journolud
Well-Known Member
I'm expecting... no it would be rubbish to guess right before the clues...
The Album Review Club - Week #216 (page 1412) - Together Alone - Crowded House
- Thread starter RobMCFC
- Start date
I think it might have been hammer that first mooted it. I just snowballed it.
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Half correct . . .
Gundo cup final goal that
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Nope. Off the crossbar. Missed pen in fact.
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
journolud
Well-Known Member
well I wasn't expecting that!
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Archers of Loaf — Vee Vee (1995)
Consciously or unconsciously — usually the former — I have tried to select records I thought would be relatively accessible to the broad majority here. As such, I’ve avoided picking this album for going on years here.
But I can hold out no longer.
It’s time for those cynical oddballs of the the mid-90s alternative scene, North Carolina’s very own (and my beloved) Archers of Loaf and their sophomore effort Vee Vee.
Imagine early REM’s tour van speeding along a country road. Now imagine it collides with The Replacements tour van. Then imagine they both smash into a semi-trailer carrying a load of weed and beer. Now imagine the two bands have to pick up their mangled, broken instruments and write a record while dazed, injured, more than a little pissed off, and drunk and high on the fumes of alcohol and dope.
Thus this is the sound of the Archers.
In nearly every song here, you’ll hear the vague (or sometimes less vague) grounding of melody, but slathered over that, a skewed, random, shrieking, violent dissonant guitar, with notes seemingly played by a four-year old. Basically, imagine great vanilla ice cream covered in tar instead of chocolate sauce. Its indie-alt veering toward punk more than anything, but to me, this sound is funny, energetic, fresh and unique.
And on top of that, you’ll hear yowling, moaning, whin(g)ing lyrics that — when you can understand them — have to rank among the funniest, most ironic, most cynical and most vicious on the topic of the music business — and the indie scene in particular — that have ever been crafted.
“The underground is overcrowded”, ringleader Eric Bachmann sings, and that verse might mark the very peak of post-Nirvana American indie 90s music.
In fact, I’d argue as far as lyrics go, this might be my favo(u)rite record of all time.
Don’t worry about the opener “Step Into The Light”. It’s the slowest tune on the record as Bachmann muses about performance as a cure for loneliness.
Don’t worry about the next song “Harnessed In Slums” either. It’s great, and far and away the most melodic and radio-friendly thing here, and was the “single”.
You should worry about the rest, though. The band descends rapidly into what can only be considered a swampy whirlpool of jumbled chords and chaotic, discordant melody with a constant series of broadsides at popular and unpopular music.
A sample of the words about music that I for one love:
From “Nevermind The Enemy” (do you see the joke there?) — “Let’s tack their earlobes to the radio / We’ll watch our heroes trip and fall”.
From “Greatest of All Time” — “They caught and drowned the front man / Of the world’s worst rock n’ roll band / He was out of luck / Because nobody gave a fuck / The jury gathered all around the aqueduct / Drinking and laughing and lighting up / Reminiscing just how bad he sucked / Singing throw him in the river / Throw him in the river / Throw him in the river / Throw the bastard in the river”.
From “Floating Friends” — “They were always sincere / Hip to the freshest ideas / The latest ideas / Clinging to fresh, new mistakes / I’ve got some new thoughts to force on you / It won’t be hard to prove you wrong / It’s never hard to prove you wrong”.
From “Let The Loser Melt” — “All the others hate it / All the others set you up / Can’t you feel the satisfaction on their breath? / It’s too bad that your music doesn’t matter”.
And finally, from the bizarrely magnificent closer — “Underachievers March and Fight Song —“Underachievers / Attack at your leisure / Hoist up your guitars / And make them all believers / Underachievers / Total domination / Kill the billion years / Of total frustration”. I’ve often waxed poetic about how bands that were ideas before the members knew how to play instruments are some of my favo(u)rites, and this line sums that feeling up perfectly.
By the way, just know that as the last tune fades out, there are 3 or 4 minutes of silence before a few seconds of further cacophony. I’m pretty sure this is a tribute — of sorts — to Nevermind.
The Archers were the opposite of poseurs. Originally releasing Vee Vee on the tiny Alias record label, the Warner-owned Maverick attempted to sign them after “Harnessed In Slums” was a hit. But the band rejected the offer in part because, according to them, “The other bands [on Maverick] were that bad. There are other bands on major labels that are associated with a lot of shit but those labels are big enough that there are a least a few bands that you like. For us on Maverick, it’d be us and Candlebox and Alanis Morrisette.”
After that, they put out a couple more records before disappearing into day jobs and solo things, albeit with a reunion and new music a few years back, sadly less interesting than Vee Vee.
But respect, fellas. To think some prefer Pavement over you. Fuck all the way off with that shit.
To me this is an all-or-nothing record. Either you’re in on the joke and hear how the musical choices underscore the lyrical thematics — and those lyrics and the barely-controlled energy and chaos resonate with you — or you’ll file it away in the “unlistenable” category and take your chance now to skewer it like a pig. @RobMCFC is going to absolutely detest this. He would have liked the debut "Icky Mettle" a little better.
But to bring this full circle, of all the records I know, this is the one where the opinion of others matters the very least to me. I love Vee Vee — it’s a proud member of my lifetime top ten, and I still play it more than nearly any other record I’ve ever owned.
Happy listening!
Consciously or unconsciously — usually the former — I have tried to select records I thought would be relatively accessible to the broad majority here. As such, I’ve avoided picking this album for going on years here.
