"euro disco" was fine, quite enjoyable and fun (though i think that's because i had a crush on manda rinn at the time) but otherly? oh no. bis are just the sound of small children on a sugar rush shouting over a keyboard. i've never been a fan of the cutie end of indiepop
Not being in the UK, I'm not exposed to the hype and anti-hype machines, and I've never understood the depth of the hostility to Bis. I don't know what "cute" means in this context, apart from young, callow, happily energetic fun-having pop.
Anyway, I don't care about the style, the affect, what have you. It's about songs to me. Social Dancing is full of neat hooks. "I'm a Slut" is an awesomely catchy song. To my ears, de gustibus and all that.
ah - see you're lucky. the first we heard of BIS was this worrying trio of annoying kids jumping up and down screaming "CANDY POP!" on top of the pops and the attendant hype of first! unsigned! band! on! top! of! the! pops! - but they never really caught on. but the hype kept going
"cutie" is the usual name given for the form of indiepop where people where hairslides and carry children's lunchboxes (now i see it as undue appearances of "hello kitty" shite if you follow me). tallulah gosh! is a bit too cutie for me, as are a lot of the annoyingly childish indiepop singles of the era. and BIS seemed to be channeling that in spades, that sort of giddy, twelve year old kid thing which seems so cynical and calculated somehow... ah well
i'd not heard of them - hmmm. i know the country and post punk cds were VERY broad with their remit, but i think some of the new bands on this are pushing the point a bit too much... but otherly you approve?
the fact that the sublime "Waiting for the Winter" by the Popguns is included earns it a green light from me. But I agree with you that some key bands are missing -- Orange Juice especially, but also Po!. And since when are Lush indiepop?!?! I vaguely liked them a little back in the day, but come on, they were neither pop nor independent, for that matter.
it would have been nice to see some of the smaller bands on there, but then again that is where the leamington spa cds excel. be nice to encourage ruth miller out of hiding and get something new out. it's a nice primer but could have gone much much further...
I don't listen to it often, but the first Dressy Bessy album was quite good for the silly, low-fi, girlly-rock that it was. There were a lot of great little melodies on that album. Something happened with them after that record though and I found them suddenly unrecognizable and unimaginative.
i think it's their voices that rather grate with me. plus i wouldn't quite class them as indiepop with regards to the rest of this tracklisting... ah well!
Re: How the mighty have fallencommonswingsJuly 28 2004, 02:50:41 UTC
i wouldn't call this proof of anything other than the people who compiled it should have listened to some better modern bands. a lot of this looks wonderful but the later stuff - well we shan't go there
sorry to hear rough trade rejected your record though - i thought they'd improved a lot of late meself. not many bad bands on their current list...
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Anyway, I don't care about the style, the affect, what have you. It's about songs to me. Social Dancing is full of neat hooks. "I'm a Slut" is an awesomely catchy song. To my ears, de gustibus and all that.
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"cutie" is the usual name given for the form of indiepop where people where hairslides and carry children's lunchboxes (now i see it as undue appearances of "hello kitty" shite if you follow me). tallulah gosh! is a bit too cutie for me, as are a lot of the annoyingly childish indiepop singles of the era. and BIS seemed to be channeling that in spades, that sort of giddy, twelve year old kid thing which seems so cynical and calculated somehow... ah well
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it would have been nice to see some of the smaller bands on there, but then again that is where the leamington spa cds excel. be nice to encourage ruth miller out of hiding and get something new out. it's a nice primer but could have gone much much further...
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sorry to hear rough trade rejected your record though - i thought they'd improved a lot of late meself. not many bad bands on their current list...
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