Bands that will never ever, get back together

[SteveDave]

There's an interview with him in the latest Uncut.

I want to see him move. And get recognition for being the only one who hasn't died like a dog.

[Hat FM]

Taylor Swift?

[jamiefairlie]

Why on earth do they do this nowadays anyway? Isn't it a heavy metal/prog rock thing? Admittedly most of the crowd seemed to enjoy it but Iit irritated me no end. I don't think extended riffing has any place in indie. Ban it now!

Awful isn't it. The Cure do it with A Forest too, goes on for ages.

[The Culture Bunker]

Why on earth do they do this nowadays anyway? Isn't it a heavy metal/prog rock thing? Admittedly most of the crowd seemed to enjoy it but Iit irritated me no end. I don't think extended riffing has any place in indie. Ban it now!

I think the only time that's worked for me is when I saw Ride on their comeback tour, and they ended by repeating the outro chord sequence to 'Vapour Trail' while the crowd sang the cello part from the album version. That was great.

[sutin]

Oingo Boingo. Elfman simply isn't into looking back, unfortunately, and he rarely ever mentions those days in interviews. Funny to think now that Boingo were still active when The Simpsons and the first bunch of Burton movies came out.

[Jockice]

Awful isn't it. The Cure do it with A Forest too, goes on for ages.

I saw PIL about a decade ago. Flowers Of Romance is my favourite song of theirs. But not the six-hour version they did that night. Possibly I've exaggerated there but it felt like it.

[holyzombiejesus]

I really loved Built To Spill and apart from at ATP had never seen them live. Went to Glasgow to see them at King Tuts, imagining them playing all the songs from all those albums I loved. I think the last 30 minutes was taken up with an extended jam at the end of Broken Chairs. It's not the wigging out that I minded so much - Doug Martsch is up there with J Mascis for me - rather all those songs that they could have played instead.

[Jockice]

I saw PIL about a decade ago. Flowers Of Romance is my favourite song of theirs. But not the six-hour version they did that night. Possibly I've exaggerated there but it felt like it.

Forgot to mention there that I reviewed that gig and made a passing comment about FoL being a classic but that version going on a bit. A few weeks later I was confronted in the pub by an acquaintance who accused me of not knowing what I was talking about and said it was the greatest live thing he'd ever seen. Not the show itself (which I gave quite a positive review to) but that performance of that song. It was a real 'were you at the same concert as I was?' situation. For both of us.

Personally I absolutely hate all that sort of 'hey look, we can really play our instruments' shite, with special contempt for the end of The Stone Roses album. A not bad song with a big boring wank at the end. Zzzzzzz.

[DrGreggles]

Personally I absolutely hate all that sort of 'hey look, we can really play our instruments' shite, with special contempt for the end of The Stone Roses album. A not bad song with a big boring wank at the end. Zzzzzzz.

The 5 minutes where Ian Brown isn't singing?
That's the best bit!

[DrGreggles]

As for people ruining their own best songs by doing an overlong live version of it, I give you Elton John. Even though I'm not really a fan, some of his 70s stuff was good, and I bloody love Rocket Man.

So I went to see him (15+ years ago now), thinking that he'd play the hits and I'd get to witness Rocket Man in all its glory. How wrong I was.

He played a lounge jazz version of it which must have lasted 15 minutes, and there were about 4 false endings - each met with a quieter response than the previous one, so by the time it finally ended it was met with a small ripple of applause - at a similar level to that of a county cricketer hitting a 4.

When it finally finished, Elton said "Now I'm going to play a couple of songs off the new album". The sound of several thousand people sighing in unison is surprisingly loud.

I fucked off home.

[Jockice]

The 5 minutes where Ian Brown isn't singing?
That's the best bit!

I think some of his solo stuff is miles better than anything done by the Roses. I realise i'm probably in a very small minority holding this view though.

Anyway, five minutes my arse. It lasts about 200 years. I used to watch people dancing to that and just think: "You mugs! You've been conned." It's exactly the sort of thing punk was meant to put a stop to. I think that album's hideously overrated anyway but that just puts the tin hat on things.

[DrGreggles]

I think some of his solo stuff is miles better than anything done by the Roses. I realise i'm probably in a very small minority holding this view though.

Anyway, five minutes my arse. It lasts about 200 years. I used to watch people dancing to that and just think: "You mugs! You've been conned." It's exactly the sort of thing punk was meant to put a stop to. I think that album's hideously overrated anyway but that just puts the tin hat on things.

I don't mind some of his solo stuff either, but I refuse to miss the open goal that is slagging off his singing.

The first 30 seconds of that Resurrection ending is great but, yes, it does go on a bit. That said, I'd always play it in my awful Indie DJ days, as it was a great opportunity to nip out for a tab.

[purlieu]

It's exactly the sort of thing punk was meant to put a stop to.

Christ, it's 2021 and people are still saying things like this? "People doing something that's not a three minute pop song? Must be self-indulgent prog!" The end of that song is great.

[Jockice]

Christ, it's 2021 and people are still saying things like this? "People doing something that's not a three minute pop song? Must be self-indulgent prog!" The end of that song is great.

I was saying it in 1989 too!

[Icehaven]

Re; different versions or long endings etc. live, it's basically an unwinnable play off between pleasing the fans who like hearing alternate versions of songs they know inside out and have heard a million times, and pleasing those who want and expect it to sound just like it does on the record and will be disappointed if it doesn't, so the artist might as well just do what they want. Personally I don't mind a fresh take but much rests on what kind of fresh take, and you'd hope they had the sensibility to know what made the song a classic in the first place and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. A lounge jazz version of anything doesn't sound very appealing.

