New AWVFTS single? Why thank you.
https://awvfts.bandcamp.com/album/all-our-friends-are-vampires
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 14 March 2023 14:16 (one year ago) link
Good job there Whineyhttp://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-stars-of-the-lid-made-two-ambient-masterworks-20150721šø
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 00:05 (one year ago) link
god DAMMIT sotl youāre killing me! Aaaaaagh oooh nooo *dead*
― it's a new day in the international landscape (z_tbd), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:09 (one year ago) link
xpost Doh how did I do that. Hmm. Anyway this stood out to me, possibly cause I read this thread backwards and that newish post about dealing with anger was in my mind.
McBride: I like late at night because thereās no distractions. Thereās very little chance thereās gonna be dogs barking. Youāre not gonna get phone calls. Working on the music, for me, itās kind of important to not fake it in some ways, to not try to force this emotional state out of it, to sort of pay attention to whatās going on in your life, if youāre feeling inspired or motivated just letting it happen. Especially after youāve released a bunch of records for a long time, you donāt want to manufacture longing.
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:27 (one year ago) link
Anyway that link is dead, hereās the live (lid) one:https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-stars-of-the-lid-made-two-ambient-masterworks-63198/And whatās a good starting point for AWVFTS? Any consensus there?
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 01:30 (one year ago) link
The new Winged Victory single is reliably pretty, but there was something about the merging of McBride and Wiltzie's sensibilities that was of a fundamentally different order - Wiltzie left to his own devices, or with O'Halloran in Winged Victory, tends to the syrupy I find, whereas perhaps McBride scuffed the edges a bit in even the last two SOTL records.. I prefer McBride's solo records, at any rate, and I've long since given up on the idea of new SOTL, despite the rather infuriating tendency that they have to vaguely intimate new music every few years or so.
― JonR345, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 02:32 (one year ago) link
And whatās a good starting point for AWVFTS? Any consensus there?
ā recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, March 15, 2023 bookmarkflaglink
Start with the first album and go chronologically until you start to get bored. Theyāre good but they lack the secret sauce of SotL.
ā¦and as much as I like Wiltzie I think McBride is that secret sauce, as evidenced by his first solo album which I rate nearly as high as the last to Stars albums.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:21 (one year ago) link
I love the first album. "Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears" was on my nighttime playlist for years.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:22 (one year ago) link
yeah, i've enjoyed their separate efforts quite a bit. i wish i could listen to them without knowing about stars of the lid. but SotL was and is so very special. i think upthread is a spot where i got to see them live. it was just brilliant, one of the top few hours of my life
― it's a new day in the international landscape (z_tbd), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:23 (one year ago) link
xpost Seems we are mostly in consensus. I too appreciate that little bit of a sharp rough tang that gives their work as a duo just that hint of seasoning. Based on yāallās recommendations Iāll put McBrideās first solo release on my list. That would be When The Detail Lost Its Freedom, published under his own name? Still trying to get all the names of their different acts sorted ā Dead Texan is also a Wiltzie project, okay Iām starting to piece together the clues here.
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:33 (one year ago) link
Lmao wish I could say witnessing a musical performance was a peak life experience. That time I was really high when I was in high school and Primus played my hometown? Nah probably not. I did very much vibe with Sonic Youth at Lollapalooza in Atlanta. Okay sorry tangent.
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:35 (one year ago) link
Yes, When the Detailā¦
McBride hasnāt had as many side projects. His two solo albums are pretty much it. He was in a group called Bell Gardens (I think?) but iirc theyāre not really the same. Wiltzie by far the more prolific of the two.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:35 (one year ago) link
Until I read this thread, I had no idea that AWVFTS had anything to do with Stars of the Lid. For some reason, I never paid attention to who the musicians were.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:43 (one year ago) link
Cheers to pfwp for clarification. Respect always to Jimbeaux too, dissenting view on AWVFTS duly noted. Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears is passable, If youād told me it was a newer SotL release I doubt Iād know the difference. It definitely follows the typical formula, the simple melody gradually building to a muted crescendo. It just lacks that special something tho.
