Thread inspired me to start a Tortoise Pandora station. It's amazing how many competent post-rock bands I have never heard of!
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:11 (fifteen years ago) link
... such as:Tommy GuerreroMaseratiBenevenuto & Russo DuoThe Six Parts Seven
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:13 (fifteen years ago) link
El Ten Eleven
I never posted on this Tortoise thread, but I did gush on how much I liked them on some of the others and the big 'post rock' thread that is around here somewhere. That being said, I STILL have not gotten around to hearing their last couple of releases. Really odd considering I probably listened to their first three albums constantly for years even to now.
I can kind of understand why people don't like Tortoise, but to me they were a group that kind of changed my musical outlook. They were just the right kind of band heading in a different direction at the right time that really appealed to me, so I say classic.
I've seen them live three times and thought they were always really good band to go and check out.
That being said, it probably time to check in.
― earlnash, Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:32 (fifteen years ago) link
dots&loops = shift... but yeah i can see where they shifted with mars, then the groop played, then emporer... but dots was the biggest departure... thematically, popularity, critically.
― (*゚ー゚)θ L(。・_・) °~ヾ(・ε・ *) (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:45 (fifteen years ago) link
but to me they were a group that kind of changed my musical outlook. They were just the right kind of band heading in a different direction at the right time that really appealed to me
Yeah, me too, actually. At the time my friends got me into Tortoise I was mainly listening to straight-ahead jazz, classical, some "classic rock" like Pink Floyd and Zeppelin, Fugazi, and old blues records. I think Tortoise and their Chicago counterparts (Isotope 217, Brokeback, Chicago Underground, Sea and Cake, etc.) got me to start thinking of music in a less compartmentalized way -- more of a sonic continuum.
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:45 (fifteen years ago) link
what
― cutty, Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:50 (fifteen years ago) link
I was like 18 or 19 years old, granted. I remember reading the back of one of the Chicago Underground albums and there was this admittedly kind of pretentious text on the back about a more unified approach to music: "Start with SOUND!" etc. But at the time it was quite mind-expanding.
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 02:58 (fifteen years ago) link
boring and masturbatory.
― Pantheism F. Mohair (res), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 04:46 (fifteen years ago) link
your opinions are, yes
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 27 January 2009 04:48 (fifteen years ago) link
― earlnash ― try A Lazarus Taxon (3 cds) - so much new material (or maybe I should say rare) mixed with old classics
― CaptainLorax, Tuesday, 27 January 2009 05:26 (fifteen years ago) link
For me, I was playing in bad bands in the midwest around that time going seeing many of those touch & go or related kind of groups. I had seen Johnny Machine play a couple of times with the Poster Children and when I first heard about Tortoise it sounded like a pretty weird idea for a side project. But about that same time I was starting to listen to Can and Kraftwerk and then heard the first stuff on Warp records and started listening to a bunch of jazz, so going from listening to Jesus Lizard or say Slint then Tortoise started to make sense to me with the other records I was starting to listen to. Criminy it was a band by people who were doing stuff that I kind of liked who started doing some newer music that fit in with new things I was finding. Omar and Dave Q also kind of hit it up at the top of the thread.
― earlnash, Wednesday, 28 January 2009 04:32 (fifteen years ago) link
well, when they weren't, people were deeply offended by my comments and i got banned for some time.
― Pantheism F. Mohair (res), Wednesday, 28 January 2009 05:35 (fifteen years ago) link
i like this new songhttp://pitchfork.com/forkcast/12802-prepare-your-coffin/
― mizzell, Tuesday, 5 May 2009 13:30 (fifteen years ago) link
Pitchfork Festival appearance was dope.
Set list:
1. Seneca2. Djed3. Ten-Day Interval4. Swung from the Gutters5. Along the Banks of Rivers6. TNT7. The Suspension Bridge at Iguazu Falls8. Glass Museum
Was hoping for "I Set My Face to the Hillside," but oh well.
― jaymc, Saturday, 18 July 2009 14:10 (fourteen years ago) link
Whatever people say about Standards, "Seneca" is awesome live. Good band, not great, but unfairly maligned.
