Legendary Pink Dots

I stopped listening when they began the industrial experimentation (well, it was always there actually but moved to the fore).

DRINK OPIUM TEA AND STARE AT THE CLOUDS.

Great title for the new album too, which I bought there -- Your Children Placate You From Premature Graves. Apparently there are at least two other new albums and the merch table had approximately 341334 vinyl and CDR and other goodies for sale and...

Dots On The Eyes C20
Only Dreaming C60
Premonitions C60
Chemical Playschool 1&2 2xC90
Kleine Krieg C90
Brighter Now LP
Atomic Roses C30
Apparition C30
Prayer For Aradia C30
Basilisk C60
Chemical Playschool 3&4 2xC90
Curse LP

plus a couple dozen compilation tracks and probably a tape or two I'm forgetting. The hit-to-miss ratio on all of this stuff is outstanding (even with extensive track duplication), the band has never quite scaled those heights since. Output remains quality for sure, though. The new Ka-Spel solo has really rocked my world and Your Children Placate You... is pretty damn good also.

one of my favorite bands, if it wasn't obvious already. glad you found that early stuff, Ned ;)

Yeah, there should be one!

glad you found that early stuff, Ned ;)

Same here!

"The Pleasure Palace" from the Princess Coldheart 12"/Crushed Velvet Apocalypse CD

"Premonition 16" from the Curious Guy 12"/Lovers CD, actually most of the "Premonition"s esp the one on the Legendary Pink Box.

Shadow Weaver (both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 aka Malachai) as noted.

"Choke" from Chemical Playschool Vol. 4

By chance I've been able to find mp3s of the very first cassettes at long last.

that stuff's crazy good! my wife usually buys or barters for the reissues of their early stuff and it's all sooooo mad.

the second one (Malachai) is. Stapleton also produced Asylum iirc.

uh, speaking of reissues of their early stuff, there is a staggering new box set from Vinyl On Demand that has all of Kleine Krieg, the ridiculously rare Chemical Playschool 2 VERSION 2 which I have never heard, and a live show.

got a promo copy of Plutonium Blonde - lol @ "My First Zonee"

Crutis if we don't get a promo in to my station soon I may email you for help, I'd like to be able to air it before their Portland show on Oct. 17th.

Hey, in five years, no one has had anything nice to say about The Golden Age? Okay, I'll say I love that record. Just pulled it out last night and threw it onto my iPod.

the periodical reapparition of this thread is weird and very Dot-esque, considering that exactly yesterday I bought a copy of "Your children will placate you" (and found it good as always).

Golden Age is fantastic. I'm pretty sure there must be another legendary pink dots thread, because i thought i mentioned that before.

interesting so see so much love for Golden Age, at the time it was a bit of a personal letdown and I don't know if my perception of the record has recovered since (although I couldn't name a bad song from it if I tried). Any Day Now was such a monster tour de force of the mostly-original lineup and then the band fractured, Golden Age is the sound of a band in flux. As such, it contains some fairly drastic experimental moves that the Dots had typically reserved for their cassettes at that time as opposed to a high profile US release. The overall sound is similarly wide ranging, which I think has served it well over the eyars.

=years.

I mean, really, releasing "Blacklist" as a contemporary single? What a weird song. That is on the CD verson, right?

they killed it in Portland last night. Last time I saw them was 12 years ago (!!) and they are perceptibly older, calmer, more assured and in control. At this point the "new guy" has been with them for like twelve years as well. Last time was loud, lots of rock-band-esque striving and pushing, and this time they were completely focused and deliberate.

Also, excellent setlist and encore of "Just A Lifetime" and "Princess Coldheart". They did "Grain Kings"!

Damn, I guess I'm missing them this time. But yeah, their ability at really great performances tour for tour is impressive -- of the bands I've seen over the years the ones that would match them would be Acid Mothers Temple and, to an extent, Stereolab.

ha, just bumped the TC Shows thread for this tour, which comes through Minneapolis on Thursday. Can't wait.

How's the new album?

much more fucked up/weird/spacy than the last one, interspersed with a few pretty tunes to break it up. I like it a lot, but I'm fairly predictable about this band.

