speaking of "ireland is lovely" here's a song van dedicated to his high school in belfast. prob my favorite song on avalon sunset, can't get enough of those golden autumn days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKBao_-FJU8
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 15:12 (seven years ago) link
I think I said this elsewhere but while there are plenty of good songs about California, Van's are pretty much the only ones that make me want to be in California.
― JoeStork, Monday, 31 July 2017 15:50 (seven years ago) link
I understood Van the vocalist much better when I realized he was a saxophone
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 15:52 (seven years ago) link
I am on tour; people are phonies; I'm staring at a 14-year-old girl from a car; those other people are phonies too; Ireland is lovely.lol otm -- also "i can't believe i signed that contract"
― tylerw, Monday, 31 July 2017 15:55 (seven years ago) link
the first couplet on his latest album might literally be the biggest load of shit ever sung haha:
"I was Mr Nice Guy too longAnd I found out that was wrong"
really now
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:00 (seven years ago) link
lmao van
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:04 (seven years ago) link
One of my favourite scenes in "The Last Waltz" is at the big singalong at the end; Neil Young puts his arm around Van in a gesture of brotherly solidarity. Van visibly recoils/shudders and Neil puts his arm away
― Well bissogled trotters (Michael B), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:13 (seven years ago) link
I really like this also love the moxie of calling a song "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" like fuck Pink Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14VTF3EWqUo
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:20 (seven years ago) link
i can imagine van singing "never heard of pink floyd / never got no insight from sigmund freud"
― tylerw, Monday, 31 July 2017 16:24 (seven years ago) link
just on its surface Pink Floyd's whole approach to music would be so antithetical to Van
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:35 (seven years ago) link
or....holy shit...maybe The Band, Roger Waters and Van doing "Comfortably Numb"??????
fucking Levon singing this song is messing w/ me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpFo_E9Fq2k
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:37 (seven years ago) link
lmao whut
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:42 (seven years ago) link
this is the most bloated thing i've ever seen
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:47 (seven years ago) link
Yes. I prefer to think of Van not being aware of any music post Ray Charles, or at least Bob Dylan. Certainly not singing songs from The Wall.
I believe Van's cover of Comfortably Numb was featured prominently in a scene or two from The Sopranos.
― kornrulez6969, Monday, 31 July 2017 16:56 (seven years ago) link
though maybe him and Waters are bros cuz they are total grumpy bastards?
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 31 July 2017 16:58 (seven years ago) link
i think i'm gonna actually finish my ballot in the next few hours! didn't think i'd ever get here lol
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 17:31 (seven years ago) link
Christ, Tir Na Nog is glorious. This is impossible.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 31 July 2017 17:45 (seven years ago) link
can someone (Brad or anyone) rank in descending order the '80s work?
PCC and Beautiful Vision sound the best to my ears.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 July 2017 17:48 (seven years ago) link
common oneno gurupoetic championsirish heartbeatbeautiful visioninarticulate speech of the heartavalon sunseta sense of wonder
i think that's everything
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 17:52 (seven years ago) link
Common One!
Anyone read the Marcus book?
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:02 (seven years ago) link
It's what's on the stereo when Christopher and Tony have the wreck that causes the latter to finish off the former before the authorities arrive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU8nJE6z4DM
"It's The Departed soundtrack. It's fuckin' killer..."
