― Bryan Moore (Bryan Moore), Monday, 14 July 2003 06:37 (twenty years ago) link
Classic up through Learning to Crawl, mediocre through the lean years of Get Close, Packed, Isle of View and Last of the Independents, and slightly recharged with Viva el Amor and Loose Screw.
Never dud, though. Never.
― Andrew Frye (paul cox), Monday, 14 July 2003 06:46 (twenty years ago) link
S/D: PretendersPOX - Pretenders?
― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 14 July 2003 06:53 (twenty years ago) link
― Andrew Frye (paul cox), Monday, 14 July 2003 06:53 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 14 July 2003 12:11 (twenty years ago) link
Chrissie Hynde's hair hanging over narrowed eyes look, cruelly tensed mouth, and overall rock chick look - Dud. Send in Trinny & Susannah.
― Bob Six (bobbysix), Monday, 14 July 2003 18:09 (twenty years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 14 July 2003 18:18 (twenty years ago) link
― Sean (Sean), Monday, 14 July 2003 18:37 (twenty years ago) link
― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 15 July 2003 03:49 (twenty years ago) link
― Hunter (Hunter), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 03:58 (twenty years ago) link
― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 04:18 (twenty years ago) link
Whatabout Siouxsie? The Plasmatics?
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 13:23 (twenty years ago) link
And yet - listen to those early 45s in a row, and how lightly they seem to demolish obstacles, breeze past any doubts. Pastiche is a big element - the bass-strings guitar riffs of 'Kid' feel like George Harrison or the axeman of any neat beat group; it's meta-pop, intelligence is at work somewhere, hard to pin down. But instinct too, the sound they found and didn't muck about with too much, at least at the start, and the grace of how it moves.
TS: the exhilarating key-change burst into the solo of 'Kid' vs the exhilarating same-key, same-melody burst into the solo of 'Don't Get Me Wrong'.
― the bellefox, Sunday, 22 August 2004 23:31 (nineteen years ago) link
On the taking sides, I'm a sap--"Don't Get Me Wrong"
― steve hise, Monday, 23 August 2004 00:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― purple patch (electricsound), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:16 (nineteen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:19 (nineteen years ago) link
― Wooden (Wooden), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:21 (nineteen years ago) link
― purple patch (electricsound), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― steve hise, Monday, 23 August 2004 00:29 (nineteen years ago) link
― steve hise, Monday, 23 August 2004 00:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― jim wentworth (wench), Monday, 23 August 2004 00:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― steve hise, Monday, 23 August 2004 00:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― steve hise, Monday, 23 August 2004 00:49 (nineteen years ago) link
"Whatabout Siouxsie? The Plasmatics?"
The Pretenders were about before The Plasmatics, weren't they?
In any case, what about Big Brother & The Holding Company (Janis Joplin), Jefferson Airplane (Grace Slick)...?
Pretenders? First album was classic, most of the singles were pretty good and (on the handful of occasions I saw them at least) they were always pretty good live.
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 23 August 2004 08:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 23 August 2004 08:50 (nineteen years ago) link
'Private Life', 'Millionaires', 'Downtown (Akron)'. 'Criminal' is a good song. I like the tremolo on 'Never Do That'.
There is one song that's a lot like the Banshees! It's on the 45s compilation.
Great line: '2000 miles / ... it's very far!'
― the bellefox, Thursday, 26 August 2004 09:42 (nineteen years ago) link
love the pretenders, scott's description upthread of the first album as 'exhiliarating' applies to much of their stuff for me.
― H (Heruy), Thursday, 26 August 2004 14:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― phil d., Thursday, 26 August 2004 14:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― Bimble (bimble), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:42 (nineteen years ago) link
"Now I see you/All impressed and half undressed/ You got paint stick/ All over the scars and lumps and bumps/ Tattooed love boys/ Have got you where I used to lay/ Well ha ha, too bad/ But you know what they say/ Stop snivelin', you're gonna make some plastic surgeon a rich man/ Oh, but the prestige and the glory/ Another human interest story/ You are that."
Two total classics.
― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:43 (nineteen years ago) link
I always thought it was "The beggars just come with the scenery.." ya know, 3rd world .. beggars... I guess I gotta look it up now.
― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― the bellefox, Thursday, 26 August 2004 17:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 26 August 2004 18:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 26 August 2004 18:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:17 (nineteen years ago) link
I still like The Pretenders (who played the first and ONLY stadium-sized concert I've ever attended, Detroit's Joe Louis Arena '87, and Chrissie was totally outgoing and charismatic and made an "I'm-not-worthy" wisecrack about sharing the stage with Iggy Pop, who was the opening act, and the main reason I attended) and I still like "Middle Of The Road", but now it leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste, so tell me: Am I misunderstanding or overreacting? And why should it only now bother me 20 years after the fact?
Comments?
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:18 (nineteen years ago) link
are any of their post get close albums worth the time beyond the singles? I remember not liking Packed that much when it came out, and then I don't think I bought anything else. I did get hooked on the VH1Classics Pretenders marathon hour a few weekends ago.
Ray Davies and Chrissie Hynde are a power-mullet couple if I've ever seen one.
― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:32 (nineteen years ago) link
I never thought of that lyric as complaining about a fan. I guess you could take it that way if you look at it as a specific piece of autobiography, but "I can't get from the car to the curb without some little jerk on my back" seems a pretty universal sentiment somewhat hyperbolically stated.
― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:52 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 26 August 2004 21:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― Bimble (bimble), Thursday, 26 August 2004 22:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 26 August 2004 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 26 August 2004 23:45 (nineteen years ago) link
i made another pretenders thread somewhere, i like them (her?) a whole lot.
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 27 August 2004 03:45 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 27 August 2004 03:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 27 August 2004 03:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― amateur!!st, Thursday, 9 September 2004 19:32 (nineteen years ago) link
― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Thursday, 9 September 2004 22:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― the chimefox, Saturday, 11 September 2004 12:52 (nineteen years ago) link
indeed!
― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 8 August 2006 06:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 8 August 2006 10:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― Bob Six (bobbysix), Tuesday, 8 August 2006 11:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― gem (trisk), Tuesday, 8 August 2006 11:34 (seventeen years ago) link
scott seward, I love you.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 4 June 2008 23:19 (fifteen years ago) link
saw them opening for the Who about a year and a half ago. their set was full of surprises: they opened with "the wait" and closed with "precious"; the shitty songs ("i'll stand by you") somehow worked; and hynde's voice has not changed one iota since 1980. so many bands have to play songs in different keys to accommodate the singer's time-ravaged voice. the pretenders had to make no such adjustments.
― Lawrence the Looter, Thursday, 5 June 2008 00:31 (fifteen years ago) link
Love the first record.
― libcrypt, Thursday, 5 June 2008 00:44 (fifteen years ago) link
packed! is quite a good little album, readily available at any used CD store.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 5 June 2008 01:00 (fifteen years ago) link
They remind me of The Police, in that they were a bunch of lags who'd been around the fringes of the British music scene forever, and then were roped together to back up a hit-sniffing singer/songwriter on a major label.
Which is not to say they weren't an excellent band, as they obviously were - at least for the first LP.
― PhilK, Thursday, 3 July 2008 20:25 (fifteen years ago) link
They were very good to excellent on a couple of other albums too.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 3 July 2008 21:31 (fifteen years ago) link
did nick lowe produce "kid"? it uses the same latin-by-way-of-brill-building syncopation as his "cruel to be kind"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyKp0iia6MM
not an altogether terrible video. young chrissie hynde looks like parker posey here.
― amateurist, Saturday, 24 October 2009 09:22 (fourteen years ago) link
'kid' is a chris thomas production
― undergrad lovers (electricsound), Saturday, 24 October 2009 09:26 (fourteen years ago) link
aha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko5czpuRnQw
for some reason i cannot begin to explain, watching this video makes me nostalgic for a time when the record industry was making shitloads of money off songs like this
― amateurist, Saturday, 24 October 2009 09:28 (fourteen years ago) link
i like the way hynde uses her limited voice. she unapologetically goes flat all over the place, but anticipates and modulates it to sound desirable and cool.
"Kid" = one of my favorite guitar solos of all timez.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 24 October 2009 09:35 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah - I think there's a real nice mix of chaos & incredible optimism in the now-hilarious concept of guys with enough money and power to make some happen putting the Pretenders on their high-priority list -altho the song itself is aiming squarely at the "nostalgia" button from note one, aggressively, so there's that, too.
