Oooooooh...comments already, and some nasty, argument-causing ones! At the moment, I am listening to XTC's 1984 opus The Big Express, which is, essentially, one of their weakest selling albums ever due to the indifference and/or chaos it caused in the XTC fanbase. It's very electric, noisy, and almost unnerving at times, a big difference from the pastoral, "farmboy" feel of the album that preceeded it, Mummer. Well, friends, here's a not-too-surprising (or is it?) revelation about yours truly: The Big Express is my favorite XTC album.Some highlights of the first post's comments:
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Why do people think it's strange that I prefer "The Bends"? I do, too, dear Norman Beats. Also The Blow Monkeys far superior to anything Wet Wet Wet ever did. The Blow Monkeys are one of the most underrated and under appreciated bands of the 1980's.
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I'm on tenterhooks. Nice Orange Juice plug, there, pally. And the correct answer to "The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?" is of course, The Who. I'll have to disagree, here, for one large reason, er, a few rather large ones. The Who were good but not great. In that category you have aforementioned Stones, as well as The Kinks, The Small Faces and The Animals, all better than The Who.
And since you started it, I'm going to be the one to say it: New Order are complete shite compared to Joy Division. Not shite compared to anyone else, just Joy Division. Straight for the jugular I say! You just dug your tenterhook right into my flesh, friend. Jesus. -
I completely agree with the 3 statements at the top of the page.
Also, to be completely honest, I've never seen what the big deal about Joy Division was. Or Bauhaus, for that matter. I'll give you Bauhaus, although if you like Bowie, that's totally not consistent thinking...but Joy Division? This must be the Chris who hates the Velvets, which means, of course, he cannot like Ian Curtis' vocals. Sad, my friend, so sad. - Lastly, I would like to mention that Lucy, of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" fame, has passed away aged 46. R.I.P., love.
I actually do like Bowie. To further confuse things, I like Peter Murphy's solo stuff and Love and Rockets.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's because both bands were hyped up by people way before I heard them, and I was just expecting something more. I don't hate either one of them, I'd just rather listen to something else.
I was just listening to Black Sea on Friday, I forgot how much I like that one. I used to say "Drums and Wires" was my favorite, but that was probably because it was the first one I discovered, and it has the best power pop song ever written, "Life Begins at the Hop". I will re-listen to The Big Express right now.
ReplyDeleteYep, just relistened, this is their best album. I forgot how consistent it is. However, Andy Partridge could shit in a bag and I would buy it (oh wait, I already bought Mr. Partridge Take Away The Lure of Salvage). Either way, thanks for the XTC post, one of my favorite bands of all time. I've been listening to Apple Venus Vol. 1 a lot recently, or more accurately the Colin Moulding voiced songs like Fruit Nut, Frivolous Tonight. Fantastic.
ReplyDeleteChris, you really need to listen to Joy Division's Closer and try them again.
ReplyDeleteLowbrow, I love Black Sea as well! Probably # 3 for me. Sandwiched between it and The Big Express is Go 2. For some reason, I really like the experimental and abrasive XTC. Go 2 is nasty as well.