Severed Heads: CDSD

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i did a cover of 'we have come to bless this house' and then binned it after realising that severed heads are pretty much untouchable.

i was speaking about this eralier with a friend - if they hadn't had such an intimidating (to some) name, could severed heads have been as big as new order?

― stirmonster, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 01:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I think their biggest problem was being based in Australia - the usual problem.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 01:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it's more then the name...the artwork on the Nettwerk releases and the associations with Skinny Puppy(Ellard did a record w/ one of them, I think? and/or helped produce something of theirs, which if memory serves me correctly he later referred to as "teaching them how to use their synthesizers) Maybe not as big as New Order but maybe as big as Cabaret Voltaire? Maybe they were as big as Cabaret Voltaire. I think even the poppiest Severed Heads tracks walks that thin-rope of weirdness. But I also think when people listen to dancey and or noisy electronic music, they don't think "how is the songwriting" and Tom Ellard's a great goddamn songwriter. I think there was a tribute CD made by members of the Severed Heads mailing list, which is apparently a very active group that Tom contributes to.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 01:25 (twenty-two years ago)

tom ellard sure is a great songwriter but i guess his voice is offputting to a lot of people. yr also right about the weirdness. take 'harold and cindy hospital' - a great pop song but freaking weird or what?

anyhow, here in the uk, they were never even a blip on the radar. very sad but very indicative of the (pre techno) uk conservatism for any electronic music that wasn't kraftwerk.

― stirmonster, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 01:52 (twenty-two years ago)

hi, twitch!

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 02:03 (twenty-two years ago)

severed heads had a following amongst the wax trax/nettwerk types. After I got into the Cabs and Throbbing Gristle etc, I dabbled in that stuff and immediately hated most of it (I haven't forgotten how you feel about Skinny Puppy though!) but for some reason the Severed Heads really stuck. It's been this constant thread, it's how I met Morgan Geist and many years later, how I bonded with some of the NYC techno people, hearing Greater Reward at techno parties in the just pre-electroclash days of 2000 or so.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 02:40 (twenty-two years ago)

By the way, if anyone here wants to try to do a cover version of "Dead Eyes Opened", I have a copy of the original source material he cut up and used for that. I can possibly make a copy of mp3 it up if anyone cares that much.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 02:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, I remember Severed Heads getting the "New Order vs. Residents" comparisons quite a bit in college radio.. but yeah, that S R Gilmore art and the Skinny Puppy association (which was basically Ellard "showing them how to use their synthesizers" on the "Chainsaw" ep... and note how more fucked up Skinny Puppy sounded after that!) certainly scared off a lot of people who avoided Wax Trax! and most Nettwerk stuff like the plague.. but you know, they probably wouldn't have had ANY U.S. or Canadian following if it weren't for Nettwerk, so they should be given some credit here.

Tom doesn't have a single kind word to say about Ink records, the UK label that ripped the band off, but did pretty much got their stuff distributed on vinyl... and is the reason most of us on this thread might actually own any Severed heads vinyl pre-1985 at all.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 07:02 (twenty-two years ago)

hi lauren! are you going to be in miami this week?

sean - please do make that available as an mp3. i'd like to hear it, even just out of curiosity. i adore 'dead eyes opened'. joakim from tigersushi has done a really excellent re edit of it that should be out soon. i was a bit wary as it's such a sacred song but he has done a very respectful job.

i never knew that ink records ripped them off but i have to say, if it wasn't for ink releasing their stuff over here, i don't think i'd have discovered them until much later when nettwerk started putting their music out.

and dan, i used to be mad about skinny puppy but i can't say i have put on any of there records in the last decade whereas severed heads are always on my stereo. most people in the uk probably only know 'greater reward' and think they made house records as it was a huge dancefloor hit in the summer of love ('88). that piano - mmmmmm!

― stirmonster, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, twitch! i'll be there. see you friday?

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

six months pass...

Okay, so one of the more intriguing things I learned about the grand LTM label is that they're going to be doing some sort of reissuing of Severed Heads stuff, and as an early teaser of that, here's a great and utterly exhaustive new biography up on the LTM website.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 4 September 2004 17:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I already own it all, ned!

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean, it would be silly of them to reissue all that stuff if i already have it. Wouldn't it?