― a full circle lol (J0hn D.), Saturday, 24 October 2009 11:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Simpler times.
― Alex in NYC, Saturday, 24 October 2009 13:07 (fourteen years ago) link
I'm finding it difficult to accept the notion that Hynde has a limited voice.
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 24 October 2009 13:09 (fourteen years ago) link
Alfred she sings flat about half the time. It's a charming flat, but it's flat.
― a full circle lol (J0hn D.), Saturday, 24 October 2009 13:26 (fourteen years ago) link
total classic, the first album is awesome
― FACK, Sunday, 25 October 2009 00:19 (fourteen years ago) link
I didn't like them at the time (but I never hate them), for music-as-identity reasons (they were too mainstream for me), but now I think some of these songs are great. I still find the songs a bit depressing, like a lot of popular music from the time, for reminding me of the idealized high school years I definitely did not experience. (Never be born to a Christian clergyman.)
― _Rudipherous_, Sunday, 25 October 2009 00:54 (fourteen years ago) link
this is the coolest thing on youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LO265eITJ0
― sonderangerbot, Sunday, 25 October 2009 01:01 (fourteen years ago) link
her flatness works because it's hipster flat, downtown flat, by way of lou reed/patti smith/etc. she's too cool to hit those notes. ric ocasek pulled the same trick, obviously. really a lot of american new-wave singing drew on that kind of self-conscious remove. the good ones (and i definitely count chrissie as a good one) made it work by always letting you hear the vulnerability under the pose.
― STRATE IN2 DAKRNESS (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 25 October 2009 01:29 (fourteen years ago) link
that "Brass in Pocket" vid is great ... love Chrissie taking a drag of her cig midway through
how effin awesome is this tho:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeTsSD18BBc
― Stormy Davis, Sunday, 25 October 2009 02:04 (fourteen years ago) link
I will never not be a fan.
Break Up the Concrete was pretty good, if anyone but me cares anymore. Search: the title song ("Cuban Slide" beat plus her best bit of vocal nonsense since "Brrrrr, nyyowww!") and "Boots of Chinese Plastic":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDZrzd4yA-8
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 25 October 2009 05:03 (fourteen years ago) link
Joining the lovefest. Dig the rhythm section.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq7TyAjje0Y
― that's not my post, Sunday, 25 October 2009 05:49 (fourteen years ago) link
the first album is brilliant... criminally underrated. RIP JHS
― yellow jacket (spazzmatazz), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:16 (eleven years ago) link
It's in my top ten; it's the rest of their catalog through 1999 that's criminally underrated.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:20 (eleven years ago) link
given how the first album has been treated in '80s album polls on ilx (and elsewhere), i'm considering the U-word increasingly justifiable
― some dude, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:25 (eleven years ago) link
xpost
yes! Packed is the only one from the Pretenders-->Viva el Amor run that has never clicked with me after two decades of fandom.
― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:31 (eleven years ago) link
Curious about turnout now, abysmal then:
Best Pretenders Album
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 15:37 (eleven years ago) link
Damn, I would've thrown Get Close a vote. Feels like the time is right for someone to cover "Don't Get Me Wrong".
― brimstead, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:17 (eleven years ago) link
I mean, some country artist should do it.
― brimstead, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:19 (eleven years ago) link
Packed! has one of my favorite Hynde tracks, though...a co-write with Johnny Marr called "When Will I See You".
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:21 (eleven years ago) link
don't give Sugarland any ideas.
― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:22 (eleven years ago) link
I went with Singles as well (although I wish it would've come out one album later so that "When Will I See You?" could've been included.
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, May 30, 2007 4:19 PM (5 years ago)
I'm as timeless as the sun, moon and stars.
― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:23 (eleven years ago) link
Packed also boasts "Let's Make a Pact" and "Sense of Purpose," the latter of which got a lot of airplay down here when she covered it for Isle of View.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:30 (eleven years ago) link
I really wish I could have seen what happened with the Pretenders had Honeyman-Scott and Farndon not died - they are a 'classic line up' sort of band, and it's not fair really but I do think of Pretenders after about 1982 as the Chrissie Hynde show (selling Chambers short as well I know)
They do have great songs throughout those years though
― Master of Treacle, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:30 (eleven years ago) link
"Sense of Purpose" def my fav Packed song, but that might have a lot to do with my falling for the Isle of View version before I had ever even heard that album.
― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 3 April 2013 23:58 (eleven years ago) link
First three albums are all classic. Back on the Chain Gang, Kid, English Roses, Lovers of Today, I go to Sleep, Jealous Dogs and Mystery Achievement are just incredible songs. I haven't ever heard Packed, might give it a go.
― Kitchen Person, Thursday, 4 April 2013 00:29 (eleven years ago) link
Other than Packed, I'd argue that the 90s Pretenders were quite underrated. Last of the Independents and Viva el Amor are both solid, and Isle of View is the very rare live album that I'd count as being almost every bit as essential as a band's studio records.
― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Thursday, 4 April 2013 00:32 (eleven years ago) link
"Night In My Veins" def one of my fav singles
― some dude, Thursday, 4 April 2013 00:35 (eleven years ago) link
^^ the single that led to my investigating them. It's still sexy as fuck ("he's got me up against the back of a pickup truck").
Last of the Independents and VEA got terrific reviews at the time but have now faded -- a pity, cuz their only real dud is Get Close, which despite splendid Hynde vocals sounds like ace eighties producers doctoring crass songwriting.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 April 2013 00:56 (eleven years ago) link
I gotta check out the other albums. "Dance" is the only straight dud on Get Close, imo, so awful. Love their cover of "room full of mirrors". I sort of agree with you, Alfred, in that the production outshines the songs for the most part.
― brimstead, Thursday, 4 April 2013 01:08 (eleven years ago) link
hmm what about "How Much Did You Get For Your Soul"?
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 April 2013 01:12 (eleven years ago) link
Listening to "The Phone Call" off the first Pretenders record now it always sounds like a lost 90s album track by the Pixies with the garbled vocals and that dark lurching 7/8 guitar riff.
― earlnash, Thursday, 4 April 2013 01:24 (eleven years ago) link
I am generally in favour of Get Close, but not of "How Much Did You Get For Your Soul" (their worst 80s track?)
― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), Thursday, 4 April 2013 01:25 (eleven years ago) link
GC keepers: the one-two punch of "Chill Factor" and "Hymn to Her" (two of her best vocals), "My Baby," and a B-side titled "World Within Worlds."
Remember her second-tier Bond theme?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUgy7fpUR2A
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 April 2013 01:35 (eleven years ago) link
and, yes, "Don't Get Me Wrong"
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 4 April 2013 01:36 (eleven years ago) link
"Tattooed Love Boys" is tight as hell. Running a 7/8 (I think?) over that Motown beat is a total virtuoso punk move -- punk because it makes it seem even faster, virtuoso for being able to count it. They were a hot band.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 26 May 2013 04:59 (ten years ago) link
one of the coolest sounding records, ever
― i also enjoy in line skateing (spazzmatazz), Sunday, 26 May 2013 05:42 (ten years ago) link
A top ten record for me.
― A deeper shade of lol (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 26 May 2013 11:54 (ten years ago) link
Damn, I would've thrown Get Close a vote. Feels like the time is right for someone to cover "Don't Get Me Wrong".― brimstead, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:17 (7 months ago) Permalink
― brimstead, Wednesday, 3 April 2013 22:17 (7 months ago) Permalink
so is this gonna happen soon or what?
― Pingu Unchained (dog latin), Monday, 4 November 2013 01:10 (ten years ago) link
Get Close is a triumph of voice and personality. On her worst imperial phase record, Hynde gives the performance of her life. "Chill Factor" kills me: a peak of her talk-singing. She doesn't go soft, hugging the organ and stressing unexpected syllables.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 November 2013 01:16 (ten years ago) link
Unusual (but lovely) Chrissie vocal on this cover of Tim Buckley's "Morning Glory"; it's kinda Joan Baez down an octave or so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWAKX_mmHNk
On a more upbeat tip, "Break Up the Concrete":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TfF9I3-zJ0
― Hideous Lump, Monday, 4 November 2013 02:29 (ten years ago) link
Oh wow, Chrissie has a solo record out this week.
