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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
 Posted - 09/07/2013 : 17:24:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Sprite
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
I don't know how old most of the folks on these boards are, but I have a sneaking suspicion that many of them were too young to have anxiously awaited the "new Pixies album" back when the group was together the first time around. They came to the band somewhat posthumously, when the legend had started to build, as opposed to following their exploits and growth in real time, as I did (I was handed their debut vinyl record about 2 weeks after it was released, by a friend from Boston).
This point also occurred to me. I joined the FB bus just as Doolittle came out in '89, got hooked, and immediately got up to speed on Surfer Rosa and Come On Pilgrim. And the anticipation walking home with the Velouria 12" in the summer of 1990 and playing it for the first time, repeating the process with all the subsequent records up to Trompe and each time nervous as hell that it wasn’t going to be good. And those songs off Bossanova and TLM were definitely less immediate than the Doolittle tunes. I remember being distinctly underwhelmed with both Velouria and Planet of Sound initially and thinking Winterlong was a joke!
I think older listeners in that situation probably have a different perspective on listening to EP1. I knew when I downloaded it the music may not sound immense straight away because I’d experience that feeling before (contrast Havalina with Gouge Away). But I also knew, that for me at least,any Pixies with a Bossanova type sheen needs many plays before I can truly make up my mind.
The other thing I remember is I didn’t know anybody else into Pixies for a long time after I discovered them. Listening to new music monitoring a running commentary about it on the web is not the way I digested music 20 years ago (in my bedroom in the dark on constant rotation for 3 weeks...). I think for EP2 I might turn off my broadband for a month.
Very interesting comments Peter Radiator, by the way
these are great points. i feel especially "well-prepared" for these tunes in that i came to the pixies in 1999. Death To The Pixies best of. so, it was ALL pixies, and it ALL sounded like nothing i'd heard/the best thing i've ever heard. furthermore, i HAVE been following Frank Black from release to release starting with Pistolero. so i've grown with his songwriting POST-pixies. it is what it is and, as usual, i fucking love it. i'm hooked on these 5 new songs. hooked.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2013 : 17:54:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Jose Jones
quote:
Originally posted by Sprite
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
I don't know how old most of the folks on these boards are, but I have a sneaking suspicion that many of them were too young to have anxiously awaited the "new Pixies album" back when the group was together the first time around. They came to the band somewhat posthumously, when the legend had started to build, as opposed to following their exploits and growth in real time, as I did (I was handed their debut vinyl record about 2 weeks after it was released, by a friend from Boston).
This point also occurred to me. I joined the FB bus just as Doolittle came out in '89, got hooked, and immediately got up to speed on Surfer Rosa and Come On Pilgrim. And the anticipation walking home with the Velouria 12" in the summer of 1990 and playing it for the first time, repeating the process with all the subsequent records up to Trompe and each time nervous as hell that it wasn’t going to be good. And those songs off Bossanova and TLM were definitely less immediate than the Doolittle tunes. I remember being distinctly underwhelmed with both Velouria and Planet of Sound initially and thinking Winterlong was a joke!
I think older listeners in that situation probably have a different perspective on listening to EP1. I knew when I downloaded it the music may not sound immense straight away because I’d experience that feeling before (contrast Havalina with Gouge Away). But I also knew, that for me at least,any Pixies with a Bossanova type sheen needs many plays before I can truly make up my mind.
The other thing I remember is I didn’t know anybody else into Pixies for a long time after I discovered them. Listening to new music monitoring a running commentary about it on the web is not the way I digested music 20 years ago (in my bedroom in the dark on constant rotation for 3 weeks...). I think for EP2 I might turn off my broadband for a month.
Very interesting comments Peter Radiator, by the way
these are great points. i feel especially "well-prepared" for these tunes in that i came to the pixies in 1999. Death To The Pixies best of. so, it was ALL pixies, and it ALL sounded like nothing i'd heard/the best thing i've ever heard. furthermore, i HAVE been following Frank Black from release to release starting with Pistolero. so i've grown with his songwriting POST-pixies. it is what it is and, as usual, i fucking love it. i'm hooked on these 5 new songs. hooked.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown.
I'm in the same boat and feel the same exact way. Heard Doolittle in 98, got into solo frank in 2000 and have been hooked ever since. Totally with you on the new stuff.
