Galaxie 500 - Classic or dud?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Galaxie 500 - to me they never set a foot wrong, and split before they became tedious (two thirds of Luna's output and half of Damon & Naomi's).. or should they be shot for spawning a million tedious slow bands?

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Unsuccessful bands (in the money/widespread aclaim sense) that spawn millions are by definition classic. I think they had a few dud songs but definately classic overall. And I would switch your tedium ratios for Luna and D&N, and that's still being generous to D&N and unduly harsh on Luna.

― nickn, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

For some reason, I always side with the rhythm section.

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

On Fire was beyond seminal for me when it came out. I couldn't believe music could be so beautiful. So classic, hell yes.

― Mark, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ON FIRE is a complete classic. "Blue Thunder" is untouchably great, and their cover of "Ceremony" is celestial. Bless'em.

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 5 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Galaxie 500 Rule!!!!

They were an utterly undebatable classic.

― Michael Taylor, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Grand. AMG rants available on request.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Classic, especially "On Fire". When I heard the original version of "Isn't It A Pity" I was let down quite a lot.

― Nude Spock, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Outrageously classic for a band with such an, ahem, untrained singer. Still, don't dis Luna - which other band has had the nous to cover both Bonnie and Clyde and Sweet Child o' Mine in drone-pop style? For any Wareham fanatics, check out the 4th track on the 6ths Wasps' Nest album - sublime doesn't describe it.

― baboon, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They were a classic group!.. but "This Is Our Music" was not perfect... although it had many gems, it was their weakest of the 3.. "On Fire" is perfect... an amazing Lp.. perfect from start to finish.. "Another Day" is amazing!

Damon & Naomi is great and Luna is cool too.. but Galaxie 500 is amazing!

Did you ever see the movie HIGHBALL?.. Dean Wareham is in it and does the music.. He plays Justine Bateman's date... He sings "Frankie And Johnny" kereoke.

― Todd, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

D&N didn't need so many records, but two at least belong in every collection. Playback Singers and, uh, any other rilly.

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Today and On Fire are really good. The other two albums in the box set you don't really need. 'Strange', 'King Of Spain' 'Oblivious', 'Plastic Bird', their version of 'Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste' - all these are fantastic!
― youn, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sorry.
― youn, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Really.

― youn, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

There's some form of perfection in the intro to "Decomposing Trees" from On Fire. Loved Everett True's "whizzened innocence" description from MM yers ago.

Love their 3 LPs. "Listen The Snow Is Falling" puts Yoko Ono in a whole new light.

― David Gunnip, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Listen The Snow Is Falling" puts Yoko Ono in a whole new light.

Yoko Ono's original of Listen, The Snow Is Falling is beautiful, what do you mean? Whereas Galaxie 500's cover is one of the few things of theirs that bores me.

You're dead right about the intro to Decomposing Trees, though. How did they do that? It is total perfection. I could imagine a poem that was the analogue of that intro. Sadly, I couldn't write it.

― Nick, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Baboon, you are right about that The 6ths album. I think that's the best song on the album. It's weird, though, because the entire song sounded like I'd heard it before upon first listen. That guy's voice is so effin' cool.

― Nude Spock, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

yeh, they were good. as for Luna and D&N, I'vbe always felt Bewitched is the best Luna album and Playback singers is the best D&N. Magic Hour was good too.

― g, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That first 6ths album is pretty good all the way through - don't know why I always see it in sale bins and second hand. The song that Dean sings is one of the best on it. The very, very crap Tullycraft cover of it should be destroyed.

Magic Hour? Oh god no. That guy's voice makes me want to be sick.

― electric sound of jim, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Don't miss the posthumous live G500 LP, Copenhagen, either.

― nickn, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You know, unless Ally stumbles across this thread we may well have found a unanimous ILM classic.

― Nitsuh, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sorry Nick, I haven't actually heard Yoko's version. Must check it out.

― David Gunnip, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sorry - I've never been able to phantom Galaxie 500. That voice! Even worse than the muppet out of Mercury Rev! I've tried to listen to them several times with charitable intentions but I...Just...Don't...Get...It. I think their classicist reverence for the VU lineage irritates me, particularly. Unanimity begone!

― Edna Welthorpe, Mrs, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sort of agree with this in a small way. Recently put This Is Our Music on the record player for the first time in 8 years and the voice did annoy me a little although between the ages of 20-23 I thought they were one of the coolest and precious treasures. And yes, the VU reference is a bit one dimensional with hindsight. Will always love them however.....

― David Gunnip, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You know, I would just like to say that VU was about the most boring influential band that ever existed. I sort of like "Loaded" and I think the Andy Warhol banana one was decent, but that's not much. And even those have their lame spots, for sure. Galaxy 500 never reminded me of them until I heard their first album, and then I think it was more because I'd heard the comparisons or read comparisons in the liner notes. Lou Reed is really terrible on his own, as well. So, am I a VU fan? Two albums?? Not really.

― Nude Spock, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You lose a lot of credibility saying that you can't hear the VU in Galaxie 500. It's pretty blatant. Although I always thought Galaxie 500 was ripping off the Dream Syndicate, ripping off the Vels.

― Dave225, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Galaxie 500 are great. Lou Reed solo isn't great - unless you're talking about Metal Machine Music. Which is the fourth best album i've ever heard - roughly

― Tony, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I don't know how Tom can say that Alex from NYC has the worst taste on this board when Nude Spock is around to talk his happy horseshit all the live long day. Dissing the VU while raving abt one of their most glaringly obvious sappy imitators - talk abt yr reevaluation of all values!

― Andrew L, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The VU influence is evident in style but largely absent when it comes to tone and mood, which I think is much of what makes G500 valuable. VU = dark, seedy, abraisive, and then rather mannered and baroque on non-dark/seedy/abraisive tracks like "Stephanie Says" or "I'll be Your Mirror" -- G500 = airy, gray shot through with bright colors, lazy loose and intimate. The affect (not a typo -- psychological affect, not effect) is completely different. VU are like walking down a dirty sidewalk in shiny new boots, G500 are like a parader's wave in slow motion. VU strut, G500 could never.

Admittedly, I tend to focus on that sort of thing more than direct technical or structural links ...

― Nitsuh, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Me too, Nitsuh, and that's why the VU thing doesn't bother me. Anyway, I'm sure that if the VU hadn't existed that kind of sound would have evolved anyway. Going on about the VU in reference to Galaxie 500 seems to me to either be pointless parading of rock history knowledge or else insensitivity to the kind of mood/tone issues that Nitsuh mentions.

― Nick, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nitsuh, that's fantastic!!!

Hi, Mrs. Welthorpe! I think you should cast the next muppets movie.

