| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| natenate101 |
Posted - 07/05/2016 : 22:16:14
Figured we could use a thread specifically for the album, now that it's out there for order.
https://pixies.pmstores.co
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jul/06/pixies-to-release-new-album-head-carrier-in-september
Add on folks....
http://louderthanwar.com/listen-new-pixies-song-upcoming-new-album-head-carrier/
Quotes from Paz here. |
| 35 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| TheScooper |
Posted - 03/19/2018 : 10:16:30
This has been my primary frustration with a lot of the new material. You hear it live, and it sounds great -- partially because it's not a terrible brickwalled mastering, but also because FBF is letting loose with the throat. He sounds so restrained on the recordings, and I don't get why. Is it on purpose? Is he "microphone shy" all the sudden?
quote:
Originally posted by natenate101
https://youtu.be/FgChKTDN_jg
Enjoyed hearing this version of Head Carrier. Dig BF's vocals with more flavor to em. I wonder if it's BF's somgwriting these days that keeps his vocals more straightforward, or if the producer had any say in that approach? Been listening to older Pixies/FB stuff lately and just was reminded of why he's been so captivating as a vocalist, because of his energy when delivering the words. I miss that on most of the new stuff, but I get why it is so.
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| Bedbug |
Posted - 03/11/2018 : 12:42:56
quote:
Originally posted by natenate101
https://youtu.be/FgChKTDN_jg
Enjoyed hearing this version of Head Carrier. Dig BF's vocals with more flavor to em. I wonder if it's BF's somgwriting these days that keeps his vocals more straightforward, or if the producer had any say in that approach? Been listening to older Pixies/FB stuff lately and just was reminded of why he's been so captivating as a vocalist, because of his energy when delivering the words. I miss that on most of the new stuff, but I get why it is so.
Love this performance! |
| picpic |
Posted - 03/10/2018 : 21:11:33
Isn’t this just vocal fatigue ? Sounds like he’s been struggling quite a bit with his voice for a few years now.
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"Service Unavailable" |
| natenate101 |
Posted - 03/09/2018 : 22:20:48
https://youtu.be/FgChKTDN_jg
Enjoyed hearing this version of Head Carrier. Dig BF's vocals with more flavor to em. I wonder if it's BF's somgwriting these days that keeps his vocals more straightforward, or if the producer had any say in that approach? Been listening to older Pixies/FB stuff lately and just was reminded of why he's been so captivating as a vocalist, because of his energy when delivering the words. I miss that on most of the new stuff, but I get why it is so. |
| Arm Arm Arm |
Posted - 02/24/2017 : 08:55:51
I think to a certain extent, perhaps more with IC since it was the first post-reunion record, they were trying to be similar to their original run. Maybe with all the years of people worrying over a Pixies reunion it gave credence to the idea that there is something different with those albums than what Frank did after and this thought influenced their approach. I don't know.
There is something different about those albums but...there's something different about Fb thru Cult and then the Catholics and the post-Catholics. I love Superabound or Billy Radcliffe as much as I love some Pixies songs. Maybe it's Paz, hearing a female vocalist who's not Kim draws more comparisons but then, if they'd gone with a guy they'd still be compared, heck, they'd be criticized for not embracing the yin-yang vocals.
Perhaps with Paz the chemistry is different and whatever Kim contributed in some indefinable way is missing. But that could just be romanticizing that band, I listen to Frank's music, the Breeders largely didn't interest me.
Who knows?
