mac demarco

i actually found the covers quite entertaining - when i saw him i was just a festival punter though, didn't know his music outside of "ode to viceroy" so maybe if i was more invested in him i'd've been more disappointed by a whole lot of covers.

had a briefly v confusing conversation with a dude abt this guy thinking he was talking about roc marciano

New song sounds great.

I got a few more spins on this but did not pull the trigger on the iTunes preorder yet because, well, can anyone point me to a more humane way of preordering something?

Anyway, this is Mac Demarco's "I Am the Walrus" or something—so I predict good things.

so this guy's gig is basically "the uninteresting ariel pink"?

loveable dirtbag, imo

xpost -- That's not so much setting the bar low to start with as burying it in the ground.

can't see the resemblance, but i like them both.

Ariel Pink is the Frank Zappa of Mac Demarco impersonators.

yeah the music is kinda lo-fi and warped sounding like AP but thats where the similarity ends. i love his breezy laid back toonage a lot. maybe hes the dirtbag jonathon richman.

he is somewhat of a one trick pony, but i still like it. who knows how long will it last

i wouldn't bother seeing him live again, but the new stuff still sounds good

the song that goes "mamas in the kitchen cookin up somethin good" is great

it is, though nothing beats viceroy for me yet

his best song imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp1Xnfaalps

great songwriting and underrated guitarist

homeshake, his guitarists band, are pretty great imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7XzvoAJ8DU

new album is kinda underwhelming, missing those tasty licks

yeah,sounds like the previous record only with weaker, lazy melodies.
it is still good enough though.

Changed my mind:I like it.

No opinions about the new album?

The best songs are where indulges in keyboards and synths specifically Chamber of Reflection, Passing out Pieces and Johnny's Odyssey.
Hoping these songs are a reflection of where he is headed next.

first listen and i have to agree that its like the previous one but not as good. maybe it needs a few more spins.

So how come no one talks about how AWESOME the Makeout Videotape record is?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUdZ6cLc3Mg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z1xWkVQDlk

Those are awesome links nostromo.

I mean nostormo.

All the tracks on the new one are good but are all the same tempo, I wish there were a few uptempo songs like "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" on II. Also I wish the last track had lyrics, because then it would be one of the best tracks on the album.

this new album is a nice, easy listen. and it's got that traditional, rockist guitar-rock vibe that still resonates with me (which makes sense, since i'm about to qualify for AARP membership).

i love the guitar tone on this, so... rubbery? woozy?

watery.

It reminds me of the Eccentric Soul series being played by white Pavement fans. The majority of the Eccentric Soul master tapes were, I believe, rescued from flood-damaged basements in cities like Miami. Literally watery.

So at the end of the last track on the new one he seems to give his address and invites the listener over for coffee

https://www.google.co.kr/maps/place/68-02+Bayfield+Ave,+Arverne,+NY+11692,+USA/@40.6848217,-73.8077639,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c2686320cd86e1:0x5ef582da659951ba?hl=en

https://twitter.com/denhamsadler/status/619112906668404736

Another One is my favorite thing he's done, maybe the only one i really like (aside from some pleasant demos and the instrumental toss-offs on Some Other Ones). its sameyness is cozy and hypnotic, a good bit like the Green Album (hate to mention that twice on these boards in a month but i really don't know many pop records that do anything similar), and it's even more compact (like, Wild Honey compact). nice, convenient album

He seems like an affable dirtbag.

on stage last week he just looked dirty

I can't even believe this dude is so desperate to maintain a fanbase that he has stooped to inviting strangers into his home for coffee

wait yes I can

maybe he just likes meeting new people

such a hoser bro

he has a pretty huge fanbase IME, don't think this is a desperate attempt to maintain it

yeah ive missed out on two of his shows because they sold out way before the date :/

his mass appeal has mystified me and friends for a while now. i like him plenty (especially after his new one and the instrumental bonus record), but seems like a strange thing to be hip among the kids in 2015

why?

the explanation behind his mass appeal is that he's an unpretentious, charismastic guy who actually puts himself out there unlike most of the ultra fey brooklyn alumni his label has had a hand in making huge over the years.

i've kinda gotten tired of his shtick as of late (get a drummer, man. seriously) but he's definitely written a few excellent songs over the years

why?

because he's making indie rock, or maybe '70s singer-songwriter rock, which doesn't seem to be a very popular thing these days? i've only heard a few of his songs, and they're nice, but i'm also mystified as to why he's the guy. he does seem like a charismatic dude in interviews.

