bloke I work with has just signed (pretty great three record deal tbh) with 4AD and his band is indeed more beggars-friendly.
― what kind of present your naked body (Upt0eleven), Wednesday, 16 December 2009 16:00 (fourteen years ago) link
4ad turn 30 next year and they offer a free download of another 30 song sampler for christmas.
― alex in mainhattan, Wednesday, 16 December 2009 21:06 (fourteen years ago) link
"but I had a moment of blissful personal revelation a couple of years back when I realised that the whole 4AD aesthetic was a gothick romantic gauzy great DUD"
I think I realized this in 1990.
― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 16 December 2009 21:21 (fourteen years ago) link
I enjoy most of those adjectives. Well, except the last one.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Thursday, 17 December 2009 07:36 (fourteen years ago) link
"I think I realized this in 1990."
I recall feeling this way some time ago - maybe around the time I discovered American indie guitar rock in the early 90's. But recently I've started out my 4ad records and tapes out and I'm having far too much fun listening to them to dismiss it all. And some of them have aged really well to my ears. The Nooten/Brook record mentioned up thread is really amazing. I listened to Clan of Xymox Medusa last night and that one sounds really great as well. And I still love This Mortal Coil.
― sknybrg, Thursday, 17 December 2009 08:14 (fourteen years ago) link
Nooten/Brook album is one of teh five best 4ad albums ever.
― akm, Thursday, 17 December 2009 16:19 (fourteen years ago) link
Personally I'd take the 4AD back catalogue over the entire dreary legions of "American indie guitar rock" in an instant. The idea that a group like Pavement could be responsible for any kind of paradigm shift in anyone's thinking is just baffling to me.
― anagram, Thursday, 17 December 2009 16:23 (fourteen years ago) link
If they're bankrolling Scott Walker they can have my money forever.
― Thulsa Doob (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 17 December 2009 16:33 (fourteen years ago) link
dunno. i used to love love love this label so much, but a friend just passed me a link to that "free downloads for xmas" page and i don't think i could get more than about 12 seconds into any of the tracks (except the one i already had - st.vincent)
i gave up on the label a long time ago - i think it was around the time that ivo sold it? but it was still a bit of a shock
― Karen Tregaskin, Thursday, 17 December 2009 16:55 (fourteen years ago) link
"The idea that a group like Pavement could be responsible for any kind of paradigm shift in anyone's thinking is just baffling to me"
I have love for all this too. I don't think I experienced a paradigm shift as you say. I think I got excited about a strain of music that I hadn't experienced before. A friend passed along a Jesus Lizard tape and a Polvo cassette. I was hooked immediately. I never got rid of my stack of 4ad collection tho. And I listen to a lot of other things besides these days. None of it ever "dreary".
― sknybrg, Thursday, 17 December 2009 21:34 (fourteen years ago) link
imo the label is pretty much the best it's been since the perfection of the '80-'83 period
― blarinet (electricsound), Thursday, 17 December 2009 22:21 (fourteen years ago) link
..until now
http://pitchfork.com/news/37663-gang-gang-dance-sign-to-4ad/
puke
― blue lightning accent (electricsound), Monday, 25 January 2010 03:00 (fourteen years ago) link
Uh, pretty great signing actually. Not sure they fit with the 4ad "sound" (whatever that is anyway), but their last album was outstanding.
― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 25 January 2010 03:04 (fourteen years ago) link
Wow. Just noticed that Stornoway have signed to 4AD! This is pretty awesome news! http://beggarscanada.beggarspromo.com/?pg=2 4AD is fast becoming my favourite label with the Mountain Goats, St Vincent, Ariel Pink and now Stornoway on it. Great stuff.
― cajunsunday, Tuesday, 23 February 2010 13:24 (fourteen years ago) link
This one has definitely been done before. No doubt Nick will link to it shortly.Anyway Mark, sorry, but more clunkers than gems : Wolfgang Press, His Name is alive, Heidi Berry(!), Scheer, Xymox, Frazier Chorus, X-Mal Deutschland, Spirea X, Swallow, Pale Saints.... all useless.― Dr. C, Tuesday, July 3, 2001 8:00 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark
Anyway Mark, sorry, but more clunkers than gems : Wolfgang Press, His Name is alive, Heidi Berry(!), Scheer, Xymox, Frazier Chorus, X-Mal Deutschland, Spirea X, Swallow, Pale Saints.... all useless.
― Dr. C, Tuesday, July 3, 2001 8:00 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark
^^ SO RONG! - xcept for spirea x, obv ;)
― Man or Austro-Hungarian? (Pillbox), Tuesday, 23 February 2010 19:34 (fourteen years ago) link
4AD is fast becoming my favourite label with the Mountain Goats, St Vincent, Ariel Pink and now Stornoway on it. Great stuff.
