Low: Classic or classic?

I think they're alright, I think their obvious dedication to their sound and art is fairly admirable, but the resulting records don't move me (the Christmas one is quite nice).

In some of the praise of them there's an undertow of virtues-of- simplicity stuff, and I can see why - when I listen to Low the word that often comes to mind is 'quaint'. You feel a little better for owning a Low record, I suppose, like a piece of handmade furniture or something. They're not classic.

ha I never said on this thread that 'the curtain hits the cast' is one of my few most favorite albums ever.

i watched that low documentary on cable last nite. maaaaaaaan, was that boring. not even two members of napalm death could pep things up. HOW IRONIC LOW DUDE THEY ARE IN NAPALM DEATH AND YOU ARE IN LOW AND YOU ARE IN THE SAME BUILDING WHAT ARE THE ODDS. on the other hand, it made me want to listen to low records. i do like low. and watching low live from my couch is, if you ask me, the best friggin' place on earth to watch low live.

hahah, interesting post. a boring documentary that made you wanna listen to the records. i can see that. good documentary i guess, rather slow, i own it but have only watched it once, so far.

the live footage is indeed superb.

that's the Low In Europe thing, right? I've got that DVD too, should really watch it again too

they should have set up the most boring people alive premise even more than they did. they sould have called the doc: HOW LOW CAN YOU GO:THE DIRTY DULUTH 3 LAY WASTE TO EUROPE! with girls gone wild cover art.

Maybe the sequel will be even lower

Low & Lowerer, with new bass player Jim Carrey

ultimately characterless and forgettable

lol. Heard Drums and Guns?

it hadn't been released back then

i have "low in europe" and only got halfway through it. hmm. and as you all know, i adore them.

vvv tickled to see the original post -- it was alex who got me into low, some ... fucking hell, 12 years ago now. christ.

which album do I listen to right now if I've never heard any of them before? quick!

I think The Great Destroyer is very accessible, so that may be a good entry point. But I guess Things We Lost In The Fire might be a more representative disc.

A handful of songs on the new disc (called Drums and Guns) are also an excellent introduction to the band. Try, for example, this killer (no pun intended) version of Murderer, from a live, in-studio performance last year.

Things We Lost in the Fire is a great introduction. I'd also recommend Secret Name, which was my intro, also very good.

Things We Lost in the Fire, definitely. Worked for me at least, from the first chord change.

Anyone see that film about Low that's now showing on Pitchfork.tv? It's called You Might Need A Murderer. I didn't know how troubled Alan Spearhawk was. Semi-boring film, but a totally compelling band.

Oh it's on Pitchfork.tv? Sweet, I saw it in the local record store today and passed on it ($20 brand new) but i'll totally watch it for free. One of my all time favorite bands, love these guys.

npr interview with the sparhawks a while ago that touched on his issues

Catch it now, Stephen. It's the "One Week Only" feature on Pitchfork.tv.

That NPR interview is fascinating. Sparhawk dances around his problems some, but this is the first time I've heard he was suicidal.

Thanks Daniel, I'll be sure to check it out Sunday morning when i get up :D

Retribution Gospel Choir (Alan's new, catchier, LOUD, rock band) played a sparsely attended show in Montreal on Friday that was fucking amazing. PLayed their hearts out for we seated folk, left my ears so happily ringing. Was sad to see him loading up the van alone in the street afterward (last time I saw Low it was at ATP with another 1000 people). If Retribution Gospel Choir come to chez toi, go go go. terrific.

Low have subtley crept, over the course of about ten years, into the position of being my favorite existing band.

"subtly"

Some good discussion on this thread, methinks.

Retribution Gospel Choir (Alan's new, catchier, LOUD, rock band) played a sparsely attended show in Montreal on Friday that was fucking amazing.

ARGH I was on the list for this but couldn't go, damn you, job.

I've seen them 7-8 times since 1997 and have observed as the venue/audience size has grown in tandem with the expanse of the band's dynamic (louder choruses, distortion pedals and such). The songs from their last few records are perfectly suited to the mid-size theatres they play these days. But my favorite gigs were one in the mid-to-late 90's, when they would come through the Ann Arbor/Detroit area quite regularly and play at little hole-in-the-wall spots: The (small) audience would generally sit on the floor and remain dead silent until the band finished playing (save for the occasional applause). There was a communal reverence, churchlike almost, unlike anything else I've experienced at rock gigs (even a "seated" Yo La Tengo show from their And Then Nothing.. tour, in which the band/venue provided the audience with folding chairs, didn't come close). It was a beautiful thing to be a part of, really.

