Why does anyone like the Fall?

"I just like that he says "-ah" at the end of every line.
And the drummer goes whomp-a-whomp-a-whommmp-a."

These appraisals of thee mighty Fall made me laugh out loud at my desk at work...a rare and usually discouraged action, need I say.

Even so, my favorite description of their sound - at least during the 80's - has to be courtesy the disgustingly brill online rockcrit Mark Prindle:
"'Dang dang dang'...that's Brix Smith's guitar sound. Might like it, might hate it - 'sup to you."
Hehe...

I like cheese hotdogs AND The Fall [for the most part], but I'm not sure if there's a connection between those things. I also like cheese Ritz Bits and Dog-Faced Hermans. If you see a pattern, let me know. :-)

I wonder how Mark E. Smith feels about the Idle Race... Maybe a bit better than the Move, IMHO.

What song does he namecheck Idle Race in-- I can't remember. It's an early one, right?

I love Dog Faced Hermans but abhor a cheese Ritz Bit.

Disagree. The Move are better.

surely not better than the fall though?

I'm not sure about a song, but Mark mentions loiking an Idle Race song in an interview or poll way upthread.

The Move v. Idle Race question is one that I waffle on a bit, but there is one Idle Race song in particular that completely shatters me. Its on the 2nd Nuggets box, called "Day of Broken Arrows" or words to that effect [don't have it in front of me]. Infinitely sublime. One of the best 'power-pop' toonz in the galaxy.

:-/

http://thefallenblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/revealed-after-34-years-identity-and.html

aw, that's very sad.

yeah very sad, but glad at least he's finally known

I probably should have floated this idea sooner, but I'm now two days in to 28 Fall Studio Albums in 28 Days of February. I've heard them all at one point or another, but for some it's been a while, and others only got a cursory listen or two. So far, Dragnet is a whole lot better than I'd remembered... Anyway, seemed like a worthwhile project to fill out the dreariest month.

I purchased and listened to Hex Induction Hour and This Nation's Saving Grace. If I didn't like those, are the chances pretty good that I won't like any of their later works as well? Or did they change radically over the ensuing decades?

Hmm, there are a number of albums that are 'different' outposts.

This Nat is one of the easiest to listen to, I'd say.

And Hex isn't

guess it depends on how you feel about the voice really. from the 90s onward there's rather more of a desire to play with existing or contemporary forms (baggy, electronic, indie-ish stuff) rather than that dynamic primal abrasiveness that characterised their earlier years.

that's a little bald perhaps - it's still heavily Fall flavoured - but it's emblematic of a perceived softer edge to their music. It's perhaps why a lot of Fall fans will tend to prefer the early stuff.

If you wanted to try some stuff a bit different from Hex or TNSG, try Shift Work, Infotainment Scan, or the extremely appealing and successful The Unutterable. xpost.

I still amaze the kids when they watch the Gok shows with my "She used to be in the Fall, you know"

"She used to be married to this"

*shows picture of Mark E. Smith, kids scream and complain of bad dreams later that night*

ah, but back then : http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vdy5PdGb6vw/S2MkzM9lcwI/AAAAAAAAApQ/xpzDMVW-LMc/s640/brix+3.jpg

ah, remember the days you'd consider someone had possibly "sold-out" because they stopped looking ill, started wearing nice clothes and eating regular meals regularly?

Ok, I'm from the US where the album in question had a pretty low profile, but the "White Lightening" cover is just killing me. Amazed I'd never heard it before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YmMsmKGEt4

Shiftwork is in my top 5 albums of theirs, I just love almost everything on it. I don't know if they ever approached the kind of tender beauty that you hear on "Rose" on subsequent records (although the closer off their last one comes close).

I think you definitely hear that on the next two albums, too: "Time Enough at Last," "Just Waiting," "Gentleman's Agreement," "I'm Going to Spain," and "Service."

Funny, this is yet another thread where the person who started it never comes back. Weird phenomenon.

I change up the sequence on it, admittedly, but Dragnet still is my 2nd favourite album of all time...

Funny, this is yet another thread where the person who started it never comes back. Weird phenomenon.

― Evan, Wednesday, February 16, 2011 11:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Actually...

Oops.

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2012/07/23/perhaps-someday-an-internet-search-engine-will-be-invented-that-will-prevent-these-misunderstandings/

And here I thought Mark E Smith was just being paranoid when he says everyone's trying to rip off The Fall.

Re-Mit is pretty solid, as usual!

Yes! I'm really enjoying it after the first few listens. "Jetplane" is the standout track for me, so far.

Madness. It's fucking awful. And I haven't said that since the 90s.

Funny, every album gets his..

gets this, I mean

yeah the consensus favorites only emerge after a decade or two, if they ever do

is there a single fall album all fans can agree on? hex enduction hour? maybe bend sinister?

i would submit the unutterable but i fear many have not even heard it.

is there a single fall album all fans can agree on? hex enduction hour? maybe bend sinister?

No. No. No.

In tests, 26 out of 29 fall fans who expressed a preference, voted "Slates"

In tests, 27 out of 29 fall fans who expressed a preference, voted "This nation's Saving Grace"

(Other fall albums are available)

I've never heard of The Fall, but according to allmusic, they were influenced by Pink Floyd. What is the best place to start for a Pink Floyd fan?

not listening to The Fall, I would say. (not sure how Allmusic came to that conclusion about PF being an influence)

Well, that would be that Chiselers/Chilinists one wouldn't it xp

Well Floyd did have that one song, all in all you're just a Brix in the Fall