half man half biscuit: classic or dud

Four Lads Who Shook The Wirral and Saucy Haulage Ballads aren't there - pity about the latter as I haven't heard all of it yet (lol Blood On The Quad etc)

and pity about the former because people are gonna be denied some of their best songs

My mistake, I took a quick look and assumed they were all there. Still, better than nothing.

haha I'm not complaining - for a start I haven't heard This Leaden Pall or Some Call It Godcore yet

So apparently Richard Littlejohn is a HMHB fan.

A friend of mine had his copy of the Eno Collaboration CD lost by a former co-worker. He's desperate to get it back, and he doesn't believe in mp3s or anything, so if anyone has a copy they'd be willing to sell he'd be grateful. Realise that's kind of against-the-rules but "Get Kramer" is his favourite song and it is a matter of some importance for him.

New album on the way, btw: http://www.amazon.co.uk/90-Bisodol-Crimond/dp/B005HNZOZG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314871199&sr=8-2

this is really one for 'too much time on ILX' but I spent several actual minutes the other day trying to figure out how I could make a hybrid display name of that title and 'It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'

^^lol

I pre-ordered this from Probe Plus last night, after learning about Stuckists in a Simon Reynolds book.

pre-ordered immediately. put off listening to them for years because of 'comedy band' tag. a fingerprint of specifically English despair, and hope. think my favourite sound of theirs, apart from their love songs, is their anger - Thy Damnation Slumbereth Not, Evening of Swing (Has Been Cancelled). Endlessly appealing. Yes, also funny, but not in an oppressive way.

and you can sing along to it while driving!

Excellent Taylor Parkes HMHB essay on the Quietus:

http://thequietus.com/articles/07060-half-man-half-biscuit-90-bisodol-crimond

http://thespace.org/items/e0000b24

http://louderthanwar.com/mid-80s-half-man-half-biscuit-song-told-the-truth-about-jimmy-savile/#.UJjjRsh-lh4.twitter

1. Westward Ho! Massive Letdown
2. This One’s For Now
3. Baguette Dilemma For The Booker Prize Guy
4. My Outstretched Arms
5. The Bain Of Constance
6. Theme Tune For Something Or Other
7. False Grit
8. Old Age Killed My Teenage Bride
9. Urge For Offal
10. Stuck Up A Hornbeam
11. Adam Boyle Has Cast Lad Rock Aside
12. The Unfortunate Gwatkin
13. Mileage Chart

:D

so this is really, really good. Any other listeners?

i think it's their worst album possibly ever :(

first four tracks are great, rest falls off a cliff, last two sorta pull it back but too little too late

'my outstretched arms' is the keeper. we discussed this on the OPO-line thread

I need to listen to it a bit more, but "Old Age Killed my Teenage Bride" was the stand-out first time round.

2. This One’s For Now
4. My Outstretched Arms
9. Urge For Offal
11. Adam Boyle Has Cast Lad Rock Aside

^all these are solid performers but... there don't really seem to be many funny lines, nor darkness/trenchant social commentary with which to plug the void

^otm.

http://porteliotfestival.com/whats-on/

imagine all of these sung consecutively in the voice of nigel blackwell to the sound of robust folk-rock

M. CRAFT YOGA SEVERED LIMB WORDS

(cheers tt for the heads-up)

Worth reading

http://www.bigissue.com/features/6652/half-man-half-biscuit-and-a-very-british-odyssey

that's brilliant stuff, wow

there's a guy in the comments is who is not so impressed

I remember when the crowd were just regular folk. Football lads and the like. I've no time for these characters dressing up and writing every little incident down. King of Hi Vis, you could of saved yourself seven years study and a pile of cash by aquring the reflective coat on your first day of work and to this clown geoff " Get back on the railway platforms where you really belong " If the Big Issue want another slant on what it was like watching the band in the days of Fuji caps coming back from germany 88 then root out Brian Sheddy. Great band with shite fans

I saw them live once, around 10 years ago, in Liverpool. I remember the audience as being almost entirely male, quite blokey, mostly mid 30s to late 40s and that I looked quite out of place as a floppy haired student.

just discovered 'fear my wraith'

new one

https://d1wtzzt4oxg683.cloudfront.net/images/covers/large/66/170066.jpg

• Alehouse Futsal
• Man of Constant Sorrow (With A Garage In Constant Use)
• Knobheads on Quiz Shows
• Bladderwrack Allowance
• Renfield’s Afoot
• Terminus
• The Announcement
• What Made Colombia Famous
• Harsh Times in Umberstone Covert
• Every Time a Bell Rings
• Emergency Locksmith
• Mod Diff V Diff Hard Severe
• Swerving the Checkatrade

hahahaha so he HAS addressed Tranmere's non-league purgatory

This has done wonders for my mood. A shame to see Ken left though, hope his health improves.

Was wondering 'have they mellowed?' - then got to Knobheads On Quiz Shows. They have not :D

hmm, it is the best track by miles though

bell + maybe terminus also good

is it just me or have the last 2 HMHB albums been a bit of disappointment? "CSI Ambleside" was great

yeah they've lost much of the magic. they're trying fewer risks and all the songs really do sound the same now, a kind of hard-rock whinge predominating

thought urge a bit disappointing but 90 bisodol is front to back their best

I didn't think Urge To Offal was that good either. 90 Bisodol was OK, CSI: Ambleside a classic of our times.

90 Bisodol is great, Urge was where they fell off. CSI obviously amazing

bono > csi > 90 bisodol is maybe the greatest three album run

Inspirational album title though. Too many hubs in my life

Every album from maybe Godcore, certainly Voyage -> Bisodol is an unparalleled run tbh

I cant remember any songs from Bisodol except for "Tommy Walsh's Eco house" and "Excavating Rita"

"Trouble Over Bridgewater" and "Cammell Laird Social Club" were career highpoints imo

Trouble Over Bridgwater is the high mark among high marks imo

You'll get nothing like The Ballad Of Climie Fisher or Gubba Look-a-Likes on the new album, is all I'll say

Maybe this is a concept album about becoming a crotchety old git?

an anti-cocaine song strikes me as a little gauche by their standards

no legit lols yet

some of the songs on the first half sound like fairly standard chuggy early 90s Amerindie

I'll prob grow to like it