― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 6 February 2003 05:03 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― paul cox (paul cox), Thursday, 6 February 2003 05:04 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Chris Barrus (xibalba), Thursday, 6 February 2003 05:14 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Chris Barrus (xibalba), Thursday, 6 February 2003 05:19 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
-Matt, taking a break from spackling.
― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 6 February 2003 05:29 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― jack cole (jackcole), Thursday, 6 February 2003 06:25 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Kris (aqueduct), Thursday, 6 February 2003 06:29 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
A mighty fine band, great guitar work as mentioned by Matt, but what made them so good was Guy Kyser's voice. It sounds like it comes from some other place, from the other side of your nightmares. Insinuates itself into your soul. He could sing a nursery rhyme and it'd sound fucking spooky.
A great band live as well. Only saw them once, towards the end (Ruby Sea tour) at the Joiner's Arms in Southampton, but they were as good as I'd hoped.
― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 6 February 2003 09:55 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
i've read somewhere (online interview i think) that he's gone back to gardening...
great band. most goodies have been mentioned above. also, i really like their version of some velvet morning.
― willem (willem), Thursday, 6 February 2003 11:42 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 6 February 2003 14:49 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― jack cole (jackcole), Thursday, 6 February 2003 14:51 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
James is right, Guy Khyser's voice is a crucial part of the band, as are his lyrics (and i don't say that sort of thing very often).
Shout-out to my homie Kris from alt.music.alternative!
-Matt, needing coffee
― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Thursday, 6 February 2003 14:53 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Rockist Scientist, Thursday, 6 February 2003 14:58 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
a few more brief thoughts on Mummydogs -- the album came out last year on the revived http://www.frontierrecords.com/">Frontier label, which is being distributed by http://www.mordamrecords.com">Mordam. a decent return by Guy -- but after TWR, maybe a little too straight up without some of the interplay TWR was especially good at. still nice vocals from Kyser and his wife and sign of perhaps even better things to come if the Mummydogs continue and Kyser finds his footing better with his new group.
― jack cole (jackcole), Thursday, 6 February 2003 15:39 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Lee G (Lee G), Thursday, 6 February 2003 17:03 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― tigerclawskank, Thursday, 6 February 2003 17:07 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― evan chronister (evan chronister), Friday, 7 February 2003 07:05 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
Spoor.
the reissue news is grebt! (though i have most of their stuff on vinyl, it would be fantastic if they included some interesting bonus-stuff)
― willem (willem), Friday, 7 February 2003 10:15 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― James Ball (James Ball), Friday, 7 February 2003 11:06 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― willem (willem), Friday, 7 February 2003 15:49 (sixteen years ago) Permalink
― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 21 September 2004 12:26 (fourteen years ago) Permalink
Just re-listening to Moonhead (actually Moonhead...Plus diablo records release), and like above it has been saved from a 'get rid of pile' - damn it's a good record - I just played it back to back with eleventh dream day's 'prairie school freakout' and both rekkids guitars sounds equal desert peyote - real good fun on a Sunday before a ball game.
― BlackIronPrison, Sunday, 5 August 2007 22:02 (eleven years ago) Permalink
Their former manager ML Compton has been posting tour stories irregularly on his Myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/melcompton
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 6 August 2007 04:04 (eleven years ago) Permalink
One of my very favorite bands. I just love the whole package so much. Guy's basalt vocals, the thick twining snake guitars, the natural-history-tinged lyrics, the twang wedded to the dino-hevviness, the "this is a song about waking up with an acid hangover and a boner".
I miss them so. If I were to send someone home with two of their releases to try'n make a fan outta them, it would be Moonhead and the very well-chosen best-of When Worlds Collide.
FISH!!!
