SUICIDE

Wow. Late to the party much, Southall?

Just kidding, that was kinda bitter. This is a great album, glad you've picked it up and let us know how it hits you.

Oh, and: PLAY LOUD

Basically, any song on this record deserves to win.

the one suicide thing i keep coming back to lately is the basement tapes disc that came with the double cd reissue of the second album. i think its recordings from the mid 70s, super minimal and lofi, loads of tape hiss and space echo feedback and room ambience, just so spacious and warped and quite beautiful at times

Their LP is for sure GOAT-status, but Dream Baby Dream will forever be their best song. Who knew that Ric Ocasek could make Suicide sound better?

the one suicide thing i keep coming back to lately is the basement tapes disc that came with the double cd reissue of the second album. i think its recordings from the mid 70s, super minimal and lofi, loads of tape hiss and space echo feedback and room ambience, just so spacious and warped and quite beautiful at times

^cosign. They're from the early Seventies, IIRC. As far as I know, there's no live recordings from the pre-album period, which is a major shame.

Yeah, that disc is amazing. I return to the second album a lot more than the first these days, I love how dreamy it sounds. Has there ever been a book about Vega and Rev, or something really in-depth on them? If not I feel like someone has to get on that, because they're no spring chickens these days, and I bet they have some excellently entertaining stories to tell.

Are any of the albums after the 2nd one worth checking out?

Remastered version of Why Be Blue? is bloody great but then I think the first album might be the greatest thing in recorded music so I could be the most biased man of all.

I think the first album is brilliant too. Weirdly my first exposure to it was hearing it sampled by Bentley Rhythym Ace, a band for Spinal Tap's "where are they now" file if there ever was one.

"Are any of the albums after the 2nd one worth checking out?"
First Marin Rev solo Martin Rev and first Alan Vega solo Alan Vega (sometimes called Jukebox Baby are both pretty badass imo.
I listen to Vega's first solo record more than any of these lately, actually.

Beyond that nothing has turned me on too much.

I know and like the track "Jukebox Baby". Thanks for the recommendations!

"Ice Drummer" is the real standout on the album, but the whole thing is very very good.

A WAY OF LIFE YOU FUCKING FUCKS! - "Got a cigarette?"

First Marin Rev solo Martin Rev first Alan Vega solo Alan Vega (sometimes called Jukebox Baby are both pretty badass imo

And the second Alan Vega solo. I like the third too, come to that. And don't forget Marty's "Clouds of Glory"!

are there any metal bands who have cited suicide as an influence?

Goat Science

<prepares for fight with another ilxor about metal>

i just thought, i could kinda see some alt-metal or even death ppl finding inspiration here

and not in the blackness/dysphoria so much as the rhythmic insistency

and the griminess, i guess

maybe it needs its own thread, but man, cubist blues is a great album
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/a65e7250fd5a74711c63e800b18ca0a4/97774.jpg
like the best rock n roll album EVER.

Cubist Blues is awesome, my copy disappear awhile ago saldy, I'm always on the prowl for a new one

Was there a double disc fancy reissue of this album (that was barely issued in the first place)? Or am I just dreaming?

i would be interested in that, but don't know anything about it.
had a long-ish drive this weekend and this album provided a very fitting soundtrack.

Yeah! Cubist Blues is awesome. Should pull it out again, actually, used to be on regular rotation but not listened to it for a few years.

oh hey yeah, reissue: http://www.amazon.com/Cubist-Blues-Redux-Alan-Vega/dp/B000FS2W0I

& yeah i hadn't heard it in forever, but it sounded timelessly awesome.

american supreme is fucking insane

Favorite part of the album: the scratching

currently of the opinion this is the best song of all time. ALL TIME!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKhNToubS2Y

There's an article on the making of Frankie Teardrop in the current Uncut btw.

xp: nice track

Holy shit! I've just heard of this record, never got my hands on it or got around to check it out online (it's on spotify, I think), but this is just amazingly fucking great! I'm kinda stunned right now, actually.

lotsa gems in the vega rev solo rec treks

Will dive in. Ordered "Cubist" just now.

self titled Martin Rev album is incredible

Yepper. So is the first Alan Vega (s/t, untitled, "jukebox baby").

I love Suicide, but that Vega/Chilton/Vaughn song up there is horrendous.

What am I missing? It's like a shitty '90s drum machine sound drenched in reverb, a really sterile guitar plinking along, and Vega warbling on top. For 8 minutes.

you say it like those are bad things

well, suicide is like cheesy drum machines, cliched '50s chord progressions, and long repetitious songs with Vega warbling dramatically on top, but it works. this just doesn't for me. I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around the idea that somebody could think that song was any good.

haha! i don't know, i think it's sort of magical. might be worth listening to the whole album? you might get the vibe more.

Like I said upthread, I find it amazing. Tylerw probably otm with "magical". It has a kind of twisted beaty I feel sometimes comes out of perverting established pop-cultural symbols, such as "cliched '50s chord progressions" and blues picking. Kinda like Lynch does in "Blue Velvet", applied to music. It's not too far from Suicide (which is amazing as well), especially "Keep Your Dreams"/"Dream Baby, Dream" have a similar feel.

However, I can understand how someone could find this song underwhelming. But I don't.

Amazed that Che only got one measly vote!

I first heard "Rocket USA" as a Loop cover, and it's still my favorite Suicide song...

Maybe we should start a dedicated "Cubist Blues" thread but glad to see the record get some love via Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds on the free cd that came with the new Mojo. Plus, they picked a Martin Rev solo track!

"Keep Your Dreams" is my fave, too.

I always get a thrill when there's that long period of simmering noise and then "FRANKIE'S LYING IN HELL"

I mean, the two fav ILM tracks in this poll from the first album aren't on the compilation - but it'll still be great

TV pilot idea: Frankie Teardrop and the Summertime Smile Show

Features songs, sketches and surprise celebrity guests. Frankie’s catchphrase (~blood curdling scream~) becomes a national sensation for a few months

For the last few months Girl has been my go to Suicide track. I'm wondering why it took me so long.

I think that cnew omp looks ok and glad it features Radiation which is another underrated Suicide killer.

new comp NOT cnew omp!! Phone. grr.....

all the tracks on this album are good

Very interested to hear the remastered tracks. Got a 1999 Red Star pressing of the debut which I've always found a bit harsh (the "s"-es in the vocals sound so distorted)

... I think that's on purpose? In that Rolling Stone article I linked it says "Leon had the idea to run Vega’s voice, along with some of Rev’s keyboards, through an early Eventide digital-delay pushed to the distortion point, a technique he’d learned from Jamaican producer Lee Perry during a Bob Marley session."

(and a twinge of disappointment when he lets us down with "...we're all Frankie!")

― flamboyant goon tie included, Wednesday, February 19, 2014 9:13 PM (eight years ago)

One of those "ok, song is ending" moments that really long songs need

Yeah, to me it's more a parenthetical afterthought than an attempt at a DO YOU SEE moment.

Second posthumous Alan Vega album, tomorrow: Insurrection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BlGac89wWA

https://pitchfork.com/news/new-alan-vega-album-insurrection-announced/