sea and cake poll

Hey Scott, I would jest get whichever one of those first three albums you come across first. They all rotate with me as to which one I like the best and are just good good records. Maybe lean towards Nassau but The Biz was my first record of theirs and so has a real place in my heart. I believe that all of those records were made in an incredibly short amount of time (the Biz and Nassau both came out in 95). Kinda hard to believe. Kinda think The Fawn is the best overall at times, but fuck it really may be the first Prekop solo record. Turning into kind of a pointless post, seems we are all saying the same thing. A.Prewitt records also really good. Check.

Nassau vs The Fawn vs Sam Prekop, hard to choose from these. But I went with Nassau (a) because of "Parasol" and (b) because I never really understood why Prekop lapsed into this mode where he only sang in one specific way. He used to vary it up (in Shrimpboad and the first three S&C records) but now it's always a soft whisper-in-the-ear thing. One of the loveliest voices out there, but a big reason why I think this band can get a little tiresome over many albums.

i'm not kidding when i say this: don't you think there could be a good sea & cake remix album? or at the very least, some decent edits?

also, thanks for the tips. the gist seems to be: if i see one of the first three albums, um, buy one!

Well *Two Gentlemen* IS a remix album (I guess it's an EP), and it's pretty awful, but it does seem so, yes.

oh okay. but who did they get to remix things? jim o'rourke? some of those summer at the seaside cosmic boating disco people could do a good job.

Yeah, it was very much in the experimental vein.

scott they got o'rourke and bundy brown on "two gentlemen" and stereolab and broadcast on "glass." doesn't sound like the cosmic seaside balearic set knows much about them yet though

"...and captain lorax, if you're still reading this, i'm really curious, which of his songs did you rate #1?"
I gave it to 'Sister Ice'
I downloaded tons of songs from that thread: Your favorite song of the 00's. (my favorite new find was 'Life Without Buildings' - The Leanover. thanks NickB)

I voted for Glass EP
Mainly because it has four of their all time best songs and I really trip out to this album
- To the Author
- An Echo In
- Interiors (Broadcast Remix)
- Hotel Tell (c's Mix)

The Biz is my second favorite. It's hard not to vote for The Biz but in the end I have fonder memories of me listening to Glass.

pov this track for greatness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyRpIlNzGes

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

1. Nassau
2. The Fawn
3. The Biz

^^ I agree with this, but there is a considerable drop in quality from 2 to 3, imo.

Oui. It's the first S&C album I bought. Oddly this is perhaps the only band I love, which the albums are fairly interchangeable. However I am compelled to buy them all.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Good turnout! Oui that high seems a little weird, but results seem logical.

Voted for The Fawn, but The Biz deserves more love. I listen to that more than the first two.

I just listened to it now - thought of you with that tricky time change in fact.

The Biz is great, really a pretty super run of albums from Nassau through The Fawn (which is hard to find fault with as their best record). I think right now The Biz is the one I would want to listen to the most as well.

My two favorites are The Biz and One Bedroom, both of which are really underrepresented in this poll. I never understood what the big deal was with The Fawn. The first two tracks are incredible, but it kinda blows its wad there.

i like tracks 3 and 4 more than 1 and 2. there you are is great, too

i'll have to have another listen to it; i have kind of forgotten about TSAC after their last two albums

not that they were bad, but I really liked the direction they took on One Bedroom, so to see them abandon that sucked

looking back, "Jacking the Ball" really is one of the all time best pop songs of the 90's

for sure. what a killer way to start an album. what captivated me about them is the shrimp boat breeze-jangle central to what they did, all the way through 'one bedroom.' since then (or maybe sam's first (amazing) solo album?), they sound like the john mcentire show. not the worst thing in the world, but the songs just don't seem there like they used to

"There You Are" is perhaps the best full-on torchy song after "Parasol" for me. Just a really great slow-burning wonder of a song.

My sense of the more recent stuff is that Sam Prekop has gotten into a rut, at least vocally, and that Archer Prewitt has taken a back seat to the whole endeavor. Between Prewitt, Prekop, and McEntire this should be an unstoppable supergroup. But they sound like they're using only 10 it 20% of their potential. I'm kinda hoping that Prekop's solo album from last year, while flawed, is a sign that he's ready to break out if his funk.

Car Alarm definitely felt like they were coasting. The same with Everybody to a somewhat lesser extent. I'm not a big fan of their "back-to-basics" approach on these last two. I much preferred it when John McEntire took charge production-wise on Oui and One Bedroom.