If you can get hold of their compilation of early tracks, Under Triple Moons, it's a wonderful and disturbing thing, from the era where they had a lot of magic but were not conscious of any audience. It's as weird as anything they've done - squat confessionals on a minimum of equipment. We've been playing it every so often for at least two years. It's a great one to bung on when people are getting nervous.

seconded, that one is fantastic!

awesome, will do! I don't think I've heard anything earlier than Crushed Velvet Apocalypse.

Agreed re: Under. The sheer amount of material now is too daunting to deal with easily but that's a gem.

Been in a major phase lately. And via Idolator this Amanda Palmer/Neutral Milk Hotel musical article contained this!

But sitting with the cast on the steps outside the school, listing the plays she and Bogart put on when she was a student there (one was based on the Legendary Pink Dots' 1985 album, Asylum)

US tour dates... I'll be in Portland!

don't think the new record (on ROIR) is out yet but there are tracks on the Myspace page.

15 October 2010 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
16 October 2010 Seattle, WA El Corazon
18 October 2010 Salt Lake City, UT Club Sound
19 October 2010 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
21 October 2010 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
22 October 2010 Chicago, IL Double Door
23 October 2010 Columbus, OH Rumba Cafe
24 October 2010 Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
25 October 2010 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
26 October 2010 Toronto, ON The Mod Club Theatre
28 October 2010 Cambridge, MA Middle East Upstairs
29 October 2010 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
30 October 2010 Washington DC DC9
1 November 2010 Philadelphia, PA The M Room
2 November 2010 Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird Cafe
3 November 2010 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
4 November 2010 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
5 November 2010 Orlando, FL The Plaza Theatre
6 November 2010 Tampa, FL Orpheum
9 November 2010 Dallas, TX House of Blues
10 November 2010 Austin, TX Elysium
14 November 2010 Phoenix, AZ The Rhythm Room
15 November 2010 San Diego, CA The Casbah
16 November 2010 Los Angeles, CA EchoPlex
17 November 2010 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke
18 November 2010 Costa Mesa, CA Detroit Bar
19 November 2010 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
20 November 2010 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
22 November 2010 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge

Playing the Detroit Bar! Excellent, I'm all over that, that'll be a great show. I should look into an OC Weekly article...

they are playing as a trio with former guitarist Erik Drost, who was on Poppy Variations and The Whispering Wall. should be interesting, I've always seen them with at least four members.

Wow, that is a change. I'm actually v. intrigued for that reason, I always enjoyed the recent sets but there was a certain familiarity over time. Something to ask after in the interview!

(Well, assuming I get one, obv.)

the new album is very mellow

"No Star Too Far" ain't that mellow but on the whole yeah... really like the reworking of golden oldie "Hauptbahnhof".

Loving the new album and, as usual, this started a major rediscovery of my (too many?) LPD albums that got me thinking about how Edward Ka-spel is clearly one of the most underrated lyric writer ever.

There's also just the sense of inspiration coming from him -- he (and the Silverman of course) are just so constantly dedicated to keeping the partnership continuing but also to continue exploring the possibilities in their chosen approach. It's almost like the only English language band I could compare them to is the Fall, and even then it's the difference between one core figure and what surrounds him and, here, a duo.

Yes, I love the way they keep going endlessly, undeterred, oblivious to every fashion, somehow still amateurish 30 years after their inception, so single-mindedly devouted to their unseizable muse.
I hope someday a magazine like The Wire will dedicate them some attention, but I guess they're too pop, too weird, too peculiar.

Well said - really, the only difference between now and 1980 is the quality/sophistication of their gear (and a few different band members). Their entire aesthetic has barely changed at all.

Anyone seen this tour yet? Press photos have four members, I'm wondering who the 4th person is...

Also any setlist spoilers are welcome.

I saw them in Atlanta but they were just a trio!

highlight: killer version of "Cubic Caesar"

still pissed i couldnt make this show. stupid me.

hmm maybe the venue I am going to is just using old stock photos?

I don't even remember that song! Gotta look it up.