― Jon Lewis, Monday, 6 August 2007 14:45 (eleven years ago) Permalink
I listened to White Heaven first album the other night and Kurihara's super-scorching guitar sound blew me away as usual. Suddenly it reminded of Thin White Rope. The Kyser/ Kunkel interplay was obviously impressive in its Television-inspired detail, but it is the monstrous sound of their guitars that really made TWR. So dark, powerful and impossibly sad. And the way Guy Kyser concocts haunting, spooky natural images like a cowboy Georg Buechner: "Ants are cavemen" is him channeling a delirious Woyzeck-like enthomologist of sorts and sounding at the same time frightening and funny. Best 80's American band, period.
― Marco Damiani, Friday, 1 August 2008 14:34 (ten years ago) Permalink
:-) Definitely encourage everyone again to check out ML's blog I linked up there for more TWR stories, among many other things. Need to break out the albums again.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 1 August 2008 14:45 (ten years ago) Permalink
I checked it a couple of times and its fun. Give the albums another try, Ned: the production unfortunately isn't always that good, but the songs are ace. Kyser was a very personal writer. Also no other band in the world is equally in debt with Marty Robbins and Joy Division!
― Marco Damiani, Friday, 1 August 2008 15:00 (ten years ago) Permalink
One of my favorite bands of the 80s. So alien, unlike almost anything else, either in their time or out of it. People often mention Television and Paisley Underground contemporaries like the Rain Parade and the Dream Syndicate in describing them, and while that's fair, it doesn't get at how strange they were underneath. Love the snaky, heat shimmer guitar tangles, the super-creepy storytelling and Kyser's wobbly, wierdly affected vocals. They're about the most Halloweeny band I can think of, and the best part is that they manage it without ever resorting to campy spook-show schtick. They rarely sound like they're trying to be scary ("Disney Girl" and the Ruby Sea LP being clear exceptions), but they scare the crap out of me anyway.
'Course, it isn't an accident, either. Most of the lyrics read like ghost stories, and the ones that don't rarely have anything reassuring to say. Creeping you out was obviously a big part of the intent. Still, for all the theatricality, there's never anything forced about it. The vibe of alienation and depersonalization fits with the music and with the subject matter, making it ring true, at least in the sense that it doesn't seem like an act.
Agree that they never really got the production they deserved, but it doesn't bother me much. I like the records the way they are.
― contenderizer, Friday, 1 August 2008 17:58 (ten years ago) Permalink
Their version of 'Some Velvet Morning' was fantastico. Fuck - i forgot about the Rope! Saw them live too. Excellent
― Fer Ark, Friday, 1 August 2008 18:45 (ten years ago) Permalink
Totally love the "Yoo Doo Right" cover.
gygax! started a thread about it once.
― Steve Shasta, Friday, 1 August 2008 18:53 (ten years ago) Permalink
TAKING SIDES: "Yoo Doo Right" by THIN WHITE ROPE vs. "Mother Sky" by TH' FAITH HEALERS vs. "The Sad Skinhead" by TRUMANS WATER vs. "Jenny Ondioline" by STEREOLAB
― Steve Shasta, Friday, 1 August 2008 18:54 (ten years ago) Permalink
contenderizer: They always reminded me of Television crossed with Skynyrd.
― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Friday, 1 August 2008 21:07 (ten years ago) Permalink
Gimme three steps toward the ghost-cow.
― contenderizer, Friday, 1 August 2008 21:09 (ten years ago) Permalink
along with thinking fellers, this is one of those bands I'm surprised has/had the cult following they did, they seemed like not such a big deal when around. glad to see shasta still flying the flag for them. what is guy keyser doing now?
― akm, Friday, 1 August 2008 21:24 (ten years ago) Permalink
also it dawns on me that I actually know someone who was in this band, which I forgot about.
― akm, Friday, 1 August 2008 21:25 (ten years ago) Permalink
see also:
http://www.myspace.com/acmerocketquartet
― nerve_pylon, Friday, 1 August 2008 21:37 (ten years ago) Permalink
Moonhead is a classic (listening right now). I also always had a soft spot for The Ruby Sea, which some seem to find a little slick.