― youn, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Blimey Nick. I do think 'rock history' is important, a bit. For me, music's a continuum rather than just a series of isolated events and explosions. It's interesting/useful/relevant to know how we got to where we are now. Pop and rock acts promise us 'the new' the whole time - are they delivering? Or are they giving us the same old same old, a watered down, second-hand imitation of something done better once before? And how are you going to find out if you don't at least have SOME interest in 'rock history'?

I know that too much knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and that people who have never heard the VU can have interesting and enlightening things to say abt a Galaxie 500 rec or whatever. Prob. more interesting, 'cos they haven't drowned in all the cliches, received ideas, half-truths etc. of VU rockwrite. But I really don't buy your argument that G500 might well have existed w/out the VU. God knows I'm as sick of the whole VU 'myth' as anyone who was once a fan, but I think that that sound is far more original than you're suggesting, this almost unique coming together of folk, the avant- garde, free jazz, r'n'b, rock and pop. And, you can still hear all those things going on in Velvets recs, whereas all I hear in G500 - bits of loverly 'texture' notwithstanding - is one DOMINATING influence (there, gulp, I said it!) that isn't made use of in an esp. interesting way. I mean, it's more than a fair cop to point out that some kind of relationship/similarity exists between the two groups, isn't it? Just for the sake of erm 'the historical record' or whatever. And don't you like it when new groups can turn you onto old groups and you end up liking the old group better sometimes? I imagine there are B&S who will one day hear a Nick Drake rec and kick themselves!

Maybe I just don't like G500 because they copped an alb title from Ornette Coleman.

― Andrew L, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Andrew: I'm not saying we should ignore the technical history, which is interesting in its own right. I think what I'm saying is that when evaluating a specific band -- what makes that particular band unique and valuable, or what makes their music resonate with their fans -- it's important to look past those historical concerns to how they were employed. There are hundreds of bands that sound a lot like VU, and dozens that sound a lot like them in the same way that Galaxie 500 does; what's interesting about G500 in particular isn't the VU blueprint that underlies some of their material, but where they're trying to take it.

The way I read Nick's comment -- that G500 could have existed without VU -- isn't that G500 would necessarily have sounded exactly like they did in the formal sense, but that they quite likely would have been able to create the same tones and moods using different tools.

― Nitsuh, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yeah. But his "On Fire" was nowhere as good as theirs.

ahem.

Seriously, I think the VU influence was precisely the feel. It was as if Cale had stuck around for the s/t album, & they had gone all acoustic-ish anyway.

― Sterling Clover, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I've got nothing against people knowing about rock history per se. I was just objecting to it being used to pigeon hole a band as sappy imitators when for me it is, for reasons such as Nitsuh outlines, doing something distinct and worthwhile. I don't get the influence beyond a similar slowburning guitar sound. And I'm suggesting that would have developed anyway. There were lots of other unique things that the VU did, I know, but I was talking about their influence on Galaxie 500.

― Nick, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sterling: I think this might go back to my whole theory of What Indie Is -- the whole slanting-a-blueprint concept. G500 are clearly picking up on a VU-based blueprint*, which is all well and good, but what makes them uniquely G500 -- as opposed to, say, uniquely Yo La Tengo, who pick up on the VU blueprint as well -- is the distortion built into their actual construction, which completely replaced the spirit/attitude that seemed to underly VU records. This is maybe best summed up by Naomi's design work for Today, an image that has everything to do with G500 but is completely inapplicable to VU.

* Although I'd argue that the VU elements they borrow aren't the ones that, in the end, actually defined VU: it's pretty hard to imagine them doing faithful covers of "Waiting for the Man" or "Sister Ray" or even "Sweet Jane," which is a lot closer to the influence they're taking. And the influence is slightly indirect -- the most they've ever sounded like VU was while covering a Jonathan Richman song.

― Nitsuh, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Galaxie 500 is unique next to Yo La Tengo as White Light/ White Heat is unique next to The Velvet Underground.

― Dave225, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I remember reading an online article that interviewed Dean and Ira Kaplan (separately) where the interviewer asked them about the VU influence - something like "You are the clearest example of the VU sound today." Dean got pissed at this and insisted there was no comparison, and Ira acknowledged it gracefully. I don't think either band is so similar to the Velvets that a big deal should be made about it.

― nickn, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two weeks pass...

The first 2.5 songs on On Fire are a total cringeworthy dud. At least the Magic Hour had guitar solos and a singer who doesn't sound like Kermit. Not that I plan on listening to them soon either though.

Even my sister, who by her own admission has never heard a slowcore band she disliked, thinks On Fire is sort of a cute, enjoyable, OK album, not a masterpiece of any sort. What's so exceptional about it?

― sundar subramanian, Tuesday, 25 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sundar --

I'm thinking your question deserves a thoughtful reply, so I'll offer this: the value of On Fire lies in the fact that it's surprisingly un-like "slowcore," as that particular genre happened to accrete. "Slowcore" gradually became concerned with its own sonic smoothness: low bubbling organ lines, richly-processed guitars, a pervasive sense of stillness, comfort, a fluffy-pillow phenomenon. On Fire has some resemblances in this sense. But On Fire is one of few records I can think of which are tagged as "slowcore" despite sounding surprisingly real, almost garage -- despite the only processing being reverb, really, and tracks like "Strange" letting you hear the band very much as you'd imagine them sounding in a really large garage. "Slowcore" went for this richness and softness, whereas G500 had a hollowness to their sound that's always really appealed to me.

More importantly, On Fire is not really slowcore, when you get down to it: if you get a chance, go back and listen to "Strange" and notice how really active and passionate it is. (The guitar solo practically makes me imagine fireworks launching.) Quite a bit of the record feels this way to me: what I tend to marvel at is the way three instuments, free of much processing or adornment, lock together to form these fairly dramatic constructions. Hyperbolic as it sounds, the word I'm looking for is probably "glorious." Honestly, the starts of those guitar solos on "Strange" sum it up: they come sweeping in so gloriously.

― Nitsuh, Friday, 28 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

three weeks pass...

Everybody Felix! it's Felix's birthday everybody Felix He's old in the best way.

― Zack, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one year passes...

CD80 "portable" Galaxie 500 go!

Tugboat
King of Spain
Flowers
Pictures
Parking Lot
Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste
Oblivious
It's Getting Late
Instrumental
Blue Thunder
Snowstorm
When Will You Come Home
Another Day
Isn't It a Pity
Victory Garden
Ceremony
Fourth of July
Listen the Snow is Falling

(my faves, weighted towards the first album and b-sides, 81:15)

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 November 2003 01:48 (twenty-two years ago)

i couldn't do a CD80. my selection would look like the box set, except it would include their peel sessions too

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 6 November 2003 01:55 (twenty-two years ago)

that's mostly chronological too, btw.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:12 (twenty-two years ago)

nabisco and sterling upthread arguing about the VU influence compounded with spencer's omission of "summertime" from his best of makes me sad (ie, "summertime" is straight out of the 2-chord VU songbook).