― ears are wounds, Saturday, 18 July 2009 14:26 (fourteen years ago) link
but to me they were a group that kind of changed my musical outlook. They were just the right kind of band heading in a different direction at the right time that really appealed to meYeah, me too, actually. At the time my friends got me into Tortoise I was mainly listening to straight-ahead jazz, classical, some "classic rock" like Pink Floyd and Zeppelin, Fugazi, and old blues records. I think Tortoise and their Chicago counterparts (Isotope 217, Brokeback, Chicago Underground, Sea and Cake, etc.) got me to start thinking of music in a less compartmentalized way -- more of a sonic continuum.― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, January 27, 2009 2:45 AM (5 months ago)
― Joe Bob 1 Tooth (Hurting 2), Tuesday, January 27, 2009 2:45 AM (5 months ago)
Yeah, they're a reasonable gateway band into a lot of better music, for younger listeners. And my impression is they'd be happy with that--as maligned as they are for being a pastiche-of-all-things-old-and-hip, I think it's evident they're sincerely in love with music, and probably don't think they're doing something revolutionary (unlike the impression I got from hearing/reading quotes from far worse "post-rock" bands who seemed never to have heard a fucking Can or Reich or Morricone record and thought they were inventing some new dramatic language). They surely aren't ashamed of their influences.
― Soundslike, Saturday, 18 July 2009 16:26 (fourteen years ago) link
(or at least they pretended never to have heard any "experimental" music. It's possible, as Mogwai and GSYBE and Sigur Ros and all those Constellation bands seemed to take their sense of dynamics from Smashing Pumpkins or U2 more than anything else.)
― Soundslike, Saturday, 18 July 2009 16:29 (fourteen years ago) link
I saw Tortoise live in LA last week. They were good, absolutely. Still, when they brought out "Djed" for the encore... man, that song is still so electrifying and exciting. It accidentally made the entire rest of the show feel lazy. Like, "Oh, you can be this good? Oh." I just don't get the sense that these guys are pushing themselves as hard as they once did.
― scott pgwp (pgwp), Saturday, 18 July 2009 19:56 (fourteen years ago) link
saw these guys recently, sadly they didn't play Djed. they did Seneca though and a lot of older material. i agree with pgwp above, however tight and great it was, they didn't even break a sweat. i can appreciate the art in sounding like a cd on stage, but it would be cool to see them put a little more at risk.
...and oh yeah to my big surprise i saw at least half a dozen trucker hats in the audience
― sonderangerbot, Tuesday, 15 December 2009 20:20 (fourteen years ago) link
Off to see these guys tonight as part of the Melb Jazz Festival. The new album is so not-typical of them (and much less jazzy than their older work) that I'm wondering what material they'll be playing!
As long as there is a load of duelling glocks I'll be happy.
― Eyjafjallalalalalatrolololol (Trayce), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:13 (fourteen years ago) link
or vibraphones, or whatever they are.
― Eyjafjallalalalalatrolololol (Trayce), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Have fun :)
― CaptainLorax, Friday, 7 May 2010 04:21 (fourteen years ago) link
Its in the best venue in melb too. Gorgeous old deco theatre. Totally stoked!
― Eyjafjallalalalalatrolololol (Trayce), Friday, 7 May 2010 04:38 (fourteen years ago) link
i'm listening to the 6th song on the directions in music album... wow. anyone listened to this lately? i think it's aged much better than the tortoise stuff.
― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, September 18, 2003 2:30 AM (7 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
i still love this album, been listening to it a lot recently.
― mizzell, Friday, 22 October 2010 15:48 (thirteen years ago) link
psyched for this Tortoise show in Minneapolis at the Walker Art Center on Friday!
http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2012/tortoise-minneapolis-jazz-all-stars
Part of 2011-2012 Performing Arts Season
“Tortoise is one of the rare groups that defy easy classification despite their status as founding fathers of the late-’90s post-rock boom.” —Paste Magazine
Chicago’s indie legend returns to the Walker and joins some of the Twin Cities’ most influential jazz and rock innovators for an exploratory collaboration in sound and form. Unique in the world of contemporary music, Tortoise is known for its boundless intellectual curiosity and unmistakable instrumental collage of jazz, rock, electronica, dub, dance, ambient, and minimalism. This 612-meets-312 experiment features gifted players, new ideas, and a remarkable shared musical vision. One show only: Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker—along with Minneapolis’ Douglas Ewart, Mike Lewis, Greg Lewis, JT Bates, and Michele Kinney—are featured in this singular performance. The performance will be broadcast live by KFAI “Radio Without Boundaries” (90.3/106.7 FM).
^^the minneapolis dudes are all super awesome jazz guys, drummer JT Bates is just amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjsGnnwYjNU
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 18:37 (twelve years ago) link
* sets Audio Hijack to catch this *
― improvised explosive advice (WmC), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 18:54 (twelve years ago) link
seeing them tomorrow night! sans mike lewis et al, unfort.
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 19:25 (twelve years ago) link
saw them this past Saturday, it was wicked good.
