The Song Challenge

[Adena]

This is something that all of the attendees at a camp I went on recently were asked to do. We were asked to write down our 10 favourite artists/bands, our favourite song from each, and then say why we liked them as much as we did. I don't have my list with me right now, but I'll put it up tomorrow. So, any ideas? Please do share! I'll also see if some of the people who were there with me will allow me to put their lists up, because some were very deep and interesting.

[tannis]

Feb 24, 2010 13:19:44 GMT Adena said:

This is something that all of the attendees at a camp I went on recently were asked to do. We were asked to write down our 10 favourite artists/bands, our favourite song from each, and then say why we liked them as much as we did. I don't have my list with me right now, but I'll put it up tomorrow. So, any ideas? Please do share! I'll also see if some of the people who were there with me will allow me to put their lists up, because some were very deep and interesting.

What an interesting idea, Adena A different take on a top 10 album list or a top 10 favourite song list. Favourite artists/bands implies a following beyond just one album, although to be honest my musical appetite has never been that broad. Anyway, here I guess are my all-time top 10 artists/bands, in alphabetical order, and a song from each. It's a bit like BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs! And it wouldn't surprise me if KaTe has been asked onto that show... but declined!

1. Kate Bush: After "Wuthering Heights" I didn't hear much more Kate Bush until I heard 'The Whole Story'. Then I simply had to get all her albums for my walkman. I like her handling of complex emotions, and she has become the second artist to obsess me.
Favourite track: "Get Out Of My House".

2. Leonard Cohen: We hold so many artists especially dear because of the someone who introduced us to them - the friendship, the good times, and the not so good times.
Favourite track: "Chelsea Hotel #2".

3. Dead Can Dance: Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry have amazing voices and their work is stunning. 'Within the Realm of a Dying Sun' is one of my top ever favourite albums. Empowering and summoning!
Favourite track: "Anywhere Out of the World".

4. Janis Joplin: Of all the Woodstock/Hippie bands, Janis Joplin/Big Brother & The Holding Company remain a firm favourite. Raw, bluesy and fantastic performances.
Favourite track: "Me and Bobby McGee".

5. Joni Mitchell: The first album I ever fell in love with was 'Song To A Seagull', of which I now own a signed copy! The voice, the poetry, the arrangement. Gorgeous! My favourite album of all time is 'Hejira'. Perfect throughout, Joni and her fellow musicians create a series of solitary reveries which ground, balance and expand the human soul. Sublime!
Favourite track: "Song For Sharon".

6. Dory Previn: The first artist who obsessed me. I mean, I had to hunt through countless second-hand record stores to find all her work on vinyl (this was years before she was released on CD). Then I read her books, and even own a signed copy of Bog-Trotter! Maybe I'm a little more mad for loving her work, but I love her humour, insights and confessional song-writing style.
Favourite track: "Mythical Kings and Iguanas".

7. Judee Sill: Colin Wilson's The Outsider was a turning point in my reading habits. And a Q Magazine article on female singer/song-writers was a turning point in my listening habits. Thanks to Q, I first heard about Judee Sill and again hunted through second-hand record stores for her albums (unfortunately, only two). Her songs are trippy, elevating and simply divine!
Favourite track: "Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos".

8. Carly Simon: When I was little I was not allowed near my brother's record collection for fear I'd scratch the albums. So I never heard his BJH or his Genesis (though the 'Nursery Cryme' album cover really scared me, with its decapitated heads!) But my sister let me play her records. And I just loved playing 'No Secrets'. So this album returns me to when it was so easy...
Favourite track: "Embrace Me, You Child".

9. Paul Simon / Simon & Garfunkel: Just great songs!
Favourite track: "Graceland"/"I Am A Rock".

10. June Tabor: A wonderful interpreter of traditional and modern songs, and with a voice to stop you in your tracks.
Favourite track: "Lisbon".

And here are some artists/bands who didn't quite make it to my top ten list...
Joan Armatrading, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Nina Simone, Sparklehorse, David Sylvian, The Smiths, This Mortal Coil.

[Al Truest]

^ I like this idea too

1. Kate Bush:Pull out the Pin

This is actually a tie as my favorite with Sunset but I chose this for the intense and 'out there' vocal' performance. She is so emotionally invested in this track. It is the essence of what I like about her. The subject matter is life and death, commitment and self awareness and cultural manifestation of belief vs responsibilty...