Ayerigvlagabriga-Raraaaargh!-Rumbahl-Jumbahl! |
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Chris Knight
= Cult of Ray =
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2013 : 22:11:08
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quote:
Originally posted by lucmove
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
The Pixies sound like whatever the Pixies sound like whenever they're doing whatever they're doing together.
If they made a polka record with their buddy Weird Al, it would still sound like the Pixies. It just might not sound like earlier records they made.
Well, sorry if I am rude, but I think this statement of yours disqualifies everything else you said and could ever say. You're expressly stating that you harbor no criteria for anything whatsoever, that anything goes, that whatever, that you don't care, that everything is a big shrug to you.
The criteria is that Frank, Joey, and Dave played on it. If you dislike it, that's one thing, but if you think it doesn't sound like the Pixies, then you have your head in the sand. I think that's what Peter was trying to say.
quote:
I'd be curious to see what the reaction would be to these exact same songs if they sounded virtually identical in arrangement and production, but if we all new that Kim Deal was playing and singing (in some capacity) on every track, and she was still in the band.
A big part of the judgements being made cannot help but be affected by the news of her departure, even if folks don't have that in the forefront of their minds.
This is a very valid point, which also occurred to me. I'm 99% sure that the Pitchfork review score would've been at least 4 points higher, had Kim been listed as a participant in these recordings. |
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cptnpasty
- FB Fan -
Spain
161 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2013 : 23:38:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris Knight
quote:
Originally posted by lucmove
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
The Pixies sound like whatever the Pixies sound like whenever they're doing whatever they're doing together.
If they made a polka record with their buddy Weird Al, it would still sound like the Pixies. It just might not sound like earlier records they made.
Well, sorry if I am rude, but I think this statement of yours disqualifies everything else you said and could ever say. You're expressly stating that you harbor no criteria for anything whatsoever, that anything goes, that whatever, that you don't care, that everything is a big shrug to you.
The criteria is that Frank, Joey, and Dave played on it. If you dislike it, that's one thing, but if you think it doesn't sound like the Pixies, then you have your head in the sand. I think that's what Peter was trying to say.
quote:
I'd be curious to see what the reaction would be to these exact same songs if they sounded virtually identical in arrangement and production, but if we all new that Kim Deal was playing and singing (in some capacity) on every track, and she was still in the band.
A big part of the judgements being made cannot help but be affected by the news of her departure, even if folks don't have that in the forefront of their minds.
This is a very valid point, which also occurred to me. I'm 99% sure that the Pitchfork review score would've been at least 4 points higher, had Kim been listed as a participant in these recordings.
...or six points higher. or eight. a score of one can't be justified on the basis of the songs - it read like a pre-written rant on the perils of a legendary band reforming and making music again, as if the reviewer had been waiting, arms folded, demanding to be impressed. It's embarrassing and silly when people talk about the Pixies 'legacy' These people make rock records, and they make them ROCK. There's nothing less 'rock'n'roll' than precious talk of a 'legacy'. That's for museums and galleries.
www.alotofwind.com |
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pot
> Teenager of the Year <
Iceland
3910 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 02:10:31
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LOL I just read the Pitchfork review. Is that 1 out of 10 or 5?
I also though the same thing when they blogged the lyric 'put the cock in cocktail' how lame?
This release is a fuck-up of epic proportions, but I guess maybe it will have lowered my expectations for any further releases which may assist in creating the illusion where I like some of it. |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 06:39:44
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that would be 1 out of 10, pot.
and, most of the spoken word bits (lyrics AND delivery) on Indy Cindy are a little grating to my ears, honestly. but they don't ruin the song, as most of the song is that beautiful extended chorus. i love how it just goes on and on. woke up with it stuck in my head this morning.
and, similarly, the hollers of "bagboy" in Bagboy's chorus come off as silly to me. it should have been screamed. as it is, he sounds a little like Fred Schneider.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1064 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 09:25:22
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From the wonderful Tim Heidecker of Tim and Eric fame:
timheidecker #8207;@timheidecker 6 Sep
.@pitchforkmedia slams the new Pixies EP which proves it is great!!! (and it is!)
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IBreed
= Cult of Ray =
310 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 09:59:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris Knight
quote:
Originally posted by lucmove
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
The Pixies sound like whatever the Pixies sound like whenever they're doing whatever they're doing together.