― Stormy Davis, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 19:36 (twelve years ago) link
The performance will be broadcast live by KFAI “Radio Without Boundaries” (90.3/106.7 FM).
This is starting now, kfai.org
― improvised explosive advice (WmC), Saturday, 5 May 2012 01:04 (twelve years ago) link
this was one of the best shows i've seen in forever!
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:45 (twelve years ago) link
how did it go down? mpls jazz dudes improvising on top of tortoise tunes, or?
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:46 (twelve years ago) link
yeah it was definitely a collaboration to the fullest...could have easily been billed as Mpls Jazz All Stars feat Tortoise
two drummers - dan bitney & jt bates
stage right was the jazz all star stage left was tortoise - mccoombs/parker on bass/guitar, herdon & mcentire on various keyboards/electronics/laptops
i didn't really recognize proper tortoise songs per se, they seemed to work off a main riff or theme and kind of all go off from there....i think i recognized some riffs from tortoise songs here and there (LOL i also realize how much i don't know ANY tortoise song titles except for djed)....then they did a encore of "galapagos" which mccoombs said that the jazz guys didn't know and they hadn't practiced but it went off well..
mike & greg lewis were both great....never seen ewart and goddam he was the fucking BOMB, also dressed so fucking "jazz guy" - flowing african v-neck style kinda tie-dyed looking shirt, beret, and neat beard, so cool....but yeah he's a great player
surprise was michele kinney who i wasn't familiar with but she was great...
jordan - does your ILM mail work? I have a link that, shall we say, might be of interest :)
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:52 (twelve years ago) link
it does!
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:53 (twelve years ago) link
cool, sent! let me know what you think, but it's sounding just a good in the harsh light of monday morning
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:58 (twelve years ago) link
thanks man! can't download at work but i'll check it out tonight, looking forward to it.
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
wow could I also have that link?
― Scott, bass player for Tenth Avenue North (Hurting 2), Monday, 7 May 2012 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
One of my issues with Tortoise has been that for all their individual talents, they don't really improvise live. So it's exciting to hear they're at least trying to push themselves a little, belatedly.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 May 2012 16:24 (twelve years ago) link
yeah i really enjoyed seeing them last week but it seemed, i don't know, a little rote. they covered all the parts but i was hoping that they'd let jeff parker off the leash a little or get into more double-drummer fire.
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Monday, 7 May 2012 16:31 (twelve years ago) link
just about ten minutes in, but yeah sounding great! thanks m@tt
― tylerw, Monday, 7 May 2012 16:33 (twelve years ago) link
hurting - check you ILX mail :)
josh you want the link?
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 7 May 2012 17:13 (twelve years ago) link
i'd be happy to take a link!
― sonderangerbot, Monday, 7 May 2012 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
some photos here
http://www.reviler.org/2012/05/07/photos-tortoise-minneapolis-jazz-all-stars-at-walker-art-center/
― l0u1s j0rdan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 8 May 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
nice. looks like herndon on drums btw.
― 40oz of tears (Jordan), Tuesday, 8 May 2012 19:13 (twelve years ago) link
Tortoise + guests Festival Sons d'Hiver Creteil 2013.23.02 Maisons des Artshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwL74stwgQY
― EvR, Thursday, 27 June 2013 17:13 (ten years ago) link
The last twenty minutes are really nice, Tortoise minimal music style...I wonder if this is new work?
― EvR, Thursday, 27 June 2013 17:34 (ten years ago) link
New album, The Catastrophist, out in January. From the press release:
It’s an album where moody, synth-swept jams like the opening title track cozy up next to hypnotic, bass-and-beat missives like “Shake Hands With Danger,” a downright strange cover of David Essex’s 1973 radio smash, “Rock On,” sung by U.S. Maple/Dead Rider’s Todd Rittmann, and the bittersweet, honest-to-goodness soul ballad “Yonder Blue,” sung by Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley.
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 6 October 2015 14:26 (eight years ago) link
I'm enthusiastic. "Gesceap" doesn't sound like a significant change in sound but that's okay with me. Tortoise have matured into a very dependable, still unique band.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Tuesday, 6 October 2015 14:38 (eight years ago) link
I'm a little sceptical of vocals over tortoise tracks, but I like gesceap
― on entre O.K. on sort K.O. (man alive), Tuesday, 6 October 2015 14:46 (eight years ago) link
lol what -- the new album includes a downright strange cover of David Essex’s 1973 radio smash, “Rock On,” sung by U.S. Maple/Dead Rider’s Todd Rittmann
― tylerw, Tuesday, 6 October 2015 15:32 (eight years ago) link