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:10 (twenty-one years ago)

But it would be shiny and sparkly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:23 (twenty-one years ago)

who's gonna reissue this Nasmak record i'm listening to right now. play that funky postpunk, dutchboy!

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 4 September 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

you can never have too much severed heads. my favourite all-time band ever.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Saturday, 4 September 2004 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

this reminds me, i still have to digitize the 2 vhs tapes of theirs i have

― david acid (gareth), Saturday, 4 September 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Best album? I reckon it's a close race between Since the Accident, Clean and Blubberknife.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Saturday, 4 September 2004 22:41 (twenty-one years ago)

the weird thing is he's starting with Rotund for Success.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Saturday, 4 September 2004 23:16 (twenty-one years ago)

That era of Severed Heads was almost a different band, lineup wise. That was the Tom-only era.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Saturday, 4 September 2004 23:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Can't wait for reissues. All I own is the "Petrol" 12" and Cuisine, both of which I love.

― (Jon L), Saturday, 4 September 2004 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

i bought blubberknife on cassette when i was 14 and haven't been the same since. it was inspiring to hear as that was my casio + radio + janet jackson cut-up and overdub phase.

rotund for success is easily my favorite album of theirs. "greater reward", it's b-side "nation", "all saints day", and "big car" all should've been huger than huge.

in the earlier days of sevcom.com, they were offering the entire catalog as a free download. a friend of mine has all of it on one mp3 cd. it's impressive and humbling.

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 00:04 (twenty-one years ago)

When i was in high school I made a 90 min cassette of sev heads that was brilliant. anyway, I do love Rotund for Success, but it doesn't seem as defining as the CD of Come Visit the Big Bigot w/ Dead Eyes Open, which I think is a closer mix of the weird and the pop, or perhaps because that was my first cd purchase of theirs.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Sunday, 5 September 2004 03:18 (twenty-one years ago)

i think rotund is an excellent starting point. my fave SH album is bulkhead, but it's really just a singles compilation..

― purple patch (electricsound), Sunday, 5 September 2004 08:26 (twenty-one years ago)

bulkhead is indeed great. i wish they would have put a shorter version of "hot with fleas" on it and added "all saints day", but as a comp it's a perfect introduction to the weird and the pop. there's always bulkhead plus!

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)

go to www.sevcom.com and you'll see the bulkhead plus cd, and many others lovingly hand-crafted by mr. ellard himself.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 5 September 2004 13:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I just think Rotund and esp. Bulkhead lean to far towards the later dancier period, neglecting all that wonderfull stuff on those early records. That's why I think Come Visit the Big Bigot w/ Dead Eyes Open makes a nicer starting point, is all.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Sunday, 5 September 2004 17:50 (twenty-one years ago)

i started on goodbye tonsils, then come visit the big bigot then there's no going back

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 5 September 2004 18:43 (twenty-one years ago)

i just pulled out clifford darling..for the first time in a long time cuzza this thread. it always makes me happy!

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 5 September 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

...the big bigot has "sam loves you" = classique

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

*bump* - if only because SPK and Foetus are top of the ILM thread list at thew moment, so let's make it a trifecta for the weird Aussies.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Thursday, 4 November 2004 01:50 (twenty-one years ago)

ahh, i love seeing my threads bumped

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Thursday, 4 November 2004 02:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I remember hearing 'Dead Eyes Opened' on the radio when I was a kid, it used to spook me a quite bit. It seemed kinda cheesy then, but I'm sure I'd appreciate it more now.

I'd buy something if I ever saw them around.

And Jim, do you still have Priviledge?

― Sasha on a different PC, Thursday, 4 November 2004 05:42 (twenty-one years ago)

yes i do.

i've always thought "Dead Eyes Opened" to be one of Ellard's less interesting works. on the other hand, "Canine" OWNS.

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Thursday, 4 November 2004 05:45 (twenty-one years ago)

four months pass...

Anybody heard the new album/soundtrack by Severed Heads? It's called "Illustrated Family Doctor".

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Sunday, 13 March 2005 14:29 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, it's pretty and ambient and probably works well as a soundtrack but it's not really compelling listening

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Sunday, 13 March 2005 23:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been playing Rotund For Success a lot recently; actually "Big Car" caused me to rear-end a minivan (true story).

