Just wondering if anyone else has obsessively listened to an album or an artist, whilst simultaneously thinking it might be a bit rubbish but you love it all the same. (Not something you fell out of love with, but something that had you completely conflicted at the time)
I think one of the things I find most fascinating about music is that it’s almost impossible to judge quality properly because whether you love or hate something or not is often quite random, and always so personal.
For me, my best example of this is CocoRosie. I was absolutely obsessed with The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn but I really couldn’t work out whether it was terrible or great. But no matter, every time it finished I’d end up putting it back on for another play. Almost as if I couldn’t decide if I loved it or hated it but I needed another go to try to be sure.
Animals was the definite highlight for me, and absolutely my favourite song by a country mile. But then there’s Japan, which is clearly horrible and annoying… or is it? I could never quite decide. And what the hell is Girl and the Geese? I also really did not like the last song with Anthony Hegarty.
I find CocoRosie are a band that are a bit of a self-parody. You know who you’re listening to when you hear random cockrels in the background, or when a song can go from what sounds like a 12 year old girl rapping in her bedroom to weird opera within a heartbeat. I think it’ the whole car-crashness of it that appeals to me.
Anyway, I listened to their first two records quite a bit, and have always dabbled since, including their latest, but nothing quite dug its claws into me than Ghosthorse and Stillborn.
Would be interested to know if anyone else feels like this about anything. (Or has any thoughts on Ghosthorse and Stillbrown)
I’m a bit embarrassed to say I had to get help from google to remember the name of the album. I almost called it Ghostface and Stillborn but managed to clear that up before it got loose.
I then ended up on Metacritic and the top review comment was from this very site in the days it was still reviewing things:
This is CocoRosie’s best long-player yet, and a sure contender for album of the year. 9/10
I only really know and like their last couple of records (their latest album is very good!), but I’m going back and listening through their back catalogue now. Wasn’t that keen on the first album, but the next two albums seem to be improving each time so that’s good!
Anyhow, I don’t reckon they’re in the terrible category. If only for the line “they’re trying to Britney Spears me” in the new album. I should have seen them play live again in March, but will now have to wait and see if their rescheduled gig ever happens.
Really hard to figure out if even he thinks some of the stuff he releases is actually good. The highs are crazy high though. Black Metal is still incredible
The hyperbole I spilled over hundred reasons between their first and second albums coming out was immense. “the British at the drive in” became almost a catchphrase. Absolutely caned ideas above our station at the time.
Then album 2 came along and it was shite so I basically stopped listening to them, but still held IAOS on a stratospheric pedestal.
It came to 2015 when on holiday in Malta I overheard a chap in a bar talking about how shit HR were and how embarrassed he was for ever liking them. I stepped in to bat, praising that first album like it was revolver. I tried, but couldn’t convince the guy he was wrong.
Later that night I went back to listen to the album and it was alright, maybe a 6/10
I genuinely love all his stuff - even the stuff that is blatantly just random bits of messing about he’s cleared out from his hard drive. In a weird way I realised I probably like him in the same way I liked a lot of the really early lo-fi stuff from bands like sebadoh and smog.