Helium / Mary Timony - S/D, C/D?

i'd suggest picking up "the dirt of luck," as i think it's just as good, if not better, than "this magic city." for solo mary timony, "ex hex" is very good. "the golden dove" isn't bad either, but "ex hex" is definitely my favorite. it's more rocking.

The Pirate Prude ep is tops!

dirt of luck is one of my favoritest albums ever - non of the rest can touch it

Yeah, I will, umm, third that. Dirt of Luck is creepy-beautiful all the way through.

Ha: you know it gets namedropped on the first Death Cab for Cutie record?

The bored/sneery "oh oh oh oh" on "Pat's Trick" might be my favorite backing vocal ever...

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Mary Timony

always vaguely liked Helium but never checked out an album. but this year I picked up the Mary Timony Band's The Shapes We Make because the dudes from Faraquet and Medications are her backing band, not bad.

total fucking classic. as much as post-rock did, timony/helium (as much as later polvo did) made prog rock okay to play again. the magic city completely rules. "baby, i feel good, do you feel BAD?. . ." her latest album's getting criminally stiffed by the year end round ups, in my worthless opinion

Seems like everytime i pull out Dirt of Luck i pre-convince myself that it's going to sound like Ruby's Salt Peter (which, 12 years hence still pays dividends). My mistake - but the cover art on Timony's records were always so richly hued that I can only guess that my perception was directed by the involving and placeboed palette.

<i>dirt of luck is one of my favoritest albums ever - non of the rest can touch it</i>

yeah, me too! I like 'Magic City' and 'No Guitars' but not as much. still haven't heard all of Pirate Prude. the Pat's Trick 7" b-side "Ghost Car" is super great and really creepy, if you can find it. also the whole 'Superball' EP ("What Institution Are You From?" + "I Am a Witch" = CLASSIC)

"did I tell you Im not your bitch on loan? I'm a witch, an ugly hag, a crone"

Anybody know the "Mind Science" album she did with Joan Wasser and Nathan Larson...klassic

first single "American Jean" is pretty classic too. Good guitar technique.

cue Mary Timony shreds...

echoing: "The Dirt of Luck" is very very classic. "Magic City" is really good too - and when they hell are they going to put those early vinyl singles/b-sides on a cd comp already? "American Jean", "Hole In the Ground", "Lucy", "Ghost Car" - imo, these are some of the best songs they ever did.

I think I prefer her keyboardy solo stuff (Mountains/Golden Dove) over the recent guitar-heavy records (Ex-Hex/Shapes We make), although they are all solid (yet uneven) records. Her guitar riffs seem to be getting less creative as the years go on, but the songs are still there.

also search: "All Dressed Up In Dreams", the song she did with The 6ths. I think I've played it like a hundred times.

dirt of luck is classic, esp. the first half of it

pirate prude and the lucy single are both tremendous, although i've never been quite as into their full lengthers

x2 on the 6ths vocal..

more praise for the 'Pirate Prude' ep from me. amazing guitar and voice.

clicking on the top 77 tracks thread i was not expecting going down memory lane with helium and their magic city (via mary timony being in a new band). things were so different back then it was like another life, taping songs off the radio and having just enough money to buy a dozen cds per year. i wouldn't be surprised to know that i am the last person in north america who recorded long-ass radio shows on vhs tapes. i played that record a lot back then, sold it years ago and sort of forgot exactly how the tunes goes but listening to it now via the innenets i am surprised finding myself singing along as the songs are playing.

Oldy but goody (and new to me, at least)... this site apparently put some Mary Timony/Helium demos online:

http://www.nogoodforme.com/2011/06/21/i-dont-know-how-i-ever-lived-without-all-these-beautiful-helium-demos-from-like-18-years-ago/

I can't believe I didn't hear all of Magic City until recently. Classic Amerindie + classic prog + guitar heroics + pretty singing = me-bait

Oh Magic City is fantastic

I assumed this thread had been revived because of this (really nice) Washington Post profile of her:

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-05-09/lifestyle/39131263_1_mary-timony-ian-mackaye-indie-rock

Nice profile, and revealing re her struggles with depression. Glad to see she's working through that

Great profile - answered questions I'd had. Should've included ref to how Matador dropped her though.

Glad to see her having a career resurgence.

So Wild Flag are on hiatus it seems

But now the band is on hiatus and Timony is back in Washington trying to figure out what comes next. She has been writing songs and gigging with local musicians Alex Minoff and Amy Domingues, and other friends as they come through town.

Have missed recent gigs by Minoff and Domingues. I saw her a year and half ago with Domingues

Should've included ref to how Matador dropped her though.

What's the story there?

found this 2005 (I think) interview:

I think after Mountains (Matador) kind of gave up on me a little bit," Timony said from her home in Washington, D.C., a few days before leaving on the tour that brings her to Omaha May 26. "I don't think they were fans of the record."

Relations with the label became stormier after 2002's The Golden Dove, which continued on the same path as Mountains and failed to catch fire with fans.

Timony said she found out that Matador had dropped her only after she began gearing up to make the follow-up to The Golden Dove. "I called Chris (Lombardi, founder of Matador) to tell him I was ready to record and discuss the budget," Timony said. "That's when he told me they weren't going to do another record with me. They had already made the decision, but never let me know. It was hard times for about a month, and then I realized this could get interesting."

http://www.timmcmahan.com/timony.htm

So lame

I can't believe I didn't hear all of Magic City until recently. Classic Amerindie + classic prog + guitar heroics + pretty singing = me-bait

― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, May 14, 2013 6:36 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh Magic City is fantastic

― Drugs A. Money, Tuesday, May 14, 2013 8:23 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just for the record: THE DIRT OF LUCK IS BETTER!

rarities comp and tour! (as 'mary timony plays helium')

Very excited!

gdammit i'm out of town during the tour

Is the Ex Hex still active?

They left out "The American Jean?" Whyyyy

Ex Hex are still active, although on hiatus now until they tour soon--

Belle and Sebastian • Spoon • Andrew Bird, Ex Hex. at Merriweather Post Sun., Jul. 30

^^^I was considering buying tickets to this but refuse to go to another MPP show unless I can find someone to come with me.

My wife and I are going to MPP show but we got pavilion seats. We can hang in between bands...

picked up the Magic City reissue on sale this week, and I dunno if its remastered or I just havent listened to it loud in a long time but it sounds fucking fantastic. A really well-mixed record, so many great sounds & details.

You mean the one with "No Guitars"?

yeah, i think it came out at the same time as the rarities comp a couple years ago

"Ends With And" is fantastic, though I did supplement my digital copy with all the non-lp that couldn't fit.

I never noticed "No Guitars" is on Spotify, will check out.

Oh wait, that's some of the stuff I had to add. Great stuff!

not that fond of the mid-period 'prithee hear this madrigal' era but she rules and 'the dirt of luck' is untouchable