The Posies - Classic or Dud?

Saw Posies do the 'FOTB' full album thing this summer at some miserable street fest in Chicago - it was ragtag at best, I thought. Best shows I've seen of them are Jon and Ken doing the two guys, two acoustic guitar thing or them performing solo (esp. Ken).

How come no one has mentioned the magnificent (if somewhat atypical) "Flood of Sunshine"?

Really enjoying Every Kind Of Light right now, on a sunny afternoon.

new album blood/candy is many shades of excellent

I heard the song on spin.com and it was...different.

“Licenses To Hide” sounds JUST like the piano-driven stuff on Ken’s solo records, which is fine and I’m glad they seem into mixing up the Posies sound and not copying their ‘90s records, I hope it still sounds collaborative and not like solo album outtakes. Totally missed the thread revive in February, though, so the news of the new album caught me off guard the other day and I’m really excited, always hoped Every Kind Of Light wasn’t just a one-off.

Man, how did I never post on this thread? Posies are one of my ATF bands. For as great as Frosting is, Amazing Disgrace is their overlooked masterpiece, as it has all the hooks of the former with none of the Don Fleming. This song from that album is probably my favorite Posies joint. The lyrics and intent feel very Chris Bell-ish to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDOoQj-kmOY

http://www.mondosalvo.com/blog/?p=396

I actually made a Posies post on mah blarg a couple days ago. Great Bee Gees cover people should grab if they don't already have it.

ATF bands?

Amazing Disgrace is a fantastic album, some days it's my favorite of theirs. i like the Don Fleming sound on Frosting, though, the kind of heavy/seasick guitar tones are an interesting mix with their pop instincts.

just guessing...All Time Favorites?

And yeah, I think Frosting is the best sounding Posies album (with a couple of their best songs being on there as well).

liking the demos that come with the latest album. "the glitter prize" is pretty classic

the new album is brilliant. they were electrifying in london a few weeks back.

album is still growing on me, kinda had to come to grips with the fact that it's the least rocking Posies album since Dear 23. really hoping I can afford to see their show here next month, the idea of Jon and Ken playing with Brendan Benson during his set in addition to a Posies set is really exciting to me.

also had no idea that demos were packaged with the retail version, gotta hear those! i'm a big fan of some of the demos on the At Least At Last box set.

trust me, going by the form they were on a coupla weeks back, the posies will rock you, even if the new material's less rock. best i've ever seen 'em. bassist matt is doing some backing vox too now, and they sound awesome.

Ken's other band The Disciplines are releasing their 2nd album, Virgins of Menace, in February, and it is way way better than Blood/Candy

Saw them open for and then play behind Brendan Benson a few weeks ago and they had THE absolute cheesiest and lamest onstage banter I have ever heard. The jokes were brutally bad. But hell if they weren't a great backing band for Benson.

Are there any Posies songs that sound even remotely like "Coming Right Along?" Because that's one great song right there. I should mention I generally dislike "power pop."

I love the sound of that, esp Auer's guitars, tone etc

Frosting has a few other songs that are not quite as spare and brooding as that but not far off -- other songs in their catalog that hit that spot to some degree: Terrorized, The Certainty, Fall Song, Please Return It, You Avoid Parties, Throwaway, Every Bitter Drop, I Guess You're Right. they've always had a bit of goth in them. and the demos on the At Least At Last box set and Ken's lo-fi first solo album give you a sense of what they might've sounded like with less pop and polish in their sound.

Thanks! I will check those out.

And xp yeah, that guitar tone is just perfect. He's playing in a really weird tuning too iirc

Terrorized, The Certainty, Fall Song, Please Return It, You Avoid Parties, Throwaway, Every Bitter Drop, I Guess You're Right

And Flood of Sunshine, for fuck's sake! Am I the only one who thinks this song is epically epic?

Yep...not sure how much of it was touched upon at the time but Jon A wasnt exactly a slouch on the guitar.

Frosting's sound is really kind of singular in the Posies catalogue.

"Flood" is cool but it feels a little more like a groovy classic rock epic than what I was trying to articulate about those other songs.

Frosting is a great union of band and producer, also Mike Musberger is a Bonhamesque beast of a drummer, always felt like it was a shame that he was only with the band for 2 albums, one of which didn't make much use of his power.

Yeah, "Flood" does feel more classic rock than most Posies (certainly the least "power pop" of anything on Dear 23), but it's got a psychedelic mystery and sense of space that fits with "Coming Right Along."

Incidentally, this thread inspired me to do a Posies A to Z today. I'm up to "K" at the moment (their cover of "King Midas in Reverse").

http://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/05/22/22262371/seattle-music-community-stunned-by-untimely-death-of-darius-minwalla

Minwalla was only a member of the band for 14 the last years, and didn't play on any of the Posies records anyone cares about, but still sad.

blood/candy is a great record imo, their best since frosting maybe

very sad news. i took time to warm up to him since i was such a huge fan of the 2 drummers the Posies had in the '90s, but the 2 or 3 times i saw them live he did a great job with the old songs and hit some of the other drummers' fills that a lot of replacement drummers would never bother to learn. he's also all over Jon Auer's solo album (where he's credited as Darius "Take One" Minwalla, which seems like one of the most flattering nicknames a drummer could hope to have).

The picture of Ken Stringfellow on Spotify appears to be a pic of Alex Chilton?