"summertime" was my favorite song of theirs... i put it on every mix i made for myself for a period of about 5 years. i haven't listened to them in forever but if I did, it would be "summertime"".

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i think "this is our music" is a perfect album. obviously dean's lyrics are dodgy at times but other than that there is not a single mis-step on that record.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

spencer's indie c80 revival spree is coinciding nicely with my revisiting the early-mid 90s this week

― strongo hulkington's ghost (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

What an insane revival!! I just listened to the first two CDs from the box this afternoon, and actually read through this whole thread not 3 hours ago. Actually thought about reviving it myself, but wanted to relisten to the other discs in the box first. Weird coincidence.

― Broheems (diamond), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:37 (twenty-two years ago)

this was one of my first three threads

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I wonder if my reviews are still up. *checks AMG* Yup. Opinion unchanged.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

i think AMG used to rate This Is Your Music much lower than 4 stars... those stars ratings change all the time right?

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 6 November 2003 02:58 (twenty-two years ago)

remember gygax, I've only got 80mins! I love "summertime" too!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 6 November 2003 05:51 (twenty-two years ago)

love that band. love how on their first album nearly all the songs open i the same one or two chords. you're thinking, "didn't i just hear that song?" and that bass playing. everything there is so simple, kept at such a minimum but without ever getting tiresome. i have that box set on cdr's, and i've never had any problems playing through it in one sitting.

― tod (tod), Thursday, 6 November 2003 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

five months pass...

Voila

http://www.plexifilm.com/galaxie.html

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 01:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Man, that looks ridiculously good. I mean really

(Jay Vee, got a copy of the live disc to longtime ILXer Arthur, one o' Kid's friends and acquaintances, who also knows Little Annie from them late seventies/early eighties days.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 01:30 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread is like Nitsuh's greatest hits.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 01:31 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

So, got that DVD Jay Vee linked to the description above, and am reviewing it for the AMG, which is keen since I reviewed all the albums and the box set (well, aside from the single-disc comp). It's very good, though to be fair the band really weren't a visual explosion of energy live and much of the footage is a bit murky or dully professional -- when not actually being bootlegs -- so it's almost like this is more a very enjoyable visual souvenir that can easily just be heard rather than heard and watched. That said, the performances alone do merit chasing down if you're a fan, all four of Sergio Huidor's videos are great, the interview in the booklet by James McNew's keen and it's an all region NTSC release, for what it's worth.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 July 2004 18:25 (twenty-one years ago)

thanks for the info. i was wondering if it would be worth buying, now i'm definately going to.

― willem (willem), Sunday, 25 July 2004 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, there's no reason not to if you're a fan already.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 25 July 2004 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

So is 'On Fire' the place to start then? Do we need a S/D thread?

― The TAO that can be Posted is not the TAO! (The Tao that can be Posted is), Saturday, 23 October 2004 22:11 (twenty-one years ago)

This is one of those if-you-like-those-bands-you'll-love-this-band-bands. And I recently saw one of their video's and enjoyed it. so: I'm interested.

― The TAO that can be Posted is not the TAO! (The Tao that can be Posted is), Saturday, 23 October 2004 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

It's really hard to go wrong with them. They only have the three proper albums and they're all very good. Today is my favorite, but most people seem to love On Fire more. I would definitely put the third album last, but it's still excellent.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 23 October 2004 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd listen to them in order, so Today first. I think On Fire is my favourite, but Today has something golden about it. It sounds like the start of something wonderful.l

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 24 October 2004 00:15 (twenty-one years ago)

i consider their three albums to be almost perfection.

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Sunday, 24 October 2004 03:13 (twenty-one years ago)

they have very nice cover art

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 03:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I believe the Galaxie 500 perceived wisdom states that "On Fire" is their best. Personally, I think it's "Today".
But I think Alba's right -- start with "Today" and work forward chronologically.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 24 October 2004 04:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd be hard pressed to say, which of their first two is their best album, although I usually go with 'On Fire'. However, I think they hit their peak on the second half of 'Today' (last six, really, minus 'King of Spain') and first half of 'On Fire'. There are some great songs on 'This Is Our Music' as well, but to me it isn't quite as good an album overall as the first two.

― Jens Aage Pedersen, Monday, 25 October 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Today is the only one I like, esp. with bonus song "King of Spain." All friends can fuck off and die, I'm the king of Spain. The others are borers.

― batoh, Monday, 25 October 2004 16:11 (twenty-one years ago)

its ALL good.

― ALLMUSIC.COM (ddb), Monday, 25 October 2004 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Been listening to Today a lot lately and it reminded me that there was a serious dip with the last album. First two are a lot better.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 25 October 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

For sure. I haven't listened to This Is Our Music for ages actually. I suddenly have a craving for 'Sorry' and (of course) 'Fourth Of July' .

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 25 October 2004 16:33 (twenty-one years ago)

nine months pass...

Revive.

Classic. Duh.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:27 (twenty years ago)

I mean, listen to "When Will You Come Home".

Gear, where are you? I'm on my fourth beer here.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:33 (twenty years ago)

join ing you in g500 lurve friend

― gear (gear), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:37 (twenty years ago)

are damon and naomi an underappreciated rhythm section? i mean, i realize, what they do on these albums ain't exactly rocket science, but it is *perfect* for these songs.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 02:40 (twenty years ago)

considering what many bass players play, you'd think that naomi's parts *were* fuckin rocket science..

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 11 August 2005 03:33 (twenty years ago)

(yes i think they're very underrated as a rhythm section, and dean never recovered from being without them IMO)

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 11 August 2005 03:34 (twenty years ago)

Classic.

I think Naomi is a good, maybe even great bass player... can you imagine changing any of those bass lines, adding or subtracting anything? It's hard to. It's like Mike Watt said, how could you make the bassline to "My Girl" any better? There's a certain sort of Zen to bass playing that Naomi's got down.

Anybody who likes Galaxie 500 should check out the criminally overlooked band Submarine (the noise rock/shoegazer one, not the dance pop one). Their cover of "Tugboat" is pretty much the greatest thing ever.

― casey (t. fiend), Thursday, 11 August 2005 04:24 (twenty years ago)

Good point about Submarine. There are 3 or 4 songs on their debut (only??) album that nail the whole Galaxie 500 thing - "Jnr. Elvis" in particular. The problem is, several of the other songs on the album are terrible.

I've never heard their "Tugboat" cover, though - where can I find that?

