Can you recommend these bands? Part II

[Futureman]

In the mood for something edgy, interesting, and loud. What are your thoughts in the following?

Animal Collective
Xiu Xiu
Giddy Motors
Locust
Les Savy Fav

[johansen smith]

Xiu Xiu and Giddy Motors are TERRIBLE. especially Xiu Xiu, just awful.

Les Savy Fav are alright, nothing special.

[Paul]

On the contrary: Only Xiu Xiu is terrible. I liked them for a few days until...THAT VOICE...I was pulling out my hair. Giddy Motors is quite good under any circumstances.

Les Savy Fav is capable of greatness, but only achieves it 30-40% of the time.

The Locust is great in small doses. Thankfully, most of their songs are miniatures.

[DefenderOfPants]

yes, stay away from xiu xiu. they're are thoroughly dreadful.
some psuedo-weirdo in my art class gave me a tape with them and a band called hella on it. i felt bad just having it my house.

if you see a band called hella, stay away from them, too.

i am not sure, but i remember les savy fav's singer having an obnoxious voice. maybe just annoying?

[pabost]

Les Savy Fav is great live, but the only record I have is "Go Forth," which I'm pretty indifferent about.

[behemoth]

LADDIO BOLOCKO
crazy, noisy, loud instrumental NYC band. they have an essential 2xCD called "the life and times of Laddio Bolocko"

[bitterfruit]

Originally posted by johansen smith
Xiu Xiu and Giddy Motors are TERRIBLE. especially Xiu Xiu, just awful.

Les Savy Fav are alright, nothing special.

The naked Asian kid on the cover of one of their records just kinda spooks me out.

[johansen smith]

Originally posted by bitterfruit
The naked Asian kid on the cover of one of their records just kinda spooks me out.

the LP cover doesn't have the orange square. THAT spooked me out.

[bitterfruit]

Shut up. You liked it.

[vesper]

Well, I'll go out on a limb and say that I really like Xiu Xiu. It's very noisy and dramatic (vocally anyway), but some of the melodies are actually rather pretty underneath all of the chaos. The singer has admitted to being very over-the-top (dig the psycho-wailing on "I Broke Up" off Knife Play) which I can understand bothering many people.

As for the Hella comment above - if you like the latest Lightning Bolt LP, then check out Hold Your Horse Is by Hella. It's in the same vein.

Les Savy Fav is one of my favorite live bands. I would start with 3/5 and Rome (written upside down EP. But, more than anything else, go see them live. Drive 3 hours if you have to - especially if the show will be in an intimate setting.

The one song I heard by Animal Collective ("Slippi") is terrible. But I haven't heard anything else by them, so, they might be great.

Giddy Motors is definitely worth a purchase. Good combination of noise and math.

[bitterfruit]

Originally posted by DefenderOfPants
a good combination of noise and math rock is like a good combination of shit and diarrhea.

Diarrhea in space is nothing to sneeze at.

[RockAction]

!! Diarrhea in space !!

seems like a cool band name :)

[vesper]

Originally posted by DefenderOfPants
so what you are saying is, you really like them just because, underneath all of the noisy dramatics, there is a "rather pretty melody underneath"?

what, are you desperate for rather pretty meloides, or something?

i can handle over-the-top. i can't handle crap music.

"hold your horse is" was what was on the tape. i am not surprised that is in the same vein as their other stuff, being that "hold your horse is" sounds, more or less, like the same thing over and over again.

a good combination of noise and math rock is like a good combination of shit and diarrhea.

I'm not really sure what you want me to say to you? Sorry I don't share your impecible taste in music? That's as good as I can get.

The purpose of this thread is to tell him a little about the bands he asked aboot; that's exactly what I did. I like Xiu Xiu because I like Xiu Xiu. If you took my response as some sort of attack on you, it is entirely contrived on your part.

Besides, he had written in a former listening post that he had listened to Wonderful Rainbow. Hence, my pointing out that he would probably like Hold Your Horse Is if he also liked the former.

[Futureman]

Thanks for *all* your responses, regardless of your musical tastes.

