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whats your favorite band?
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Stevo
Stevo
6664 posts

Re: whats your favorite band?
Apr 25, 2007, 09:41
Never got around to answering this, but was reminded by a Neubauten torrent I found this morning

Einsturzende Neubauten the only band that I got a tattoo of. Though I wish I hadn't left it so loing cos I could have got on the sleeve of Strategies vol III if I'd been a coupla years earlier. There's something about their sound that's 'total'. I found listening to them a good pointerr when I was studying phenomenology, presence of sound in place of more recognisable 'music' or maybe music made by things that are not normally construed as musical instruments, thereby throwing new focus on the relationship between listener and listened to.
'kin intensely satisfyin listen any road.

Grateful DEad pre '74 retirement. A lot of similar thoughts as with Neubauten. THanks to the improvisational nature of their music normal understandings of presence of song are reevaluated. Can't simply go oh yes that's the way that song goes if everything continually under reevaluation to see what each player can play next to the people they're playing with.
The music itself is great especially the very psychedelic stuff. The jazzier stuff of their early 70s years is something I find very comparable to krautrock. Would think a lot of the bands involved in that would've checked them out on the '72 tour so surprised by supposed Krautrock fans being ultra dismissive of them. Vision clouded by the later years stuff when to be a US college student one obligatorily had to do a couple of US tours with them?

Gun Club
Jeffreey Lee Pierce could be a bit of an asshole but he led a succession of very good bands. Most of which relied on a lot of improvisation, this could very well have come from lack of chops early on but I find makes for great listening. JIm Duckworth is a very underrated guitarist who I'd reccommend checking out if you get the chance.
Want to get some of the Kid/Patricia Morrison/Terry GRaham live stuff cos that was the first band i caught. Though I think I met an earlier one for cocktails at the World's End in Chelsea.

Birthday Party/Nick Cave
The repeat of the Bad Seed Peel SEssion proved pretyty formative in my listening habits. I went from being primarily into psychedelia to listening to punk/post-punk & checking out a lot of the bands coming in in late 83/early 84.
The visceral impact of the Birthday Party's combination of carcrash with JBs funk with Stooges rock with god knows what else really moves me. Phil Calvert has been said to be using some pretty obscure jazz related rhythms, Rowland's caterwauling guitar with the edge of noise tone and Tracy's physical impact bass combined with Nick's vocals yum.
Nick's solo stuff hjas been great for the most part. I personally prefer the early stuff where Blixa's guitar is still more noise/texture than tuneful.
I like Cave's lyrics up toi the point where he became a consciously 'comic' writer there are a few clunkers but overall pretty neat.

SAvage REpublic
I especially like Jamahiriya. I think at the time I discovered them I had been consciously looking for a band combining Eastern/North African ethnic stuff with Stoogesor similar. I have most of their officially released stuff nmow. Do wish I could come across more live stuff .
Find the textures on jAmahiriya very conducive to tripping.

Jefferson Airplane
The other archetypal ballroom sound band (actually QMS too who I also love). I really like Grace's wayward vocals, Jorma's epic guitar, Jack's Yggtrasil bass and especially Spencer DRyden's drumming.
Think Baxter's is my favourite of their lps. The next 2 studio are both great and they were no slackers live. Great Society Grace's previous band were also pretty great live at least, shame that Darby Slick pretty much vanished afterward though.

Stooges
Funhouse is a cornerstone of the universe. Wish there was more live stuff around. MC5 are pretty great too
Stevo
NP Tinariwen 17/4/07
In reply to:
whats your favorite band? (panurge88)
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