I'm guessing you're not even 20 years old yet?
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 23 February 2010 19:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Not sure they fit with the 4ad "sound" (whatever that is anyway)
Yeah, there really isn't one anymore.
i know it was an Axis release as opposed to a 4AD one, but the Shox 45 is in my top 5 things Ivo ever released
― thrillionaire (electricsound), Friday, 26 November 2010 11:06 (thirteen years ago) link
huh so this label sucks now
what the hell happened
― take a trip to the local rainbow (electricsound), Monday, 18 April 2011 22:58 (thirteen years ago) link
they are just a beggar's banquet imprint and a logo and have little to nothing to do with 4ad. that said I think they are releasing more quality stuff these days than they were a few years ago.
― akm, Monday, 18 April 2011 23:12 (thirteen years ago) link
akm, I think you are right, they lost that 4ADness for a while. TV on the Radio and Blonde Redhead are good, so....Should I listen to Gang Gang Dance? I don't like their name.
― don't flux, whatever (u s steel), Monday, 18 April 2011 23:13 (thirteen years ago) link
You should listen to Afterschool Program Afterschool Program Dance instead. kip
― kkvgz, Monday, 18 April 2011 23:17 (thirteen years ago) link
being slightly trolly but it seemed like they were at the top of their game in 09/10 but the stuff out this year so far has been completely repellent to me
― take a trip to the local rainbow (electricsound), Monday, 18 April 2011 23:20 (thirteen years ago) link
> it seemed like they were at the top of their game in 09/10
o_O
Anyway, just listened to the original This Mortal Coil albums and 20 years on, I still really like was the cover of "I am the Cosmos", which was the first time I'd ever heard that song.
Gawd, this label was big in my life...I had a few posters back in college that I would LOVE to own today.
― john. a resident of chicago., Tuesday, 19 April 2011 01:28 (thirteen years ago) link
top of their recent game at least
― Pavlova und Obstquark (electricsound), Tuesday, 19 April 2011 01:39 (thirteen years ago) link
i don't know what they've put out this year. the last good album they had out to my mind was the national. I hear tuneyards are great; my friend is doing sound on their tour; but I still haven't heard them.
gang gang dance are dull, to me
― akm, Tuesday, 19 April 2011 03:13 (thirteen years ago) link
also, you know, deerhunter/atlas sound are not to be fucked with, in my mind anyway. bon iver, if that is your sort of thing, and iron and wine...I mean they are good and all. it's hard for me to think of them as 4ad bands which means the name doesn't mean much these days.
― akm, Tuesday, 19 April 2011 03:14 (thirteen years ago) link
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2011/05/4ad-ghosts-in-the-closet.html
― john. a resident of chicago., Saturday, 21 May 2011 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
"There were also more conventional rock bands including Throwing Muses and Unrest"
Wait... what?
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Saturday, 21 May 2011 17:54 (twelve years ago) link
pretty much the entire CLASSIC 4AD ROSTER type band is kind of 'oh god people are actually enthusiastic about this' territory for me
― thomp, Saturday, 21 May 2011 17:55 (twelve years ago) link
the entire set of c. 4ad r. type of bands, i mean
― thomp, Saturday, 21 May 2011 17:56 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, I feel that way about most non-4AD music.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Saturday, 21 May 2011 18:06 (twelve years ago) link
fair enough!
― thomp, Saturday, 21 May 2011 18:09 (twelve years ago) link
this article, though, is a little shaky. like, aside from the weirdly casual dismissal of the throwing muses, which is bizarre if you're going to focus on 1987 and lonely is an eyesore... the title is taken from the lyrics to fish! the writer seems unaware that the current 4AD roster, which I agree is strong, is basically beggar's banquet using the 4AD name. the majority of these bands were signed to 4AD *after* they got famous, not initially signed by 4AD like pretty much all of the classic-era bands.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Saturday, 21 May 2011 18:23 (twelve years ago) link
Back in the eighties a friend gave me a tape of "Filigree and Shadow". I actually like some of the instrumental pieces the best. It had a profound effect on me even though it is not my thing. I'm not accustomed to non-traditional singers. I just thought it had major balls.
