[noisereductions]

Respect for what?

[evollove]

Dude killed himself apparently.

Why I should listen to their shitty music because of this, I'm not sure. Felt like the thing to do.

[noisereductions]

Gotcha. I had no idea.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by evollove

Dude killed himself apparently.

Why I should listen to their shitty music because of this, I'm not sure. Felt like the thing to do.

It's really not. Not if you don't like the music. Not if the music is total shit. His fans can mourn him that way, like we mourned Lou and David and Prince and Kurt, but I think we can get by just saying that it's sad, and that it sucks, and RIP.

I'm not going to pretend to like that indefensible shit just because someone died. It's insulting to the artist and the person behind the artist. Guy died... killed himself... fucking horrible, yes, but it doesn't make the music any better than shit-stained shit.

Rip though.

[noisereductions]

 

Nirvana
From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah
1996, I still remember the day in '96 that I asked my dad to drive me to the record store to buy the new Nirvana live album. It was kind of a big deal y'know? Sure we had the Unplugged album, which I totally adored. But this was a full live album presenting the band as we mostly knew it: loud. I remember that my initial reaction to this album was two-fold. First, I was sort of baffled by it. The tracklisting seemed so weird. Here was a live album which was assembled from a full career rather than a single show, and it felt in a way like the performances were chosen at random. But my other initial reaction was that it was awesome. It was awesome that the setlist kept you on your toes. One minute you were hearing a hit single, the next a deep cut or stray b-side. This all thanks to Krist (and Dave) who put this thing together with love. It seems they wanted us to remember the band for what it really was: just a great band with great songs. And in that sense every song in their oeuvre was equally important. And every performance could hold something special. That is to say that almost none of these live tracks feel like definitive versions to me. Heck, I know from many bootlegs over the years that they're not. Well, actually "Milk It" may be pretty close to perfection here. But it seems important to remember with this document that even wrong notes and strained vocal chords at the end of a tour were part of Nirvana's sound. And looking at the setlist that happily touches upon every major release (including Incesticide) but also peppers in rarities like "Spank Thru" or "Been A Son." Really we could sit here and nitpick all day, digging through mountains of bootlegs and arguing over which version of which song should have been included. But it just doesn't matter. This is a great fucking listen.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

 

Nirvana
From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah
1996, I still remember the day in '96 that I asked my dad to drive me to the record store to buy the new Nirvana live album. It was kind of a big deal y'know? Sure we had the Unplugged album, which I totally adored. But this was a full live album presenting the band as we mostly knew it: loud. I remember that my initial reaction to this album was two-fold. First, I was sort of baffled by it. The tracklisting seemed so weird. Here was a live album which was assembled from a full career rather than a single show, and it felt in a way like the performances were chosen at random. But my other initial reaction was that it was awesome. It was awesome that the setlist kept you on your toes. One minute you were hearing a hit single, the next a deep cut or stray b-side. This all thanks to Krist (and Dave) who put this thing together with love. It seems they wanted us to remember the band for what it really was: just a great band with great songs. And in that sense every song in their oeuvre was equally important. And every performance could hold something special. That is to say that almost none of these live tracks feel like definitive versions to me. Heck, I know from many bootlegs over the years that they're not. Well, actually "Milk It" may be pretty close to perfection here. But it seems important to remember with this document that even wrong notes and strained vocal chords at the end of a tour were part of Nirvana's sound. And looking at the setlist that happily touches upon every major release (including Incesticide) but also peppers in rarities like "Spank Thru" or "Been A Son." Really we could sit here and nitpick all day, digging through mountains of bootlegs and arguing over which version of which song should have been included. But it just doesn't matter. This is a great fucking listen.

This is the definitive version of "Aneurysm." This is the only version of "Aneurysm" that matters.

[noisereductions]

I KNEW that was going to be yr response. Hahahahha

[noisereductions]

I agree it's an amazing version but I never understood your disdain for the album version.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

I agree it's an amazing version but I never understood your disdain for the album version.

"Beat it! Beat it!"

...

