Plaid - Rest Proof Clockwork (Warp Records 1999) - (let's poll and listen to....)

No hesitation - Dang Spot

Dang Spot was my first thought because it was the one that hooked me in and I remember loving so much. It's so zany and giddy. I must have ripped it off at least twice back when I was making Tracker tunes.

But then I'd be foregoing:

- Beautiful shimmery acoustic guitar on Ralome
- Funky hip hop squelchiness on Little People
- Funny little robot phone call at the beginning of Gel Lab
- Halloween tango on Pino Pomo
- The awesome chords that come in at around 2.55 on Last Remembered Thing
- The morphing, swelling, shapeshifting sound that begins New Bass Hippo
- And the fact they put one of their best tunes as a secret track! What the hell??

And all the little interlude tracks are sweet too. They were only second to Boards of Canada for those. I especially like Tearisci. The middle section of this album has a strange, dark, sinking feeling to it, like it's submerging for a few tracks before popping out again with Dang Spot

Ralome for me as it's been one of my all time favourite chill out tunes for over 20 years

i'm actually stumped on this one

Okay, plumped for Pino Pomo. They totally nailed that whacky, spooky, haunted house vibe. I'd love to see an animated video to go with that one.

Buddy, easy. That bottom end.

buddy

that's interesting - never a highlight for me, but I love the plaintive vocal-ish sound on it

gel lab is runner up. love this whole record though

oof, this is tough

first thought was "Dang Spot" too but there are probably better tracks

instant vote for ralome

ralome without a relisten

Ralome.
Dang spot annoys me like few other tracks do.

I'm not sure this album has aged especially well and I never want to listen to it all the way through, it's that middle section that does it for me.

Gel Lab is the one I go to most often (props for inventing the breakbeat waltz in that swoony second half) and I love Pino Pomo but it's Last Remembered Thing for me. Plaid was the last gig I went to before the world ended and it was mostly material from their last couple of albums and then towards the end they played Last Remembered Thing and it was this completely ecstatic moment I'll hold with me for a long time.

yeah those albums are great (and I think this is probably their best by a small margin) but what I wanna hear Plaid these days I actually kinda prefer their recent albums. shorter, tighter, more solid even though it doesn't have the high points. I think I can admit now that I still can't remember half of Not For Threes or Double Figure, every time I hear them I feel they are too long.

Went with Air Locked.

Dang Spot tied but comes second in the alphabet.

ralome would also be the track that immediately springs to mind but i donno, it’s less canon for me since it wasn’t written by plaid but their friend and frequent collaborator the bee, and it might be one of the least plaidy tracks.

the interludes - it’s interesting that they stopped doing it in later albums when something like bytes wouldn’t be as great without them. it’s like they wanted to be less silly/playful (and it’s reflected in regular tracks too, later stuff has fewer funky/out of character tracks)

not totally keen on their later albums, but the most recent one is actually very good indeed

Plaid was the last gig I went to before the world ended and it was mostly material from their last couple of albums and then towards the end they played Last Remembered Thing and it was this completely ecstatic moment I'll hold with me for a long time.

we went to see them when they played in seattle last december, with low expectations, and it was amazing, it made me change my mind about polymer.
and it felt like the right show to close the decade, and, in retrospect, the right last show to see "before the world ended".

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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

boooo I was out of town for this

In the end I was the only one who voted for Dang Spot haha

Ralome is a worthy winner though

I feel a little sorry for poor old Shackbu

yeah surprised shackbu got nothing.
so it’s basically ralome vs the rest. kinda funny the least plaid track won.
voted for gel lab in the end.

Shackbu is fine but nothing special. Very surprised Little People didn't do better though

shackbu is a fine example of plaid being cheeky/playful, a quality that seems to disappear in later albums, so i appreciate it for that.
almost voted for little people!

oh, quite a few cheeky tunes on the last one. Check Crown Shy

ralome is honestly the only track that i can remember what it sounds like without relistening, and somehow, even 30 minutes after a relisten, the only one that i remember what it sounds like