Low: Classic or classic?

xpost - yeah, that was the one!

another thing I'll say about Alan and Mimi: I don't know either of them (I've interacted with Alan a bit in person and online and via email), but I know a lot of people who do, and it says something that, as people who have worked in what is a basically thankless industry for almost 30 years, with plenty of opportunity and justification to beef with others, that Alan and Mimi are universally loved. Quite a few years ago when Eitzel was going to go on tour with them he expressed some hesitation given that he was still in his cups at the time, didn't know them, was a little worried about hitting the road with Mormons; I introduced him to a friend of mine who had toured with them to assuage those concerns. Right now I don't know that I can think of a single other group in my circle of friends and acquaintances about whom no one has a grievance.

They seemed to draw great strength from their faith without even remotely pushing it on anybody else, or even necessarily promoting it. That's a rare thing.

Well said:

https://slate.com/culture/2022/11/mimi-parker-of-low-dies-how-the-drummer-worked-with-husband-alan-sparhawk-to-make-art.html

The tour that Eitzel did with them was, I think, the first tour on which I saw them, the show that altered my life and perceptions of music.

They seemed to draw great strength from their faith without even remotely pushing it on anybody else, or even necessarily promoting it. That's a rare thing.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, November 7, 2022 8:41 PM (forty-three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i know this isn't the right time for this, but you know what? this cult nearly killed me, so i'll just point out there is a lot wrong with this kind of sentiment and it does real damage to people. silence and complicity kills, and it is picking a side. i have a lot of sympathy for what was by all accounts an honest grappling with the religion, but i don't think they were able to make the right choice in the end, and that to me is really tragic. i won't go into why it invalidates the band's work for me as it feels entirely too personal to defend, it just is what it is.

anyway, a sad loss and my condolences to fans and loved ones.

I don't know what to say other than its heartbreaking, can't believe she's gone. For someone that didn't even necessarily think of herself as a drummer, she was so iconic and influential. I thought about her all the time when I needed to play minimally and try and really get to the heart of the music.

I got to see them a number of times but the most memorable was probably in 2014 at a tiny barn venue in Spring Green, WI. They seemed a little off balance playing a space that intimate at that point in their career but it was amazing to see, I especially remember Nothing But Heart and Mimi singing the Rihanna cover. I got to talk to her for a little while afterwards and of course she was kind.

I can't go back and listen to it now but this interview is worth hearing if you haven't:
https://www.thetrapset.net/128-mimi-parker-low/

Ah yes, choosing a Black lesbian fronted doom-metal band that speaks directly against racism, xenophobia, transphobia, and homophobia for openers on their last tour is "silent complicity." You don't know what you're talking about except your own experience with the LDS— your experience is yours, not theirs, so maybe come off it, map.

Nevermind their own advocacy for stances that go directly against much LDS orthodoxy.

hey table, i might be available to chat about this off board some time if you're interested. i will say that though my discomfort and general feeling of being "uninvited" when it comes to the band's work is informed by personal trauma, i've given it some thought over the years and i feel like the reasoning for it is pretty sound. i get that rolling into an rip thread with all this is not great and i truly offer my condolences for grievers. really, it was just josh in chicago's post i wanted to push back on. it's a really toxic kind of sentiment that i just couldn't shy away from addressing a little bit. the lds church doesn't work like that. if you're paying tithing, you're very very much pushing it on everyone else. if you aren't paying tithing, you aren't a member of the church. that's just how it works.

Maynard from Tool:

This is crushing news from Alan, @lowtheband. Although I've never met them, Mimi and Alan have been a huge influence on my writing approach w regards to pace, space, and harmony. A few years ago right after Bowie, Lemmy, and Alan Rickman died, I began writing letters, 12 at a time, to strangers who have had a huge influence on me. This was in reaction to the outpouring of love I was reading that these dead artists would never hear. I chose to write and send those words of appreciation, along w some wine and gifts to my guides while they could still read them. Mimi and Alan were on that next round of 12 letters, and had been for about 6 months. And I fucking waited too long. I was literally going to ask mgt to track down a good address for them this weekend. I had no idea she was sick. This puts an added sting to my procrastination. The song I was listening to on loop yesterday was Congregation. My point I suppose is Do Not Wait. Life Is Too Short. Say the Words. Send the Letter. Make the Call. Also- Do yourself a favor and dig deep on the @lowtheband catalog. Things We Lost in the Fire is a good place to start. Alan, @puscifer will be dedicating Horizons and A Singularity to Mimi the next few days while we play our way through Canada. So sorry for your loss.

