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fbc
-= Modulator =-
United Kingdom
4903 Posts |
 Posted - 07/11/2006 : 11:59:56
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Molly 'the beautiful' McGuire on bass and vocals.
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McGuire got the chance to play bass on a Frank Black track slated for Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants. She found out about the gig when a session bassist called in sick, and since Black was her teenage hero, she not only jumped, she practically pole-vaulted to the studio. To her dismay, Black had selected the tricky-to-play “Road Movie to Berlin,” a song full of musical changes.
“But he stripped it down to three chords,” says McGuire. “I plunked it out on the bass with a country swing. Then he asked, ‘Do you sing?’ I said ‘yeah,’ and we ended up singing the entire song together in the vocal booth. He left before it was mixed, so I got to sit in the control room and flip out, listening to our voices together on the playback.”
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
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telescopicboy
- FB Fan -
6 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 07:41:53
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Just read your review BF! I too picked up a copy, despite the fact that i can't stand They Might Be Giants. The only reason i picked up the album is for Frank Black (obviously) and Self. But, my feeligs on this CD are pretty different, since I'm not a TMBG fan.
At first I couldn't figure out why FB or Self would be on a tribute to such an obnoxious, goofy band. I had to hear for myself what it was that they see so redeeming in them. But, now I get it. These songs are really good! Take away TMBG's signature sound, and i actually am a fan- of their songwriting. The songs are really solid (minus Doctor Worm, which just seems like rambling filler material). For someone who isn't a fan of the band, these versions can at least show you what good songwriters thay are.
Now, i feel really dumb. This is what I've been missing out on?! Smart lyrics? Good melodies? ...just because I can't stand nasal singing and accordian. If you'll excuse me, I have to go order some TMBG CD's... and eat my hat. |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 08:24:51
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quote:
Originally posted by fbc
Molly 'the beautiful' McGuire on bass and vocals.
quote:
McGuire got the chance to play bass on a Frank Black track slated for Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants. She found out about the gig when a session bassist called in sick, and since Black was her teenage hero, she not only jumped, she practically pole-vaulted to the studio. To her dismay, Black had selected the tricky-to-play “Road Movie to Berlin,” a song full of musical changes.
“But he stripped it down to three chords,” says McGuire. “I plunked it out on the bass with a country swing. Then he asked, ‘Do you sing?’ I said ‘yeah,’ and we ended up singing the entire song together in the vocal booth. He left before it was mixed, so I got to sit in the control room and flip out, listening to our voices together on the playback.”
Did you have to mention her, Soren?
Ah, be still my beating heart...
Join the Cult Of Pob! And don't forget to listen to the Pobcast! |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11687 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 08:31:24
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Posted in the news...
 "No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself." |
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Born to Lose
- FB Fan -
USA
91 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 08:50:27
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| This just confirms my belief that Frank Black has a knack for taking brilliant songs under his wing and making them even more amazing. |
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Chris Fabulous
- FB Fan -
45 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 10:40:29
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I got the ablum and listened to it. TMBG is my favorite band, so I'm comning from a different perspective than telescopicboy. The Frank track is by far the strongest on the record, in my opinion. The rest range from pretty damn good (Fluid Ounces) to fucking horrible (The Wrens ruined "They'll Need a Crane," which is no small feat.). I like that Frank included the "lost verse" of "Road Movie."
And it's cool that you've seen the light, telescopicboy. TMBG's sound isn't for everyone, but I don't think anyone would say they're bad songwriters.
CF
www.chrisfabulous.com |
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 11:01:26
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"Road Movie To Berlin"
Frank Black, Guitar/Vocals
Molly McGuire - Bass/Vocals
Bryan Brown - Drums
Any more info? Like who produced, or where/when it was recorded?
-Brian - http://bvsrant.blogspot.com |
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Apesy
= Cult of Ray =
USA
411 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 13:47:44
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Originally posted by Chris Fabulous(The Wrens ruined "They'll Need a Crane," which is no small feat.).
That's my favorite track behind Frank's...