So far, I think Head Carrier is an improvement from Indie Cindy and new rock music from Frank is enjoyable regardless of band name.
cheers |
| yarbles |
Posted - 02/24/2017 : 08:21:16
I think Pixies 2.0 sounds different than Pixies 1.0 simply because it's musicians playing at different times in their careers. Frank has a signature sound, but it's been a constant evolution. Come On Pilgrim sounds very different from Trompe Le Monde, as many of his other albums sound different from others. I think it's strange to assume that just because Pixies are a band again that they should sound exactly like they used to. I know that's not the point you were making, but I see current Pixies as the next step in the Frank Black Francis Anthology, so it'll sound like bits of all his past experiences, but have some new little bits thrown in there as well. |
| Arm Arm Arm |
Posted - 02/23/2017 : 14:55:42
quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
Ok, listened a bunch more times. I'm gonna do one of those track by tracks posts cause I'm in the mood to blab about music:
1. Head Carrier: This song kind of typifies the strange clash of Pixies and Frank-Black-solo sound to me (apologies in advance, I'm obsessed with this subject.) The intro and them yelling "HEAD CARRIER!" sounds like classic Pixies to me. But once Frank brings in the pleasant guitar chords and sings "I'm going down the drain again", it kind of sounds like a Catholics song or something.
I understand. It's strange but for me, I think of Pixies/FB/Catholics as being equally incredible; it's along the same continuum of music. Yet I think of the second go round of the Pixies as something different from the first and the rest of the solo/Catholics albums.
It's the same guy, different musicians, who cares right? Pearl Jam have had five different drummers but I still think of them as PJ.
So why do these two most recent Pixies records feel different or closer to FB than Pixies?
I don't know. Maybe it's as simple as the absence of Kim Deal coupled with that first run of albums is pretty damn brilliant.
In the end, I don't care, a good song is a good song but I just think the tunes on these two albums just haven't connected with me as much as the original Pixies or FB.
Maybe it's as someone else suggested, (paraphrasing) that being so used to hearing new music from Frank, the Pixies are now are overshadowed by his solo (& Catholics) output.
In the end it's probably the triumph of emotion, I can try to rationally figure it out but it's just a pure emotional reaction. I think it's interesting though and enjoy others' rumination on the topic.
cheers
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| johnnyribcage |
Posted - 12/26/2016 : 13:01:43
Just listened to HC again for the first time in several weeks. It still kicks ass. That is all.
Take me to the vineyards of Lavaux
Want to see the mountains where the waters flow |
| sdon |
Posted - 12/19/2016 : 12:53:22
quote:
Originally posted by picpic
Also re-listened to the album yesterday after a while.
Oona & Saints really are the best thing they ever did since the reunion.
_
"Service Unavailable"
I agree those are the best songs on HC for me. I can listen and re-listen to them and still find them incredible.
But I also liked Bagboy a lot :)
--
"Aristophanes! (gong sounds)" |
| picpic |
Posted - 12/18/2016 : 22:04:33
Also re-listened to the album yesterday after a while.
Oona & Saints really are the best thing they ever did since the reunion.
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"Service Unavailable" |
| The Maharal |
Posted - 12/18/2016 : 21:43:56
Haha agree completely with TS. When the song started in Wales I couldn't remember right away what it was but thought "wow, this is the classic Pixies sound". Then the stuff about coconut groves and pianos are just mundane. I always likened it to Monkey - the two guitars weaving that magical sound in the middle is very similar to the middle of Monkey. It's thrilling. But somehow the singing, lyrics and production make it a bit annoying. Strange one. |
| TheScooper |
Posted - 12/18/2016 : 16:38:23
Some more useless post mortem.
Firstly, I find that I like the record a lot more if I listen in this order:
1. Um Chagga Lagga
2. Classic Masher
3. Baal's Back
4. Oona
5. Talent
6. Tenement Song
7. All I Think About Now
8. Head Carrier
9. Bel Espirit
10. Plaster of Paris
11. All My Saints
(I usually skip MAWBG because I find it boring)
General thoughts:
Love Paz. She sort of lacquers the poppy stuff with sweetness, and injects more edge on the harder stuff. Totally different dynamic than the velvety, cool counterbalance that Kim had. Looking forward to seeing what they do with it.
I really miss FBF's unhinged vocals. I hope Blue Finger wasn't the last gasp for that type of singing. But even the demos he released a while back (including UCL and that song about Wolves) had the "old school" manic style. And it's there on the new songs when they do them live. Is he just more restrained in a studio setting? Just getting old? Is this another thing I can blame on Tom Dalgety?