2. Massive Attack:Protection

Traci Thorn's vocals are captivating. The mood and the emotion are deep and moving. The Michael Gondry video is an amazing augmentation to the story...

3. Steely Dan:Third World Man

I chose this strictly for the deft and mellow guitar breaks. It transports me. Steely Dan is a favorite of Kate's. She was influenced by them. And they (Fagen and Becker) subscribe to the same philosophy about choosing gifted session players and artists to fit their vision of every song produced...

4. Zawinul Syndicate:The Orient Express (live version with Trilock Girtu)

The percussion on this defies the boundaries of human capability it seems. I loved Weather Report and progressive Jazz. Kate used Peter Erskine from this band on "Aerial" Joni Mitchell toured with bassist Jaco Pastorius as the other part of the early rhythm section therein...

5. Talking Heads:Lifetime Piling Up

The quirky vocals by Byrne and Tina Weymouth's spot on bass provide a rhythmic and nostalgic song that I can listen to repeatedly. It always puts me in a good mood...

6. Bruce Hornsby:The Way it is

The message, the music and the hook are remarkably unified. I find it so funny that Sean Hannity uses it as his theme song, so unaware that it is the antithesis of his message. Moreover Tupac covered it with a more accurate understanding of its purpose...

7. Don Henley:End of the Innocence

This song makes me lose myself in the atmosphere. Hornsby on Piano and Henley's impeccable phrasing make it one of my favorites

8.Cyndi Lauper:Time After Time

She is so under rated IMO This song has been covered by numerous artists including Miles Davis. But her version)(s) are always the best. The song actually can choke me up. The vocals, the bass, the simple message all combine in a classic...

9. Sade:Stronger Than Pride

This song is so exotic. Her voice is restrained and sultry. Her band is tight and polished. I also love 'Maureen' just as well. She has a new album out (she records as infrequently as Kate. I have yet to hear it...

10. Joanna Newsom:Sawdust and Diamonds

This is last but not least, just the latest. Her lyrics are poetic. Her voice is lilting and angular. She is eccentric and quirky...quite Kate-like. She makes me think. And she makes me act on my feelings

[Adena]

I feel a little silly because Kate isn't top of my list! I'll start with 10 and go down to 1. These are in order of my preference.

#10: Delain
Delain are mainly on this list because of the 'anthology' of gothic metal that they put together with their first album (I don't think I've ever heard an album that's had more guest singers). I've just bought a copy of April Rain (their second album) but have yet to really listen to it. I'm hoping that the songs will be as good as the ones on their first, seeing as I rather like Charlotte Wessels' voice.

Favourite song: See Me In Shadow
Favourite lyric:
Waiting for these chains
I can't fight these chains
Every day
I bleed to avoid the pain
Every day
I fade a little more

#9: Fiona Apple
Her voice is really something different. The first time I heard it I cringed, but I listened more and more often, it grew on me, and eventually I got absolutely hooked.

Favourite song: Sullen Girl
Favourite lyric:
When the pawn hits the conflicts he thinks like a king
What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight
And he'll win the whole thing 'fore he enters the ring
There's no body to batter when your mind is your might
So when you go solo, you hold your own hand
And remember that depth is the greatest of heights
And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land
And if you fall it won't matter, cuz you'll know that you're right
(album title in this case)

#8: Within Temptation
Sadly, Within Temptation started churning out commercialised music just after I became a fan. I love their early albums (Enter, The Dance and Mother Earth), but I don't have much in the way of compliments for their later releases. Although Sharon den Adel's voice can get extremely annoying in her high moments, she produces stunning performances over the first two albums and on the song Caged which don't involve ear-splitting pitch. Oh, and don't listen to their cover of RUTH if you want to have an intact perspective of the song - or WT for that matter.

Favourite song: The Dance
Favourite lyric:
I hear a laugh, it awoke my soul
The wind takes the leaves
Where he wants them to go
His tunes enchant our world
Our thoughts and leave us frozen

#7: Keny Arkana
She's on my list not so much for the music, but for the lyrics. I'm a nut for a good female revolutionary voice in music, and Keny Arkana has that and more.

