sounding great right now, really one of my favorite singers. just gorgeous.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 28 February 2019 05:51 (five years ago) link
Brion Starr, man. We saw that dude walking around beforehand and thought, huh, he's trying pretty hard. Then we saw him play and we were shocked to see him try even harder. I thought they sounded like Television if, yeah, Television had no tunes.
The Chills were great. Martin made a couple of references to that 1996 tour, which really bummed me out at the time, because it wasn't very good. He's grumbled that that he barely remembered it. Someone asked if it was behind "Sunburnt," and he quipped back "apparently."
He also made note of all the "SB" songs and albums in the Chills arsenal, and not only had I never noticed, he was impressed the crowd thought of more than he had! "Sunburnt." "Submarine Bells." "Soft Bomb." "Snow Bound." "Silver Bullets." "Sketch Book." "Somewhere Beautiful." "Secret Box." "Stand By." And so on.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 28 February 2019 12:50 (five years ago) link
First time in the states in yonks and I'm out of the country. Don't you hate when that happens?
I'm very happy for Martin's renewal, he'd been out of sorts for so long, to say the least.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 28 February 2019 15:11 (five years ago) link
The cringe look on his face was great when some punter yelled for 'Submarine Bells' two songs after he had just played it! I thought it was a great show, and I brought my Submarine Bells inner sleeve for Martin to sign, but didn't feel like fighting the crush of mega fans at the end.
― BlackIronPrison, Thursday, 28 February 2019 15:12 (five years ago) link
One of these bands I never got into. :-( Which is a shame.
― nathom, Thursday, 28 February 2019 21:08 (five years ago) link
Not too late, (as discussed above) Snow Bound from last year is really great. Excited to see them tonight, hope we hear Bite (among many many other songs).
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Thursday, 28 February 2019 22:07 (five years ago) link
Snow Bound is just about as good as Soft Bomb and Submarine Bells, in its own contemporary way.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 28 February 2019 22:10 (five years ago) link
I must respectfully disagree. "Snow Bound" is good but the tunes don't linger in my head like stuff from "Soft Bomb" and "Submarine Bells".
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 1 March 2019 04:15 (five years ago) link
I can hum "Time to Atone," "Easy Peazy, "Harmony." Whether you want to is another question.
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 1 March 2019 11:19 (five years ago) link
Well, maybe that's fair, give or take an "America Says Hello." But I think if someone started with "Snow Bound" they wouldn't miss something fundamental about the slick side of the Chills that they would get starting with one of those other big-budget records. Similarly, if most of the songs on "Snow Bound" were dropped on "Soft Bomb" I think they would fit in pretty well, highlight or no.
I will say, apropos of nothing, that "Submarine Bells" is one of the prettiest songs ever written, and it was a surprise and a pleasure to hear it played live.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 1 March 2019 12:40 (five years ago) link
You know, I was reading an old interview, and while I understand the standard narrative that by the time "Soft Bomb" came out there was just no place for the Chills in the mainstream ..."Out of Time" was one of the biggest albums of the year! Still don't think there was a place for them in the mainstream, but there was clearly more at work. Label fuckupery. HIs accent.
Huh, I knew they were session guys, but I had no idea the rhythm section of "Sunburnt" was Dave Gregory and Dave Mattacks!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 1 March 2019 12:49 (five years ago) link
"Sunburnt" has some great tunes but overall it's spoiled by poor production.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 1 March 2019 12:58 (five years ago) link
Lovely set last night here in SF. New songs sounded great, old faves as wonderful as ever. My girlfriend thought "Submarine Bells" was the pinnacle of the show.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 March 2019 19:56 (five years ago) link
appreciate everyone recommending the tour. show last night in PDX was great and what a huge sound.entire band sounded amazing, especially on the violin tracks.
― campreverb, Saturday, 9 March 2019 21:39 (five years ago) link
St. Paul show was wonderful, one of my favorites by anyone ever honestly.
― geoffreyess, Sunday, 10 March 2019 07:30 (five years ago) link
What's the latest on the documentary and Martin's health?