Obviously, BB is a ripper - but to me it smells like "Here's your screaming song, now leave me alone for the rest of the record."
The weirdness and density of the lyrics also seemed a bit thin on this one. I love the sound of Tenement Song - I think its closest analogue to past songs is probably Monkey. But TS doesn't paint any compelling or bizarre images like Monkey does, and I find myself not paying attention when it's on. There's no mystery to it, or at least not one that grabs me. Ditto a number of the other songs. The songs on I.C. felt much more Pixies-ish to me in that regard.
Anyways, overall I love it, contrary to my griping. Can't wait for the next one. But fuck this mastering job, as has been discussed to death. Hopefully they are not kneecapped by the sound booth on the next one. |
| Sprite |
Posted - 11/04/2016 : 09:00:20
There is a 30 second clip of it around 6min 3sec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTSeXFE6HHM
Paz alluded in an interview they recorded a bunch more tracks than 12 in RAK. So who knows maybe it will appear on an EP later (here's hoping)
|
| vilainde |
Posted - 11/04/2016 : 07:43:24
Come on! You pretend you're a real fan and you don't even know Super Lecker?
(I have no idea)
Denis
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| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 11/04/2016 : 07:34:19
...Super Lecker? Where can one hear this song? |
| presley1 |
Posted - 11/03/2016 : 13:03:31
I'm dissapointed Super Lecker didnt make it.
Oh my golly! |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 11/01/2016 : 20:49:32
I think it's more a production thing for me, Indy Cindie has that more space-y, full and atmospheric production throughout whereas as HC feels kind of simple and dry. I really think if I were told that What Goes Boom, Magdalena and maybe a few others (with better mastering) could have been lost songs right from the Bossanova era and I wouldn't question it at all. I'm not exactly hearing the Bossanova in HC at all though, just doesn't have the atmosphere. |
| yarbles |
Posted - 11/01/2016 : 08:50:00
quote:
[To anyone] - Which reminds me, I was driving around this weekend listening to NSE and then Bluefinger, and wanted to put in HC, but when I looked for the HC CD I realized I don't have it because I never bought it! I have only been listening to it on various streaming services. So how does Charles get my money? Is it just that he gets a (tiny I assume) percentage of what Apple music charges me every month? How does that work?
Artists do get a small percentage from streaming services, I don't know what that breakdown is though. The best way to get as much of your money to the artists as possible is to buy directly from their website or at their merch tables at their shows.
|
| Stevio10 |
Posted - 10/31/2016 : 12:52:11
I hear a little bit of Dog in the Sand on All the Saints too. It's probably cos Joey played on that track too.
Also makes me think of Manitoba. And of course Ana / Havalina too. And maybe a little hint of Andro Queen. Meets Twin Peaks theme music.
On a random note, does anyone else hear Supertramp's the Logical song on the intro to Might As Well Be Gone? I'm starting to bug myself thinking about it! Haha |
| picpic |
Posted - 10/31/2016 : 10:28:48
quote:
12. All the Saints: My #1 favorite song on the album! It sounds like Dog in the Sand, and may even be better than that (one of my all time favorite songs.) Beautiful and sad and complex. Doesn't....sound like a Pixies song to me but it's just too good to care. I also love songs that say so much with as few lyrics as possible.
Strange you're saying that. The song structure, general feel & surf lead reminds me heavily of some Bossanova numbers like Ana or Havalina. I see All the Saints like Ana number 2. Just this kind of farewell-dreamy, beautiful song. I think this song and Oona are part of the reason some of us made some Bossanova - Head Carrier comparisons when we first hear the album.
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"Service Unavailable" |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 10/31/2016 : 02:18:22
quote:
Originally posted by Troubles A Foot
Ok, listened a bunch more times. I'm gonna do one of those track by tracks posts cause I'm in the mood to blab about music:
1. Head Carrier: This song kind of typifies the strange clash of Pixies and Frank-Black-solo sound to me (apologies in advance, I'm obsessed with this subject.) The intro and them yelling "HEAD CARRIER!" sounds like classic Pixies to me. But once Frank brings in the pleasant guitar chords and sings "I'm going down the drain again", it kind of sounds like a Catholics song or something. Something with the melody and chords just being too...country-ish? Pixies to me is always a bit more shocking and clashing and unpredictable.