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:05 (seven years ago) link
god when hymns to the silence finally gets all of its bitter recriminations against the music industry out of the way and gives itself over to nostalgia and spirituality it's exquisite
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:28 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eBjVOJ0w_o
take me backtake me back take me backtake me back
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:30 (seven years ago) link
"When the Leaves Come Falling Down" better make some ballads.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:46 (seven years ago) link
and here i thought i had all of his songs about leaves on my ballot
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:47 (seven years ago) link
don't forget the recitatives for synth.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:51 (seven years ago) link
i love that there's also a song called "golden autumn day" on back on top. van really consolidating the overarching themes there
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 18:59 (seven years ago) link
He's got no "Desultory Winter Light" in his catalog
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 July 2017 19:08 (seven years ago) link
First listen to 'Take Me Back' and it is lovely, but I think the issue is the band, which feels a bit pedestrian, a bit plodding. I mean, it's unreasonable to want Richard Davis and Jay Berliner on every album, but still.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 31 July 2017 20:30 (seven years ago) link
slight counterpoint: van's drummer around the time was dave early, who was also sade's unofficial drummer
i think he does wonderful work here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOUilsuZj1E
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 20:34 (seven years ago) link
all right i'm onto the live albums i'm less familiar with and my god
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN14cvbC8CY
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 21:21 (seven years ago) link
Another super weird collaboration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS_f-kOri1w
― JoeStork, Monday, 31 July 2017 21:28 (seven years ago) link
lol immediately started crying when van sang "my tongue gets.... t-t-t-t-tied" on the live astral weeks, jesus
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Monday, 31 July 2017 21:38 (seven years ago) link
We all have to comment on Astral Weeks in the shadow of Bangs, but Ballerina is the track that destroys me the most, and it's the 'and this time I forget to slip into your slumber' verse in particular. I think it's the midpoint between His voice as instrument - where the words are secondary to the delivery - and the power of the lyrics themselves. And the bastard was 23.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 31 July 2017 22:21 (seven years ago) link
Heh - I quite like the 'His' typo.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 31 July 2017 22:22 (seven years ago) link
Zappa & Van had history: The Mothers (and The Doors, and Beefheart!) opened for Them on their only US tour w/Morrison in '66.
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 31 July 2017 22:30 (seven years ago) link
Ballerina is amazing. All of the album closers seem to be.
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 31 July 2017 22:32 (seven years ago) link
man avalon sunset's better than I remembered, huh
xp lol immediately started crying when van sang "my tongue gets.... t-t-t-t-tied"
otm
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Monday, 31 July 2017 23:47 (seven years ago) link
Avalon Sunset was a tape belonging to my older brother that I used to listen to a lot when I was 13. I felt I had to dislike it since then, cos yknow, Cliff Richard, but its a lovely album
― Well bissogled trotters (Michael B), Tuesday, 1 August 2017 00:04 (seven years ago) link
Hey Born To Sing No Plan B is really good.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 01:03 (seven years ago) link
I got addicted to Ballerina through his live sets. Particularly this one ....
https://youtu.be/mRpLokqyQF0
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 03:21 (seven years ago) link
^formatting fail. That leads to the Pacific High Studio version from 1971. Hard not to hit repeat after listening.
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 03:23 (seven years ago) link
gonna take full advantage of the 1-day extension, 4-5 spots left on my ballot
― sleeve, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 04:40 (seven years ago) link
ok here's a great them song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or_-J0wKpSw
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Tuesday, 1 August 2017 12:22 (seven years ago) link
i had also never heard "friday's child" before this poll and wow
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Tuesday, 1 August 2017 12:46 (seven years ago) link
anyway i submitted my ballot
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Tuesday, 1 August 2017 12:49 (seven years ago) link
― to fly across the city and find Aerosmith's car (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, July 31, 2017 5:30 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Jim Morrison was a huge fan of Them (a band I get the sense that any recorded material can't really convey what they were as a force of nature during a small club date in the mid-60s) and also is said to have studied Van's stage moves in Them very carefully and adopted them for his Lizard King dramatics
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 1 August 2017 13:47 (seven years ago) link
OK, so tomorrow is the last full day of voting. Please have your ballots in by 12 AM, August 3. Rollout starts on Thursday and we'll finish up on Friday.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 14:09 (seven years ago) link
the "friday's child" from that pacific high 71 bootleg is unbelievable (as is most of the rest of that show)
― tylerw, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 14:19 (seven years ago) link
http://www.thatericalper.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Van-and-Jim-Morrison.jpgjim van morrison
― tylerw, Tuesday, 1 August 2017 14:40 (seven years ago) link