Vesper, are Giddy Motors and Lightening Bolt similar?

[tinobeat]

for a few years, it didn't get much better than Les Savy Fav for me, especially live. I've sort of faded on them, but more because I don't quite listen to as much high-energy "fight song" type stuff. But Tim Harrington, the singer, is one of the greatest performers I've seen, both in terms of energy as well as amazing off-the-cuff humor and charisma. Their last record was great, songwise, but I think Phil Ek's production rounded to jagged edges off a bit too much. that kind of lush style works great with Built To Spill, but LSF do better with much more up-front style sounds.

The Locust, when I'm in the mood for them (maybe 2-3 times a year) is amazing. 40-60 second blasts of screaming, crushing guitars, complete insane intensity. When I'm feeling crazy enough, it fits the bill perfectly (along with lots of other grindcore type stuff). Most of the time I can't really stomach it though. I do really want to hear the new album.

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by DefenderOfPants
i just thought i'd point out that, the people who listen to xiu xiu and actually like it, have piss poor reasons for liking it.

I dunno, saying he liked the pretty melodies doesn't come across as a "piss-poor" reason to me. can you come up with a better reason to like a band?

[Wild is Wild]

I adore Xiu Xiu, they're probably one of my favorite recent bands, along with DAT Politics. They were a little bit off-putting to me at first , but now I love them and think Jamie Stewart's voice is so sexy and gorgeous. It was their cover of "Ceremony" that really did it for me. Their more dense, noisy songs do tend to have lovely melodies at their center, and most of their songs get me right in the gut. They really grew on me and now I'm mildly obsessed with the band. They're so hilarious and sad and over the top... Xiu Xiu somehow manages it to make it work for me, unlike say, I dunno, Dashboard Confessional.
I really like Animal Collective. Don't listen to their new album expecting the usual noise freak-outs. They're going for a more distant, tribal sort of thing ... think the last Black Dice album, except maybe slightly more "organic". It's music that you would play while working. It sort of crept on me. Their first album, under the name Ave Tare & Panda Bear is a little bit more conventional and poppy; it was surprising hearing it and discovering that they can write lyrics, sing and play guitar 'normal'.
The Locust are fun. I get the impression that they're best enjoyed live.
I haven't really gotten into Les Savy Fav at all, and I haven't heard the Giddy Motors.

[ericseguy]

Originally posted by DefenderOfPants
so what you are saying is, you really like them just because, underneath all of the noisy dramatics, there is a "rather pretty melody underneath"?

what, are you desperate for rather pretty meloides, or something?

i can handle over-the-top. i can't handle crap music.



I also like Xiu Xiu, and to a lesser extent Hella. I think the part where you say "I can handle over-the-top. i can't handle crap music" could easily be percieved as an attack or insult on vesper since he/she was rationally trying to explain Xiu Xiu's music and then you just disregarded everything he said (and therefore, everything futureman might want to know about Xiu Xiu) and just called it "crap" as a definative statement. Your opinion is worth no more than vesper's, DefenderOfPants, and due to your slightly hysterical response, it might be worth even less.

[Futureman]

I'm still looking for some Black Dice. I may have to order it on-line. Same with Animal Collective.

[vesper]

Futureman, Lightning Bolt and Giddy Motors aren't really similar. GM uses a wee-bit of sax and other instruments - LB only has a bassist and drummer (Hella has the same set-up). They are two very different beasts, but both are great. I lean a little more toward Lightning Bolt myself, but I definitely suggest Giddy Motors's latest.

DefenderofPants, the only reason I responded to you is because you responded to me. I dunno, call me old-fashioned, but I normally react to those things.

Furthermore, I'm not really sure why you like any band if an attachment to the melodies is a piss-poor reason. What would be a good reason?

Blanket statements about one's musical taste (eg: "listen to crap" and your apt math and noise/shit and diarrhea analogy) seem like bait to me. Now that I know that you regard responses as "odd", I won't bite next time.

[Squall91]

For me, Xiu Xiu are okay in very small doses. Jamie Stewart's voice gets very grating when you're not in the right mood...

