aaaa they were just the replacements.
I’m a big fan of “Birdhouse in Your Soul.” I’ve got both CDs from the “Dial-a-Song” album ripped to my various audio devices; I really only listen to the songs (with a few exceptions) when they pop up during shuffle.
The one exception to this is “Meet James Ensor,” which features a drum section that sounds exactly like a dying power steering pump in a first generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. This one gets skipped, and I think I removed it from my iPod.
(Bolding mine) that’s also roughly when bassist Bruce Thomas left the band, meaning that they were no longer The Attractions, meaning that the most killer rhythm section in the history of power pop ceased to exist. Without the melodic bass grooves to anchor the songs, Costello’s most self indulgent songwriting tendencies were let off the leash.
Just my opinion, anyway.
So how do you feel about XTC?
In the OP I was saying that I did not like what I was hearing at the beginning of the song but changed my mind. I was literally in the middle of the song when I started posting.
Those last lines are great but kind of depressing, no? You either dead with regrets, or alive and bored.
Thanks for reminding me. I haven’t heard them in years, but expect they would similarly grate on my gizzard.
I have mixed feelings. Their early stuff was a soundtrack to my adolescence, so it slots in pretty well to my idea of what music should sound like. Their later stuff doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But I’ve seen them live several times, and they’re always putting on an interesting show.
I don’t want the world, I just want your half.
It may take an ocean of whiskey and wine to wash all the let down out of your mind.
I neither love them nor hate them. They remind me very much of freshman year college, which is a nice thing, and I remember them being a band I wanted to explore more, but I never got around to actually buying an album of theirs. In the intervening years, I have heard much more of their work, and I do like “Ana Ng,” but I find I slot them into kind of a “novelty music” space in my brain. I can take one or two of their songs at a time, but then I really need to hear something else. Cake (the band) has a similar effect on me, but not quite as grating after a couple of songs. I could probably last through three Cake songs in a row before needing something else.
I like em well enough but yeah, two or three songs at a time is plenty. And that separated by several months.
I never fail to get a kick out of “The Mesopotamians.” But “The Communists Have the Music” is a mighty tough earworm to shake. And both have great videos attached.
I appreciate the subversive kids’ songs, too, especially “Science is Real.” “I like those stories, about angels, unicorns, and elves…but when I’m seeking knowledge…the facts are with Science.”
That your post was some sort of stream of consciousness and meant to be interpreted as such might not have come across as clearly as you think. I took the title at face value.
I agree that that part is kind of depressing. They don’t apply to me, most of the time, but it’s a great description of a kind of feeling.
I had friends that liked them much more than I. They’re more miss than hit. There are half a dozen earlier songs I like, and their rendition of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is better than most.
So long since I’ve listened to most of their songs that They don’t elicit strong feelings in me. Am surprised they do in the OP.
When TMBG is great, they’re spectacular, and when they’re not, they’re meh.
*Birdhouse *isn’t even their best song.
Your Racist Friend buys a lot of leeway with me.
My favorite, among the ones I know is “Particle Man.”
They were my wife’s favorite band growing up.
Then we saw them live. Hands down worse concert we’ve been to in our lives.
I like Barenaked Ladies. Pretty much the same quirky vibe as TMBG but much cooler. I love them live too.
Me too. But I wonder why Constantinople got The Works? I guess it’s really none of my business.
Both Lincoln and Flood were treasured additions to my musical collection as a teenager. In particular, I thought the first side of Lincoln was pretty spectacular. I didn’t bother with their next album, but thanks to the fact that I worked at my college newspaper, where free review copies of albums were there for the taking, I was back on the train with John Henry. I remember what a big deal it was for the two Johns to evolve from a quirky little duo into a full band. I actually listen to more songs more often from this album than any of their other releases. But I remember not being particularly impressed by the leadoff single of their next album, and I gave up for good.
When I saw the title of the thread. I thought. You meant the George C.Scott film.