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 14 March 2005 02:38 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

Hey, something I was wondering...I went to the SevCom site recently and it looks like Ellard is offering up all of the old albums in new packaged, but it looks like they're all home-burns from the man himself. Anyone actually try out any of these? Are they worth it? I am intrigued but I'm actually a bit wary of buying burned copies rather than pressed copies.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:24 (twenty-one years ago)

i got a few that way - Twister Retread abnd GigaPlus and a couple of others. Quality is fine.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:39 (twenty-one years ago)

What's the artwork like? Is it anything special beyond being made by the man himself? Is it worth replacing the Nettwerk CDs perhaps?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:47 (twenty-one years ago)

i can't say anything about replacing stuff, but the artwork is ok, nothing special about the cd inserts, and the typography is a little basic. i had to check this just now, cos it's not something i'd thought about til you asked! nb, i am not wearing my glasses right now

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Speaking of not replacing, the LTM reisssue of Rotund For Success is NOT really a song-for-song replacement aid for the Nettwerk release. "Triangle Tangle Tango" is COMPLETELY different on both. I like both, but as different songs. Also, the remix of the LTM version different enough such that it might be worth keeping the Nettwerk and/or Important issue around.

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 2 April 2005 09:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I would like to reiterate that the version of "Big Car" on RFS is wildly, impossibly wonderful. Even if it did make me have a car accident.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Saturday, 2 April 2005 13:51 (twenty-one years ago)

ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM, DANG... YOU'VE MADE IT!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 2 April 2005 23:22 (twenty-one years ago)

always thought it was 'all the way to the bottom, maggie...' for some reason.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Saturday, 2 April 2005 23:45 (twenty-one years ago)

me too?

― moley, Sunday, 3 April 2005 01:10 (twenty-one years ago)

(well, you see, i know it's "maggie", but I was addressing Dan Perry, who also goes by the alias of "Dang" on occasion, and I was using the reference as a method of conveying my condolences for the car accident.)

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 01:55 (twenty-one years ago)

doh! ok. thought my memory was playing tricks with me.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 02:20 (twenty-one years ago)

aha!

Am I right to believe that very few o.s. Heads fans are aware of their earlier material, from Since The Accident backwards to Blubberknife (but not the crap Ear Bitten before that one)? This early Heads phase is pure gold, my friends.

― moley, Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:11 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm aware of it all. i got into them when 'big bigot' came out and worked my way backwards. actually i've not heard 'ear bitten'. of the earlier releases i think my fave song has become 'gashing the mae west'.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 163 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

London tickets for July! Anyone else going? Super excited for it. I don’t really know what to expect. Come on you people.

― mmmm, Sunday, 9 March 2025 18:34 (one year ago)

ooh. it's the day after a 4-day weekender so I may faint with exhaustion but otoh, want to go

― Colonel Poo, Sunday, 9 March 2025 20:39 (one year ago)

also seeing them in July at the VOD festival!

― sleeve, Sunday, 9 March 2025 21:07 (one year ago)

One of Tom’s blogs aboutthe planning for these two one-off shows (take yourself forward or back to November for more)

― Nancy Makes Posts (sic), Sunday, 9 March 2025 23:33 (one year ago)

i saw them three times on their last venture to europe. it was great fun. 100% entertainment!

― stirmonster, Monday, 10 March 2025 03:03 (one year ago)

three months pass...

A cover version prepared for the Jazz Cafe show.

― Nancy Makes Posts (sic), Sunday, 29 June 2025 20:55 (eleven months ago)

three weeks pass...

Can confirm they played this ^

― Colonel Poo, Monday, 21 July 2025 22:00 (ten months ago)

Been on a Severed Heads kick (again) due to that Triple J Top 100 thing, and really enjoying Tom's notes/writing on random Bandcamp releases/Nilamox - did anyone ever do any longfrom writing on Severed Heads? Feel like they deserve a book more than most.

― etc, Tuesday, 22 July 2025 20:44 (ten months ago)

as far as I'm aware, no longform writing on all things Clifford related exists.
Which is completely criminal considering what they have done.

― frenchbloke, Friday, 25 July 2025 20:16 (ten months ago)

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