Pup Tent's where things started to go wrong imho. Penthouse is the peak.
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 16:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Penthouse is my fav too although I still love Pup Tent.
― ˙❤‿❤˙˙❤‿❤˙ (ENBB), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 16:29 (thirteen years ago) link
gonna listen to penthouse on the bus home, thanks thread.
― just sayin, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 16:31 (thirteen years ago) link
an almost reunion a week or so ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igHukc4PlWY
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 17:11 (thirteen years ago) link
!!
― ˙❤‿❤˙˙❤‿❤˙ (ENBB), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 17:13 (thirteen years ago) link
i know! would be excited if they played some real shows together again. not sure how likely it is, but obviously not out of the realm of possibility.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 17:25 (thirteen years ago) link
There is something about the production of Pup Tent that has not aged well for me. In general, the late 90s were Luna's weakest period imo. I prefer their justifiably rated first three & vastly underrated last two. Like a lot of other 90s-rooted indie/space/shoegaze stuff, tho, their secret weapon was the strength of their EPs.
― jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 19:36 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah I think around the time of Pup Tent and Days of Our Lives a sort of glossy conservatism had set into the production style, like they became less distinctive and more anonymous, their palette had broadened just a little too much. and fwiw I got off the bus after the (imho unforgivable) GnR cover.
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 19:47 (thirteen years ago) link
think i've defended days of our nights on another thread, but i really love most of it. some of wareham's best lyrics, which, around the time it came out, hit uncomfortably close to home. in a good, uncomfortable way.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 19:56 (thirteen years ago) link
I think there's a bunch of good songs on it
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 19:57 (thirteen years ago) link
less distinctive and more anonymous is probably a good way to put it though -- the production can make them sorta sound like your basic rock band at times.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 19:58 (thirteen years ago) link
I think sonically - and Dean is well aware of this - Wareham benefits from setting boundaries for himself, from prescribing a limited palette and then seeing what can be done within those limits. He operates best from a fairly minimalist space, sorta like Jack White. He sets up some rules for himself and then re-arranges the elements or removes one and replaces it with something else; there's a kind of building block approach. Limit the chords used, the instrumentation, the structure of the song, and then see how those restrictions can be stretched or played with. Production-wise it was also kept fairly simple - minimal overdubs, reverb, with the guitar effects being the most complex sonic element for the most part. By the time of Pup Tent and Days of Our Lives I think some of this approach was abandoned (maybe because of other members?) in favor of a more standard mainstream rock production aesthetic but also with the addition of other instruments/overdubs. Synths and other random elements creep into the mix, to their detriment, I think.
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 20:04 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, i mean, w/ the galaxie 500 records or earlier luna records, when I first heard them, i thought they sounded *too* easy, too simple. (does wareham ever write bridges?) but the power of those records comes through -- i've been listening to them for a long time, and they haven't worn out for me.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 20:25 (thirteen years ago) link
haha yeah I don't think Wareham has written a middle eight EVER
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 21:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Count me amongst those who rate "Pup Tent" as their high-point and who jumped off with "Days Of Our Nights". The debut is stellar as well as it rocks out far more than the rest of their albums BUT their singles often had amazing b-sides and covers. Worth rounding up...
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 22:00 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah i used to have the sideshow by the seashore single thing (the one with the Kids parody cover art?), and there are a few non-covers that aren't anywhere else. can't seem to find another copy. haven't looked terribly hard, but ...
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 22:05 (thirteen years ago) link
that's an EP. I have it, as well as a bunch of their singles & b-sides which have never been compiled... IN FACT I discussed digitizing those very singles on this very thread and iirc posted a download link to them as well
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:14 (thirteen years ago) link
that stuff was on that download link? ha, i guess i should dig through my files, i know i downloaded it.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:16 (thirteen years ago) link
nah the EP wasn't on there, I figured that was more widely available. I could upload it though. It has a Lee Hazlewood cover (No Regrets), a Talking Heads cover (Send Me an Angel), a song called the Moviegoer that is an original iirc, plus one other instrumental original I think.
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Still rate Romantica as their best post-Penthouse; he's mastered the art of the conversational strum.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:21 (thirteen years ago) link
If I fall in love again in the next three years, "Renee is Crying" is going on the CD-R ("Once we had dreams/Now we have schemes...").
okay fine I will d/l Romantica
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:28 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah the no regrets cover is stellar -- more like the walker bros. version than anything else, I think. both of those covers are on Lunafied, but that instrumental and the moviegoer are missing from my collection. xxpost
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:29 (thirteen years ago) link
& yeah romantica is worth the dl, as is the close cover before striking EP
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Rendezvous is about 2/3 worthwhile as well - not as consistent as Romantica, but it hits a few similar high points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHbJV7SjCm8
― jerkstore cowboy (Pillbox), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:35 (thirteen years ago) link
rendezvous is pretty good (esp. the song you posted). actually, two of my faves from that album are the ones sean eden sings.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:37 (thirteen years ago) link
Wareham's memoir is worth a read.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:37 (thirteen years ago) link
EP also has some country waltz song that may be a cover I don't recognize - "The Enabler"?
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:46 (thirteen years ago) link
I don't have these on my drive at work otherwise I'd just post another yousendit link, sorry
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:47 (thirteen years ago) link
er no the country waltz song is called "It's Bringing You Down". The Enabler is the instrumental.
oh wait I stand corrected I DO have it on my work drive. sending yr way tyler
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:48 (thirteen years ago) link
thx dude!
― tylerw, Tuesday, 14 December 2010 23:48 (thirteen years ago) link
am starting to think the exit of Stanley Demeski hurt this band considerably. not really digging much of this drumwork on Romantica
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:51 (thirteen years ago) link
Wasn't he only in the band at the very beginning? I thought Lee Wall was the drummer on the couple of albums before Romantica.
― ENBB, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:55 (thirteen years ago) link
Demeski is on the first three. He left prior to Puptent.
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:55 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, i think that demeski had a cooler sound. wall is fine, just not as distinctive.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:56 (thirteen years ago) link
the first album - which I am maybe a bit too sentimentally attached to - is just Wareham, Demeski, and the original bassist Justin Harwood. (well, Kramer plays a part here and there iirc)
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:56 (thirteen years ago) link
hey shakey would you mind sending me what you sent tyler? I'd really appreciate it.
I saw them three nights in a row at Maxwell's in hoboken in 1998 and my friend and I recorded the shows with their permission. She might still have that - I should check and find out.
― ENBB, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:58 (thirteen years ago) link
"the first album - which I am maybe a bit too sentimentally attached to"
Ha - that's how I am with Bewitched.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SqorQ_wpdE
― would like a calmer set (Eazy), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 22:02 (thirteen years ago) link
^^^ love thatenbb, would be interested in hearing those maxwells recording, if you find them. i saw luna a bunch around the same time. don't have as many luna bootlegs as I'd like.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 22:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Okay I have a .zip file with the following for anyone who wants it (on its way to you shortly ENBB)
Roll in the SandOutdoor MinerBob Le FlambeurDance With MeThank You For Sending Me an AngelThe MoviegoerIt's Bringing You DownThe EnablerNo RegretsSeven-ElevenDear PaulinaSucking Ice Cubes
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 22:07 (thirteen years ago) link
loving re-hearing these luna ep trax btw shakey.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 22:17 (thirteen years ago) link
is that out of print or something?
was similarly surprised to see that Days of Our Nights is out of print. I wonder how much my white vinyl copy would go for...
― from the lowly milligeir to the mighty gigahongro (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 22:21 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah it's out of print, tho i just checked amazon and third party sellers have it for a whopping .99 cents. might have to replace my copy.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 22:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Hey - thanks so much Shakey! :D
― ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 00:02 (thirteen years ago) link
my wife has a massive crush on DW, she met him once somewhere and he asked her name and she was pretty ecstatic when an hour later he was leaving and came over and said "it was vv nice to meet you" and called her by her name. damn, what a player.
― omar little, Thursday, 16 December 2010 00:12 (thirteen years ago) link
I love his accent.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 16 December 2010 00:13 (thirteen years ago) link
I also have massive crush on him and his accent is, in fact, great.
― ENBB, Thursday, 16 December 2010 00:22 (thirteen years ago) link
then she read the book and said, "well i'd still hit it but..."
― omar little, Thursday, 16 December 2010 00:23 (thirteen years ago) link