ILM Artist Poll No. 77 · CAN · Voting Thread [Ends 07/24/16]

beerfart england at least preferable to cockroach

can doesn't have a lot of super great deep cuts (though they have a lot of great bootlegs). their last album is super underrated. they got a couple good 7" only tracks (turtles have short legs and shikaku maru ten). here's an outtake from the _soon over babaluma_ era that came out on their deeply uneven 2lp studio outtakes collection _unlimited edition_.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUEJvkZWYq0

i guess by "last album" i should say i mean "can" from 1979 and not "rite time" which i still haven't ever felt the need to hear.

agreed on both counts. And let me say that Soon Over is a great record -- really unlike anything else in their catalog. Much will be represented on my ballot.

I'm sure all of you already know Turtles Have Short Legs but it never fails to make me happy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxGaC4wzt50

And here's Julian Cope's review of the single:

This was Can’s third single, issued at the time of release of their colossal double LP, “Tago Mago.” Its A-side, “Turtles Have Short Legs” was unavailable on album until it appeared years later on the “Cannibalism 2” compilation. It’s unlike any Damo-era Can piece ever, appropriating an absurd Teutonic toy town piano phrase that winds up subverting it in waves into a slow, untrammeled monster. There are no lyrics although Damo IS singing -- but even then the most discernable lines are easily misheard. But for all its joviality, this confounding track manages to gradually turn over in its sleep into a dense thicket of instruments galloping at a loping pace. All other instruments fall away at two separate clearings with only Damo and the drums to continue alone unfettered only to wind up as a succession of drum rolls and barking vocal pronouncements. The guitar-dominated coda, sees Michael Karoli playing around the edges of all the unpeeled paint upon the walls of Schloss Norvenich with extra sensory mojo and feeling at top volume as circling drums just continue pressing onward and upwards; drummer Jaki Liebezeit soon hitting his cymbals not with sticks but carefully aimed and stamina-directed tree trunks, beating the piece to rest.

From the “Tago Mago” album comes the B-side, “Halleluwah.” A heavily truncated excerpt of an already exquisitely edited and performed prehistoric, grooved sex-out, it featuring Liebezeit’s non-changing pace of drumming effortlessness is completely locked into Czukay’s Jaguar bass which provide a broad and free canvas for Karoli to break in with partially erased pencil strokes rendered with trebly and filigree explorations as Irmin Schmidt is content to submit small clusters of Farfisa chopping at will. Can muster a steady, rocking groove on “Halleluwah” that gathers a strength and momentum from its propulsive drive with endurance for any length of time. But it was necessary to whittle the original “Halleluwah” down from its original 18:32 minute length to fit the mastering constraints of a 45rpm single, so from the hands of Can bassist and sound editor Holger Czukay came a re-creation of the cleansing experience of the original, full-length track’s sexually epic qualities by drawing together separate excerpts and then reassembling it seamlessly out of order. And as a final touch, it was fashioned to run at exactly the same length of time as “Turtles” on side A: 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

- Julian Cope, The Book of Seth: Turtles Have Short Legs

I am stoked.

Just so I am clear: do tracks from solo records count?

of course there's the playstation rhythm game parappa the rapper which has this little tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TsqCNy6UU0

I was listening to "The Lost Tapes" today and "Graublau" is indeed awesome. I have a problem with some of the other tracks on this release though, particularly some of the 'suites', I wish Holger Czukay had edited the tracks and not Jono Podmore because, with all due respect to Jono Podmore, who is Jono Podmore? There's something too cute and neat about the way a lot of the material has been edited together - though it is undeniably highly entertaining - I don't know, is it just me?

No tracks from solo projects! Focus on Can!

who is Jono Podmore?

Currently on my sixth spin of Soon Over Babaluma of the day (it flies by!), helps to get stuff done. It's all great but side 2's amaaazing.

Assumed that was a rhetorical question.

Connection is straight out of the Delay '68 book and a banger.

In a way I feel like the top 20 (or top 10 at least) is going to be quite obvious and justified. If I do a ballot there will probably be some tactical votes for slightly deeper cuts. Most of the best stuff really is right there on the LPs.

Maybe I'm underestimating the heterogeneity of Can appreciation.

Rhetorical question, yes.

Currently on my sixth spin of /Soon Over Babaluma/ of the day (it flies by!), helps to get stuff done. It's all great but side 2's amaaazing.

