1691 replies to this topic

[Paul]

You Win Some, Lose Some
All The Same To Me

#216.




Motörhead

SOMBies Say:

"they seem like a band that never messed with the formula they had." - avec

"Understatement of the century" - Pavement Ist Rad

"Lemmy = awesome.

Ace = still a douchebag." - Diesel

[TheGregWitul]

Why in the hell is James Brown rated so low? Unforgivable... Miles Davis for the #1 spot! j.

[Paul]

The Killing Moon
Will Come Too Soon

#215.




Echo and the Bunnymen

SOMBies Say:

"Just a great, great band that goes well beyond the few singles most people know." - Santiago 'n' Dunbar

"The first four LPs = essential." - Sid Hussein Hartha

[Paul]

You're Coming On Strong
You're Showing Your Colour

#214.




The Chemical Brothers

SOMBies Say:

"Dig Your Own Hole. Came out right when electronic music was becoming more mainstream. Stupid critics like to bash it throwing it in with the rest of the big beat movement, but they're making a mistake. Fuck Crystal Method, fuck the Prodigy, and fuck Fatboy Slim. This album is a classic from start to finish, and until you blast "Elektrobank" on your sound-system I would rather you didn't contest this fact. It isn't just big beat, it isn't just rock and roll, it's psychedelic hardcore dance art. Nobody has put out anything "electronica" that gets even close to being this good in a long time." - vamos scorcho

"one of the best albums ever" - The Good Dr Bill

[Heretix]

Floyd, however, is widely accepted as a fantastic drug band, perhaps only behind the Dead. Now granted, rock and drugs go hand in hand. But I don't know any band except Floyd where people talk about how great the band is to listen to when you're on drugs.

I think my argument holds merit.

It does hold merit but the Floyd were a better drug band than the Dead, and the Dead were great. Pink Floyd was just a far superior studio band. Both were live giants, the greatest ever.

Really? Floyd, really? Granted their 60s and 70s show had some amazing playing but they didn't have the variety of spontaneity of the Dead, and their 80s and beyond shows were just ridiculously orchestrated and sterile. Sure, they put on a great show visually, but it's the exact same thing every night played the exact same way. Not my idea of a good live band. Say, in one year, the Grateful Dead could have over 100 great shows. In that same year, Pink Floyd (from the Wish You Were Here tour on) had one. Because they played the same show over and over again.

And no, just because ONCE Pink Floyd played Echoes and Careful with that Axe on the WYWH tour does not make it dynamic.

[Paul]

How Fucking Romantic

#213.




The Magnetic Fields

SOMBies Say:

"69 songs is too many? I'd rather have 69 songs when a quarter of them are classics than 13 songs and only three or four are any good (read: 'i')." - Kennan

"1. The Magnetic Fields - Courtesans. Stephen Meritt is an area requiring further exploration, if this is any indication." - booradley'sboy

[Paul]

No, You Can't Stand Me Now
No You Can't Stand Ne Now

#212.




The Libertines

SOMBies Say:

"Libs by a million miles. Like Arctic Monkeys, don't get me wrong, but Up The Bracket was just an amazing rush of adrenaline that never seemed to let up, even with Radio America. You just saw the potential in Doherty/Barat that obviously was never fully realized. Arctic Monkeys will make good records, but The Libertines could've made CLASSICS. Up The Bracket is as close as they came, but it's still pretty damn close in my opinion. Plus, without the Libs, no Monkeys, so respect your elders." - Music Saves

"The Libertines have "chords" and "choruses." I like those." - Very Metal

[Paul]

Why In The World Are We Here
Surely Not To Live In Pain And Fear

#211.




John Lennon

SOMBies Say:

"Lennon's first two post-Beatles solo LPs, on the other hand, while not perfect, make me feel like I'm actually listening to something." - Ella Isquire

"He seems so much more human and willing to tackle unusual things artistically (admittedly Paul did the same, but his always seemed to be reaching for attention a bit). I love the fact that almost all the best post-Plastic Ono stuff is about John's family, rambling on about kids, Yoko, home-life etc. Most of the time I think John just sung about whatever was on his mind after 1970, Imagine was never "preachy" to me, just kind of a minor thought experiment on John's part. That song, like many others just kind of feels like Lennon wandering aloud to himself, with little interest in others really paying him any mind." - Asher Ford

"Anyone who thinks that Mccartney was this commercial hack who was holding the Lennon's vision down should take a listen to Lennon's solo albums." - Tony

[Saskadelphia]

#216.

