I've said this before but Rain on Tin is the best SY song because Thurston only sings for like 30 seconds and then it's just 8 minutes of guitar harmony heaven. Murray Street is the best.
― flappy bird, Sunday, 24 February 2019 22:15 (five years ago) link
I agree they weren’t trying to be Midnight Oil. (FWIW, “Kool Thing” was a moderate Modern Rock hit.)
― yuh yuh (morrisp), Sunday, 24 February 2019 22:22 (five years ago) link
My favourite SY album is Ciccone Youth but that’s just me. I listen to s/t and Confusion/Kill more than any other of their albums.
I like Sister fine and “Teenage Riot” is amazing. Jet Set is amazing. I found they really picked up toward the end and I really enjoy Nurse and Rather Ripped
I don’t know what to make of their golden era I guess. “Diamond Sea” does little for me
― flamboyant goon tie included, Sunday, 24 February 2019 22:33 (five years ago) link
I don't like The Whitey Album that much tbh but I guess I get off on a technicality there, since it's a Ciccone Youth album.
― silent as a seashell Julia (Sund4r), Sunday, 24 February 2019 23:11 (five years ago) link
Ryan Adams and his assorted projects were a big one for me, as I like my alt country/c&w/Americana. But I'm more than happy to shelve all that now. And yes I have tried to get into him before, but it never stuck.
― calumy (rip van wanko), Monday, 25 February 2019 02:54 (five years ago) link
The only problem I have with the Minutemen is that Double Nickels kind of towers over the rest of their catalogue but on the subject of the short songs poll, I've got to admit that They Might Be Giants is one of these bands for me. I do love 'Birdhouse' and 'Ana Ng' but haven't been able to get into anything else I've heard (I've tried with Flood and even owned Lincoln at one point).
― Gavin, Leeds, Monday, 25 February 2019 10:35 (five years ago) link
I like the Minutemen a lot but I don't think I've ever listened to double nickels on the dime from start to finish. It's just too much, even though almost all of it is very good. I've only ever owned it on CD, but I suspect that this is an album that benefited from the vinyl format where you would only listen to one of the four sides at a time.
― silverfish, Monday, 25 February 2019 15:52 (five years ago) link
and then you get the engine noise locked groove at the end and you'd just leave that running for a while
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Monday, 25 February 2019 16:23 (five years ago) link
I like Double Nickels a lot but I'm kinda surprised to see it show up on so many all-time lists tbh
― frogbs, Monday, 25 February 2019 16:25 (five years ago) link
It's only 80 minutes long. I used to listen to it on cassette, and had it so thoroughly memorized that when I heard the CD (which cuts three songs) it was effectively ruined for me. (And the CD version is the version that's on Spotify and available for download - if you want the full track listing now, you have to buy the vinyl.)
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 25 February 2019 16:28 (five years ago) link
The RIP Malk Hollis thread just reminded me of all my unsuccessful attempts to get into Talk Talk... maybe this will bring their later catalog into focus for me.
― enochroot, Monday, 25 February 2019 19:05 (five years ago) link
I'm in the same boat. Recently sold a Talk Talk compilation, too.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 25 February 2019 19:56 (five years ago) link
Same here. Haven't tried very hard though.
― flappy bird, Monday, 25 February 2019 20:00 (five years ago) link
my bloody valentine
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Monday, 25 February 2019 20:03 (five years ago) link
Never listened to Talk Talk before; streaming Spirit of Eden now. The first song is nine minutes long, and three minutes in it's all blooze-jam piano/guitar/harmonica. This isn't gonna end well, I fear.
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 25 February 2019 20:43 (five years ago) link
i don't really care about their later stuff but "such a shame" and "it's my life" are all time
― brimstead, Monday, 25 February 2019 20:44 (five years ago) link
blooze jam is totally relevant for talk talk - think Hollis was a massive fan of traffic, their influence runs deep in talk talk’s music
― goats eat grandma (NickB), Monday, 25 February 2019 20:49 (five years ago) link
You should probably try Laughing Stock instead, unperson.
― pomenitul, Monday, 25 February 2019 20:50 (five years ago) link
The appropriate listening context for the late period talk talk albums is a dark, quiet room
― Karl Malone, Monday, 25 February 2019 20:51 (five years ago) link
Traffic is definitely a band I've tried to like and it's just never happened. In principle, I like what they're about, but the execution just leaves me yawning.
I'm now midway through the second song on Spirit and didn't notice the transition - that's not a good sign.
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 25 February 2019 20:53 (five years ago) link
Saint Etienne are the quintessential band I ought to really like but are only lukewarm towards. Everyone I know who's enthusiastic about them has really similar taste to mine.
― frogbs, Monday, 25 February 2019 21:01 (five years ago) link
^Yeah, I tried w/them several times (first as early as the '90s), and just couldn't engage, despite how they simpatico they sounded "on paper."
I guess the Mekons are also on that tip.
