Post a controversial music opinion

my sweet Lorde

When I think about “Spector’s influence on solo Lennon” I’m thinking less of POB (despite Spector’s credit) and thinking more of Imagine (produced by Spector) and Mind Games (indebted to his production style)

yeah I can hear Spector in Mind Games for sure

Spector's peak as a producer/writer was Death of a Ladies' Man.

Despite the fact that there is little to convince me that Spector had any technical prowess, and I am adamant that “wall of sound” era recordings have an outsized level of estimation insofar as Spector’s “genius”, I have to acknowledge that whatever he was doing was an effective bed for some blazing vocal performances

When I think of the contemporaneous Bacharach/David recordings, my favorites are always the ones that feature more low-key delivery— “Raindrops”, “This Guy…”, “San Jose”, “The Look Of Love”, “Walk On By”, “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”. Would the moments where Dionne gets shouty in her delivery (“Don’t Make Me Over”, “I Say A Little Prayer”) be improved had they been produced by Spector instead of Bacharach/David? Probably!

The argument is kinda moot for me tho because I’m such a much bigger fan of Stax and Motown production. Aretha and Jerry Wexler, that’s recording genius, to me

yeah i'd agree the motown and stax stuff is a level above, they hit a similar vibe to spector but i think had more respect for individual musicians

Spector is important and the WOS needed to happen but I can’t say that it always serves the songs best. Having said that, i’ll crank Be My Baby up loud and it sounds terrific.

Death of a Ladies Man is great and in that case the sound fits with the songs very well. Never understood why it’s so underrated.

We play the Xmas album over the holidays and it’s always a rush to turn it off before his creepy spoken word bit at the end.

Ah, Death of a Ladies Man was the first Cohen album that wasn't folky at all.

"There were lots of guns around in the studio and lots of liquor, a somewhat dangerous atmosphere."

.

Sleaford Mods is a long running prank on music critics.

I beg to differ, lol, speaking as the 14th post on the OG thread

I get prime-period Fall vibes off of this? very intrigued but it is largely incomprehensible, not that that's an issue for me

― sleeve, Thursday, February 27, 2014 1:45 PM (nine years ago) bookmarkflaglink

the guy really knows how to swear, I respect that, and I also love the silent bob type drinking beside him who I assume presses the buttons

― sleeve, Thursday, February 27, 2014 1:50 PM (nine years ago) bookmarkflaglink

oops sorry this is the challops thread, forgive my reflexive defense

All challopsers are required to accept challenges to duels!

It should be against the law to export Sleaford Mods records beyond their little island.

Someone on Twitter once called them "The Streets for football hooligans" and I've never forgotten it. I'm not even sure it's accurate, I've heard like five Sleaford Mods songs (which was five too many), but I still think it's funny

It should be against the law to export U2 records beyond their little island

There's a remix of a Sleaford Mods song that I like, but I think it's the remix that made it palatable.

I'm into their ambient remix album, 'Sleaford Moods' (ducks)

exporting records beyond their little island must be an alternate dimension beach boys album xpost Horrible 70s album titles like I've Got My Own Album To Do

my controp for the evening is that i don't think sleaford mods suck.

(on the technicality that i've got no opinion on them because i know nothing about them and have never knowingly heard their music)

SMs are what punk dads answer when asked if they listen to any "new stuff"

carly rae jeps also a critc prank

Aruba, Jamaica / ooh I wanna take ya
exporting records / beyond our little island
Key Largo, Montego / baby, why don't we go?

xp

Sleaford Mods are pretty terrible tbh. They're part of a venerable and profoundly corny UK tradition of miserabilism, stodgily reiterating what a shithole this country (as if we're not all aware of and suffering from its many problems) is without offering anything in the way of transcendence. Half Man Half Biscuit are ten thousand times more valuable than they ever could be. I listened to the new Slowthai album yesterday and that was unrelentingly, self-indulgently, cornily miserable too. The worst bit is that loads of critics and fans essentialise important UK music as this now

carly rae jeps also a critc prank

OTM

i like grace slick's voice even as deployed in the great society (the grebt society, call it by its name) :(

my controversial opinion is it's boring to compare every English group who talk sings as if they have anything to do with each other

I love Carly Rae Jepsen, tho maybe to add to the challops of this thread, I genuinely believe that “Comeback” is better than any of the other songs on Dedicated or Dedicated Side B.