I understand the way the church works, and I also understand that people are complex and can hold a lot of conflicting opinions, beliefs, and actions. I understand why you can't cotton that in regards to this band, and I am sorry for your experience, but it doesn't have much to do with what's going on right now— people mourning the sort of voice and the sort of band that only comes around once in a generation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imnKIeQqQbc

i agree with that, thanks for the note of understanding.

Trying to be gentler— sorry if my initial pushback was a little stern. <3

I listened to "The Invisible Way" all the way through for the first time in many years today, and I admit that it is much better than I have given it credit for upthread. Certainly not their best record, but one thing in particular stands out about it: Mimi sounds *amazing* on it, Tweedy really did the power of her voice justice. "So Blue" is incredible.

Yeah, that's a great Mimi record. I think of 'Just Make It Stop' as a signature Mimi song.

as far as lists go, it's probably their 'worst' record which is saying something because it's very good. Not many bands have more consistent catalogues.

Beautiful take from Greg Kot here:

I can't think of a band I loved more than Low since they released their first album in 1994. It's tragic that Mimi Parker -- a mom, a wife and a quiet powerhouse of musical creativity -- is gone so soon, but she and her band have given us a trove of great recordings that feel timeless, as are the memories we hold of their one-of-a-kind concerts.
In addition to being a remarkable singer, Mimi was a sensitive and nuanced drummer. I focused on that part of her massive contribution to Low's music in this review of Low at Metro in 2002: "Parker stood behind the kind of drum kit a novice might reject for its lack of potential: a snare, tom-tom and lone cymbal. A tambourine represented her sole extravagance. Yet with deft application of mallets and brushes she painted portraits of an interior world beyond words: What sound does the snow make when it falls? A child when it sleeps? A drowning man at peace with his fate?"

How did their collaboration as songwriters work? The credits just read Low, but who tended to write most of the lyrics and music?

some of their publishing credits do give a bit more detail than the liner notes - there's plenty of songs credited to just one or the other, plenty credited to both, also some with whoever the bassist at the time was. my impression from that is that alan seemed to write more than mimi did but overall they were both bringing a lot to the table and actively collaborating.

hard to process that I will never hear another new Low album.

The march is over
The great destroyer
She passes through you like a knife

RIP Mimi

I listened to "The Invisible Way" all the way through for the first time in many years today, and I admit that it is much better than I have given it credit for upthread. Certainly not their best record, but one thing in particular stands out about it: Mimi sounds *amazing* on it, Tweedy really did the power of her voice justice. "So Blue" is incredible.

― poppin' debussy (the table is the table), Monday, November 7, 2022 10:18 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

100%

For me it's the Great Destroyer that's a little uneven. but when they hit, they hit in a big way. Silver Rider approaches Neil Young level of greatness--you kinda know what they're singing about, but maybe not, a la Powderfinger. The uptempo songs on that one (except When I Go Deaf) aren't as successful for me, but i'd never say it was a bad album--i'm sure people connect with it on a deep level. there's really no other band like them. I think it speaks to their power how there's no one consensus best Low record.

I think Mimi generally wrote the lyrics to the songs she sang

There are some songs of hers that really ring true as "cancer" experiences, since I know she had been ill before this most recent bout.

"I fell down the stairs
I wished I were dead"

from "Embrace" channels some serious chemo feelings of weakness, impotent despair, and rage. That song remains one of my favorites of theirs, tho I admit that given the poll results last year, many of my favorite Low songs seem to be marginal to other listeners.

Wonder how much of “Hey What” dealt with her diagnosis. Songs like “All Night” and “I Can Wait” quickly jumped out.

