Galaxie 500 - Classic or dud?

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It's really hard to go wrong with them. They only have the three proper albums and they're all very good. Today is my favorite, but most people seem to love On Fire more. I would definitely put the third album last, but it's still excellent.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 23 October 2004 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd listen to them in order, so Today first. I think On Fire is my favourite, but Today has something golden about it. It sounds like the start of something wonderful.l

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 24 October 2004 00:15 (twenty-one years ago)

i consider their three albums to be almost perfection.

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Sunday, 24 October 2004 03:13 (twenty-one years ago)

they have very nice cover art

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 03:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I believe the Galaxie 500 perceived wisdom states that "On Fire" is their best. Personally, I think it's "Today".
But I think Alba's right -- start with "Today" and work forward chronologically.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 24 October 2004 04:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd be hard pressed to say, which of their first two is their best album, although I usually go with 'On Fire'. However, I think they hit their peak on the second half of 'Today' (last six, really, minus 'King of Spain') and first half of 'On Fire'. There are some great songs on 'This Is Our Music' as well, but to me it isn't quite as good an album overall as the first two.

― Jens Aage Pedersen, Monday, 25 October 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Today is the only one I like, esp. with bonus song "King of Spain." All friends can fuck off and die, I'm the king of Spain. The others are borers.

― batoh, Monday, 25 October 2004 16:11 (twenty-one years ago)

its ALL good.

― ALLMUSIC.COM (ddb), Monday, 25 October 2004 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Been listening to Today a lot lately and it reminded me that there was a serious dip with the last album. First two are a lot better.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 25 October 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

For sure. I haven't listened to This Is Our Music for ages actually. I suddenly have a craving for 'Sorry' and (of course) 'Fourth Of July' .

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 October 2004 16:33 (twenty-one years ago)

nine months pass...

Revive.

Classic. Duh.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:27 (twenty years ago)

I mean, listen to "When Will You Come Home".

Gear, where are you? I'm on my fourth beer here.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:33 (twenty years ago)

join ing you in g500 lurve friend

― gear (gear), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:37 (twenty years ago)

are damon and naomi an underappreciated rhythm section? i mean, i realize, what they do on these albums ain't exactly rocket science, but it is *perfect* for these songs.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:40 (twenty years ago)

considering what many bass players play, you'd think that naomi's parts *were* fuckin rocket science..

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 11 August 2005 03:33 (twenty years ago)

(yes i think they're very underrated as a rhythm section, and dean never recovered from being without them IMO)

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 11 August 2005 03:34 (twenty years ago)

Classic.

I think Naomi is a good, maybe even great bass player... can you imagine changing any of those bass lines, adding or subtracting anything? It's hard to. It's like Mike Watt said, how could you make the bassline to "My Girl" any better? There's a certain sort of Zen to bass playing that Naomi's got down.

Anybody who likes Galaxie 500 should check out the criminally overlooked band Submarine (the noise rock/shoegazer one, not the dance pop one). Their cover of "Tugboat" is pretty much the greatest thing ever.

― casey (t. fiend), Thursday, 11 August 2005 04:24 (twenty years ago)

Good point about Submarine. There are 3 or 4 songs on their debut (only??) album that nail the whole Galaxie 500 thing - "Jnr. Elvis" in particular. The problem is, several of the other songs on the album are terrible.

I've never heard their "Tugboat" cover, though - where can I find that?

― Rick Spence (spencerman), Thursday, 11 August 2005 12:46 (twenty years ago)

I prefer Luna.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 11 August 2005 13:04 (twenty years ago)

I mean, Galaxie 500 HAD no fuckin' rhythm section.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 11 August 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

I had forgotten my whole theory about how "Strange" rocks. G500 are sometimes that rare band that goes slow-motion and actually gets the effect out of it that you get in film -- that slow-motion makes it more intense and dramatic and active, not less. And then with something like "Strange," they're getting that effect without actually even going slow-motion!

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:04 (twenty years ago)

Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham have a better rhythm section. Actually they're probably a better band too.

― dan. (dan.), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

@ nabisco: that's an incredibly spot-on description, great!

― willem (willem), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

The Tugboat cover is on their collection of singles & B-sides, "Kiss me Till Your Ears Burn Off". It's much stronger than their debut album, which I agree has a pretty mediocre stretch in the middle. It's one of my all time favorites. I'll put up a link to that cover tonight...

There was a second album recorded with Keith Cleversley that to this day still hasn't been released.

― casey (t. fiend), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham have a better rhythm section.

not unless she has taken some bass lessons in the time that i saw her play with luna (which i guess is possible, since i wrote him/her/the band off after that). what ridiculousness for dean wareham to replace justin harwood with his girlfriend.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Well, they needed something. Harwood's great but the last record with him was pretty dull and he left on his own anyway, no? The two records and ep with Britta were wonderful as was the Dean and Britta record (where her bass playing is really nice). Also, the Luna shows I saw around that time didn't seem to suffer (nor did the Dean and Britta shows).