I think the album is amazing up until This Radiant Boy's cut, and then things start getting a little bland; aside from Jason Trachtenburg, nobody really takes any gambles with the arrangements or anything. They're played too stright.
-=Apesy |
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Chris Fabulous
- FB Fan -
45 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 05:19:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Apesy
[The Wrens' "They'll Need a Crane" is] my favorite track behind Frank's...
I don't like that it takes the bridge (which I've always thought of as the emotional climax of the song) and uses it as a lame throwaway intro, and I don't like that it's so slow and dark sounding. It totally does away with the juxtaposition of dark lyrics against bouncy music that makes the original so successful. The Wrens make it into a dirge, basically, whereas before it was desperate and alive and interesting. I will give it to them for taking a risk, but I don’t like the result.
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I think the album is amazing up until This Radiant Boy's cut, and then things start getting a little bland... They're played too straight.
Well, I wouldn’t say “amazing,” but yeah. It's like they lumped all the straightforward (ie boring/pointless) covers at the end. Despite being very much like the original, however, I dig "It's Not My Birthday."
CF
www.chrisfabulous.com |
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telescopicboy
- FB Fan -
6 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 12:02:38
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That's just it, Chris- I, like a lot of people, never got the subtext of a song like "...Crane" when it was wrapped up in such a bouncey package. I understand that it's that approach which has won over their core fans. But, as i stated previously, i had a difficult time appreciating them.
To hear the Wrens deconstruct that song down to a melancholy build-up really helps put the poetry of the song in perspective for someone like me... and it IS poetry. I went out last night and bought Flood and Lincoin just to hear some of these originals, and with all due respect, that Wrens track is absolutely beautiful. It's a sad song, and they've just taken it upon themselves to call a spade a spade. I'm going to see what else they have on iTunes! |
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VoVat
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
9168 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2006 : 18:22:23
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It seems to be the general rule that tribute albums will contain a few really good covers, with the rest of the songs either sounding too similar to the originals or just generally sucking (if not both). I listened to the samples on MySpace and Amazon, and most of the tracks sounded kind of dull. I do really want to hear the Frank song, though, and what I've heard of the "It's Not My Birthday" cover sounds cool. But would it really be worth buying the disc for two songs? I might end up giving this one a miss, which is a shame, because a TMBG tribute album had the potential to be really good.
"If you doze much longer, then life turns to dreaming. If you doze much longer, then dreams turn to nightmares." |
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Erebus
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1834 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2006 : 18:43:26
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Not being the TMBG devotee, I went the iTunes route. I rather like Frank here. Not life-changing, but very enjoyable.
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edbanky
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
388 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2006 : 12:38:05
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quote:
Originally posted by johndietzel
quote:
Originally posted by Crispy Water
This is incredible news! For years, I've fantasized about hearing Frank do a cover of Alienation's for the Rich. If we're assuming it'd be a Flood track, though, I agree with whoever suggested Lucky Ball & Chain. I doubt it will be something like Letterbox or Sapphire Bullets...
Nothing is ever something.
I guess I could see him trying on "Road Movie To Berlin" . . .
Yeah, what he said . . .
:)
Misogynist * Infidel * Bigot |
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Erebus
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1834 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2006 : 11:27:15
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Appearing today, a review at PopMatters: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/various-artists-hello-radio-the-songs-of-they-might-be-giants/
Frank Black/Pixies excerpts:
“Anyone unfamiliar with the band’s output might be surprised to learn that They Might Be Giants are without a doubt one of the best pop songwriting duos in recent music history. Even a cursory examination of their discography reveals a mastery of the pop songwriting form that would shame Rivers Cuomo. Unfortunately, this is often (almost always?) obscured by the gimmicky trappings of the nerd-rock genre which the group practically invented. Their best-selling album, after all, was 1990’s Flood, absolutely filled with jokey weirdness like “Particle Man” and their cover of “Istanbul, Not Constantinople”, songs that will remain forever associated with Doctor Demento and Tiny Toons. While these kind of bona fides may be enough to ensure the group a long afterlife in bar trivia contests, they hardly inspire the kind of fawning dedication reserved for indie legends like the Replacements or the Pixies, even if they’ve been around almost as long as the former and much longer than the latter. (They even wrote a song about the Replacements, for goodness’ sake.)”
