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Post by nosferatu on Apr 18, 2020 20:50:46 GMT -5
Hey, we released our fourth full length LP to stream today.
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Post by nosferatu on Feb 25, 2020 9:48:54 GMT -5
Sounds like some good preparations in place - I love it when a plan comes together! Barring some last minute miracle / change of heart (like the one I had last year), I shall be sitting out the 2020 Weekender. The Friday gig falls on my birthday, and I shall be doing the sensible, decent thing and spending it at home with my family this year. I shall be thinking of the many friendly friends (who've posted above) making so much joy in Camden. Miss you all!!!! Muzzle's Friday night pit / Saturday night balcony plan sounds like a fine idea, though as tBob noted, balcony first, then descent into the madness for encore also works a treat! Following suit this year, I know you'll all have a fantastic time, and please have a few beers (or mindful drink of choice) for me! Hopefully see y'all next year. J
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Post by nosferatu on Jan 10, 2020 12:32:17 GMT -5
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 27, 2019 6:36:47 GMT -5
You too Del and everyone else!
Stay Positive. Slainte!
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 27, 2019 6:35:44 GMT -5
The London one from last year is particularly incendiary... it's stacked with hits! I'm with you too muzz, there's stuff I love live like going straight into Hot Soft Light after Constructive Summer and the little offbeat catches Tad and Bobby worked out in Sequestered... also, loving how Craig now says "oh shit! Party Pit!" quite a lot.
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 27, 2019 6:33:02 GMT -5
Well there goes the idea of deciding to come at the last minute! Be crawling with broadcasters flogging memoirs in which they reappraise how important it was to be able to drink cider in a pub underneath [insert music magazine here's] offices. Or it might be a celebratory atmosphere. Delete as appropriate!
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 12, 2019 14:47:06 GMT -5
Just went to stream Teeth Dreams on U.K. Spotify and it’s vanished? Some sort of licensing issue maybe? Anyone else get the same?
Ta!
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 1, 2019 6:29:12 GMT -5
Next up for me:
Pkew Pkew Pkew at The Star and Garter in Manchester DBT at Leeds Irish Centre
Two great bands in two great small venues, gonna be fantastic!
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Post by nosferatu on Nov 1, 2019 16:04:05 GMT -5
Big thanks to Fairyglass for the link: that’s me booked for the Saturday. If any needs accommodation the Premier Inn in Hampstead is currently just £66 on the Saturday. We stayed there last night and it is absolutely fine and only a mile walk away. I held off booking the sound check / after show package as it’s quite pricey at £55. Is it worth it? what’s the after show bit like? I stayed there last year, word of warning if you are looking for late night food - there literally isn’t anywhere open, trust me I walked the streets looking. So eat before you walk back!
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Post by nosferatu on Nov 1, 2019 16:02:47 GMT -5
I chose a great month to spend all my money getting my fucking car through it’s MOT then.
I’ll see you on the resale market next year!
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Post by nosferatu on Oct 14, 2019 11:23:43 GMT -5
mate thanks so much! really appreciate that. cant wait!! 6th and 7th at Electric ballroom for clarification. The 8th is another location. Not either the locations of previous Sunday weekender shows. New venue. Interesting... I wonder, seeing as they have to pack down the backline anyway after Saturday night whether they might hold this show outside of London? Manchester isn’t far in the grand scheme of things, and compared to US distances it’s practically as far as you’d go to get cheaper gas or something! Would love it if they were to do Band on The Wall. Or even, seeing as they have no trouble selling out Electric Ballroom for two nights, Academy 2. Craig told me at motorben’s house gig that they love playing rooms they know well, and Academy 2 falls into that category.
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Post by nosferatu on Oct 2, 2019 5:06:08 GMT -5
Really enjoyed these man. If ever there was a photo that summed up a show it's the one with all the converse, confetti and crushed cans.
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 25, 2019 7:31:48 GMT -5
Right. Here in the U.K. a free to air channel shows The Simpsons every day, and fairly recently there was a run of repeats of Season 8 from the 90s... I’d never picked up on this before! m.youtube.com/watch?v=I935pBuwbXQ
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 19, 2019 3:28:09 GMT -5
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 17, 2019 9:51:10 GMT -5
I'm pretty emotionally exhausted having listened to this back to back for the past two days. So I've written about it. This album is a glorious return to form and almost moreover an emotional catharsis from a band who would have always been plagued with the horrible “what would have happened if...” question had they never put out another LP after Teeth Dreams. They've effectively ignored unfairly maligned, solid efforts Heaven Is Whenever and the aforementioned Teeth Dreams to pick up where Stay Positive, and obviously Franz Nicolay left off. Nearly every review I've read focusses enormously on Craig's lyrics – a writer so ludicrously talented somebody should probably compile his work into some sort of compendium to be referred to by literature majors, but I'd like to focus on the music at work behind them.
Side one begins like Positive Jam, Craig and his lo-slung Epiphone playing one chord while dropping us immediately back into the centre of both his lyrical plot and the central idea of what “The Hold Steady” has always been. It's an enormously neat trick that blows away the relative uncertainty of the period since the last record and plunges us into 1970s US high school rock operatics a la The Lemon Twigs and Alice Cooper by way variously of boozy Faces electric piano, Stonesey behind the beat guitar, E-Street Band bombast, every conceivable element of peak Who, earnest Band style golden horns and eventually finding Craig leading “Blackout Sam”, probably the best song they've written in a dozen years [edit: I overestimated the amount of time since SP - maybe more like a decade!], segueing fruitfully from vintage Warren Zevon balladry into deepest Van Morrison country with a new kind of grace found in the well oiled, leaner musical muscle of the best sounding lineup the band has ever put to tape. How much of this is down to a perceived notion that Franz is the classic rock form guide deviant in the band is debatable – not wishing to understate the importance of his role historically and anecdotally as musical polymath to Tad's thrusting fundamentalism, the most interesting contribution appears to be the effect of Steve's musical professionalism – there are obvious ways this record could have become a contrived sonic competition between Franz's instincts to blow more air into the Hold Steady conceptual balloon, Tad's tendency to experiment with different facets of small 'c' classic rock guitar workouts (see The Sweet Part of The City or Lord, I'm Discouraged) and Steve's recent-ish adoption of the role of principal soloist to soften the focus, allowing Tad space his side of the stage to play with effects, layers and moods, yet here there is almost none of that friction at work – which benefits a togetherness of thought and direction that doesn't throw any curveballs in the way Hold Steady albums since certainly Boys and Girls in America have tended to (see: Citrus, Both Crosses, Barely Breathing et al), side one is conceptually direct and as a result sounds like a hell of a lot of fun for everyone involved. Steve has clearly been a tremendously positive influence on the new material, the mere presence of an additional virtuoso in the line up posing a musical question of accommodation even before you get into the actual writing phase – it's forced them to think more about arrangement, and this stretching out is glaringly beneficial to the development of their sound into what it is in 2019. Production wise, Bobby's cymbals are compressed in such a way they sound exciting every time he goes near them in the same way Keith Moon's always did - his toms also sound huge - Galen's bass exists separately from Franz's left hand and Craig's vocals are front and centre, for once they're actually louder than the band – a small but significant production improvement which has hitherto been mystifyingly elusive for any number of producers. The tendency to fuck around with the volume of Craig's speak singing is one of the most frustrating elements of listening to the whole back catalogue – when it's right it's great, but when it's wrong it's noticeably a poorer listening experience. Perhaps this stark improvement is a direct result of Craig's solo work with the same producer – I certainly can hear similarities between the two settings.
Side two is a rollicking victory lap for the singles they've been issuing as direct fan missives for a while now, and as such it's very difficult to objectively appreciate the whole collection, each song having connotations of time and space and shows, so I'm not going to attempt that. I've read some downbeat opinions about the album closer “Confusion In The Marketplace”, but I totally get it – whereas previous albums have ended on what you'd call the curtain coming down, Thrashing Thru The Passion* ends with an incantation to reach for the secrets in the static on the stereo... or more obviously just flip the record over and start again... or vice versa for me man? I know I said I wouldn't focus on the lyrics, but how can I ignore this beautiful implication of circuity, that our band could have an improbable comeback story as eloquent as this – after all, who would want to dick around when you can devastate?
*the spelling of which could even be a deliciously subtle piece of self-sabotage – listening to the podcasts released about the making of Separation Sunday it was interesting to note Craig's anxiety about nearly naming that record “Youth Services” as he wouldn't have been able to deal with people getting the spelling of the word “Separation” wrong yet here we are with the word “through” deliberately artistically truncated...
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 15, 2019 7:59:54 GMT -5
Vinyl arrived, will listen in about 2 hours. First impressions are the PIN BADGES ARE AWESOME!
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 15, 2019 7:59:09 GMT -5
What's your view on platforms like The Athletic? Seems incredibly ambitious to me, but I'm giving it a go and some of the long form articles in there are really really good quality. I still mourn the death of Word magazine, the last "music" magazine I subscribed to. On the one hand, great that there's someone investing in quality journalism, paying well, and devoted to doing in depth coverage. On the other, their stated aim is to destroy the local press in the UK by taking every specialist club correspondent. Now, the local press is already on its last legs here, but there's something very mercenary about that attitude. Also, the snatching up of every major writer from the nationals might make the site great, but isn't good for journalism as a whole, because it will diminish the nationals, too. From what I hear about what they are paying writers (massive increases on their salaries on papers), they are going to have to hoover up a whole lot of subscribers to make this work. In two years' time they will be either all-conquering or bankrupt. That all makes sense to me - maybe there could be a music version? Or maybe there is and it hasn't worked yet so I haven't heard about it. I do get the point of print still - there's nothing that can replicate the tactile environment of shiny pages!