Favourite song: La Rage
Favourite lyric:
Ok, on a la rage mais c'est pas celle qui fait baver (Well okay, we've got the rage, and I don't mean rabies)

#6: Sigur Ros
There's not much 'quiet and relaxed' on my list - in fact, Sigur Ros is probably the only band that qualifies as such. They're the band that I listen to when I need to get to sleep relaxed and comforted. Their music is entrancing - a portal to the world of another.

Favourite song: Glósóli
Favourite lyric:
Og ég fæ blóðnasir (And I get a nosebleed)
En ég stend alltaf upp (But I always stand up)

#5: Octavia Sperati
The first Sperati song that I ever heard was Moonlit (on a freezing winter day in 2008), and the first thing that I thought when I heard them was 'that woman can sing!' I promptly rushed off to the local alternative music store and purchased myself a copy of both of their albums. When I delved deeper, I discovered an amazing multi-faceted band which produced music that pleased my inner critic's quirks immensely. Even if it's only one song, Sperati has something for everyone.

Favourite song: ...and Then The World Froze
Favourite lyric:
How can they "forget" and never look back?
When will they accept and give in?
All over the fear comes closer to us
The stars will shine beyond the end

#4: Suzanne Vega
I grew up to my father's copy of the Solitude Standing record playing every night. Suzanne has taken on a lot of subjects which most artists wouldn't dare, and combined them with music that invokes vivid images of everything from coffee cups (Gypsy) to battlefields (When Heroes Go Down, The Queen and the Soldier).

Favourite song: Rosemary
Favourite lyric:
This life is burning
Turning to ash as it hits the air
Every step is a day in the week
It's a Sunday or Monday
A march over months of the year

#3: Kate Bush
Well, she had to appear somewhere! Like Suzanne, I grew up listening to her music (specifically THP), and also like Suzanne, she's willing to take on the subject matter that most artists aren't. She combines provocative lyrics with incredibly haunting music that can make any inner demon howl...

Favourite song: Get Out Of My House
Favourite lyric:
Without the pain, there'd be no learning
Without the hurting, we'd never change

#2: Sirenia
I got into a lot of trouble for having Sirenia on my list, but they produced absolutely stellar music before they turned commercial. It helps me get out a lot of anger when I listen to it, and the lyrics (especially in An Elixir for Existence) are very perceptive and echo a lot of my feelings sometimes. The choir parts send shivers down my spine (especially the one on Seven Keys and Nine Doors), and I love the use of violins and pianos, since it's rare for any gothic metal band to use them.

Favourite song: At Sixes And Sevens
Favourite lyric:
Sweetened horizons
Dance away the pain tonight
Just like you and I

#1: Loreena McKennitt
My favourite by far. The Celtic influences in her music and her wonderful lyrics create an enchanting web which I find so delightfully enticing...

Favourite song: Mummers' Dance
Favourite lyric:
Oh night thou was my guide
of night more loving than the rising sun
Oh night that joined the lover
to the beloved one
transforming each of them into the other

I'm going to get a copy of my friends' lists tomorrow, and I'll put them up too. They were very insightful. One shares a couple of mine, the other shares none.

[Barry SR Gowing]

I've had a think about this. It's hard to just pick out 10 favourite artists because my tastes move about and I have a huge collection! I'm sure I've forgotten about somebody I really like, but this will have to do; in no particular order (links to videos included too where available):

1. Kate Bush - The Sensual World

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJc64xncBt4

I'd always liked Kate and owned some of her records, but this is the song that really tipped me over into fandom. Love at first sight and all that (the song, I mean, not Kate herself, although it was a bit like rediscovering her). It doesn't hurt that it's all about sensuality! Sometimes my reasons for liking something can be simultaneously deep and shallow!

2. Neil Finn - Not The Girl You Think You Are

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Is-TYt95hI

I'm really nominating the whole Neil and Tim Finn/Split Enz/Crowded House oeuvre here, but this song is nicely representative of what they do. Maybe there's some secret antipodean element in their music that just appeals to me, but their music and lyrics conjure up the atmosphere that most feels like the world I'd like to live in. This was released in 1996, I think.

