best record is def "god is saying this to you."
also, he appears playing trumpet and acoustic guitar on the new blues control album.
― ian, Saturday, 18 July 2009 19:18 (fourteen years ago) link
I've been listening to this guy a lot over the last week or two. He's a little uneven, I think, but songs like "My Sympathy" and "My Best Friends (Don't Even Pass This), which are both on God is Saying This to You, more than make up for any shortcomings.
A new LP coming out soon, Childish Prodigy, has leaked on whatwhatinthebutt.cd for those who may be interested. I haven't listened yet but regardless I'll definitely have him in mind as one of my favorite new artists of 2009. His other (more popular? I honestly don't know) band, The War On Drugs, is decent too. He plays guitar in that band, but you wouldn't necessarily connect the dots unless someone told you. The War On Drugs is kind of dominated by the singer's voice, which is a bit like a more tuneful Dylan. The lyrics are kind of hit or miss, but there are moments ("There is no Urgency") where they hit a kind of stride.
― Internet! (Z S), Friday, 11 September 2009 17:08 (fourteen years ago) link
heh, the influences Vile lists on his myspace page unsurprisingly do a better job of describing his sound than I could ever do:
room to live, love to burn, street hassle, street legal, beat street, bully of the bayou, heartland feeling, yellow schwinn stingray, roots train number 1 (extended mix), cocaine in my brain, juicy juicy juice, strawberry wine, violent students, richie records, ag tonez, tusk, ccr, neil young, crazyhorse, suicide, the dead c, charlie patton, bertha lee, blind lemon jefferson, mississippi john hurt, blind willie johnson, furry lewis, fred mcdowell, harry smith anthology, american primitives, etc, robert johnson, lightnin hopkins, john fahey, doc watson, hank williams, townse van zandt, bob dylan, bobby neuwirth, eat the document, the vu, lou, the stooges, iggy, the ramones, the stones, the kinks, cluster, morton subotnick, isoa tomita, the fall, kurt's garage, blue kangaroo and the rest of wattle & daub.
― Internet! (Z S), Friday, 11 September 2009 17:11 (fourteen years ago) link
i really liked that war on drugs record. pretty curious about this one.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 11 September 2009 17:16 (fourteen years ago) link
my sympathy is a great song
― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Friday, 11 September 2009 17:18 (fourteen years ago) link
Constant Hitmaker is still my favorite.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 11 September 2009 17:18 (fourteen years ago) link
saw two shows where this dude opened last week and missed him at both
― cool app (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Friday, 11 September 2009 17:19 (fourteen years ago) link
I haven't listened to it yet. But yeah, actually I have you to thank for getting me to listen to him recently, I saw one of his songs on your KOPN playlist and was reminded that a friend of mine had recommended that I check him out.
― Internet! (Z S), Friday, 11 September 2009 17:20 (fourteen years ago) link
xpost to trip maker
You should listen to that birthday show on the holy victrola blog, bro!I turned 30 the minute it ended.
― Trip Maker, Friday, 11 September 2009 17:22 (fourteen years ago) link
will listen. Happy b-day too :)
― Internet! (Z S), Friday, 11 September 2009 17:34 (fourteen years ago) link
The "I've never been so insulted in my whole lieeefe! SHIT!" part on "Freak Train" kills me.
That song's a tranced-out grower for sure, and I'd love to see it done live (the YouTube clips of it played out look great); the two riffier tracks on Childish Prodigy seem a bit weak/clunky/standard rock-by-numbers to me, though ("Hunchback", "Monkey"), but then again I didn't like the Hunchback EP that much. Some of the new tunes are streaming on a blog here: http://pastaprima.net/?p=3967
Constant Hitmaker still rules the roost for me, and The War On Drugs record's a total classic. These guys (Vile, Granduciel) sure know how to sprinkle on the digital FX.
― Craig D., Friday, 11 September 2009 18:05 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah that's my fave too, the cleaner production on Constant Hitmaker took a little bit away from it imo
the preview mp3 of the new Matador album sounds good
― dmr, Friday, 11 September 2009 18:57 (fourteen years ago) link
I liked the hunchback ep!
but what do I know
― 鬼の手 (Edward III), Friday, 11 September 2009 19:03 (fourteen years ago) link
I'm looking forward to his new LP just so I can actually PURCHASE the damn thing! I'm trying to track down God is Saying and Constant Hitmaker on vinyl, but everything is like "limited to 30 LPs/must guess secret code/must have last name starting with T, W or K/must go to secret show in basement that was only disclosed to people who went to other secret show in basement that had last names starting with L and Y and guessed secret code", etc
― Internet! (Z S), Friday, 11 September 2009 19:06 (fourteen years ago) link
Z_S we have God Is Saying... in stock at the moment at the price of $18 (second pressing) if u are interested email me dr.carl.sagan at gmail dot com
not sure abt constant hitmaker but i can check on that too
― ian, Saturday, 12 September 2009 17:37 (fourteen years ago) link
thanks for the head's up ian, I'm giving it some thought.