If they made a polka record with their buddy Weird Al, it would still sound like the Pixies. It just might not sound like earlier records they made.
Well, sorry if I am rude, but I think this statement of yours disqualifies everything else you said and could ever say. You're expressly stating that you harbor no criteria for anything whatsoever, that anything goes, that whatever, that you don't care, that everything is a big shrug to you.
The criteria is that Frank, Joey, and Dave played on it. If you dislike it, that's one thing, but if you think it doesn't sound like the Pixies, then you have your head in the sand. I think that's what Peter was trying to say.
quote:
I'd be curious to see what the reaction would be to these exact same songs if they sounded virtually identical in arrangement and production, but if we all new that Kim Deal was playing and singing (in some capacity) on every track, and she was still in the band.
A big part of the judgements being made cannot help but be affected by the news of her departure, even if folks don't have that in the forefront of their minds.
This is a very valid point, which also occurred to me. I'm 99% sure that the Pitchfork review score would've been at least 4 points higher, had Kim been listed as a participant in these recordings.
the thing is, joey is quoted as saying gil wasn't fond of his playing on another toe. that's a huge red flag. save for the bridge, it's entirely lacking in anything that makes frank's writing or joey's playing so seminal.
i think there's a common misunderstanding here.
i'm not pining for the pixies to return to any one sound, but i do expect their unique qualities to be present in what they do. i love the pixies for their melodic instincts, and when they work outside those bounds, well, it's not the pixies i love. new songs don't have to sound exactly like alec eiffel, but they sure as fuck better adhere to the qualities inherent in what makes it so good. it's a writing aesthetic. indie cindy fulfills this. what goes boom fulfills this. shit, threshold apprehension and captain pasty fulfill this. the whole of the golem fulfills this!!!!!
there's something so lazy about saying the tepid reaction is down to kim's absence across the board. ridiculous.
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benji
> Teenager of the Year <
New Zealand
3430 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:20:21
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i spent a fair bit of time with this ep when on a 6 hour drive 2 days ago. had it on repeat for half a dozen listens and i found myself getting a little grated by the spoken word bits. never really been a fan of this type of vocal delivery, but that's not a biggy really.
i actually found that another toe was one of my favourite tracks on the ep. sure, it's a bit poppy, but i like it.
inde cindy and what goes boom are very strong, with andro queen being the weakest of the tracks imo.
the other three tracks (indi, boom and toe) are all pretty even in my opinion.
all i can say, thank god for polio! brian |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:35:43
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quote:
Originally posted by IBreed
the thing is, joey is quoted as saying gil wasn't fond of his playing on another toe. that's a huge red flag.
Not doubting you, but - citation please?
Ayerigvlagabriga-Raraaaargh!-Rumbahl-Jumbahl! |
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Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
* Dog in the Sand *
1091 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:36:53
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While discovering those new songs this evening, I thought about the feeling I had last night listenning to SPACE (I believe in) in the train.
The difference between Pixies in 2013 and the last century is just as simple and cruel as the difference between the smell, the texture, the quality of the skin, the fire in the eyes of your first teenage loves compared to them tweenty years later.
The Pixies' musical concept was fantastically politicaly incorrect. It was PURE rock'n roll. Totally evil and necessary.
Time altered this chimical miracle. Pixies should have NEVER reformed just as no one should ever fuck a dead corpse (especially when it was such a sweet and hot one).
I understand why Kim Deal did not want to be part of it.
I don't understand why FRANK BLACK no longer releases any records.
He was the FUTURE.
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7446 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:42:18
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Junior, you're drunk. Time to go home now.
Denis
Obsidiana Bijoux |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:49:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
While discovering those new songs this evening, I thought about the feeling I had last night listenning to SPACE (I believe in) in the train.
The difference between Pixies in 2013 and the last century is just as simple and cruel as the difference between the smell, the texture, the quality of the skin, the fire in the eyes of your first teenage loves compared to them tweenty years later.
The Pixies' musical concept was fantastically politicaly incorrect. It was PURE rock'n roll. Totally evil and necessary.
Time altered this chimical miracle. Pixies should have NEVER reformed just as no one should ever fuck a dead corpse (especially when it was such a sweet and hot one).
I understand why Kim Deal did not want to be part of it.
I don't understand why FRANK BLACK no longer releases any records.
He was the FUTURE.