― Deremiah Was a Bullfrog (u s steel), Saturday, 21 May 2011 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
whether you like 4AD bands or not, the answer to this thread is yes
― jumpskins, Sunday, 22 May 2011 01:27 (twelve years ago) link
Archaeological 4AD Fandom:
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/richhunt35/SUMMER2011058.jpg?t=1306165510
― Deremiah Was a Bullfrog (u s steel), Monday, 23 May 2011 15:47 (twelve years ago) link
The Essentia 4AD - over at Fact
― sam500, Monday, 30 January 2012 13:11 (twelve years ago) link
They had this awful little Josef K spin-off called The Happy Family on the label in 1982, not nearly as good as JK, though. What a clunker! The Happy Family album sounded like a slowed-down version of 'Spiral Scratch', had a sleeve that wasn't by 23 Envelope, and claimed to be a comedy concept album about a fascist dictator. What was Ivo thinking?― Momus, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (10 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Side note to Momus -- yeah, what was that one guy who led the band thinking?― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (10 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 5 July 2001 00:00 (10 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Times where Wikipedia is your friend...
― Mark G, Monday, 30 January 2012 13:25 (twelve years ago) link
There is a TON of 4AD on Spotify...even obscure early stuff that used to cost 90 jillion dollars. It is good stuff! I always had a bit of a guilt complex about listening to such sensitive music, but the dog likes it and he normally prefers blues and soul music.
― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Bulgarian Tourist Chamber (Mount Cleaners), Tuesday, 10 April 2012 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
Facing The Other Way: The Story of 4AD is the first history of the iconic and influential independent record label, 4AD. Telling the story from its inception in 1980, the book concentrates on the 20-year period when founder Ivo Watts-Russell created the musical hot house that unleashed bands such as Cocteau Twins, Pixies, Throwing Muses. The Breeders and The Birthday Party on an unsuspecting world. Drawing on extensive and frank interviews with artists and label staff during this halcyon period, music writer and long-time 4AD observer Martin Aston reveals one of the greatest stories of the British independent era yet to be told. To celebrate the publication of 'Facing The Other Way: The Story of 4AD' by Martin Aston, publishers The Friday Project and your hosts Rough Trade East present a unique Q&A session with legendary designer Vaughan Oliver, Matt Johnson (The The) and Miki Berenyi (Lush) on the night. Author Martin Aston will also be avilable to sign copies and meet fans of the label. The evening will feature an exclusive live DJ set from Dominic Appleton of 4AD super group, This Mortal Coil.
To celebrate the publication of 'Facing The Other Way: The Story of 4AD' by Martin Aston, publishers The Friday Project and your hosts Rough Trade East present a unique Q&A session with legendary designer Vaughan Oliver, Matt Johnson (The The) and Miki Berenyi (Lush) on the night. Author Martin Aston will also be avilable to sign copies and meet fans of the label.
The evening will feature an exclusive live DJ set from Dominic Appleton of 4AD super group, This Mortal Coil.
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Friday, 20 September 2013 12:50 (ten years ago) link
Author's Twitter avatar is the Rema-Rema EP, which prompted me to say to hell with it and pre-order the UK edition (out several weeks prior to the US edition).
Probably haven't had that same conflicted ugh!/yes! feeling since buying Ask Me Tomorrow as an import a few months before the US release.
― Andy K, Friday, 20 September 2013 13:25 (ten years ago) link
there's supposed to be a limited edition that comes with a 2 CD compilation of 4AD stuff, but Harper Collins is taking their sweet time with the pre-order process.
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Friday, 20 September 2013 14:18 (ten years ago) link
isn't there also a limited limited edition, like £100 worth? or is that the same one? i thought it was one of their art things, hadn't heard of the cds...
― koogs, Friday, 20 September 2013 14:52 (ten years ago) link
it's the same one
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Friday, 20 September 2013 14:53 (ten years ago) link
it's 4AD-related, so of course there are, at the minimum, four editions.
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Friday, 20 September 2013 15:14 (ten years ago) link
Dorian L's review in the Graun:http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/12/facing-other-way-4ad-aston-review
― Jeff W, Friday, 20 September 2013 15:36 (ten years ago) link
preorders now up:
https://facing-the-other-way.myshopify.com/
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Thursday, 26 September 2013 10:14 (ten years ago) link
I remember when "Lonely is an Eyesore" came out in that gorgeous sleeve and we got free postcards! I decorated my bedroom walls and later my cubicle at work with them. One guy I know bought more than one copy so he could have extra postcards.
Once I had a dream I visited a 4AD museum and they had all these crazy box sets, artwork, posters t-shirts.
― Sweetfrosti (I M Losted), Thursday, 26 September 2013 12:07 (ten years ago) link
read through about a third of this so far... can't put it down, really! some puzzling errors in song and album titles. terror couple kills colonel, twisted shadows. come on. they got tiny dynamine right though!
― erry red flag (f. hazel), Friday, 25 October 2013 21:02 (ten years ago) link