25 replies to this topic

[Hans Christian Anderson]

lemme explain my history w/ this band, and thus the genesis of this thread. i've long thought they've had one of the best names of any rock band ever. still never heard a note. then i was unlocking my bike after work one day and our building's super cool maintenance guy was blasting this awesome sonic youthy sounding stuff out of a shitty little boombox through his ipod that was connected. i sneaked a peak and it was galaxie 500, who i always thought were like a low precursor or something. either way, low is awesome and SY is awesome, so i was colored impressed. then carrie brownstein wrote this blog about the few flagship bands that music nerds have somehow missed (ie not bands like the beatles, stones or zeppelin but big star, the feelies, etc.) hers was galaxie 500. i figured what better goal in life than to get a jump on carrie brownstein, at least in music knowledge if not a real jump. then i was at amoeba records this weekend and nearly bought the whole damn boxset of their work, but instead i bought hard copies of B&S and BSS albums i already had mp3 copies of, which are seemingly the only thing i buy at record stores these days. that gutsyness of purchasing a galaxie 500 record would have happened in another era, but i think there's already been another thread on that. anyhow, long story short, which galaxie 500 album should i start w/ via an illegal download to then prompt me to buy their entire discography after i fall in love w/ them?

[washing machine]

This Is Our Music.

[Pavement Ist Rad]

On Fire is pretty great, though.

Their cover of "Isn't It A Pity" is one of my favorite songs ever.

[Vivian Darkbloom]

You need both of those records to understand the awesomeness. Galaxie 500 are like some perfect slowcore hybrid of VU and MBV. They're twice the band Luna ever were.

[partlycloudy]

Wow. I was going to start this exact same thread this week. Thank you.

[poopinmybutt]

on fire

[undo]

They're twice the band Luna ever were.

[twicks]

They're twice the band Luna ever were.

Yeah, I gotta say I prefer Luna, too.

[john the cool kid]

start with on fire. is it just me or does this album remind you of a dreamier version of electric warrior by t.rex

[sin city]

I'll try to upload the box set this weekend, but no promises- will be pretty busy. Galaxie 500 is awesome. That's all I got.

[Chicken Invaders!]

Yeah, they've only got three records so diving into their catalog isn't exactly a daunting task. But go for On Fire, it's their best song.

[Vivian Darkbloom]

They're twice the band Luna ever were.

Don't get me wrong, I like Luna too (especially Bewitched), but they're just a little bit too much like Velvet Underground tribute band or something to my ears. G500 brings more original languid fuzz.

[gangoffour20]

[bobsatwork]

your first impulse was probably the best one. purchase the entire box set. it's got great cover versions of the Rutles' "Cheese And Onions" and a live medley of "Rain" with that (Modern Lovers?) cover song from the first album that rocks. i mean, if you want to get a downloaded version of either "On Fire" or "This Is Our Music," that's fine, but you might as well spring for the box.

[poopinmybutt]

isn't the box out of print though? i've never seen it for much under 50 bucks which means you could still get the 3 albums for much cheaper, i see them for 9.99 and even 7.99 sometimes

[avec]

Really, start anywhere. As someone mentioned above thread, they only have 3 albums worth of proper material. On Fire is the critically lauded one and from my perspective a great album. I think you'll like it, judging from your musical tastes.

As far as Luna vs Galaxie 500 goes, I prefer the first incarnation. One thing I love about Galaxie 500 is that they were a young band. You could tell they were getting a feel for their instruments. Sure Dean was a great guitarist even back then. His lyricism on the other hand was awkward and adolescent, as well as his falsetto delivery. But it worked, because the music was a lamentation of being different or out of place.

I get a warm feeling inside when listening to On Fire. Like hearing 3 friends making music in a basement or garage for their other friends, and for themselves to hear alone. I don't get that feeling often enough anymore.

Luna is like Dean growing up and becoming distinguished. The music is polished and fine, almost too perfect and formulaic for my tastes. They did write some damn good songs though

[Hans Christian Anderson]

isn't the box out of print though?

i've never seen it for much under 50 bucks which means you could still get the 3 albums for much cheaper, i see them for 9.99 and even 7.99 sometimes

the SF amoeba had 2-3 used copies at $40ish each

[killerparties]

SO...

On Fire is absolutely amazing. Just so we're clear on this point.

edit: also, everytime I encounter a g500 fan in real life, it is pretty much a religious experience. In the end, we just listen to "Strange" and say 'fuck yeah', word.

[undo]

Don't get me wrong, I like Galaxie 500, too. I still need to hear This Is Our Music. I only got the first two albums a few months ago and I know I need to spend more time with them. Some really brilliant songs but quite a few that haven't grabbed me quite yet.

Pretty accurate visual representation of myself about 24 hours after making this post.

[Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ҈҉Ѡ]

dean warham named his band after a muscle car so he could fool everyone into thinking he didnt sing like a little eunuch girl didnt fool me