But I can hold out no longer.
It’s time for those cynical oddballs of the the mid-90s alternative scene, North Carolina’s very own (and my beloved) Archers of Loaf and their sophomore effort Vee Vee.
Imagine early REM’s tour van speeding along a country road. Now imagine it collides with The Replacements tour van. Then imagine they both smash into a semi-trailer carrying a load of weed and beer. Now imagine the two bands have to pick up their mangled, broken instruments and write a record while dazed, injured, more than a little pissed off, and drunk and high on the fumes of alcohol and dope.
Thus this is the sound of the Archers.
In nearly every song here, you’ll hear the vague (or sometimes less vague) grounding of melody, but slathered over that, a skewed, random, shrieking, violent dissonant guitar, with notes seemingly played by a four-year old. Basically, imagine great vanilla ice cream covered in tar instead of chocolate sauce. Its indie-alt veering toward punk more than anything, but to me, this sound is funny, energetic, fresh and unique.
And on top of that, you’ll hear yowling, moaning, whin(g)ing lyrics that — when you can understand them — have to rank among the funniest, most ironic, most cynical and most vicious on the topic of the music business — and the indie scene in particular — that have ever been crafted.
“The underground is overcrowded”, ringleader Eric Bachmann sings, and that verse might mark the very peak of post-Nirvana American indie 90s music.
In fact, I’d argue as far as lyrics go, this might be my favo(u)rite record of all time.
Don’t worry about the opener “Step Into The Light”. It’s the slowest tune on the record as Bachmann muses about performance as a cure for loneliness.
Don’t worry about the next song “Harnessed In Slums” either. It’s great, and far and away the most melodic and radio-friendly thing here, and was the “single”.
You should worry about the rest, though. The band descends rapidly into what can only be considered a swampy whirlpool of jumbled chords and chaotic, discordant melody with a constant series of broadsides at popular and unpopular music.
A sample of the words about music that I for one love:
From “Nevermind The Enemy” (do you see the joke there?) — “Let’s tack their earlobes to the radio / We’ll watch our heroes trip and fall”.
From “Greatest of All Time” — “They caught and drowned the front man / Of the world’s worst rock n’ roll band / He was out of luck / Because nobody gave a fuck / The jury gathered all around the aqueduct / Drinking and laughing and lighting up / Reminiscing just how bad he sucked / Singing throw him in the river / Throw him in the river / Throw him in the river / Throw the bastard in the river”.
From “Floating Friends” — “They were always sincere / Hip to the freshest ideas / The latest ideas / Clinging to fresh, new mistakes / I’ve got some new thoughts to force on you / It won’t be hard to prove you wrong / It’s never hard to prove you wrong”.
From “Let The Loser Melt” — “All the others hate it / All the others set you up / Can’t you feel the satisfaction on their breath? / It’s too bad that your music doesn’t matter”.
And finally, from the bizarrely magnificent closer — “Underachievers March and Fight Song —“Underachievers / Attack at your leisure / Hoist up your guitars / And make them all believers / Underachievers / Total domination / Kill the billion years / Of total frustration”. I’ve often waxed poetic about how bands that were ideas before the members knew how to play instruments are some of my favo(u)rites, and this line sums that feeling up perfectly.
By the way, just know that as the last tune fades out, there are 3 or 4 minutes of silence before a few seconds of further cacophony. I’m pretty sure this is a tribute — of sorts — to Nevermind.
The Archers were the opposite of poseurs. Originally releasing Vee Vee on the tiny Alias record label, the Warner-owned Maverick attempted to sign them after “Harnessed In Slums” was a hit. But the band rejected the offer in part because, according to them, “The other bands [on Maverick] were that bad. There are other bands on major labels that are associated with a lot of shit but those labels are big enough that there are a least a few bands that you like. For us on Maverick, it’d be us and Candlebox and Alanis Morrisette.”
After that, they put out a couple more records before disappearing into day jobs and solo things, albeit with a reunion and new music a few years back, sadly less interesting than Vee Vee.
But respect, fellas. To think some prefer Pavement over you. Fuck all the way off with that shit.
To me this is an all-or-nothing record. Either you’re in on the joke and hear how the musical choices underscore the lyrical thematics — and those lyrics and the barely-controlled energy and chaos resonate with you — or you’ll file it away in the “unlistenable” category and take your chance now to skewer it like a pig. @RobMCFC is going to absolutely detest this. He would have liked the debut "Icky Mettle" a little better.
But to bring this full circle, of all the records I know, this is the one where the opinion of others matters the very least to me. I love Vee Vee — it’s a proud member of my lifetime top ten, and I still play it more than nearly any other record I’ve ever owned.
Happy listening!
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
I said to my wife "I don't think this choice is gonna go over very well" and she replied "I don't either because they fucking suck."
threespires
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GornikDaze
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Harsh, she doesn’t know us!!
And a point of order, you said “Thus this is the sound of the Archers.”. I would beg to differ, this is the sound of The Archers!!
threespires
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I've done mine but I'm not posting it as I don't want him coming for me
mrbelfry
Well-Known Member
Whilst I am enjoying the album I have yet to find anything interesting to say about it. I like it 8 doesn't seem like I'm giving the album and nominater enough respect. Although foggy strikes be as a guy who respects no nonsense I am unfortunately all about it
mrbelfry
Well-Known Member
I crashed my bicycle into a wall yesterday. Karma comes at you fast sometimes. Not as fast as a wall though