I like The Locust for their song titles...very much like Anal Cunt...

I have a few LSF mp3s. They're quite good from the few songs I've heard by them and I wouldn't hesitate in buying some albums of theirs if I've ever found it in any of the stores I go to...

[bitterfruit]

I think "Xiu Xiu" means "The The" in Mandarin Chinese. Am I wrong?

[vesper]

Your argument that most people [here] aren't very selective might hold water if I ever gave any indication that I'm not selective. You may read the "I like Xiu Xiu because I like Xiu Xiu" comment as piss-poor, dim-witted, what have you, but it is just because I didn't expect that I would need to delve into every aspect of a band's music in order to claim that I like them. Anyone that is coming to this board is probably quite selective of their music, how you would come to any other conclusion is beyond me.

Highschool kid would listen to Xiu Xiu? I don't know that, as I never met any highschoolers that listen to them. I'm not saying they don't exist, I just haven't met them myself. On the contrary, I associate acts like Bright Eyes, Dashboard Confessional, Thursday, etc to be more up a highschooler's alley.

Okay, I'll give it to you. Liking a band for creating diametrically converse sounds/moods/tones (chaos vs. beauty, abrasion vs. softness) that exist without drowning each other out, but, rather, punctuating the other's impact is an incredibly shallow, unselective and altogether uninformed reason for liking a band. In fact, it's horrid rationale is only rivaled by that of disliking a band because a) "some psuedo-weirdo in my art class gave me a tape with them and a band called hella on it. i felt bad just having it my house", b) "[they] sound like a band a highschooler would listen to", and c) "I can't handle crap music". Hey, come to think of it, those are all rather general reasons for calling someone out. Huh.

I see your confusion now, but this:

I'm not really sure what you want me to say to you.

is rhetoric, not me thinking you expected me to give you some sort of response.

And just to clear the air of any misconception, I'm not carrying on this conversation because of some deep-seated connection I have with Xiu Xiu. I'm dragging this out because your smug and self-righteous tone in that particular - no, wait, every - post bothers me. Of course, my tone hasn't been a shining beacon of acceptance and modesty either, but I thought I'd make a point of saying that.

-edit to add-

bitterfruit, I'm not sure what Xiu Xiu means exactly. It is from the title of some film, though.

[TheSadDebaser]

Xiu Xiu's great. You guys are all just old.

[johansen smith]

I'm young and I still say they's the suck.

[TheSadDebaser]

You just think you're young.

[johansen smith]

I am below the Drinking Age, thus I am a Young.

[TheSadDebaser]

Then you must be dull.

[Futureman]

let's move on.

[ericseguy]

DefenderOfPants, your last post conveys the overall disposition of jackass-ary you have been projecting this thread. I'm sure you're a nice guy, but really, you know NOTHING about vesper, much less anything on this board, or anything about anyone who like Xiu Xiu. Let's move on, indeed.

[tinobeat]

well, we have a motion and a second, so we have now moved on.

I have a list of bands you all can give me recommendations on:

Mono (already mentioned in another thread, but lets see if I can get more)
Numbers
Tussle
The Oranges Band
The Stratford 4

all these I've heard of, have been intrigued by, but never sure enough to go into.

[Paul]

Numbers - really jerky, robotic and deadpan post-punk (in a good way)
The Oranges Band - earlier stuff leans toward standard indie rock cliches, newer stuff recalls C-86 UK guitar pop (i.e. Wedding Present, The Siddeleys)
The Stratford 4 - dream pop from San Fran--should be fantastic by their third album, as the first two show occasional signs of inspired writing

[Miss Tasty Princess]

Goodness gracious but people are being pricks on this board lately.

[tinobeat]

Originally posted by Paul
The Oranges Band - earlier stuff leans toward standard indie rock cliches, newer stuff recalls C-86 UK guitar pop (i.e. Wedding Present, The Siddeleys)

sorry, unfortunately I don't know a) what the Wedding Present sound like and b) who the Siddeleys are...

