I have a feeling I'm about to find out...(tugs collar)
The Challenge Thread
Re: The Challenge Thread
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc
Re: The Challenge Thread
The challenge has begun (3 songs in). Is the presented order important or can I listen in any order?Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑18 Apr 2018, 12:32pm
My rule was only one song per album, which meant skipping some albums, but as I mentioned above, I mostly leaned towards dark and loud over the more relatively pop-oriented stuff ("Eighties" excepted).
Wardance (Killing Joke [1980])
Tension (What's This For …?)
Eighties (Night Time)
Another Bloody Election (Democracy)
Pandemonium (Pandemonium)
Seeing Red (Killing Joke [2003])
This Tribal Antidote (Hosannas From the Basement of Hell)
Here Comes the Singularity (Absolute Dissent)
Corporate Elect (MMXII)
I am the Virus (Pylon)
Been listening on my way to work. Don't hate it, will be more insightful after further listening.
- Dr. Medulla
- Atheistic Epileptic
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- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: The Challenge Thread
"Don't hate it." Victory!revbob wrote: ↑19 Apr 2018, 7:53amThe challenge has begun (3 songs in). Is the presented order important or can I listen in any order?Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑18 Apr 2018, 12:32pm
My rule was only one song per album, which meant skipping some albums, but as I mentioned above, I mostly leaned towards dark and loud over the more relatively pop-oriented stuff ("Eighties" excepted).
Wardance (Killing Joke [1980])
Tension (What's This For …?)
Eighties (Night Time)
Another Bloody Election (Democracy)
Pandemonium (Pandemonium)
Seeing Red (Killing Joke [2003])
This Tribal Antidote (Hosannas From the Basement of Hell)
Here Comes the Singularity (Absolute Dissent)
Corporate Elect (MMXII)
I am the Virus (Pylon)
Been listening on my way to work. Don't hate it, will be more insightful after further listening.
It's in chronological order if you want a sense of their evolution, but go as you want.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
Re: The Challenge Thread
Sorry reading that now makes me sound like a dick. It is more a response from someone who is in a fog this morning and desperately wants to crawl back into bed but is instead dutifully sitting at his desk trying to figure out how to spend the next 8 hours...Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑19 Apr 2018, 8:00am"Don't hate it." Victory!revbob wrote: ↑19 Apr 2018, 7:53amThe challenge has begun (3 songs in). Is the presented order important or can I listen in any order?Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑18 Apr 2018, 12:32pm
My rule was only one song per album, which meant skipping some albums, but as I mentioned above, I mostly leaned towards dark and loud over the more relatively pop-oriented stuff ("Eighties" excepted).
Wardance (Killing Joke [1980])
Tension (What's This For …?)
Eighties (Night Time)
Another Bloody Election (Democracy)
Pandemonium (Pandemonium)
Seeing Red (Killing Joke [2003])
This Tribal Antidote (Hosannas From the Basement of Hell)
Here Comes the Singularity (Absolute Dissent)
Corporate Elect (MMXII)
I am the Virus (Pylon)
Been listening on my way to work. Don't hate it, will be more insightful after further listening.
It's in chronological order if you want a sense of their evolution, but go as you want.
- Dr. Medulla
- Atheistic Epileptic
- Posts: 115975
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: The Challenge Thread
No need to apologize—you're our resident Phishy curmudgeon. Whenever the boss asks me how my meal is, my response is inevitably "It's okay." It's not dismissive, but I don't get excited about food. So she's learned that I'm not slamming the meal. Just me shrugging thru life.revbob wrote: ↑19 Apr 2018, 8:14amSorry reading that now makes me sound like a dick. It is more a response from someone who is in a fog this morning and desperately wants to crawl back into bed but is instead dutifully sitting at his desk trying to figure out how to spend the next 8 hours...Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑19 Apr 2018, 8:00am"Don't hate it." Victory!revbob wrote: ↑19 Apr 2018, 7:53amThe challenge has begun (3 songs in). Is the presented order important or can I listen in any order?Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑18 Apr 2018, 12:32pm
My rule was only one song per album, which meant skipping some albums, but as I mentioned above, I mostly leaned towards dark and loud over the more relatively pop-oriented stuff ("Eighties" excepted).
Wardance (Killing Joke [1980])
Tension (What's This For …?)