Saw the finished product today as part of Sydney Film Festival (it had been shown at SXSW apparently). These two reviews cover it better than I could, but suffice to say I'd be shocked if any Chills fan didn't enjoy it. There was a quick Q&A afterwards as well with Martin and the director Julia Parnell. The Hep C is cured, it's been over a year since he got the all clear and it hasn't come back.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jun/14/the-chills-review-martin-phillipps-triumph-and-tragedy-told-with-extraordinary-candourhttps://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/dead-man-singing-martin-phillipps-of-the-chills-20190613-p51x8t.html
Plus this interview with Martin and Julia, which may or may not work outside of Australia. https://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgOGnAOWE7
― Isi, Sunday, 16 June 2019 14:32 (four years ago) link
Thanks for all of those. I wonder how or if the movie will make its way here?
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 16 June 2019 14:48 (four years ago) link
Well that's some welcome news! Long may Martin make music.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 17 June 2019 01:59 (four years ago) link
"Song for Randy Newman etc." is of course beautiful, but aside from the piano (I guess?) I've always thought it odd that Phillips would group Randy Newman with Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson, Nick Drake and, er, himself. Like, I guess as a recording artist Newman wasn't exactly topping the charts, but not even compared to those infamously tragic figures Newman was doing pretty well professionally (as he always had) by the time "Soft Bomb" was released. Maybe the '80s were relatively slow? I dunno, I guess I don't see why Phillipps invited him to his pity party.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 11 September 2019 17:33 (four years ago) link
None of them won an Emmy for Cop Rock, that's for sure.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 11 September 2019 17:43 (four years ago) link
I'd like to believe Martin Phillipps saw "Cop Rock," felt sorry for Randy Newman, then wrote this song.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 11 September 2019 18:13 (four years ago) link
The documentary is at last available for digital purchase here in the US
https://firefilms.lnk.to/ChillsFilm
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 16:00 (three years ago) link
Great!
Hey it's actually sort of hard to verify after poking around... does anyone know if he is still dealing with that grim prognosis on some level?
― Evan, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 17:24 (three years ago) link
Last I saw, and it made no longer be current, was that hep c can now be treated. in fact I want to say it might have been pioneering Australian or New Zealand medicine that did it. But if Martin has so much as a sip of alcohol it could be deadly, iirc.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 17:43 (three years ago) link
He seemed well and in good health at the show last year.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 17:54 (three years ago) link
Oh, for sure, they and he were great live last year.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 18:27 (three years ago) link
See I thought the hep c was gone as of 2015 or so, but then sometime later he got that bad prognosis during the filming of the documentary, but this is why I'm asking. I haven't actually seen the film yet.
― Evan, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 18:38 (three years ago) link
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/92358051/the-chills-dying-front-man-martin-phillipps-is-given-miracle-reprieve-from-hepatitis-c--just-weeks-from-the-end-of-his-final-tour
As Martin Phillipps drove across the North Island as part of The Chills' reunion tour, he received a call to tell him that it would not be his last.Phillipps, the driving force behind The Chills, had been suffering with Hepatitis C since the 1990s. The virus attacked his liver for almost two decades, and in 2016, the 53-year-old musician was told he had barely a year to live.The disease, coupled with heavy drinking, had taken its toll on his liver and was now threatening to end his life. "It got to the point where I was warned that even mouthwash with alcohol in it could kill me," he said. But as The Chills made their way to Napier for the latest leg of their 11-stop national tour, Phillipps got the extraordinary call from his doctor to say a New Zealand-pioneered wonder drug named Harvoni, his last line of defence, appeared to be working.
Phillipps, the driving force behind The Chills, had been suffering with Hepatitis C since the 1990s. The virus attacked his liver for almost two decades, and in 2016, the 53-year-old musician was told he had barely a year to live.