++++
Ahhh yes. I remember my first beer...
Ayerigvlagabriga-Raraaaargh!-Rumbahl-Jumbahl! |
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Sprite
* Dog in the Sand *
1356 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:51:16
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What is the defining characteristic of Pixies music? The quiet/loud dynamic, weird chord changes, surreal lyrics, tempo changes, female harmonies, screaming, whispering, savage guitars, spanish guitars, wailing guitars, dropped beats, false starts, sudden endings, killer melodies, layered production, sparse production...
Yes all of these. However less obvious but crucial is Pixies songs can suffer repeated playing way beyond the breaking point of anything else. My IPOD play count is telling me I am up to 53 plays for Another Toe and more than 40 for the others. And the songs are STILL getting better. To my ears they are hands down Pixies tracks. I can only recommend some of you try and give them time a little more time to breathe.
I do agree the spoken bits are the weakest part. I think Frank has lost that manic, earnest, deranged sounding yelp talk that sounded so effective on Levitate Me, I’m amazed, I Bleed, Crackity Jones etc. The spoken style is much more laconic and conventional now. But he’s not 21 anymore so it’s to be expected. Same thing happened MES.
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Edited by - Sprite on 09/08/2013 10:54:10 |
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IBreed
= Cult of Ray =
310 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 10:58:46
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
quote:
Originally posted by IBreed
the thing is, joey is quoted as saying gil wasn't fond of his playing on another toe. that's a huge red flag.
Not doubting you, but - citation please?
Ayerigvlagabriga-Raraaaargh!-Rumbahl-Jumbahl!
not to worry! you should doubt me. so here, "JOEY SANTIAGO: This is a good example of where my “Pixies Theory” wasn’t coming across with Gil. So we added a lot of tremolos, which is very surf-y. Duane Eddy, Link Wray and all that stuff. On that I used Gil’s Stratocaster to get that sound."
http://www.alternativenation.net/?p=33173 |
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Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
* Dog in the Sand *
1091 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 11:03:46
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quote:
Originally posted by vilainde
Junior, you're drunk. Time to go home now.
Denis
Obsidiana Bijoux
Okky doky, Oldie Daddy...
(I'll never be like you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you ;)
++++ |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 11:41:40
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quote:
Originally posted by IBreed
quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
quote:
Originally posted by IBreed
the thing is, joey is quoted as saying gil wasn't fond of his playing on another toe. that's a huge red flag.
Not doubting you, but - citation please?
Ayerigvlagabriga-Raraaaargh!-Rumbahl-Jumbahl!
not to worry! you should doubt me. so here, "JOEY SANTIAGO: This is a good example of where my “Pixies Theory” wasn’t coming across with Gil. So we added a lot of tremolos, which is very surf-y. Duane Eddy, Link Wray and all that stuff. On that I used Gil’s Stratocaster to get that sound."
http://www.alternativenation.net/?p=33173
Ah, okay. I remember reading that but I took it differently. To me, there's some subtle context and between-the-lines stuff going on in those comments.
When Joey says "It was a good way to approach it, because he knew that, post-breakup, I had worked, scoring for films and television. It was a completely different vibe from 20 years ago, which was a theory-based approach, my “Pixies Theory,” if you will" he is saying that he likes the new approach, felt it was appropriate, and responded positively to being pushed out of his "Pixies-by-numbers" approach to the guitar for this band. Which is a good thing for me. When all you do is pull the same rabbit out of the hat over and over, you wind up with Aerosmith.
In reference to Toe, he mentions that they added a lot of surf-y tremolo, and the way he said it, it sounds like he was happy with it (again, my opinion). I thought surfisms were desired by the Pixies fanbase.
I didn't get that Gil didn't like what Joey recorded, I got that Gil thought whatever Joey did to begin with wasn't the best he could do and/or inappropriate for the track. Which is what a producer is there for and in all likelihood Gil has had a similar discussion with Joey and others in the band on nearly every recording they've done since Doolittle (don't discredit Gil's influence and input on every Pixies song he's been a part of - they wouldn't have gone back to him if they didn't feel like they needed him).
Not trying to be hostile or confrontational or anything, strictly discussion, man.