Eighties (Night Time)
Another Bloody Election (Democracy)
Pandemonium (Pandemonium)
Seeing Red (Killing Joke [2003])
This Tribal Antidote (Hosannas From the Basement of Hell)
Here Comes the Singularity (Absolute Dissent)
Corporate Elect (MMXII)
I am the Virus (Pylon)
Been listening on my way to work. Don't hate it, will be more insightful after further listening.
It's in chronological order if you want a sense of their evolution, but go as you want.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Dr. Medulla
- Atheistic Epileptic
- Posts: 115975
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: The Challenge Thread
In which our hero allows himself to be seduced by Kory and Bowie …
1. “Station To Station.” Sounds a fair bit like Magazine. I’m too much of a dunce to express it properly, but, man, that’s some very 70s drums. If 80s bands dated themselves with synth drums, a lot of 70s records do the same with that kind of muted drum sound. I think one thing that’s kept me from embracing Bowie is that I don’t really like the crooning thing he does. When he’s letting go, I’m good with him, but that more sedate crooning thing is a turn-off. But to my original comment, it’s not a stretch to think that this is Magazine with a different singer.
2. “Breaking Glass.” Ah, much different drum sound. This predicts/reflects that New Wavey futuristic sound of the early 80s. Very groovy. Oddly short, tho. Like they just kind of give up on it. Not a criticism, just an observation.
3. “Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise).” Again, I’m hearing Magazine all over this. And, again, that “soulful” (is that the word I’m looking for?) style just doesn’t appeal to me. It feels affected. I like his voice when he’s at a lower tone or register (like on the “Candidate” section). Dig the last minute of the Reprise. Sludgy and swirly, that guitar is all over any number of post-punk records.
4. “Son of the Silent Age.” This has a certain pompous, this-is-important sound. There’s almost a Spinal Tap silliness to it. It could use a miniature Stonehenge to go with it all.
5. “Warszawa.” Did Joy Division get their original name from this? Nice dark and space age beginning. It still carries that same “this-is-important” feel to it, but this works better for me. Atmospheric, angst-y.
6. “Red Money.” Groovy, very Krautrock or like early Shriekback. Very smooth and relaxed. Lots of neat little scattershot guitar sounds. To this point, the one I like the best.
7. “Stay.” Funky, disco but not slick. Gang of Four with the aggression tamed. Dig this one very much. I suspect this was a blast to play/hear live.
8. “Always Crashing in the Same Car.” I like the song title a great deal. I also like the deliberateness to it all. It’s not in a hurry. It’s like confident writing—not doing too much, but saying what needs to be said to get the point across. Sorry to be a broken record, but this is so Magazine. I’m almost feeling a bit contemptuous towards Devoto for ripping off Bowie to such a degree. Three very solid songs in a row.
9. “Blackout.” Yow, this one grabs right off the bat. He sounds a bit disoriented, switching from unhinged to sedate. Still, that 70s drum sound again. Yup, I like this one for its energy.
10. “Sense of Doubt.” Maybe it’s that New Order used both “Sense” and “Doubt[s] Even Here” on their first album, but I think of a Joy Division darkness, coldness. Anyway, something bad is going to happen after this song, that’s for sure.
General Comments
I can certainly hear the influences on post-punk here and appreciate that Bowie was blazing trails and all that. Yet, there isn’t quite the divorce, I think, between the post-punk bands and rock music. This stuff mostly still carries with it that 70s rock sound. Not necessarily a criticism. But all that’s an intellectual perspective or respect. On aesthetic grounds overall, tho, as the person picking what to listen to next, I’m more likely going to go to those who were inspired by him rather than the original. It might be his voice, which I’m not fully sold on, or it might be that, as I suggested a few sentences earlier, it still sounds “70s rock,” albeit on the art side of things. I appreciate the selection, but I still don’t think whatever switch needs to be flipped has actually flipped for me to be properly into Bowie. I’m still more respectful than a fan.
1. “Station To Station.” Sounds a fair bit like Magazine. I’m too much of a dunce to express it properly, but, man, that’s some very 70s drums. If 80s bands dated themselves with synth drums, a lot of 70s records do the same with that kind of muted drum sound. I think one thing that’s kept me from embracing Bowie is that I don’t really like the crooning thing he does. When he’s letting go, I’m good with him, but that more sedate crooning thing is a turn-off. But to my original comment, it’s not a stretch to think that this is Magazine with a different singer.
2. “Breaking Glass.” Ah, much different drum sound. This predicts/reflects that New Wavey futuristic sound of the early 80s. Very groovy. Oddly short, tho. Like they just kind of give up on it. Not a criticism, just an observation.