3. Warren Zevon - Desperados Under The Eaves & The French Inhaler

vimeo.com/9799214

Both of these come from his first solo album. He never really got any better than this, although he did get more popular, but when you're already this good you don't need to get better. Both of this songs speak of damaged and world-weary-before-their-time would-be artists who've washed ashore in LA. Some of them might not wake up tomorrow ... and even those who do wake up can only muse that life seems bitter-sweet at best.

The video (of the first song only) is my own creation - YouTube have blocked all of Zevon's studio material; they use some kind of service to automatically scan the audio track of everything uploaded to YouTube, and if it matches a database of known songs then it is automatically tagged. This is at the request of particular record companies, which is why Kate's stuff currently is allowed.

"...except in dreams you're never really free"

4. David Bowie - Lady Grinning Soul

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl-lbhMrGds

There's dozens of songs I could have picked here, both from the early part of his career and the later stages. It might have been more truthful to pick Life on Mars, but everybody knows that one.

5. Joni Mitchell - Shades of Scarlett Conquering

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLQp9DbAL1c

This is where the melodicism of the early part of her career intersects the ambition of her later stuff. The lyrics describing Scarlett are just superb, even by Joni's standards.

The video is of the demo version, since that's the only one I could find. It's still good enough...

I suspect that this song was quite an influence on my next choice.

6. Elvis Costello - Riot Act

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIFErCYTn7o

If I'd been looking for an Elvis Costello ballad that specifically sounds like Joni then I would have picked something like New Lace Sleeves, but instead I'm picking this song of regret and defiance. Elvis' first three albums marked him as a literate but spiky talent. Sometimes he sounded a little too full of himself. He admitted later that he though he was "God's Gift" to songwriting at the time. Riot Act, from his fourth album "Get Happy!!) (released less than three years after his first album) is a sign that he's starting to doubt himself, and it's all the better for it.

This video is a live version, but it's quite faithful to the original.

7. Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AslDzpaCURs

There's many Steely Dan songs I could have chosen, but it's evident that I am more influenced by the kind of guitar-lead songs that they did prior to Aja. The lyrical details that litter this song are delicious and typical of Steely Dan, especially their later output. This song comes from 1976.

8. John Lennon - #9 Dream

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJFtYpPeDkM

I could have picked a Beatles song, but this particular song is one of Kate's favourites. It also demonstrated that Lennon was capable of producing great stuff without McCartney and George Martin. I quite like the atmosphere of Lennon's stuff - it's a bit like what I said before about Neil and Tim Finn. I like the world they create in their songs. I wouldn't necessarily want to live in Bowie's world, for example, although it's fun to visit, but some places just feel like home.

9. Paul Simon - Loves Me Like A Rock

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MrckjR4E_M

This is probably one of the simplest Paul Simon songs, but it's so uplifting.

Oddly, the Muppet Show version show in the video is the most faithful to the orginal recording of any of the versions I found.

10. Ed Kuepper - Also Sprach The King Of Eurodisco

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI_d674q5yU

Ed is an Australian songwriter/guitarist. He was originally the lead guitarist in The Saints, who hold the honour of being the first punk group to have a chart hit in the UK (in 1976) despite being from Australia. In the early eighties he formed a experimental jazz group called The Laughing Clowns and then later in the eighties he went solo. He's flirted with success - in the late eighties he signed a contract with a major American record company - but success and Ed don't go well together. He seems to have a reasonable following in Europe - on his last tour here in 2008 Nick Cave supported Ed, rather than the other way around (as you might have expected).

The video of this song is a little edited compared to the album version.

I could have easily picked one of his other songs, Everything I've Got Belongs To You, The Way I Made You Feel (his only Australian chart hit), Sea Air...

--Paul--

[Adey]

Have to give this some thought. Will get back to you..

[Al Truest]

Mar 1, 2010 18:32:04 GMT Adey said:

Have to give this some thought. Will get back to you..

:::taps foot::: 'waiting.

Surely there will be some Don Henley.

[Adena]

The Song Challenge Version 2 - 5 artists who should never have released an album.

#1: F*ck Off And Die!

Kommander L., the frontman of F*ck Off And Die!, makes a stellar attempt at nonconformity with his music, but he falls far short of making any sensible point. In his first album, he goes from glorifying war and mass murder to insulting women and homosexuals to a ballad about alcohol to threatening indecent acts on nuns. He fully admits that he is 'anti all' in his second album, producing such gems as 'C*nt Does Not Rule', 'S*xtermination', and 'Shut Up, Subhuman'. His music is simply a mass of growled vocals which are more swearword than substance, with a few unimpressive guitars and drums behind them. Come back when you can write music, please. NEXT!