They played at the Middle East one night when I was working and I popped my head in and it sounded awesome and I saw that they had like 4 guitarists or something crazy like that, but didn't remember what it sounded like by the next day (I only caught 1 minute or so), except that I remembered it being awesome sounding. but for all I know, that could have been the only awesome-sounding minute..

ramble ramble..

any other reference points that I may know about?

edit to add:
I've decided I'm not going to get involved in any more scuffles on the board (unless its funk, and that because I love him... oh and maybe anagrama too, but maybe not), or at least try. I find that being a prick is contagious, and everyone gets all jumpy and aren't sure if people are starting something or not...

[Paul]

Hmmm...I wonder how I'll elaborate. I guess that if you can imagine the Smiths (or some equally recognizable UK band from the 80s) with faster tempos and grittier guitar tones, you'll get the C-86 scene--of which the Wedding Present and Siddeleys (along with Shop Assistants, early Primal Scream and Soup Dragons, Wolfhounds, and about 20 or 30 other bands) were a part of.

This still doesn't make the Oranges Band seem all that original, but it's nice to see someone paying homage to a forgotten time in modern musical history.

[johansen smith]

from what I've heard of the Oranges Band, there's very little to distinguish them from any other random indie band.

[Paul]

Oranges Band: I've got all 4 of their releases (two ep's, a mini-lp, and this year's lp), and there are and handful of songs that stand out on each. If they'd have been more adept at picking and choosing what material to release, they could have put out a killer lp this year instead of forcing you to buy their entire catalog to get 8 or 10 really great songs.

C-86 (another reference point for tinobeat): The Vaselines came out of the tail end of that scene. Surely you've heard them...

[DefenderOfPants]

the siddeleys sound a bit like the more poppy/jangly songs of the pastels, when a girl is singing. sort of. anyway, they've got a female singer. trust me.

i don't really think they sound like the siddeleys. i can hear the wedding present, though. but i would say that their earlier stuff ("900 miles of...") sounds more like the wedding present, and that their newer stuff ("all around") sounds more polished and contrived, maybe.

the singer's got a decent "rock n' roll voice", if that makes any sense. kind of like john spencer without a sense of humour? it's not whiney, or too macho. he doesn't sound like any muppet on sesame street. he yells a lot, though, maybe a bit too much.

they don't sound terribly unique, but i can't seem to think of a band to compare them to, other than the wedding present.

i could suggest a few songs.

[ericseguy]

I saw the Oranges Band when they opened for Spoon, and they were one of the only opening bands I've ever liked. Their new record does tend to lean towards indie-rock cliches, but I'd say definately pick up their EPs.

[DefenderOfPants]

the singer used to tour with spoon as a bassist. but i wouldn't say they sound like spoon.

[Paul]

Originally posted by DefenderOfPants
the siddeleys sound a bit like the more poppy/jangly songs of the pastels, when a girl is singing. sort of. anyway, they've got a female singer. trust me.

i don't really think they sound like the siddeleys.

Perhaps I've gotten my names mixed up. I haven't heard the Siddeleys in years, and it's entirely possible I'm confusing them with another band...

[Paul]

But back to the question at hand...

On TV, the mini-LP, would probably be the best Oranges Band purchase. It's a really tight 7-song collection which has the highest concentration of great tunes in one place.

[bitterfruit]

Originally posted by tinobeat
well, we have a motion and a second, so we have now moved on.

I have a list of bands you all can give me recommendations on:

Mono (already mentioned in another thread, but lets see if I can get more)
Numbers
Tussle
The Oranges Band
The Stratford 4

all these I've heard of, have been intrigued by, but never sure enough to go into.

From the limited material that I have heard from The Oranges Band, I'm not so convinced that they deserve an opening spot for GBV. The Stratford 4 get a couple of thumbs down in my book. I just find them to be boring.

[yovan]

Just heard a couple of tracks from a Lookout Record comp... Very intrigued..

Now I'll try and find the LP----Is it on Lookout as well? Where are they from--CA?

[Paul]

They're from Baltimore, and I'd definitely go with either of the eps or the mini-lp before I'd go with the full-length.

[yovan]

Damn, I was just there this past weekend... Ah well, thanks for the info...