| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Carl |
Posted - 08/15/2006 : 10:19:12
I'm actually surprized at how much I like FMRM. I've only listened to it straight through once, but individual songs keep drawing me back. It's strange, but I've actaully only listened to Honeycomb straight through once. Anyway, critics who've harped on about how Frank has lost his edge-The Pixies had a lot of hooky songs, but listen, for instance, to My Terrible Ways-that has a memorable hook, it's just that it's a nice, jazzy piece played on a saxaphone, rather than an indie rock guitar riff. As Frank pointed out in a recent interview, some of his critics probably haven't listened to him since The Pixies originally split, or maybe since TOTY or Ray. And while I'm not as big a Catholics fan as a some people here, they are a fantastic bunch of musicians and the Catholics era yielded some fine music. I think it's natural for a musician to 'mature', that doesn't necessarily mean making an over-produce, watered-down album of AOR or 'world music'. It's clear that Frank has always loved folk, blues, etc. Don't forget that rock music comes from the blues, which is a form of American folk music. In any case, I think some of the criticism FMRM has recieved is lazy journalism. As a solo artist, it shouldn't be such a shock to explore different musical styles-the songs are written by Frank Black, no matter what instruments they're played on or how. One review I saw remarked the vocals sounded dispassionate, like Frank wasn't bothered anymore. Which I think is total crap, I think Frank sounds great on FMRM. I think it stands as one of his best recordings.
 |
| 35 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| edbanky |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 13:29:50
I tried an experiment in my mind: I kept asking myself which albums would be hardest to completely give up. That process, divorced from context as much as possible, helped me realize how the past few albums don't measure up well--at least against the "what if you could never hear it again" criterion. Maybe there's more to it than that.
"The man has led us to his current sound like a basket of eggs."
ScottP |
| Pete Egress |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 13:17:01
I greatly prefer his early stuff. I have FMRM--its a good album--listen to it now and then--but 10 years from now I'll most likely still be listening to TOTY or DITS--and I really dont know if I will even remeber FMRM. For instance--I havent listened to Show me your tears since the year it came out. My preference is just rooted in the old school quirky punk style--and that goes for most of what I listen to I guess. Still--I bought tix to his Philly Show--I'll be there. |
| ScottP |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 23:54:52
I bet Frank wishes he had some crack to smoke while he reads these comments. |
| floop |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 19:43:46
quote:
Originally posted by NimrodsSon
Okay, okay, you're right. If I'm really being completely honest with myself, Black Letter Days is my favourite.
...and Honeycomb is second!
ˇViva los Católicos!
only someone on crack would say Honeycomb is their second favorite |
| FrankfanL |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 19:26:03
[quote]Originally posted by Daisy Girl
I love material from all his career. I think we get spoiled as fans b/c even if a track on one of his cds is "the worst" it is 1000xs better than other people's music. That said I think fans hold his music to higher standards.
Anyway my point is that I like all the music from all points in his career. It's all different, unique and really really good.
That said I think FB tends to be waaaay ahead of his time musically (since Pixies) and sometimes it just takes the popular culture years to catch up with where he's at.
Anyway I love music from all points of his career and what I listen too mainly depends on my mood and what FB cds I have around at that moment.
I think Daisy Girl captured my feelings on Frank's musical career. We ARE spoiled(thank you Frank) and also blessed to have discovered his music. |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 17:54:55
quote:
Originally posted by floop
quote:
Originally posted by NimrodsSon
quote:
Originally posted by floop
there's subjective, and then there's being on crack.
i just can't understand how a Frank Black fan can actually say that Honeycomb is his best album unless they're on crack.
Never done crack, or any kind of illegal substances for that matter, but I can say in 100% honesty that Honeycomb is likely my favourite Frank Black album.
ˇViva los Católicos!
nimrod's son is obviously in the depths of denial . it might be time for an intervention
Okay, okay, you're right. If I'm really being completely honest with myself, Black Letter Days is my favourite.
...and Honeycomb is second!
ˇViva los Católicos! |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 15:40:40
Yeah, I can agree with that. |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 15:37:08
I wasn't meaning to imply that SMYT is Frank at his greatest, but it will someday be a classic. I don't think FMRM reaches DITS heights but I could see it as on par with SMYT, which shocked me. I do quite like that album, but not as much as TOTY, DITS, and a few others.
