RIDE - GOING BLANK AGAIN POLL

all chrome waves, all the time

I always forget about Chrome Waves, the intro is one of my favourite things, but then the song shoots off in a different direction.

"can't stay/unbearable to go/we've all moved on from here" really got me in high school. think the version from LTAB EP is better though?

Chrome Waves is good, yeah. I was really disappointed by it at the time.

I was reading that this album finally went gold in 2009. I guess that isn't indicative of it being a huge sleeper hit, considering it averages out as under 6,000 sales a year, even discounting that the huge majority were probably in the month after release - but tbh I'm a bit surprised at it still recording any sales, 17 years later.

cassettes wear out

"can't stay/unbearable to go/we've all moved on from here" really sums up the whole dilemma of this album, and Ride's career at this point.

Was listening to Swervedriver again this morning, and it just reinforced the differences between the Oxford shoegaze bands and the London shoegaze bands.

Like, all shoegaze is essentially about escape. But for the Oxford bands, it was very much about physical escape, songs about driving, songs about road trips, songs about physically leaving. So much of Ride's early output was great because it was all about getting the fuck out.

(London bands, on the other hand, their dreams of escape tended more towards the drugs, sex, dancing escape routes. Either because they'd already moved to London, so they'd had their physical escape, or because, being native Londoners, car culture just wasn't part of their lives? Dunno.)

Going Blank Again seems to be like the pivotal record for Ride, where they'd made their escape, they'd been round the world, gone off to the States and Japan - and half of it is "OMG, shiny newness, isn't this great?!?!" and the other half is hinting towards this yearning nostalgia and wanting the comforts of everything back home. And sure, this happens to every touring rock band, how they cope with the fact that everything that made them has now disappeared and been replaced with a hundred identical hotel rooms and tour busses. But Ride just disappeared into that cosy nostalgia - not helped by the atmosphere of Britpop really encouraging the worship of the past. And in the process destroyed what was great about them - the whole yearning-to-escape desire for something else, desire for something beyond.

perhaps that explains why i always thought their presence at a club in houston in 1991 was odd, while lush somehow made sense.

Syndrome vs the Jericho Tavern, I mean, that's the answer there.

Britpop ruined everything. Britpop and Nirvana.

If only Britpop had stayed St Etienne and the Auteurs, it would have been alright.

fighting the musicality but not denying the musicality

christ how good was Loz man. easily the best drummer of his generation.

Twisterella.

it's been remastered dontcha know
http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2012/04/20/ride-going-blank-again-reissue/

"GBÄ" has a special place in my heart and life.I had been unemployed for most of late 91 and early 92 so had hardly any money for records, so when I got a job my Dad gave me £50 and told me to treat myself to some new music, and "GBA" was one of my purchases (others included "In ribbons", "Secondhand clothes" and some Sarah Records). "GBA" had lot to live up to, I'd followed Ride since the start, saw them live with Slowdive supporting, loved the two EPs from the album... But was disappointed by the album itself. It seemed ordinary. I wanted it to fly, wanted it to explode in my face like "Dreams burn down" and "Vapour trail" had. But no, if was just riffing and singing. All the signs of their turgid future were there. "Time of her time" was my initial favourite but over the years "Cool your boots" is now my choice. It does go somewhere, the rhythmic interplay towards the end always makes me smile. Losing a few songs and adding some songs from the "Twisterella" EP, as someone else has said, would make a better album. And "Leave them all behind" strives to be anthemic but doesn't come close. It goes and carries on and makes no progress towards where it aims for,

Liam Gallagher had "OX4" as his answerphone message music, I read once.

when this is done, a poll RIDE - GOING BLANK AGAIN GIVEN THAT LEAVE THEM ALL BEHIND IS ACTUALLY AMAZING SO WE'RE LEAVING THAT OUT

to find 2nd place ect might be fun. Does ILM do 'pick N' polls?

in which case, EVEN A STOPPED CLOCK TELLS THE RIGHT TIME TWICE A DAY DAAAANAAAANNAAANANANA…

The b-side version of "Chrome waves" is far better than the album version IMO.

What, this version? Rougher and without the 80s Duran Duran drum noises and atmosphere. It's different but I think I prefer the album version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j44BCXnxMr0

Yeah, Alan, I think if my first choice is either OX4 or Twisterella, Cool Your Boots is my second favourite.

christ how good was Loz man. easily the best drummer of his generation

Haha, I was wondering how long the poll would run before devolving into this - fourteen-and-a-half hours, not bad. Otm though.