― Funk autocorrect (cryptosicko), Monday, 9 June 2014 14:12 (nine years ago) link
Saw a video of the song "House of Cards," featuring Chrissie and a band. Eh, it was ok.
The album, entitled Stockholm will feature notable guests such as Neil Young, Björn Yttling of swedish indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John, and even fretwork from tennis legend John McEnroe.
Stockholm will be the follow up to the Pretenders 2008 album Break Up The Concrete
― curmudgeon, Monday, 9 June 2014 15:17 (nine years ago) link
only a 5.8 from Pitchfork and review includes this :
In Stockholm’s press materials, Hynde says, “I wanted to make a power pop album you could dance to—Abba meets John Lennon.” It’s frustrating that the results don't match the aims; here, she’s made a mostly fine, overly polished adult contemporary record that feels oddly generic, especially coming from her.
the writer likes the closing track though
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 10 June 2014 19:02 (nine years ago) link
I just listened to it as well and, well, I liked the closing track too.
― Funk autocorrect (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 10 June 2014 19:21 (nine years ago) link
Didn't mean that to sound like a diss. The record sounds fine but hardly extraordinary. The closing track was the first (and last, I guess) time I stopped paying attention to whatever else I was doing long enough to just listen to it.
― Funk autocorrect (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 10 June 2014 19:26 (nine years ago) link
OK, this I'd actually read:
http://www.avclub.com/article/chrissie-hynde-writing-tell-all-book-her-own-216080
― That shit right there is precedented. (cryptosicko), Thursday, 5 March 2015 15:14 (nine years ago) link
Dr. Rumak • 20 hours ago
How do we trust that anything in this book is real, since she's already admitted to being a Pretender?
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 5 March 2015 15:19 (nine years ago) link
She's lived a heck of a life.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 5 March 2015 15:22 (nine years ago) link
She made these remarks. I'm not surprised.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 30 August 2015 22:30 (eight years ago) link
I suppose that I feel charitable and defensive enough of Chrissie as a person to get on board with these remarks (cited in the linked article):
"People criticising Chrissie Hynde for her comments are overlooking that she is a victim and this is self blame. I feel v sorry for her tbh", tweeted Stephanie.While the Guardian's Hadley Freeman echoed her thoughts: "Many people seem furious with Chrissie Hynde, and I get why, but I feel pity for her. Imagine blaming y/self for sthg so awful for so long."
While the Guardian's Hadley Freeman echoed her thoughts: "Many people seem furious with Chrissie Hynde, and I get why, but I feel pity for her. Imagine blaming y/self for sthg so awful for so long."
― The New Gay Sadness (cryptosicko), Sunday, 30 August 2015 23:39 (eight years ago) link
yeah i saw people calling her some pretty nasty things today and it's like hmmmm is that really the right response here.
no idea what alfred's remark is supposed to mean.
― some dude, Monday, 31 August 2015 00:07 (eight years ago) link
i.e. I'm not surprised that Hynde, who despite her punk roots draws from a traditional well of rock and roll discourse about men and women, would make those remarks.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 August 2015 00:21 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, I think she's coming from a very different place than most contemporary music criticism when it comes to gender discourse
http://www.pretenders.org/adviceto.gif
― niels, Monday, 31 August 2015 09:01 (eight years ago) link
#10 OTM
― nashwan, Monday, 31 August 2015 09:03 (eight years ago) link
New album "Alone" coming out that is produced by Dan Auerbach of Black Keys in Nashville. Duane Eddy is on one song and some Nashville studio guys are on others, per the press release.
They're gonna tour as the opening act for a Stevie Nicks US arena tour
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 8 September 2016 14:40 (seven years ago) link
would love to hear Stevie + Chrissie sing "Back on the Chain Gang" or "Hymn to Her."
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 8 September 2016 15:11 (seven years ago) link
That would be nice. November 4th gig in your part of the country.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 8 September 2016 16:26 (seven years ago) link
Been digging into their first four albums (prompted by Alfred tweeting about the debut) and man there is a real steep drop with "Get Close". Understandable given the shifting line-ups and changing times, but man Hynde was really not served well by the late 80s frills of fretless bass, shitty synth pads, etc. Big singles and maybe Chill Factor aside it's a bummer to listen to.
