"Back to cowtown and the fish shop and the POLL" Spoon: Girls Can Tell

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/Girls_Can_Tell_%28Spoon_album_-_cover_art%29.png

It turns 20 today!

Did a search and couldn't find an individual poll for this one.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
"Everything Hits at Once" 4:04 22
"The Fitted Shirt" 3:12 10
"Anything You Want" 2:16 7
"Believing Is Art" 4:19 5
"Lines in the Suit" 3:47 4
"Me and the Bean" (John Clayton) 3:33 3
"Take the Fifth" 3:56 1
"This Book Is a Movie" 3:33 1
"Chicago at Night" 2:47 1
"Take a Walk" 2:26 0
"1020 AM" 2:10 0


"what are you DOING to fleetwood mac??" (C. Grisso/McCain), Saturday, 20 February 2021 20:16 (three years ago) link

Fitted Shirt

stuck in the version layer (morrisp), Saturday, 20 February 2021 20:21 (three years ago) link

fitted shirt or lines in the suit.
i’ve always thought the second half of this is dull. should listen again.

mizzell, Saturday, 20 February 2021 20:22 (three years ago) link

1st track

brimstead, Saturday, 20 February 2021 20:28 (three years ago) link

Lines or Anything.

Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:46 (three years ago) link

i think i voted “everything hits at once” as my number one in the ballot poll, and i’m not changing my mind.

tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Saturday, 20 February 2021 22:49 (three years ago) link

first two tracks are perfect

ciderpress, Saturday, 20 February 2021 23:46 (three years ago) link

^^^^^^^ seconded

Western® with Bacon Flavor, Sunday, 21 February 2021 00:13 (three years ago) link

“Chicago at Night” is a great end-capper to the album. Tempted to go for that. But damn if they didn’t do their best Spoonified Led Zep with “The Fitted Shirt.”

Western® with Bacon Flavor, Sunday, 21 February 2021 00:15 (three years ago) link

I think I mentioned this on the poll thread, but hat tip to conrad keely for supplying the frankly iconic mellotron on "everything hits at once"

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Sunday, 21 February 2021 01:29 (three years ago) link

fitted shirt or lines in the suit.
i’ve always thought the second half of this is dull. should listen again.

― mizzell, Saturday, February 20, 2021 3:22 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

the answer is fitted shirt, but the second half has take the fifth which is such a perfect little motown joint

call all destroyer, Sunday, 21 February 2021 02:04 (three years ago) link

"Everything Hits At Once" is the song that turned from casual Spoon listener to fan, and it's still my favorite.

enochroot, Sunday, 21 February 2021 02:12 (three years ago) link

They shared an anniversary playlist offering "a look into some of its inspiration"

https://open.spotify.com/user/spoontheband/playlist/3cM5cwG4wfEpklkTnnXkov?si=ffyYHekBRAWDQVo5Vo0_kA

willem, Sunday, 21 February 2021 14:40 (three years ago) link

Few times in my life have I realized, "This band wrote this song for me" than listening to "The Fitted Shirt."

So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 21 February 2021 14:40 (three years ago) link

I wonder if the “slim fit” trend has satisfied Britt’s prediction in the song, to his satisfaction.

stuck in the version layer (morrisp), Sunday, 21 February 2021 16:27 (three years ago) link

already voted for “everything” but “lines in the suit” has that super-cool strut, “me and the bean” has one of my favorite ragged britt daniel vocals, and “take of fifth” is a good bit of comedy in what’s generally a moody record

tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Sunday, 21 February 2021 17:03 (three years ago) link

Wonder if “1020 AM” will get a single vote.

stuck in the version layer (morrisp), Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:08 (three years ago) link

Shit, I forgot about “Anything You Want”

stuck in the version layer (morrisp), Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:10 (three years ago) link

how have i missed this thread? as most of you know i ran the Spoon artist poll: POLL POLL POLL POLL POLL - SPOON (ILM artist poll #67) --- The results thread and The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall did those amazing images, so i'm going to show those here. i ran a Top 40 and six tracks from this album made that poll.

https://i.imgur.com/Ma2022r.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bPJN9em.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/f3zbABO.jpg

Bee OK, Thursday, 25 February 2021 02:14 (three years ago) link

This album rules. "Fitted Shirt" was my favorite in college but I think "Anything You Want" might get my vote now.

