Severed Heads: CDSD

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (263 of them)

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)

I'm aware of it.. Nettwerk reissued the early stuff on two CDs making the late 80s/early 90s.. and cut the Blubberknife cassette in half between the two CDs (one was Since the Accident, the other was City Slab Horror)

Also, those old Ink records are not too hard to find used.. at least in the states, probably even easier in the UK, Australia, and/or NZ.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Though I hope LTM comes along and does better reissues of the early Severed Heads catalog soon... going backwards from Rotund. That would be perfect.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:32 (twenty-one years ago)

the sevcom releases of clean, 80s cheesecake and ear bitten are well worth a listen. also the double cd of city slab horror with lots of extra tracks. and how did no-one mention stretcher? it has the mighty heat seeking susan on it. and halo, possibly the best track ever to have 'hey hey nonny nonny no' in it's lyrics. you can stream / preview them via the drop down menu thingy on the sevcom site

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 3 April 2005 06:15 (twenty-one years ago)

what's the best place to start? I love the joakim edit of "dead eyes opened", and apparently it's quite faithful to the original.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 07:34 (twenty-one years ago)

his edit is very, very faithful to the original. he's just slightly cut it up, re eq'ed the drums and added some cymbols. the 'dead eyes opened' ep which has the original and also includes the wonderful 'we have come to bless this house' is a good place to start as is the 'come visit the big bigot' album. for a more polished / accessible pop entry point, 'rotund for success' would be a good choice.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:08 (twenty-one years ago)

the thing is.. there isn't really any other Sev track like "Dead Eyes Opened", nor is there any other track like "Same Loves You", nor "Propeller". I could go on. Point being: if you buy a Severed Heads album, it's either a) going to vary wildly from track to track, meaning no entire album of "Dead Eyes Opened"s, or b) it won't vary wildly but it will be one of the latter releases which aren't as good, IMHO.

The most danceable Severed Heads album is probably Rotund For Success, which is the only album to get an LTM reissue. So that's your best bet. Then again, there's nothing like "Dead Eyes Opened" on it.. the Racic produced "All Saints Day" comes closest, but it sounds closer to late 80s New Order dance type stuff more than anything else (which isn't a bad thing!).

Severed Heads aren't a dance oriented type band.. they just have/had a dance facet (as of 1983) that's part of their overall strange, beautiful architecture.. if that makes sense. I could easily imagine an indie rock cover tribute album for Severed Heads just as easily as a techno tribute album for Severed Heads.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:17 (twenty-one years ago)

On the same album where "Dead Eyes Opened" originates, Since The Accident from 1983, there's the track "A Million Angels" which pretty much invents hip-hop tempo "I.D.M.".. the track that follows it, "Houses Still Standing", sounds like an electronic version of "Comb", one of the Butthole Surfers' most nauseating songs (meant in a good way.) There's also the cheap sounding "Epilespy '82" which samples wolf cries onto a crunchy cheap synth beat. There's the very gutteral Steve Reich-ish "Gashing The Old Mae West", and then there's "Exploring The Secrets Of Treating Deaf Mutes", which pretty much invents mid-to-late 80s industrial dance music and thereafter.. Babyland, Die Warzau, and Nitzer Ebb owe as much to this track as they do to DAF. And then you get "Brassiere In Rome", which sounds more like a Steve Fisk/Negativland type tape loop track.

Did I mention that Since The Accident is one of the greatest albums ever?

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yeah I don't need it to be dancey necessarily, I am not a total luddite!

ps-see you thursday stirmonster! I've been getting nervy!

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:25 (twenty-one years ago)

also worth hearing is the garry bradbury 'drug induced sex rituals' - (http://www.sevcom.com/item-sexrituals.html)

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:27 (twenty-one years ago)

oh yes this thursday - can't wait! why nervy?

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:28 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, totally forgot that they used the human league's 'hard times' drums on spitoon thud. and hello stir, did you get the txt message about mixing ? did you know that k-tel own the rights to dead eyes opened in the states?

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:32 (twenty-one years ago)

ah it's probably my biggest gig to date, not really nervous I suppose, have played when it's full plenty of times, just yeah, a little nervous!

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:34 (twenty-one years ago)

frenchie - got the txt and replied to it. didn't you get it? k=tel?!!?

ronan - i thnk nervous is good. i always get a little nervous before i play. i'm not however looking forward to not beng able to smoke when i'm playing.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:36 (twenty-one years ago)

nerves often makes me change my mind about what to play at the very last minute, which can be good.

yeah the smoking thing will be weird, the door is very near the dj booth but that's not much good while you're playing. I dunno, as the DJ I wonder what would happen if you lit up.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:39 (twenty-one years ago)

i tried it in new york once and almost got thrown out the club! still, it's good practice for when they ban it here next year.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I bet live bands can do it, it's probably alot easier to stop a DJ than a band though I suppose.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 09:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Since The Accident... is a wonderful, wonderful album but I haven't been able to listen to it recently because I only have it on casette and I no longer have a casette player (hence my repping for all of the mid-era SH which I have on CD). Also, I agree about "Halo" being balls-out great; it's also on Bulkhead.

AND WHAT ABOUT "HAROLD AND CINDY HOSPITAL" AND "LEGION"??????????

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Sunday, 3 April 2005 11:25 (twenty-one years ago)

mid era severed heads is the cuisine with piscatorial era. (being pedantic, i know) it's their 25th year or is it the 26th? ah well

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 3 April 2005 11:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Um. Every recent post I've made to this thread (barring the last one) has been about Rotund For Success, which I see as the beginning of mid-era SH.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Sunday, 3 April 2005 12:01 (twenty-one years ago)

humble apologies. thought you were referring to the big bigot era.
doh

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 3 April 2005 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

i have recently been going through some of my old vinyl and since the accident was the first thing i put on. it's kind of their mutation period between noise tape collages and weirdo beat-driven pop with noise tape collages. and how can you go wrong with titles like "brassiere, in rome"?

― basquiat (disco stu), Sunday, 3 April 2005 21:46 (twenty-one years ago)

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

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.