mac demarco

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f0/01/16/f0011601abda507f24d793b18c2e5459.jpg

I was really surprised that that was his network tv debut, figured he'd already done everybody's show twice by now.

Wow, "On The Level" is a really ploddingly boring song isn't it.

no it's good, the whole album is good

otm

i keep coming back to the final track, "Watching Him Fade Away." far and away the most moving song he's ever written, just devastating... it makes total sense that his favorite record of all time is John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band... I love this performance of the song, especially when he hits himself in the head with the mic at 1:55... that's fucking real, not this beach ball chill dude stoner formless baseball cap shit that he's spawned/known for... I just got the new issue of Tape Op in the mail and there's a big interview with him about his recording process, can't wait to read when I get home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2T8BRbcybw

yeah it's an honest record, and he makes the prosaic thing work very well, the songs are quite relatable

diminishing returns for me. the last couple albums are a bit plodding to my ears. i like a few of the tracks on the new one a bunch ((my old man, this old dog) and like him over acoustic guitar , but i haven't gone back to listen to it since the first week it came on spotify.

I dunno if I can see what my most played albums of the year are but I'm guessing it's this one and the new Tinariwen

i wish i liked it more, i am a mac demarco booster for sure

Salad Days is what hooked me so I'm trying to get into the early stuff proper

is there a thread for "artists who you would never see live but love their records"? was thinking of starting one with Mac in mind. i've only seen him twice, once at a warehouse show in 2012 with like 30 people, and then a year and a half later at the 9:30 Club. sold out show, insufferable crowd, & Mac hamming it up. I didn't like Salad Days, but that show was so disappointing... it was all about the party at the expense of the music. also, a lot of his songs don't translate well live because of his recording techniques. "Baby's Wearing Blue Jeans" sounds so cool and creepy on that EP because he worked so much with tape speed. played in standard tuning, it was a pretty boring song. the best part about Another One was the way it sounded. This Old Dog has stronger songs that don't rely as much on production, so if he played here I'd see him again... but I ain't goin to DC again...

xp Rock 'n' Roll Nightclub is pretty good, like I said "Baby's Wearing Blue Jeans" is a gem.

i saw him once, it was an ok show. the band arrangements of some songs are a bit too straight ahead sometimes, i.e. freaking out the neighborhood is a lot "funkier" on record

yeah otm, the arrangements are very straight. the appeal of all of his records prior to This Old Dog was the way they sounded imo.

he does different shit with his vocals live, which i love. on record it's kinda in that lou reed mode... and then when he gets on stage it goes to some different places.

i like this better than the album version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWLe2_9a7Ps

sounds v good, interesting that it's slowed for copyright reasons

also interesting that there are plenty of fans interested in a live version of this song, kinda speaks to how he's somewhat positioned in rock history, personally I imagine that even though the recording techniques/studio gimmickry are interesting what'll eventually be his 'legacy' is that he wrote excellent songs

here's that tapeop interview, been waiting for something like this about Mac's recording techniques for years: http://tapeop.com/interviews/120/mac-demarco/

his work ethic is nuts, jesus.

also i love 2 (consider it one of my top five.. maybe ten favorite albums of this decade) and loved this antidote. just imagining the dude working those songs out alone while doing medical experiments and whatever other horse shit for petty tape reel cash is great.

"Sounds like a ton of work. Were your buddies doing this? Would you work for a day, and then go hang out with your buds and talk shop?

No, I closed myself off. The only person that really came in to see me was this guy living across the courtyard from my place. When I was mixing, he'd ask, "Can I come check it out? I'm a musician too." Other than that, Pierce came in and I almost had him sing backup vocals on "My Kind of Woman," but it didn't work out. I stayed at home for a month and figured it out. Now I can think, "Ooh, I want this sound." I'll go on Sweetwater.com, and it'll be here tomorrow morning. But, back then, it was like, "Fuck, this is all I have." I had no money. Even buying reel tape was like, "Fuck, twenty-five bucks!" Luckily there was a place across the street that had a whack load of weird shit."

nice interview!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw5JRwdlorQ

*listens to mac demarco once*
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JO_Tn9d9u1A/hqdefault.jpg

He needs to change his style for the next record otherwise he will be might be forgotten quite fast

i don't know about "forgotten" (he's made a bit of a mark here) but the enthusiasm will definitely decrease, i think.

