Cocteau Twins : Classic or Dud

Ok after re-listening to both albums this morning, I can confirm that Four-Calendar Cafe is every bit as good as Heaven or Las Vegas, which I suppose is my biggest Cocteaus-related challop. xp I feel you with those Christmas lights; this music is a perfect soundtrack to the blizzard that's raging here in NYC right now. Such powerful Winter Wonderland vibes

I want to have Cocteau Fever at that intensity, I really do. But Heaven or Las Vegas is pretty much flawless (like almost everything they releases in the 1980s, it seems)

altho it itself is a 1990 release
I’m not even going to rise to the 4CC challop

i'm still new here and this is probably not 100% true, but i think it's very possible that Heaven or Las Vegas actually ENDED the 1980s. i mean, it was already 1990, true, but Heaven perfected the entire decade of the 1980s, showing that there was no point in going down that path, especially because of all the 90s calendars that had been already been printed

Four of them, even

Zach that is a pretty useful conceit, although it came out later in 1990 as I recall. What a joy it was to get home from the record shop and cue that album up. Same year as MBV's Tremolo I think, it was pretty clear this was forever music.

'4CC' and 'Milk & Kisses' are fantastic. 'Calfskin Smack,' 'Treasure Hiding,' 'Know Who You Are At Every Age,' 'Squeeze-Wax' *chef's kiss*

Tremolo was early 91. Trust me, I know.

Glider, 1990, yes.

Tremolo was early 91. Trust me, I know.

hope yr getting your (gulp) 30th anniversary piece ready ned!

xxp lol Ned

HoLV was Sep 17 '90, Tremolo was Feb 4 '91 (30y tomorrow!). I also don't have to look these dates up, seems like every Monday morning I was in a record shop back then ;)

Trust me, I know.

― Ned Raggett

i am going on hunger strike until this exact text is the new board description.

"The Ark of the Covenant"
"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure"

man i'm hungry

fucken starvin

sugar hiccup bah cheerios

I mentioned this on another thread but I scored a set of the 80s singles recently and they sound SO MUCH BETTER than lullabies to violaine omg. It’s nice when you turn up a CD and actually hear more detail and not just ear bleeding mush.

u mean the 10CD box? god I love that thing

brims—

we have the original uk cd version of head over heels + sunburst and snowblind and yes: dynamics! i know some people complain about some of those albums being too shrill on the cd mastering, but i never understood the mindset that louder = better.

something something loudness wars.

also i didn't eat breakfast this morning.

again.

Chris Ott wrote like 1200 words about the mastering on these things for Pitchfork when they were reissued.

IRONIC

wait, what

Listened to Need-Fire today, don't forget about Need-Fire guys.

A little fun trivia just now on Twitter

I can’t be sure but think this was the 1st time Quisquose ~a song we wrote in 1985 for the Aikea-Guinea EP~ has ever been heard on the BBC in its 36 years. What is unique about this is that Robin & I both played 6 string basses, me an Ibanez he a Fender https://t.co/TYYIq5y2PC

— mrsimonraymonde (@mrsimonraymonde) June 9, 2021

https://twitter.com/mrsimonraymonde/status/1402459951478476801

Whoops, don't know why the second one didn't take

https://twitter.com/mrsimonraymonde/status/1402459951478476801

Ah okay he replaced it with an edit:

Remember we were certain as we were writing /recording that it must be the first song ever to be written on two six string basses. I have no evidence on this either way, then or now, but we believed it and I think that gave the tune a little extra- thanks @johngrantmusic

— mrsimonraymonde (@mrsimonraymonde) June 9, 2021

surely a few Cure songs circa Faith and Disintegration?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YDumxXzYPA

Miley Cyrus covered Heaven or Las Vegas on Saturday. Slightly spoiled by feeling like she had intolerant fans breathing down her neck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2he5Q2Tsn4

not bad!

that's so sad that she doesn't think any of her fans know that song!

man, she should stop touring. why do it? why not just play a packed club show of 250 people and have a good time? did she lose all her money or something?

why don't all other huge bands do this too? it's crazy to me. it's not even a pad thing for PR - some reporter will cover it as the secret gig that the band's confidence or something, and also you get to make up a funny joke as the name of the fake band

Smiley Iris

The fans at a packed club show might be as entitled, and intolerant of cover versions as a bigger crowd.

but maybe next time stop apologizing halfway through your decent cover version, not real flattering to the Cocteaus

I thought her whole stance was "defiant iconoclast against populist expectations", she needs to take some lessons in stagecraft from Van Morrison.

maybe it someone in the band's idea to cover that, or the manager or something? if you look at the clip in that way, the "none of you know this song" and "don't worry, it'll be over in a minute" are more like her yelling at the manager onstage, like "see i told you no ones like the fucking cocteau duo"

my brain is still reverberating from "heaven or Las VEYYYgas"

Agree, would kill for a clean version of this. Goosebumps anyway - she is peerless I think. I go back quite often to her version of Say Hello to Heaven from the Chris Cornell tribute.

but maybe next time stop apologizing halfway through your decent cover version, not real flattering to the Cocteaus

Seriously. Why bother doing a cover if you're gonna spend most of your time apologizing and talking through it ? If you love the song just own it.

it's rockism that I posted this video in the Miley thread to crickets when I shoulda posted it in here

hell yeah, cocteau twins forever

if you're gonna post in here, prepare to get engulfed in a sea of gentle angelic swooning

aka the REAL music

She didnt even bother working out what the words are
She apologised and told her own fans theyve never heard of these guys

Fuck. her.

tbf asking anyone to know the exact lyrics of a Cocteau Twins song feels like a minor feat

I've been writing something about the Cocteau Twins recently so have been amused by many of the lyrics sites attempts at transcription, but the songmeanings.com attempt at the middle 8 of HoLV may be worst:

Carnivals are bluster loud
I'm dizzy so I go under the 'Big Dipper'
Cum fantasy for a carnival
How fitting before a wedding

Can't help but read it in the voice of some dapper old gent, adjusting his monocle: 'A cum fantasy? Before a wedding? Ah, how fitting!"