It's "back-to-basics" the same way To the 5 Buroughs was. They never really sounded THAT stripped down; there were a lot of interesting things happening on the first few albums. Not that the last two were bad, but "coasting" kind of says it

My two favorites are The Biz and One Bedroom, both of which are really underrepresented in this poll. I never understood what the big deal was with The Fawn. The first two tracks are incredible, but it kinda blows its wad there.

― frogbs, Tuesday, March 22, 2011 2:51 PM (2 hours ago)

I 100% agree with you. You know what's what I'll tell you what.

The poll results are bogus. First of all, Sam Prekop solo stuff should of never been on this poll. Secondly, how Everybody and Car Alarm even got votes is beyond me. Finally, there is more boring stuff on Fawn and Nassau than The Biz and One Bedroom.

Eh, "Fawn" is boring only insomuch as you want it to rock. It does not. But as far as textures and subtleties in the songwriting and a really interesting turn in their sound it is pretty ace. A great album to me for sure, but I would take "Biz" or "Nassau" these days. I don't really think "boring" is applicable to the first four records at all if you like the band's sound, but that's just me.

haven't listened to the fawn in forevers but it is a lovely lovely record.

I guess I'll have to have another listen to Fawn, it's been a long long time since I've heard it in full.

Oui is the only TSAC album that I really think could qualify as "boring". Maybe the last two as well. I'm glad some people here agree with me on those because I really cannot see why the critics seemed to like them so much. One Bedroom is always going to be the pinnacle of the electronic side of the group (along with "The Argument", "Sporting Life", and "Afternoon Speaker")

The Bundy K Brown remix on Two Gentlemen is one of my fav. pieces of music. Wish he had done more remix work.

oui is awesome

just checked, the song is called The Cheech Wizard Meets Baby Ultraman In Cool Blue Cave (Bundy K Brown Remix) and has a great sample of Palm Grease by Herbie Hancock.

i love the two electronic tracks on Two Gentlemen

lol, The Sea and Cake is one of my favoriest bands ever - when I say boring I probably mean less interesting. My Sea and Cake mixes have been numerous over the years. I never picked as many tracks off of Fawn and s/t as the others (not including the two most recent albums). It's probably time I revisit individual albums again instead of the mixes.

My first TSaC mix that I ever made had more online user suggestions than personal picks. It also had much more mellow stuff near the end like 'Parasol' and stuff from Oui. All my mixes since then tend to favor stuff that isn't so subdued and maybe this is apparent in my choice of albums as well.

'One Bedroom' title track, in the youtube I posted upthread, remains to be The Sea and Cake song that I find the most intellectually stimulating. I was going to try to explain why but I can't do so without relating to the visceral pleasure I get from that song.

I have not heard the earliest stuff but I thought car alarm was leagues better than the previous 3. .

"I was going to try to explain why but I can't do so without relating to the visceral pleasure I get from that song"

This kind of sums up my relationship with this band. There is a really odd alchemy involved with their music that always keeps it from being boring for me, just the interaction of the component parts always equals something at the very least "very good" to me, though to be honest I have not bothered with the last couple of records more due to just life circumstances rather than active avoidance.

It very much has tactile qualities I guess is what I am saying, and often gives me that visceral pleasure as well, and "The Fawn" is full of weirdly gratifying sonics for me. Enough about "The Fawn" though.

The Sea and Cake was a real bridge band for me. When I first heard them I was completely and single-mindedly tearing through slightly aggro guitar bands like Drive Like Jehu, Rodan (and June of 44), Polvo, etc., and hearing "The Biz" managed to scratch that itch somehow whilst providing a whole other element, perhaps "grace", to the equation. In a way they freed me up to focus on a lot of other music I had been ignoring for a bit. Of course due to my guitar-centric worldview at the time "Escort" was the first song that really got my goat, but I grew to love every song on that album.

Great thing about "One Bedroom" track: telephone tone riffs.

Yeah I loved those as well. "One Bedroom" is such a weird song in that the entire thing, for all its oddities, is entirely memorable. I haven't heard the song in years but still remember how that part goes exactly. Does anyone know where the drums were sampled from? I definitely heard that exact drum part over a PA somewhere and it's been killing me trying to figure out where it's from.

To me the key to The Biz is the drumming; it's top notch on almost every track. If nothing else it's a good diversion. I wish they had let him play more often.