I think that one reason I hate SMs, tho, is also that I frankly don’t care for the bands they supposedly sound like— I’m one of those who has never understood why The Fall are so good and important.

Now we're getting to the good stuff!

Mind you, I don’t hate The Fall, I just don’t get the hype

I have listened to five Sleaford Mods songs now. It reminds me of LCD Soundsystem more than anything, but cleverer in the lyrics and stoopider in the production. I like old crank lyrics like Cathal Coughlan but I like it less when it's the English doing it. It's fine? I know they're popular and I am happy for Rough Trade that they have a meal ticket band

I think I conflate Sleaford Mods and Idles (have only really heard a tune or two from each).

I have listened to five Sleaford Mods songs now. It reminds me of LCD Soundsystem more than anything

lol ... this makes me feel otm re my aversion to LCD Soundsystem, which is like dork rock for dudes who code who are too cool for They Might Be Giants which is the ur-dork rock for dudes who code

the emperors new clothes routine is so myopic and tired

I had to grow a little older before “losing my edge” sounded funny and not obnoxious

lcd soundsystem production is overrated, they really could have used more expensive ass digital plug-ins to smooth out the analog fartiness

Lol, that's a wild thought

confession: i have never heard an entire lcd soundsystem album.

subsequent controp: lcd soundsystem is fucking awful.

idk it's like entitled white dude whining about no longer being a cool entitled white dude ... but with self-awareness ... and i just prefer the self-awareness to result in dude s-ing tfu ... or like get into bluegrass guitar or modifying zithers to make dance music idk

xp Austin -- I've only heard Losing My Edge and the "playing at my house" song ... so my take is very challopsy here ... but neither have the charm of Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell

the dude is annoying as hell, i have never listened to an lcd sound system album but early 00s DFA production is still the shit

maybe my timeline is off but didn't he "retire from music" to open a wine bar at some point?

warning: gross flippant language the whole bamboolzing of the music press he pulled off was very fyre fest in attitude. people like that in music are as upsetting to me as people like ted nugent. just ugh, it's all "music for and by insufferable chodes" afaic.

I was not a fan of LCD Soundsystem - no animosity, just not on my radar screen - but I did watch the documentary on their "last" show. I remember wondering why they needed so many people on stage.

Maybe it was part of the live musit ethos of the time, like Arcade Fire or Polyphonic Spree or Lumineers whatever, where there are like 15 people up there poking earnestly at instruments; however, the main bones of the sound they are making could easily be replicated by a reasonably skilled quartet.

conspiracy theory: the whole band was a cia money laundering effort. don't ask me how.

I get way way less of a skeevy vibe from the Sleaford. Mods dudes compared to James Murphy

oh totally

I still like "Losing My Edge" and "41:33" but meh to the rest of LCD

It isn't a competition, you can dislike them both

lol

I agree with your "miserabilist" critique btw

tons of other DFA stuff rules tho, like that amazing Pixeltan 12"

man ty guys so much for validating my longterm hatred of lcd lol. there was a point where every person i knew was trying to defend to them to me in some form or another and it's always been straight up dreadful music to me.

a positive controp: all whistle solos are good. even if the song is otherwise trash, the whistle solo is still worth hearing.

(sorry not trying to derail current discussion, just something i needed to get off my chest. i feel much better!)

LCD was a "band" that only made even the slightest sense in the context of Manhattan but was somehow pushed nationally. I mean, their "farewell show" was at Madison Square Garden, meanwhile I'm pretty sure they were playing largish clubs everywhere else in the country.

man ty guys so much for validating my longterm hatred of lcd lol. there was a point where every person i knew was trying to defend to them to me in some form or another and it's always been straight up dreadful music to me.

a positive controp: all whistle solos are good. even if the song is otherwise trash, the whistle solo is still worth hearing.

(sorry not trying to derail current discussion, just something i needed to get off my chest. i feel much better!)