I hate to revive this thread and then speak disapprovingly of the forthcoming album, but I must. Childish Prodigy has its bright spots, but it seems to bury everything that I like about Vile under a pile of heavier "band" songs. From what I've heard on this, and the Hunchback EP, the influence of the Violators is not entirely a positive one. It's like he's sort of trying to pull a Neil Young guitar epic off, but the Violators aren't Crazy Horse. It kinda sucks that it's on Matador and so it will serve as a lot of people's first impression.
Still really digging Constant Hitmaker and God is Saying this to you, though.
― O(Suggest/Ban)BAMA (Z S), Monday, 14 September 2009 01:22 (fourteen years ago) link
Just downloaded pretty much everything, and he's coming to Minneapolis. Can't decide how I feel about the new one, but there's definitely some undeniable beauty in here...
― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, 7 October 2009 22:14 (fourteen years ago) link
i love childish prodigy
― kushighway (J0rdan S.), Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:55 (fourteen years ago) link
freak train is some real http://i36.tinypic.com/do554x.jpg shit
i don't think he'll ever do anything as good as "taking the farm" or "arms like boulders" but this one smashes the war on drugs album
need to hear constant hitmaker
― kushighway (J0rdan S.), Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:57 (fourteen years ago) link
Constant Hitmaker's pretty great, and a few of the songs on God is Saying are still my very favorites. I am trying to warm up the new one, but tbh I'm not really feelin' it.
― The World's Biggest Christ (Z S), Saturday, 10 October 2009 20:28 (fourteen years ago) link
huh i really like the new one a lot. it gets a little samey near the end but the first half is pretty solid. maybe i'm weird but i like the strong songs on childish prodigy more than the formlessness of the earlier albums.
― congratulations (n/a), Saturday, 10 October 2009 20:30 (fourteen years ago) link
"overnite religion" and "my best friends" are so so fucking good
― kamerad, Tuesday, 10 November 2009 01:29 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Nf59X22m4
― ☀ ☃ (am0n), Friday, 2 April 2010 17:04 (fourteen years ago) link
re: Record Store DayMexican Summer is re-releasing "God is Saying.." as a one-time-only vinyl/cassette combo.
― van smack, Monday, 12 April 2010 23:16 (fourteen years ago) link
http://e2ma.net/userdata/24823/images/medium/e1270658628.jpg
― van smack, Monday, 12 April 2010 23:17 (fourteen years ago) link
really ended up in love with childish prodigy. have totally overplayed the heck out of heart attack in particular
― aarrissi-a-roni, Monday, 12 April 2010 23:26 (fourteen years ago) link
man this new EP is good... title is Square Shells and the 7+ minute jam is sounding so fine right now, almost like Spacemen 3 but with more of a ticking motorik beat.
― bug holocaust (sleeve), Saturday, 22 May 2010 20:13 (fourteen years ago) link
agreed... this is wonderful...
― Worth waiting for the fannypunch at 4.02 (stevie), Saturday, 22 May 2010 20:27 (fourteen years ago) link
Thanks for the heads up! I've been looking forward to some new Kurt Vile.
― ImprovSpirit, Sunday, 23 May 2010 03:15 (fourteen years ago) link
Snagged it! Top-notch sounds from Kurt.
― ImprovSpirit, Monday, 24 May 2010 01:45 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, formless music in general can irritate me to no end, but I find his stuff mesmerizing. Really loved Childish Prodigy.
― musicfanatic, Monday, 24 May 2010 02:24 (fourteen years ago) link
He reminds me a bit of what might've happened if someone had given Jeffrey Lee Pierce a cheesy/cool drum machine & said 'go at it.'
― ImprovSpirit, Monday, 24 May 2010 19:36 (fourteen years ago) link
getting harder and harder to ignore this guy
― (e_3) (Edward III), Monday, 24 May 2010 20:08 (fourteen years ago) link
?