 "No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself." |
| Erebus |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 14:57:32
quote:
Originally posted by coastline
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
Well, I've done it. I've completely fallen in love with the first disc. I liked it before, quite a bit for some songs, but now finally I've transcended to love. Now I just have to do that with Disc 2 (assuming I can stop playing disc 1) and we will have a new classic in the vein of SMYT.
"No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself."
Funny how it's really hard to agree on what's great Frank.
yes. the man is an elephant and we're all blind.
|
| Erebus |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 14:53:21
quote:
Originally posted by NimrodsSon
quote:
Originally posted by floop
there's subjective, and then there's being on crack.
i just can't understand how a Frank Black fan can actually say that Honeycomb is his best album unless they're on crack.
Never done crack, or any kind of illegal substances for that matter, but I can say in 100% honesty that Honeycomb is likely my favourite Frank Black album.
To bastardize the old Rolling Stone quote about Eric Clapton: NimrodsSon is living proof that people like better music on drugs. (sorry. couldn't resist. actually, i envy you.)
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| moonruler |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 13:56:44
disc 2 is stuck in the cd player of the car i totalled the day before i left for the beachcomber show. i bet it is going to sound really good if i ever get it out. i hope i don't get tired of disc 1. |
| TRANSMARINE |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 13:48:46
Nothing can top FB&TC Self Titled. But all his other stuff comes real close.
Hank the 8th was a duplicated man
-bRIAN |
| floop |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 13:48:13
quote:
Originally posted by NimrodsSon
quote:
Originally posted by floop
there's subjective, and then there's being on crack.
i just can't understand how a Frank Black fan can actually say that Honeycomb is his best album unless they're on crack.
Never done crack, or any kind of illegal substances for that matter, but I can say in 100% honesty that Honeycomb is likely my favourite Frank Black album.
ˇViva los Católicos!
nimrod's son is obviously in the depths of denial . it might be time for an intervention |
| coastline |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 13:38:36
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
Well, I've done it. I've completely fallen in love with the first disc. I liked it before, quite a bit for some songs, but now finally I've transcended to love. Now I just have to do that with Disc 2 (assuming I can stop playing disc 1) and we will have a new classic in the vein of SMYT.
"No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself."
A couple things:
1. I can't seem to get into Disc 1 anymore. I liked it enough at first, but none of it jumps out for me. On the other hand, I think Disc 2 is loaded with great material.
2. For me, Honeycomb is the Frank classic, not SMYT.
Funny how it's really hard to agree on what's great Frank. I think it's easier for people to agree on what are the great Pixies songs -- Where Is My Mind?, Wave of Mutilation, Monkey Gone to Heaven -- but I might be naive on that.
 Look, a pony! |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 12:54:15
quote:
Originally posted by floop
there's subjective, and then there's being on crack.
i just can't understand how a Frank Black fan can actually say that Honeycomb is his best album unless they're on crack.
Never done crack, or any kind of illegal substances for that matter, but I can say in 100% honesty that Honeycomb is likely my favourite Frank Black album.
ˇViva los Católicos! |
| Ronwell Quincy Dobbs |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 11:45:46
I can't get over "Sad Old World" and "Fast Man". FASTMAN RAIDERMAN is an amazing album. I probably wouldn't have appreciated it much in my "angst ridden" teenage years, but where I'm at now, I'll take it over any of FB's Pixie or early solo output (and believe me I love both). My crack addled wife is also in agreement.
I can see how FASTMAN RAIDERMAN and HONEYCOMB are not everyone's cup of tea and I don't hold that against anyone.
It's crack. It's great. It gets you really high. |
| moonruler |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 09:56:27
disc 2 is worth the wait. there are at least 5 songs that rank up there with his best ever. not sure which is my fave, but "terrible ways" is just a great, great song. as is "in the time of my ruin". as is "fitzgerald", although that one is definitely a grower. i could go on, but i will stop now. disc 2, yeah! go disc 2!
ok, not quite stopping. disc 1 is still my fave, regardless of what i just said about disc 2. |
| Chip Away Boy |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 09:05:20
Frank is awesome.....just saw him in Brooklyn, going to buy FM/RM today...that's all.
please won't you stay a while?
give me your coat :-D |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 07:28:05
Well, I've done it. I've completely fallen in love with the first disc. I liked it before, quite a bit for some songs, but now finally I've transcended to love. Now I just have to do that with Disc 2 (assuming I can stop playing disc 1) and we will have a new classic in the vein of SMYT.
