thank you, this rules
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Saturday, 1 December 2018 19:36 (five years ago) link
That's fantastic, cheers - almost broadway.
Stevie's guitar has been the biggest revelation of this rediscovery process. His tone is just glorious.
― Have the Rams stopped screaming yet, Lloris? (Chinaski), Saturday, 1 December 2018 19:53 (five years ago) link
I remember reading something back in the day mentioned Steve Cropper as an influence and it had never occurred to me but yes! of course! and from then I couldn't help hear that all over the early stuff, that kinda choppy sound
― Jonathan Hellion Mumble, Saturday, 1 December 2018 20:04 (five years ago) link
Interesting, esp. since the northern (as opposed to southern) soul stuff is a much bigger (or clearer) influence, but now that you mention it, yeah, some of his fills seem Cropper-y, esp. in stuff like "Step Into My Office, Baby." Regardless, I always thought Stevie got the award for most improved, as both player and writer, as the band has gone on.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 1 December 2018 20:32 (five years ago) link
I was amazed at how much they downplayed Rich Colburn in the Sinister film. I think he's a fantastic drummer.
― Have the Rams stopped screaming yet, Lloris? (Chinaski), Saturday, 1 December 2018 20:37 (five years ago) link
colburn mostly downplayed himself, which as a self-taught drummer i get. but yeah he’s great
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Saturday, 1 December 2018 20:43 (five years ago) link
The first 4 minutes of this reminds me how good they were live in this era but also what a great song Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie is https://youtu.be/UCK3CLwAE98
― piscesx, Saturday, 1 December 2018 21:05 (five years ago) link
the how to solve our human problems stuff is all so fun. less cohesive and consistent than girls in peacetime but they're eps, imo it's by design. there is probably a solid eleven track life pursuit-ish album in there though. also "we were beautiful" is completely awesome and i have no idea if i have room for it in my ballot
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Sunday, 2 December 2018 01:52 (five years ago) link
I just noticed another song missing from the Google Doc: "Wrong Love" from the BBC Sessions.
― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 2 December 2018 01:55 (five years ago) link
It's basically a simpler arrangement of "The Wrong Girl", no?
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:02 (five years ago) link
yes
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:06 (five years ago) link
Fun fact: 86 different tracks have received votes so far.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:07 (five years ago) link
oh shit it's happening!
― Van Horn Street, Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:07 (five years ago) link
They are a perfect polling band, with the nooks and crannies of the early EPs, generous output but also steadfast classics.
― Van Horn Street, Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:08 (five years ago) link
just submitted my ballot
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:34 (five years ago) link
she thought it would be fun to try photographyshe thought it would be fun to try pornographyshe thought it would be fun to try most anythingshe was tired of sleeping
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Sunday, 2 December 2018 02:51 (five years ago) link
Dylan in the Movies would be my #1 had they recorded it with Cooke's trumpet.
― Van Horn Street, Sunday, 2 December 2018 03:18 (five years ago) link
you could invert my entire ballot and it'd still make sense as a ranking
too many good b&s songs
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Sunday, 2 December 2018 04:00 (five years ago) link
looong xp, but i just bumped into the piece referred to by:the horn solo in "judy" is maybe the single most joyous moment for me in their cataloguethe near-juxtaposition of that section to the first, faulting recorder bit is so effective for me. agreed, it’s grand.
― but i'ma chud. i'ma weirdo. what the hell am i doing here? (Hunt3r), Sunday, 2 December 2018 05:21 (five years ago) link
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance is surprisingly much better than i remembered? it's still a bit bloated and doesn't have anything quite as great as "I Didn't See It Coming" but i certainly prefer it to The Life Pursuit and Write About Love. "Play For Today" is the highlight
― ufo, Sunday, 2 December 2018 05:35 (five years ago) link
man "Sweet Dew Lee" from How to Solve Our Human Problems is great? really wasn't expecting something that good after how ignored those EP's seemed to be
― ufo, Sunday, 2 December 2018 06:27 (five years ago) link
I have that peacetime big box, made 4 cds out of it, it's basically four EPs and works that way.
Might get around to the new album at some point.
― Mark G, Sunday, 2 December 2018 11:03 (five years ago) link
the rest of How To Solve Our Human Problems is generally forgettable but "Best Friend" is quite nice too at least
― ufo, Sunday, 2 December 2018 11:17 (five years ago) link
Ballot sent. That was tough.
― Have the Rams stopped screaming yet, Lloris? (Chinaski), Sunday, 2 December 2018 11:22 (five years ago) link
I've not really paid much attention to the Left Banke before. 1) They're great and b) well, listen for yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBv64sXY-Gs
― Have the Rams stopped screaming yet, Lloris? (Chinaski), Sunday, 2 December 2018 19:48 (five years ago) link
have relistened to the albums through Fold Your Hands and the first three EPs so far
the most indelible track of these records, for me, is still the title track on If You're Feeling Sinister
― Dan S, Sunday, 2 December 2018 21:26 (five years ago) link
not sure it's their best but it's the one that's still stuck in my head 20+ years later
― Dan S, Sunday, 2 December 2018 21:27 (five years ago) link
The incidental playground noises somehow boost it to a whole other level.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 2 December 2018 21:57 (five years ago) link
I know for me it’s all nostalgia, can't really be objective, but in the 7 releases I’ve revisited so far I'm not sure there’s one I like better - although The State I’m In, The Rollercoaster Ride, Stars of Track and Field, Lazy Line Painter Jane, The Boy With the Arab Strap are all close seconds
― Dan S, Sunday, 2 December 2018 22:45 (five years ago) link
listening to it again The Rollercoaster Ride reminds me a little of the hushed harmonies of Yo La Tengo
― Dan S, Sunday, 2 December 2018 23:15 (five years ago) link
I remember thinking at the time DCW was a new beginning for them, but that was the point I lost touch
looking forward hearing it again
― Dan S, Sunday, 2 December 2018 23:18 (five years ago) link
That slow version of "Seeing Other People" is interesting. The limitations of their singing are really on stark display, but it's still so endearing.I don't know if this is what fgti was referring to upthread as "slack", but if so, it was a key element of their early appeal. Combine this with their mysteriousness in the pre-napster era, and it really did feel like some kind of private club.