Indexed, Thursday, 25 February 2021 02:52 (three years ago) link

i respect that vote

call all destroyer, Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:17 (three years ago) link

It took me the longest time to find/figure out that "Me and the Bean" is a cover. It fits in here like a glove (just as "Don't You Evah" does)

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:23 (three years ago) link

yeah they had a habit of covering songs by local austin bands that nobody had heard of, glad they did because those are great songs

little johnny juul (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:49 (three years ago) link

hey, it's my photos!

FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 25 February 2021 05:13 (three years ago) link

Yeah, "Anything You Want" is the one that hit me when I revisited the album a couple of years after it came out. I love that super-casual delivery that threatens to lurch off the beat and the line, "I'll be in the back room drinking my half of the beer" brings me back to college years when you would scrape together cash just to split a sixer with a friend. And the specificity of the last verse is perfect.

Rocky Thee Stallion (PBKR), Thursday, 25 February 2021 13:14 (three years ago) link

only just recently learned that eleanor friedberger is the subject of that song

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Thursday, 25 February 2021 13:26 (three years ago) link

Britt on Girls Can Tell in this Pitchfork feature from 2014

I remember seeing an old picture of my dad going to work in a dress shirt and tie—it was a look that I didn't see too much anymore. For “The Fitted Shirt”, I must have asked someone to bring in a harpsichord because of how into the Kinks I was in that moment. I found this website right when online sales of music were starting—maybe it was called CD Universe—but there was a flaw in their system, so as long as I entered a different address every time, I could order a free CD. So I ordered, at various addresses, the entire Kinks catalog. If it wasn't for that website, Girls Can Tell might have had a different attitude and sound.

On "Anything You Want"/Friedberger (I did not know this!)

Pitchfork: I find that one line in "Anything You Want"—“You know you’re the one, and that hasn’t changed since you were 19 and still in school, waiting on a light on the corner by Sound Exchange”—so moving. Did it actually happen?

BD: Yeah, it was a song about Eleanor (Friedberger). It was a big-picture song, and at the end it zooms way into this specific moment. I could definitely see her standing on that corner.

Pitchfork: Part of the power of that line comes from the way the syllables get crammed in there at the end. It's like you have to rush the words out.

BD: And that's what's great about it, right? It originally wasn't like that. It was just regular syllables at the end, and the lyric was, "This is a song called fuck or fight, it's the same thing every night," but Jim suggested it didn't fit the mood. So I came up with that other idea, and (then-bassist) Josh (Zarbo) told me it ruined the song. But I thought it really made everything personal and unexpected. When we recorded, (co-producer) Mike (McCarthy) had me fade off the mic at the end of the line. It's totally personal and real. It rings true.

willem, Thursday, 25 February 2021 13:55 (three years ago) link

of all britts lifts from the kinks over the years "fitted shirt" has my fave. in the 2000s this would have been "anything you want" for me, today its a tough call btw that and "everything hits at once".

when i illegally downloaded this back in the day, i dont think it was a leak or anything but for some strange reason "lines in the suit" was an acoustic demo version? it had a really cool sound & i loved how they dropped this lo fi track in the middle of an otherwise clean-sounding album. then when i got the LP the album version was a shock and i never warmed to it. not the last time i got overly attached to a spoon demo vs the album version.

nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:34 (three years ago) link

'Anything For You Want' for me. Just a perfect little earworm.

cajunsunday, Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:35 (three years ago) link

has anyone ever sussed out what record is spinning on the cover?

nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:36 (three years ago) link

A Series of Sneaks.

So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:49 (three years ago) link

voted believing is art

johnny crunch, Thursday, 25 February 2021 14:51 (three years ago) link

"lines in the suit" was an acoustic demo version?

Released on the "Everything Hits At Once" cd-single, it's lovely indeed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQp1GURHZZs

willem, Thursday, 25 February 2021 15:00 (three years ago) link

Opener is a top 5 Spoon mainstay for me regardless of mood, so that one.

pomenitul, Thursday, 25 February 2021 15:02 (three years ago) link

It was just regular syllables at the end, and the lyric was, "This is a song called fuck or fight, it's the same thing every night," but Jim suggested it didn't fit the mood. So I came up with that other idea, and (then-bassist) Josh (Zarbo) told me it ruined the song. But I thought it really made everything personal and unexpected. When we recorded, (co-producer) Mike (McCarthy) had me fade off the mic at the end of the line. It's totally personal and real. It rings true.