#2: Ke$ha

Where do I start? Obnoxious vocals from somebody who is about as good at singing as a warthog is at writing a book? Check. Excessive computer mincing? Check. Pointless lyrics about partying and getting wasted? Check. Total lack of musical talent? Check. Come back when you can sing, please. NEXT!

#3: Cannibal Corpse

Riiiiight. Here we have great example number 2 of a band which is trying to shed all societal norms. The music of Cannibal Corpse paints truly delightful pictures of rotting corpses, violent murders and dismemberments, and the rape of cadavers. The lyrics are not only foul, but growled so deeply that it's completely impossible to understand them. Which is just as well, given that if they were sung at all clearly, anybody listening to their music would probably feel a sudden need to throw up violently. Come back when you can write lyrics, please. NEXT!

(4 and 5 to come later, must get some sleep)

So, since I've proved that I can be quite the snark when it's called for, has anybody got any other artists to add?

[amy]

Sorry Adena, I'm still on Song Challenge 1!

In no particular order:

1. Nick Drake – Joey – Fragile and beautiful. He is his songs and he seems to still exist in the seasons and weather.
2. Elbow – The Everthere – Possibly the most beautiful song ever written on the most beautiful albums I've ever heard (Leaders of the Free World) after anything by N Drake. Guy Garvey's voice is so genuine and sincere.
3. The Beatles – For No-one - No-one really puts them on their list of favs because it's almost a given that they are rated highly and nearly every song they've ever recorded is famous – that is quite extraordinary. I never tire of them. Ridiculously ahead of their time too.
4. REM – Bang and Blame – I seem to know a lot of their music and always overlook them when I think of my favourites but they really are quite wonderful and Bang and Blame I think is the best on one of their best albums Monster – But no-one else seems to like it!
5. Joni Mitchell – Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire - I thought KB was the Godmother of it all but only after getting into JM did I realise that Joni is on another level which I didn't think was possible.
6. The Beta Band – Gone - They are sadly no more - brilliantly experimental and melancholic.
7. Tori Amos – Gold dust – I love Tori. Melodies are far and away her most exceptional talent (amongst her many others) and though she is obviously an 'ideas' person she just doesn't have Kate's way with expressing them both lyrically nor with the same sincerity (imho).
8. Martha Tilston – Firefly - MT 's voice reminds me of summer. Calm, light and full of nature. Quite magical. I wish she'd release more material.
9. Paul Simon – For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her - Paul Simon is a modern Mozart.
10. Kate Bush – Somewhere in Between – Chilled isn't a term often applied to KB but this is about as cool as she could really ever be. I love most of her songs and can't pick a favourite but this has an out of character style which is interesting. She has such a deft way with lyrics and thoughts.

[frogfoot]

I like lists. A few comments first. tannis, I had never before heard either Dory Previn or Judee Sill. I am highly impressed with Previn and will look more into her music. As for Sill, I'm just not sure... perhaps she's a bit too melancholy. I got a Nick Drake feel from the few tracks I listened to. Of course, being compared to Drake is no insult - but something I'm not particularly into at the moment. And - - - - wonderful list.

Adena, you wrote this concerning Kate I grew up listening to her music (specifically THP), which I find to be great news because going from memory I can't recall a Kate album with those initials. I am so excited to have some overlooked Kate material to hear on the near horizon!

Al, Joanna being on your list surprises me. I don't know why it should, but it does. Nice choice!

Adey, we are still waiting.

Barry, the Ed Kuepper song was one I enjoyed. Most particularly it's the hop-a-long bass line that I could listen to for some time without tiring of it. I used to have The Saints first album Stranded (?) but was not particularly a fan of theirs. It does surprise me that Cave would be the supporting act. He must have been without the Bad Seeds.

anyhoo, here is my list. These won't necessarily be my favorite song from my favortie artists, but I do promise to select only songs I like from artists I like.

Kate - Army Dreamers What an unusual song for Kate. Really, has she ever composed a similar-sounding song?