Edit: I think the more telling quote about what we're hearing is this from the NYTimes article:
"To help the band find its sound after so many years, Mr. Norton gave them a riddle. Referring to an old Pixies song, he had them imagine that for all this time they had been off playing on the Planet of Sound, and only now returning to Earth."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/arts/music/the-pixies-motor-on-without-their-longtime-bassist.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Put that way, I can visualize the Pixies as this band that literally was abducted 20+ years ago and showed back up with this after a couple decades on the Planet of Sound. Kinda fun to think about.
Ayerigvlagabriga-Raraaaargh!-Rumbahl-Jumbahl! |
Edited by - johnnyribcage on 09/08/2013 11:58:11 |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 12:02:21
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also, charles said they don't agree with him on everything. so if they felt strongly about their way they would probably stick to their guns.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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Jose Jones
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1758 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 12:05:31
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also, charles said they don't agree with him on everything. so if they felt strongly about their way they would probably stick to their guns.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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IBreed
= Cult of Ray =
310 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 13:43:54
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i appreciate that- i think debate is healthy and conversation about songs is what this place is all about. what i dislike is when people tell me *why* i dislike the song (kim's not there! it's not 1989 enough!) or say, some arsehole like me trying to tell you you're wrong for liking a song or something. of course, if people truly love another toe, that's awesome. i totally believe it. it's very catchy.
i guess, for me, the song truly would have benefited from some old fashioned joey. i quite like the 'scoring' on andro queen though- very appropriate and pretty.
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 13:57:56
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quote:
Originally posted by IBreed
i appreciate that- i think debate is healthy and conversation about songs is what this place is all about. what i dislike is when people tell me *why* i dislike the song (kim's not there! it's not 1989 enough!) or say, some arsehole like me trying to tell you you're wrong for liking a song or something. of course, if people truly love another toe, that's awesome. i totally believe it. it's very catchy.
i guess, for me, the song truly would have benefited from some old fashioned joey. i quite like the 'scoring' on andro queen though- very appropriate and pretty.
Absolutely man, wasn't trying to come off with the 'telling you why you don't like something' vibe - hope I didn't. I think there's some great discussion in dissecting some of the direct quotes we have floating around about the new material though.
Peace
It's okay, I'm the Burgermeister of Purgatory |
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sdon
= Cult of Ray =
France
786 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 14:16:51
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Johnny I like your sig and almost wanted to use that quote :)
too late, you win
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"Aristophanes! (gong sounds)" |
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natenate101
= Cult of Ray =
USA
895 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 14:17:50
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
quote:
Originally posted by IBreed
i appreciate that- i think debate is healthy and conversation about songs is what this place is all about. what i dislike is when people tell me *why* i dislike the song (kim's not there! it's not 1989 enough!) or say, some arsehole like me trying to tell you you're wrong for liking a song or something. of course, if people truly love another toe, that's awesome. i totally believe it. it's very catchy.
i guess, for me, the song truly would have benefited from some old fashioned joey. i quite like the 'scoring' on andro queen though- very appropriate and pretty.
Absolutely man, wasn't trying to come off with the 'telling you why you don't like something' vibe - hope I didn't. I think there's some great discussion in dissecting some of the direct quotes we have floating around about the new material though.
Peace
It's okay, I'm the Burgermeister of Purgatory
I really hope they do these breakdowns for the other new releases. Gives perspective and also can actually open up the track for me, having more background info from the band themselves. |
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peter radiator
= Cult of Ray =
USA
667 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 14:36:02
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quote:
Originally posted by lucmove
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
The Pixies sound like whatever the Pixies sound like whenever they're doing whatever they're doing together.
If they made a polka record with their buddy Weird Al, it would still sound like the Pixies. It just might not sound like earlier records they made.
Well, sorry if I am rude, but I think this statement of yours disqualifies everything else you said and could ever say. You're expressly stating that you harbor no criteria for anything whatsoever, that anything goes, that whatever, that you don't care, that everything is a big shrug to you.
Lucmove, I don't think you're being rude by that remark, but I do think you're being somewhat overreactive and perhaps unduly harsh.
You also seem to have misunderstood what I was trying to express. I do not subscribe whatsoever to the ethos you posit above.
When it comes to all things Pixies, virtually none of it is a "big shrug" to me. Perhaps that's my problem!
My point was merely that whatever sort of music the group of people known to us as "Pixies" wish to make and market under that name will in fact "sound like" the Pixies. It's a simple truism.
