Severed Heads: CDSD

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hi lauren! are you going to be in miami this week?

sean - please do make that available as an mp3. i'd like to hear it, even just out of curiosity. i adore 'dead eyes opened'. joakim from tigersushi has done a really excellent re edit of it that should be out soon. i was a bit wary as it's such a sacred song but he has done a very respectful job.

i never knew that ink records ripped them off but i have to say, if it wasn't for ink releasing their stuff over here, i don't think i'd have discovered them until much later when nettwerk started putting their music out.

and dan, i used to be mad about skinny puppy but i can't say i have put on any of there records in the last decade whereas severed heads are always on my stereo. most people in the uk probably only know 'greater reward' and think they made house records as it was a huge dancefloor hit in the summer of love ('88). that piano - mmmmmm!

― stirmonster, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago) link

yes, twitch! i'll be there. see you friday?

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 15:58 (twenty years ago) link

six months pass...

Okay, so one of the more intriguing things I learned about the grand LTM label is that they're going to be doing some sort of reissuing of Severed Heads stuff, and as an early teaser of that, here's a great and utterly exhaustive new biography up on the LTM website.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 4 September 2004 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link

I already own it all, ned!

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:05 (nineteen years ago) link

I mean, it would be silly of them to reissue all that stuff if i already have it. Wouldn't it?

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:10 (nineteen years ago) link

But it would be shiny and sparkly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:23 (nineteen years ago) link

who's gonna reissue this Nasmak record i'm listening to right now. play that funky postpunk, dutchboy!

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 4 September 2004 19:00 (nineteen years ago) link

you can never have too much severed heads. my favourite all-time band ever.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Saturday, 4 September 2004 19:10 (nineteen years ago) link

this reminds me, i still have to digitize the 2 vhs tapes of theirs i have

― david acid (gareth), Saturday, 4 September 2004 19:25 (nineteen years ago) link

Best album? I reckon it's a close race between Since the Accident, Clean and Blubberknife.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Saturday, 4 September 2004 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

the weird thing is he's starting with Rotund for Success.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Saturday, 4 September 2004 23:16 (nineteen years ago) link

That era of Severed Heads was almost a different band, lineup wise. That was the Tom-only era.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Saturday, 4 September 2004 23:33 (nineteen years ago) link

Can't wait for reissues. All I own is the "Petrol" 12" and Cuisine, both of which I love.

― (Jon L), Saturday, 4 September 2004 23:47 (nineteen years ago) link

i bought blubberknife on cassette when i was 14 and haven't been the same since. it was inspiring to hear as that was my casio + radio + janet jackson cut-up and overdub phase.

rotund for success is easily my favorite album of theirs. "greater reward", it's b-side "nation", "all saints day", and "big car" all should've been huger than huge.

in the earlier days of sevcom.com, they were offering the entire catalog as a free download. a friend of mine has all of it on one mp3 cd. it's impressive and humbling.

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 00:04 (nineteen years ago) link

When i was in high school I made a 90 min cassette of sev heads that was brilliant. anyway, I do love Rotund for Success, but it doesn't seem as defining as the CD of Come Visit the Big Bigot w/ Dead Eyes Open, which I think is a closer mix of the weird and the pop, or perhaps because that was my first cd purchase of theirs.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Sunday, 5 September 2004 03:18 (nineteen years ago) link

i think rotund is an excellent starting point. my fave SH album is bulkhead, but it's really just a singles compilation..

― purple patch (electricsound), Sunday, 5 September 2004 08:26 (nineteen years ago) link

bulkhead is indeed great. i wish they would have put a shorter version of "hot with fleas" on it and added "all saints day", but as a comp it's a perfect introduction to the weird and the pop. there's always bulkhead plus!

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 12:59 (nineteen years ago) link

go to www.sevcom.com and you'll see the bulkhead plus cd, and many others lovingly hand-crafted by mr. ellard himself.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 5 September 2004 13:11 (nineteen years ago) link

I just think Rotund and esp. Bulkhead lean to far towards the later dancier period, neglecting all that wonderfull stuff on those early records. That's why I think Come Visit the Big Bigot w/ Dead Eyes Open makes a nicer starting point, is all.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Sunday, 5 September 2004 17:50 (nineteen years ago) link

i started on goodbye tonsils, then come visit the big bigot then there's no going back

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 5 September 2004 18:43 (nineteen years ago) link

i just pulled out clifford darling..for the first time in a long time cuzza this thread. it always makes me happy!