Party at mac's house tonight who's in

He has a personality which for some reason makes him stand out.

so whats the address?

68-02 bayfield avenue queens ny

Gualala 2 paid for Chrono Trigger ost rights I assume.

It’s pretty much a cover of this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ao-KkI--sc

His version would probably make a great sample btw

was not familiar with that great tune, cool!

Gualala 2 paid for Chrono Trigger ost rights I assume.

would not assume this given his history of uncredited interpolations like this - see "chamber of reflection"

What? Chamber of reflection doesn’t give credit to Shigeo Shekito?

i mean maybe there's a behind the scenes deal there but it was never credited anywhere, in liner notes or publishing, though he has acknowledged it

mac was SO big amongst my generation! bigger than any chart record shows.
this thread is a great record of what happened.
he seemed to get less interesting with each release and he didn't learn how to vary things and people really did stop caring.
I think i'd still like 2 if I listened to it now but there is now something very naff about mac.

damn, 199 track "album" up today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZQZVg4nTfk
20200817 Proud True Toyota

interesting move

there's some good stuff in there

Wow. The last two albums finally made me a fan, though admittedly in more of a "lo-fi chill beats to study to" manner. Seems like he's going the Sam Gendel route, ie 'fuck getting on a playlist, I'll be your whole playlist.'

"lo-fi chill beats to study to" is up there for my most hated trend in modern music. That said, love the last two albums as well. He's so much better without the spectacle and "wow whacky" personality breathing into it all, much better when he's just producing something relaxing and melancholy to listen to. Bossa Nova feel to a lot of his recent stuff. Listened to 30 seconds of this new one so far, but know from that 30 seconds i am going to enjoy biting into this

wow. i didn't think there was anything that could get me re-interested, but this will do it!

He's so much better without the spectacle and "wow whacky" personality breathing into it all

otm

good interview here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dn1fgVQIbM

Good interview. I like older 30’s Mac. Same charisma, subdued vanity/whacko. Not just talking about the character, but it’s reflected in the music too. Review scores have gone down as he has got older, but fof me I think he’s got better with age

"This Old Dog" is the only thing I really like. The stuff after put me to sleep. But maybe I should give it another go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD8IVVV7ERo

mac's vocals are really nice on this throwaway gem but perhaps the best part is ryan paris' recollection of the session:

Mac came in my summer house in the evening. We have decided before it comes that we wanted to write a song together. And I was dreaming to write this song in the way like John Lennon & Paul McCartney did together in the ’60s.

So the next day we woke up, I went to make some swimming, Mac did some exercises than we had Italian coffee and we went in the studio.

I had very early in the morning the idea for the title of the song: “Paradise.”

But I was thinking that it was too simple for Mac so I just said to Mac : “What do you think about “Juicy Paradise?”

Mac started right away to compose music with a Fender Telecaster thinking about “Juicy Paradise.”

Than we went in the garden and I started to think that I wanted that he had to feel free and not blocked in a title that I made.

But Mac was really happy about this way of working.

Then we came back in the studio and something changed.

Mac started to play the guitar as Mac DeMarco style, and I started to improvise something with the voice.

What I was singing and also what he also was singing remembered me the English group Simply Red.

So, I said: “What do you think about the title “Simply Paradise?”

Yeahhhh, the title we loved right away.

So I start to sing in my Italian spaghetti English singing nice melodies but words without sense.

And I was very happy that Mac was writing the funny with no sense phrases and he putted in nice English and he was also singing and we used some of my singing and some of his singing. And than came the idea to make like Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in the song “The Girl Is Mine.” There we really started to have big fun and we finished the song in few hours. It was really fun, ahahahah.

Love to see a couple dorks having fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMOYPwg6UFw

another Paris collab, quite enjoyable, Ryan's age makes it kinda... moving?

Yeah both these songs have been great 👍

Playing all of his current Guitar this morning after seeing it as Blackbird Spyplane’s #1 album of 2025 and possibly never having heard him before. Good mellow stuff!

I've been enjoying it a lot too.

sounding pretty good, thanks!