Motörhead

Nice.

[maxexactly]

"The Libertines have "chords" and "choruses." I like those." - Very Metal

OTM

I always thought the Libs were closest to the real thing out of the whole 2001 rock revilal with Interpol, The Strokes, and The Libertines. They had more range and were a lot more dynamic all while retaining that shambolic rock n rollness. Also, although nothing really mindblowing, Libs lyrics weren't awkward or obtuse like Interpol's and not as elementary as the Strokes'.

[Montana]

Floyd, however, is widely accepted as a fantastic drug band, perhaps only behind the Dead. Now granted, rock and drugs go hand in hand. But I don't know any band except Floyd where people talk about how great the band is to listen to when you're on drugs.

I think my argument holds merit.

It does hold merit but the Floyd were a better drug band than the Dead, and the Dead were great. Pink Floyd was just a far superior studio band. Both were live giants, the greatest ever.

Really? Floyd, really? Granted their 60s and 70s show had some amazing playing but they didn't have the variety of spontaneity of the Dead, and their 80s and beyond shows were just ridiculously orchestrated and sterile. Sure, they put on a great show visually, but it's the exact same thing every night played the exact same way. Not my idea of a good live band. Say, in one year, the Grateful Dead could have over 100 great shows. In that same year, Pink Floyd (from the Wish You Were Here tour on) had one. Because they played the same show over and over again.

And no, just because ONCE Pink Floyd played Echoes and Careful with that Axe on the WYWH tour does not make it dynamic.

You've got it half wrong.

Firsrt, Pink Floyd was doing free form art rock jams (which is the core of krautrock - see Interstellar Overdrive) while the Dead were doing ho-hum west coast hippie blues.

Both bands are considered the greatest live rock acts for a variety of reasons. Both invested heavily in making the best soundsystems possible. Both were incredible improvisation acts. The Floyd stopped that during The Wall when the stage show restriced any kind of improvisation. Both were *the best* drug music in the business and still are (you gotta have that organic quality or forget it). Garcia was a brilliant gutiar player and his voice sounded like an old friend. You knew you were going to get some far out improvised jams and a gigantic sound system at the Dead shows. With the Floyd, you really didn't know what you were going to get from tour to tour in terms of the overall show. Some people got an improvised Dark Side of the Moon before it was even released. Some people got a giant fucking Wall built between them and the band during the show, and nothing but brand new material. Some people were up at 5 AM as "The Piper" slashed at his guitar with Lennon and Townsend in the audience at the UFO Underground - paving the way for art rock (think Bowie). You always got the pioneering azimuth coordinator. The Dead were like an old friend, and the Floyd were just cutting edge innovation, completely changing how you and I see shows today. There's no doubt that from the Wall on their shows lost the improv and became fairly mechanical, but they were still mesmerizing concerts(especially TDB tour) which set all time gross records at the time.

I've seen both the Dead and Pink Floyd. Both were the best I've seen, along with Neil Young and Crazy Horse on the WELD tour which was a different kind of awesome.

You definitely need to check out the opinion of "Sound on Stage", which ran a great peice on the Floyd live dominance. There's a great quote in there about "sound, light and atmosphere". *That* is what they pioneered in the live setting. That's what they bring.

I guess the main difference is that Pink Floyd evolved from tour to tour, while the Dead were pretty much the Dead. You knew you were getting a fantastic jam band which was out of this world when on hallucinogens. With the Floyd, you would show up and see something like this, which went against everything they were ever about, and even Waters taunting the crowd and trashing the bands past with this line:

So ya thought ya might like to go to the show.
To feel the warm thrill of confusion, that space cadet glow.
I got me some bad news for you, Sunshine.
Pink isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel,
And he sent us along as a surrugate band.
We're gonna find out where you fans really stand.


That's how he introduced fans to the new spectacle, the largest tour in rock history who are expecting pretty lights, improvised jams and that "high" vibe:



You are talking about pure art rock edge, completely flipping and blowing minds, never settling for the standard, the predictable - all on the largest scale in rock history, always pushing.


http://www.pinkfloyd...v/art-sos1.html

Over the 30 years that have passed since their debut record, Pink Floyd have remained unchallenged as the rock world's premier live attraction. In this unique and comprehensive four-part series, Mark Cunningham traces the development of the Floyd's live sound and talks to the key personnel who have contributed to some of the greatest shows on Earth.