Also just generally struck by how much her phrasing reminds me of Dylan. Those first three albums are an incredible run.
― Οὖτις, Friday, 24 February 2017 17:12 (seven years ago) link
Wikipedia, perhaps appropriately, lists it as both "New Wave" and "soft rock."
I'm not at all baffled by someone not liking it, and I can certainly imagine it shedding some fans of the first three albums at the time, but a few duds aside ("How Much Did You Get For Your Soul" being the yuckiest), I still love it. "My Baby," "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Hymn To Her" are all great, shimmery pop.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:18 (seven years ago) link
The big singles are wonderful though - Hymn To Her, Don't Get Me Wrong and My Baby are great boomer pop xpost
― Dysphagia Nutrition Solutions (stevie), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:21 (seven years ago) link
Her singing and breath control in "Chill Factor" kills me.
I'm usually a defender of expensive '80s albus, but Shakey OTM about the vacuousenss of Get Close.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:23 (seven years ago) link
The first four Pretenders albums are a lot like the proper Clash album discography (minus Give 'Em Enough Rope, which for some reason I never owned until I was older) in that they were so formative for me, and I've lived with them for so long now, that I'm pretty much blind to their flaws.
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:27 (seven years ago) link
(don't trust my opinions on 'em, in other words)
― some sad trombone Twilight Zone shit (cryptosicko), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:29 (seven years ago) link
I just don't think those touches play to her strengths, and they don't reveal anything or challenge her in interesting ways they just feel like half-assed window-dressing. Was kinda surprised to read Alomar was involved tbh, I can't identify his contributions.
― Οὖτις, Friday, 24 February 2017 17:32 (seven years ago) link
you know what I really love on re-listening to these is "Pack it Up"
― Οὖτις, Friday, 24 February 2017 17:33 (seven years ago) link
also can anyone explain why they did a song called "Louie Louie" that is not THE "Louie Louie"? idgi
― Οὖτις, Friday, 24 February 2017 17:49 (seven years ago) link
Don't sleep on packed!. It's got some of her loveliest material ("When Will I See You," "Never Do That," "Let's Make a Pact").
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:53 (seven years ago) link
I posted this in the other thread.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 February 2017 17:54 (seven years ago) link
"Thumbelina", off Learning To Crawl, sets a bar for female-led Americana that I wish was reached for more.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 24 February 2017 23:17 (seven years ago) link
Hidden gem on Get Close: "Tradition of Love"
― Hideous Lump, Saturday, 25 February 2017 07:04 (seven years ago) link
I still can't stand her biggest revenue stream.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 8 February 2018 03:13 (six years ago) link
Chrissie's performance half-saves this song for me. Imagine it in the hands of Celine Dion or some other nuance-adverse bleater and you might see what I mean.
― iCloudius (cryptosicko), Thursday, 8 February 2018 03:26 (six years ago) link
if there were any justice in this fallen world, "show me" would have earned her a billion dollars
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 8 February 2018 15:35 (six years ago) link
the s/t debut is one of the best rock records ever. pretenders II is good. they are CLASSICp much everything after the deaths of JHS & PF = DUD
― flappy bird, Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:23 (six years ago) link
Bar maybe a half dozen or so songs, maybe. Though Hynde remains classic, which kind of keeps the goodwill flowing. Last couple of albums did not even feature Chambers, so wonder why her sole solo album was the only one designated as such.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:30 (six years ago) link
agreed that Hynde is eternally classic
― flappy bird, Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:32 (six years ago) link
I'll go as far as the third album and quite enjoy the occasional single after that.
― Full of bile and Blue Nile denial (Turrican), Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:36 (six years ago) link
sometime in the last decade she chose a friend's band to open for part of a tour. he told me that when they went in for their first meeting, she said "yeah I had this huge pile of CDs to look through, and you guys were the UGLIEST motherfuckers out of all the bands. I figured that you were in it for the music and not the chicks, so I wanted to check you out."
― sleeve, Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:39 (six years ago) link
hahaha
― hoooyaaargh it's me satan (voodoo chili), Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:41 (six years ago) link
that rules lol
has she written a memoir?
