Sometimes the emperor really has no clothes on. (Though NMH dressed as hobos in most of their publicity pics...) Aside from the fascinating epic "Oh Comely" (a blatant Will Oldham/ Tim Buckley xerox), this album is near-unlistenable tripe for Pitchfork-reading, courduroy-backpack-clad dipshits. In fact, I use at as one of my key "litmus test" albums for judging whether a person has good musical taste or is easily swayed by hype and the reputation of a band. In other words, I can confidently ignore music-related recommendations from all fans of this album, because they obviously own neither many albums nor functioning ears.
This LP is almost singlehandedly responsible for two of the most inhumane abuses in human history: inflicting Bright Eyes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah upon an unsuspecting, undeserving world. Mangum is probably a very smart and gifted guy; why he chooses to write and sing as though he has autism is beyond me, but maybe he was aiming for the Jandek/ Daniel Johnston fanbase. "King of carrot flowers?" Grow up. "Aeroplane"? No. This is America. We spell it "Airplane." You are from America. Just because you sing in an ear-splittingly, cranium-implodingly obnoxious fake British accent, doesn't give you the green light to revert your written words to the pre-Boston Tea Party era. Plus, spelling it "Aeroplane" puts you in the same category as Billy Corgan, and nobody wants that.
Stick with Olivia Termite Control if you must, but I'd advise any sane person to avoid the entire Elephant Shtick catalog like SARS. If you want an album that sounds like it was recorded on lo-fi equipment in the 1960s, here's an inside tip: Go purchase, and listen to, an album recorded on lo-fi equipment in the 1960s.
>>65458648
Consider this review from 5 days ago by user cherry65: "This album gets a three for the third song, In the Aeroplane over the Sea. The rest of the album is bad, really bad." (She gave it 3 stars!) She liked one song out of eleven (3.3 minutes total), so why didn't he give the album half a star, or one star? Peer pressure & the lemming-like mentality of indie rockers, that's why. Look at yourselves in the mirror, people, then look at the name of track 5 on this disque.
I'm supposed to be proud of this band for becoming one of the few groups from my state (Louisiana) (before they calculatedly relocated to Georgia to further their career) to achieve unanimous hipster acclaim. But all I can do is cringe in embarrassment. At least when The Residents left here for greener pastures, they became a legitimately inventive/ influential band...
The funny thing is, I was crushed when I had to miss their gig here in New Orleans in spring '98 due to illness. (I had only heard a song or two from the album at that point.) In retrospect, it was a fortuitous occurrence for which I am eternally grateful. A few years later, I even downlaoded and pored over many live gigs by the band circa this era, in hopes of finding some spark I had missed before, but it was to no avail. Even now, I'm listening to the sample clips over and over again on iTunes, sitting here in shock at how appalling they (still) are. So don't say I didn't try, and don't say I didn't warn you.
>>65458656
In closing, let me recommend two contemporary albums that deserve a lot of the hype this one received, though the typical NMH fan may lack a sophisticated enough palate to digest them: The Going Away Present by Lowercase, and The Fraternity Of Moonwalkers by The Tower Recordings. And, of course, Mercury by American Music Club, but that one did receive the accolades it deserves.
how can someone trash this album and say Oh Comely is good
Time to meme the shit out of this
Sometimes the emperor really has no clothes on. (Though TVU dressed as hobos in most of their publicity pics...) Aside from the fascinating epic "Sunday Morning" (a blatant Beach Boys/ Phil Spector xerox), this album is near-unlistenable tripe for Pitchfork-reading, courduroy-backpack-clad dipshits. In fact, I use at as one of my key "litmus test" albums for judging whether a person has good musical taste or is easily swayed by hype and the reputation of a band. In other words, I can confidently ignore music-related recommendations from all fans of this album, because they obviously own neither many albums nor functioning ears.