― Duke, Saturday, 28 March 2009 16:48 (nine years ago) Permalink
Can't believe I never posted on this thread. Still one of my favourite 80s bands. Moonhead is a deathless uber-classic, especially the title track. One of the few bands where I'm *really* bummed out that I never saw them live properly, only in a tent at the Reading festival, and even in that setting they sounded monstrous.
― Dom Cry For Me, Passantino (NickB), Saturday, 28 March 2009 19:38 (nine years ago) Permalink
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5Kb2KgdYA90&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5Kb2KgdYA90&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
― Duke, Saturday, 28 March 2009 20:04 (nine years ago) Permalink
erm... I mean this:
#1 on my "reunite for ATP" list.
― Chris Barrus (Elvis Telecom), Saturday, 28 March 2009 22:02 (nine years ago) Permalink
I only ever had The Ruby Sea, but o how I oved it, "Puppet Dog" especially. That one hit me right away, the rest was a grower. I haven't thought about them in years, but this thread is making want to seek out some of their other records.
― 2 ears + 1 ❤ (Pillbox), Saturday, 28 March 2009 22:06 (nine years ago) Permalink
Puppet Dog is a great song. One of the best on The Ruby Sea. If you like the Ruby Sea, do seek out Sack Full Of Silver and Moonhead
― Duke, Saturday, 28 March 2009 23:02 (nine years ago) Permalink
Moonhead really is a stone classic, but the first album Exploring The Axis is worth seeking out too, especially for the first track 'Down In The Desert' which is fantastic.
― MaresNest, Sunday, 29 March 2009 10:57 (nine years ago) Permalink
― akm
now I have no idea who I was talking about. who did I know in this band? I know someone who produced them at one point, at least.
― akm, Sunday, 29 March 2009 15:31 (nine years ago) Permalink
― Marco Damiani, Tuesday, 19 May 2009 09:26 (nine years ago) Permalink
More people should cover TWR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4KDvgt3rcQ
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 03:40 (six years ago) Permalink
Damn you Ned for a sec I thought this bump was for a reunion!
― Lewis Apparition (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 15:23 (six years ago) Permalink
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/38867781/Moonhead%20IMG_9238.jpg
― gonna send him to outer space, to hug another face (NickB), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 15:29 (six years ago) Permalink
xpost -- alas
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 15:36 (six years ago) Permalink
Remastered Moonhead LP arrived today - sounding great! I still wish they could 'remaster' a new drummer on these recordings but hey
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 22 March 2018 23:04 (eleven months ago) Permalink
Think I just got asked to pass this on from the guy who's upping the TWR sets to dime
a note to user nicknamed MaresNest over at a twr forumi am absolutely fine with you "wetransfering" the files for forum membersjust keep track with updates like the 1989-07-12 Vienna Austria U4 FM sound-upgrade from 2 days ago as the pool should stay as clean as possible
― Stevolende, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 23:01 (ten months ago) Permalink
sorry can I delete that last post and repost an edited version.
― Stevolende, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 23:03 (ten months ago) Permalink
Thanks Steveolende, I will grab that next week and put it up for those that desire it.
― MaresNest, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 21:07 (ten months ago) Permalink
OK I thought I'd posted a name I possibly shouldn't have. So everything's ok then.
― Stevolende, Wednesday, 11 April 2018 21:55 (ten months ago) Permalink
yes please! xpost :-)
― StanM, Friday, 20 April 2018 07:48 (ten months ago) Permalink
Ah, thanks for the nudge Stan, here 'tis...
https://we.tl/koO86us0Fv
― MaresNest, Friday, 20 April 2018 09:56 (ten months ago) Permalink
Thanks x 1000 again!
― StanM, Friday, 20 April 2018 10:14 (ten months ago) Permalink
http://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/sack-full-of-silver-2018-remastered-edition
http://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-spanish-cave-2018-remastered-edition
― StanM, Friday, 7 September 2018 23:51 (five months ago) Permalink
Shame they don't have soundfiles on the website.Don't think I've really seen that on bandcamp before. Since i thought that was one of the main purposes of bandcamp.