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 5 September 2004 19:02 (nineteen years ago) link

...the big bigot has "sam loves you" = classique

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 22:55 (nineteen years ago) link

one month passes...

*bump* - if only because SPK and Foetus are top of the ILM thread list at thew moment, so let's make it a trifecta for the weird Aussies.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Thursday, 4 November 2004 01:50 (nineteen years ago) link

ahh, i love seeing my threads bumped

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Thursday, 4 November 2004 02:06 (nineteen years ago) link

I remember hearing 'Dead Eyes Opened' on the radio when I was a kid, it used to spook me a quite bit. It seemed kinda cheesy then, but I'm sure I'd appreciate it more now.

I'd buy something if I ever saw them around.

And Jim, do you still have Priviledge?

― Sasha on a different PC, Thursday, 4 November 2004 05:42 (nineteen years ago) link

yes i do.

i've always thought "Dead Eyes Opened" to be one of Ellard's less interesting works. on the other hand, "Canine" OWNS.

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Thursday, 4 November 2004 05:45 (nineteen years ago) link

four months pass...

Anybody heard the new album/soundtrack by Severed Heads? It's called "Illustrated Family Doctor".

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Sunday, 13 March 2005 14:29 (nineteen years ago) link

yeah, it's pretty and ambient and probably works well as a soundtrack but it's not really compelling listening

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Sunday, 13 March 2005 23:58 (nineteen years ago) link

I've been playing Rotund For Success a lot recently; actually "Big Car" caused me to rear-end a minivan (true story).

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 14 March 2005 02:38 (nineteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Hey, something I was wondering...I went to the SevCom site recently and it looks like Ellard is offering up all of the old albums in new packaged, but it looks like they're all home-burns from the man himself. Anyone actually try out any of these? Are they worth it? I am intrigued but I'm actually a bit wary of buying burned copies rather than pressed copies.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:24 (nineteen years ago) link

i got a few that way - Twister Retread abnd GigaPlus and a couple of others. Quality is fine.

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:39 (nineteen years ago) link

What's the artwork like? Is it anything special beyond being made by the man himself? Is it worth replacing the Nettwerk CDs perhaps?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:47 (nineteen years ago) link

i can't say anything about replacing stuff, but the artwork is ok, nothing special about the cd inserts, and the typography is a little basic. i had to check this just now, cos it's not something i'd thought about til you asked! nb, i am not wearing my glasses right now

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:54 (nineteen years ago) link

Speaking of not replacing, the LTM reisssue of Rotund For Success is NOT really a song-for-song replacement aid for the Nettwerk release. "Triangle Tangle Tango" is COMPLETELY different on both. I like both, but as different songs. Also, the remix of the LTM version different enough such that it might be worth keeping the Nettwerk and/or Important issue around.

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 2 April 2005 09:25 (nineteen years ago) link

I would like to reiterate that the version of "Big Car" on RFS is wildly, impossibly wonderful. Even if it did make me have a car accident.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Saturday, 2 April 2005 13:51 (nineteen years ago) link

ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM, DANG... YOU'VE MADE IT!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 2 April 2005 23:22 (nineteen years ago) link

always thought it was 'all the way to the bottom, maggie...' for some reason.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Saturday, 2 April 2005 23:45 (nineteen years ago) link

me too?

― moley, Sunday, 3 April 2005 01:10 (nineteen years ago) link

(well, you see, i know it's "maggie", but I was addressing Dan Perry, who also goes by the alias of "Dang" on occasion, and I was using the reference as a method of conveying my condolences for the car accident.)

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 01:55 (nineteen years ago) link

doh! ok. thought my memory was playing tricks with me.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 02:20 (nineteen years ago) link

aha!

Am I right to believe that very few o.s. Heads fans are aware of their earlier material, from Since The Accident backwards to Blubberknife (but not the crap Ear Bitten before that one)? This early Heads phase is pure gold, my friends.

