Lex correct thirded.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 09:44 (fifteen years ago) link
No way their going to make in the US. They look far too sincere to be taken seriously. Factor in the male singer's resemblance to Rick Astley and they've got zero chances of a career in the States.
Worst case scenario -they do become huge for a moment and twenty years after their fall a hit musical and a movie are penned in their honor and style. Mama Mia!
― Kublakhan61, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 11:57 (fifteen years ago) link
go see 'em, haters! the live show's thoroughly irresistible.
― CharlieNo4, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 12:05 (fifteen years ago) link
I've only got so long to live.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 12:14 (fifteen years ago) link
i know right, i'll never get back the 10 minutes of mp3 time i wasted on them :/
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 12:51 (fifteen years ago) link
jesus-pop
Funny you should say that because "10,000 Nights of Thunder" reminds me of a Relient K song I kind of like.
― jaymc, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 13:06 (fifteen years ago) link
one person i showed the video to was completely freaked out, in a 'these people are serial killers' way. they're not creepy, they're just...danish.
― jabba hands, Wednesday, 30 July 2008 13:10 (fifteen years ago) link
I had found Alphabeat quite disappointing thus far, but 'Boyfriend' has just got me and I've been listening to nothing else all day. It's crammed full of hooks. I was a bit surprised to find this thread and learn it's more than a year old. I'll need to give a bit of time to their other stuff.
I really like how controlled it is (so maybe the American Psycho comparison isn't that far out). It feels like they're dying to let rip and play the song at twice the speed, especially the drums which are way too ferocious for such a slow song, but all that frustration comes out in the chant at the end
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 8 August 2008 11:05 (fifteen years ago) link
There seems to be a lot of this 'Punchable Pop' around at the moment. I had to suffer repeated listenings of the Hoosiers late last year because they became my son's favourite band (for a period of about one month). That was bad enough but Alphabeat are ten times worse. Mercifully my son hates them too.
― dubmill, Friday, 8 August 2008 11:28 (fifteen years ago) link
I'd never have linked this to the Hoosiers if it wasn't for this thread. I still don't, really. It's just a fantastic record
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 8 August 2008 12:21 (fifteen years ago) link
I saw them compared to Deacon Blue somewhere and still consider that absolutely spot on.
― Xii, Saturday, 9 August 2008 09:58 (fifteen years ago) link
The Pete Hammond remix of "Boyfriend" is one of the greatest things I've heard this year, though I was already in the bag for this band anyway.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 9 August 2008 18:48 (fifteen years ago) link
"Fascination" is a great song. The happy-clappy exuberance of the video is a bit much, but I don't require them to be human beings for whom I feel any affinity. Apropos of VeronaInTheClub upthread, they should probably rename themselves The Rabidly Inane Cheerful Cheesy Bastards. But then, that would be irony, and everything would be ruined.
Punchable Pop is the greatest genre name ever. "Fascination" kinda fits the label, as in, waht the fuck are the lyrics about besides vague gibberings about "teenage" and "young dudes" and ghastly twee tidbits like "passion is our passion". Also, the male singer in the video is just asking for a punch with the way he's acting. Nevertheless, great groove and toon.
― Freedom, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 13:48 (fifteen years ago) link
Boyfriend is a lot better than original mix of Fascination
― Aare-Reuss Böögg (blueski), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:10 (fifteen years ago) link
dont understand how people could hate this!!!!
― gr8080 (max), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:18 (fifteen years ago) link
i think listening to too much balearica has made me soft
― gr8080 (max), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:19 (fifteen years ago) link
they do an acoustic cover of "digital love" that i really like despite having a distaste for 'acoustic' covers
no and yes
― burt_stanton, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:28 (fifteen years ago) link
I don't get this mob's appeal at all, and I'm not anti-pop by any means.
― chap, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:40 (fifteen years ago) link
what is a current pop song you like?
― They're a '90s odd couple. And an odds-on choice for laughs. (blueski), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:41 (fifteen years ago) link
Well I'm not really keeping much of an ear on the charts at the moment. I generally like stuff GA and The Sugababes put out, fairly standard really.
― chap, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:43 (fifteen years ago) link
i like my pop songs catchy, so Alphabeat fail by some margin. this is the most baffled i've been since people i typically consider sane came out for the Guillemots.
― i've never been so insulated (Roberto Spiralli), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:52 (fifteen years ago) link
Fascination and Boyfriend are two of the catchiest European chart Pop songs of the year
― They're a '90s odd couple. And an odds-on choice for laughs. (blueski), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:55 (fifteen years ago) link
i don't even think they're that great or anything but to deny they are catchy just seems so ludicrous
― They're a '90s odd couple. And an odds-on choice for laughs. (blueski), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:56 (fifteen years ago) link
i've heard both but can't remember how either go. (not that i'm complaining, mind.)
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:59 (fifteen years ago) link
is "i can't even remember how they go" the new old "and now or soon to be found at the bottom of the bargain bin in MVE" lazy worthless dismissal among critics?
― They're a '90s odd couple. And an odds-on choice for laughs. (blueski), Wednesday, 17 September 2008 15:02 (fifteen years ago) link
curiously divisive, this lot. everyone has an opinion!
