Eleanor Friedberger (of the Fiery Furnaces)

i like the sound of this
https://youtu.be/wmjcSz8aV1Y

Yeah it’s a good one. (Does she live in L.A. now?)

nice, she is very consistent

look forward to seeing her play on friday!

(Does she live in L.A. now?)

As far as I know she lives upstate New York but just . This interview made me sad: she had to move out of Brooklyn cause she couldn't afford it any more

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/19/eleanor-friedberger-new-view

"but just" was going to end with something about her working in LA

There is something sad about her position (though she makes great records). She's amazingly talented, and has real star potential, but the Fiery Furnaces just fucked it up. I've seen her last three shows in Glasgow - all great - but there were not much more than 50 people at any of them. She seems out of place, too big for the rooms, but that's where she is. I tell people that I've seen her and they haven't even heard of her.

Why do you blame the FFs? Just curious.

I wonder how her sales and show attendance compare to what the FFs were doing at their peak.

The article makes it seem as the age of streaming for free is the reason musicians are broke nowadays but I don’t really see her or the Fiery Furnaces even getting a chance in the pre-internet age.

Also they are a hard band to sell tbh and yet their weirdness was their selling point. I still love her but her solo career is very lowkey compared to what they did as a band. They were a very niche band and people still following her is even more niche.

I was a gonzo Furnaces fan -- never missed an L.A. show (including multiple nights of the same visit), obsessed over the albums, etc. Moments of those shows are burned in my memory. I still look back with a kind of awe that they even existed; they were such a singular band.

But even I have sort of lost track of Eleanor. Hoping to pick up the thread with this new one.

She opened for Luna at the Moroccan Lounge in LA, and said she'll be back as headliner in May. Nice venue to see her in.

Yes, Furnaces were a fantastic live band, always interesting with a wide range of energy/sounds. And for niche, they were filling pretty large rooms at their peak (First Ave's Main Room here, though not sold out).

Solo Eleanor is very reliable as well, though some friends have balked at solo sets, too low-key (not for me). Last time through, I didn't feel the band was up to her, but as the set went on, she managed to mess with them a bit and they rose to her game.

thanks, nick (didn't realize Luna were still out there!)

They re-grouped, may still be on that tour.

The article makes it seem as the age of streaming for free is the reason musicians are broke nowadays but I don’t really see her or the Fiery Furnaces even getting a chance in the pre-internet age.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, April 4, 2018 6:25 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dunno about FF but I think one of the things that has changed is that labels know they won't make money on physical releases, which means less money offered for advances, tour support, etc. I'd be willing to bet FF were doing better financially than Eleanor is now, despite the fact that her music is a lot more accessible

i wanted to see that Luna show with her opening up here in Los Angeles. was so temped to go but i already saw Beck/Spoon and going to MGMT, a couple of Giants/Angel games and trying to get to the Arctic Monkeys show too. my budget is stretched for entertainment at the moment. oh yeah, of Montreal and Modest Mouse are also possibilities.

Those of us here in L.A. should meet up at Amoeba, and wander around mumbling declaratory sentences to each other, or something...

haha, i'm in

morrisp, did you post under a different name before or are you brand new to ILM?

I used to post here ages ago (early 2000s), and recently returned (God knows why or how long I’ll last).

lol, this is a good place most of the time. i came on around 2006 or so, i think my first post had to do with Moose. anyways, 12 years now? i'm fucking old school now.

this place is so intimidating, it's hard to get new people.

i think it took me six months before my first post because of that. i used to post on the old CMJ board called Obner. glad i found a new home here on ILM way back when.

Well, nice to meet you! The vibe is pretty much as I remember it... maybe a little less intense and friendlier (though more “Polls”... so many Polls!)

haha, i have done:

ILM Ballot Polls for 2014 and beyond -- order, timing, "I would have voted if I'd known about it," etc

New Order
Steely Dan
The Boo Radleys
Spoon
Bauhaus
Oasis (lol)
Talking Heads
Joy Division

gave up on and took over by others:

Blondie
Smashing Pumpkins (currently going as you can see)

Damn. Just checked when she's playing next in London and it was last night at the (tiny) Moth Club: a venue I love.

Sucks to be a shit fan.

Hello morrisp!

Hahaha I think i ended up in this hellhole 10 years ago because my mp3blog was being roasted in here and I got curious. Posters were not nice then and they still are not but for better or worse it still is the best forum I’ve bumped into to discuss music.

Also site mods/analysts can doublecheck this fact but I’m fairly sure polls were abused 10 years ago between 2007/2008. I swear back then 7 out of 10 daily active threads were polls.

I also did like 20 polls those years, sorry.

For much of that time, she was in a relationship with Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand
^^now that's a power couple!

Liked this detail:

“When I stand onstage I think I’m Neil Young. Like, ‘That’s how I do it’; that’s what’s going through my head. I mean he doesn’t play a Stratocaster like I play but it’s just something in the way that I hold myself; that’s what I’m emulating.”

she also dated Britt Daniel while a student at UT.

show was great! just her and a guitar, backing tracks on some songs

had a chance to talk to her after the show, she was very kind and we agreed that New View is v underrated

that sounds like a great night, wish i could have gone.

this place is so intimidating, it's hard to get new people.

― Bee OK, Wednesday, April 4, 2018 9:33 PM (five days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm still intimidated outside of ILB.

lovely solo session. her voice sounds great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TllEbRUq1Ls

thx for posting this - the interview bits are fun, seems like she was in a good mood

(-- not to imply she's usually grouchy or something! just that she seems more engaged & open than artists tend to be in these performance + interview clips)

Hmm, things get "interesting" when the interviewer asks her about NYC

"Are We Good?" another standout track

i listen to this album all the time. i do love it. there is a comfort listening to her music that i get that i don't really get from a lot of other newer things today.