― dan. (dan.), Thursday, 11 August 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

Classic.

Dean Wareham went to my high school (about a decade before I did). My band at the time covered "Tugboat" at a school talent show in tribute.

― goodoldneon (goodoldneon), Thursday, 11 August 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

Here's Submarine's cover of Tugboat I mentioned above:

http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1TYI0Z0ETZ3XA3CII36JC69PZU

― casey (t. fiend), Friday, 12 August 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

I was thinking about "Strange" on the way home yesterday, thinking about the kinda brain-damaged lyric to it, the banality of the whole thing, yeah, and I was about to conclude that the lyrics were a significant problem -- and then suddenly it occurred to me that this must be a song about going to the store on drugs. Possibly it's not, not in the literal sense, but then the feel is the same -- being on your own and being suddenly sensitized to the ugliness and weirdness of some really ordinary place, some place whose ugliness and weirdness you normally don't need to think about. Something really collegiate about that sensation, on or off drugs -- there's some weird solipsism and alienation in it that I certainly associate with a collegiate period. But the song hits it in this weirdly-direct way: everyone looks strange and nasty, why do I want these things anyway, I get a Coke and stand in line and eat a Twinkie, they make you wait.

And as usual with songs with this potential I can't decide whether I'd like it better if Wareham walked into my office and said "yes, it's about getting snacks while on drugs" or if he said "no, I just felt that distances and sensitized on an everyday basis."

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:37 (twenty years ago)

if he used a sentence like "no, I just felt that distances and sensitized on an everyday basis" you could presume he was on serious drugs anyway?

― senor pulpo, Friday, 12 August 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

Distanced ya bastard.

― nabiscothingy, Saturday, 13 August 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

about time!! i think that's pretty much everything now?

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Unless there are even more demos. Am listening to said Peel Sessions disc now -- the Sex Pistols cover is actually about as aggro as the original, at least in terms of (admittedly slower) pace. A great little coda.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:20 (twenty years ago)

Yes: It's a beautiful version. Odd, Ned: I listened to their cover of "Ceremony" not two hours ago, which, as you know, is glorious. Slowing it down made me realize how gorgeous the original Bernard-Gillian two-guitar interplay is.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

i'd always be open to hearing more demos but i'd be surprised if there was much else out there now..

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:36 (twenty years ago)

"I mean, Galaxie 500 HAD no fuckin' rhythm section. "

this is utterly ridiculous.

― AaronK (AaronK), Monday, 5 December 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Which is why I prefer Luna.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 5 December 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Does anyone know what movie Wareham saw and describes in Summertime?

"Goin to the movies
I found a shelter from the sun
Heard a gruesome story
About a couple on the run"

Is that even a refence to it or a story he was told later? Help is appreciated.

― Cunga (Cunga), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

i always thought it was bonnie and clyde

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 06:39 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

I have been thinking about them again. Even wondering if I should buy their records.

Yesterday I asked JtN about them and his reply was thoroughly convincing.

I am interested in reviving the conversation about them.

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 12:28 (twenty years ago)

I see (where) JtN has changed his name but not his opinion in the last 5 years.

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 12:31 (twenty years ago)

I'd say yes to buying their records, but I admit to being unsure as to how you'd like their narcotizing haze. But it sounds like you are already convinced to an extent.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:44 (twenty years ago)

with respect, jtn is an idiot 8). 'today' is a perfect lp, one of very few i have where every single track is a blinder. in fact i'm going to listen to it again now. second and third lps less good though, still lots of good on 'on fire' but by the third i think there were more tracks i didn't like than those i did.

(um, first google result for 'galaxie 500 today' is this
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,89998,00.html written by someone we know)(oh, hi ned)

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:54 (twenty years ago)

Never heard of him.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:56 (twenty years ago)

Crikey, Koogs, that's a tossed gauntlet.

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 13:59 (twenty years ago)

ha. i think you'd like it, there's something of a sunnier house of love about it.

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 10 April 2006 14:20 (twenty years ago)

If I see one of their LPs for £5, I think I will buy it.

I wonder if Nabisco feels the same about them now as he did in 2001?

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 15:22 (twenty years ago)

This Is Our Music is selling for £10. That felt steep. I bought the Delays LP instead.

― the bellefox, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 19:10 (twenty years ago)

"Today" is far from perfect (bleh tracks = "Instrumental", "Oblivious") but the rest of it is so insanely great that they hardly affect the album's greatness as a whole.

― NoTimeBeforeTime (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 19:30 (twenty years ago)

"Instrumental" = bleh??? NO WAY DUDE. I love "Oblivious" too!!!

― i'm from hollywood, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 20:18 (twenty years ago)

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