(xp)

it's the closing track on Plutonium Blonde

Still hoping to be there tomorrow night, should be good...

ty Crutis

and there is a live version as a bonus track on the vinyl of the new LP!

which I plan on buying from them on Monday.

they were on WFMU a few weeks back. Interviewed and performed some songs. Should be in the FMU archives.

Show tonight killed. Was wondering how they'd do without Van Hoorn and while it's a different beast on the one hand on the other it's still Ka-Spel and the Silverman (and guitarist Ed in this case) and it ruled.

Erik rather than Ed. Still, why not Ed?

I'm diving into Ka-Spel's solo catalogue.
Scarlet Cross from The Blue Room is a great little vampire pop song.

"Press photos have four members, I'm wondering who the 4th person is..."

I think it's Raymond, their sound engineer/factotum guy.

Hahah for a second I thought that quote was a lyric. I can hear him singing it!

Saw my first Legendary Pink Dots live experience in SF last night: set was over two hours and started off with me thinking "oh too bad they play well but they're old and don't have much presence on stage...I clearly missed their prime", and then about mid-set it was "huh these guys haven't played a bad song yet and some of this stuff is getting increasingly psychedelic and disturbing", and after the last encore song it was "I feel like someone may have slipped acid in my ginger ale earlier"....

I have no idea as to their set list (wish I did), because they're frankly one of those bands I've filed over the years under "I'd support you if I could afford it", ala Sun City Girls and Death in June, so I only have like four of their albums, but the live show has committed me to foregoing newer stuff in favor of mining their back catalog a bit. For what it's worth, I saw a totally Satanic psychedelic black metal band from Sweden not four nights prior that didn't do a single thing more disturbing than LPD's encore closer "Lent", and this delivered with the stage lights on from a jowly and rounding 56 year old Brit who looks exactly like his Wikipedia page, which ain't exactly goat skulls, blood, and corpse paint. Legendary Pink Dots live were fucking awesome.

Sounds about right. And you nailed a lot of the appeal right there -- all the threat and sense of collapse is strictly audio, not visual, but that's honed to an incredible point. Glad you liked it!

A sort of review of the show I did for Foxy Digitalis:

http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=3577

"the live show has committed me to foregoing newer stuff in favor of mining their back catalog a bit"

good luck! :)
(and maybe I'm just a bit too committed fan, but I think they have dozens of songs as good as "lent" in their catalogue).

Be forewarned, their back catalog is scarily deep. I've got dozens of albums by them and I don't think I even have a quarter of it, if you count all the chemical playschools, live stuff and solo albums.

Not many votes in the albums poll, but it's good for basic recommendations:

Legendary Pink Dots poll

I also highly recommend all the Chemical Playschools and the Under Triple Moons comp of early stuff, Malachai, Brighter Now, Crushed Velvet Apocalypse, and Curse.

For Edward Ka-Spel oh hey look I started a thread:

This is the Edward Ka-Spel thread

12 hours to go before I am in Portland, damn I am excited about seeing a two hour set.

That was lovely... really liked hearing "Third Secret", "New Tomorrow", and especially "Choke". New/old guitarist was doing lots of stuff I dug, dense barbed sound with teeth and claws but still restrained within the overall mix, bubbling menacingly underneath it all.

so there is a new album? only just found out about this from the Spotify thread - it's called The Gethsemane Option. anyone heard it? I bought the next-most-recent release Taos Hum off of their Bandcamp and really liked it. also that new Silverman is great, the Brainwashed review was possibly the stupidest thing I have ever read on that site.

I didn't actually play it despite seeing it on my spotify feed. I dont really know anything about them. My industrial days were like 20 years ago and I never checked em out.

I honestly have no idea what you would think of them, but they are definitely worth a listen. they don't really have much in common with stereotypical industrial bands.

The more guitar-y bands I have no use for now except I'll still check out the young gods and FLA, so if it steers clear of that then i'd prob dig em

I've only got Maria Dimension, Asylum and Any Day Now, but nothing I've heard sounds industrial, or at least not consistently. They are a weird mixture of things. I'm really daunted by their discography and not sure how far I'll take it because I really love some of their songs.