― yuh yuh (morrisp), Monday, 25 February 2019 21:18 (five years ago) link
i am flabbergasted about how many people did not get into late talk talk. my advice: you need good speakers to really appreciate them. just do not expect anything, let the music flood over you. and have a lot of patience. the light should be dimmed, that's right.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 25 February 2019 21:19 (five years ago) link
It's music I can respect, but I'm rarely looking for that particular mood.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Monday, 25 February 2019 22:01 (five years ago) link
Colour of Spring hits the sweet spot for me between the pop structure of the early stuff and the instrumentation of the later stuff. I like and admire the last two records, but I'd rather listen to Colour of Spring any day
― Vinnie, Monday, 25 February 2019 22:40 (five years ago) link
Morphine is one of those bands that "everyone" seemed to like, and I was left thoroughly nonplussed. Then I saw them in Scaruffi's all time top 5 albums or something and was just slackjawed. I have a severe aversion to their sound, but what makes it puzzling is that there doesn't seem to be anything there to "get" that maybe I'm not getting.
― calumy (rip van wanko), Monday, 25 February 2019 23:09 (five years ago) link
they're cool but Soul Coughing was a lot more dynamic and fun (though their singer is def worse)
― frogbs, Monday, 25 February 2019 23:12 (five years ago) link
― Vinnie, Monday, February 25, 2019 5:40 PM
Same.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 00:02 (five years ago) link
xxp Morphine was cool, I can certainly see how their sound wouldn't be for everyone; but I rarely ever sen them even mentioned (let alone posed as some kind of consensus band)!
― yuh yuh (morrisp), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 00:28 (five years ago) link
they're cool but Soul Coughing was a lot more dynamic and fun (though their singer is def worse)just saw a thing claiming SC was touring, looked closer and it's Doughty without the other guys which is ... the opposite of what I want.
― Uhura Mazda (lukas), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 00:42 (five years ago) link
think Hollis was a massive fan of traffic, their influence runs deep in talk talk’s music
Oh right, cool, didn't know that, he was right!
― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 00:49 (five years ago) link
yeah that makes total sense but I have never made the connection
― sold out in presale (sleeve), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 01:47 (five years ago) link
have had
― sold out in presale (sleeve), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 01:48 (five years ago) link
just saw a thing claiming SC was touring, looked closer and it's Doughty without the other guys which is ... the opposite of what I want.
yeah he's doing the entirety of Ruby Vroom which is pretty ballsy considering he literally wrote an entire book to explain why he doesn't play Soul Coughing songs anymore
― frogbs, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 14:59 (five years ago) link
https://frinkiac.com/video/S13E08/RyZxP1xlzgjfJkKUfyCdutEDw3c=.gif
― a large tuna called “Justice” (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:19 (five years ago) link
Stereolab checks all the right boxes for me but something always sounds a little too, idk, tight about them? I haven't gone through the whole discog and occasionally I hear something I like, but they never completely do it for me.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 16:57 (five years ago) link
I've tried a bunch of times with them and can barely recall a note of their music. Too light rather than tight, I suppose, but then again I don't like their 50s/60s touchstones either.
― pomenitul, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:10 (five years ago) link
margarine eclipse is a late period sleeper for me, give that one a shot. recorded in double mono, so a great headphone album
― global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:11 (five years ago) link
I first got Transient Noise-Bursts while I was in a heavy Krautrock phase and left pretty unimpressed - "they're just directly copying Faust here and the long track is a big homage to Hallogallo" - I'm not quite sure what people hear in that record
ETK on the other hand I loved but it's been well over a decade since I heard that one
― frogbs, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 17:37 (five years ago) link
otm
― calumy (rip van wanko), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 18:06 (five years ago) link
Transient Random-Noise Bursts is the only one I truly like from beginning to end. It has a bit of a rougher production style which suits the music very well. Outside of that there are a bunch of individual songs I like, but no album feels truly great (and I've listened to most of their albums).
― silverfish, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 18:12 (five years ago) link
So difficult not to jump in the middle of this and start yelling at everyone.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 26 February 2019 18:13 (five years ago) link
minutemen and sonic youth are pretty much the only bands from that azerrad book that i enjoy listening to. i loved reading about almost all the bands in it though
― marcos, Tuesday, 26 February 2019 18:16 (five years ago) link
I listened to Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock while writing yesterday. I liked them but I'm not crazy about Hollis' voice. Does warrant more listening though.
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 18:14 (five years ago) link
His voice has that animated 80s style that's hard to describe, or at least a version of it. He has a great voice, but it's the inflections. I don't know. I love those records so much but I know what you mean.
― Evan, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 18:29 (five years ago) link
yeah I've never been crazy about his voice. i like indistinct "what are they saying" vocals sometimes but i sometimes am like "enunciate for the love of god"
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 27 February 2019 18:31 (five years ago) link
I've tried 2 or 3 times to listen to Talk Talk and don't think I ever made it through a single song. that's just me though, I do feel sad for everyone who loved his music of course.
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Wednesday, 27 February 2019 18:49 (five years ago) link
It's rather surprising to me that some avowed music fans haven't heard Talk Talk. Isn't this like the equivalent of saying in 1980 that you haven't heard the VU ?
― Nabozo, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 18:53 (five years ago) link
If indie and pop/rock music is your only framework for "music," this might seem flabbergasting to you, but you know, Anthony Braxton has, like, 400 albums, and I'd be way more interested in wading through more of those than listening to Talk Talk.
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 27 February 2019 19:00 (five years ago) link
Talk Talk was one of the first bands I heard of after becoming a serious music fan/searcher. Could never find their CDs, pre-YouTube and streaming, by the time I heard Laughing Stock I wasn't into it and never pursued them further. But yeah, they're always one of the first names to come up if you're seeking anything experimental/progressive/"arty."
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 27 February 2019 19:09 (five years ago) link