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Hyped by the press acts you never understood

Started by thelittlemango, July 26, 2022, 01:01:45 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

purlieu

Quote from: Head Gardener on July 26, 2022, 06:45:36 PMtbh none of the albums you listed come close to Music Has The Right... they set a benchmark which I reckon even they have struggled to better
It's this hyperbole that I don't understand. Differences in taste are one thing, and while I'll never understand how anyone finds that album listenable, I can accept that others do. But in my experience, when talking to ambient/IDM/etc. fans, the majority of the albums and artists I listed, and a fair few others, tend to get as good a showing as MHTRTC - hell, over on TWGEEMA, it rates as the 14th best electronic album of the 20th century. But within the wider media, it seems to be hailed as this album that nothing comes close to. I don't actually believe that's true of any album in any genre, but when it's in the circumstances of 'token electronic album for rock fans', as it often tends to be in these lists, it's even more tedious.

Pink Gregory


badaids

Quote from: purlieu on July 26, 2022, 07:30:31 PMIt's this hyperbole that I don't understand. Differences in taste are one thing, and while I'll never understand how anyone finds that album listenable, I can accept that others do. But in my experience, when talking to ambient/IDM/etc. fans, the majority of the albums and artists I listed, and a fair few others, tend to get as good a showing as MHTRTC - hell, over on TWGEEMA, it rates as the 14th best electronic album of the 20th century. But within the wider media, it seems to be hailed as this album that nothing comes close to. I don't actually believe that's true of any album in any genre, but when it's in the circumstances of 'token electronic album for rock fans', as it often tends to be in these lists, it's even more tedious.

Well isn't everything objective? MHTRTC blew me away when it came out, and it still has an effect today. 14th best electronic record of the 20th century, if those lists have any value, is a pretty high accolade. I do think the token album for rock fans is fair comment. Genuine question - what else came out in 1997, or before that sounds like it?

TWGEEMA I hadn't heard of.  Glad to see that Dead Cities gets a good result too. That album blew my tiny mind when it came out too.

The Crumb

What's blown my mind is that they've put Incunabula as the best Autechre album and 7th overall in the decade. I'm not disputing the alleged expert credentials of the panel, but that's heinous decision making.

badaids

Quote from: The Crumb on July 26, 2022, 07:51:28 PMWhat's blown my mind is that they've put Incunabula as the best Autechre album and 7th overall in the decade. I'm not disputing the alleged expert credentials of the panel, but that's heinous decision making.

Yes the more I dig down the more dubious it is, but that's lists innit.

purlieu

Quote from: badaids on July 26, 2022, 07:44:11 PM14th best electronic record of the 20th century, if those lists have any value, is a pretty high accolade.
Oh, indeed, and I'm not criticising people liking the album. The list was more of a signifier that, in my experience, there's a lot more balance from fans of ambient and IDM than in the broader music world where it's held up as in some totally different league to its contemporaries.

QuoteGenuine question - what else came out in 1997, or before that sounds like it?
Probably not that much, there's a little similarity with some of the shoegaze-tinged electronic stuff like Bowery Electric and maybe some other stuff, but I won't deny it was an incredibly original sounding record on its release.

The TWEEGMA list is a user-generated one, think there are a few thousand people who vote on it.

Famous Mortimer

Funny old game, innit? I was just listening to MHTRTC earlier on today and it was every bit as fantastic as the first time I heard it.

(and on that list, it knocks nos. 11-13, 9, 8, 7, 4 and probably 2 into a cocked hat, so should be even higher, but I appreciate part of the ranking is probably based on impact. And that all those other albums are great too)

Stoneage Dinosaurs

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on July 26, 2022, 06:00:09 PMUltrasound were great, and I don't recall them ever being described as edgy indie rock. They were an epic glam-prog band.

I remember being a tad disappointed when I heard one of their songs, but then again the first I'd heard of Tiny's stuff was his other better earlier bands, Blue Apple Boy and Sleepy People. But I don't imagine that's the kind of weird proggy stuff that would have propelled anyone to indie stardom

willbo

Quote from: dontpaintyourteeth on July 26, 2022, 07:29:00 PMthat BoC album isn't THAT good

I agree. Symbol Remains is a cool comeback, but I didn't get why it ended up at the top of so many Youtuber's lists that year.

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on July 26, 2022, 07:15:09 PMBirdland

Heard of but never heard them at the time and was only reminded of their existence by the most recent Chart Music ("my fucking car"). Amusing though it was to hear them eloquently coated down, when they cropped up on the video playlist I quite liked the song. If this was on a compilation of overhyped pre-Britpop bands I wouldn't skip it.



Gradual Decline

Christ, scrolling through that electronic NWOBHM list felt like a right old slog.

A grim sequence of 'results'

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Kankurette on July 26, 2022, 07:20:34 PMI had no idea the Cardiacs were so popular on here.

Yeah, you can't move for all the ubiquitous Cardiacs threads in Oscillations.

purlieu

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on July 26, 2022, 08:00:40 PMFunny old game, innit? I was just listening to MHTRTC earlier on today and it was every bit as fantastic as the first time I heard it.
I wish I could hear what people get from it, because I've always found it interminably dull. As an absolutely massive fan of melodic ambient-techno/IDM type stuff, and even a fan of Ghost Box and some other 'hauntology', I really feel like it should be right up my street. My first listen to Lifeforms, 76 14, both Selected Ambient Works, Autechre's first six albums and many others are all etched into my brain from the awe I felt discovering these amazing sonic worlds. MHTRTC was just 'horrible drum loops and boring synth pads'.