Controversial opinion..

LTAB a lot like Columbia/Oasis?

There is only one possibly winner of this. The best track on the album, the best single they ever released, the best song they ever did.

All four of them, without hesitation, name Dreams Burn Down as their best track. As fwiw did we when we polled shoegaze tracks a couple of years back (we also had Vapour Trail and Like A Daydream higher than LTAB).

I have very strong memories I walking across Northampton in the middle of the night, 1999, minidisc player, and just blasting my fucking brains out with LTAB. Nothing else on the album coul do ha for me, had the physicality of the churning last couple of minutes.

Would be interested to see if there's a correlation between ppl who rate LTAB and ppl who can stand early Oasis.

Poll?

* I love 'Leave Them All Behind' and I like early Oasis
* I love 'Leave Them All Behind and I don't like early Oasis
* I don't like 'Leave Them All Behind' and I like early Oasis
* I don't like 'Leave Them All Behind' and I don't like early Oasis

(I am option number 2)

I am driving down to Laguna today and am going to play this all the way down the 5. I may as well be Ned Raggett!!!!

A vision. Except for the actually driving the car part.

I don't mind early Oasis, particularly Columbia and Slide Away.

I get more of a Stone Roses vibe from LTAB than an Oasis one.

Twisterella

It's weird how Twisterella is so slick and Making Judy Smile so clunky. It may all be in the songwriter I suppose.

There is only one possibly winner of this. The best track on the album, Cool Your Boots.

Am listening to this while I paint window frames, could get on board with Cool Yr Boots actually. What is this track no. 8 bullshit?

* I love 'Leave Them All Behind' and I quite like Oasis 'Live Forever', and nothing else

leave them all behind seems like it should have been the middle section of a 20 minute epic, it never really leaves its middle level. maybe if they tacked on a 'feel so sad'-ish wistful beginning and a 'the sun, the sea' type blow out with skronky horns at the end. but then they didn't have a nick mccabe. nick mccabe and loz colbert would probably have been pretty great.

That'd probably be my fantasy shoegaze lineup, with the Verve's bassist too. I don't know who'd be on vocals, I suppose it doesn't much matter. Maybe Tina Turner.

If we're playing shoegaze fantasy league I'd like Ian Masters from Pale Saints and Bends era Thom Yorke harmonising in "who is further up the ethereal mountain with a megaphone" mode with Rachel Goswell doing the backing vocals from Pearl, please.

Hell, get Sice from Boo Radleys and make it 4-part Beach Boys harmonies.

OX4 does do that exact trick, that after that long classic rock organ solo and a bit of riffing and chugging along, at about 2:05, the bass kicks in, the phasers drift off, then when the guitar riff comes in at 2:15, the whole song up another gear, and at that point, you feel the liftoff like the cabin starts to slant and the ground out the window goes diagonal and you realise you're airbourne.

OTM and greatly put - OX4 just feels like air travel. I've always made a point of playing that song on the plane whenever I've moved places - it never fails to conjure new beginnings.

Would be interested to see if there's a correlation between ppl who rate LTAB and ppl who can stand early Oasis.

Love LTAB. Hate all eras of Oasis. (and to answer WCC above, I always considered MBV to be too much of an advanced art project to be reduced to mere shoegazing, and I love Lush but I wish they could have gotten their live sound down on record adequately. Lush played with Ride out here and Lush was the better band!)

A "when shoegazers stopped gazing" poll might be interesting because then we would all have to confront Carnival Of Light and Tarantula.

(would vote for Pygmalion and the Global Communication remix of Blood Music)

Also, everyone is aware of the Going Blank Again 20th anniversary release with the DVD?

Ooh Lovelife or Pentamerous Metamorphis. Could not decide

Mark's songs on Carnival of Light are superb; I have no idea how anyone can hate them.

A "when shoegazers stopped gazing" poll might be interesting

totally seconding this!

Might work better as a S/D rather than a poll. Have to think about this one...

'Song For The Lovers' ftw

You sick fuck

But that's if you want to label Verve as a shoegaze band and they were so much better than that back then.

Yeah, always more a flag of convenience at best.

I have no problem at all with Mark's or Loz's songs on Carnival of Wife.