“I would assert that in this regard They Might Be Giants—dual Johns Linnell and Flansburg—have repeatedly sabotaged their own best interests. I can think of any number of TMBG songs that are the equal to Paul Westerberg’s best slices of midwestern melancholy, or Frank Black’s twisted surreality, but the band themselves have seemed at times almost to reject these aspects of their music in favor of accentuating the nerd-friendly goofiness that makes them so easy to dismiss.” [snip]
“Frank Black shows up for “Road Movie to Berlin”. It sounds fairly tossed-off, but that’s hardly a bad thing—the cover fits pretty nicely with Black’s recent excursion into bluesy Americana. This is the very best kind of cover, showcasing a familiar song in a totally different light so as to bring entirely new angles to the surface. The weird synth-pop production of the original obscured the sardonic virtues of the Johns’ lyrics. Surely a line like “We were once so close to heaven, / Peter came out and gave us medals, / Declaring us the nicest of the damned” was just waiting for a day when Black would sing it.”
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edbanky
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
388 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2006 : 22:22:26
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Yeah, I almost wholeheartedly disagree with the assessments quoted here. First of all, "Road Movie" (by all accounts in my aural memory) is basically just Flansburg and a guitar, with a few human-sounding whistles. "Weird synth-pop production"? On top of it, the arrangement on the album is just about perfect, in my opinion. It's also one of Flans' most earnest compositions. Ah crap, I just remembered the big synth-orchestra section. Shit. Still, I'm right.
Anyway, the other part about "sabotag[ing] their best interests" is kinda stupid. They obviously could not have been financially-driven, nor were they aimed at pleasing critics. Nevertheless, TMBG have built a freaking empire on what the reviewer refers to as sabotage. They have a huge, loyal fanbase. They're diversified up the ass with multimedia projects, decidedly un-saboteur-like turns penning TV themes for a particular hugely successful and critically lauded television show among others. As I see it, they're an uncompromising cultural behemoth.
This statement, particularly, is utter horseshit:
quote:
While these kind of bona fides may be enough to ensure the group a long afterlife in bar trivia contests, they hardly inspire the kind of fawning dedication reserved for indie legends like the Replacements or the Pixies.
Er, what?
Pixies became iconic despite their amazing music, in my opinion. And the Replacements? Hmm . . . I see far more "fawning dedication" pointed squarely Johnsward than has been reserved for Westerberg's group. People do their share of namedropping of the Replacements, but geez. And "bar trivia"? C'mon dudes.
Am I crazy?
Due to my present condition and predicaments of being a crippled as a result of the fatal accident that I had, I am not able to carry out this contract because I can only walk on a wheel chair. |
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edbanky
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
388 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2006 : 22:28:33
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quote:
Originally posted by fbc
Molly 'the beautiful' McGuire on bass and vocals.
quote:
McGuire got the chance to play bass on a Frank Black track slated for Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants. She found out about the gig when a session bassist called in sick, and since Black was her teenage hero, she not only jumped, she practically pole-vaulted to the studio. To her dismay, Black had selected the tricky-to-play “Road Movie to Berlin,” a song full of musical changes.
“But he stripped it down to three chords,” says McGuire. “I plunked it out on the bass with a country swing. Then he asked, ‘Do you sing?’ I said ‘yeah,’ and we ended up singing the entire song together in the vocal booth. He left before it was mixed, so I got to sit in the control room and flip out, listening to our voices together on the playback.”
Mmmm . . . Molly . . .
Due to my present condition and predicaments of being a crippled as a result of the fatal accident that I had, I am not able to carry out this contract because I can only walk on a wheel chair. |
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lumpy
- FB Fan -
127 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2006 : 22:32:14
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| Frank's version of "Road Movie to Berlin" has actually become my favorite of his songs. I love that it has this downtempo country/blues/swing yet it still has that Frank style. Beautiful cover in my opinion. I personally like it better than the original. |
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Frank Black, The Wrens Contribute to TMBG Tribute