― Winter. Dickens. Yes. (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:47 (six years ago) link
yes, and i read it
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 8 February 2018 18:57 (six years ago) link
It disappointed me. She's such a vivid talker and songwriter and was once a critic that I expected something felicitous.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 8 February 2018 19:01 (six years ago) link
yeah it was alright, but disappointing
she has some antiquated views about some stuff (and i understand where they come from but they are not sentiments currently in cultural vogue -- she's more caitlin flanagan than people might want her to be), and i don't really identify with her characterization of our hometown, partially because when she lived there was before i was born.her descriptions of her life in london were pretty interesting, but not dishy.
she's very cool, as you would expect. cool = not into dishing or revealing too muchi don't remember a whole lot about it tbh, not really one of my top memoirs even though as a person she is indeed classic.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 8 February 2018 19:02 (six years ago) link
"yeah I had this huge pile of CDs to look through, and you guys were the UGLIEST motherfuckers out of all the bands. I figured that you were in it for the music and not the chicks
tbh I'm not really following Hynde's reasoning here
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 8 February 2018 19:07 (six years ago) link
Like, they're clearly in it for the music. Face for radio, etc.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 8 February 2018 19:09 (six years ago) link
p much everything after the deaths of JHS & PF = DUD
nah, a lot of the 3rd album and get close is great.
― "Taste's very strange!" (stevie), Thursday, 8 February 2018 19:41 (six years ago) link
The transition from the middle 8 to the verse in Back on the Chain Gang is one of the best things I have ever heard
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Saturday, 10 February 2018 10:52 (six years ago) link
I didn't know until Spotify told me that there's a version of 'Let's get lost' with Neil Tennant. I like it.
― kinder, Saturday, 10 February 2018 13:16 (six years ago) link
I didn't like I'll Stand By You that much, but my dislike of it is based on the fact that it paved the way for Love Can Build A Bridge, the worst thing in the discography of three different artists.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 10 February 2018 14:46 (six years ago) link
Think Clapton has probably done worse
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 10 February 2018 14:48 (six years ago) link
Pretenders influence can be felt in some newer bands like dum dum girls, alvvays, Laura marling and especially stories from the city
― kolakube (Ross), Saturday, 10 February 2018 21:52 (six years ago) link
The most enjoyment I've gotten out of Arcade Fire in over a decade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqFvqYcYD3Y
― Dangleballs and the Ballerina (cryptosicko), Friday, 13 April 2018 00:45 (six years ago) link
Stop your sobbing is one of the best approximations of the spirit of doo-wop. Man does that guitarist rip too, lovers of today melts my face off
― Ross, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:54 (five years ago) link
Classic!
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 11 August 2018 04:16 (five years ago) link
"Birds of Paradise" came up on random shuffle for me today. A minor Pretenders song, sure, but man is it gorgeous.
― Police, Academy (cryptosicko), Saturday, 11 August 2018 04:43 (five years ago) link
^ yeah!
Gonna sample brass in pockets intro, down pitch it and loop it into a hip hop beat. Think it would sound dope
― Ross, Saturday, 11 August 2018 06:22 (five years ago) link
Gonna use MAH MAH MAH.
― You like queer? I like queer. Still like queer. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 8 October 2018 02:20 (five years ago) link
You listed the correct post-80s record.
― Engles in the Outfield (cryptosicko), Monday, 8 October 2018 03:54 (five years ago) link
― lihaperäpukamat (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, October 24, 2009 8:09 AM (nine years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― a full circle lol (J0hn D.), Saturday, October 24, 2009 8:26 AM (nine years ago)
lol someone added this to her wikipedia page:
ArtistryThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2015)Hynde has a contralto vocal range.[ 50 ] Until 1978, shortly before the advent of The Pretenders, Hynde had little idea what she sounded like.[ 51 ] Attributing her distinctive time signatures to an inability to count, and her distinctive amusia to an inability to hear, she eschews formal voice training saying that, "distinctive voices in rock are trained through years of many things: frustration, fear, loneliness, anger, insecurity, arrogance, narcissism, or just sheer perseverance – anything but a teacher."[ 51 ]
― j., Saturday, 8 June 2019 03:10 (four years ago) link
did Hynde and Petty ever cross paths? Was thinking about how they are kinda similar, both part of the last wave of "classic rock", shading into new wave. shag haircuts, idiosyncratic voices, classicists but also p odd.