2. Classic Masher: This one just feels too overproduced and doesn't really do much for me. Verses and chorus both feel like melodies I've heard many times before. I will admit I have gotten "they talk boots when they're laughing at you" in my head a lot. And they sound like they're smiling as they sing it.
3. Baal's Back: I don't really like this one at all. The production is awful...there's just nothing here for me.
4. Might As Well Be Gone: Really love this one, reminds me of I Don't Wanna Hurt You and other sweet Frank songs. The verses are also very Pixies in the strange chord progressions and driving drums and bass. Once again this is like Pixies verses and then a Frank Black solo chorus.
5. Oona: This one is a real highlight. But similar with many other songs, I just really enjoy the verses a lot more than the chorus here. (That is if "I wanna be in your band" is the chorus.) Or I guess the chorus may be "Oona, I will await destruction" in which case I really do love that part.
6. Talent: This is my 2nd favorite song on the album, it sounds really effortless and fun. This album really needs more up-tempo songs like this. It's also so catchy.
7. Tenement Song: Took a while to grow on me but then I could not get this out of my head. Again, still not sure this sounds like a Pixies song to me, except the intro. Maybe it's Frank's voice? It just lacks that urgency that defines Pixies vocals to me and sounds more like a laid back country Catholics vocal. Also I may as well mention this now but Joey's lead feels really quiet on the entire album. It used to SCREECH out of the speakers and now it's just kind of flat.
8. Bel Espirit: Another OK Catholic's-y country-ish song that I just can't process as a Pixies song.
9. All I Think About Now: This one really does nothing for me. There just isn't a hook.
10. Um Chagga Lagga: I like the lyrics and the general energy but....man this just doesn't do anything for me either. I'm not quite sure I get all the love for it. I know Pixies isn't the most melodic band all the time but this one just has no melody to speak of and that's a big drawback for me (they used to replace melody with intense scary-ness and insanity but that isn't really happening here.)
11. Plaster of Paris: I like the cute pop vibe of this but I'm also not sure why this is on the album. I'm still processing it maybe. I like it a lot but it almost feels kind of throwaway?
12. All the Saints: My #1 favorite song on the album! It sounds like Dog in the Sand, and may even be better than that (one of my all time favorite songs.) Beautiful and sad and complex. Doesn't....sound like a Pixies song to me but it's just too good to care. I also love songs that say so much with as few lyrics as possible.
Thanks Troubles for sharing. I agree with many of your thoughts. I too am obsessed with the Pixies vs. FB topic, to the point where I think of Bossanova as the last Pixies album. Whatever I think of HC, I'm listening to it a whole lot, way more than IC, and I'm really loving what Charles and the crew are doing these days.
[To anyone] - Which reminds me, I was driving around this weekend listening to NSE and then Bluefinger, and wanted to put in HC, but when I looked for the HC CD I realized I don't have it because I never bought it! I have only been listening to it on various streaming services. So how does Charles get my money? Is it just that he gets a (tiny I assume) percentage of what Apple music charges me every month? How does that work? |
| Troubles A Foot |
Posted - 10/30/2016 : 19:58:56
Ok, listened a bunch more times. I'm gonna do one of those track by tracks posts cause I'm in the mood to blab about music:
1. Head Carrier: This song kind of typifies the strange clash of Pixies and Frank-Black-solo sound to me (apologies in advance, I'm obsessed with this subject.) The intro and them yelling "HEAD CARRIER!" sounds like classic Pixies to me. But once Frank brings in the pleasant guitar chords and sings "I'm going down the drain again", it kind of sounds like a Catholics song or something. Something with the melody and chords just being too...country-ish? Pixies to me is always a bit more shocking and clashing and unpredictable.