If I could trade, I could trade, I would trade, I would trade, I would trade
I would give you a break
Help you carry the weight

yeah. was thinking about that the other day.

this was from this summer, and Alan's looks at Mimi at during the opener are something

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5rTf7s1iN0

also, I hadn't realized they were on yet another bassist; who is she and when did she join?

Liz Draper, she's a super pro, I think they knew her from being in Charlie Parr's band

https://www.macphail.org/faculty/liz-draper/#:~:text=Liz%20Draper%2C%20classically%20and%20jazz,and%20Davina%20and%20the%20Vagabonds.

cool, she did a good job.

post Zak, being a 'bassist in low' is essentially agreeing to be a nameless appendage, there to fill up some sound, with few expectations (can't for the life of me remember the name of the last guy, he was in retribution gospel choir).

i think they finally started calling themselves a duo for the last album? there was the RTG guy and then another guy between him and liz draper

draper plays with a lot acts, i would imagine she didn't want to give up that income or flexibility either

steve garrington was their bassist before hey what, but he quit at the start of the sessions for family reasons iirc and alan and mimi decided to make the album as a duo (well, trio if you count bj burton). draper joined for the hey what tour

garrington appeared to actually be pretty crucial to the sound of double negative at least - he was responsible for a lot of the synths & samples on it

RIP Mimi. Always loved the way that got namechecked in this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9XR5CynN-k

always wondered if the Randy that tells her the dude lives in Minneapolis is Randy Hawkins, First Ave sound engineer/touring engineer tons of bands

Hmm. Know nothing about that, but it seems likely.

I went for a walk on Sunday morning listening to "Nothing But Heart," not exactly a typical song for them but it sounds incredible, and I love the way that Mimi's voice so gradually takes over the song.

"Nothing But Heart" was our first dance at our wedding 😣

"Nothing But Heart" was our first dance at our wedding 😣

― insane oatmeal raisin cookie posse (Whiney G. Weingarten), Tuesday, November 8, 2022 bookmarkflaglink

Ours was Two-Step!

need to make a poll for if you've been a wedding guest and thrilled when the wedding couple (or bride/father, etc.) dance extends beyond the 4 minute mark.

Lol I never truly grasped how slow and long Two-Step was until I danced to it in front my entire family and friends

Realized today that I Could Live in Hope is the only album of theirs I don't have, didn't realize it was so hard to get ahold of now. The 2011 2xLP reissue goes for $250, even the CD isn't available for less than $80 right now. This needs a reissue.

iirc the band was having a hard time getting hold of the masters from vernon yard

Yeah, I saw some references when poking around to Vernon Yard refusing to release them or do anything with them at all, which is a shame.

A friend posted this Pan•American track featuring Mimi's vocals on Twitter - had no idea it existed.

https://panamerican.bandcamp.com/track/code

And MONO uploaded live footage from 2017 of them playing "Majesty/Magic" with Low

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYuHDczYhw

need to make a poll for if you've been a wedding guest and thrilled when the wedding couple (or bride/father, etc.) dance extends beyond the 4 minute mark.

― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Wednesday, November 9, 2022 12:21 AM (eighteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

We did a "Everyone can join them" at some point reasonably early

Next morning we did brunch with both sets of parents and my new mother-in-law was like "What was that song you did your first dance to?" and I was like "They're this band called Low, they're from Minneapolis and they play these really slow and quiet songs, did you like it?" And she goes "Oh nooooo." XD

found a promo CD of curtain at the record shop today. bit of a time capsule. also picked up the great destroyer, which i regret ever glazing over... it's belting.

who else could write a song about starting a pirate radio station out of the back of your friend's ambulance and driving off into the night?

this was tough news for me. I went to see Low with my late wife for our 2nd date, on Valentine's Day in 2003, at the Union Chapel in London. they were one of her favourite bands. by complete coincidence I was wearing her Low t-shirt on Saturday. it has an octopus on it, which for convoluted reasons I don't even really remember, was one of our symbols.

hugs to you, bovarism

x 2!