When Pink Floyd embarked on their most recent jaunt around the world with the 1994 Division Bell tour, no less than 53 articulated trucks were required to transport the PA and lighting systems, projection equipment, staging, and all the additional elements which went into what has so far been acclaimed as the benchmark touring production of the '90s. By contrast, at the time of the band's first single, "Arnold Layne", in the spring of 1967, they traversed the country in a humble van.

Given the musical sophistication of their later years, it is equally difficult to conceive of Pink Floyd as a run-of-the-mill R&B combo, and yet this is precisely how they began when they were formed at the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Architecture in 1965 as The Abdabs by bassist Roger Waters, keyboard player Rick Wright, and drummer Nick Mason and several others. Like most bands of their time, their early repertoire consisted mainly of R&B and pop covers, and was broadened when guitarist, singer, and Bo Diddley fan Roger "Syd" Barrett arrived in the line-up, conjuring their new name: The Pink Floyd Sound. Within a year, Barrett blossomed as a songwriter, producing whimsical numbers such as "Candy And A Currant Bun", which would steer the band in a new direction.

Soon to drop the redundant suffix (and the definite article),their live set began to feature extended, feedback-drenched instrumental "freak-outs", largely dominated by Barrett's guitar experimentation's and Wright's Stockhausen-flavoured organ solos. Arguably, the biggest influence on the band's development at the forefront of the psychedelic revolution was Barrett's appetite for a certain hallucinogenic substance. Musically, however, he relied heavily on his echo box and slide techniques, often involving ball bearings, plastic rulers or a Zippo lighter, to achieve his eclectic blend of guitar effects, while the other band members experimented with similar flair. You had to be there.

By early 1967, Pink Floyd had secured both an EMI record deal and an enviable following as the darlings of London's underground scene with their "free-form", jazz-inspired, psychedelic noodlings, frequently accompanied by strange film sequences which were projected onto the band along with "liquid (colored oil slide) movies" -- the product of experimental Lighting Designer Mike Leonard. Even at this early juncture, while their contemporaries were busy playing at pop stars, the Floyd placed little emphasis on themselves as performers, preferring to give audiences an experience that relied on this interaction of sound, light and atmosphere. Numbers like "Interstellar Overdrive", which often lasted one hour, were based around one riff or chord and, like rave music more than 20 years later, they sent audiences on a magnificent sensory journey.

"Interstellar Overdrive", was, in fact, one of the titles performed by the Floyd at their "Games For May" at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on May 12 1967, an event set up by their managers Andrew King and Peter Jenner of Blackhill Enterprises, and promoted by classical promoter Christopher Hunt. Not only did this mark the first appearance at the hall of what was essentially a pop band, this "happening" also marked the first appearance in Britain of a rudimentary quadraphonic PA system, effected by additional speakers erected around the room and an early version of an amazing device, which has now gone down in Floyd folklore as the "Azimuth Coordinator". This elaborate name was given to what was essentially a crude pan pot device made by Bernard Speight, an Abbey Road technical engineer, using four large rheostats which were converted from 270 degree rotation to 90 degree. Along with the shift stick, these elements were housed in a large box and enabled the panning of quadraphonic sound.

To augment the music, Waters rented a basement in Harrow Road to record a number of effects tapes on a Ferrograph. These sounds included backwards cymbals, distorted percussion, and fake birdsong, and were played around the audience as the band performed. Waters explained at the time: "The sounds travel around the hall in a sort of circle, giving the audience an eerie effect of being absolutely surrounded by this music." From this point onwards, it seemed, the Floyd were destined to become pioneers in live sound.

Also some great reading here:

http://en.wikipedia....ve_performances

The New York Times stated in its March 2, 1980 edition that "The 'Wall' show remains a milestone in rock history though and there's no point in denying it. Never again will one be able to accept the technical clumsiness, distorted sound and meagre visuals of most arena rock concerts as inevitable" and concluded that "the 'Wall' show will be the touchstone against which all future rock spectacles must be measured

[Soundscape]

I! I! I! Hear It So Clear

#217.




King's X

SOMBies Say:


"I think Complain, Velocity and PH are the only ones who've gone the distance from the initial KX invasion, at least on this side of the board." - The Good Dr Bill

maybe my time with them doesn't go quite that far back ('96)..or I'm not known for being so into them around here?..but I do happen to love these guys..seen them 10x live and own all their records. Good to know there are some other X'ers around here..as evidenced by that recent thread we had about them. The fact they don't quite fit into any genre is part of their appeal to me.

[theremin]

I listened to faith hope love a couple times over the summer on cassette.

