Woebot
Well-known member
i first heard about this in the pages of uncut magazine. that same issue with the postcard feature (ie the only one ive picked up in the last couple years, lest anyone be scrutinising me for dad-rock tendencies, lol! i am a hipster, honest guv!) it comes across as an art-rock take on 70s US AM-rock, a kind of radicalised version of chicago/al stewart/tom rush/seventies bob dylan. amongst the producers on it number steve albini and jim o'rourke.
the legend goes that the record label (i think domino?) pulled the plug on the lp because the production costs were spiralling out of control. plush ended up footing the bill himself (in the region of six figures apparently, gasps) one the one hand kind of admirable (the pursuit of art) on the other giving the proceedings the aura of a vanity project. bizarrely the only way of getting this nowadays is by importing it oneself from japan. all of which above lends it the aura of a cult object.
the idea of a radical mor is, ive always found, quite seductive. its the self-conciously grown-up cousin of pop-entryism. its a less of a trojan horse than a kit-built bmw replica incorrectly parked in the management's demarcated bay. unlike pop-entryism (which is cool too isnt it? its a bit of fun. richard x, yeah he's cool- not that i see him as anything but a rockist.....), it's relationship with the mainstream is softer, but by the same token it's less likely to receive fantastic remuneration. off the top of my head other examples are scott walker's 3 and 4, tom jobim's "matita pere", van dyke park's "discover america', arto lindsay's "prize", richard and linda thompson's "shoot out the lights". the brazilian connection is an important one, because there softly-spoken ballads by the likes of edu lobo and caetano veloso aren't seen as being unradical just because the content isnt grating. actually this is why nick cave (who's been wanting to make a good radical MOR record since he nearly achieved it with "from her to eternity") goes on about brazilian music and the "suadade" (inkorrekt spelling probably).
also spending ridiculous amounts of money on production (roping in veteran r'n'b producer tom tom wotsit), and long periods of time "getting it right" must be lauded in the push-button climate of electronica. nowadays you get people putting out an lp every week. thats what the planet mu bloke the gasman boasts of being able to do. i've always admired anton webern and edgar varese for their absolutely miniscule musical output. take your time and get it right innit.
the problem with "fed" is that its a huge pile of steaming horseshit. the songs are unbelievably feeble, and the guy has the worst, meanest, thinnest most-out-of-tune voice you've ever heard. i actually had to switch it off as i found the experience of hearing him mangle and not-quite-reach notes with his mewl was so fucking painful.
the legend goes that the record label (i think domino?) pulled the plug on the lp because the production costs were spiralling out of control. plush ended up footing the bill himself (in the region of six figures apparently, gasps) one the one hand kind of admirable (the pursuit of art) on the other giving the proceedings the aura of a vanity project. bizarrely the only way of getting this nowadays is by importing it oneself from japan. all of which above lends it the aura of a cult object.
the idea of a radical mor is, ive always found, quite seductive. its the self-conciously grown-up cousin of pop-entryism. its a less of a trojan horse than a kit-built bmw replica incorrectly parked in the management's demarcated bay. unlike pop-entryism (which is cool too isnt it? its a bit of fun. richard x, yeah he's cool- not that i see him as anything but a rockist.....), it's relationship with the mainstream is softer, but by the same token it's less likely to receive fantastic remuneration. off the top of my head other examples are scott walker's 3 and 4, tom jobim's "matita pere", van dyke park's "discover america', arto lindsay's "prize", richard and linda thompson's "shoot out the lights". the brazilian connection is an important one, because there softly-spoken ballads by the likes of edu lobo and caetano veloso aren't seen as being unradical just because the content isnt grating. actually this is why nick cave (who's been wanting to make a good radical MOR record since he nearly achieved it with "from her to eternity") goes on about brazilian music and the "suadade" (inkorrekt spelling probably).
also spending ridiculous amounts of money on production (roping in veteran r'n'b producer tom tom wotsit), and long periods of time "getting it right" must be lauded in the push-button climate of electronica. nowadays you get people putting out an lp every week. thats what the planet mu bloke the gasman boasts of being able to do. i've always admired anton webern and edgar varese for their absolutely miniscule musical output. take your time and get it right innit.
the problem with "fed" is that its a huge pile of steaming horseshit. the songs are unbelievably feeble, and the guy has the worst, meanest, thinnest most-out-of-tune voice you've ever heard. i actually had to switch it off as i found the experience of hearing him mangle and not-quite-reach notes with his mewl was so fucking painful.