3. “Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise).” Again, I’m hearing Magazine all over this. And, again, that “soulful” (is that the word I’m looking for?) style just doesn’t appeal to me. It feels affected. I like his voice when he’s at a lower tone or register (like on the “Candidate” section). Dig the last minute of the Reprise. Sludgy and swirly, that guitar is all over any number of post-punk records.
4. “Son of the Silent Age.” This has a certain pompous, this-is-important sound. There’s almost a Spinal Tap silliness to it. It could use a miniature Stonehenge to go with it all.
5. “Warszawa.” Did Joy Division get their original name from this? Nice dark and space age beginning. It still carries that same “this-is-important” feel to it, but this works better for me. Atmospheric, angst-y.
6. “Red Money.” Groovy, very Krautrock or like early Shriekback. Very smooth and relaxed. Lots of neat little scattershot guitar sounds. To this point, the one I like the best.
7. “Stay.” Funky, disco but not slick. Gang of Four with the aggression tamed. Dig this one very much. I suspect this was a blast to play/hear live.
8. “Always Crashing in the Same Car.” I like the song title a great deal. I also like the deliberateness to it all. It’s not in a hurry. It’s like confident writing—not doing too much, but saying what needs to be said to get the point across. Sorry to be a broken record, but this is so Magazine. I’m almost feeling a bit contemptuous towards Devoto for ripping off Bowie to such a degree. Three very solid songs in a row.
9. “Blackout.” Yow, this one grabs right off the bat. He sounds a bit disoriented, switching from unhinged to sedate. Still, that 70s drum sound again. Yup, I like this one for its energy.
10. “Sense of Doubt.” Maybe it’s that New Order used both “Sense” and “Doubt[s] Even Here” on their first album, but I think of a Joy Division darkness, coldness. Anyway, something bad is going to happen after this song, that’s for sure.
General Comments
I can certainly hear the influences on post-punk here and appreciate that Bowie was blazing trails and all that. Yet, there isn’t quite the divorce, I think, between the post-punk bands and rock music. This stuff mostly still carries with it that 70s rock sound. Not necessarily a criticism. But all that’s an intellectual perspective or respect. On aesthetic grounds overall, tho, as the person picking what to listen to next, I’m more likely going to go to those who were inspired by him rather than the original. It might be his voice, which I’m not fully sold on, or it might be that, as I suggested a few sentences earlier, it still sounds “70s rock,” albeit on the art side of things. I appreciate the selection, but I still don’t think whatever switch needs to be flipped has actually flipped for me to be properly into Bowie. I’m still more respectful than a fan.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Flex
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Re: The Challenge Thread
Deeply consequential mistake that you din't fill out the top 10 with cuts from Tonight, Kory. HOOKY NEEDED TO HEAR BOWIE COVERING GOD ONLY KNOWS, DAMMIT*
Just burn the doctor copies of Low and Lodger and call it a day, imho
Just burn the doctor copies of Low and Lodger and call it a day, imho
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
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Re: The Challenge Thread
Like all albums made in 1984 by people who were good in the 70s, Tonight is a fucking War Crime.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson
"But the gorilla thinks otherwise!"
"But the gorilla thinks otherwise!"
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Re: The Challenge Thread
I agree but I still think "Loving the Alien" is good Bowie. Also "Blue Jean" is a good pop single for that time.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
- Flex
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Re: The Challenge Thread
Wolter brings up a good point: the 80s were bad and the 90s were great.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Re: The Challenge Thread
I think the 80s were bad for bands that deliberately changed their sound to try and fit the times... and for anything that wasn't hardcore
- Flex
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Re: The Challenge Thread
Truth. This album came out in '85 and it's fuckin' majestic:
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
- Wolter
- Half Foghorn Leghorn, Half Albert Brooks
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Re: The Challenge Thread
We agree 100%. Those are the only worthwhile tracks. And I prefer the 2003/4 arrangement of Alien.Marky Dread wrote: ↑22 Apr 2018, 12:27pmI agree but I still think "Loving the Alien" is good Bowie. Also "Blue Jean" is a good pop single for that time.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson
"But the gorilla thinks otherwise!"
"But the gorilla thinks otherwise!"