― Rick Spence (spencerman), Thursday, 11 August 2005 12:46 (twenty years ago)

I prefer Luna.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 11 August 2005 13:04 (twenty years ago)

I mean, Galaxie 500 HAD no fuckin' rhythm section.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 11 August 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

I had forgotten my whole theory about how "Strange" rocks. G500 are sometimes that rare band that goes slow-motion and actually gets the effect out of it that you get in film -- that slow-motion makes it more intense and dramatic and active, not less. And then with something like "Strange," they're getting that effect without actually even going slow-motion!

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:04 (twenty years ago)

Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham have a better rhythm section. Actually they're probably a better band too.

― dan. (dan.), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

@ nabisco: that's an incredibly spot-on description, great!

― willem (willem), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

The Tugboat cover is on their collection of singles & B-sides, "Kiss me Till Your Ears Burn Off". It's much stronger than their debut album, which I agree has a pretty mediocre stretch in the middle. It's one of my all time favorites. I'll put up a link to that cover tonight...

There was a second album recorded with Keith Cleversley that to this day still hasn't been released.

― casey (t. fiend), Thursday, 11 August 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham have a better rhythm section.

not unless she has taken some bass lessons in the time that i saw her play with luna (which i guess is possible, since i wrote him/her/the band off after that). what ridiculousness for dean wareham to replace justin harwood with his girlfriend.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Thursday, 11 August 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Well, they needed something. Harwood's great but the last record with him was pretty dull and he left on his own anyway, no? The two records and ep with Britta were wonderful as was the Dean and Britta record (where her bass playing is really nice). Also, the Luna shows I saw around that time didn't seem to suffer (nor did the Dean and Britta shows).

― dan. (dan.), Thursday, 11 August 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

Classic.

Dean Wareham went to my high school (about a decade before I did). My band at the time covered "Tugboat" at a school talent show in tribute.

― goodoldneon (goodoldneon), Thursday, 11 August 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

Here's Submarine's cover of Tugboat I mentioned above:

http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1TYI0Z0ETZ3XA3CII36JC69PZU

― casey (t. fiend), Friday, 12 August 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

I was thinking about "Strange" on the way home yesterday, thinking about the kinda brain-damaged lyric to it, the banality of the whole thing, yeah, and I was about to conclude that the lyrics were a significant problem -- and then suddenly it occurred to me that this must be a song about going to the store on drugs. Possibly it's not, not in the literal sense, but then the feel is the same -- being on your own and being suddenly sensitized to the ugliness and weirdness of some really ordinary place, some place whose ugliness and weirdness you normally don't need to think about. Something really collegiate about that sensation, on or off drugs -- there's some weird solipsism and alienation in it that I certainly associate with a collegiate period. But the song hits it in this weirdly-direct way: everyone looks strange and nasty, why do I want these things anyway, I get a Coke and stand in line and eat a Twinkie, they make you wait.

And as usual with songs with this potential I can't decide whether I'd like it better if Wareham walked into my office and said "yes, it's about getting snacks while on drugs" or if he said "no, I just felt that distances and sensitized on an everyday basis."

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 12 August 2005 15:37 (twenty years ago)

if he used a sentence like "no, I just felt that distances and sensitized on an everyday basis" you could presume he was on serious drugs anyway?

― senor pulpo, Friday, 12 August 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

Distanced ya bastard.

― nabiscothingy, Saturday, 13 August 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

about time!! i think that's pretty much everything now?

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Unless there are even more demos. Am listening to said Peel Sessions disc now -- the Sex Pistols cover is actually about as aggro as the original, at least in terms of (admittedly slower) pace. A great little coda.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:20 (twenty years ago)

Yes: It's a beautiful version. Odd, Ned: I listened to their cover of "Ceremony" not two hours ago, which, as you know, is glorious. Slowing it down made me realize how gorgeous the original Bernard-Gillian two-guitar interplay is.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

i'd always be open to hearing more demos but i'd be surprised if there was much else out there now..

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Sunday, 4 December 2005 23:36 (twenty years ago)

"I mean, Galaxie 500 HAD no fuckin' rhythm section. "

this is utterly ridiculous.

― AaronK (AaronK), Monday, 5 December 2005 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Which is why I prefer Luna.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 5 December 2005 14:45 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Does anyone know what movie Wareham saw and describes in Summertime?

"Goin to the movies
I found a shelter from the sun
Heard a gruesome story
About a couple on the run"

Is that even a refence to it or a story he was told later? Help is appreciated.

― Cunga (Cunga), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

i always thought it was bonnie and clyde

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 06:39 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

I have been thinking about them again. Even wondering if I should buy their records.

Yesterday I asked JtN about them and his reply was thoroughly convincing.

I am interested in reviving the conversation about them.

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 12:28 (nineteen years ago)

I see (where) JtN has changed his name but not his opinion in the last 5 years.

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 12:31 (nineteen years ago)

I'd say yes to buying their records, but I admit to being unsure as to how you'd like their narcotizing haze. But it sounds like you are already convinced to an extent.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:44 (nineteen years ago)

with respect, jtn is an idiot 8). 'today' is a perfect lp, one of very few i have where every single track is a blinder. in fact i'm going to listen to it again now. second and third lps less good though, still lots of good on 'on fire' but by the third i think there were more tracks i didn't like than those i did.

(um, first google result for 'galaxie 500 today' is this
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,89998,00.html written by someone we know)(oh, hi ned)

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:54 (nineteen years ago)

Never heard of him.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 10 April 2006 13:56 (nineteen years ago)

Crikey, Koogs, that's a tossed gauntlet.

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 13:59 (nineteen years ago)

ha. i think you'd like it, there's something of a sunnier house of love about it.

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 10 April 2006 14:20 (nineteen years ago)

If I see one of their LPs for £5, I think I will buy it.

I wonder if Nabisco feels the same about them now as he did in 2001?

― the bellefox, Monday, 10 April 2006 15:22 (nineteen years ago)

This Is Our Music is selling for £10. That felt steep. I bought the Delays LP instead.

― the bellefox, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

"Today" is far from perfect (bleh tracks = "Instrumental", "Oblivious") but the rest of it is so insanely great that they hardly affect the album's greatness as a whole.

― NoTimeBeforeTime (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 19:30 (nineteen years ago)

"Instrumental" = bleh??? NO WAY DUDE. I love "Oblivious" too!!!

― i'm from hollywood, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

i second andy, today is the perfect album from start to finish... could there be better bookends than "flowers" and "tugboat?"

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 20:57 (nineteen years ago)

(also "oblivious" was the song that made me buy that album)

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 21:02 (nineteen years ago)

i have nothing to say to the sort of sad act who thinks the delays are better than galaxie 500. for fuck's sake.

― electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 22:32 (nineteen years ago)

> could there be better bookends than "flowers" and "tugboat?"

yes! - the cd has two extra tracks after 'tugboat': 'king of spain' (one of my faves) and 'crazy' (both b-sides of early singles, iirc)

'today' is £4 (+ postage) from amazon.co.uk marketplace

― koogs (koogs), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 06:57 (nineteen years ago)

I think I have seen that CD, Koogs.