2. Classic Masher: This one just feels too overproduced and doesn't really do much for me. Verses and chorus both feel like melodies I've heard many times before. I will admit I have gotten "they talk boots when they're laughing at you" in my head a lot. And they sound like they're smiling as they sing it.
3. Baal's Back: I don't really like this one at all. The production is awful...there's just nothing here for me.
4. Might As Well Be Gone: Really love this one, reminds me of I Don't Wanna Hurt You and other sweet Frank songs. The verses are also very Pixies in the strange chord progressions and driving drums and bass. Once again this is like Pixies verses and then a Frank Black solo chorus.
5. Oona: This one is a real highlight. But similar with many other songs, I just really enjoy the verses a lot more than the chorus here. (That is if "I wanna be in your band" is the chorus.) Or I guess the chorus may be "Oona, I will await destruction" in which case I really do love that part.
6. Talent: This is my 2nd favorite song on the album, it sounds really effortless and fun. This album really needs more up-tempo songs like this. It's also so catchy.
7. Tenement Song: Took a while to grow on me but then I could not get this out of my head. Again, still not sure this sounds like a Pixies song to me, except the intro. Maybe it's Frank's voice? It just lacks that urgency that defines Pixies vocals to me and sounds more like a laid back country Catholics vocal. Also I may as well mention this now but Joey's lead feels really quiet on the entire album. It used to SCREECH out of the speakers and now it's just kind of flat.
8. Bel Espirit: Another OK Catholic's-y country-ish song that I just can't process as a Pixies song.
9. All I Think About Now: This one really does nothing for me. There just isn't a hook.
10. Um Chagga Lagga: I like the lyrics and the general energy but....man this just doesn't do anything for me either. I'm not quite sure I get all the love for it. I know Pixies isn't the most melodic band all the time but this one just has no melody to speak of and that's a big drawback for me (they used to replace melody with intense scary-ness and insanity but that isn't really happening here.)
11. Plaster of Paris: I like the cute pop vibe of this but I'm also not sure why this is on the album. I'm still processing it maybe. I like it a lot but it almost feels kind of throwaway?
12. All the Saints: My #1 favorite song on the album! It sounds like Dog in the Sand, and may even be better than that (one of my all time favorite songs.) Beautiful and sad and complex. Doesn't....sound like a Pixies song to me but it's just too good to care. I also love songs that say so much with as few lyrics as possible. |
| picpic |
Posted - 10/19/2016 : 01:31:26
His best sounding guitar(s) were IMO his original MIJ teles with the whammy bridge. Sadly, they're all gone now (modded), and I think he doesn't even use the modded ones anymore. But every time I watch an early Pixies or Frank Black concert video, I notice his guitar sound is always glorious when he uses them.
His current tone is good, but he's more into the heavy bass distorted fuzz since Indie Cindy.
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"Service Unavailable" |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 10/19/2016 : 00:18:49
The piezo-equipped Telecaster BF was using around the time of the Doolittle 25 tour was great. On some songs, you were getting the 'acoustic' sound and the pickups from the amps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElfhslRu51A
On the 2013 tour (for Motorway in particular) he was running the actual acoustic guitar through his Vox amps to overdrive the sound. |
| picpic |
Posted - 10/19/2016 : 00:12:41
Not sure. In the studio, just double-tracking guitar and vocals gives you a gigantic sound that's (to my knowledge) hard to reproduce onstage without using extra guitars / backing vocals. But who knows !
For example, I wonder how Tenement Song will sound in its live version. I think it will probably sound a bit empty on choruses. Like when they played Another Toe on the IC tour (that they quickly discarded).
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"Service Unavailable" |
| stuczuba |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 22:57:26
I think some of the issue with the Trompe songs is that they could work really well if they were prepared to re-arrange the guitar parts a little.
When they played Motorway in Amsterdam during the Kim2 gigs Joey was only playing that slidey high pitched part and ignored all the other details which meant he wasn't playing for significant parts of the song. But that's easy to fix, especially now Joey is going to be new and improved for the next gigs!
