Low: classic or dud?

all there years you've been speaking without breathing
spinning closer to the sun
had your way with an unsuspecting public
little threads are all it takes
la la la la ...
I have learned all your secrets, so familiar
I know where you lay your head
fear of god and a disappointing father
holds the hand around your neck
la la la la ...
sometimes I could just choke myself with laughter
sometimes everything's so true
so when you come down from your death-defying labors
I'll still be in love with you
la la la la ...

the hopeless romanticism of it just kills me and sort of makes me cry. low really are in a special league.

The new Radiohead makes me want to listen to Drums & Guns.

also worth noting that it is difficult to hear on the recording whether the lyric is "disappointing" vs. "disappointed." big difference. it's like an intentional stutter.

or maybe not a stutter at all. urgh.

'all the words.'

"Drag" and "Rope" from I Could Live In Hope were killing me tonight. Mimi's percussion = perfect.

Good time to mention that the Retribution Gospel Choir album is amazing, if way too short. Their versions of "Take Your Time" and "Breaker" are breathtaking.

Good to hear, I'm really looking forward to picking that up in a couple days.

do they fuck around with any dubby stuff on the album (like that live recording on their myspace)?

No. Pretty much a stright-up, economical rock record. Ten songs, thirty minutes.

all these years you've been speaking without breathing

just sayin

Ran into Al for the first time in years in Two Harbors. He was typically playing a benefit festival (Bradfest) where my wife and I were two of the rumored four paying customers that night due to rain--though things picked up (bellydancing!), and I heard they did well the next day. Can't really express how cool it is that they've stayed in Duluth and kept being so active in the community. Can't wait 'til their kids start bands!

really like this one, if a little atypical

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY-LaFHAfQc

wow, thank you! I actually never knew that existed, but it is vv good.

Me either, that's really good.

btw, I can't find that track anywhere, so plz to someone to send a webmail or post a link thx

It's on the Mothman Prophecies soundtrack. If you wish to drop 99 cents you can get the track from Amazon.

Are sdtrks to decade-old box-office failures generally kept in circulation indefinitely? That is a legit question b/c I almost never buy (or listen to) soundtrack albums.

Meanwhile, still no one has bothered to reissue Opal's Early Recordings

Guess this is a result of the long tail phenomenon. I hadn't heard of the track, soundtrack or movie before. Just thought I'd see if it existed on IMDB and Amazon. It's co-credited to someone(s) called Tomandandy who seem to have lots of movie work.

don't have it on file at the moment, but am pretty sure we still have the Mothman soundtrack here somewhere (never seen the movie though!) have to travel in the morning, and i suspect it's currently buried in a basement milk crate, so i might be able to dig it out a few days from now if anyone still wants it then.

i'll probably dig it out anyway because now i want to hear the rest again too.

nice atmosphere on this one by King Black Acid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gsTOwSFqOo

I remember staying to watch the credits of the film just to see it, and yelling at the projectionist when he tried to turn off the film in what he thought was an empty cinema.

doesn't robert plant cover low on his new album (out this month)?

(morbidly) curious to hear that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY4RLdMeSzc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXK5kASRRdo

Tonight, the monkey died.

*shudder*

The first one was so bad I don't dare queue up the second.

didn't think it sounded that bad really - it is a pretty scrappy live performance after all

Quite liked the version of Silver Rider tbh.

Watching those Plant vids makes me wonder if I've ever heard Alan and/or Mimi hit a bum note live; I've seen Low plenty of times and I cannot recall a single instance.

Whereas, ol' Planty cannot carry a tune in a bucket these days.

http://blogs.myspace.com/low

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Studio Update 1

hello all. we're having a great summer. the kids of course love being outside and out of school, but soon it's time for early mornings, piano lessons, and catching the bus. we are in the middle of recording a new full-length release. we're tracking here in duluth. i have no idea what to say about it at this point, but then i never do. recording is almost as humiliating as writing, and twice as confusing. there have been some nice surprises, though, so i think it's going well. we will be working with sub pop again. they have been great. hope yr all well and good.
=alan

Friday, September 03, 2010

day 6 or 7 in the studio

i worked on vocals last night. today is mim singing and more percussion.
i think my favorite moments in the studio are when mim adds vocals/harmonies - it's like she's breathing life into corpses.
mim is singing lead on at least 2 songs so far - "especially me" and "you see everything." other titles include "$20", "al green", and "try to sleep." we should be done and mixing by mid september. even then, i'm afraid it won't be released until february or march - such is the business. most people would be surprised at how much work and time a record company has to put in before something can officially be released. it's frustrating, but sub pop does a great job, so it's worth the wait. we've been recording at duluth's own Sacred Heart Studios - it's an old catholic church now a community music center. we've had a studio in there for a few years now ("trust" was one of the first recordings there when it opened.) the chapel is large and vaulted, and it has a working 100-year-old pipe organ on one end. engineer eric swanson is helping us with tracking. after today, we'll have a week off - plenty of time to completely change my mind and start from scratch again. hope y'all are well.
=alan

thanks, stan. i listened -- on a whim -- to the album version of hatchet today. it's a fierce, lean little rock song. full of attitude and grit.

i love this band.

It's about time!

hear plant's new album here http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129178865

mim is an adorable pet name

So much better than the alternative, imi

Haven't dug too far into the back catalog--or into all of the hidden posts within this thread, so my apologies if somebody's already brought this up--but the Low version of Jason Spaceman's "Lord Can You Hear Me?" is first-rate! Nearly as good as the original Spacemen 3 iteration and definitely as good as the Spiritualized re-do. The story, according to Wikipedia:

The final song, Lord Can You Hear Me, was originally written for and recorded by Spacemen 3 by Jason in 1989 and initially released on the album Playing With Fire. However, inspired by a cover of the song by the band Low, Jason started playing the song live and subsequently re-recorded it as a gospel ballad. Mimi Parker of Low appears on several tracks of the album as a backing vocalist, and is clearly audible duetting with Jason during Lord Can You Hear Me.

In retrospect, I'm certain someone has already brought this up. Just a reminder, I suppose.

Low is one of a handful of bands that is always great at doing cover versions. Also search their Smiths and Joy Division covers, for starters.

They did a Soul Coughing cover a while back that I wasn't too fond of, but basically otm.

Also, the Lifetime of Temporary Relief has some real dregs toward the end, including a Journey cover which is excruciating to listen to.

I love that Journey cover; it's hilarious.

Low have always been an A+ cover band imo. My POV:

Lord, Can You Hear Me?
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Fearless
Transmission
Blue Christmas

Can we make it a POVII and add "I Started a Joke" and "Sunshine"?

Might as well extend to POVIII and add "Nowhere Man." Some great harmonies even by Low's high standards.

http://blogs.myspace.com/low

Wilco's Nels Cline plays on the new album

ooh that is great news!

awesome. hope there are some more drums & guns-esque beats & programming, but it doesn't sound like it.

whoa! would never have expected that pairing.

drums & guns-esque beats & programming

exactly the worst elements of late-period Low