By example, what does "Bob Dylan" sound like? Or "Tom Waits?"
In both their cases, each artist has made records which sound almost completely different from ones that have come before it, with the only similarity being the basic sound of their voices, and a commonality of instrumentation.
Other than that, genre, production value, arrangements, mood and/or complexity run the gamut. Yet they are all "Bob Dylan," "Tom Waits," "Neil Young," "David Bowie, "Lou Reed," or "Elvis Costello" albums, and equally valid and legitimate as creative expressions unique to those artists.
For the same example but using a collective (instead of singer/songwriters who hire musicians as they see fit), see: "The Beatles."
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
A big part of the judgements being made cannot help but be affected by the news of her departure, even if folks don't have that in the forefront of their minds.
quote:
Originally posted by lucmove
Yawn. For the 17th time, I really like Bag Boy. And Kim is not in it. And the soundalike doesn't count on that particular song.
Um, I wasn't just speaking to you, but to anyone who might read my post. And, well, that wasn't really the point I was trying to make, either...
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
Even for those who have been with the band since the mid-'80s, try to wipe away the misleading and compressing dynamism of passing time which colors memories, and seriously think about the difference in mood, tone, slickness and songwriting styles between BOSSANOVA and SURFER ROSA.
Hell, just think about the vast difference in those attributes between SURFER ROSA and DOOLITTLE.
Save for the recognizable voices, those records don't sound like they come from the same band by almost any stretch of the imagination. It is only because they have been codified as a cohesive back catalog over time that their extreme differences and compositional shifts have been muted.
quote:
Originally posted by lucmove
I think you're deaf and should see a doctor. I could write a post even longer than these you've been posting just to point out the similarities between Surfer Rosa and Doolittle. If you can't see them, you're no different from the "Fight Club kids."
Okay, now that's just silly.
I'm a writer by trade, so I suppose my posts tend to be a little on the lengthy side, but not abnormally so. Sorry about that.
There's no need to detail the similarities between those records. I'm hip to them, and there are of course plenty.
However, my point remains: there are at least as many differences between the sound of the recordings and the style of the compositions found on those two records as there are similarities. No getting around that.
The band took a big leap at that point in its history (in many respects), and that gap is at least partially bridged in listeners' minds by the knowledge that it's the same group of people, using the same "brand name."
If you can't hear that yourself or accept what I'm saying, that's fine, but there's no reason to be ugly about it.
Had DOOLITTLE been released under a different band name with unfamiliar musicians listed in the credits, it would have been a top contender for "biggest, most shameless rip-off of the Pixies ever."
However, the trademark sour vocal harmonies of FBF and Kim render that point moot.
It's a great record, and a great Pixies record, but -- as I said before -- at the time of its release, it left many avid Pixies fans a bit confused.
Much like what has happened with every single record that has been released under that name ever since.
This is an ongoing pattern. It just has not occurred for 20 years.
I remember it well, and welcome it.
Some folks don't, and so they may not. It may feel like some sort of cop-out or betrayal.
Those weaned on voluminous, instantly-accessed, commercially driven drivel/vitriol (see: Pitchfork) can't get into the mindspace that I and others with shared experiences to mine can.
My gut tells me that those of us who came of age in a time before such omnipresent, insulting, holier-than-though opinions (not talking about you, Lucmove -- just making a sweeping generalization about the unfortunate pitfalls of the democratization of rock criticism), are more prepared to weather these storms and see a bigger picture.
So yeah, I was hoping that if the Pixies ever got back together and wrote some songs and made some new recordings again for public consumption that the material would be of a caliber and presented in such a way that it would defy my expectations just enough to make me scratch my head and contemplate my relationship to the band -- as they never failed to do for me in the past.
That is exactly what I have gotten out of EP1 and "Bagboy," and for that, I am eternally grateful to the band.
I should also add the following:
As far as any of the newly released songs sounding like "any number of other modern rock bands," as a few people on these boards (and elsewhere) have basically griped...
While I disagree strongly, I can see where for some that opinion would be completely valid.
However, it is undercut by the unavoidable fact that so much of modern rock (especially of the past fifteen years) has been so supremely influenced by the songwriting approach, vocal delivery, instrument tones and production value of the earlier Pixies records, that for this band to sound even remotely like "themselves" while recording with current equipment makes it unavoidable that their new recordings will sound quite a bit like what has come in their wake.