― jabba hands, Wednesday, 17 September 2008 23:40 (fifteen years ago) link
The funny thing about a band like Alphabeat is that each camp (lovers/haters) tends to assume that they, uniquely, understand, while the other side just dont get it (this sounds like a truism, but as per jabba hands, the whole process is more divisive here). They are the indie equivalent of Ashlee Simpson or even early Britney Spears in this specific sense. Like, pretty much every dismissal of this band I've read implies that lovers of a song like "Fascination" are the indie equivalent of gullible sheep pop fans who can't see how the wool is being pulled over their eyes. There's an implicit Alex in NYC anti-pabulum edge, although of course it's being wielded in reverse.
I think the truth is more complicated. All of my alarm bells went off with this song but I love it anyway, like it turns its dodgy qualities into a plus. Whereas an example of a song that I still like but remain sufficiently conflicted about that I can't love unambiguously is Mint Royale's "Don't Falter".
― Tim F, Thursday, 18 September 2008 06:17 (fifteen years ago) link
"Don't Falter" >>>>>>>>>> "Fascination".
And I love "Fascination".
― Owner of a lonely hat (edwardo), Thursday, 18 September 2008 14:43 (fifteen years ago) link
This lot also wouldn't go down at an office party either. Stick to Rihanna and Bon Jovi for that.
― Carrie Bradshaw Layfield (The stickman from the hilarious 'xkcd' comics), Thursday, 18 September 2008 14:48 (fifteen years ago) link
i made a bunch of people listen to this and no one liked it :(
― THE GAMBLER (max), Thursday, 18 September 2008 15:13 (fifteen years ago) link
Edward, perhaps my feelings are affected by actually being friends with a Britpop/indie-pop revivalist at the time that song came out. She would take me to clubs where everyone dressed up like they were auditioning to join My Life Story and that song and "The Boy With The Arab Strap" would play and everyone would go "crazy" and do skipping-dances on the dancefloor while mouthing the words.
In fact if i went to such a club now I'd probably sour on "Fascination" very quickly.
― Tim F, Thursday, 18 September 2008 22:22 (fifteen years ago) link
"Fascination" reminded me of some lost Disney movie song and dance number from, say, "A Goofy Movie."
turns out the Goofy Movie songs I was thinking of in particular were written by Prince for the movie. Mind status = blown, etc
― Cunga, Sunday, 4 April 2010 04:49 (thirteen years ago) link
zmfg "DJ" is an earworm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHp-BP4d90o
― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Monday, 5 July 2010 00:21 (thirteen years ago) link
I like that considerably more than any other Alphabeat tune I've heard.
― rhythm fixated member (chap), Monday, 5 July 2010 00:24 (thirteen years ago) link
they have a great producer (no idea, just judging from the way the verses are stacked/constructed).
― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Monday, 5 July 2010 00:29 (thirteen years ago) link
So there's a new Alphabeat album... I had a viscerally negative reaction to the title track but it's kind of burrowing its way into my head. Since I Met You is my favorite so far.
― skip, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 22:37 (eleven years ago) link
Had a soft spell for The Spell when that was out, until the middle-8 with the geezer started , "Oi mate, you should be rapping".
― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 22:43 (eleven years ago) link
started *singing* that should read. The lady looks mightily unimpressed in the video.
Listening to the album clips on Youtube; they've taken a hefty melodic swipe from the 'How Will I Know' chorus in one of the tracks.
― Chewshabadoo, Wednesday, 26 September 2012 22:47 (eleven years ago) link
Stine released a new single a couple months ago. It's...okay.
But I'm just now listening to the third album from 2012. I put it off so long because I hated The Spell so much. Express Non-Stop turns out to be a HUGE improvement. I wonder if they're done now.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 18 June 2015 08:09 (eight years ago) link
Stine released an entire mini album! It's great, 'Not What I Came For' is my choice pic
― nxd, Thursday, 18 June 2015 09:28 (eight years ago) link
AH, so I see. "Karma Town" was the song I'd heard, but after playing "Prototypical" and "Move Forward" I'm a little more into it.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 18 June 2015 12:22 (eight years ago) link
yeh karma town gets a bit annoying after repeated listensfor some reason i thought there was a 10 minute version of prototypical but i'm failing to find it anywhere
― nxd, Thursday, 18 June 2015 13:32 (eight years ago) link
Inspired by this thread to listen to 10,000 Nights of Thunder, which is still amazing. Looks like The Spell is on Spotify, but I've never seen Express anywhere.
― campreverb, Thursday, 18 June 2015 20:34 (eight years ago) link
ENS was apparently only released in Scandinavia, though two of its singles are on US Spotify.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 18 June 2015 20:53 (eight years ago) link
wow they really shit the bed on The Spell, huh? Not that I gave it the most extensive listen, but then, if an Alphabeat song doesn't grab you right away, what's the point?
― campreverb, Thursday, 18 June 2015 20:58 (eight years ago) link
if an Alphabeat song doesn't grab you right away, what's the point?
Ha! This is so otm.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 18 June 2015 21:10 (eight years ago) link
I never listened to The Spell except for "Always Up With You", which works on account of basically being Felix's "Don't You Want Me".
― Tim F, Thursday, 18 June 2015 21:11 (eight years ago) link
New single (after a 6 year hiatus). It's decent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08vwkde3GM
― daavid, Friday, 1 March 2019 19:04 (five years ago) link
It's weird how much I love this new single.
― kitchen person, Sunday, 3 March 2019 06:03 (five years ago) link
This is... fine.
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 3 March 2019 15:43 (five years ago) link
This one is pretty boring.
― skip, Thursday, 14 March 2019 15:07 (five years ago) link
huh.
― campreverb, Thursday, 14 March 2019 18:27 (five years ago) link