The last bit, about the price, is quite exciting! Is that some kind of used CD sale?

― the bellefox, Wednesday, 12 April 2006 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

I bought "On Fire" a while back to see what the fuss was about, and it blew me away. In a good way, mind. It is an amazing record, and if you like that kind of thing you will love it.

But I thought maybe "Today" was not so good. And I don't know about the other one.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:36 (nineteen years ago)

holy shit This Is Our Music was one of the best and first important albums of the early 90's.....I'm disappointed that not everyone owns and loves it

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 22:21 (nineteen years ago)

The Peel Session disc is even better than I thought. Could be my fave release of theirs.

― LOL Thomas (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 23:05 (nineteen years ago)

I know they are a great band and even bought that box set a long time ago. I have never been able to get into them like I think I should.

Luna, on the other hand, is amazing, one of those bands that I have turned to over and over again. They seem to fill that fix when I'm in the mood for some Dean Wareham.

― BeeOK (boo radley), Thursday, 13 April 2006 03:35 (nineteen years ago)

I have never been able to get into them like I think I should.

I mock you, but with love. (And I like Luna and all but Galaxie 500 is a beautiful case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 13 April 2006 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, I think I have a tape of Luna, here!

Yes! It's called LUNAPARK. It's quite fun to listen to!

― the bellefox, Thursday, 13 April 2006 13:26 (nineteen years ago)

luna are so meh in comparison. I don't get it.

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 13 April 2006 14:34 (nineteen years ago)

In contrast to the raving about the bass player, I've always found the bass lines to be the most annoying thing about Galaxie 500. They always remind me of myself in a 9th grade band with some friends. I wasn't good enough to play guitar, so they stuck me on bass, and I would slowly slide my shitty lines up the fretboard until I was playing all these one-stringed guitar solos on the highest bass string.

Let me find an example...

Hmmm..."Fourth of July". Now, I love this song, indisputable classic. But the bass part in this song sounds like what you'd play when you listen to the radio and play solos over the top of other songs.

― Zachary Scott (Zach S), Friday, 14 April 2006 07:59 (nineteen years ago)

That sounds accurate, but I really like this particular bass technique.

― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 14 April 2006 09:55 (nineteen years ago)

I love love this band. And Naomi is great. So fohgettabowtit.

― Freud Junior (Freud Junior), Friday, 14 April 2006 22:26 (nineteen years ago)

Yowsah, "Instrumental" is about 17425436 miles from bleh.

And I suspect Naomi would've agreed that she had precious little idea what she was doing with that bass, bless her. All "sum >>>>> parts" type arguments vigorously seconded.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 15 April 2006 00:51 (nineteen years ago)

I think Zachary Scott makes his point well. I fear that the band were not very good at playing their instruments, and that this could become tiresome.

― the bellefox, Tuesday, 18 April 2006 15:46 (nineteen years ago)

a case could be made for naomi, although i would disagree, however dean and damon are great on their instruments by any normal rock music standards. i mean, i just dont see how you could say they werent - can you give me some examples?

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 15:56 (nineteen years ago)

Not really, because I don't own the records. But I don't remember hearing any G500 track and thinking: this playing is above average.

I know that people can sometimes make exciting pop music without great skill or experience - and those can indeed get in the way. But a lack of skill can get in the way, too, perhaps. For one thing, perhaps it can make you more repetitive and predictable (though that doesn't quite seem to follow logically and automatically; and again, very skilled musicians can be predictable too).

― the bellefox, Tuesday, 18 April 2006 16:00 (nineteen years ago)

two months pass...

why oh why did it JUST occur to me that he was writing the poem ABOUT the dog biscuit and not physically scrawling words on a schmacko? goddamn

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Thursday, 29 June 2006 02:42 (nineteen years ago)

three months pass...

can anyone help me out? i could have sworn i once had a recording of archers of loaf covering "tugboat." does this in fact exist? did i dream it up?

― Godfrzej Ljang (godfrzej), Saturday, 7 October 2006 04:38 (nineteen years ago)

You may have dreamed it up, because I was at one point the world's most dedicated Archers fan and I've never heard of such a thing.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 7 October 2006 16:23 (nineteen years ago)

Are you thinking of Mercury Rev? I believe they did an acoustic cover for a radio show.

― Cunga (Cunga), Saturday, 7 October 2006 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

pretty sure it wasn't mercury rev. crooked fingers maybe?

― Godfrzej Ljang (godfrzej), Saturday, 7 October 2006 17:43 (nineteen years ago)

Nabisco's comments from over a year go now about 'Strange'

That song encapsulates alienation and nihilism to me ; It's great.

If Wareham was commenting on having the munchies then so be it, but I don't want to know.

Sorry but i have no idea about the Loaf's potential cover version

― Jessie the Drunk Dutch Mountain Dog (Jessie the Drunk Dutch Mountai), Saturday, 7 October 2006 19:14 (nineteen years ago)

You're thinking of Portastatic. They covered "Tugboat" for the G500 Tribute album Snowstorm.

― Wub-Fur Internet Radio (wubfur), Saturday, 7 October 2006 23:59 (nineteen years ago)

i have that g500 tribute, so i know the portastatic version. but if nobody knows, i probably did dream up that aol cover. too bad, because i remember it being awesome.

― Godfrzej Ljang (godfrzej), Sunday, 8 October 2006 00:21 (nineteen years ago)

The band you are thinking of may well be Submarine. I believe their cover of "Tugboat" is on an EP titled: Kiss Me Until My Ears Burn Off. In retrospect, I don't think they added that much to the song - but there is a great track on that album called "Salty Killer Whales."

― Sexy MFA (Hexy M.F.), Sunday, 8 October 2006 09:28 (nineteen years ago)

Dang, I thought for sure you were mixing up the Archers & Portastatic 'cause of the Chapel Hill connection.

― Wub-Fur Internet Radio (wubfur), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 04:34 (nineteen years ago)

British Sea Power did a really lovely cover of "Tugboat".

― harvey (harvey1), Wednesday, 11 October 2006 05:43 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

This is to commemorate my own private 4th o' July bed-in, to which I forgot to invite anyone (but which my gf brazenly crashed). I didn't pull the shades, though, & am quite enjoying all the flashes & whizz-bangs encircling my apartment. We partied so hard last night that we didn't even have the stamina for public fireworks!

― Jermajesty's Secret Cervix (Pillbox), Sunday, 5 July 2009 03:26 (sixteen years ago)

dud, even though i like dozens of bands similar to them.