LPD are decidedly not industrial. they were by far the most psychedelic band i saw play last year.

haha i knew you would show up!

hi stir!

I stand by my recommendations upthread as far as my favorites. Robert, you have 3 of the best imo, if you like longer weirder stuff then try the Chemical Playschool series, they diverge quite a bit.

Things like "Belladonna", "Cheraderama", "The Hill" and "The Gallery" are my faves so far. So perhaps I like the ballads more than anything. I actually got Any Day Now based on your recommendation above. Thankyou.

Even though I'm in awe of them at times and think this is exactly the sort of stuff that keeps me looking for music, I do think the albums are a tad too long. And as with many super prolific bands, you wonder what their albums might have been like if they halved their output.

haha i knew you would show up!

like the proverbial bad penny.

hi sleeve!

allegedly dj shadow sampled this early LPD track but i don't know his music well enough to know on which track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SUuJrGZRNk

Robert if you go for the more song-oriented stuff then check out the 1st 4 LPs - Brighter Now, Curse, The Tower, Faces In The Fire (which includes the track stirmonster just posted). Asylum was my first LPD experience and it hooked me, but those are the ones that made me love the band unconditionally. The length and volume of output are just how they roll, both core members seem pretty driven to create.

Thanks again.

Like Robert Pollard/Guided By Voices, I don't think LPD have any crap filler, but I still have the nagging feeling ruthlessly selected fewer tracks would mean more classic albums. But I do respect the variation of the sheer amount of music they make.

really seriously great side-long early collage work from a split cassette with Big City Orchestra, pay what you want Bandcamp release:

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-promote-a-live-grenade

I'm really behind on this band, but I'm fairly sure I'll never have the majority of their output. Need to catch up on that list of priority albums you suggested.

so 'the crushed velvet apocalypse' and 'the maria dimension' are kind of wondrous

weirdly the tracks i'm probably drawn to the most are the sweet fairytale ones that occupy the first bonus track positions on both records, although the towering psych epics are amazing too and 'the safe way' is everything that was good about the 1970s

but yeah 'princess coldheart' i mean wow

I think you'll like this band a lot (and there's a lot to like), those albums are two of the best for sure

check out any of the Chemical Playschools, but esp 3/4, 8/9, 10, and 11/12/13

thanks :)

'the grain kings' is also phenomenal, searched it on here, found it on a list you did of top ten 90's tracks - might have to listen to the rest of the list now (what i've heard is great - a thighpaulsandra coil song!)

i described them on first listen as 'if einstuerzende neubauten were fairies' fwiw, but there's all sorts else in here

for anybody who wants to catch up on their back catalog and has around $900 to spare:

http://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/five-days#buyFullDiscography

Was startled by the sight of Any Day Now and Shadow Weaver in the metal section of Fopp this week. They were £17 each (ouch). I already have Any Day Now and I'm not buying it again for this extra track "Neon Gladiators (Version Apocalypse)". But I might just go back in and get Shadow Weaver and pay the steep price just for the novelty of buying such a niche band in such a store in these times and out of my respect for the band.

I assume those are the new 2LP reissues on Metropolis?

Pretty sure I bought Shadow Weaver at Best Buy back in the day!

ha, yeah those domestic PIAS releases were all over the place in the US, too bad they screwed the band

I assume those are the new 2LP reissues on Metropolis?
― portugal. the bland (sleeve), Saturday, October 27, 2018 5:56 PM

CDs. Most expensive new single disc CDs I've seen in ages.

ridiculous, here's a £10.99 + £4.00 shipping CD from Norway:

https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/740553873

I guess that's not that much cheaper, it's also an older US release

makes me think of

Thread for documenting effects of Brexit in your own situations

Wish they'd lept using the Beksinski covers, I thought they were very fitting. I might try and seek out the reissues with his covers.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/2237235-Zdzisław-Beksiński

I did I buy Shadow Weaver from Fopp and will probably listen soon.

they're beautiful artwork overlaid with inexplicably terrible typeface choices that make them look like bootleg DVDs you buy on the subway in Buenos Aires

never seen any of those Beksinski covers! jeez there are a lot of versions of the cover art on some of these - The Tower has at least four.

this is pretty good, but putting Island Of Jewels instead of Asylum is madness

A Beginners’ Guide to Cult Psych Icons the Legendary Pink Dots

Even so, nice to see another take on the now endless discography.

