not surprised by the lower entry - this album is more groove, less pop. The last album had "Do You" which is pretty much the most catchy pop thing they've ever done. In another era that would have been a top ten single to rival the best of them.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5nhjeBTn-whwI_YmOMqPeOqfbxDwRRAFl4zhkLPUNbK_0L07ucMDH3UrxVw3mr9gKzwukMJLdjzBAiXpnJ2sKHMIUggpY0Tt191oU39WCtJoWTv0P4qT-9-4jCtGmN5FdpWPT03qFZ-OBiCCsMbs_iTs-mcpKtDTwMgxq9L9h7DBA_UqG9fPPf3KYGPzetJJH03mkExMdZUP9VdIKU6b7rFhXmlZoYBpcdIZK1b-cuFCsINTVn-oMjc9XKYwm5dPlrLMfceiaBDttXI-vHwvpH5gxKSmutvreRUn0CiiM_b2-O8ZfqoDwc936sedNw53A80MdQUZc-_-g_nz0yD7b0aXVSZpw4KoiPRgTYDNlIW2ZRvzoU-KRo85EsAk4agm4rHZ6wv1qA0lM5HFhcEJ6VCx4lrO3lZRvPv6b8atwIVix4pIOaBn-lyD1vC3qIWa87pPv4NS2uhWL6Ae0lcEpkEuDAzh7BLb4CmxyKMmKeEjLAXVaVUmE0-3WPHSKUxa8DaDbsxUkIEsskelBbwBWafdQeK34V_rt7smAVK-fuEA-eZRViRadDm6Km6hxZKD_GEKcoiB1HUnMVraDql20q4B2TW-1ppQ5mH4RwhTvtUPVSuoqDwAnkY6d_Lig_1HV2srn0ox-Jw3kYtp0anCvMydMP1DpZaSb9s=w1689-h950-no

excited, thou it's about 100 miles away and need to work the next morning.

so i might actually only see Spoon.

I'll never complain about having to go 30 miles to Bristol to see a band ever again

Pre-kids an 180-mile round trip to Bristol for gigs was common for us. Next week and the week after we're doing two over-nighters (London and Manchester) to see The National and Grizzly Bear.

Yeah same, trips to London and back the same night weren't uncommon pre-kids. Come to think of it I think the last time we went to London to see a band was Spoon in Camden.

2010? Or was it v early 2011? We were there!

I know you were, it was mentioned on another Spoon thread. It was 2010, our son was very young and we left him at the in-laws while we went to the gig.

Feels like another life.

I've played this Spoon album more than any since GF.

Yeah? I liked it quicker than any of the last few but don't feel like it's had the growing power that Transference or even They Want My Soul had. I probably need to revisit it though; I feel like I 'get' each Spoon album a lot more when the next one comes out, if that makes sense? ie. I liked Transference quite a bit from the off, but when TWMS came out I went back to it and was like 'oh wow this is amazing'.

i think i'm with Monthy with this one. They Want My Soul has turned into one of Spoon's classic albums. their run from Girl Can Tell to TWMS is probably unmatched in rock today. i do really like this one but doesn't have the same impact those albums do, it feels more like a singles album for them. don't get me wrong, it's still really good just not up to Spoon standards.

Transference is the vaporous one to my ears. I love TWMS.

Wasn't crazy about Transference at first but it grew on me. I've never felt drawn back to TWMS and the new one has not stuck. I like all Spoon albums but I'm sad to say they feel somewhat less essential lately.

Transference I liked a great deal but I overplayed it, burned myself out on it.

TWMS always seemed...incomplete to me, like it was missing a chromosome; abrupt, as though there was a more fulsome version of the LP 10 minutes longer that was sanded down past the quick.

Hot Thoughts I'm really loving, even as it's a mystery I'm still solving.

(I still need to really explore/absorb their earliest records.)

Transference was a disappointment to me following Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and still is really. Probably my least favourite Spoon.

TWMS seemed pretty throwaway on first listen and I didn't give it a fair shot; I've since gone back to it and love it now.

Hot Thoughts feels like a classic already.

I love Transference, I'd probably put it in my top 3 Spoon albums. I love Hot Thoughts a lot when I'm playing it but I struggle to remember how most of the songs go when I'm not. Like I can look at the tracklisting for any other album and know the songs straight away but not with HT.

Ha. That's me and Transference.

^^^ Yep, me too.

Listening to Transference now, and I'll admit there's more good stuff on here than I give it credit for. I think some of the production quirks just annoy me a bit. Last track's a belter though ...

There’s at least 5 songs on Transference that I’d count amongst their best.

yup

(these five:

I Saw the Light
Is Love Forever?
Who Makes Your Money
Trouble Comes Running
Got Nuffin)

Written In Reverse
Out Go The Lights
Goodnight Laura

All also great.

Transference is like a hangover after Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, like clearing up the party and feeling that pang of hollow loneliness. But it's great.

I'm a big Transference fan. Even a lesser track like 'Who Makes Your Money' explores space in a way that I think they deployed more successfully on TWMS.

The self-production is more interesting than about half the songs. There is no wrong answer with this remarkably consistent band.

At a I heart radio thing. Spoon,national and beck

Live on YouTube

i went to this i Heart Radio event last night. it was prepackaged indie rock for the kids. not sure how to pull of eight bands in one night with very limited time. the had a rotating stage and very little set up time. but it just felt so generic and disgustingly commercial. not why i'm into music for.

anyways, Munford and Sons were pretty great and opened the show. i don't like them at all but they knew how to get the audience to eat out their hands. still don't think i'm going to go seek out their music but a good show. Spoon were next and are Spoon. the did stick out because they were probably the least known band of the night. they mainly stick with the new album which was perfect for this type of show. i'm sure part of the audience enjoyed it, i loved it and the band is still on a role, they are not just going through the motions. a band that is still at the top of their game. left to get some beers and stuff for Walk the Moon. Dashboard Confessional is a funny band. the last song was just him with an acrostic guitar and the audience helping him sing. The National were next and i felt like i was watching a Gothic band. they brought it down a few levels and played an impressive set. Beck was next and i was really looking forward to the show as he was great the only other time i saw him back in around the year 2000. he opened with "Loser," and was playing to this type of audience. then it got really sort of boring for a few song. he did play "Devils Haircut" but unfortunately it sounded dated. the songs on the new album are energetic and fun but not really memorable. ended with "Where's It At" but i was let down. really looking forward to seeing him but it lacked spark or something. we left during Cage the Elephant, mainly to beat LA traffic. prepackaged indie rock but happy to see Spoon and the National so it turned out to be a fun night. just sort of depressing to see music presented like that. the last time i was at the Forum i say Nirvana and this was the third to last show they ever played. very different experiences.

I Heart Radio event at the Forum in Los Angeles. January 19, 2018

Spoon:

Do I Have to Talk You Into It
Inside Out
Hot Thoughts
Can I Sit Next To You
Do You
The Underdog
Rent I Pay

The National:

The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
Bloodbuzz Ohio
I Need My Girl
Guilty Party
Day I Die

Beck:

Loser
Up All Night
Devils Haircut
Colors
Dreams
Wow
E-Pro
Where It's At
(with One Foot in the Grave)

*sorry about my grammar upthead. i was just writing and didn't check my work.

Good to see you back Bee OK!