Future Days and Babaluma feel very much of a piece to me notwithstanding Damo's departure before the latter. There's a ton of texture to both—even more on the contemporaneous tracks on the awesome Unlimited Edition (sometimes my favorite Can album)—and Karoli does an admirable job handling the vocals on the latter.

Also worth noting: the awesome closer on Unlimited Edition, "Ibis," has always felt to me like a bit like a warmup for "Dizzy Dizzy," the opener on Babaluma.

there's no way i can keep up with this thread but i will definitely vote
can is probably the band i have played on repeat more than any other in my adult life
lost tapes is treasure trove, do not miss

<3 <3<3 jaki <3 <3<3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2k00LBzZf4

this is a great little piece from Holger on Jaki
http://www.czukay.de/can/comments/images/jaki_ho.jpg
Apparently he plays piano like he plays the drums: "during the recordings of "the east is red" he played piano for hours, always the same type of sequence."
And I love Holger's POV on his bass playing (when he started doing it in Can): "my feeling for rhythm was a bit like someone running around in an earthquake not knowing where to escape."

Exc lesser-known Malcom Mooney joint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIKOpfuFcd0

Malcolm ugh still waking up

Wow I have never heard "Turtles Have Short Legs"! It is good!

I love the way the song-suites are edited fwiw. Never seemed "cute" or saccharine but lighthearted maybe. Nothin wrong w that.

I didn't know turtles was on a 7" with the halleluwah edit. I had it as the b side of a 12" of Moonshake. First can record I was ever able to find in the mid 80s.

I was floored when I realized the melody to "Turtles" was later borrowed wholesale for the car level in Parappa the Rapper

I was too! Is Turtles available on Spotify anywhere?

One thing that may get some legit representation in my ballot: stuff from the mid-70s records, Landed, Flow Motion and Saw Delight. Maybe not stone cold amazing like the records up thru Babaluma, but a number of great pop songs and weird, 15 minute tape edit freak outs.

Also, would be fun to poll the Ethnomusicological Forgery Series.

Currently on my sixth spin of Soon Over Babaluma of the day (it flies by!), helps to get stuff done. It's all great but side 2's amaaazing.

― willem, woensdag 13 juli 2016 14:43 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I've done this today and man, I forgot just how great it is (and indeed it seems to speed up time! ;)). Difficult to pick a cut from it though, it's such a cohesive record.

Xpost the album version of animal waves is gonna be on my ballot for sure

Exactly. Don't sleep on those lesser known records. If anything I have work to do w the Mooney era.

Also X post, Ethnological

Yeah there are a number of tracks from those albums I'm gonna have to put on. "Half Past One" always pops into my head, such a great jam. And Saw Delight rules, it's kinda weird as a Can album, but it's so much fun.

Luckily Can albums only have like 4-7 tunes on them, so this'll be easier than say the Devo ballot was.

I've got a decent MP3 of Turtles that I could email out if anyone wanted it?

I didn't know turtles was on a 7" with the halleluwah edit. I had it as the b side of a 12" of Moonshake. First can record I was ever able to find in the mid 80s.

Got that 12" too! I love Can's pop side, could fill and entire Top 20 with pop tracks, I reckon. I am desperately trying to squeeze their version of "Silent Night" into my ballot, I love it so much.

Looks like Turtles is on Spotify -- on some Cherry Red singles comp of all places. Oddly, it is kind of one of the definitive Can tracks, with Damo's crazy vocal on the verse, the amazing Irmin piano part and, of course, Jaki absolutely killing it on the tom toms.

Another thing worth polling/contemplating/discussing is the Can razor blade epics -- not just Tago Mago but also things like Cutaway, Animal Waves, Unfinished, etc.

I am desperately trying to squeeze their version of "Silent Night" into my ballot, I love it so much.

Looks like Turtles is on Spotify -- on some Cherry Red singles comp of all places.

The 12" single mentioned above was on Cherry Red.

Has anyone seen any of the films served by Soundtracks? Are they grainy color stock of Baader Meinhof-resembling youth wandering listlessly through Ruhr housing tracts intercut with solarized closeups of eyeballs?

Saw "Deep End" years ago, before I knew who Can were.

... though I was probably about 11 or 12 at the time, so can't really be blamed for that.

Has anyone seen any of the films served by Soundtracks? Are they grainy color stock of Baader Meinhof-resembling youth wandering listlessly through Ruhr housing tracts intercut with solarized closeups of eyeballs?