Was a lot less fond of Shadow Weaver than the previous 3 I've got (Maria Dimension, Asylum, Any Day Now).

First few tracks are good though.

yeah, I was very disappointed with it at the time, it's aged well though

"You'll meet your fear and see it's bigger, so much bigger than you feared"

Is it possible that "Ghosts Of Unborn Children" is an anti-abortion song?

Made myself a playlist based on the set they're currently touring with, and "Happy Birthday Mr. President" is pretty awesome... can't wait to see them this weekend!

Would you mind posting the setlist? I have not heard the new album.

Anyone here going to the Portland show? I'm gonna drive up.

Maid to Measure (Angel in the Detail)
Happy Birthday Mr. President (Angel in the Detail)
Itchycoo Shark (Angel in the Detail)
Junkyard (Angel in the Detail)
Red Flag (Angel in the Detail)
Real World (Chemical Playschool 19)
Disturbance (Maria Dimension)
Just a Lifetime (Crushed Velvet Apocalypse)
Neon Calculators (Angel in the Detail)
Andromeda Suite (Chemical Playschool 8/9)
The Photographer (Angel in the Detail)
Hellsville (Crushed Velvet Apocalypse)

Angel in the Detail is their 2019 album.

hmph "Hellsville" is not my favorite closing oldie choice but it'll be nice to see them do Andromeda again.

thanks! I guess I should listen to the new album in the next 10 days.

there's only a couple dates on this tour so far with posted setlists, they might mix up the set a little (especially encores)

i just looked these guys up on discogs.

jesus christ.

i've never seen one of their albums in person, nevermind actually having heard one.

this is also a good sign: the highlighted album pick on allmusic.com is rated, but doesn't have a review written for it.

definitely gonna check the bins next time i hit amoeba. these folks seem quite engaging, if for nothing else than their prolificacy.

lol yes Bananafish magazine once said "no one can accuse Edward Ka-Spel of glossing over ideas" which is a fair point

pretty sure I give my starter recommendations somewhere upthread, you can't go wrong with Any Day Now or The Maria Dimension tho.

is there a good comp? like felt's stains on a decade? that was introduction to felt and it was very kickass.

Stone Circles is a good comp of the 80's stuff

CanTa MienTras Puedas - same, but for the 90's

and this pair of comps released in Poland (some overlap)

https://www.discogs.com/The-Legendary-Pink-Dots-A-Guide-To-The-Legendary-Pink-Dots-Vol-1-The-Best-Ballads/master/628132

https://www.discogs.com/The-Legendary-Pink-Dots-A-Guide-To-The-Legendary-Pink-Dots-Vol-2-Psychedelic-Classics-And-Rarities/release/752667

rad. thank you.

also, i know it's just a user review, but this in that first link you posted sounds very promising:

This selection of psychedelic power ballads is so skillfully compiled that it sounds like a proper free standing album, not a compilation.

\m/

that comp is like 1/3 from the Maria Dimension, just listen to the Maria Dimension

lol will do. thank you.

Maria Dimension is a good entry point... I love the Tower as well, and Chemical Playschools 3 and 4 (Tower-era). But check out some older tracks like Apocalypse Then, Love in a Plain Brown Envelope, or So Gladly Screaming so you are seeing the attic of the LPD mansion and not just the nice front room.

Chemical Playschool 3&4 is my very favorite of all, good call f. hazel

Right? The Chemical Playschools are a vital part of the LPD experience, nothing like cueing up a sprawling pair of them and letting the music repeat in the background of your day until something jumps out at you... I've been listening to CP 19 the last few days and So Gallantly Screaming Anno 30 (did I write So Gladly Screaming up there? typo) has a real Laurie Anderson kind of vibe, it's great.

