Beachwood Sparks' "Make the Robot Cowboys Cry"

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It's great! 28 minutes of sheer,gorgeous bliss. Deserves to follow in the footsteps of 'Deserter's Songs', 'The Soft Bulletin' and 'The Sophtware Slump' as the year's chosen slice of cosmic Americana. Many of you heard it? This is my first taste of the Sparks, is their other stuff worth investing in?

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

ugh - horrible revisionist crap. Seeing them play is like watching a bunch of guys in silly haircuts pose with their Gram Parsons record collection. Really obnoxious. But to [some of] the Sparks' credit, they did serve as backing band for Kurt Heasley for "The 3-Way" incarnation of the Lilys, and that shit is amazing.

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You're mean!

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

He is also quite accurate, Kilian. Long have I wanted to set fire to their sideburns.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Never seen them in the flesh, so can't comment on their obnoxious manner or terrible haircuts. This record is a treasure, though. I can't be the only one who likes it (I may be tempting fate by saying this).

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Pitchfork skewered it (don't they need some sort of rating system involving their lil' pitchfork? perhaps along the lines of adult video reviews? - "right skewered" or "fully pitched" or maybe just "done."). Jimmy Tamborello aka Dntel did some collab on it, so it couldn't be that awful - could it?

― Spencer Chow, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

As I've said on another thread, I totally hated the other album by them I had -- don't know what it was called, but the New Riders of the Purple Sage did that stuff way better. BUT "Make the Cowboy Robots Cry" is great! I was totally surprised! What a nice record! Since you don't have to see the schtick, all you get is very nice tunes!

And Ned don't gimme no lip because I just found out you gave the new Voltaire album four stars ;)

― John Darnielle, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

hmm - well, seeing as how I'm basing my opinion on the first record and their live shows (an opinion which mirrors John's, btw) maybe I should defer to him. Since he's, you know, actually heard the new record and stuff. It's just that given their previous output I have zero expectations of them...

― Shaky Mo Collier, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I stated on the previous B. Sparks thread I found their LP to be a snoozer. Maybe they're better now! But who cares.

― Sean, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The only reason you know that, John, is...YOU'RE ON THE PROJEKT MAILING LIST TOO! Ha! ;-)

It is a good album, actually. As for this new BS one, well, I guess I can approach it by pretending it wasn't made by the scruffs in question but by somebody else. Which is often a good way to reconsider a band (ie, how you can pretend late Stone Temple Pilots actually was made by Cheap Trick with a sore throat).

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i always figured them for beards. beachwood and the tyde a bearded frenzy, maybe only in my head.

― keith, Friday, 21 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ooh Ned you've caught me. Might as well admit that I like that new Lycia album here & now and just get it over with. Well I do. Even if I have no idea what part of Ohio you have to come from to have lost the ability to pronounce "r" in the middle of or at the end of a word. :)

― John Darnielle, Saturday, 22 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ned talks shit. Shut yr cakehole, Raggett. :)

― david h(owie), Saturday, 22 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Shan't, nyah.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 22 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The BS album is great. Forget the posing and listen to the tunes

― Sonicred, Saturday, 22 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think Sophtware Slump is interminably dull. I haven't heard any Beachwood though.

― Nick Southall, Sunday, 23 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I wanted to hate this record. I mean I really wanted to but its not that bad. The Jim Woodring cover, the ability to use the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as an inflluence and not have me destroy the audio device that it's being played on won me over.

― brg30, Sunday, 23 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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