"No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself." |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 08/23/2006 : 03:20:46
Crack might enhance the experience a little, I suppose.
I'd say without a doubt that the Orange album and Teenager are classics through and through, but I woildn't let that detract from the many many excellent songs on subsequent Catholics albums. The songwriting on pretty much every record since is stellar, and inventive. Even FMRM and Honeycomb pack some real classics; though I find that FB sounds like he's a guest on his own album. But then, familiarity with the material breeds love, and the majority of the recent songs have yet to be played live (if at all!), which could also explain why people aren't quite as fond of them as they might have been. |
| moonruler |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 12:06:17
...don't smoke crack! unless you are listening to honeycomb. |
| ScottP |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 11:42:01
Old and tired, indeed. Yakity Yak...
edit: The debate, that is. |
| TRANSMARINE |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 11:39:01
I think ALL of his music sucks! I'm just trying to be part of the 'IN' crowd.
Hank the 8th was a duplicated man
-bRIAN |
| floop |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 11:01:37
i'm not being mean to them. they can smoke crack and love Honeycomb all they want.
as long as they're honest with themselves about being on crack |
| moonruler |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 10:54:46
don't be mean to crackheads like that. some great songs on honeycomb, but nowhere near his best. |
| floop |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 10:37:44
there's subjective, and then there's being on crack.
i just can't understand how a Frank Black fan can actually say that Honeycomb is his best album unless they're on crack. |
| moonruler |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 10:37:37
there is no blind faith in enjoyment nor lack thereof in criticism, only preference. people are also allowed to like more than one kind of music and should not be pigeonholed because an artist they liked at one time played hard rock music and has since changed. i personally like music and do not try to break it down any further than that.
good and original are also subjective ideas, which everyone are allowed to have and decide on by themselves. fmrm at times rivals teenager in its goodness and originality, to me anyway. of course, not everybody has to like it and there are definitely songs i do not like very much, although they all are growers, which is how i felt about teenager when i first bought it. rock on Frank, or wait a minute; americana on Frank!
and if his new songs are formulaic than the formula must change everytime he writes as the songs on this album are not very similar to each other. |
| PsychicTwin |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 09:45:48
quote:
Originally posted by IceCream
quote:
Originally posted by Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
What about you, guy? When have you lost it, ending making cruel subjective statements in front of a computer screen?
++++
I'm allowed to post whatever subjective statements I want. I am sorry if my statements sounded cruel.
Frank's songs used to implement insanely weird chord progressions and time signatures, reference extremely obscure people and places, and sound completely new and non-derivative. His newer stuff just doesn't do that anymore. Sometimes, his post-94 music sounds as if it's trying to implement the same songwriting techniques as TUYA and TOTY: a song like "I've Seen Your Picture", for example, centers around a chorus whose measures are progressively cut off. Other times, his post-94 music reflects the antithesis of TUYA and TOTY: "Horrible Day", for example, inveighs so strongly against the eccentricities of a song like "Los Angeles" that I can barely believe the same man wrote both songs.
Of course, Frank's aware of his metamorphosis, and he makes it clear in interviews that his change of style is intentional. Nevertheless, I still don't like the majority of his post-94 music.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but everyone here lauding FMRM and Honeycomb as "the best Frank material ever" is being just as subjective as Ice Cream. and I for one, agree with him.
Though I still love the Catholics body of music, I drew a different enjoyment from it than from Orange, TOTY, and Cult of Ray. Those signify, without a doubt, my favorite period in Frank's music and the one that speaks to me most and has kept me coming back hundreds of times. The Catholics I dug more as just straight ahead rock'n'roll, with its inherent chaos and noisiness...and yes, even DITS and Show Me Your Tears won me over, though they took a while to warm up to. But, personally...I'm sorry to say...Show Me Your Tears was as rootsy of a departure as I can possibly take. Not being a huge fan of country/folk/americana, Honeycomb and FMRM do nothing for me. I don't care if it's still Frank and he's just intentionally exorcising everything that has defined his past musical endeavors to my ears. These albums are boring, lacking in energy, and formulaic (however intentionally) beyond belief.