Tilly and the Wall - Nights of the Living Dead My favorite teenage rebellion song of them all. The kids are all f'd up/Touching each other Oh my God/40 ounces is never enough/we want to pass out in your yard
As fun as that is, it gets better still. God put down your gun/Can't you see we're dead?/God lay down your hand/We're not listening

(Oh we never were)

And to top it off it's sung in harmony so well that ABBA, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and The Red Army Choir could all conceivably tip their hats to it.

Goldfrapp - Strict Machine At first I thought this song was about a sex toy. Turns out, the inspiration for it was a report concerning rats beings tortured and manipulated so that they craved instructions from a researcher's machine. This is a band with surprising depth hidden beneath the glitz.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRNEpm8F6o0&playnext=1&videos=zvEsLcgmA0U

And while I'm on the subject, this one is actually about a sex toy. Jefferson Airplane - Plastic Fantastic Lover What's to like? It's a simple reminder that there was more to Jefferson Airplane than Grace and two mega-hits.

Leonard Cohen - The Future This is the first song I heard from him. I recall it vividly... the greatest "discovery."

Nellie McKay - Sari In general, I've always had an attraction for the female voice combined with the piano. And that narrows it down to a few hundred thousand or so artists. I was hooked from "I don't mean to offend... much." This song has a piano backing an odd quasi-rap style delivery.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJZY-Czcp2E&playnext=1&videos=hdRDgscl92s

The Mountain Goats - No Children No one I've heard can sing of loss and failure and make it as fun an experience as does John Darnielle. Here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nVEJoibyso&playnext=1&videos=N8e26NdomRI

Crass - any number of songs. A punk band from the 70s & 80s. Punk is dead/Another cheap product for the consumer's head/bubblegum rock and plastic transistors/schoolboy sedition backed by big time promoters/punk was once an answer to years of crap/a way of saying No when we'd always said Yes

Stevie Wonder - Saturn If anyone can be forgiven naive daydreams and chasing moonbeams it's Stevie.

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Suffer the Little Children From perhaps the trippiest album of 1969. Well, who can say about that! Regardless, this is certainly one strange trip. The song selected here though is actually performed in a straightforward folk manner. If you haven't heard Buffy or the album "Illuminations" give it a try sometime. Well OK the youtube clip is snarled. So I'll go with God Is Alive, Magick Is Afoot. And this song IS one of the trippy ones on the album. And I'm glad I did pick this song (eventually) because I've been curious for some time about the genesis of the song due to "God is alive, Magic is Afoot" starting off a passage in Leonard Cohen's novel "Beautiful Losers." I was never sure of the connection between song and book. Well as I have now learned Cohen co-wrote the song with Sainte-Marie.

And incidentally, a big part of the Cohen novel concerns itself with the legend of a Native American Saint. Well I find this to be good stuff!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GonR4S1to&feature=related

[Adena]

Aug 9, 2010 19:34:55 GMT frogfoot said:

Adena, you wrote this concerning Kate I grew up listening to her music (specifically THP), which I find to be great news because going from memory I can't recall a Kate album with those initials. I am so excited to have some overlooked Kate material to hear on the near horizon!

THP refers to the song Them Heavy People - which my father was absolutely smitten with for some absurd reason.

Crass - any number of songs. A punk band from the 70s & 80s. Punk is dead/Another cheap product for the consumer's head/bubblegum rock and plastic transistors/schoolboy sedition backed by big time promoters/punk was once an answer to years of crap/a way of saying No when we'd always said Yes

I have a friend who's just discovered Crass. I'm slightly bored by them after only a week of constant playing. I approve - but in moderation.

[frogfoot]

Aug 11, 2010 15:30:57 GMT Adena said:

THP refers to the song Them Heavy People - which my father was absolutely smitten with for some absurd reason.

aha except for RUTH I'm pretty lost on song abbreviations. THP, I think there is something unique about the first two abums in general... not that they're better than any of the later albums necessarily but that the overall sound is without precedent. I'm almost ready to credit primarily the producer for this but I think it wouldn;t have turned out nearly as well with any artist other than Kate. Anyway...

I have a friend who's just discovered Crass. I'm slightly bored by them after only a week of constant playing. I approve - but in moderation.

If you (or the friend) haven't heard their Penis Envy album you might give it a shot - it's unlike anything else they did.