― ( `ハ´)☞ ☜(´∀`☜) (am0n), Monday, 24 May 2010 20:13 (fourteen years ago) link
I think he's rolling through town in two weeks. I'm gonna try hit it up.
― van smack, Monday, 24 May 2010 20:19 (fourteen years ago) link
I dunno he was always a kind of take 'em or leave 'em kind of thing for me, liked but not loved, but I've been digging the recent ish a bunch
― (e_3) (Edward III), Monday, 24 May 2010 20:42 (fourteen years ago) link
Apparently giving away new Kurt Vile EP at the Matablog today only:
http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2010/05/25/download-kurt-vile-square-shells-ep-for-free/
Gotta give them yer email, but its Matador, no biggie. Haven't gotten the email back yet, so claim of "instant download" maybe a little off, but still cool deal. Like everything I have heard by this guy so far, wanna hear more.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 17:53 (fourteen years ago) link
The instant download popped up for me as soon as I entered the e-mail addy, didn't even have to wait for a confirmation. Hmm.
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 18:33 (fourteen years ago) link
Firefox, Safari, or Explorer?
― grandavis, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 18:40 (fourteen years ago) link
good lookin' out grandavis
i got the download immediately but maybe cuz i have a matador account already cuzza mail order
(i used firefox)
― m@tt (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 18:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Firefox. It did pop up in the background, so it took me a few minutes to notice it.
― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 18:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Thanks folks. Gonna try again ...
― grandavis, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 18:42 (fourteen years ago) link
Firefox did the trick, not sure why I persist in using Windows for anything. Maybe this will convince me to go see KV in a few weeks with Real Estate. On the fence.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 18:49 (fourteen years ago) link
the last half of "invisibility: nonexistent" is really blissed out :)
― m@tt (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:02 (fourteen years ago) link
― (e_3) (Edward III), Monday, May 24, 2010 4:42 PM
ah i misread it as you were trying to ignore him, but yeah otm
― ( `ハ´)☞ ☜(´∀`☜) (am0n), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:04 (fourteen years ago) link
def gonna try to catch him live next month
― ( `ハ´)☞ ☜(´∀`☜) (am0n), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:05 (fourteen years ago) link
i never heard him before this...is this pretty much what he's like on the albums?
some parts remind me of the quieter parts of swell maps but more pop
― m@tt (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:08 (fourteen years ago) link
he's pretty varied. God Is Saying This To You (my fave) is mostly solo material with a lot of slide guitar. his last EP credited to Kurt Vile and the Violators was more rock. some of his other stuff is more pop/rock with drum machine.
― dmr, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 19:40 (fourteen years ago) link
solo as in just voice and guitar, no band
I liked the new one as I listened to it but now I don't feel super compelled to go back to it. Wouldn't turn it off if it came on, but don't think I'd actively seek it out either.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Sunday, 14 October 2018 23:18 (five years ago) link
that pretty much sums up Kurt Vile in general
― alpine static, Monday, 15 October 2018 00:13 (five years ago) link
he peaked when he was kurt vile... new on Gulcher
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 02:04 (five years ago) link
This is a good record man!
― calstars, Saturday, 20 October 2018 23:43 (five years ago) link
I can totally picture post-Benji Kozelek taking guest verses on Bassackwards.
Other than that, the new album feels like it's a thousand hours long (I haven't been able to hear it in full so far), and yes Runner-Ups and Baby's Arms are some of his best tunes on what happens to be his best album.
― Dinsdale, Sunday, 21 October 2018 21:17 (five years ago) link
this album must be terrible because the album cover art has like fake "ring wear" as the actual cover. why do people do this?
― budo jeru, Sunday, 21 October 2018 22:00 (five years ago) link
ufo otm.
WOAPD the album is all the kurt i imagine i'll ever need.
― budo jeru, Sunday, 21 October 2018 22:01 (five years ago) link
the new album i mean xp
― budo jeru, Sunday, 21 October 2018 22:03 (five years ago) link
i've been kinda looking at his output post smoke-rings along the lines of yo la tengo when they released "and then nothing..." and "summer sun" but instead all they ever did were to keep releasing records in those veins and say not put out a "pass the hatchet, i think i'm goodkind."