― juggulo for the complete klvtz (bendy)

nah they're early '70s german cop shows, sort of the equivalent of quinn martin shows.

After many years in limbo, Deep End was re-released on a handsome looking BFI DVD/BluRay a few years ago. Film is pretty close to being a masterpiece, imho - Skolimowski collaborated w/ Polanski on Knife in the Water, and Deep End has a lot of the same combo of black comedy and creeping psychological menace. Mother Sky is the icing on the cake.

One of the all-time great film posters, too

https://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/92/MPW-46169

can i just complain here about there being nowhere on the net to buy repros of those crazy communist eastern european versions of film posters? i would totally hang a polish weekend at bernie's poster on my wall but i'd have to buy an original, and ain't nobody got money for that.

One of my favorite lesser Can songs
This video always makes me happy even though Michael Karoli isn't in it
And in case anyone wondered how many "and more"s there are in that one part, there are 20

https://youtu.be/E0nfjguTclg

sorry that was "i want more"

This "Vernal Equinox" on the Old Grey Whistle Test has 1) awesome Irmin Schmidt dancing and attire 2) Karoli looking a lot like Chris Gaines/Garth Brooks and 3) clear view of Jaki going bananas

https://youtu.be/I4nHr44vE9I

yes, that Vernal Equinox clip is a personal favorite

who is the guy playing guitar in the I Want More video? didn't Karoli play on the album?

youtube commenters seem to think it's tim hardin but idk?!
karoli is on flow motion, i just looked

"I Want More" is such a great stupid song.

also, the drum groove on Vernal Equinox is bonkers. That and Animal Waves are my 2 favorite Jaki beats.

I've always felt that Yoo Doo Right was somewhat underrated. I think I prefer it to Sister Ray, which is probably the closest competition, and am also always struck by how much it resembles a slowed down Immigrant Song.

"I Want More" is Top 10 Can for me. Don't know who the guy in TOTP clip is, looks more like Lou Reed than Tim Hardin. Maybe it's Peter Gilmour?

LIVE Yoo Doo Right is top 3 for me; the original isn't nearly as good imo. Ugh the live version is SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD

Tim Hardin!?!?

xp which live version??? I LOVE the studio version

also, the Geraldine Fibbers cover of that is so great

Also this is where I learned about Can "Can Can" which is horrible to google even if you add "band" to Can

Future Days (Edit)

im guessing this just chops off the long intro and outro which are the best things about it?

Dunno, I remember "Soup" (edit) on the Antholog, which lopped out all but the 'noise' bits..

I love that this exists:

Which CAN album are you?

I‘m 'Soon Over Babaluma' - primal, impressionistic, a dance floor shaman, what are you?

I did three different tests changing answers and I got Babaluma the three times... is it broken?

I just tried again for testing purposes with deliberately different answers and got Future Days, and I know a friend got Tago Mago

Nice: I‘m Can - a real joker who is always the life and soul of the party

ah I love this rubbish, I‘m 'Flow Motion' - a shimmering, lively joy with a slight tropical vibe - only slight tho!

I‘m 'Ege Bamyasi' - focused, you do justice to your ideas and endure past creation

I‘m 'Rite Time' - a welcome surprise (and not a minute too late); funky, funny, and abstract

... me too.

ha, I‘m 'Can' - a real joker who is always the life and soul of the party
not true but i wonder what you have to answer to be tago mago?!

Yesssss

I‘m 'Soundtracks' - straight forward, but veering towards left of centre

My only accomplishment today may be to test out as the can record which contains my favorite can song

I also got Rite Time, which is funny because it is probably the Can album I'm least familiar with.

jon you are the only person i know who has scored Soundtracks!!

Tago Mago.

I'm an unusual fellow

huh, i got soundtracks too

i don't know what my favorite can song is though. "bel air" maybe.

I got Soundtracks too

jon you are the only person i know who has scored Soundtracks!!

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, July 21, 2017 6:45 PM (yesterday) Bookmark

this turned out to be false -- i remembered another person. i really wanted to be tago mago or soundtracks but i guess i am so much fun that i had to be 'can'
i do find it amusing how difficult it is to search Can's "Can Can" from Can without the word "band" or another word distinguishing it from an endless stream of can can can can

Rosko Gee is Jamaican for Ricky Fatar

I keep forgetting that one of my friends is a Facebook friend of Rosko Gee - I noticed he replied to a post on Trump (don't worry, he's agin him).