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:45 (one year ago) link
I will say, for AWVFTS - I *love* Dustin OāHalloranās theme for the tv show Transparent
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:52 (one year ago) link
I did say it was part of my nighttime playlist LOL. Literally the one I used to go to sleep. It was perfect for that purpose, and that's not a knock.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 03:52 (one year ago) link
Right, I have Requiem for Dying Mothers Parts 1 & 2 on my Nap playlist which are the songs with by far the most plays in my entire library. Still I have to wonder if this poster is okay?I like to play 'Requiem for Dying Mothers Part 2' from 'Tired Sounds....' on a 24/7 loopā¦ā Jessie Fer Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Sunday, 2 November 2014 23:06
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 09:20 (one year ago) link
I love SotL, as everyone should, but WVFtS bores me to tears, for many of the reasons stated above. Seeing them live early on definitely did not change my mind
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 10:57 (one year ago) link
have never dived into WVftS and this conversation is not exactly lighting a fire under me. But When the Detail Lost its Freedom is A+++, I definitely love it as much as the SotL records, though I think of it as pretty different (at least within the paradigm of this type of music, I'm sure they'd be indistiguishable to someone pulled off the street)
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 12:27 (one year ago) link
I really love the album that Wiltzie made with Robert Donne from Labradford under the name Aix em Klemmā I think itās Wiltzieās best work outside of SotL.
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 20:52 (one year ago) link
yep, that one's great!
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 21:00 (one year ago) link
I still believe that The Dead Texan record is the best non-SotL record by a SotL member.
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 15 March 2023 21:13 (one year ago) link
Why, this is good to see
https://starsofthelid.bandcamp.com/album/avec-laudenum
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 17 June 2023 00:29 (eleven months ago) link
welll, that was a mightily cruel thread bump :) we're never seeing a new album, are we?
― JonR345, Saturday, 17 June 2023 01:35 (eleven months ago) link
Pitchfork is reporting that Brian McBride has died. Terrible news.
https://pitchfork.com/news/stars-of-the-lids-brian-mcbride-dies-at-53/
― Paul Ponzi, Sunday, 27 August 2023 15:58 (eight months ago) link
fuck
REST IN PEACE BRIAN MCBRIDE [1970-2023] pic.twitter.com/fvSSeRL6pi— krankyltd (@krankyltd) August 27, 2023
― Murgatroid, Sunday, 27 August 2023 15:59 (eight months ago) link
Oh my fucking god :(
― Snoopy is a cat, who lives in a cage (flamboyant goon tie included), Sunday, 27 August 2023 16:00 (eight months ago) link
Awful news
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Sunday, 27 August 2023 16:02 (eight months ago) link
Horrible, horrible.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 August 2023 16:09 (eight months ago) link
His solo work is also whew, so good. I love this album.
https://starsofthelid.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-detail-lost-its-freedom
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Sunday, 27 August 2023 16:10 (eight months ago) link
When asked what he will miss the most when heās gone during an interview with podcast Five Questions, McBride said surprises. āMaybe youāre in a matter of fact mood, youāre driving home from doing a bunch of errands, you see somebody walking their dog, and the cat has gone on the walk with dog and the owner, and sheās running past them, showing off, scratching the trees. And you suddenly take delight in that,ā he explained. āThe weird appreciation for the mundane or the banal. Thatās what Iāll miss the most. The times when you can surprise yourself and notice things that seem quite matter of fact but are actually quite beautiful depending on how you look at it.ā
big oof
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Sunday, 27 August 2023 16:12 (eight months ago) link
I had to get some thoughts out of my head:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/in-honor-of-88329908
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 August 2023 17:15 (eight months ago) link
very lovely, Ned. truly difficult to describe my relationship with this musicā it seems almost all-encompassing at times.
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Sunday, 27 August 2023 17:26 (eight months ago) link
Thank you. It's that sense of scope and immersion without...without drowning you in it, if that makes sense. You feel it more than hear it.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 27 August 2023 17:29 (eight months ago) link
Ah fucking hell, no way. RIP.
