Post by ynnpar on Jan 18, 2006 11:33:53 GMT 1
As a silly American who's only recently moved to London, meeting Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine at Thursday's ICA show was pretty incredible. I never ran into such luminous figures at shows back in the States! I mean, Loveless was such a monstrous presence in my music collection for so many years. ...In fact, I still count it as one of my favorite records and listen to it regularly.
So anyway, I've been listening more to Mr. Beast and thinking more about Alan McGee's stupid marketing-promo claim that the album is on par with Loveless. Seeing Shields at the show only made me think about it that much more (what do you think he'd say?).
What do you think? Loveless is a remarkable record. I think it works best when you listen to it in its entirety, as on their own a couple of the songs are pretty weak (Loomer, Touched). While the songs are dense, I find that the album flows and flies past easily and pretty quickly - thank goodness for the repeat button. Only Shallow, To Here Knows When, I Only Said, and Soon are some of my favorite songs.
There's a not easily explanable emotional depth to the best of Mogwai's songs, though, that's almost completely missing from Loveless. From the first crackle of the tape samples on Yes! I am a long way from home and Tracy, to the scary piano on Radar Maker and Cheery Wave, to the flute and feedback that end Fear Satan, Mogwai's songs have this effect on me that's unlike almost any other music.
And so the final score? Like I said, I simply don't know. To my ear, there isn't as much depth to Mogwai's music -- the songs are far more straightforward, you can't dive into and under the layers and layers of interesting sounds in the way you can with the songs on Loveless. I also think that Loveless is a better complete album than any of the Mogwai albums; like I said, I can listen to it in its entirety far more easily than any Mogwai album. Mr. Beast is growing on me a lot, and it does flow pretty well, but I don't believe it contains the same sort of revolutionary music found on Loveless or Young Team. But Mogwai's best songs make me feel so much more, and these days I'm more inclined to listen to a compliation of my favorite of their songs than I am to Loveless. On most days, at least.
Sorry for this tedious, rambling message. To wrap up then: doesn't Loveless really still top each of the Mogwai albums, on their own? But if they could just combine the brillance and weirdness of Young Team with the flow of Mr. Beast (and I know they can!) then I think they'd definitely take the crown...
Thoughts?
So anyway, I've been listening more to Mr. Beast and thinking more about Alan McGee's stupid marketing-promo claim that the album is on par with Loveless. Seeing Shields at the show only made me think about it that much more (what do you think he'd say?).
What do you think? Loveless is a remarkable record. I think it works best when you listen to it in its entirety, as on their own a couple of the songs are pretty weak (Loomer, Touched). While the songs are dense, I find that the album flows and flies past easily and pretty quickly - thank goodness for the repeat button. Only Shallow, To Here Knows When, I Only Said, and Soon are some of my favorite songs.
There's a not easily explanable emotional depth to the best of Mogwai's songs, though, that's almost completely missing from Loveless. From the first crackle of the tape samples on Yes! I am a long way from home and Tracy, to the scary piano on Radar Maker and Cheery Wave, to the flute and feedback that end Fear Satan, Mogwai's songs have this effect on me that's unlike almost any other music.
And so the final score? Like I said, I simply don't know. To my ear, there isn't as much depth to Mogwai's music -- the songs are far more straightforward, you can't dive into and under the layers and layers of interesting sounds in the way you can with the songs on Loveless. I also think that Loveless is a better complete album than any of the Mogwai albums; like I said, I can listen to it in its entirety far more easily than any Mogwai album. Mr. Beast is growing on me a lot, and it does flow pretty well, but I don't believe it contains the same sort of revolutionary music found on Loveless or Young Team. But Mogwai's best songs make me feel so much more, and these days I'm more inclined to listen to a compliation of my favorite of their songs than I am to Loveless. On most days, at least.
Sorry for this tedious, rambling message. To wrap up then: doesn't Loveless really still top each of the Mogwai albums, on their own? But if they could just combine the brillance and weirdness of Young Team with the flow of Mr. Beast (and I know they can!) then I think they'd definitely take the crown...
Thoughts?