Cocteau Twins : Classic or Dud

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!"

omg at those lyrics

Vocals, Elizabeth Fraser
Lyrics, Robin Guthrie

Due to the earnest reply, I now have no idea if “fuck Miley for getting Cocteau Twins lyrics wrong” was a joke or not

It realy wasnt, the words to that song are fairly clear and obvious (save perhaps a bit of verse 1)

This is the Genius take and as far as I'm concerned its p close to correct (and some of its been confirmed correct too). As ive said a jillion times people forget a) the scottish accent and b) the way she will way-hey-heyyyyy her scansion to turn one word into ten.

Pull him away
Too jealous so with me
Go back for new
For new things there

Singing on a famous street
I want to love, I've all the wrong glory
Am I just in Heaven or Las Vegas?
Whichever's more brighter than the sun is to me

He's a hustler
Some role he'll never make suit
Hang on to this
To stay and stay, and then fail
Pull him away
Too jealous so with me
Go back for new
For new things there

Singing on a famous street
I want to love, I've all the wrong glory
Am I just in Heaven or Las Vegas? (Heaven or Las Vegas)
Whichever's more brighter than the sun is to me
Reaching this itch in my soul (Heaven or Las Vegas)
It's like any good playing card
Must be why I'm thinking of Las Vegas (Heaven or Las Vegas)
Why it's more brighter than the sun is to me

On a relisten, I'd actually suggest she probably sings "Itching this itchy muscle" and "whichever's more brighter than this zoo is to me" cos that's more her style, and who pronounces sun "soo"?

the fact that you're second-guessing yourself just now means the lyrics are probably not "fairly clear and obvious"

fairly, not entirely.

Anyway my general point is, idgaf if people do covers, I'm not precious about it, but this one felt particularly hamfisted.

I honestly did not know most of the lyrics to this song were real words