I totally get that. I'm sure you'd agree, though, that they deserve all the additional attention -- and higher audience attendance at shows -- that they now get. I'm with you: Low has become one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, band of the moment.

I'll third that. Best band going today.

i saw RGC a few years back with Kozelek and they were alright but the drummer was really stiff; if it's the same guy I'm sure they've loosened up a bit. I'm assuming Kozelek isn't on this tour.

the best thing they played though was a crazy ass cover of "the carpet crawlers"

I'm sure you'd agree, though, that they deserve all the additional attention -- and higher audience attendance at shows

Yeah, it has actually been very rewarding to watch a humble little band like Low build and expand their aesthetic over the years, and at the same time gain popularity because of the sheer quality of their art. Even thought I have those fond memories of tiny quiet shows, I have no problem sharing Low with The World.

Strictly in terms of popularity, though, I know Low is bigger in Europe than The States, at least circa early-2000s. Was it that way in the mid-to-late 90's too? I'd been used to Low concerts being generally as described above. But then, in 2000, I moved to Dublin for college and twice saw Low in sold-out concerts at The Olympia, a fairly large theatre (fantastic shows both, one with cello!).

"thought" = though

stop all the clocks, quieten all the whisperings about low's republican tendencies:

low are playing an obama benefit somewhere.

they're also doing christmas shows in the uk, in november.

Yeah, here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmFQlABsWs1/?hl=en

❤️🥁❤️ https://t.co/SkT72mUZEY

— LOW (@lowtheband) December 21, 2022

that got me. Really would love one for my house.

All I want to contribute today is that I'm listening to Ones and Sixes and enjoying the hell out of "The Innocents" and "No Comprende."

Christmas on the stereo right now. Of course I burst into tears during the first minute of "Just Like Christmas."

There's a lot of a really beautiful church music around this time of year, imho, but nothing compares to Low's version of "Little Drummer Boy." It's massive and just astonishingly gorgeous.

:(

When you hear of someone falling off or becoming homeless or a hoarder after someone close to them dies, it’s not the grief that put them there - it’s the mountain of cold bullshit they have to cut through just to function and go on with life. The crowning gift of capitalism.

— LOW (@lowtheband) January 13, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUBp4EWieEc

xpost - that is indeed a depressing sentiment, one that hits really hard after having suddenly lost my father-in-law recently. the amount of red tape and bullshit that my wife has been through already is enough to stress anyone's system and she's just barely hit the tip of the iceberg

Narayama seeming like a more humane option these days

I haven't been able to listen to Low much since Mimi passed, but I put on an old playlist the other day that included "Whore" and it feels like that particular song got about 20% slower while I wasn't looking/listening.

Today it was "Dancing and Fire" that caught me off guard with the lines, It's more "Let it out" than "Let it go" / It's not the end, it's just the end of hope.

O stands for overrated (indie darlings along with yo la tengo or swans)

troll

Wtf, does CC ever talk about something they like or do they just pop in to shit on threads? Have they been around under a different name before this?

What would bring a troll here to waste their time? It doesn’t seem like there’s enough traffic to be satisfying.

Well and to counter CCs trolling a bit, call Low whatever you want but I do not know really any other band that I am a fan of that seems to cross the lines across people I know and other musician's tastes in regards to being admired as much as they do. A very very broad cross-section of people love Low, which is cool. Can't imagine finding this band to be lacking personally, but hey that's just me.

O stands for overrated (indie darlings along with yo la tengo or swans)

― CerebralCaustic, Saturday, February 18, 2023 6:00 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Imagine being this cloth-eared, heartless, and uninspired. I feel pity, and then I flag post.

all caustic no cerebral

Alan is doing some sort of minimal funk/r&b band with his son on bass, and buried in there is that he's going to do something with the Bad Plus, which is some serious worlds-colliding shit for me.

https://mndaily.com/275811/arts-entertainment/qa-alan-sparhawk-of-low-on-new-band-derecho/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP0rP5oWNR8

ngl i find that depressing. I really dislike the whole schtick of tbp

Bad Plus rip

I get that, but the new sax/guitar version of TBP doesn't really have a shtick, just a style (no more covers for one).

In fact I'd say they're aggressively anti-schtick now (possibly a corrective measure).

okay, sorry for not paying attention since the schtick years turned me off in high school— bands should be good from the start.

anyway, i am no longer depressed about it because both of you vouching actually means something to me, if i’m being real

In an ironic turn, Alan is playing bass in Zak Sally's band the Hand, who are opening up for Unwound tonight.