The disease, coupled with heavy drinking, had taken its toll on his liver and was now threatening to end his life. "It got to the point where I was warned that even mouthwash with alcohol in it could kill me," he said. But as The Chills made their way to Napier for the latest leg of their 11-stop national tour, Phillipps got the extraordinary call from his doctor to say a New Zealand-pioneered wonder drug named Harvoni, his last line of defence, appeared to be working.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 18:40 (three years ago) link
That must have been a heckuva a feeling to be on the receiving end of that phone call.
― Evan, Tuesday, 26 May 2020 19:06 (three years ago) link
The doc was really well made. Phillipps seems a tough man to get close to, but that is ironically maybe the movie's hinge.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 26 June 2020 04:54 (three years ago) link
Hey, new singlehttps://thechillsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/youre-immortal
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 16 December 2020 13:38 (three years ago) link
gotten to the point that this is one of those threads that scares me every time it's bumped, even though lately it's been good news.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 December 2020 13:50 (three years ago) link
The world's insane BUT new album in April!
https://thechillsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/scatterbrain
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:14 (three years ago) link
A ray of sunshine in this dingy world. Good to see he's not deviating from his album title shtick.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 28 January 2021 19:47 (three years ago) link
omg! still haven't gotten over the magnificence (and existence) of the last two
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Friday, 29 January 2021 00:04 (three years ago) link
something to look forward to!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 29 January 2021 00:27 (three years ago) link
Is Phillipps actively suppressing Brave Words these days? It remains their only pre-millenial LP I've never seen in the flesh, in any format, a pattern now extended to the conspicuous absence from Spotify and Bandcamp.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Friday, 29 January 2021 06:43 (three years ago) link
pre-millennial, rather.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Friday, 29 January 2021 06:46 (three years ago) link
The Homestead CD used to be legion in the used bins around here
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Friday, 29 January 2021 06:54 (three years ago) link
(it's a fantastic album, which I assume they'll re-release once they come up with a conforming title for it)
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Friday, 29 January 2021 06:55 (three years ago) link
Haha. That title business is endlessly amusing.
I just found myself praising BW in what must have been one of my earliest posts. I guess I've been using mp3/etc copies for some two decades then. o_O
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Friday, 29 January 2021 07:27 (three years ago) link
It's well known that Martin hates the production on Brave Words. I had a chat with him last time I saw the Chills live and he was adamant that he's still going to remix it. I'd be surprised if it resurfaced with the original mix.
― Grantman, Friday, 29 January 2021 17:51 (three years ago) link
I never thought the mix was that bad. In fact I prefer it to the reverb-swamped professionalism of the albums that followed, I wonder if he thinks it just sounded cheap?
― kicked off mumsnet for speaking my mind (Matt #2), Friday, 29 January 2021 18:05 (three years ago) link
loved the Chills so so much. "Pink Frost" one of the great tracks.― Dr Morbius, Thursday, October 9, 2008 7:41 AM (twelve years ago)
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, October 9, 2008 7:41 AM (twelve years ago)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 29 January 2021 19:15 (three years ago) link
The Homestead CD used to be legion in the used bins around here― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Friday, January 29, 2021 12:54 AM (twelve hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Friday, January 29, 2021 12:54 AM (twelve hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
was lucky to come across one of those a few years ago. definitely sounds better than the mp3s I had.
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Friday, 29 January 2021 19:18 (three years ago) link
I personally don't think Brave Words sounds bad, maybe it was the relationship with Mayo Thompson? Felt had a similiar experience, Lawrence was so disappointed with Thompson's production that he considered throwing the tapes into the Thames.
― Grantman, Friday, 29 January 2021 21:47 (three years ago) link
honor the monolith
― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 00:39 (three years ago) link
I don't really love The Chills right now, I don;t know why I started this thread 13 years ago!
― black dice live ft. jerry garcia (rizzx), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 14:59 (three years ago) link
A pretty idiosyncratic selection in the Guardian today:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/15/from-eerie-folk-lullabies-to-bouncy-b-sides-ten-of-the-chills-best-songs
― Grantman, Saturday, 15 May 2021 21:43 (three years ago) link
Kiran’s a great follow on Twitter, not surprised she came up with that list.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 15 May 2021 21:49 (three years ago) link