This LP is almost singlehandedly responsible for two of the most inhumane abuses in human history: inflicting The Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth upon an unsuspecting, undeserving world. Reed is probably a very smart and gifted guy; why he chooses to write and sing as though he had electroconvulsive therapy is beyond me, but maybe he was aiming for the Carole King/ Andy Warhol fanbase. "Black Angel Death Song?" Grow up. "Run Run Run"? No. This is America. We say "run" once. You are from America. Just because you sing in an ear-splittingly, cranium-implodingly obnoxious fake monotone wail, doesn't give you the green light to revert your written words to the pre-Boston Tea Party era. Plus, saying it three times puts you in the same category as John Cale, and nobody wants that.
Stick with Olivia Termite Control if you must, but I'd advise any sane person to avoid the entire Elephant Shtick catalog like SARS. If you want an album that sounds like it was recorded on lo-fi equipment in the 1940s, here's an inside tip: Go purchase, and listen to, an album recorded on lo-fi equipment in the 1940s.
Anon really no one gives a fuck about your opinion, limit yourself to contribute with things you love and that could eventually be loved by someone else here. you can open a blog for shit like this
>>65458771
Consider this review from 5 days ago by user cherry65: "This album gets a three for the third song, Femme Fatale. The rest of the album is bad, really bad." (She gave it 3 stars!) She liked one song out of eleven (3.3 minutes total), so why didn't he give the album half a star, or one star? Peer pressure & the lemming-like mentality of indie rockers, that's why. Look at yourselves in the mirror, people, then look at the name of track 5 on this disque.
I'm supposed to be proud of this band for becoming one of the few groups from my state (New York) (before they calculatedly relocated to California to further their career) to achieve unanimous hipster acclaim. But all I can do is cringe in embarrassment. At least when The Residents left here for greener pastures, they became a legitimately inventive/ influential band...
The funny thing is, I was crushed when I had to miss their gig here in San Fransisco in spring '69 due to illness. (I had only heard a song or two from the album at that point.) In retrospect, it was a fortuitous occurrence for which I am eternally grateful. A few years later, I even downlaoded and pored over many live gigs by the band circa this era, in hopes of finding some spark I had missed before, but it was to no avail. Even now, I'm listening to the sample clips over and over again on iTunes, sitting here in shock at how appalling they (still) are. So don't say I didn't try, and don't say I didn't warn you.
>>65458801
In closing, let me recommend two contemporary (at their time) albums that deserve a lot of the hype this one received, though the typical TVU fan may lack a sophisticated enough palate to digest them: Black Monk Time by The Monks, and Freak Out by The Mother of Invention. And, of course, 1969 by The Stooges, but that one did receive the accolades it deserves.
>>65458648
>aside from the fascinating epic "Oh Comely"
Yeah, no, fuck yourself OP
>>65458800
I love NMH but it's great to hear opposing opinions (even if it mostly consists of the details)
Oh boy, where do we even begin. Okay, let's pick at a single song for starters: to my ears, ʻOh Comelyʼ sounds plain unbearable. Six minutes of musically trivial acoustic strum, accompanied with sincere, but sonically brutal singing from a guy who - let's put it mildly - was not born and reared for this kind of singing; good old Keith Richards couldn't have done a worse job than what Mangum does here, especially when he tries to go real high at the end of each verse. Honestly, I don't know about you, but to me, it's plain sonic torture, and I have no idea why I should be enduring it, or why I should "respect" this awful off-key vocal racket as a symbolic representation of sincere, unadorned suffering. (And I don't even have a proper idea of what he's suffering about - is it horror at Anne's fate, or desperation at the fact that she's there, and he's here, and she can't "let her skin begin to blend itself with mine"?).
>>65458648
Oh Comely doesn't really remind me of Tim Buckley, but whatever. I think Mangum's voice has enough nuance to be appreciated via timbral listening. It's interesting that you presumably enjoy the singing of the Residents but not NMH (I think they're both great singers, though Mangum is certainly better/more interesting). I think a few of the songs are catchy and the arrangements are nice. Great melodies. I think the lyrics are very musical, one of the greatest musical gifts of all.
If you were really immune to the hype, you wouldn't be reactionary against it, and you'd realize that it's just an above-average album with some great pop songs and a little filler.
But you get points for acknowledging the greatness of the Residents, though they're obviously on a different level than NMH, making the comparison seem a little silly.
>>65458648
I dislike this meme because it insults the rest of E6
