#55

The Sophtware Slump is head and shoulders above the rest but Under the Western Freeway and Last Place are both good enough to merit 10-20% of my Grandaddy listens

1 Like
#56

I only like Bring It On and Liquid Skin by Gomez, but I like them a lot a lot.

Not arsed about anything else.

#57

Millions Now Living Will Never die by Tortoise - 10/10 love it to pieces

Tortoise’s other records - take it or leave it.

3 Likes
#58

Correct opinion.

#59

Local Natives. I discovered them through the very sad, very good Hummingbird and I loved it, but everything else I’ve heard from them seems to be the antithesis of what I like about music.

#60

I was thinking about this the other day; ‘Whokill’ by Tune-Yards, though I was obsessed with this album and didn’t give the other stuff she’s done quite the same amount of attention (I remember ‘Nikki Nack’ feeling a bit inconsistent, as much as I bloody love ‘Sink-O’)

1 Like
#61

Mansun - Six

not arsed with the britpop stuff that much and third album was pants. do like some b-sides and whatnot but would happily been everything else off if i could only listen to one of their releases again.

1 Like
#62

Red Box. I think The Circle and the Square is brilliant; the other two albums are as dull as ditchwater.

#63

I’ve been thinking about this and it’s probably Harmonicraft by Torche. Now, I love Torche, but I pretty much rinse Harmonicraft by them and nothing else, not that the other albums aren’t any good, just I love this one a lot. FOr me, it’s the right mix of huge stoner riffs and pop-rock. Also, the artwork is beautiful.

#64

Never managed to get more than a few songs in. As dull as Be Here Now to me.

#65

Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd.

If you accept my argument, which is that there are actually three bands called Pink Floyd (Barrett, Waters and Gilmour versions), then I guess it’s not really saying much, because their only other album, A Saucerful of Secrets, is a jumbled mess, the only noteworthy track being ‘Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun’, which is largely due to the fact that although he was technically involved, Syd’s contribution was minimal. I still maintain that if the band had any decency they would have renamed themselves after Syd’s departure, but they didn’t so here we are.

If I’m forced to admit that Pink Floyd are in fact the same band throughout their 30-odd year history, then I would also have to admit that I do occasionally revist ‘Meddle’ and concede that it is really quite good. I also like bits of ‘Obscured By Clouds’ and ‘Ummagumma’, but everything from ‘Dark Side…’ onwards leaves me cold. And it’s not just a matter of taste, it’s the stench of guilt which hangs over work of this bunch of careerists, examples being the hypocritical lyric to ‘Money’, the cringworthy reference to ‘the lunatic’ in ‘Brain Damage’, and in particular the nauseating ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. Obviously we now live in a much more enlightened age in terms of how we talk about mental illness, nevertheless when Syd was at his lowest point and desperately in need of help, they chose to instead to turn their backs and go for the money.

And yet, I would still consider myself a fan, and ‘Piper…’ is the sole reason why.

#66

I prefer Peace and Truce. And How to… is pretty amazing too.

#67

I disagree with some of your opinions on the music, but it’s a matter of personal taste and you are entitled to them.

However… I do take issue with last sentence in the second paragraph. They did not “turn their backs” on Syd. They did not kick him out, they kept on with Gilmour as a replacement but with Barrett still in the lineup and sometimes joining in, until the situation became untenable. After he became incapable of musically contributing to the band, requiring a permanent replacement, Gilmour and Waters helped out on his solo album; they continued to support him emotionally and made sure that he got all the royalties to which he was entitled. Moreover they have never failed to acknowledge Syd as the initial spark behind Pink Floyd. I don’t agree that the lyrics of Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were exploitation; I think of them as homage to their former mentor, especially the second of those two, given the album title.

2 Likes
#68

The problem is that I don’t think the band have ever been challenged on the ‘poor old Syd, it’s sad but there was nothing we could do’ narrative. While your counterargument is factually correct, I believe their motivation was guilt because they knew that what they’d done was wrong, plain and simple.

#69

So what did they do? Or what should they have done, that they did not?

#70

Van Morrison. He has released umpteen albums, but I only own Inarticulate Speech of the Heart.
The reason? I really don’t like his voice or his singing style. On that particular album, about half the tracks are instrumentals, and on those where he does sing, he manages to keep his rambling bluesy style more or less in check.

#71

British Sea Power with their debut. The others all have their moments, but nothing comes close to the brilliance of Decline, with the one they put out last year probably coming closest.

I’d also make a case for The National with Boxer, though mainly because it’s just so good. Alligator is great but not as cohesive, and the last couple are a bit ploddy as albums, despite some great songwriting.

#72

Well there were probably several courses of action available to them, the best of which would either have been to put the band on hiatus while Syd got the help he needed, or to formally disband and then after a respectful interval reform under a new moniker. What they did, namely cut Syd out of the band without even telling him (they’ve admitted as much by saying that they just stopped inviting him along to practice sessions), was, from a moral point of view, one of the worst courses of action available. As I said before, those were different times, and the band were quite young and probably naive in certain ways. But Syd wasn’t just a bandmate, he was their friend. And obviously my belief that they were motivated by guilt is pure speculation, but as I said, the band’s narrative has never been adequately challenged, certainly not by the rock press who are notoriously bad at that sort of thing, rather they have continued to proliferate the myth of the Mad Genius, and sadly not by Syd himself, who never told us his side of the story.

#73

and that’s my point. Without evidence, you assume the worst. It seems to me they were motivated by, for want of a better word, pity.

#74

They stopped inviting him to their rehearsals and carried on as if he didn’t exist - that’s pretty cold. At least I’m crediting them with having some remorse for what they did, even if they’ve never admitted any fault.