Anyway- time for a vinyl reissue of Frosting?

"Help Yourself" from Dear 23 has so many cringey turns of phrase, but I love it anyway. Bless its little heart.

yeah there are really a lot of precious overly clever lines on the first two albums, became more intermittent after that

tbf, when I was 18, I thought it was some of the smartest stuff I'd ever listened to.

New album "Solid States" out next month.

Posies albums this century haven't really been on par with Ken and Jon's amazing solo stuff but this seems promising. First song "Squirrel vs Snake" features the line "I'm a furry, I'm a brony, I'm a breeder."

And here it is: https://soundcloud.com/theposies

I bought the Posies best-of this year, exactly the amount of Posies I wanted.

I once spent a nice evening chatting with Jon Auer, cool guy.

I thought the last Posies LP was their best since Beater tbh.

Watching them now on the 30th anniversary tour in Paton. This is wicked fun.

Great interview with Jon and Ken by Stevie, looking back on the band's history
http://thequietus.com/articles/25476-posies-interview

Mike Musburger is back on drums!?! I didn't know, now I'm a bit pissed off I didn't go see them last week :-/

Tempted to get the Frosting expanded reissue, lots of extras!
http://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/frosting-on-the-beater/

This was the second band I ever saw live. And it was based on them being played so much on 120 Minutes (Dream All Day). Also think back in the day Seventeen magazine did pretty good record reviews (Posies, Jellyfish, Teenage Fanclub, Camper Van B).

I am pissed off that I am missing them in London tomorrow due to work (and also, slightly, that I plumped for the vinyl reissues, which don't have the extra tracks) (but it will be good to own Frosting on vinyl again years after giving my OG copy away for love)

They celebrate 30th anniversary? But "Frosting on the Beater" was yesterday! Additionally they are in Berlin when I am not there! And they play in the nice Kantine am Berghain. Such a small and cosy location.

Horrifying.

https://kuow.org/stories/as-sexual-misconduct-allegations-dog-ken-stringfellow-of-the-posies-the-band-breaks-up

That's a terrible story, I'm glad those women came forward and that Jon Auer joined in their condemnation. It was also disorienting to see Scott Miller alluded to in that article (fortunately not as an abuser).

damn, that comes out of nowhere. never saw the posies, or rem with stringfellow. but definitely never will, that's for sure

It's telling that his band mates, who likely know him as well as anyone, immediately announced a break up when this came out. Which begs the question: what, if anything, were they aware of *before* the story came out? And I suppose the same thing can be asked of the members of R.E.M., with whom Stringfellow spent a lot of high profile time.

given that his exes had to compare notes about their private experiences to put this story together, the idea that any of this was conducted in public seems unlikely to me.

also that's a weird tangent to take this discussion, that IMO detracts from the original story

Maybe I've lost the plot at some point in here, but it could also be very true that this guy treated casual flings very differently than the women he was in public, long-term relationships with. His exes saying "that doesn't sound like him" doesn't invalidate anything, imho.

That stuff is all ... wow. But none of them dispute the accusations, right? Just that he never acted that way around *them.* Which ... OK. But he clearly had a life separate from any relationship he was in, and his SOs apparently gave him a really long leash, so I don't see why they would be so shocked to learn that the same asshole that treated them like shit might have done worse to any of the many someone elses they pursued.

oof. yeah, her complaints are that she was accurately cited, and that her experiences over fifteen years ago trump other people's recent, specifically dated experiences. hope that she is able to accept that retribution for abuse suffered by other people affects her same abuser, and take some consolation.

A separate perspective:

https://www.onlyfrowns.com/frownings/happy-early-birthday-to-my-somewhat-famous-abuser

Now there's this:

I have made a brief statement about the allegations in the recent @KUOW piece. I know many people are hurting and please know I am deeply affected. pic.twitter.com/xnAfrgj54p

— Ken Stringfellow (@KenStringfellow) October 27, 2021

At least he didn't write "impacted."

barbara mitchell sounds like a nutcase, stringfellow sounds like a piece of shit, I don't like the posies and am glad they have broken up. case closed.

^^^

I loved the Posies, am disgusted by this story, and am glad they've broken up.

Jody Stephens just shared this on the Big Star FB page:

A statement from Jody Stephens:

I have read the NPR story and the accusations made by several women about Ken Stringfellow. I believe them. The hurt and abuse experienced by them is unimaginable. Ken has been removed from any participation in our upcoming performances that involved him.

I hope and pray that those survivors of his both physical and emotional abuse can find their ways to healing.

I hope and pray that Ken truly recognizes and sincerely apologies for the profound harm he has caused them and others. Taking responsibility for this abusive behavior and finding meaningful treatment are his only way forward for me.

- Jody

Apparently Mr. Stringfellow attempted an apology today. Sounds garbagey. Thread in response:

Ken Stringfellow issued an apology today in response to last fall’s multiple and corroborated sexual assault allegations. Specifically, he apologized for:

1) workaholism
2) partying
3) being on a “rock and roll bullet train”

— Kristi Coulter (@KristiCCoulter) June 8, 2022

Kristi speaks further on this via her FB page though that might be private.

I was digitizing CDs tonight and shouted out "are you fucking kidding me?!" when I noticed that The Posies had a track on the Home Alive comp from the 90s.

Sheesh.