the feelies - classic or dud?

So do you guys think that the "Velvets meets REM" tag that they had on them early on was overly simplistic or otm? Or both? I vacillate but generally conclude that it's a nice starting point in describing them to folks without leading them too astray. (Or that their jangle was not at all Southern fried like REM's was?)

Gave it a listen last night as promised -- no great surprises, it's pretty much the Feelies, some gentler songs and a few rushed ones, but it's all done damn well and you can tell it's them from a mile off. "When You Know" and "Way Down" are my initial faves.

Three live songs from NPR's World Cafe Live. It's from several months ago but still a good listen:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127212203

So do you guys think that the "Velvets meets REM" tag that they had on them early on was overly simplistic or otm?

They predated REM by several years. What are you talking about?

they are indeed very Velvety but I also don't see the connection to R.E.M.

By the time they did The Good Earth (co-produced by Peter Buck) I certainly hear a few similarities to early REM in the mumbly vocals and chiming guitars. Stipe's a stronger singer, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w2sb01oRT0

REM is shorter for jangly pop; that tag was heard by me later on in life, definitely after 'It's Only Life' (which I just took out and listened to this morning, actually.)

whenever i put on the good earth, my wife says that it sounds like "don't go back to rockville." and then i act like this guy: http://www.theonion.com/articles/honey-im-not-going-to-stand-here-and-debate-the-me,18952/
she's right though, it does have that sound.

feelies are better than REM, however

hey does anyone have a digital copy of the first yung wu single? the internet is letting me down.

Is that the one with the "Barstool Blues" cover? I can help you if so.

umm i'm not sure -- the "shore leave" single (not the album) ... maybe it's just a dave weckerman single?

Here's a site with the whole album, but it sounds like you're after a B-side?

http://sunshinesmilefactory.blogspot.com/2010/03/yung-wu-shore-leave.html

yeahhh, this would be an earlier thing? dan selzer mentions it above: "One of them released a solo single of a song that would be on the Yung Wu record record and it's even better." just haven't heard it, and would love to!

Okay...can't help you. And I realize that "Barstool Blues" is a Feelies cover; it's "Powderfinger" that Yung Wu recorded.

yeah! that yung wu record is fantastic. anyway, i'm putting together a little feelies family tree mix kind of thing (side projects/solo projects/related bands/etc.) and thought i'd try to hunt it down. seems extremely obscure. if i didn't just make it up.

http://www.thefeeliesweb.com/images/disc/Dave45.jpg
this is what i think i'm talking about

tyler have u heard the Trypes demos that were on Dime a while back? I can send 'em to you if u want.

i've got something called the trypes demos -- probably the same thing?

yeah that's it, here's my tracklist

1. A Plan Revised
2. The Inner Light (Beatles)
3. ?
4. Return to Zion
5. Eternal Ice
6. ?
7. ?
8. The Obedient Atom
9. When Company Comes

Trypes demos may be more then Trypes. Maybe some Willies and Yung Wu or whatever. I'm talking to them and trying to sort it out. They're digging through some old tapes for a potential Trypes expanded reissue, which somebody will be delighted to release should things work out.

Aw man, that would be awesome. I downloaded the Trypes EP a while back, rules my world. Impossible to find a copy, too. Now to look for the demos.

That Weckerman single is amazing btw. Has more in common with weirdo 70s american outsider stuff like MX-80 or Debris or Pere Ubu or something.

That Weckerman solo single/pre Yung Wu release that tyler's looking for is listed in this PSF piece. Can't find more than that at the moment.

Dave Weckerman
"Out of Baby's Reach" (Yellow Fear)single 1980

Looking forward to that Acute release, dan :)

expanded trypes reissue would be great. make it happen, dan! the trypes demos, yeah, i wondered if stuff like "the obedient atom" and "when company comes" (both of which the feelies were playing live in 1980-81) are actually from the demo tape that the band submitted to stiff records, the one that led to stiff dropping them, or whatever.

the carla bley stuff talked about here:
PSF: After the first album, what happened with Stiff?

GLENN: Stiff requested a demo for a second album. They didn't like it. We were doing a lot of home recording, even more in an Eno mode and less like a rock band. Stiff rejected the songs and he just wrote some more. We weren't playing (live) at that point. Anton was playing with the Lounge Lizards, doing live shows. He just called up and said "I quit the band." Then Stiff took that that opportunity to drop the band. One song "The Obediant Atom" was pretty similar to "40 Days" on the first Wake Ooloo record. I think we only had a couple of songs. We really weren't ready to do another record anyway. It was kind of relief actually.

DAVE: We spend three days recording "The Obediant Atom" in Carla Bley's studio. It was an instrumental with some chanting at the end. When Stiff heard that, their hair started falling out. "Is this what the next album is going to sound like?" In the meantime, me and Keith did all the drumming parts. We went to England and played two shows and came home.

GLENN: At one point, they (Stiff) took us into their office and said that we needed a hit single. They played the latest Lene Lovich single. It was like a scene out of a movie. "(Do) something like this- you know, verse-chorus-verse." We just laughed to ourselves and it turned out that it wasn't a hit anyway.

wsj article on the new album here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703858404576214672616456018.html

heyyy, i posted my little feelies family tree sampler over here if anyone's interested: http://ow.ly/4rhcn

Not a bad sample!

didn't even know there was a new album until i read the rolling stone review last night. will buy this if i can find a store that carries it. not an easy task.

yeah, new songs i've heard sound excellent. in the good earth vein, it seems.

i like the wake ooloo stuff. didn't buy the solo album from a few years back. wasn't that kind of an unofficial feelies album? remember something about that. the mercer one.

yeah, pretty much all the feelies played on in it some capacity -- except bill million, i think? it's good, maybe a little snoozy in parts.

Bill Million's on it.
It's a dminishing returns album: starts great, then gets progressively less interesting because it all sounds exactly the same.

million's on the mercer solo album? he isn't listed in the credits ...

Six songs in to the new one before anything really caught my attention. Way Down is pretty good. I find myself wishing they'd done a new Yung Wu album instead.

first impression is there isn't a standout song like "it's only life," but still this is more solid (or maybe just less dated-sounding?) than the last official album

I never really thought any Feelies songs stood out besides maybe their Beatles cover

not to say that they aren't totally classic

the last two songs on the good earth are awesome

plus i'd say the title track of crazy rhythms

"Slow Down" is my favorite thing they ever did, yes.

I always assumed that Slipping Into Something was the stand-out track. It seemed to be the live centerpiece, at least until they started covering Dancing Barefoot..... New album is growing on me. It's definitely more "Good Earth" than anything else. Mentally and chronologically I'm so far from the college kid who flipped over Good Earth...it's a little strange hearing Feelies sounding preserved in amber.

pretty funny reading new interviews with mercer -- guy is not a chatty cathy.

i like this album, but i agree that it's pretty samey.

really enjoying the new record -- no surprise, i guess, but I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would, anyway. Kind of a more easy-going cousin to The Good Earth. Maybe a little too easy-going at times, but mostly a pleasure.

also, interesting feelies related news via the speed the plough website:
As if that’s not enough, we’ve put the final touches on the tracks for the Trypes compilation, which will see the light of day on vinyl and digitally this summer. In addition to all the songs from The Explorer’s Hold, we dug deep into the archives for a collection of songs that span the band’s history, beginning with the original quartet and right up through the final seven-piece combo. Much more about this project in the coming weeks.
totally great news. guess there's a new speed the plough record coming out too! 2011 -- the year of the feelies, haha.

Probably not this summer, but fall hopefully!

so is this going to be an acute release, dan?

Let me get back to you on that one!