― mullygrubber (gaz), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 03:58 (twenty years ago) link
― sundar subramanian (sundar), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:00 (twenty years ago) link
― sundar subramanian (sundar), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:15 (twenty years ago) link
― mullygrubber (gaz), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:30 (twenty years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:55 (twenty years ago) link
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 05:07 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 05:12 (twenty years ago) link
― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 09:42 (twenty years ago) link
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:00 (twenty years ago) link
― sexyDancer, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:21 (twenty years ago) link
― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:27 (twenty years ago) link
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:34 (twenty years ago) link
― Charles C, Tuesday, 6 April 2004 15:21 (twenty years ago) link
― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 15:54 (twenty years ago) link
― trees (treesessplode), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 18:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― sonofstan (sonofstan), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― Sadly, he will be the next Alexis Petridish. (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:28 (seventeen years ago) link
Strike that, reverse it = just how I feel, man.
As a bassist he's one of those guys that plays an interesting bassline here and there but never really holds a bottom, and also uses way too many effects, rendering his tone flat and robofarty.
― polar bear flashback episode (nickalicious), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:30 (seventeen years ago) link
― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― chaki (chaki), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― M@tt He1geson: Real Name, No Gimmicks (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 25 October 2006 19:50 (seventeen years ago) link
You know what's funny about this thread? Everybody on it is like, "Bill Laswell is awful, terrible and hideous...but I like Record X by Brilliant Artist Y" -- and invariably that record sucks, too!
I do not hold myself harmless here.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 16:54 (fifteen years ago) link
lately anything Visconti touched turns to crap.
― Simon H., Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Laswell's recording of the Master Musicians of Jajouka's "Apocalypse Across the Sky" is pretty amazing.
^^^^this
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:12 (fifteen years ago) link
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/07/56/78/25/0007567825532_500X500.jpg
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:13 (fifteen years ago) link
is Mick going through her purse on that cover?
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:14 (fifteen years ago) link
He used her lipstick.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:17 (fifteen years ago) link
I think Laswell is pretty much hit and miss. I generally like his ideas, but often the actual sound on his stuff is often pretty flat and boring, and sometimes his choices of organizing the sound is downright confusing, in a bad way. And his bass playing is rather uninspired too. So maybe he should work just as an ideas man/curator, and leave the actual sound production to other folks. However, the trio of electro albums he did with Herbie Hancock is still pretty much unfuckwithable - especially Perfect Machine, which is maybe the best electro-funk album of all time. So I can't really call anyone who produced those albums the worst in the universe.
― Tuomas, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:31 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah - he's very erratic but he's been involved with too many totally amazing things (Rockit, MMOJ, Last Exit) to really call him terrible.
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 17:33 (fifteen years ago) link
this was the soundtrack to the first bad acid trip I ever had and I've had a really hard time listening to it ever since (so, like, 15 years!). In fact I must not even have this anymore, I don't remember seeing it. It was amazing up to that point though.
I like Laswell's work on PIL's Album and Swan's "The Burning World", I know everyone hates those records but I think they're great, it's a stroke of genius to put Steve Vai on a Lydon record.
― akm, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Album is great
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:03 (fifteen years ago) link
also the most annoying thing about Laswell to me is his eagerness to take credit for everything, including hip hop that I think he arguably had little to do with. This was more annoying ten years ago when it seemed really off the wall and not true; these days it kind of seems like he already convinced everyone of his absolute paramount importance and people believe it.
― akm, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:04 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah it seems like everyone hated 'album' at the time because it sounded so commercial but for fuck's sake look what came after that. It's like the last artistically worthy thing Lydon ever involved himself in.
― akm, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:06 (fifteen years ago) link
I dunno producing the first record to feature scratching is kind of a big deal. he didn't "invent" hip-hop anymore than James Brown did, but he was certainly in the right place at the right time doing the right thing with the right people.
you can say that about a lot of his career I guess.
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:07 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.a-i-u.net/images/starpeace.jpg
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:13 (fifteen years ago) link
oh yoko
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:17 (fifteen years ago) link
Starpeace of shit is more like it.
I have far too many conflicting feelings about Laswell for one post. As mentioned upthread, the guy SHOULD be an absolute favorite of mine (and was...a long, long time ago) -- he's worked with just about every hero I could imagine (he was Jim O'Rourke before Jim O'Rourke was cool).
But the sheer amount of aimless supersession in his catalog is unforgivable and, in practice, little different than those jams that would conclude the Prince's Trust concerts back in the 80s. It's sort of the dark side of Toop's Ocean of Sound theory, really -- just this soup of sound, as if throwing Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins on a record naturally makes it funkier.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 19:02 (fifteen years ago) link
What I know best out of his work is the three albums he produced for Herbie Hancock in the 80s. And they were all great.
― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 19:08 (fifteen years ago) link
I second Freeman's endorsement of Orgasmatron. Great fucking record. That thick, dubby production is the last think you'd expect on a Motorhead record. But it makes sense, considering Lemmy's bass powers the ship.
― QuantumNoise, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 20:08 (fifteen years ago) link
As mentioned upthread, the guy SHOULD be an absolute favorite of mine (and was...a long, long time ago) -- he's worked with just about every hero I could imagine
Yeah, I mean, his superstar baiting period (Mick, Yoko) was mostly dreck -- he was hired to apply a carapace of avant-gardism to mostly dreary tracks. I'm not even fond of Album beyond "Rise," "FFF," and the one about the dustbin with the Ryuichi Sakamoto synth interlude.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 20:10 (fifteen years ago) link
I saw swans on the burning world tour and came away thinking laswell should have his knob-twiddling fingers broken. performed live the material was intense and hypnotic, like some of the quieter pieces on children of god. could've been a great album.
― Edward III, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 20:18 (fifteen years ago) link
that mick jagger album would've sucked if the dali lama produced it
― m coleman, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 20:42 (fifteen years ago) link
for somebody so prolific there are bound to be misfires and mismatches. laswell's been involved in a lot of great albums, admittedly as musician as often as producer. those herbie hancock albums, the early material stuff. his own basslines album, sakamoto's great neo geo, all the celluloid 12-inches...so later, haters.
― m coleman, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 20:46 (fifteen years ago) link
of course, his holiness has no training in recording engineering.
― res, Thursday, 14 August 2008 04:00 (fifteen years ago) link
Laswell's three songs on Mister Heartbreak ("Sharkey's Day", "Kokuku" and "Sharkey's Night") aren't bad.
― Eazy, Thursday, 14 August 2008 04:14 (fifteen years ago) link
As a producer, Bruce Hornsby likes that same lousy drum sound -- you know the one.
― Eazy, Thursday, 14 August 2008 04:15 (fifteen years ago) link
uh. okay. always sounded really thin to me, rather like a better version of his godawful production on white zombie's make them die slowly. like a guy who doesn't know rock, doesn't like rock, but goddamit he's gonna produce some rock. orgasmatron ain't a bad album but the production really hinders it excepting the title track.
― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Thursday, 14 August 2008 05:40 (fifteen years ago) link
maybe i just need to turn the bass way up or something?
Happy birthday, Bill Laswell.
― Andy K, Sunday, 12 February 2012 22:52 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=nona+hendryx+ghost+love&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDEQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DuYNEuOHeL1o&ei=xUE4T5ylJcf38QO1hc2dBA&usg=AFQjCNFYsRdX1yBTesBXSfDjvTHrKad5Hg
― The Pastiche Liberation Front (sonnyboy), Sunday, 12 February 2012 22:54 (twelve years ago) link
haha i was actually planning a "laswell: where is the LOVE" thread, so i searched to check it wasn't a repeat and found tarden-as-was (from 11 years ago!)
"laswell: where is the LOVE (ON HIS 57th BIRTHDAY)?"
― mark s, Sunday, 12 February 2012 23:03 (twelve years ago) link
Material's Memory Serves and One Down have aged v well
― demolition with discretion (m coleman), Sunday, 12 February 2012 23:21 (twelve years ago) link
yup. 2 really good albums. Was he involved in the Zillatron album? That was the best Bootsy album in the last 25 years.
― pfunkboy (Algerian Goalkeeper), Sunday, 12 February 2012 23:27 (twelve years ago) link
Ask The Ages, Low-Life, and "Bonzo Goes To Washington" are all killer.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 12 February 2012 23:52 (twelve years ago) link
also: Sly & Robbie's Rhythm Killers (though may have co-produced w them), Motorhead's Orgasmatron.
― dow, Monday, 13 February 2012 00:26 (twelve years ago) link
Unfuckwithable: Ronald Shannon Jackson's Texas
― Steamtable Willie (WmC), Monday, 13 February 2012 00:36 (twelve years ago) link
and "Bonzo Goes To Washington"
Did Laswell actually had something to do with this? I've never heard that he did. Wasn't it produced by Arthur Russell?
― Tuomas, Monday, 13 February 2012 23:23 (twelve years ago) link
I had a few of Laswell's projects over the years, these three I kept. If you like what he did with the Miles Davis recordings, these things are pretty much in that vein, if perhaps a bit more electronic in nature.
Material - Hallucination EngineSacred System Dub - Chapter 1 & Chapter 2
― earlnash, Monday, 13 February 2012 23:35 (twelve years ago) link
i miss dave q― mark s, Sunday, 12 February 2012 22:18 (Yesterday) Permalink
― mark s, Sunday, 12 February 2012 22:18 (Yesterday) Permalink
You don't even post here any more.
