Blonde Redhead

Melody>Misery>23 is such an amazing run. Been playing them all week.

― willem, vrijdag 19 november 2021 7:52 (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Completely agree! It's the exact run that comes by here every now and again.

There was a period where every show they played was said to be incredible, I only saw them twice during this time (and it ruled both time), but every time a friend's band would come home from some festival they would get this look like "omg Blonde Redhead played and it was the best show I've ever seen". My best friend called me on the phone in 2000 just to say "I just heard a perfect album, come over" and he played me Melody. Every mix CD my friends made had "This Is Not" on it and everybody named Alex would get sick of people singing "ex, ex... Alex..." at them

I wanna re-listen to Misery onward while forgetting how much I love that first run of records. I always filed this band away mentally as a kinda proto-Deerhoof, with less-impressive drumming made up for with the "we like Chopin" voice leading choices. When Misery came out I think I was like "oh no this sounds like sad Postal Service" and never gave it more than a cursory listen. I saw them live in Utah in 2015 I think, it was very good but didn't have the same magic as the early days. Backing tracks did no favours for this band's show imo!

"There's a Gainsbourg-like mood/melodicism to..." [Willem, upthread]

My first exposure to Blonde Redhead was on the Gainsbourg tribute album (1997) in John Zorn's Radical Jewish Culture series. Kazu also appeared on the Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited album a few years later.

Loved them since the 1st album, but everything after 23 has felt like a letdown.

They were honestly the best live band going for two albums

― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, November 19, 2021 1:19 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

the first time i saw them was after melody came out and i didn't know any of their earlier stuff at the time, so at the show when they played shit like "water" at absolute full noise rock intensity i was like wait who the HELL are these guys? just incredible. the next day i was probably downloading a bunch of mp3s to track down that song.

during that period, Fake was my favorite out of all of them. i do appreciate their later run (melody --> 23), but it was especially great as a contrast against so much of that harder edged earlier stuff

I love the trajectory of BR's discography. Each album feels like a clear continuation of the album that came right before it - and yet comparing the late work to the early work, it might as well be two entirely different bands. Lots of bands evolve their sound over time but there is something insistently linear about the way BR did.

I was like "oh no this sounds like sad Postal Service"

Haha, this is brutal! Misery is the most intense, cold-sweat inducing, darkly seductive fever dream ever put down to music. Hugely important to me, which says precisely nothing, but twee sad Postal Service (which I enjoy in its own way, though way less meaningful) it is not, and not even close to my ears! I love the analogy nonetheless.

new album 'sit down for dinner' in september + US/EU tour dates announced on their website

https://blonde-redhead.com/tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZdpbE5W4xo

the LA venue is tiny and sold out in like ten minutes, kinda bummed they're not doing another show here

their show they have booked in St. Paul is also at a smaller venue than they've played in the past

Enjoying this album so far!

really like it my first listen through, had avoided the any of the prerelease tracks that were on streaming

never thought i'd get to see this band but they're coming through here later this month - psyched

this is so good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESZwc3Clbvc

Thanks, that is indeed so so good. Too bad I missed them when they came round here last December :-/