Next week'll be my...fifth or sixth time seeing them, I'm just not positive. But first in about six or seven years, so I'm very much looking forward. And I fully appreciate how they focus on the new album on this tour, as they should.

I'm conflicted, they're like Wire... such a huge back catalog that I love every iteration of, so it's always a little bittersweet knowing they can't possibly play all of it on a given night.

(then the Cure say "hold my beer")

Saw 'em tonight and it was plush. Dude they've got playing guitar now is fantastic. The Photographer was mesmerizing live, Just a Lifetime was my favorite from their back catalog. Don't miss them!

Been listening to Pages of Aquarius, wanted to hear more stuff featuring Erik Drost (current incarnation's guitar player) since he was so good live... reminds of me Magician Among the Spirits-era Church, spaced-out and low-key, with pretty guitars. Naturally there's another dozen or so releases from the era to investigate. Fun!

yeah he's been playing with them for quite a while now! starting with Poppy Variations iirc

Watching the World Series with the TV on mute and 12 Steps off the Path and 10 to the Power of 9... going deep with LPD this week

New to me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F1Xq83diEE

https://kittysneezes.com/category/reviews/music/lpd-project/

that's pretty cool!

band-compiled overview of their last ten years:

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-10-years-a-compilation-for-the-courageous

This collection is an overview of The Legendary Pink Dots in the years 2010 to 2020. It's primarily aimed at those who recently discovered The Dots, but are terrified by the enormous discography (like the character on the cover for instance) and those who perhaps stopped listening a couple of decades ago but are curious. Dive in, enjoy and prepare yourself for the BIG rollercoaster ride.

(technically, this covers 2012-2019)

Thanks for the tip!

New album's great! So I wrote about it, in the context of this overall guide/introduction to their remarkable career

https://theshfl.com/guide/legendary-pink-dots

That's very interesting to me as I only really know their records up to 1990. But is there meant to be any significance to the order of the entries, or is that the point of "theshfl"?

No significance, the guides are intentionally not rated, and the order changes each time the page is refreshed. Worked with the site founder for about a year now and he's a good egg, and this is very much part of his idea of random discovery that's not algorithmic but driven by critical writing and work.

Great guide, Ned, and yes, the new album is so good. I know I'll only ever scratch the surface of the LPD / Ka-Spel discography but every time I do dig in I am rewarded with such joy that I wonder why I don't do it more.

I'm determined to catch a date on their 2023 tour.

Thanks, and as well you should! Caught them now...you know, I'm not sure. I think five times, but definitely four at least, the last being the 40th anniversary tour stop in fall 2019, which I'm obviously grateful for.

I have just seen them the one time in 2011, in Belgium. Sadly they have almost no following in the UK so rarely play here, and if they do almost never outside London.

thanks Ned!

the order changes each time the page is refreshed.

this is a cool trick that I had not noticed

they really have never made a bad "proper" album, it's impressive

Truly!

also, please note that they just released US tour dates today! See ya in Portland OR on Oct 22nd!

they have almost no following in the UK

this is so weird to me

they had a Bandcamp sale to help fund the tour, not sure if some things are still discounted or not but I picked up a bunch of excellent miscellaneous things (like Seismic Bleats Of Quantum Sheep) that I had not heard

Does there exist any kind of like 2cd anthology/overview of these guys? Or have any of you guys assembled one for your own use? I know next to nothing about them but i have a feeling I’d take to them…

they do have something like that!

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-stone-age-1980-89
https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/a-ticking-clock-1990-99
https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/a-string-of-zeroes-the-legendary-pink-dots-2000-2010

also see Ned's "theshfl" link above for a good overview of individual albums

What do you think these shows will be like? Debating whether to shell out the $65.

Who has seen them?

I've seen them several times, always worth it imo (altho $65 seems very high compared to the $27 face charge in Portland!

Normally they slip in a few reworked versions of oldies in their set, which otherwise typically consists of songs from their most recent album or two, whatever they are touring on.

Every time I've seen them has been very involved and fascinating. And as with any truly veteran band like this, who knows how many more chances you might get, so...

uh

A chapter closes and another begins as Phil - The Silverman - has decided to retire from live performances with the Pink Dots, while our long term friend, Randall, is joining the band.