― Mike Crandle, Financial Analyst, Bear Stearns, New York, NY 10185 (res), Sunday, 5 July 2009 04:04 (sixteen years ago)

maybe I should change my style...but I feel alright, when you smile...

― dan selzer, Sunday, 5 July 2009 05:19 (sixteen years ago)

such a classic alienated loner song; though the band specialized in those, didn't they?

― Cunga, Sunday, 5 July 2009 05:37 (sixteen years ago)

Love G500. I'm going through a serious reacquaintance with their awesomeness after renting the live dvd's. Classic band thru and thru.

― Marcus Brody Ta-Dow! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, 5 July 2009 05:49 (sixteen years ago)

yet again i forgot to have my damn bed-in

― c.c. crabcock (electricsound), Sunday, 5 July 2009 06:23 (sixteen years ago)

Incidentally listening to This Is Our Music as I just came upon this thread, still one of the classicest albums by one of the classicest bands ever.

― Ruining pedantry with humour (EDB), Sunday, 5 July 2009 17:47 (sixteen years ago)

five months pass...

Galaxie 500 reissues
http://dummymag.blogspot.com/2009/12/galaxie-500-rerelease-albums.html
Rerelease fever, and late 80s fever, continues with the announcement that Domino will be sending out double CD editions of ‘Today’, ‘This Is Our Music’ and ’On Fire’ by Boston dream pop band Galaxie 500 (1987-1991).

― djmartian, Monday, 14 December 2009 17:22 (sixteen years ago)

Nice.

― Action Orientation (Eazy), Monday, 14 December 2009 17:23 (sixteen years ago)

wtf? so pointless. is the box set out of print or something?

― a triumph in high-tech nipple obfuscation (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 14 December 2009 17:23 (sixteen years ago)

Well at least maybe I can get a cheap Ryko copy of Today since we seem to be missing that one.

― Colonel Poo, Monday, 14 December 2009 17:25 (sixteen years ago)

heavy vinyl!

― being being kiss-ass fake nice (gbx), Monday, 14 December 2009 17:25 (sixteen years ago)

box set is definitely out of print. but the individual discs aren't. anyway, doesn't look like there's anything I don't already have here ...

― tylerw, Monday, 14 December 2009 17:26 (sixteen years ago)

this seems like entirely gratuitous repackaging of already available discs. so things don't change then...

― Duke, Monday, 14 December 2009 20:00 (sixteen years ago)

instead, let's all listen to this: http://www.fullofwishes.co.uk/2009/12/11/mp3-galaxie-500-in-san-francisco-1991-complete-show

― tylerw, Monday, 14 December 2009 21:36 (sixteen years ago)

ugh i wish domino would keep their grubby paws off music i like

― blarinet (electricsound), Monday, 14 December 2009 22:24 (sixteen years ago)

heavy vinyl!

― being being kiss-ass fake nice (gbx), Monday, December 14, 2009 5:25 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

the vinyl reissues of the proper albums from earlier this year on D&N's label 20-20-20 are AWESOME in sound and appearance. i bet this bonus stuff is gonna junk up the packaging and covers, etc. they oughta just put out a 2LP or 3LP box comp of the peel sessions and rutles' song. id definitely buy that, but there's no chance ill buy the second series of reissues in six months just for some versions-with-sax. okay, actually i DO love that sex version of "blue thunder." btw this is exactly why i have so few fall LP's -- those dudes just cannot get it together to wait at least a year between subsequent reissues.

― 69, Monday, 14 December 2009 22:28 (sixteen years ago)

that sex version of "blue thunder."

loool

― blarinet (electricsound), Monday, 14 December 2009 22:33 (sixteen years ago)

freudian slip it in

― 69, Monday, 14 December 2009 22:35 (sixteen years ago)

love this guy over here

― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Monday, 14 December 2009 22:35 (sixteen years ago)

you might say im ON FIRE

― 69, Monday, 14 December 2009 22:37 (sixteen years ago)

Damon and Naomi are the nicest 'famous' musicians i've ever met. Somewhere on this interweb i've relayed the story of seeing them in a tiny bar in NOLA, telling them where I worked, then having them show up at my work the next day to say hello and thank me for supporting them. It is still one of my favorite music related memories.

― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 14 December 2009 22:43 (sixteen years ago)

yeah, they are super nice. when i interviewed them a few years ago over the phone, by the end, i pretty much wanted to say "CAN WE HANG OUT SOMETIME" ...

― tylerw, Monday, 14 December 2009 22:45 (sixteen years ago)

three months pass...

Classic, classic, classic. Galaxie 500 seem to improve with every passing year.

I picked up the vinyl reissue of 'On Fire' the other day despite having it on CD and sorta promising myself I'd try and refrain from buying stuff twice (I have a terrible habit of this). Listened to it last night and my word, it sounded even better! Does anyone know if the remastering on the new issues is different from the Ryko reissues? I had a quick look through the Ryko version of 'On Fire' and I don't see any remastering credits. The new vinyl issue has a separate credit for the vinyl mastering which fills me with some hope that they are taken from an analogue source. Are they the same as the vinyl reissues on the 20-20-20 label I've heard of?

The sound though . . . The drums particularly. I've never noticed the sleigh bells at the start of 'Decomposing Trees' as much but on the vinyl they're right up there high in the mix. It all sounds wonderful. So wonderful that I had to dash out to the record store today and pick up 'Today' and 'This is Our Music'

― AnotherDeadHero, Tuesday, 23 March 2010 16:44 (fifteen years ago)

in general you do not vinyl is not mastered using existing digital masters. a separate vinyl master is made from the source material (which in this case could be either digital or analog, who knows what Kramer was doing)

― famous for hating everything (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 23 March 2010 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

should say "in general vinyl is not mastered"

― famous for hating everything (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 23 March 2010 16:50 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, I understand that but I've heard numerous disturbing stories recently of reissues or even just contemporary vinyl issues of albums being taken from purely digital sources.

― AnotherDeadHero, Tuesday, 23 March 2010 17:04 (fifteen years ago)

has anyone seen Dean & Britta doing a set of Galaxie 500 covers recently? read about it happening ... somewhere. G-500 need to bury the hatchet and start making some coachella $$$!

― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 March 2010 19:31 (fifteen years ago)

eh not likely for at least a few more years I would say

― famous for hating everything (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 24 March 2010 19:38 (fifteen years ago)

what do D&N need him for now - Kurihara's a better guitarist than Dean anyway

― famous for hating everything (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 24 March 2010 19:39 (fifteen years ago)

ha, maybe. they wouldn't have to fly dean in from Japan though ...

― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 March 2010 19:40 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.fullofwishes.co.uk/2010/02/08/video-dean-britta-playing-galaxie-500/

― just sayin, Wednesday, 24 March 2010 23:14 (fifteen years ago)

Nice - I used to think he stopped singing in that higher register b/c he couldn't, but he sounds great here.