― (picnic, lightning) very very frightening (Chinaski), Sunday, 27 August 2023 17:42 (eight months ago) link
i remember years ago when i coached hs debate and i was looking at the ut austin summer debate camps (which i soon discovered our school could never afford). i saw one of the coaches names there as brian mcbride and thought, ha that guy has the same name as the guy from sotl. and then i found it it was the same guy and my mind split apart. everytime i'd listen to them i'd marvel at these grieving sound poems and then think, man imagine this guy teaching teenagers how to spread in debate.
― oatly carmichael (m bison), Sunday, 27 August 2023 18:11 (eight months ago) link
Just devastating.
― ian, Sunday, 27 August 2023 18:24 (eight months ago) link
While my primary musical interest as a teenager was rave culture, my tastes were eclectic (e.g., I started posting here as a teenager). When I started attending parties, I couldnāt understand why ambient and drone didnāt didnāt permeate into dance music culture. The cultures felt, despite their shared history and interests (e.g., computers and drugs), antagonistic toward each other in the late-90s/early-00s. It was particularly baffling in Detroit where the specialized shops like Stormy (Wendy & Carlās shop) and Neptune exclusively catered towards these two cultures. The one exception was Stars of the Lid. Everyone loved them. This band from, of all places, Texas, was the one artist that managed to bring together all these disparate Detroit music sub-cultures. By 2007 with the release of āAnd Their Refinement of the Declineā it felt bizarre to think these sub-cultures were so isolated. They truly brought people together.
― Allen (etaeoe), Sunday, 27 August 2023 18:34 (eight months ago) link
i.e., rip
― Allen (etaeoe), Sunday, 27 August 2023 18:35 (eight months ago) link
legit been reaching out to people with whom i shared major life moments with to this musicā i remember my friend Eric giving me a bunch of SotL mp3s in early 2008 when all iād heard was ATROTD.
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Sunday, 27 August 2023 18:38 (eight months ago) link
multi xpost
just had a debate coach friend of mine reach out to me. apparently when my friend was a young debater, mcbride was his judge on occasion. when he later became a teacher, his debate kids worked with mcbride and apparently he put on little concerts for the students. he had no idea of mcbride's side gig as a musician until i told him about it some years ago.
― oatly carmichael (m bison), Sunday, 27 August 2023 18:51 (eight months ago) link
oh how my heart aches
― ź® (map), Sunday, 27 August 2023 19:04 (eight months ago) link
refinement was so healing for me in such a crucial and dangerous moment in my life. the beauty there is unfathomable.
― ź® (map), Sunday, 27 August 2023 19:05 (eight months ago) link
very sad about this as both an ambient/drone fan and a one-time forensics club kid (didn't know that about him until i read the p4k obit). RIP, too too soon
― donna rouge, Sunday, 27 August 2023 19:10 (eight months ago) link
stars of the lid are my most played artist in itunes. it's not even close. it's reductive to describe the influence of music in numbers like this, especially music with as much soul and grace as the music of brian mcbride.
but the amount of _time_ i have spent with mcbride's (and adam wiltzie's) music ... it is a part of me. i will never forget the nights i spent alone in the control room of the 107" telescope at the mcdonald observatory, refinement of the decline blasting out in the silent high desert. rip brian.
― š šš¢šØ (caek), Monday, 28 August 2023 00:47 (eight months ago) link
Really sad news. I recall that Brian was briefly on the DroneOn list just as SOTL were signed to Kranky. Nice guy. Remarkable music that continues to resonate. RIP.
― sawdust lagoon, Monday, 28 August 2023 02:33 (eight months ago) link
Just awful news. Refinement might be my most-listened to ever album.
― toby, Monday, 28 August 2023 04:03 (eight months ago) link
Sawdust - I ran the DroneOn list. I remember when I saw that he subscribed. Kinda undone by this... RIP
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 28 August 2023 06:35 (eight months ago) link
his music has meant so much to me. really sad news. RIP.
― i really like that!! (z_tbd), Monday, 28 August 2023 13:42 (eight months ago) link
This was not what I was expecting to see when I saw the thread revive yesterday.
Stars of the Lidāand Brianās solo workāare simply transcendent. I like a lot of ambient music but SotL have always hit a different emotional button. Nobody, in any genre, elicits the same feelings in me that they could. All these years later I was still holding out hope for one more album. What a loss.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Monday, 28 August 2023 15:32 (eight months ago) link