― Stevolende, Saturday, 8 September 2018 09:13 (five months ago) Permalink
they'll probably enable them on the release date, next Friday
― StanM, Saturday, 8 September 2018 10:12 (five months ago) Permalink
and they're out - Mr. Limpet & Hidden Lands are the sample tracks on bandcamp.
― StanM, Friday, 14 September 2018 16:11 (five months ago) Permalink
oh wait, all the tracks are playable
― StanM, Friday, 14 September 2018 16:12 (five months ago) Permalink
Tempted to get the cds. I've all the original vinyl, but I'm playing more and more cds now
― Duke, Saturday, 15 September 2018 19:24 (five months ago) Permalink
yeah played through all the lps on there yesterday and this morning.Am tempted to get the cds again. I think i got most of them before. Don't think I got Ruby Sea though.What's in the booklets?
― Stevolende, Saturday, 15 September 2018 19:29 (five months ago) Permalink
The Ruby Sea hasn't yet been remastered, right?
― Duke, Saturday, 15 September 2018 19:31 (five months ago) Permalink
Oh, thought it might be coming. Wasn't up as such when I listened to it last night. But thought they were doing them all in batches.
― Stevolende, Saturday, 15 September 2018 19:34 (five months ago) Permalink
Yes I imagine you're right.
― Duke, Saturday, 15 September 2018 19:40 (five months ago) Permalink
I may wait until Ruby Sea appears then buy them all....
the pdfs are just the lyrics sheets/booklets as they were before
― StanM, Saturday, 15 September 2018 20:07 (five months ago) Permalink
they were going to do the first 5 albums this year, so I suppose The Ruby Sea is still coming up
― StanM, Saturday, 15 September 2018 20:08 (five months ago) Permalink
The digital version of Moonhead has four extra tracks compared with the original vinyl. As you can see I'm getting tempted here...
― Duke, Sunday, 16 September 2018 13:47 (five months ago) Permalink
Seemed like they shuffled around what was on as extra tracks from previous editions. I think I had a coupl eo fthose tracks on In The Spanish cave but not sure where Roger's Tongue came from.Some of that stuff is off the Bottom feeders e.p. isn't it? Not sure about chronology of tracks recording so where they fit.I saw taht In The Spanish cave had Munich Eunuch again
― Stevolende, Sunday, 16 September 2018 14:50 (five months ago) Permalink
Can’t wait to compare the sound quality of the new Triangle Song mastering. I don’t want to go into detail rn but there are things about that recording that have really bugged me
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Sunday, 16 September 2018 16:03 (five months ago) Permalink
One of my favourite songs
― Duke, Sunday, 16 September 2018 16:49 (five months ago) Permalink
Do tell us what bugs you!
― Duke, Sunday, 16 September 2018 16:50 (five months ago) Permalink
Then again, maybe it'll start bugging us all....
do you mean the way someone is fiddling with various instrument volumes all the time and how some of it sounds like liquid stereo (I always imagined they reconstructed that track from tapes they had thrown away initially)? yeah, it's still like that.
― StanM, Sunday, 16 September 2018 17:35 (five months ago) Permalink
Yes. That.
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Sunday, 16 September 2018 23:46 (five months ago) Permalink
there's probably some clever reason they mixed it like this, but I can't figure it out.
― StanM, Monday, 17 September 2018 02:24 (five months ago) Permalink
do mixing desks have randomisation buttons with a triangle on and it felt lol funny to use it for this song? (triangle = D = delta = difference in math writing)
― StanM, Monday, 17 September 2018 03:08 (five months ago) Permalink
That almost sounds like a thing someone would do
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Monday, 17 September 2018 04:57 (five months ago) Permalink
Late realization, but watching live videos it's so obvious that Guy Kyser started life as a banjo player. His thumb pick and hand posture are typical Scruggs style.
― Duke, Friday, 21 September 2018 20:38 (five months ago) Permalink
http://blurtonline.com/feature/story-behind-album-ruby-sea-thin-white-rope/The Ruby Sea remaster is still coming up + Lisa/Frontier might do an odds and ends compilation and a remaster of The One That Got Away
― StanM, Friday, 21 September 2018 21:14 (five months ago) Permalink
Thanks for this!