― Mark, Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:33 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, those sound pretty nice!

― tylerw, Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:48 (fifteen years ago)

maybe those shows will send him back in that G-500 direction ... wasn't crazy about the last Dean & Britta record. Some decent stuff, but a fair amount of boring stuff too.

― tylerw, Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:50 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2010/03/24/diversions-dean-wareham10-albums-that-inspired-galaxie-500/

― tylerw, Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:58 (fifteen years ago)

Usually on lists like that there's at least one (if not more) record that's surprising, but mix all ten of dean's picks together and you basically get Galaxie 500. He knows what his influences were.

― dlp9001, Thursday, 25 March 2010 11:34 (fifteen years ago)

dunno, Combat Rock is sort of surprising. You'd think that Beat Happening or Television would be in there as well.

― tylerw, Thursday, 25 March 2010 15:12 (fifteen years ago)

Agree with the Television point. Didn't think of 13th Floor Elevators, but now he's mentioned it I totally hear them all over Galaxie 500.

― Cream Of Some Young Guy, Thursday, 25 March 2010 15:40 (fifteen years ago)

three months pass...

I wish someone would have schooled me on this band earlier in my life. I don't remember which song it was now, but way back in like '93 or '94 someone put a song of theirs on a mixtape and I thought "this singer sucks", always avoiding them from that day on. Stupid stupid stupid.

― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 28 June 2010 22:44 (fifteen years ago)

tbf he is kinda a shitty singer

― insert your favorite discriminatory practice here (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 28 June 2010 22:45 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah he is, but I wish I hadn't written off everything else about them at the time. His shitty singing is pretty much besides the point.

― he's always been a bit of an anti-climb Max (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 28 June 2010 22:47 (fifteen years ago)

also hard to imagine this band with anyone else's shitty singing

― call all destroyer, Monday, 28 June 2010 22:57 (fifteen years ago)

Well, Naomi sang on a song or two. Actually one of my favorite tracks from On Fire features her...

― dlp9001, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 02:01 (fifteen years ago)

two years pass...

galaxie 500 = so good. was listening to that "portable g-500" comp last night. made me feel 16 again! in a good way.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 20:03 (thirteen years ago)

did that mike mcgonigal oral history book ever come out?

― tylerw, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 20:04 (thirteen years ago)

two years pass...

So Damon played slow on purpose, right?

― calstars, Sunday, 22 November 2015 19:34 (ten years ago)

seven months pass...

G500 is Perfect bar music

― calstars, Saturday, 2 July 2016 02:05 (nine years ago)

Heard one of their tunes last week for the first time in a long while and it really hit the spot.

― Frankie Teardrop Explodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 2 July 2016 02:28 (nine years ago)

I'll drive sooooo far awayyyyhh

― Treeship, Saturday, 2 July 2016 02:44 (nine years ago)

I just wanna be your tugboat captainnnnn

― calstars, Saturday, 2 July 2016 02:48 (nine years ago)

They should play a one-off at the prospect park bandshell just 'cause

― calstars, Saturday, 2 July 2016 02:49 (nine years ago)

I'll drive sooooo far awayyyyhh

That was the tune!

― Frankie Teardrop Explodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 2 July 2016 03:07 (nine years ago)

seven years pass...

https://i.imgur.com/hDO1KOF.jpg

― calstars, Tuesday, 31 October 2023 21:33 (two years ago)

eight months pass...

Ethan Miller announced this morning:

GALAXIE 500 • Uncollected Noise New York ’88-‘90
The complete uncollected Noise NY studio recordings. A 2xLP, 24 track journey through rarities + outtakes including never-before-heard songs.
Listen + preorder now on 2xLP, 2xCD, 2xTape and digital...
https://galaxie500.bandcamp.com/album/uncollected-noise-new-york-88-90

― jaywbabcock, Wednesday, 10 July 2024 14:24 (one year ago)

Was super excited to see that in my inbox this morning, instant purchase.

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 10 July 2024 14:26 (one year ago)

Vinyl looks dope too and seems to be reasonably priced

― calstars, Wednesday, 10 July 2024 14:40 (one year ago)

wow!

― I painted my teeth (sleeve), Wednesday, 10 July 2024 14:47 (one year ago)

Shoot You Down is KILLER.

― dan selzer, Wednesday, 10 July 2024 15:07 (one year ago)

Yeah, unheard Galaxie 500 was an instant purchase from me this morning.

― spastic heritage, Wednesday, 10 July 2024 15:53 (one year ago)

a lot of it already released in the Ryko box set but still plenty of unreleased tracks on here... bought!

― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Wednesday, 10 July 2024 16:01 (one year ago)

The Blue Thunder (Sax) CD-EP was a prized posession of mine for years due to the 1-2 cover punch of Victory Garden and Ceremony, both on the Ryko CD of On Fire and the box set. Don't mind paying for them again. They're that good.

― dan selzer, Wednesday, 10 July 2024 17:05 (one year ago)

“I wanna live!”

― calstars, Thursday, 11 July 2024 02:06 (one year ago)

xp to 11 years ago, that Mike McGonigal oral history book did come out and it's really good, with lots of graphic content showing how Naomi cut and pasted all of their early visual content (fliers, cassette covers, band stationary, etc.)

― henry s, Thursday, 11 July 2024 10:24 (one year ago)

An old girlfriend bought me that G500 box set for Christmas a long time ago. That was a damn fine present.

This was an instant buy for me as well, I fell for the fancy version.

― Cow_Art, Thursday, 11 July 2024 11:41 (one year ago)

Stupid question that I could possibly confirm with some targeted googling, but I missed out on that box set. Is the disc of extras that came with that the same one that came with the Domino 2010 reissue of Today? Seems like it, but I wasn't sure if they were any different.

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:32 (one year ago)

they're the same — this new release is basically the "expanded edition" of that collection.

― tylerw, Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:35 (one year ago)

Cool, thanks! Still all in on the new one, was just curious about the older one.

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:35 (one year ago)

totally — g500 is the rare band where I want to pretty much hear every note they played ... b-sides, demos, outtakes, radio sessions, etc.

― tylerw, Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:38 (one year ago)

haha, yup!

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:40 (one year ago)

also, between this and the Sonic Youth archival stuff, I want to keep supporting Silver Current in this stuff in the hopes of more to come! they do a great job.

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 11 July 2024 15:40 (one year ago)

Where does the “uncollected” edition on Spotify fit in?

― calstars, Thursday, 11 July 2024 17:12 (one year ago)

iirc, that's the same disc I was referring to earlier, that was initially included in the Ryko box set and later again with the 2010 Today reissue.