― enochroot, Monday, 3 December 2018 00:17 (five years ago) link
Boring administration note: if folks wish to enter a unranked ballot of n < 30 selections (I've received some already), I think I'll use the average value of the first nth places listed in the original post (rounded down) for each selection. eg. 25 each for an unranked 15.
I don't wish to actively encourage this, tbh, as I'm lazy, but this seems fairer than using the flat 17 points mentioned up top for every situation.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Monday, 3 December 2018 08:26 (five years ago) link
So. Am I being stupid? Can someone tell me (and her) - how did Lazy Line Painter Jane get her name?
― kraudive, Monday, 3 December 2018 10:07 (five years ago) link
It’s a good question. I think the lyric refers to her just as ‘lazy jane’ before the ‘wondering how you got your name’ bit so maybe when it comes to her wondering, there’s no ‘line painter’ about it.
The video has her making mischief with a number of lines, starting with a Stevie Jackson’s yellow line painting in the road but who knows if all that was in SM’s mind when he wrote it.
I think LLPJ was the first B&S song I heard and I said something like “take this off; it sounds like Deacon Blue”
― Alba, Monday, 3 December 2018 11:40 (five years ago) link
She is also, in SM's mind, 'Painter Jane', as noted in the sleeve notes (see the column to the right here), not just 'Lazy Jane'.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 3 December 2018 12:08 (five years ago) link
Latest in my "discoveries":The first B&S release I didn't buy was the Step Into My Office Baby single. Only now do I find the absolute gem Desperation Made A Fool Of Me hidden away on the B-side. Can I squeeze this on?
― Alba, Monday, 3 December 2018 13:36 (five years ago) link
you definitely should
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Monday, 3 December 2018 13:44 (five years ago) link
I've been a good citizen and sent a ballot with 30 tracks :)
― Nabozo, Monday, 3 December 2018 14:24 (five years ago) link
managed to narrow it down to 30 tracks, now comes the hard part
― galaxy brian (voodoo chili), Monday, 3 December 2018 18:17 (five years ago) link
Man, the last quarter-or-so of Push Barman is a SLOG. Except for the hilarious “I Love My Car.”― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, November 27, 2018 5:20 PM (six days ago)
only ever listened to these tracks in the context of the EPs, but I see that the last quarter of Push Barman also includes Jonathan David, Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It, The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner, and I’m Waking Up to Us.
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 00:53 (five years ago) link
.
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 00:55 (five years ago) link
Jonathan David tuneless???― brimstead, Tuesday, November 27, 2018 6:05 PM (six days ago) If anything it has too much tune― brimstead, Tuesday, November 27, 2018 6:05 PM (six days ago)
ha ha. this is one of my favorite B&S songs. all three tracks on this record are nice
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 00:56 (five years ago) link
I’m Waking Up to Us is another one with a surfeit of chord changes
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 00:58 (five years ago) link
think Chinaski's Cat Stevens comparison for that one is right
― Dan S, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 01:22 (five years ago) link
Bless. You better vote. :)
In other news... Updated Fun Fact: 102 different tracks have now received votes.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 08:49 (five years ago) link
This is tough.. I haven’t even gotten to their last couple records yet. But general consensus says they’ve been coasting since Life Pursuit. Gonna struggle through.
That stretch from “Expectations” to “I Could be Dreaming” on Tigermilk is an absolute murderer’s row.
― Mr. Snrub, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 12:07 (five years ago) link
"coasting since Life Pursuit" is absolutely not accurate
― resident hack (Simon H.), Tuesday, 4 December 2018 12:12 (five years ago) link
Write About Love and How To Solve Our Human Problems are pretty inconsistent but have some all-time highs in "I Didn't See It Coming" and "Sweet Dew Lee", listen to those two songs at the very least, and Girls in Peacetime is very solid, I easily prefer it to The Life Pursuit
― ufo, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 12:16 (five years ago) link
"Coasting" probably isn't accurate, but I bet the poll results will show that most of the songs that resonate with fans happened before that. There are still some really well-written songs, but they're more of a fungible commodity in the post-Life-Pursuit era. That said, don't skip on checking out "Everything is now (part 2)".
Also, maybe it's just me, but I don't think that a single run through an album would give me a clear picture... my favorite tracks often end up being different than the ones I liked on the first pass.(disclaimer: the first time I heard "The Loneliness of the Middle Distance Runner" I loved it immediately and haven't revised that opinion. so i guess sometimes it is dead obvious.)
― enochroot, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 14:11 (five years ago) link