[purlieu]

A lounge jazz version of anything doesn't sound very appealing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Lk2tUbXVQ

[TheMonk]

As for people ruining their own best songs by doing an overlong live version of it, I give you Elton John. Even though I'm not really a fan, some of his 70s stuff was good, and I bloody love Rocket Man.

So I went to see him (15+ years ago now), thinking that he'd play the hits and I'd get to witness Rocket Man in all its glory. How wrong I was.

He played a lounge jazz version of it which must have lasted 15 minutes, and there were about 4 false endings - each met with a quieter response than the previous one, so by the time it finally ended it was met with a small ripple of applause - at a similar level to that of a county cricketer hitting a 4.

Wow, I saw him on his farewell thing, this current tour and he did just this very thing with Rocket Man. His band must want to smack him about the head every time they get to it. Just kept going "Woh oh oh oh ohhhhh".
Funeral For A Friend/ Love Lies Bleeding was bloody brilliant though.

[famethrowa]

Wow, I saw him on his farewell thing, this current tour and he did just this very thing with Rocket Man. His band must want to smack him about the head every time they get to it. Just kept going "Woh oh oh oh ohhhhh".

Oh god no, he did the same endless pointless thing back in 1986, I thought he might have dropped it by now?

[Video Game Fan 2000]

A lounge jazz version of anything doesn't sound very appealing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTW1X4A1bY4

please someone watch this.

[Jockice]

Forgot to mention there that I reviewed that gig and made a passing comment about FoL being a classic but that version going on a bit.

Flowers Of Lomance. One of their less well-known tunes.

[Jockice]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTW1X4A1bY4

please someone watch this.

Have done. It's quite good. If Gedge etc had done this instead of just playing the same riffs to songs over and over again I might have enjoyed the show more.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

David Gedge's Swing When Your Winning would not get me of my arse.

[BeardFaceMan]

Even though there's new music out this week I think it's safe to say the classic line-up of Fear Factory will never be seen again.

[Astronaut Omens]

Long instrumental freakouts at the end of songs offer a pop-rock bands a way of making every performance unique without leaving casual fans who've come to hear the hits feel too cheated. They introduce an element of risk, freedom and the possibility of failure into what could otherwise be a completely predictable run through a completely rehearsed set. And sometimes they're great:
Stereolab probably won't make another LP but the improvisations is they did at the end of Lo Boob Oscillator on the last tour were bloody marvellous (well, the Leeds show was), and was as close to new music as we're likely to get from them.

[holyzombiejesus]

Long instrumental freakouts at the end of songs offer a pop-rock bands a way of making every performance unique without leaving casual fans who've come to hear the hits feel too cheated. They introduce an element of risk, freedom and the possibility of failure into what could otherwise be a completely predictable run through a completely rehearsed set. And sometimes they're great:
Stereolab probably won't make another LP but the improvisations is they did at the end of Lo Boob Oscillator on the last tour were bloody marvellous (well, the Leeds show was), and was as close to new music as we're likely to get from them.

Yeah, but that's Stereolab, not the Wedding Present. Sherbert surprise instead of pureed mash.

[markburgle]

He played a lounge jazz version of it which must have lasted 15 minutes, and there were about 4 false endings - each met with a quieter response than the previous one, so by the time it finally ended it was met with a small ripple of applause - at a similar level to that of a county cricketer hitting a 4.

I saw a bloke at a wedding do that. My one-time best mate become a born again Christian and got married. Loads of his church mates were there, one of whom did a churchy song on guitar, and felt inspired to go into an extended improvised sing-speak coda. You know the stuff - "Thank you Jesus. We're all here in your presence, Lord. Shine your love down upon us, in Jesus name", all delivered with ponderous sincerity over the same 2 chords. Every time you thought he was winding it up he'd get a 2nd wind of holy spirit and start in again, until he was onto his 4th, maybe 5th wind. Lasted about 10 minutes that coda did. The solipsism of faith

[idunnosomename]

Well, I hope you get Cancer.

i hope they also understand the seminal Telford-based third-wave thrash act

[Jockice]

Look, why don't we do a poll on whether wigging out during a live set is a good or bad thing.

So is it?

A) Self-indulgent wank that should have stayed in the rehearsal room where musicians can show off to each other how good they are at being musicians instead of inflicting it on the paying public while under the impression that you're U2 at Live Aid instead of The Mediocrities at a standard indie venue where most of the people there would prefer to hear you playing quite reasonable versions of your best-known songs. If your lengthy improvising is so good why didn't you put that out in the first place rather than trying to be commercial anyway? Spacemen Three seemed to and they were quite successful. You can always send your rehearsal room recordings to the few fanatical fans you have so they can write back to you telling you what fantastic musicians you are. Or
B) Somehow good.

I've tried to keep my own personal views out of this and not ask leading questions. I should be one of those professional pollsters.

[DrGreggles]

Deffo not a loaded question!

FWIW, my old band had a final song that lasted for about 6 minutes (it was really 3 part-songs stuck together) and it had an end section that could go on as long as necessary.
This wasn't for self-indulgent wank purposes though. It was to ensure that our set reached the minimum required time for us to get paid.

[jobotic]

I stormed out of a BB King gig once. Too many guitar solos.