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 8, 2019 5:33:04 GMT -5
Could anyone care to post photos of the Uncut and Mojo reviews? Can’t seem to find them online. Please don't. Music magazines are in enormous peril, because people have become used to getting everything for free. The more copy you share, the harder it is for magazines to sell copies. And if they don't sell enough copies, their publishers close them and people lose their jobs. I wrote the Uncut review, and once this edition goes off sale, I am happy to post the review here. But as long as it stays on sale, I would appreciate people realising that I expect to be paid for my work – this is my job, not a hobby – and that if you want to read it while it is current, you should pay for it. What's your view on platforms like The Athletic? Seems incredibly ambitious to me, but I'm giving it a go and some of the long form articles in there are really really good quality. I still mourn the death of Word magazine, the last "music" magazine I subscribed to.
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 8, 2019 5:30:36 GMT -5
Yep, sigh, in-the-style-of. I should have known by the trees and the people. Chris Ware should kick his ass. Still out. XO WD Oh hey. That's me! Hopefully I don't get my ass kicked. Looks great. Can't wait to get hold of it in physical form!
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Post by nosferatu on Aug 7, 2019 13:33:07 GMT -5
I always wanted to hear them do Waiting For An Alibi or Still In Love With You by Thin Lizzy.
Righteous Path by DBT would also rule, even as a Craig solo thing. Also, Round Eye Blues by Marah.
I know this would be divisive but the whole “togetherness” of the shows could lend them to doing what I imagine would be a rioutous version of Rock n Roll Star/What’s The Story Morning Glory by Oasis.
Staying on the Britpop theme defo a second shout for Pulp - maybe Do You Remember The First Time?
Guns of Brixton by The Clash would be cool, especially the Shea Stadium version, got a sort of Entitlement Crew/I Hope This Whole Thing Didn’t Frighten You vibe.
Improbable but as this is fantasy land...
The Highwayman - Jimmy Webb Desperados Under The Eaves - Warren Zevon A Pair Of Brown Eyes - The Pogues 1952 Vincent Black Lightning - Richard Thompson Hey Jack Kerouac - 10,000 Maniacs Way Out West - Big Star King Harvest Has Surely Come - The Band
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Post by nosferatu on Jun 6, 2019 6:18:14 GMT -5
Don't fret about the tracklisting. It's a brilliant album. Excellent news. As others have mentioned I’ve seen the leaked track listing and it looks exciting. JJA - do you think there will be much press surrounding this release? Something of a return to form sort of thing?
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Post by nosferatu on May 24, 2019 4:47:01 GMT -5
Finn has said there is not going to be a "new album" per se, but at some point the individual tracks will be collected into a physical release of some form. Yeah for anyone else wondering - this was a question Craig responded to at the Camden Q&A, where he definitely dampened expectations for an album but enhanced the prospect of a "collection" of songs they've worked on over the last few years. Spoke to one of the band after the show and they reckoned they had 15 songs in total.
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Post by nosferatu on Apr 1, 2019 7:52:33 GMT -5
Hello you lovely lot! Everyone keeping well? I'm playing this coming Friday with my band at Night & Day in Manchester - it'd be great to see some familiar faces! I'm excited to play N&D 'cause I've wanted to for ages; but also I want to play again so the more people I can bring along, the better! So if you fancy it, we're on at 9.30 - similarly if you know anyone you think would enjoy, get them to come and bring all their mates yeah? Stringer xo You'll enjoy N&D. Weird stage - the separation is really good, playing as a drummer there several times it's struck me as quite lonely as everyone else is really far in front! I don't think I can make it to the show itself unfortunately, but I will be passing through Manchester on my way back home from a tap takeover thing I have to rep at in Sheffield so might be able to join you for a pre-show bev. If the train times don't work - good luck and see ya soon!
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 13, 2019 10:49:58 GMT -5
If there was a league table for the amount of beers any one single person has ever bought me you've won it every season since 2007! x Great to meet so many people - full thoughts a little later, straight back at it at work catching up this week!
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 10, 2019 13:57:03 GMT -5
What are the good bars around Oslo? The Cock Tavern is excellent. Also looks like there are a bunch of us in here doing that semi awkward first pint eyeing up vaguely familiar people before eventually saying hello thing!
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