― Οὖτις, Friday, 15 November 2019 16:33 (four years ago) link
In which our hero, Chrissie Hynde, kisses Trump's ass in order to encourage him to ... help Julian Assange.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 20 February 2020 22:02 (four years ago) link
ew! no! what are you talking about?
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 21 February 2020 14:31 (four years ago) link
An open Letter to @realDonaldTrump, President of the United States.Dear Mr. President,I often think of how much my father, Melville “Bud” Hynde, who proudly served his country as a Marine on Guadalcanal, would have enjoyed your Presidency. [p1.]— Chrissie Hynde (@ChrissieHynde) February 17, 2020
― Dan Worsley, Friday, 21 February 2020 14:44 (four years ago) link
Melville "Bud" Hynde would probably have voted for Trump, listened to Rush, bopped to "My City is Gone."
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 21 February 2020 14:46 (four years ago) link
ugh
first pj harvey now CH
assange sucks
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Friday, 21 February 2020 14:52 (four years ago) link
what did PJ do?!?! my godwhat is happening
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 21 February 2020 14:58 (four years ago) link
Assange is a cause celebre. Kissing Trump's ass is a different thing (even if Hynde is clever for recognizing how President Mike Teavee works.)
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 February 2020 15:20 (four years ago) link
You may be right.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 21 February 2020 15:23 (four years ago) link
more like kissy hind amirite
― ymo sumac (NickB), Friday, 21 February 2020 15:24 (four years ago) link
Oh in 2017 PJ participated in pro Assange event
https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/04/patti-smith-pj-harvey-brian-eno-participated-in-free-julian-assange-conference/
― curmudgeon, Friday, 21 February 2020 15:36 (four years ago) link
eh that's stupid but whateverkissing trump's ass in any way is the offense
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 21 February 2020 15:39 (four years ago) link
lol kissy hinde
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 21 February 2020 15:41 (four years ago) link
Has plenty of potential for this thread: Band names that are parodies of other bands' names.
But certainly not for this one: Worst band/musician with a name that is pun based on other bands/musicians
― breastcrawl, Friday, 21 February 2020 17:24 (four years ago) link
Kiss B. Hynde
― Hideous Lump, Saturday, 22 February 2020 06:46 (four years ago) link
Still haven't gotten around to the new album yet, but this, from her ongoing "Dylan Lockdown Series", is lovely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBUhaj76B_U
― A White, White Gay (cryptosicko), Monday, 20 July 2020 17:52 (three years ago) link
It didn't need the last shot, but I found that video unexpectedly moving. Beautiful cover too.
― assert (MatthewK), Monday, 20 July 2020 19:40 (three years ago) link
Anyone else heard the Dylan covers album that Chrissie put out today? Kudos to her for selecting some less obvious song choices, I guess, but I don't know if she always went with his strongest material (two songs each from Shot of Love and Infidels!). At the very least, I am grateful to finally have a version of that "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" cover that I liked so much from last year on record.
― edited for dog profanity (cryptosicko), Friday, 21 May 2021 22:35 (two years ago) link
yeah wow that seems like a natural for her to cover!
― brimstead, Friday, 21 May 2021 23:02 (two years ago) link
I would have loved to hear her salvage "Caribbean Wind." The one on Biograph sucks but on the old bootlegged outtake (which wasn't included on Trouble No More), it sounded like Dylan's phrasing could have been inspired by Chrissie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audUHTtPi1I
The awkward arrangement needs to be re-done, but I could see the original Pretenders fixing this and making something great out of it.
― birdistheword, Saturday, 22 May 2021 01:02 (two years ago) link
Greil loves the "Blind Willie McTell" cover (and really hates Dylan's Infidels FWIW).
― birdistheword, Saturday, 22 May 2021 19:02 (two years ago) link
Anyone read/have anything to say about this?: https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/adam-sobsey-chrissie-hynde
― Les hommes de bonbons (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 30 March 2022 16:16 (two years ago) link
Excerpt from a recorded 1981 phone interview with James Honeyman-Scott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-blEXEO4qSY
― birdistheword, Monday, 12 September 2022 17:22 (one year ago) link
played the 7th street entry (capacity 250) in mpls last night and apparently everyone was blown away
― mookieproof, Friday, 8 September 2023 12:41 (seven months ago) link