Crystal Castles

I stopped listening to them because of their ongoing assholishness - we're all assholes some or a lot of the time but these guys take it too goddamn far, there's enough other good music that I'll be fine if I miss out on a good CC jam because of my reactionary stance

I don't miss the video-game sounds at all; there's so much else going on with their sound that they don't need to fall back on that gimmick.

I stopped listening to them because of their ongoing assholishness - we're all assholes some or a lot of the time but these guys take it too goddamn far, there's enough other good music that I'll be fine if I miss out on a good CC jam because of my reactionary stance

I understand the sentiment, because I hear it all the time from friends who refuse to listen to Kanye West, but those people are missing out on fantastic music.

yeah if there was a fantastic music shortage & CC wasn't being dicks to people I know personally to be stand-up dudes, it might be one thing - but really, "missing out on fantastic music" just makes room for more fantastic music, so fuck listening to these assholes no matter how good their records are imo

like, the bigger issue here is: they work within a subculture. kanye west being a loose cannon, who cares, all the people he's actively making trouble for are also multi-millionaires. crystal castles relies on a community made up largely of people who work long hours for low pay to make it possible for touring bands to get paid for their work, and they routinely screw over the members of that community. the only possible recourse against such assholism, within the community, is to deny them the attention & money that enables them to continue. (I suppose one could also try to engage them and persuade them that fucking people over is wrong. Good luck.) missing out on their good music seems a small price to pay if in the exchange one increases the likelihood of such dickheads being driven from the community.

you could also download their album illegally and burn 50 copies and give them away to anyone you know who likes them before the album is released

but maybe i'm an asshole too idk

I agreed with that stance totally until I read http://www.pileup.com/babyart/blog/?p=201. It seems like dude was perfectly okay with their idea theft after they threw some $ his way. Dolla, dolla billz y'all.

deny them the attention & money that enables them to continue

Or just download their stuff for free, enjoy it, and stay away from them in a live setting. You've got about a 30% of them not showing up or Alice throwing an onstage temper tantrum and canceling the show anyway, so it works out for the best, really.

I think listening to it is still support - gotta hit 'em where it actually hurts by not listening. downloading & listening = "it doesn't matter how we treat people, you're still going to listen to our music"

(and also by not responding to attention-seeking behaviors obv. but too late on that call lol)

I know this ends up in an all-musicians-are-dicks-anyway classic argt btw so we ain't gotta really get into it, I just think in this case where the subculture within which they function actually has a choice about whether cc's behavior has consequences or not, everybody should opt for actually making a difference & not giving them coverage/bookings/etc

Why can't everyone be more like Andrew W.K.

...helping children blow things up?

He also helps them have fun and be safe while doing it!

the hired actor or the real andrew wk? http://walrusmusicblog.com/blog/the-andrew-w-k-from-the-i-get-wet-album-was-a-hired-actor/

Nooooo let's not go down that rabbit hole on this thread.

Really like most of this album, although I skip some tracks which are just too abrasive for too long (/too old).

yes, I'm feeling this one for the moment. Can't wait to listen to it in a car

i like this a lot too

some of the softer songs are, weirdly, pretty reminiscent of Mylene Farmer (esp. the single).

they're on a more manic thing than gang gang dance, but that's who they make me think of these days. sort of a post-everything dance band.

Actually really looking forward to following this band in the future. I just wish Alice would differentiate herself from Karen O a little more.

I got worked up for a moment, then I realized its Crystal Stilts I'm partial to. Oh well...

sampling Sigur Ros like this is nagl imo

Castles fans should listen to some DAT Politics.

still on my first listen, but i'm enjoying this! unsurprising, though, b/c i really liked their last record

wasn't even planning on buying it or listening to it, but randomly picked it up when i saw it in the "new" section of my local record store earlier. glad i did!

HOLY SHIT is "Not In Love" gorgeous

like, ridiculously so

I really wish they'd tone down the massive self-conscious hipster bullshit thing they've got going because some of their music is really quite affecting. I like the last track that sounds like they're wrenching animal noises out of their equipment.

I'm really loving this album. I haven't heard anything off their first record save "courtship dating" so I don't really understand the connections to 8-bit or that scene because I'm not getting it so much off this one. The music sounds more like A Sunny Day in Glasgow than anything else.

xpost animals drowning. It works in their favor that they've used these noisier moments sparingly. The harsh vs comforting sound of this album is really satisfying.

nick from diamonds is reporting that these dudes died of PCP overdose.

wait - both of them?

hm.... he's also posting that the New Pornographers all died in a fiery bus crash. I think he's fantasizing out loud.

Yeah, pretty hilarious.

These sorts of 'jokes' = dud

maybe the New Pornographers did die and Crystal Castles were just trying to blatantly rip them off?

RIP

hope you're being a pair of unpleasant turds in heaven

Er, wow. Saw them in Nottingham last night, really wasn't expecting much - but that was the best gig I've seen this year. (Well, I say "seen" - the band were barely visible behind the smoke and strobes). The music scales up brilliantly, tracks like Crimewave and Baptism turning into thunderous juggernauts.

i'd like to see them based on what you say. LP favourites are 'Empathy' and 'I Am Made Of Chalk'.

This is awesome.

loving this

Okay, when did this band decide to actually go from bad to great?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32udqal_lyQ

I've avoided the second album until now because I just assumed it was more of the first.

This sounds good with Robert Smith. I can finally make sense of the lyrics. I wasn't that off I think:

NOT IN LOVE

I found your picture
in the back of my door.
Wont keep you at home, no one lives here anymore.
and now it burns
now we can't be friends
nothing here should end
Here we go again. Bwa bwa bwa.
Cause it's cold outside, when you coming home?
cause it's hot inside, we could lay in the park.

I'm not in love

Could it be that time has taken it's toll
won't take you so far, I am in control
and now it burns
now we can't be friends
nothing here should end
Here we go again. Bwa bwa bwa.
Cause it's cold outside, when you coming home?
cause it's hot inside, we could lay in the park.

I'm not in love
We are not in love

― Moka

transcribe crystal castles lyrics

The new album is fantastic.

I like the first album but then again I also like Atari Teenage Riot and Severed Heads

Why does no-one mention 'Celestica' on this thread?!? Top ten for me this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JITI0FskSG0

Holy shit this song with Robert Smith is amazing.

yeah 1st album was OK but the new one is pretty great