I'm curious to see if his fans grow up with him & if he continues to gain new young fans. I think he could stay at the level he's at rn sorta like Animal Collective: his new records might get as much praise or attention, but he'll be fine if he can keep a devoted fanbase while continuing to bring in younger fans into the fold.

yeah... i was gonna say the strokes but then i remembered mac is a product of this era of music making and will never actually be "MAJOR LABEL MONEY" rich or whatever. he basically has a good set-up to do whatever the fuck he wants (maybe something amazing?) because he knows that none of this stuff isn't really that important. he's just doing his thing.

might not* i meant to say

because he knows that none of this stuff isn't really that important. he's just doing his thing.

i don't know about that, i think he's just free of the intense pressure & money involved in a major label/pop situation. selling out 1,000+ cap clubs & theaters and plateauing there is a pretty sweet position to be in imo. and yeah he has the freedom to potentially make something amazing, new, and unexpected.

he is free of it, and it's weird how he's like the only "indie rock star" currently (maybe car seat headrest a little now?) but still... he has a cool lane to continue progressing as an artist.

car seat headrest is a flash in the pan, dude is way too po-faced and impersonal to become a star like MD. he's essentially Father John Misty, but worse music and no sense of humor.

i'd put him above father john. teens of denial is pretty damn good in places. but yeah i definitely am not as excited by it as i am (and were) by mac's stuff

i don't care for either of them, but in terms of establishing a devoted fanbase that will follow you thru time, you've gotta get their hearts. MD admitted as much in a recent interview, it was sometime this year, that he did "a lot of internet stuff" at the start of his career. im sure he meets and talks to a lot of fans at his shows. he put his address at the end of a record and invited them over for coffee! it's a personal connection & also an audience that skews younger than CSH & FJM - that's important. the kid that fell in love with your record as a teenager will probably be at least peripherally aware of you the rest of their life.

definitely. but also car seat has a bunch of twitter fanatics into his music similar to mac. father john misty is of a different generation/time of indie music and combats that with cynicism and being a freaky hippie guy or whatever.

i could compare mac to paul westerberg omg

Struggling to think of a more jarring image than this pic.twitter.com/ZVeZl1WynS

— Nicky Smith (@MUGGER1992) October 23, 2017

lmao wearing a cross colors coat on charlie rose

mindlessly clicked my updated bookmarked threads and thought that was michael moore tbh

Old Dog Demos album is brilliantly enjoyable (if you like Mac)

I’ve no idea why he released this new record, this is the aural equivalent of not giving a fuck and it’s not nice, sir.

only heard a couple singles so far but man did he sound like he was phoning it in

Yeah this is mostly terrible, I don’t get why even release it. Unless he was being pressured by the label to release something, I think he might be seriously depressed.

Unless he was being pressured by the label to release something

Here Comes the Cowboy
Studio album by Mac DeMarco
Released May 10, 2019
Recorded 2019
Studio Los Angeles, California
Length 46:32
Label Mac's Record Label

mac demarco has released something half-assed? say it isn't so

i question mac demarco's giddyup

Oh if you thought the previous records were half-assed you ain’t hear nothing yet

Yeah, despite his image I never thought his records were half-assed. Particularly Another One and This Old Dog - those album sound great and the songwriting is really strong.

This guy is the definition of overrated

dunno, i think mac's a good guitar player, and the songs on 2, salad days, another one and this old dog have stood up quite well. not heard new stuff

I prefer his earlier stuff, think it's been diminishing returns since 2 which is prob my favourite thing he's done. Listening to the new one now, I'll give my thrilling opinion when I'm done

Part of his fame is obviously for extra musical reasons (he has charismatic star quality)

But that's hardly uncommon in popular music