― moley, Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:11 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm aware of it all. i got into them when 'big bigot' came out and worked my way backwards. actually i've not heard 'ear bitten'. of the earlier releases i think my fave song has become 'gashing the mae west'.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:17 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm aware of it.. Nettwerk reissued the early stuff on two CDs making the late 80s/early 90s.. and cut the Blubberknife cassette in half between the two CDs (one was Since the Accident, the other was City Slab Horror)

Also, those old Ink records are not too hard to find used.. at least in the states, probably even easier in the UK, Australia, and/or NZ.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:31 (nineteen years ago) link

Though I hope LTM comes along and does better reissues of the early Severed Heads catalog soon... going backwards from Rotund. That would be perfect.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 03:32 (nineteen years ago) link

the sevcom releases of clean, 80s cheesecake and ear bitten are well worth a listen. also the double cd of city slab horror with lots of extra tracks. and how did no-one mention stretcher? it has the mighty heat seeking susan on it. and halo, possibly the best track ever to have 'hey hey nonny nonny no' in it's lyrics. you can stream / preview them via the drop down menu thingy on the sevcom site

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Sunday, 3 April 2005 06:15 (nineteen years ago) link

what's the best place to start? I love the joakim edit of "dead eyes opened", and apparently it's quite faithful to the original.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 07:34 (nineteen years ago) link

his edit is very, very faithful to the original. he's just slightly cut it up, re eq'ed the drums and added some cymbols. the 'dead eyes opened' ep which has the original and also includes the wonderful 'we have come to bless this house' is a good place to start as is the 'come visit the big bigot' album. for a more polished / accessible pop entry point, 'rotund for success' would be a good choice.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:08 (nineteen years ago) link

the thing is.. there isn't really any other Sev track like "Dead Eyes Opened", nor is there any other track like "Same Loves You", nor "Propeller". I could go on. Point being: if you buy a Severed Heads album, it's either a) going to vary wildly from track to track, meaning no entire album of "Dead Eyes Opened"s, or b) it won't vary wildly but it will be one of the latter releases which aren't as good, IMHO.

The most danceable Severed Heads album is probably Rotund For Success, which is the only album to get an LTM reissue. So that's your best bet. Then again, there's nothing like "Dead Eyes Opened" on it.. the Racic produced "All Saints Day" comes closest, but it sounds closer to late 80s New Order dance type stuff more than anything else (which isn't a bad thing!).

Severed Heads aren't a dance oriented type band.. they just have/had a dance facet (as of 1983) that's part of their overall strange, beautiful architecture.. if that makes sense. I could easily imagine an indie rock cover tribute album for Severed Heads just as easily as a techno tribute album for Severed Heads.

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:17 (nineteen years ago) link

On the same album where "Dead Eyes Opened" originates, Since The Accident from 1983, there's the track "A Million Angels" which pretty much invents hip-hop tempo "I.D.M.".. the track that follows it, "Houses Still Standing", sounds like an electronic version of "Comb", one of the Butthole Surfers' most nauseating songs (meant in a good way.) There's also the cheap sounding "Epilespy '82" which samples wolf cries onto a crunchy cheap synth beat. There's the very gutteral Steve Reich-ish "Gashing The Old Mae West", and then there's "Exploring The Secrets Of Treating Deaf Mutes", which pretty much invents mid-to-late 80s industrial dance music and thereafter.. Babyland, Die Warzau, and Nitzer Ebb owe as much to this track as they do to DAF. And then you get "Brassiere In Rome", which sounds more like a Steve Fisk/Negativland type tape loop track.

Did I mention that Since The Accident is one of the greatest albums ever?

― donut debonair (donut), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:23 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh yeah I don't need it to be dancey necessarily, I am not a total luddite!

ps-see you thursday stirmonster! I've been getting nervy!

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 3 April 2005 08:25 (nineteen years ago) link

Skipping 154 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

It's up for 48 hours replay, so latecomers might still be able to buy a ticket in that window? Worth it just to hear Tom doing a Beatles cover.

― Vance Vance Devolution (sic), Sunday, 9 October 2022 18:26 (one year ago) link

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