Actually, before this gets into a "this is good / no this is bad" back and forth, I'll mention again that my main reason for suggesting it is that it's afforded this "this album is as good as rock music but all the others aren't" position in so many lists. I don't think SAW85-92 deserves that either, to be fair.

Brundle-Fly

#74
Quote from: Egyptian Feast on July 26, 2022, 08:14:14 PMHeard of but never heard them at the time and was only reminded of their existence by the most recent Chart Music ("my fucking car"). Amusing though it was to hear them eloquently coated down, when they cropped up on the video playlist I quite liked the song. If this was on a compilation of overhyped pre-Britpop bands I wouldn't skip it.


One of those bands that could only reform now if they haven't all lost their hair. Unless, they all have and renamed themselves 'Baldland', and I'd be down the front in that case.


Pauline Walnuts

Is that a different group to Radio Birdland?

sardines

Well I stand by Terris' 'Fabricated Lunacy' being a glam stomping banger.

Put in context, the next best indie rock hit of that year would be 'Shining Light' by Ash. Slim pickings at the indie disco.

The obvious answer to this subject is Gay Dad. A band created by a self-proclaimed talentless  hack as a sort-of joke to use his music journo mates to make them the next best thing. (May not be factually accurate).

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: purlieu on July 26, 2022, 08:17:37 PMActually, before this gets into a "this is good / no this is bad" back and forth, I'll mention again that my main reason for suggesting it is that it's afforded this "this album is as good as rock music but all the others aren't" position in so many lists. I don't think SAW85-92 deserves that either, to be fair.
I think there are always those albums that sneak into lists for other genres, just so the list-compilers can be "aaah, didn't expect that, did you?" Like "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" appearing on some Q Magazine list relating to...heaviest albums? Metal-iest albums?

Hopefully those sorts of lists have died out now, though. Fuck "as good as", but if I were picking an album off that list to try and interest some metal fan in electronic music, I'd maybe pick "ISDN"? Or Autechre's squelchiest.


dontpaintyourteeth

Push gabber onto them, like when Earache started putting out Ultraviolence albums

purlieu

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on July 26, 2022, 09:06:40 PMif I were picking an album off that list to try and interest some metal fan in electronic music, I'd maybe pick "ISDN"?
Yeah, my girlfriend really connected to this when I was playing her FSOL, she said it reminded her of Scorn and similar artists. Their heavy use of samples makes their Virgin albums generally less electronic sounding than most of their contemporaries, which might why they seemed to be popular with a lot of indie bands at the time - I remember Supergrass and Suede talking positively about them. I reckon you could make an album of FSOL tracks that could pass for a post-rock band, but that's another thread entirely...

Kankurette

How long were Gay Dad around for before the inevitable split?

the science eel

Quote from: Pauline Walnuts on July 26, 2022, 08:36:56 PMIs that a different group to Radio Birdland?

aye. They were great


Quote from: Kankurette on July 26, 2022, 09:58:59 PMHow long were Gay Dad around for before the inevitable split?

long enough to put this out WHICH IS FUCKIN A


Terence Bowl


Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Menswear. I think they only did one single and then fucked off. Nice clothes and hair though.

Kankurette

Force of habit. Whenever a band have a name that's a plural I always mentally insert 'the'.

Jockice

#85
Ultrasound were wonderful (as far as I'm concerned the last very nearly great British band) and Andrew WK was good fun. Live anyway. And Party Hard was a cracking single


Some of my pet hates (including the Divine Comedy and Beastie Boys) were fawned over by the music press but I'm old enough to remember that in the early 80s the NME had a big boner for Dollar of all people. A shit manufactured act who happened to have Trevor Horn producing their stuff. Some people actually fell for it though, including à couple whose taste I would normally trust.

Almost as absurd as the bloke in Sounds a couple of years later who claimed that Kajagoogoo were just like Magazine. Almost 40 years later I still can't see the slightest similarly.

ProvanFan

Quote from: Kankurette on July 26, 2022, 07:05:18 PMAnd JJ72, who Melody Maker never shut up about, had a singer with a horrible whiny voice. They should have let the bassist sing instead.

She does now! Sometimes, on her own stuff. 


Quote from: purlieu on July 26, 2022, 07:30:31 PMIt's this hyperbole that I don't understand. Differences in taste are one thing, and while I'll never understand how anyone finds that album listenable, I can accept that others do. But in my experience, when talking to ambient/IDM/etc. fans, the majority of the albums and artists I listed, and a fair few others, tend to get as good a showing as MHTRTC - hell, over on TWGEEMA, it rates as the 14th best electronic album of the 20th century. But within the wider media, it seems to be hailed as this album that nothing comes close to. I don't actually believe that's true of any album in any genre, but when it's in the circumstances of 'token electronic album for rock fans', as it often tends to be in these lists, it's even more tedious.

Well... lists are shite.

I like the recent Huerco S. album. David Jason turned down a cameo on it.

Video Game Fan 2000

Boards of Canada I never know if I like or not. Sometimes I listen to them and I think I've been overlooking them and then a day or so later I'm bored. I always liked Geogaddi and the early comp more than Music Has The Right... which has better stand outs but too much repetition.

Speaking of Gay Day... Grandaddy.

the science eel

Quote from: Jockice on July 26, 2022, 10:52:14 PMSome of my pet hates (including the Divine Comedy and Beastie Boys) were fawned over by the music press but I'm old enough to remember that in the early 80s the NME had a big boner for Dollar of all people. A shit manufactured act who happened to have Trevor Horn producing their stuff. Some people actually fell for it though, including people whose taste I would normally trust.

Like Mark E?