― _Rudipherous_, Monday, 13 February 2012 23:50 (twelve years ago) link
xp You're right, Laswell didn't work on BGTW. Not sure why I thought that, unless I confused him with Jerry Harrison.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 13 February 2012 23:52 (twelve years ago) link
he does too sometimes.
x-post
― scott seward, Monday, 13 February 2012 23:58 (twelve years ago) link
the first Colorcode record smokes with RAW POWER!!
― the late great, Tuesday, 14 February 2012 00:23 (twelve years ago) link
2nd the many mentions of sharrock's ask the ages. one of my very favorite albums. and motorhead's orgasmatron is alright. not the most sympathetic production they've ever had, but far from the worst. remember loving the two sacred system albums earlnash just mentioned, though it's been a while.
also remember digging some of the releases on the "strata" offshoot of laswell's subharmonic imprint, especially halo by azonic. earth-style heavy drones produced by laswell and andy hawkins. cool shit.
― Little GTFO (contenderizer), Tuesday, 14 February 2012 00:25 (twelve years ago) link
I interviewed him last year; we talked about Last Exit, Painkiller, some of his other industrial-metal-dub projects, the John Zorn/Fred Frith/Laswell/Dave Lombardo band, recording Pharoah Sanders in North Africa, and lots of other stuff. Here's a link.
― 誤訳侮辱, Tuesday, 14 February 2012 00:38 (twelve years ago) link
As a producer I think he's done some cool (and terrible!) stuff. As a player, much more hit or miss, but some of those hits hit hard, like Painkiller, Massacre, Last Exit and Peter Gabriel's "This is the Picture."
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 16 September 2017 19:52 (six years ago) link
I don't think his hit/miss ratio is bad at all. He's just done so fucking much. It's easy to point to a lot of good projects if you like the guy and easy to point at a lot of middling to poor stuff if you don't feel like being generous towards him.
― WilliamC, Saturday, 16 September 2017 20:07 (six years ago) link
ooh for an extended/remastered edition of rhythm killers.
it has to happen soon surely ?
― mark e, Saturday, 16 September 2017 20:33 (six years ago) link
I think some of his misses, like in my opinion the Miles Davis remixes or Bob Marley remixes, are so bad they really offset his frequent high points. At the time I really liked his sort of new age dub he was up to with the later golden palominos records, but I have a feeling they have not aged well.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 16 September 2017 21:22 (six years ago) link
I need to listen to Panthalassa (the Miles record) again. I listened to Divine Light (his remix of Carlos Santana's Love Devotion Surrender and Illuminations) recently and it's good; kind of an ambient reimagining of those records, but with enough guitar fireworks to keep it from dissolving into a puddle of sugar water.
― grawlix (unperson), Saturday, 16 September 2017 23:16 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hev2qx1y2IU
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 17 September 2017 01:03 (six years ago) link
Dude produced "Rockit" so...yes, there is a worse producer out there somewhere. Only know that b/c yesterday I heard a Sly and Robbie album from '85 that Laswell produced called Language Barrier that sounded so much like "Rockit" I had to look it all up. Album had a bunch of the same musicians on it as Future Shock (and Dylan somewhere on it, too, but didn't hear him on the song I heard.
― john. a resident of chicago., Monday, 18 September 2017 03:20 (six years ago) link
I remember being like downright angry after I bought Panthalassa, like I had literally been ripped off. I just listened to a bit of it and it didn't bother me as much as I remembered. Still not sure what it adds to the picture or why I wouldn't just listen to the miles records.
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Monday, 18 September 2017 03:31 (six years ago) link
I just bought three old Axiom releases from Laswell's Bandcamp page - Billy Bang's Outline No. 12 (conducted by Butch Morris), Henry Threadgill's Too Much Sugar for a Dime, and Maleem Mahmoud Ghania and Pharoah Sanders' The Trance of Seven Colors.
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 18 September 2017 17:59 (six years ago) link
I like his Miles remix record
― Οὖτις, Monday, 18 September 2017 18:01 (six years ago) link
I do too.
― WilliamC, Monday, 18 September 2017 18:13 (six years ago) link
I haven't heard all that many Axiom records, and the hit/miss ratio is pretty terrible for what I've heard, but I remember being very captivated by the fold-out catalog that came with one of the cds I got in college. It felt like he was creating a world, throwing together with all these different genres, musicians I'd heard of, and mysterious titles and artwork. That was a bigger influence on me than the music, a lot of which is, like, bad trip-hop and funk jams.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 18 September 2017 18:14 (six years ago) link