The irony here is that the folks who pine most for a "return to form," are in essence asking the bandmembers to once more somehow be 20 years ahead of their time, instead of reveling in the fact that the sounds and lyrical conceits which coalesced so beautifully and unexpectedly in the group's seminal back catalog, are now on unabashed display in varying degrees through both famous and unknown bands all over the world.
True, most of those bands have failed to create the kind of timeless, sparking art that the "Pixies" have, but it's unfair to blame the group for sounding too much like the scores of people who've spent countless amounts of time, energy and money doing their best to sound like THEM over the past two decades.
You know?
Hope this makes more sense to ya, Lucmove.
Now, STOP BURNING THOSE BEANS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FOztOsXtr8
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 16:27:41
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Hey Peter Radiator:
Everybody calm down, I'm the Burgermeister of Purgatory |
Edited by - johnnyribcage on 09/08/2013 17:19:31 |
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Helmut
= Cult of Ray =
315 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 20:42:28
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| Pixies 2013 sound exactly how I'd expect, like a fleshed out Black Francis/Frank Black album. I wish the Pixies had done Bluefinger, the first album written for the Pixies in my opinion as it sounds like Pixies without Joey's guitar and Kim's backing vox. Joey (and David and Gil to a lesser extent) make the new songs sound Pixie-ish. Annoyed Kim cbf'ed being a part of it and is only into touring 20 year old albums (i.e. Doolittle, Breeder's Last Splash 20 year tour). Maybe Violet was right and she is incapable of being challenged and making new music. |
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Chris Knight
= Cult of Ray =
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 21:26:06
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"Maybe Violet was right and she is incapable of being challenged and making new music."
Kim has released three solo singles in the last year, with more to come I think. |
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6288 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2013 : 23:36:52
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And those singles are great too. When Kim and Frank make great music apart from eachother, I´m happy. When they are together and not making new music, I´m not. 2013 is way better than some of the reunion years.
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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peter radiator
= Cult of Ray =
USA
667 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 04:32:27
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Nicely put, Billgoodman.
I agree.
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder |
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natenate101
= Cult of Ray =
USA
895 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 05:28:11
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quote:
Originally posted by billgoodman
And those singles are great too. When Kim and Frank make great music apart from eachother, I´m happy. When they are together and not making new music, I´m not. 2013 is way better than some of the reunion years.
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken?
Very true. |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 14:49:07
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On the whole, the new EP is getting shredded by small time blogs and some mid-level review sites. I'm confused by the reaction - not sure if it's the "hip" thing to do because it's new (in 20 years these kids will probably be waxing poetic about it), but I kind of take it as a good sign :)
Everybody calm down, I'm the Burgermeister of Purgatory |
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moonruler
- FB Fan -
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 16:28:19
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I really like the new songs. The Kim-A-Like on Bagboy helped that track, and I wish Kim had stayed with the band, but these songs are damn good.
The EP is actually great. I would like to ask: what language he is speaking in the bridge on Andro Queen? That is the bridge, right?
Andro and Indy Cindy I like right now, but I am hoping they grow on me a little more. Another Toe and What Goes Boom? rock. I do love those two. |
Edited by - moonruler on 09/09/2013 16:30:32 |
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johnnyribcage
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1301 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 16:42:14
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quote:
Originally posted by moonruler
I would like to ask: what language he is speaking in the bridge on Andro Queen? That is the bridge, right?
Esperanto I believe. Apparently he wanted to practice.
Everybody calm down, I'm the Burgermeister of Purgatory |
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cptnpasty
- FB Fan -
Spain
161 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 21:11:54
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quote:
Originally posted by johnnyribcage
quote:
Originally posted by moonruler
I would like to ask: what language he is speaking in the bridge on Andro Queen? That is the bridge, right?
Esperanto I believe. Apparently he wanted to practice.
Everybody calm down, I'm the Burgermeister of Purgatory
It is Esperanto. I took it as a (good) joke - a reference to the use of Spanish in the old material.
www.alotofwind.com |
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vilainde
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Niue
7446 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2013 : 21:49:56
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Damn I'm really warming up to Another Toe. Sure it's not original but I love a good power pop song. Like the best Jonny Polonsky stuff.
Denis
Obsidiana Bijoux |
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"Four New Songs" EP