― Duke, Saturday, 22 September 2018 11:31 (five months ago) Permalink
LF: I’ll have to wait and see how the reissues go as I need funds to do more, but I certainly hope so– now or anywhere in the future. Guy knows that I’d have a stroke if he ever wrote a new TWR song and/or if he formed a new band of any kind. (He briefly had a bluegrass band with Roger and I drove up to SF alone the instant that I heard they were playing!) My most fervent dream in life is that Guy will return to music, but mostly I want him to be happy in life whether it includes writing or playing music. It’s just that I’d like for Guy and Roger to finally get their due, something Guy could care less about, I’m sure!This part from lisa fancher made me cry!It remains a life ambition of mine to shake guy’s hand. <3I did NOT know he played with a thumb pick! All throughout twr or just later on when the c&w vibe got stronger?I would really like fancher to write something long about twr again- her liner notes for the When Worlds Collide comp were so great. Awesome detail that the lyrics for RS came from a solo wilderness wander to get his head straight Also the clown song is just such a brilliant piece of writing
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 22 September 2018 12:55 (five months ago) Permalink
Watch live TWR videos and you'll see he plays the guitar with thumb pick. Hand posed like a bluegrass banjo player. Guitar tuned to open G, I'd bet
― Duke, Saturday, 22 September 2018 12:57 (five months ago) Permalink
I remember the Melody Maker review pictured in that article. They were huge TWR fans
I also remember an earlier feature by Everett True, where he ends up joining the chorus at the end of The Fish Song. FISH!!!!
― Duke, Saturday, 22 September 2018 12:58 (five months ago) Permalink
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 22 September 2018 13:00 (five months ago) Permalink
I think he is credited on the LP
― Duke, Saturday, 22 September 2018 13:02 (five months ago) Permalink
I think the only in depth twr article I remember from the original time was the mondo 2000 interview (which was a really good one). There were always reviews of course. It was a particularity savory review of Moonhead in OPtion magazine that started me.
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 22 September 2018 13:03 (five months ago) Permalink
Mondo 2000 interview: the one that was posted in this very thread on Wednesday, 10 July 2013 ?
― StanM, Saturday, 22 September 2018 13:47 (five months ago) Permalink
I know that Bucketful of Brains have a cover photo of them in Russia. Not sure what the story accompanying it says.
― Stevolende, Saturday, 22 September 2018 14:09 (five months ago) Permalink
Yeah that’s the mondo interview upthread. Unforgettable
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 22 September 2018 15:06 (five months ago) Permalink
bucketfull of brains cover photo & one page from the interview:
https://www.amazon.com/Bucketfull-Magazine-Sneetches-Holsapple-Plasticland/dp/B00950M1EE
scanned page: https://img.cdandlp.com/2018/01/imgL/119033806.jpg
― StanM, Saturday, 22 September 2018 16:23 (five months ago) Permalink
Interesting how that BoB writer is well aware of the significance of A Can of Bees era Soft Boys and especially “The Pigworker” (especially live!) in this lineage of crushingly glorious twin guitar rock
― cheese is the teacher, ham is the preacher (Jon not Jon), Sunday, 23 September 2018 16:29 (five months ago) Permalink
Russia cover photo apparently ties in with the cover mounted single. I can't find a story on the band in the issue. Just found it beside my bedm saw back cover advert for Dave Graney's my life in th plains and thought it might be that issue. Says there are stories in numbers 11; 13 and 25. Russia cover is 33.
― Stevolende, Monday, 24 September 2018 00:30 (four months ago) Permalink
https://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/the-ruby-sea-2019-remastered-edition
― StanM, Friday, 1 February 2019 20:24 (three weeks ago) Permalink
(out next week)
― StanM, Friday, 1 February 2019 20:27 (three weeks ago) Permalink
it's out!
― StanM, Friday, 8 February 2019 08:52 (two weeks ago) Permalink