In reality it’s a story we’ve known for many months inside The Dots as we plan for our first long tour since early 2022, but it was the sheer physical demand of such an adventure that led to Phil making his decision.
Do wish Phil well in his choice of a path - it’s been a glorious four decades.

Randall is no stranger to life on the road with The Pink Dots having opened with his own project, Orbit Service, on many tours ( and he will be delivering a set on the forthcoming outing). Still, we’re excited to welcome an old friend into the band, composing new music with him as well as exploring some new corners of the planet together.

this is... not great as far as I am concerned, sorry to the band

Oof, yeah, would have to agree. I'm very glad I caught them on the anniversary tour in late 2019 now. I do have tickets for next month but I'm a touch unsure now. But I'm not going to begrudge Phil's choice to call time -- it's a hard life on tour, and that's a hell of a run.

yeah for sure. I do wish this had been announced before tickets were sold.

Well, maybe it was a half play by ear situation. But after the Soft Cell tour transmogrification as well, a bit disappointing.

sad!

if you still go, please do report back on how the phil-less LPD are.

oh I'm totally going still, had tix for a while, just surprised at this (and how bummed out I am, maybe just shock of the new)

otoh I do like Randall's work and it will be interesting to see a different approach. I wonder if he's using any of Phil's gear?

for years I missed Stret Majeste Alarm's guitar sound in the band, but these days I have fully come around to Erik, so I can definitely adjust

also re: Randall, Orbit Service played at my house once, good lord I just looked it up and it was 17 years ago

i.e. he is a lifer as well

Merry Christmas, of course

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-legendary-pink-dots-christmas-special-2022

so freaking excited to read this book covering them through the 80s

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/merch/close-your-eyes-you-can-be-a-space-captain

Ah, thanks for that -- just snagged one of the last two copies there!

cheers!!

it looks like Soleilmoon.com has copies for the US market as well if anyone else is looking

i just snagged the very last one opn bandcamp. thanks sleeve.

how was the recent gig?

not as loose as they were with Phil, much more of a regular setlist on the shows from what I saw, no improv section, but the sound was great and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. they brought out "Grain Kings" for the encore and also played "Rainbows Too" which I guess counts as an oldie now, my god 14 years since 2008.

ok! thanks.

so pleased that Ned and stir got those last two copies of the book! I am ridiculously excited for it, apparently it is done oral history style

Hey that's pretty cool -- Edward K has put up the actual first ever LPD home recorded tape on Bandcamp, with full liner notes:

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/only-dreaming

A lot of familiar tracks from compilations and reissues but here's the actual thing.

new Chemical Playschool is out, volumes 23/24, and it now appears that Phil has left the band entirely, replaced by Randall.

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/chemical-playschool-volumes-23-24-2

snooze or lose!

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-legendary-pink-hallowe-en-special-2024

my review of CP 23/24 from Bandcamp:

Their best one in years, the guest musicians really shine and Randall steps into his own in Phil's absence. The first LPD release without The Silverman since Apparition (!) and it feels like a real step forward, I'm loving it

It is really good, if you're even a casual fan I'd recommend a listen

need to check this out. thanks for the reminder.

I was about to say, it's in my queue but this review is prompting me to give an ear later today.

Oh my!

i think i under-estimated their capacity to completely blow my mind - My Basement / The Cult of Affordable Dentists Parts 1 & 2

BOOM!

Can't wait for the annual Christmas special too (the Halloween one was good)

new album coming in Jan 2025

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/so-lonely-in-heaven-2

Xmas special up now

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-legendary-pink-dots-christmas-special-2024

Always key!

Randall Frazier

Join us on Sunday as we speak to @subcon about our new album and upcoming European tour. www.patreon.com/cEvinKey

new album out now

Chemical Playschool Volumes 23 & 24 arrived today. I can't get past sides 1 and 2; have listened 3 times already. I've not heard everything they have done the last few years but this is easily my favourite of what I've heard. Roll on sides 3 and 4!