I don't care how much you try to warp your tastes out of respect for Frank Black (and I do respect him, nothing can denigrate that), but unless you are truly a fan of folk/country/americana and genuinely adore Frank's loving tribute to this genre, his new material is nowhere near as GOOD or ORIGINAL as pre-'94 or even the Catholics era. Don't be a blind fanatic.  |
| Carl |
Posted - 08/22/2006 : 07:33:40
quote:
Originally posted by freedom rocker
As long as he keeps true to his idealistic values, he could come out with a RAP (yes I said RAP) album and I would trust that it would be brilliant. Is this Blind servitude?
Er, possibly....
 |
| freedom rocker |
Posted - 08/21/2006 : 18:23:46
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[quote]Originally posted by Daisy Girl
I love material from all his career. I think we get spoiled as fans b/c even if a track on one of his cds is "the worst" it is 1000xs better than other people's music. That said I think fans hold his music to higher standards.
Anyway my point is that I like all the music from all points in his career. It's all different, unique and really really good.
That said I think FB tends to be waaaay ahead of his time musically (since Pixies) and sometimes it just takes the popular culture years to catch up with where he's at.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Listening to Frank over the past few years really has spoiled me. I find other forms of popular music to be way to predictable now,and i have a low tolorance for the same old song structures i hear on the radio.
Everything seems so tired and insincere on the radio because it's all about the money, and Frank is all about the music.
As long as he keeps true to his idealistic values, he could come out with a RAP (yes I said RAP) album and I would trust that it would be brilliant. Is this Blind servitude?
the blues isn't an art-form, it's a product-- not unlike computer chips and tampons.
--dead milkmen |
| Billy Radcliffe |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 09:55:40
When dog in the sand came out I thought it was the end of frank. the one thing I always neglect to realise is that it takes a minute for you to GET the album and where frank is coming from. Looking back, DITS looks like yet another great FB album. I am now having trouble with honeycomb and FMRM. But they are both SO new that I know that I just don't get them yet. When the discography is another 10 years old I am sure that honeycomb and fmrm will look like classics to me.
I could talk myself to death, but I believe I would only waste my breath. |
| fbc |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 04:50:17
"I just wanna hear it and that's satisfaction enough for me. I do like some records more than others, but you can throw on ANY Frank Black record or song and, when I hear it, a part of me will sigh and relax and think "Hey, it's Frank Black! This is good, this is comfortable"."
a motto for life. |
| ScottP |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 03:20:57
I'm pretty sure if somebody called me a "fanboy" in person that I would kick them in the balls as hard as I could. Or maybe just saw their head off. I don't know. That name just rubs me the wrong way for some reason. |
| Jason |
Posted - 08/19/2006 : 22:12:59
Frank's music has changed enough that I'm positive he's aware that not everyone's going to like or care about it all. He's even mentioned this very thing in a few interviews (where he's said something like "Hey, I don't follow every aspect of the careers of some of my favorite musicians, either...")
Me, though, I'm a Frank fanboy through and through. I try not to be annoying about it, though. I'm a self-concious fanboy. I know all about it. I won't deny it. I won't hold it against you if you discount my opinions on Frank because they're not objective. I know they're not objective. I accept this. Not that everyone should think like this, but me, personally, my own dang self, I don't even really JUDGE Frank's music anymore. I just wanna hear it and that's satisfaction enough for me. I do like some records more than others, but you can throw on ANY Frank Black record or song and, when I hear it, a part of me will sigh and relax and think "Hey, it's Frank Black! This is good, this is comfortable".
So, yeah, I like it all. |
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 08/19/2006 : 20:39:41
I'll take Frank's post-TOTY output anyday over his earlier stuff. That's not to say I necessarily think it's better music, and not that I don't appreciate all the complexities and what not in his earlier music, but I just LIKE his new material. It really moves me in a way that none of his other stuff does. I love all of his albums, but there's something about his last two especially that makes me keep coming back to them. I think this whole country/folk/americana/a little bit of rock n' roll thing really suits Frank well. If you don't like that type of music, I completely understand not liking his recent albums, but I personally love it!
ˇViva los Católicos! |
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