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Unsung Forum » Are they better than the Beatles? |
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Astralcat 742 posts |
Apr 25, 2015, 18:15
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Kid Calamity wrote: Daniel wrote: IMO. That's the bit that counts. ...IMO As well as being the correct answer. I love XTC by the way. It's all roots. I would never have discovered jazz if it weren't for reading the Beats.
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Astralcat 742 posts |
Apr 25, 2015, 18:21
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billding68 wrote: XTC better then the Beatles? I'd say yes overall they were far more consistent. Nary a clunker in the XTC catalog though the Beatles latter releases (for me) kind of lost the plot.(let it be,abby road and the white album) sure there were some really great tunes buried in there but there was also Ob la Di, ob la da,dig a pony,and mean mr mustard. While XTC was absolutely inspired by the beatles my personal opinion is they did it better. The White Album is a grimoire of Headness. A beautiful tapestry of spooky/pop/rock/folk/experimental weirdness that all makes sense and hangs together like spending some time in your favourite musty glorious Head attic. It HAS to be listened to in one sitting though. Set and setting. It weaves itself. Their finest achievemnent.
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Fatalist 1123 posts |
Edited Apr 25, 2015, 18:50
Apr 25, 2015, 18:49
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Markoid wrote: Difficult to get much better than this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGufQk9QOdM For the punk rock 'version' then Husker Du - 'Warehouse Songs and Stories' is an absolute delight of songwriting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbLOKiRbEXI Bob Mould and Grant Hart were almost as good as Lennon and McCartney. I can take or leave XTC, but you're onto something with Mould and Hart - Husker Du really were incredible and genuinely groundbreaking for a few albums, both sonically and in songwriting terms. Only problem with the comparison being that they wrote separately, whereas L & M wrote together (at least that's what the credits say...)
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billding68 1016 posts |
Apr 25, 2015, 22:29
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Astralcat wrote: billding68 wrote: XTC better then the Beatles? I'd say yes overall they were far more consistent. Nary a clunker in the XTC catalog though the Beatles latter releases (for me) kind of lost the plot.(let it be,abby road and the white album) sure there were some really great tunes buried in there but there was also Ob la Di, ob la da,dig a pony,and mean mr mustard. While XTC was absolutely inspired by the beatles my personal opinion is they did it better. The White Album is a grimoire of Headness. A beautiful tapestry of spooky/pop/rock/folk/experimental weirdness that all makes sense and hangs together like spending some time in your favourite musty glorious Head attic. It HAS to be listened to in one sitting though. Set and setting. It weaves itself. Their finest achievemnent. I don't agree I think the white album or at least 90percent of it is total shit. sorry
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carol27 747 posts |
Apr 26, 2015, 20:20
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billding68 wrote: Astralcat wrote: billding68 wrote: XTC better then the Beatles? I'd say yes overall they were far more consistent. Nary a clunker in the XTC catalog though the Beatles latter releases (for me) kind of lost the plot.(let it be,abby road and the white album) sure there were some really great tunes buried in there but there was also Ob la Di, ob la da,dig a pony,and mean mr mustard. While XTC was absolutely inspired by the beatles my personal opinion is they did it better. The White Album is a grimoire of Headness. A beautiful tapestry of spooky/pop/rock/folk/experimental weirdness that all makes sense and hangs together like spending some time in your favourite musty glorious Head attic. It HAS to be listened to in one sitting though. Set and setting. It weaves itself. Their finest achievemnent. I don't agree I think the white album or at least 90percent of it is total shit. sorry The White Album shit - what! I knew all the Beatles hits growing up ( mother was more of a Stones fan though); but discovering them in detail later in my life has been a wonderful revelation, particularly Lennon. They way transcend most music since, even my beloved punk. I also, however adore XTC, who are way underrated & unrecognized, something that may be to do with Mr Partridges obvious reticence to promote & play. And the Fall, well, - genius at work. But, really I still think the Fab Four trump it, if only for completely revolutionizing music as we know it Jim.