For some reason I've never uploaded the entire One Bedroom album to my computer, so the only tracks I've heard from it in years are "Hotel Tell" and "Sound and Vision."

frogbs, totally OTM about the drumming on that record. Might have been John himself that censored his own playing, guy has a lot of interests i.e. production etc., but still, his drumming definitely toned itself down on the next few Sea and Cake records.

Have you listened to Bastro? Plenty of good McEntire bashing there.

which albums do you recommend?

"Diablo Guapo" and "Sing the Troubled Beast" are both pretty great for what they are, would maybe lean towards "Sing ...", as it refines the approach in some good ways, but chronologically it comes second. Don't bother with the other records unless you like these (not that there is much else).

Sing the Troubled Beast is the best Bastro album, though it's not remotely like the Sea and Cake or Tortoise! Very aggressive, shouty, proto-math rock.

so . . . after bitching about them a few weeks ago, i have to say this new ep or mini-lp or whatever, the moonlight butterfly, is pretty tasty, even the ten minute long jam. can't put my finger exactly on what the deal is, other than, for lack of better words, it's 'looser' and 'more dynamic' than they've been in a while, without sacrificing recent atmospheric nuances

i met a girl in chicago once who witheringly described this group as "another boy band"

i can see that in archer p. the rest, not so much

The idea of a 10-minute jam piques my curiosity. I heard the song they previewed on Pitchfork a few days ago and it just sounded like more of the same. This band frustrates me because they should be so much better than average.

This EP seems to head back towards their roots in many ways but I'm not too impressed. It continues along the line of the last two albums in that it just feels older, darker and lower than a lot of early Sea and Cake which is more sprightly, sunny and higher

Fawn is the only one I've heard but that album is p dope; favorite songs are Sporting Life, title track, The Ravine, & Bird and Flag

The Biz got hosed in this poll

Still annoyed by inclusion of Prekop solo in this poll -- totally different rhythm section!

"Runner" on Spotify now.

Man, "The Biz" totally got hosed. Love that album. Everything I have heard from "Runner" is great so far. I can't quite say I am excited by the Sea and Cake at this point, but they are aging really well and, similar to Lambchop, I find that I just don't tire of the sound, musicianship, or songwriting at all. Will probably find reasons to listen to this shit for the rest of my life.

Yeah, the Sea & Cake will always be total comfort music for me, even as certain songs/albums catch me more than others.

missed the poll. "the biz" is in my personal sea and cake top 3.

I'm just glad everything got at least one vote. It's a good omen for the TSAC discog; everything is good.

The Biz though is the clear standout to me, I don't know if people didn't really pay attention to it or what. They never really made another album like it. Well they did, but not really.

By the way if the Prekop albums were on here, the Shrimp Boat ones should be as well. I wonder if anyone here's actually heard 'em?

i love Cavale, the only thing i've heard by them

I've heard ... Speckly, I think? Didn't leave much impression, but it's been a while.

I didn't much care for Speckly outside of "Planter's Song" but the other two albums are really good, especially Duende.

Man, "The Biz" totally got hosed. Love that album. Everything I have heard from "Runner" is great so far. I can't quite say I am excited by the Sea and Cake at this point, but they are aging really well and, similar to Lambchop, I find that I just don't tire of the sound, musicianship, or songwriting at all. Will probably find reasons to listen to this shit for the rest of my life.

― grandavis, Thursday, September 20, 2012 12:25 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is how I feel about them too. I wonder how many artists I could say that about -- just keep doing what you do and even if it's samey I will listen to it.

I'm surprised about Everybody. I can see why some might pass over this latter-day S&C album, but I think it's actually their best.

This is coming from someone whose favorite Sonic Youth album is 'Rather Ripped', though...

I think Shimpboat's Cavale is terrific. It's really fun in a way that most Sea & Cake records are not. (No dis on S&C - there's just a goofiness to Cavale.) You can hear hints of the sound on early records like Nassau. I appreciate Cavale and the early S&C records precisely because Prekop had not yet fully settled into his laid-back, breathy delivery.

It's kind of weird to think that Prekop actually kind of had an edge to him at one point, stuff like "Planter's Song" or "Van Buren" are a total left turn from what he does today. Even with TSAC I liked the vocal approach on the first three albums and kind of got annoyed with it afterwards.

Yeah I've got Cavale, two Sea and Cake records, and the first two solo records - I don't really feel like *need* much more than that. I find the later albums to be pleasant but rarely inspiring.

new one is pushing all the right buttons for me today.

so glad thrill jockey reissued all this on vinyl. i know everyone says it but the run from nassau to the fawn is dazzling