Wow, talk about dodging a bullet. (Then-bassist Josh Zarbo - yr a knucklehead)

stuck in the version layer (morrisp), Thursday, 25 February 2021 17:19 (three years ago) link

Btw, Matador put up some old home demo recording (and is selling the album for 25% off).

stuck in the version layer (morrisp), Thursday, 25 February 2021 17:20 (three years ago) link

"Everything Hits at Once" and the video is great too.

the future is now, Friday, 26 February 2021 22:00 (three years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Friday, 5 March 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link

it's crazy that this album is so consistently good and is so packed with smashes, and yet i knew what my vote would be without even thinking about it.

Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Friday, 5 March 2021 00:10 (three years ago) link

It’s tough to beat Everything Hits at Once. It’s so... I don’t know, multidimensional. It gives me so many feelings, and almost sensory overload. When it’s over I feel more like I’ve watched a really engrossing movie than listened to a song. The musical layers and the lyrical delivery are just so measured and careful and perfect. As good as this album is, I’m always disappointed that the rest of it isn’t as good as this song.

epistantophus, Friday, 5 March 2021 00:59 (three years ago) link

Anything you want

i was too much listening to your accent (Spottie), Friday, 5 March 2021 02:15 (three years ago) link

Think I would like to change my vote to either “me and the bean” or “Chicago at night”

brimstead, Friday, 5 March 2021 03:11 (three years ago) link

man I completely forgot about the Love Ways EP, I jammed the hell out that 20 years ago

brimstead, Friday, 5 March 2021 03:11 (three years ago) link

wait, not “me and the bean”, I meant “lines in the suit”!!

brimstead, Friday, 5 March 2021 03:14 (three years ago) link

Everything Hits at Once. I think that was my number one in the Spoon poll. I love the drums on it

nate woolls, Friday, 5 March 2021 07:43 (three years ago) link

I just realized this album has a great Berlin-Bowie sequencing.

went “Me and the Bean”

Western® with Bacon Flavor, Friday, 5 March 2021 07:47 (three years ago) link

ended up voting for "The Fitted Shirt," this album is top heavy. not that side 2 is not good but compared to side 1 it's hard to compete.

Bee OK, Friday, 5 March 2021 16:25 (three years ago) link

man I completely forgot about the Love Ways EP, I jammed the hell out that 20 years ago

yes. the tape I made Girls & Love Ways that dropped "This Book Is A Movie" & "Change My Life" to fit on one side is probably the best Spoon release, i should reach out to Matador about releasing it

nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Friday, 5 March 2021 16:32 (three years ago) link

Never understood the love for “The Fitted Shirt.” I prefer my Spoon lyrics more inscrutable.

"The Pus/Worm" by The Smiths (hardcore dilettante), Friday, 5 March 2021 16:45 (three years ago) link

if he was singing about food instead id dig it

brimstead, Friday, 5 March 2021 17:32 (three years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Saturday, 6 March 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link

i should have thrown 1020 AM a pity vote just in honor of KDKA-Pittsburgh

mookieproof, Saturday, 6 March 2021 00:53 (three years ago) link

1020am sounds like a ray davies song in structure and presentation to me

pence's eye juice (Hunt3r), Saturday, 6 March 2021 04:07 (three years ago) link

Also i cant believe take a walk is 0 votes the FUCK ppl?

pence's eye juice (Hunt3r), Saturday, 6 March 2021 04:08 (three years ago) link

It’s a bit reductive but woulda been #1 on a lesser album but

"The Pus/Worm" by The Smiths (hardcore dilettante), Saturday, 6 March 2021 05:58 (three years ago) link

Strike the first clause

"The Pus/Worm" by The Smiths (hardcore dilettante), Saturday, 6 March 2021 05:58 (three years ago) link

I think I voted for Lines. That "human resource clerk" section is one of my favorite Spoon moments - so Kinks-y.

perhaps I myself was the object of my search (PBKR), Saturday, 6 March 2021 13:56 (three years ago) link

the vocal harmonies and the.. crunchy-ish sound reminds me of like rubber-soul/revolver era beatles

brimstead, Saturday, 6 March 2021 18:38 (three years ago) link

how come i feel so washed up?

brimstead, Saturday, 6 March 2021 18:38 (three years ago) link


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