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billding68 1016 posts |
Apr 26, 2015, 20:51
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carol27 wrote: billding68 wrote: Astralcat wrote: billding68 wrote: XTC better then the Beatles? I'd say yes overall they were far more consistent. Nary a clunker in the XTC catalog though the Beatles latter releases (for me) kind of lost the plot.(let it be,abby road and the white album) sure there were some really great tunes buried in there but there was also Ob la Di, ob la da,dig a pony,and mean mr mustard. While XTC was absolutely inspired by the beatles my personal opinion is they did it better. The White Album is a grimoire of Headness. A beautiful tapestry of spooky/pop/rock/folk/experimental weirdness that all makes sense and hangs together like spending some time in your favourite musty glorious Head attic. It HAS to be listened to in one sitting though. Set and setting. It weaves itself. Their finest achievemnent. I don't agree I think the white album or at least 90percent of it is total shit. sorry The White Album shit - what! I knew all the Beatles hits growing up ( mother was more of a Stones fan though); but discovering them in detail later in my life has been a wonderful revelation, particularly Lennon. They way transcend most music since, even my beloved punk. I also, however adore XTC, who are way underrated & unrecognized, something that may be to do with Mr Partridges obvious reticence to promote & play. And the Fall, well, - genius at work. But, really I still think the Fab Four trump it, if only for completely revolutionizing music as we know it Jim. honestly I think you need remove nostalgia from the equation which is difficult to do(even for me) is Honey pie a great song? is glass onion or the previously mentioned ob la di a truly great song? Not in my world...Black bird and dear prudence are very very nice but for the most part the album is kinda..well..shit
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garerama 1118 posts |
Edited Apr 26, 2015, 21:24
Apr 26, 2015, 21:23
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Without a doubt i rate XTC up there with the Beatles - certainly both are in this musos top 5 with The Beatles being a constant for 25 years. But better I don't know - if it wasn't for the Beatles etc ... XTC in my opinion were vastly underrated and ignored and have not had a bum album. Even Andy Partridge's Fuzzy Warbles series - lots of warts in there I could listen to without skipping a track. Whereas there is no Beatles album that I can listen to without wanting skip through a track or two(for me a lot of the Ringo songs and some of the really twee McCartneys). i would say that "Let It Be" is probably one of the worst albums of the late 60s and that Laibach did a better job (not to mention the original Glynn Jone's Get Back). XTC are one of the few bands who matured and improved with age. Apple Venus being there zenith. That album is there with Skylarking in "every home should have them" And talking of Squeeze they are in the XTC story - I think it was Glenn Tilbrook who ran off with the tapes for Apple Venus (he produced the first version). Partridge is a triffle cheesed off to say the least. Finally, XTC did make the two best psychedelic albums ever under the Dukes of Stratospear guise too.
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Sin Agog 2253 posts |
Apr 26, 2015, 21:32
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Honey Pie's a typical Paul grandma tune, but Wild Honey Pie is a great minute of music. I think The Beatles may be partially responsible for so many old rock albums having at least one flaky faux-country/blues song, but Wild Honey Pie, despite sounding nothing like most of them, seems pretty close to the spirit of "old, weird America", as documented on Folkways' Anthology of American Folk Music. Most of the backwards-looking stuff they put out was pretty low-tier Beatles. I still find the early simple stuff my favourite, though. Bit like with Woody Allen. By the way, much as I dig 'em, there are a ton of releases I'd put above The Beatles- personal discoveries and the like. It seems a dangerous thing to put yourself in the Billboard/Rolling Stone/NME top albums ever mindset- factoring how much of a cultural phenomenon a band was into how much you like them. Play the jams you dig and don't sweat that shit.
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billding68 1016 posts |
Apr 27, 2015, 03:01
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Sin Agog wrote: Honey Pie's a typical Paul grandma tune, but Wild Honey Pie is a great minute of music. I think The Beatles may be partially responsible for so many old rock albums having at least one flaky faux-country/blues song, but Wild Honey Pie, despite sounding nothing like most of them, seems pretty close to the spirit of "old, weird America", as documented on Folkways' Anthology of American Folk Music. Most of the backwards-looking stuff they put out was pretty low-tier Beatles. I still find the early simple stuff my favourite, though. Bit like with Woody Allen. By the way, much as I dig 'em, there are a ton of releases I'd put above The Beatles- personal discoveries and the like. It seems a dangerous thing to put yourself in the Billboard/Rolling Stone/NME top albums ever mindset- factoring how much of a cultural phenomenon a band was into how much you like them. Play the jams you dig and don't sweat that shit. Agreed I always preferred the earlier Beatles (much like Hermans hermits and dave clark 5) to the latter stuff Maybe because when I first heard it the message was already lost. Vietnam was over etc... while the older stuff wasn't held to a certain time period.
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Pursued By Trees 1135 posts |
Edited Apr 27, 2015, 10:59
Apr 27, 2015, 10:58
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In a game of Top Trumps I expect that The Beatles card would be a safer bet in most categories. Then again, I stand by the theory that anything that seems to speak to people in general in vast numbers probably has very little to say. Cutting through the hype, the purely statistical stuff that comes with being the first band to successfully be exploited in such a high-concept, multi-media fashion, then while The Beatles are far more culturally and commercially significant ... the emotional reaction to the material is always going to be an intensely personal thing and, for me, the most important measure of quality. Does it get you where you live metaphysically? Over-stating the quality of The Beatles output always strikes me as akin to arguing that Star Wars was the best film ever made.
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