[Paul]

To give a little context on the King's X quote, a couple years ago their was an "invasion" of the SOMB by a bunch of people from a King's X board. They lost pretty quickly, even though it was kind of annoying. A few of them stuck around and became productive boarders. King's X became a running joke for a lot of us. I think those huge threads were lost a couple of boards ago.

[Heretix]

Montana, you've got some great points there. Floyd definitely is the more varied live show, careerwise, but what I was focusing on is the shows themselves. I think the Dead are a better live band because you could follow the Dead around for an entire tour and get a different show each time, whereas after 1975 every Floyd tour was basically the same show each time with minor variations... you'd probably get bored after a while. I'm not knocking Floyd at all, incredible live shows, but I'm just saying I think the Dead is the better live band, for those reasons... Personally, for live music, I don't think it gets much better than the Dead. Although keep in mind, due to my age I wasn't able to see either in concert myself, so that could affect my judgment as well.

[theremin]

Although keep in mind, due to my age I wasn't able to see either in concert myself, so that could affect my judgment as well.

Or it could be the drugs.

[Soundscape]

To give a little context on the King's X quote, a couple years ago their was an "invasion" of the SOMB by a bunch of people from a King's X board. They lost pretty quickly, even though it was kind of annoying. A few of them stuck around and became productive boarders. King's X became a running joke for a lot of us. I think those huge threads were lost a couple of boards ago.

interesting..I don't know their online fanbase too well, ..I've been on a few of their forums often when a new record or a tour happens..but I don't know too many of those folks by name. Altho a little over a year ago some guy posted on some of the other forums I'm on about the split/demise of 1 of their fan boards. I would have been interested to read what exactly went down; although back then, geez, I listened to a lot less of the so-called "Indie" stuff than I do now (which isn't that much compared to most around here anyway)..so I may have wanted to side with their group. But board-wars generally isn't my thing save for hanging on the sidelines and watching. But in the case of a group you happen to have a very long and strong connection with, maybe it would have been an exception.

[Simakos]

paul, please stop the countdown so we can discuss Pink Floyd live some more... okay? thanks.

[vurt]

"but The Libertines could've made CLASSICS" - Music Saves

Up the Bracket is a classic for me, but I think they could've done so much more. What a fucking waste(r ).

[Ent]

So far on the list we've got: 211. John Lennon 212. The Libertines 213. The Magnetic Fields 214. The Chemical Brothers 215. Echo and the Bunnymen 216. Motörhead 217. King's X 218. Arvo Pärt <-- no idea who this guy is 219. Willie Nelson 220. John Prine 221. This Heat 222. Jane's Addiction 223. Pet Shop Boys 224. The Streets 225. Superchunk 226. Kate Bush 227. Social Distortion 228. The Mars Volta 229. Al Green 230. Jawbreaker 231. Wu-Tang Clan 232. Billy Bragg 233. Jets To Brazil 234. Tool 235. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists 236. Nick Lowe 237. Wolf Parade 238. Dexys Midnight Runners 239. Townes Van Zandt 240. Saint Etienne 241. Morrissey 242. Woody Guthrie 243. The Birthday Party 244. American Music Club 245. Booker T & The M.G.'s 246. Mr. Bungle 247. The Olivia Tremor Control 248. The Sea and Cake 249. Marvin Gaye 250. Elvis Presley 251. Chris Whitley 252. Hanoi Rocks 253. Marillion 254. Patty Griffin 255. ???? 256. Pretty Girls Make Graves 257. Steve Reich 258. The Sword 259. The Misfits 260. ABBA 261. Fiona Apple 262. Howlin' Wolf 263. The Orb 264. Jay Reatard 265. Ricardo Villalobos 266. Todd Rundgren 267. James Brown 268. At The Drive-In 269. LCD Soundsystem 270. Red House Painters 271. Death Cab For Cutie 272. The Jayhawks 273. The Tragically Hip 274. Gillian Welch 275. Sparklehorse 276. Patti Smith 277. Opeth 278. Sufjan Stevens 279. Unrest 280. Paul Simon 281. Frank Sinatra 282. Genesis 283. Mötley Crüe 284. Nine Inch Nails 285. Primal Scream 286. The Wrens 287. DJ Shadow 288. Phil Spector 289. The Specials 290. Low 291. Eminem 292. Joe Strummer/Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros 293. The Byrds 294. Counting Crows 295. Gram Parsons 296. Slowdive 297. Faust 298. Foo Fighters 299. Interpol 300. Doves 301. Rilo Kiley