Also, the recording quality is demo-grade. The Wishkah version manages to capture the rumbling tension and foreboding of those chords in the verse. It properly captures the intensity of the song. It's neither too shrill nor too "live" and unclear sounding. It's just a great fucking take of a truly great song that wasn't even done yet when the studio version was recorded... far as I'm concerned.

Figure they needed a year or two to sing that "beat it!" shit before they realized how dumb it sounded.

I didn't even really NOTICE that song until Wishkah came out. It was just one of the songs I skipped 90% of the time. Then Wishkah showed me the truth... that it's one of the best rock tunes the band ever created.

Wishkah = definitive. So definitive that the studio version doesn't even exist for me.

[noisereductions]

Beat it is dumb. But I did love the song way before wishkaw. Agree the live version is better tho.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

Beat it is dumb. But I did love the song way before wishkaw. Agree the live version is better tho.

Another part of it is probably that in 1996, I/we was/were in the absolute thick of post-Nirvana what-the-fuckness. When the news hit that the album was coming, it was a bittersweet. "Yay, new Nirvana album" tempered with, "Just a live album, and that's the best we're ever going to get." But "Aneurysm" was the song used to promote the release, and it had its own video, and watching it for the first time was pretty fucking cathartic. Packed a real wallop. It's an experience I'll never forget, and I didn't listen to any other track more that year. Maybe it was just all the "feels" as the kids say, but I'm over the feels at this point and I still think this version shakes fucking mountains.

[noisereductions]

 

Weezer
Weezer
2001, Weezer was huge to me and my friends in high school. While Pinkerton was released my freshman year, those first two albums still totally played a huge part in the soundtrack to four years in high school. And Weezer became one of those larger than life bands to us. A group of us pooled our collective energy intro tracking down every import single and compilation we could find with any sign of JUST ONE MORE Weezer song back then. The rumors were swirling - Rivers was in college and it seemed like the band may be no more. And then something amazing happened: they started touring again in 2000. It had been three years since the Pinkerton tour wrapped up and we had all but radio silence from the band. In early 2001 a buddy of mine bought us tickets to go see the reunited Weezer in Lowell, MA. And it was amazing. So intense. If you can imagine the feeling it's like when you think a favorite band is over and then here they are playing in front of you... wow. Unsurprisingly their set was entirely Blue Album and Pinkerton songs, except smack-dab in the middle they played a new song: "Island In The Sun." Our minds were blown. There now existed a new Weezer song. And two short months later, a new album. The Green Album seems divisive among fans and critics, but this anecdote is why it's so important to me. Whenever I hear this album, I hear the sheer joy of hearing a new album from a band that I thought was gone forever. As such, it means a lot to me. I can't hear "Island In The Sun" without smiling. The album itself is nothing earth-shaking for the band. But it is solid from beginning to end. Everything here sounds exactly like "a new Weezer album" in 2001. And for that I love it. "Don't Let Go" is a great opener; "O Girlfriend" is a great closer. "Hashpipe" rocks regardless of what you think of Rivers' falsetto. So yeah, hopeless fanatic and all I guess it's no surprise that I adore this album. But at least maybe there's a good story behind why.

[Severian]

Hey NR, 4:44 is out on hard copy.

 

 

 

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

 

Weezer
Weezer
2001, Weezer was huge to me and my friends in high school. While Pinkerton was released my freshman year, those first two albums still totally played a huge part in the soundtrack to four years in high school. And Weezer became one of those larger than life bands to us. A group of us pooled our collective energy intro tracking down every import single and compilation we could find with any sign of JUST ONE MORE Weezer song back then. The rumors were swirling - Rivers was in college and it seemed like the band may be no more. And then something amazing happened: they started touring again in 2000. It had been three years since the Pinkerton tour wrapped up and we had all but radio silence from the band. In early 2001 a buddy of mine bought us tickets to go see the reunited Weezer in Lowell, MA. And it was amazing. So intense. If you can imagine the feeling it's like when you think a favorite band is over and then here they are playing in front of you... wow. Unsurprisingly their set was entirely Blue Album and Pinkerton songs, except smack-dab in the middle they played a new song: "Island In The Sun." Our minds were blown. There now existed a new Weezer song. And two short months later, a new album. The Green Album seems divisive among fans and critics, but this anecdote is why it's so important to me. Whenever I hear this album, I hear the sheer joy of hearing a new album from a band that I thought was gone forever. As such, it means a lot to me. I can't hear "Island In The Sun" without smiling. The album itself is nothing earth-shaking for the band. But it is solid from beginning to end. Everything here sounds exactly like "a new Weezer album" in 2001. And for that I love it. "Don't Let Go" is a great opener; "O Girlfriend" is a great closer. "Hashpipe" rocks regardless of what you think of Rivers' falsetto. So yeah, hopeless fanatic and all I guess it's no surprise that I adore this album. But at least maybe there's a good story behind why.