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 11 July 2024 17:14 (one year ago)

it was also issued on its own outside the box set, although not until several years later

― Colonel Poo, Thursday, 11 July 2024 17:21 (one year ago)

here's the rundown though the "otherwise unreleased" tag is a little untrue, as you mention — you could get Uncollected as a standalone CD iirc.

GALAXIE 500 - Uncollected Noise New York '88-'90
Track Listing:

(February 1988 session)
1. Shout You Down (previously unreleased)
2. See Through Glasses (previously unreleased)
3. On the Floor (Noise NY version) (previously unreleased)
4. Can't Believe It's Me (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, otherwise unreleased)
5. Oblivious (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, Chemical Imbalance fanzine 7-inch)
6. King of Spain (Today CD bonus track, Aurora Records 7-inch B-side)

(July 1988 session)
7. Jerome (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, otherwise unreleased)
8. Song in 3 (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, otherwise unreleased)
9. Crazy (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, European Today CD bonus track)

(February 1989 session)
10. I Wanna Live (previously unreleased)
11. I Will Walk (previously unreleased)
12. Cold Night (On Fire CD bonus track, Rough Trade BlueThunder EP)
13. Ceremony (On Fire CD bonus track, Rough Trade BlueThunder EP)

(August 1989 session)
14. Never Get to Heaven (previously unreleased)
15. Maracas Song (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, otherwise unreleased)
16. Victory Garden (On Fire CD bonus track, Rough Trade BlueThunder EP)
17. Blue Thunder (w/sax) (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, Rough Trade EP)

(June1990 session)
18. Cheese and Onions (Ryko BoxSet bonus CD, Rutles Highway Revisited Shimmy Disc LP)
19. Fourth of July (video mix)
20. Cactus (previously unreleased)
21. Moonshot (previously unreleased)
22. Them (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, otherwise unreleased)
23.Final Day (Ryko Box Set bonus CD, otherwise unreleased)
24. Here She Comes Now (This Is Our Music CD bonus track, Rough Trade Fourth of July 12-inch B-side)

― tylerw, Thursday, 11 July 2024 17:25 (one year ago)

so 8 tracks of 24 actually previously unreleased

― the absence of bikes (f. hazel), Thursday, 11 July 2024 17:28 (one year ago)

nice, thanks for that!

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 11 July 2024 17:42 (one year ago)

g500 is the rare band where I want to pretty much hear every note they played ... b-sides, demos, outtakes, radio sessions, etc.

same. there's something about the elements being so simple that it's hard for me to imagine what a bad or uninteresting Galaxie 500 song would even sound like

― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Thursday, 11 July 2024 20:21 (one year ago)

Otm

― Thrapple from the Apple (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 11 July 2024 20:25 (one year ago)

Luna was fine but a whole different thing

― Thrapple from the Apple (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 11 July 2024 20:25 (one year ago)

ditto Damon and Naomi

― henry s, Thursday, 11 July 2024 23:56 (one year ago)

I love the whole extended galaxie — some of my favorite music ever, I guess

― tylerw, Friday, 12 July 2024 00:23 (one year ago)

classic

― well below the otm mendoza line (Hunt3r), Friday, 12 July 2024 00:44 (one year ago)

four weeks pass...

Love how “I wanna live” kicks in and Naomi just starts soloing

― calstars, Friday, 9 August 2024 23:58 (one year ago)

one month passes...

Dean & Britta touring NZ playing Galaxie 500 songs:

https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/21701/Dean--Britta-Play-Galaxie-500-New-Zealand-Tour-Announced.utr

Is this something they've done before? Feels kinda weird/off when Damon & Naomi are still around, but everyone I know seems unreservedly excited.

― etc, Wednesday, 25 September 2024 03:18 (one year ago)

they have done it before, saw them in LA do this 2019? 2018? Was great.

― encino morricone (majorairbro), Wednesday, 25 September 2024 03:38 (one year ago)

see also: Uncollected Noise New York ’88-’90 out last friday

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 25 September 2024 05:34 (one year ago)

Oddly enough, the only time I saw Wareham et al it was G500-themed. A bootleg suggests that it was late 2011/. I guess I was hopelessly inattentive when Luna toured these parts, which I see they definitely did at least twice. I liked Luna plenty.

― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, 25 September 2024 08:56 (one year ago)

got my Uncollected Noise in the mail yesterday, happy to finally have their version of "Here She Comes Now" on vinyl

― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Wednesday, 25 September 2024 12:25 (one year ago)

damn, every vinyl version sold out. hope that gets a repress.

― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Wednesday, 25 September 2024 13:17 (one year ago)

I got my LP in the mail yesterday too

― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Wednesday, 25 September 2024 13:47 (one year ago)

eight months pass...

Well here's a surprise!

https://galaxie500.bandcamp.com/album/cbgb-121388

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 10 June 2025 14:57 (nine months ago)

great show — sonics are much improved from the bootleg I've heard (which sounded slightly underwater)

― tylerw, Tuesday, 10 June 2025 15:09 (nine months ago)

TAKE MY MONEY!

― Blood On The Knobs, Tuesday, 10 June 2025 16:34 (nine months ago)

Nice

― completely suited to the horny decadence (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 10 June 2025 21:21 (nine months ago)

Done.

Man, I remember getting that collected purple and silver box that had almost everything for Christmas one year. That was one of the best presents.

― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 11 June 2025 03:18 (nine months ago)

still one of the nicest designed box sets ever.

― encino morricone (majorairbro), Wednesday, 11 June 2025 04:19 (nine months ago)

two months pass...

This CBGB show is phenomenal! Thought there might be more shouting from the rooftops about it, but guess folks knew it from the bootleg.

― better than ezra collective soul asylum (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 21 August 2025 21:22 (six months ago)

it is great — what a weird/magical band. it almost shouldn't work, but it really really does.

― tylerw, Thursday, 21 August 2025 21:24 (six months ago)

one month passes...

previously uncirculated audience tape — halloween 1989! sounds fab.

https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/796396519421050880/galaxie-500-ecstasy-berlin-germany-october

― tylerw, Friday, 3 October 2025 17:09 (five months ago)

oh wow! Thanks, tylerw!

― completely suited to the horny decadence (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 4 October 2025 00:34 (five months ago)

two weeks pass...

i stood in liiiiiiiine and ate my twinkie

― maelin, Friday, 24 October 2025 05:03 (four months ago)

one month passes...

Two test pressings with hand-drawn art from Naomi Yang. If I had a pile of cash, I'd be in for one.

― the way out of (Eazy), Friday, 28 November 2025 04:07 (three months ago)

Those are amazing! To quote myself from further upstream in this thread:

that Mike McGonigal oral history book did come out and it's really good, with lots of graphic content showing how Naomi cut and pasted all of their early visual content (fliers, cassette covers, band stationary, etc.)

― henry s, Friday, 28 November 2025 13:36 (three months ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.