I'm just glad he's out playing, seems healthy.

bands should be good from the start.

Haha, this is a terrifying opinion to me, I'd like to believe there's always a chance for reinvention & redemption.

I've seen Derecho, I think I posted about it upthread, but was fun, a lot of potential but still felt like they were working out the kinks

I would love that, too. We need to write some hits and get a few more people to show up before we can leave home but we’re working on it. Recording is in process. https://t.co/b2zmQoqd7O

— LOW (@lowtheband) March 7, 2023

The Getting-Better Plus

Alan's in the Ween cover band playing at Turf Club tonight, wish I could go

Gotta say, when I'm feeling like shit, I love locking myself in my home office and blasting my favorite Low tracks

Here’s something I found today that Mim wrote down not long ago. Maybe it’s notes from something she heard or read, but it’s the way she saw things, for sure. pic.twitter.com/Fk80G72DpY

— LOW (@lowtheband) April 29, 2023

Apparently Alan has resumed doing It's Friday I'm in Low?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr35sj6pLK_/

Alan's djing on The Current rn. Anyone go to the Bad Plus/Marc Ribot show at First Ave that he opened? I'm very curious what he did.

Alan is starting to look like a younger version of Robert Plant

Maybe they'll start a band together.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Takiaya Reed of Divide and Dissolve for a Quietus Baker's Dozen the other week; I've seen them before, had dinner with them once, a good bunch (this was when they were a duo, but Takiaya is now the sole core member). They had done various shows with Low coming out of the pandemic and indeed were scheduled to open for them for what would have been their SF show here for Hey What, which, since I missed the Double Negative tour due to circumstances beyond my control, would have been the first time I'd had a chance to see them since the Christmas tour back in 2010. That she picked Hey What for her list didn't surprise, and neither did the fact that she was a little overcome by talking and thinking about them, and so was I, honestly:

https://thequietus.com/articles/33145-takiaya-reed-divide-and-dissolve-bakers-dozen?page=11

Takiaya is an old friend— thanks for sharing

It's a very small thing, but I included a drone/ambient cover of "Laser Beam" on my newest album:

https://ianmanire.bandcamp.com/track/laser-beam

I'm donating all sales (CD or digital) to the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance in memory of Mimi.

I tried to record this in the days after she passed, hoping it would pull me out of the depths. I just couldn't do it at the time, but was able to revisit it on her birthday recently and finish it.

this is lovely

Thank you! Low has meant so much to me for 26 years, I hope this stands up as a small tribute.

Did you send a link to Alan? ( lowtheband on X )

A few days back I reached out to Alan to make sure he was OK with covers on DIY small-scale, and he said he was, and asked thet I share. So I tagged him in the release announcement, and he shared that, which is a huge honor to me : )

https://www.twitter.com/musicophiliamix/status/1706784425663779192

Nice!

tc psa: Tired Eyes at Turf Club tomorrow night. the one they played two years ago honestly one of my favorite shows ever.

I wish he would tour the Neil Young tribute. I don't think I've ever seen an act fail covering Neil Young, more should do it.

Alan is doing a tour I think; and he did a Friday I'm in Low on Instagram the other week, so it's good to see him active.

it's fantastic, best Neil Young covers I've ever seen. A lot of credit should go to longtime Mpls stalwart Rich Mattson from the Glentrustles, it's as much if not more his thing than Alan's

even more interesting:

Low's twitter said that tonight with be the debut of the Alan Sparhawk Solo Band, apparently a warm up for some European dates. This sounds like it will be different than Derecho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMbMWjpjmsA

this is a recording of the single solo show he played earlier this year. new material is very heavy on the vocoder

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/12/alan-sparhawk-review-le-guess-who-festival-utrecht

glad to have this review of his latest show, sounds similar to that opening set at Turf Club. he definitely played the ones identified as JCMF, Get High and Don't Take Your Light, along with some Derecho-y stuff. this captures a lot of what he played, esp. those last two, both very beautiful: "Others are piercingly direct in their desperate evocations of loss, raw and shellshocked, and often repeating single phrases that get heavier with each iteration."

looks like some of the tracks he played were derecho songs? "get high" and "want it back" were released a few months ago

Tired Eyes Live at Hook & Ladder Minneapolis MN on 2022-02-26 https://t.co/7BWxNesy8a via @internetarchive

Re-upping and thank you as always @lowtheband @richmattson @TheHookMpls

— John Oxley (@jeoxley1) November 18, 2023