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Monday, 22 October 2018 02:11 (five years ago) link
this album must be terrible because the album cover art has like fake "ring wear" as the actual coverhaha yeah I wtfd at this too
― niels, Monday, 22 October 2018 06:15 (five years ago) link
When free online photoshop tutorials go wrong
― Karl Malone, Monday, 22 October 2018 06:19 (five years ago) link
give 'em a glass of woodergive 'em a cherry pie
― dripping in fennesz (sanskrit), Thursday, 27 December 2018 01:50 (five years ago) link
Bonded with my wife's college-age cousin on Christmas Eve over KV. (Unsurprisingly, he's also into Mac DeMarco.)
― jaymc, Thursday, 27 December 2018 06:30 (five years ago) link
https://open.spotify.com/track/22YbmBNDcL1jACZIPuItR8?si=iy3lodDqT3uwmORZ4oEaQA
― calstars, Saturday, 26 September 2020 22:05 (three years ago) link
Really loving his song with John Prine, a take on "How Lucky", very sweet and heartbreaking in retrospect. The rest of the EP is okay, but "Dandelions" is such an on the nose, meandering song that it borders on Vile self-parody.
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 23:15 (three years ago) link
New song is very much what I needed
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 15 February 2022 21:42 (two years ago) link
https://pitchfork.com/news/kurt-vile-announces-new-album-watch-my-moves-and-tour-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 15 February 2022 21:43 (two years ago) link
NiceHappy to see Stella return too
― calstars, Tuesday, 15 February 2022 22:09 (two years ago) link
a new song called “Exploding Like Stones,” which features Sun Ra Arkestra’s James Stewart. Watch it below, and find Vile’s upcoming tour dates, too.The new album includes a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Wages of Sin.”
The new album includes a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Wages of Sin.”
Oh yes.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 15 February 2022 22:19 (two years ago) link
I really enjoy the new singles but nothing will best freeway
― calstars, Saturday, 26 March 2022 23:57 (two years ago) link
I couldn’t get more than halfway through the new one. It was fine, but it just occurred to me that I do not need 75 more minutes of Vile. I just don’t hear a ton of growth. In fact, even some of the older stuff I once really liked has lost its luster for me.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Saturday, 16 April 2022 04:56 (two years ago) link
“Pretty Pimpin” is his only listenable song IMO
― papal hotwife (milo z), Saturday, 16 April 2022 05:05 (two years ago) link
wakin on a pretty day is good
album w courtney barnett is tops
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 16 April 2022 10:11 (two years ago) link
listening to the new album now, sounds great to my ears, very on point, he is what he is
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 08:49 (two years ago) link
i guess maybe i am starting to wonder exactly how many Kurt Vile songs i need in my life― alpine static, Thursday, October 11, 2018 2:08 PM (three years ago)
― alpine static, Thursday, October 11, 2018 2:08 PM (three years ago)
― alpine static, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 09:05 (two years ago) link
hehe well yes
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 12:43 (two years ago) link
I saw him a few years ago at a festival in Cancún. By far the dullest act of the entire four-day festival.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 19:25 (two years ago) link
Alpine Static OTM in both 2018 and 2022
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 19:35 (two years ago) link
'smoke rings' is still the best thing he's done by leaps and bounds, but i'm glad he's still out there doing his thing (and for a major label now!)
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 19:37 (two years ago) link
Yeah
When I’m realizing is that he’s kinda like Spiritualized for me - gimme the best song from each album and I’ll put together a single killer playlist that provides what I need from this act
― Legalize Suburban Benches (Raymond Cummings), Tuesday, 26 April 2022 19:38 (two years ago) link
the ep where he’s asleep on the front cover is really sweet, can’t remember the name. think the songs were all from the smoke ring sessions?
― brimstead, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 21:03 (two years ago) link
Finally getting around to the album. I really like it tho it’s not surprising. Completely in character , kind of lazy and mellow but has some nice moments. The track “fo sho” is exactly what you’d expect
― calstars, Saturday, 18 June 2022 12:24 (one year ago) link
albums vmicalbums where I'll have what they're havingalbums i wish i was in the mood for more oftenbless im
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 18 June 2022 13:35 (one year ago) link
any whiff of him or Courtney Barnett briefly sends me back to their collab album. i think it's the best thing either has done
― maf you one two (maffew12), Saturday, 18 June 2022 13:37 (one year ago) link
“Even if I’m wrong I’m gonna sing until the ass crack of dawn and it’s probably gonna be another long song”
― calstars, Friday, 24 June 2022 12:43 (one year ago) link
Kurt Vile was on this week's Hollywood Handbook although I'm not sure he enjoyed it too much.
― cajunsunday, Friday, 24 June 2022 16:58 (one year ago) link