I don't mind the keyboards on the albums but wouldn't want to see them re-introduced for live work |
| picpic |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 22:04:31
I think some songs just have better arrangements, so they sound better live. They sound good in the studio because of all the overdubs they can do while recording (voice + guitar).
Indie Cindy chorus almost sounds empty onstage because of that, I think. A song like I Bleed or What Goes Boom gives me the same impressions. Fantastic/Good studio versions, but sounds very strange onstage.
I think Joey Brother + Feldman were playing on the 1991 "live" versions of Motorway, that's probably why it sounded way better back then. And that's probably why they don't play many other Trompe songs today (sigh !). Those songs were made in the studio with extra guitars or overdubs, and can't really be played with the same impact with just drums/bass/2 guitars.
Only option: bringing back Feldman & Bob Santiago... or do it like Muse or some other bands and play along to backing tracks ! (eeek !)
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"Service Unavailable" |
| vilainde |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 21:34:15
quote:
Originally posted by Ziggy
Even enjoyed it seeing those performances with BF's Svn Fngrs era trio as well. Stripped of lead guitar but still worked well.
I didn't know he had played it during that tour. Yep it sounds lovely indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUDlRI1DZgg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3riu0_jioA
Denis
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| Arm Arm Arm |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 14:14:27
quote:
Originally posted by Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
It reminds me of Motorway to Roswell which may be the "Grandest" Pixies song but it just doesn't work live AT ALL. I guess it's because, as Joey said recently in the Berlin stuff interwiew, that band still makes mistakes...
Here's my take on why Motorway doesn't work live. I think what I'm about to type also applies to All Over The World and The Happening.
For me, Motorway is the conclusion of Trompe while Navajo serves as the quick little epilogue to the album and as such, Motorway is HUGE, it's an epic song, one of my favorites and feels like it goes on for twelve wonderful minutes instead of however long it is.
It's disappointing not for the lack of Feldman (though his or anyone's keyboards would certainly be a welcome addition) but because what the track needs in the live setting is contrary to the Pixies aesthetic.
It calls for Bombast, for a big fucking finish, for the chorus to repeat on and on and on and on while the band grooves along. It needs to be much longer with pomp and circumstance.
The closest they come to that, what I would consider the Pixies version of "bombast" is the beginning of Gouge Away, where the band grooves along for a while before Frank steps up to sing. Even then, it's at most a minute but in relative ways it feels epic, for them.
In concert Motorway comes across as just another song, even the opening seems to blow past really quickly and before you know it, the tune's over.
What it needs is the energy of Pearl Jam's Alive, Black, Better Man or Porch in concert, but again, that's not ever been their approach.
cheers
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| Bedbug |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 11:24:11
quote:
Originally posted by Ziggy
Yeah Motorway sounded great at the Olympia.
Even enjoyed it seeing those performances with BF's Svn Fngrs era trio as well. Stripped of lead guitar but still worked well.
I bet it did.
Maybe the original point was that live versions don't approach the grandeur of the studio version, which is probably not true of other songs.
Live versions from 92 (or 91 like Brixton) seem better to me than Olympia.
Is there a thread somewhere on "Which Songs Performed Live Don't Translate Well"? |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 09:47:24
Yeah Motorway sounded great at the Olympia.
Even enjoyed it seeing those performances with BF's Svn Fngrs era trio as well. Stripped of lead guitar but still worked well. |
| Bedbug |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 09:28:00
Just watched the video. I'm sure it was awesome to hear them do it then. Shattuck looks like she's having a blast.
Still think it needs some Eric. |
| vilainde |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 08:42:14
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pixies/2013/lolympia-bruno-coquatrix-paris-france-1bc7e9b4.html
Denis
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| Bedbug |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 08:30:17
quote:
Originally posted by vilainde
WHAT? Motorway live was amazing.
I agree on IC though. It sucks both live and on the record
Denis
Referring to a performance during 1.0? Reunion? 2.0? (If there was one). Or just in general? |
| vilainde |
Posted - 10/18/2016 : 08:23:18
WHAT? Motorway live was amazing.
I agree on IC though. It sucks both live and on the record
Denis
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