Yes! Is this the most pretencious, overrated band of all time?

No apologies required Guy. I must give Ozric Tentacles a try as well. 

Thanks to Jamie and Denis for the info.

ATB

Steve

P.S. Just had a good evening listening to Hawkwind's debut album and Hall of the Mountain Grill, on the black stuff of course. Hawkwind did produce some excellent album covers of which these two are good examples.

Steve,

burningshed still have the latest Ozrics brilliant thick double vinyl album.£17.99

Stu.

This  riff is just too funny, I don't know all the bands you guys do, but it sure takes me back to my college days in Ft Collins CO. My 4th year I had a cool roomie with great sense of humor and a  record collection. He had seen Fleetwood Mac in a bar and helped them carry their gear out to the van. He'd seen a concert where YES was opening act and blew away the band that was headlining.  He had some YES, he had Eagles, he had Floyd's ummagumma (laughed at the expression on my face), and thankfully early Fleetwood Mac,  before  they were really big. I remember hearing Tubular Bells in the dorm and people thinking it was really "spacey", like wow man. ELP and Brain Salad... Being in CO gave me a different perspective on "country rock". And I'd never smoked anything, only a couple of beers.

All in all, most bands come out blazing and it's NEW!  test of time they usually fade away in creativity repeating the same stuff.  

Wow, I've really enjoyed this thread.  I have had a couple spiritual experiences with Joshua Tree, major one was a 'few' stiff whiskeys when I got home after 3 weeks from my aging father's  surgery and my 52/300 was blasting like they were in the living room.  My neighbor came up from downstairs and asked how I was doing?  Tried to explain and fell into tears, he put me to bed and turned off the stereo. But I haven't heard anything of theirs after that.  The whole stadium rock thing from the 80s was overblown and I didn't have money. Money for nothing and sex for free. I had the beaches in southern CA to enjoy and a very colorful mind.

I like the intimate things, but the Beatles were, and still are, my creative favorites.  On my iPad I'm reading Harrison's book, it's really fascinating to understand more about him and his other passions.  Early 60s he writes to his sister from Australia saying "I'm not just Beatle George, I'm more than that."

Most others just seem self indulgent after they made their millions, bought their estates, performed around the world.

I'm just a yank, what do you expect? But as Jimi asked "Are you Experienced? Well, I am"

Mud W.

The reason we all hang out in the music room is because  of our love of music.

Threads go off pissed and back again many times.

Good post man.

Stu

I'm not so sure. If you read Rick Wakeman's books (not autobiographies, but anecdotes) I think he was living a life of pretty much taking the piss, especially out of the other members of Yes, and particularly Jon Anderson (although it was largely amicable and has certainly not led to any long-term rancour). He was also actually pissed much of the time.

The books are laugh-out loud hilarious. He's obviously a great raconteur (actually his later concerts proved that) and/or the ghostwriter has a real knack. "Grumpy Old Rockstar and Other Wondrous Stories" and something similar for the second one. The story of him being so irritated by everyone else in the band's vegetarianism and ordering a full roast chicken dinner from the hotel which 'turned' Chris Squire still brings a smile to my face. Worth seeking out.

I still listen to the albums, and always preferred Yes to Genesis or ELP.

I think the 'bonus' "studio run-through" tracks on the reissued cds are a big mistake though.

Ah, good ol' Ricky!

Also enjoyed his Friday evening program and  silly jokes on Planet Rock when it used to be a cool station.

KR

Tony 

When I saw the thread title I thought it was about U2...seems I was right..ish. Suprised not to see Coldplay mentioned(only scan read it though!)

But does Coldpaly [Chris Martin at least] take itself seriously?

If not then they are not pretentious. They are less irritating than most in my view, even if the recent music has the substance of sodden MDF.

ATB from George

To me Chris Martin does fancy himself and his vocal drives me to distraction(not the subject of discussion here I know). 

You're bang on about the MDF mind!

>  Substance of Sodden MDF

Is that the Danish symphonic death metal band? If so I wouldn't describe SOSMDF as pretentious, but can understand why some people might not like some of the tracks on their fourth album and even the opener on side two of their greatest hits volume 2. 

To be honest they don't sound like Coldplay, which is perhaps praise enough.  

Earlier today I downloaded a bootleg by Substance of Sodden MDF, recorded live at The Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen. It's a great 100-minute set, including, as an encore, a fabulous 20-minute version of "The Slow and Painful Evisceration of That Milksop Pantywaist Chris Martin Out Of Coldplay" (which for me is their best song) done, on this occasion, in the style of Sunn 0))).

Yes Kevin, The Slow and Painful, is certainly one of my favourite tracks by them too - they performed a shorter version of it at Aarhus, but I still think the studio version, which takes up 5 sides of their vinyl triple third album called Du kan ikke være prætentiøst hvis du kun synge til din Langsnudet i dansk jeg tror. 

It is good to know there are at least three SOSMDF fans on the forum: for a while I thought it was only me that liked them. 

Muse - dreadful

Tog

The new Substance of Sodden MDF actually has a MDF sleeve and a sachet of water ... pretentious of what? Especially as the group announced "Vores nye optagelse er kun tilgængelig som download

Dreadful ≠ Pretentious 

Gentle Giant ⇒ ¬∀ Pretentious groups ≡ Dreadful 

QED 

They have a new album out in November.

Cut To Size.

You can pre-order now.

Stu

Thanks - ordered 

Got their last album "Cat Vomit Sundae" - a classic 

Tog

  Having re-read the latter stages of the thread and in particular, my posts about U2 and Coldplay I realise I have done something I try to avoid, taking a poke at music that tends not to 'work for me' (what a dreadful expression that is by the way!)

And so to the topic:-

I like Yes very much and have done particularly since I saw them in 1970/1 ish,can't remember when exactly .

Are they pretentious? quite possibly.

Is it unlistenable twaddle? Not to my ears.

There is very little music that I find 'unlistenable' just music I prefer not to listen to more than once.

Are'nt I great me?

There's also a deluxe limited edition Realiteten i gennemblødt MDF: Klip til Size Deluxe Edition - each sleeve is unique (based on sketches by the late Barry Bucknell) and has been handcrafted by Handy Andy off Changing Rooms. Not cheap at £499 a pop, but surely a good investment as this is a future collector's item.

Love 'em, my favourite band after the Fabs, Zep and JD.

Have you heard the bootleg Inde i opblødt sind Handy Andy ud af omklædningsrum: Afpuds, spåner og splinter fra de mørke arkiver undergang og glemsel (Inside the sodden mind of Handy Andy out of Changing Rooms: Off-cuts, shavings and splinters from the dark archives of doom and oblivion) - it's great collection of early demos, including a remarkable four-second version of The Slow & Painful...

Sound quality is pretty dreadful, as some of the demos were made on a Fisher Price cassette machine:

But the quality of the music more than makes up for it.

Is that the Danish version or the one in English? I always think Nicholas Hans Christian Knowles vocals don't quite work in English and although it takes some effort to learn enough 13th century Danish to understand the text, I think you'll find it more than worth the effort. 

If you can go for the 24-carat Gold SACD with Danish vocals then it is a "must have", it is expensive because you have to import it and then buy a SACD player to listen to it, but I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

I didn't know that, but managed to track it down and ordered that as well: unfortunately it had gone up in price since you found it, but still worth a punt imho. 

No .. I haven't heard that version or the bootleg, but is sounds like something I should definitely try to seek out. 

I love the Fisher Price