Re: The Challenge Thread
Well thanks for checking it out. The croon is something you can't really get away from unless you go earlier into the glam or folky stuff and I doubt you'd be into that much. IF you ever wanted to hear more I think I'd go with Flex's suggestion to just check out the whole Low and Lodger albums. Since you liked "Red Money," I might also recommend Iggy's The Idiot, as that backing track appears there too (the whole thing was co-written with and produced by Bowie).Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑21 Apr 2018, 7:18pmIn which our hero allows himself to be seduced by Kory and Bowie …
1. “Station To Station.” Sounds a fair bit like Magazine. I’m too much of a dunce to express it properly, but, man, that’s some very 70s drums. If 80s bands dated themselves with synth drums, a lot of 70s records do the same with that kind of muted drum sound. I think one thing that’s kept me from embracing Bowie is that I don’t really like the crooning thing he does. When he’s letting go, I’m good with him, but that more sedate crooning thing is a turn-off. But to my original comment, it’s not a stretch to think that this is Magazine with a different singer.
2. “Breaking Glass.” Ah, much different drum sound. This predicts/reflects that New Wavey futuristic sound of the early 80s. Very groovy. Oddly short, tho. Like they just kind of give up on it. Not a criticism, just an observation.
3. “Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise).” Again, I’m hearing Magazine all over this. And, again, that “soulful” (is that the word I’m looking for?) style just doesn’t appeal to me. It feels affected. I like his voice when he’s at a lower tone or register (like on the “Candidate” section). Dig the last minute of the Reprise. Sludgy and swirly, that guitar is all over any number of post-punk records.
4. “Son of the Silent Age.” This has a certain pompous, this-is-important sound. There’s almost a Spinal Tap silliness to it. It could use a miniature Stonehenge to go with it all.
5. “Warszawa.” Did Joy Division get their original name from this? Nice dark and space age beginning. It still carries that same “this-is-important” feel to it, but this works better for me. Atmospheric, angst-y.
6. “Red Money.” Groovy, very Krautrock or like early Shriekback. Very smooth and relaxed. Lots of neat little scattershot guitar sounds. To this point, the one I like the best.
7. “Stay.” Funky, disco but not slick. Gang of Four with the aggression tamed. Dig this one very much. I suspect this was a blast to play/hear live.
8. “Always Crashing in the Same Car.” I like the song title a great deal. I also like the deliberateness to it all. It’s not in a hurry. It’s like confident writing—not doing too much, but saying what needs to be said to get the point across. Sorry to be a broken record, but this is so Magazine. I’m almost feeling a bit contemptuous towards Devoto for ripping off Bowie to such a degree. Three very solid songs in a row.
9. “Blackout.” Yow, this one grabs right off the bat. He sounds a bit disoriented, switching from unhinged to sedate. Still, that 70s drum sound again. Yup, I like this one for its energy.
10. “Sense of Doubt.” Maybe it’s that New Order used both “Sense” and “Doubt[s] Even Here” on their first album, but I think of a Joy Division darkness, coldness. Anyway, something bad is going to happen after this song, that’s for sure.
General Comments
I can certainly hear the influences on post-punk here and appreciate that Bowie was blazing trails and all that. Yet, there isn’t quite the divorce, I think, between the post-punk bands and rock music. This stuff mostly still carries with it that 70s rock sound. Not necessarily a criticism. But all that’s an intellectual perspective or respect. On aesthetic grounds overall, tho, as the person picking what to listen to next, I’m more likely going to go to those who were inspired by him rather than the original. It might be his voice, which I’m not fully sold on, or it might be that, as I suggested a few sentences earlier, it still sounds “70s rock,” albeit on the art side of things. I appreciate the selection, but I still don’t think whatever switch needs to be flipped has actually flipped for me to be properly into Bowie. I’m still more respectful than a fan.
And yes, Joy Division did get their earlier name from "Warszawa."
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc
- Dr. Medulla
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- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: The Challenge Thread
I do have those albums, obtained via skullduggery long ago, so now I know what to focus on if I want to create a beachhead of sorts.Kory wrote: ↑23 Apr 2018, 1:00pmWell thanks for checking it out. The croon is something you can't really get away from unless you go earlier into the glam or folky stuff and I doubt you'd be into that much. IF you ever wanted to hear more I think I'd go with Flex's suggestion to just check out the whole Low and Lodger albums. Since you liked "Red Money," I might also recommend Iggy's The Idiot, as that backing track appears there too (the whole thing was co-written with and produced by Bowie).
And yes, Joy Division did get their earlier name from "Warszawa."
I'm surprised that I generated neither snark nor outrage from people here for my failures to properly appreciate things. I'm either impressed or concerned that I'm not worth the abuse anymore.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft