I'd seen Brainiac before in L.A. with Trans Am and Neutral Milk Hotel opening. (NMH literally ran into the venue, set up in 10 minutes, and played a peppy pogo-ey set in 20 minutes as a three piece, then ran off the stage, and left...)
― Dom iNut (donut), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 20:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― js (honestengine), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 20:11 (eighteen years ago) link
― Binjominia (Brilhante), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 20:44 (eighteen years ago) link
Enon is not Brainiac, for sure, but Enon is not crap! High Society is excellent, better in its own way than Believo!
But Brainiac is still supergenius.
― J (Jay), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 21:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 21:07 (eighteen years ago) link
Also, Marilyn Manson's Mechanical Animals album cover was a semi-homage to the Hissing Prigs... album cover.. although both were kinda homages to "l33t typ3".
― Dom iNut (donut), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 21:11 (eighteen years ago) link
2 4 6 8 / tell me who I'm supposed to hate!
― dar1a g (daria g), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 21:16 (eighteen years ago) link
enon are great, but they suffer live, because John's too busy trying to play the songs to be the dynamic frontman they need.
― i am not a nugget (stevie), Monday, 9 January 2006 16:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― js (honestengine), Monday, 9 January 2006 20:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Friday, 22 September 2006 14:07 (seventeen years ago) link
God I miss this band. I've been listening to their catalog non-stop on the Pod. Everything they released was great. Smack Bunny Baby is way overcriticized, although I liked Bonsai and Hissing Prigs a lot more as full albums. And soooo glad I saw them twice.
― Mackro Mackro, Monday, 2 June 2008 02:47 (fifteen years ago) link
Give me back my turquoise Albert Schweitzer doll.
― Mackro Mackro, Monday, 2 June 2008 02:49 (fifteen years ago) link
i still miss this bandhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lftZcBhFVsY&feature=related
― Trad., Arrrgh (stevie), Friday, 5 October 2012 11:32 (eleven years ago) link
I liked Brainiac in theory but couldn't quite get into Hissing Prig for ages, but then someone just recommended me Bonsai Superstar and wow! This album hits all the right spots for me. It sort of like a weirder version of Polvo mixed with a lysergic-inspired carnival barker/evil clown. Fun!
― Poliopolice, Tuesday, 3 March 2015 22:49 (nine years ago) link
Years ago @GriffinHamill turned me on to an incredible band called #Brainiac-Now the documentary about their influence (& tragically short career) is out on ITunes/Amazon/Vimeo & DVD- a really touching & funny film on a brilliant band! Check it out here: https://t.co/0WIeG0Z6sA pic.twitter.com/NLX3Quztcj— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) March 7, 2020
― mookieproof, Saturday, 7 March 2020 22:53 (four years ago) link
good news + best possible vehicle for delivering it
― cwkiii, Sunday, 8 March 2020 02:06 (four years ago) link
wowneed to go see this, going to be playing at a film festival here
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 8 March 2020 18:43 (four years ago) link
Got to see Brainiac once early on after "Smack Bunny Baby" came out with Bloomington's Pencil (guitar player now master mastering engineer Carl Saff's band). They were label mates on the Grass Records label at that time. Taylor was quite an entertainer on stage. I seem to recall that Brainiac played another all ages show in B-ton about a year later and I heard that one was a total burner but I did not go (probably had to work).
Love to check out the documentary. I got to figure there will be documentaries about all sorts of 90s indie rock bands continue to happen over the next decade.
― earlnash, Sunday, 8 March 2020 23:21 (four years ago) link
Saw em just the once at London's Garage on the Electro Shock tour. One of the greatest bands I've ever seen - Timmy was extraordinary, he was impossible to take your eyes off of. I was offered the chance to interview him for my zine, but I had too much day-job stuff going down and figured I'd catch them next time. One of my big regrets.
― Pinche Cumbion Bien Loco (stevie), Monday, 9 March 2020 09:56 (four years ago) link
Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero documentary is now up on Prime.
― punning display, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:40 (three years ago) link
yessssss
― Pinche Cumbion Bien Loco (stevie), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:30 (three years ago) link
Watched this last night
One of the best music docs I've seen in a while
What a fucking band
Melissa Auf Der Maur like..... really loves Brainiac, dang
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 14:05 (three years ago) link
she's awesome. i interviewed her when her album came out and she is Good People.
― Ray Cooney as "Crotch" (stevie), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:20 (three years ago) link
yeah she seems really cool
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 18:01 (three years ago) link
I had no idea they'd reunited! supporting Mogwai in the UK and playing a couple of headline shows next Feb
― even the birds in the trees seemed to whisper "get fucked" (bovarism), Saturday, 5 November 2022 15:28 (one year ago) link
Feel like an important member might miss the gigs sadly
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 5 November 2022 15:39 (one year ago) link
yeah I have no idea how they are going to handle that, new singer or someone else in the band doing the vocals? dunno.
― even the birds in the trees seemed to whisper "get fucked" (bovarism), Saturday, 5 November 2022 15:59 (one year ago) link
I love Brainiac but Taylor seems about as irreplaceable as a band member could be
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 5 November 2022 16:14 (one year ago) link
Timmy is irreplaceable, but those songs are great, and it would be good to hear them played live again, and it would be good to hear them played by those musicians whose careers were cut short in the most tragic circumstances. Still no idea who will handle vocals, though John Schmersal sang great in his subsequent band Enon.
― bible fumes (stevie), Saturday, 5 November 2022 22:37 (one year ago) link
I've bought tickets already and am crazy excited for the show. Seeing Brainiac headline the Garage in London on their last tour was one of the most unnerving and unforgettable shows I've ever seen.
― bible fumes (stevie), Saturday, 5 November 2022 22:38 (one year ago) link
What timing, this ran the other day
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/brainiac-album-guide
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 6 November 2022 15:31 (one year ago) link
Missing the best, most weird, most infernal, most brilliant Brainiac LP, Bonsai Superstar, which I believe the band would love to reissue but still belongs to the long-shuttered Grass Records.
― bible fumes (stevie), Sunday, 6 November 2022 17:19 (one year ago) link
Yeah there's a lot of Grass stuff still tied up in the ether, really sucks.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 6 November 2022 17:22 (one year ago) link
Still kicking myself for giving away my vinyl copy 20 or so years ago, as I'd """upgraded""" to a CD copy...
― bible fumes (stevie), Sunday, 6 November 2022 17:37 (one year ago) link
I got to interview the surviving members for this piece, 26 years after I stupidly turned down the chance to interview Brainiac for my fanzine because I figured I could catch them next time they were in London. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/23/brainiac-on-life-after-tim-taylor-he-used-to-walk-offstage-with-bruises-in-the-shape-of-his-effects-pedals
― his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Monday, 23 January 2023 21:31 (one year ago) link
BETTER BE GOOD (I have no doubt it is good).
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 00:12 (one year ago) link