I saw them tour behind this. They played with Jimmy Eat World and Tenacious D. Went with a bunch of friends. It was funny because the kids tried to mosh, and they were very obviously not the right crowd for it. (God I hated moshing after about age 17 though ... Jesus, what a great way to miss a concert and get hurt and lose your wallet and car keys and whatever contraband you were carrying. Never again.)

It was fun at the time. What a weird period that was for alt rock. NIN came back and it wasn't immediately clear if their new stuff was actually any good. Weeper came back and same (with the ultimate answer being, nope). Oh, and RHCP... saw them too around this time, I think. Oh, then Jane's Addiction, who sucked harder in rebirth than anyone else.

The late-'90s and early-'00s were when I really started to say "fuck this shit" and listen to underground stuff. Looking back on these years, I can't believe Weezer was even on my radar. It was the era of Unwound's magnum, and Fugazi dropped the motherfucking Argument. Microphones released The Glow pt. 2. And so on.

[noisereductions]

2001 was an amazing year for music honestly.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

2001 was an amazing year for music honestly.

ICYMI: 4:44 out now on hardcopy.

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by Severian

ICYMI: 4:44 out now on hardcopy.

lol. I saw it. I'll get it to. Don't worry.

[noisereductions]

2001:

Aphex Twin - Drukqs
Ryan Adams - Gold
Bjork - Vespertine
Built To Spill - Ancient Melodies Of The Future
Bush - Golden State
Cannibal Ox - Cold Vein
Eels - Souljacker
The Faint - Danse Macabre
Ben Folds - Rockin The Suburbs
Gorillaz - s/t
Gorillaz - G Sides
Jay-Z - The Blueprint
Jay-Z - Unplugged
Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks
The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2
Mobb Deep - Infamy
Nas - Stillmatic
NERD - In Search Of
Pixies - Complete B Sides
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
The Smashing Pumpkins - Judas O
Spoon - Girls Can Tell
The Strokes - Is This It
Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
Weezer - Green Album
Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
White Stripes - White Blood Cells

...seems like a lot of the albums I loved in 2001, I still love today.

also this haha

 

[noisereductions]

 

The Dandy Warhols
Come Down
1997, So this band made a little ditty about heroine in 1997 and it blew my mind. I ran out and bought their album and immediately fell hard in love. It was like... a total ripoff of old shit. It was spacey and druggy and droney and jangly. It was The Velvets and The Stones and keyboards a good feelings. They wore their fandom on their sleeves. Maybe the same way that Oasis was posing as The Beatles, The Dandys were happy to sing about "Lou Weed." Y'know? And I just ate it up. I've remained a Dandys fan ever since. I've long considered them a rather overlooked or maybe forgotten band of the 90's - one that's still going strong today. And this album is just fantastic. You want some long drone jams? There's "Be-In" and "The Creep Out." You want some synthy goodness? "Boys Better" and "Everyday Should Be A Holiday" has you covered. You feel like nodding out? Then take "I Love You" and "Green." Some happy rock pop? No problem - "Not If You Were The Last Junky On Earth" and "Cool As Kim Deal" is right here. But maybe my favorite is "Minnesota" in which a wet dream is retold over an upbeat folk jam with killer keyboards. This record is just great. Somebody once said that 'everything old is new again.' And this is that sort of album.

[d.sound]

godsdamn am i bored.

right now:
ellen allien - berlinette

so far today:
biosphere - the petrified forest
terry riley - in c
m geddes gengras - interior architechture
some bjork songs from homogenic and it's b-sides and remixes
steve roden - four possible landscapes