It's instrumental.

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Rock and Pop acts who put instrumental tracks on albums. What's that about then?

Sometimes they seem a pointless waste of time or at least no more than fillers. REM's 'Out of Time' I recall being clogged with a handful of quite bad instrumental and near-instrumental tracks. I find this darn annoying. I mean, what's the deal? Couldn't they come up with some lyrics or what? I don't want instrumental tracks on a rock album. Badly Drawn Boy and It's Jo and Danny are a couple of the worst offenders.

Of course, it isn't instrumental music in rock I object to - I'm not talking about the likes of Mogwai or Godspeed YBE here, just trad 'singing' groups who decide to wig out tunelessly on track 11 to pad the album out a bit. But are there any great instrumentals out there? The only one's I can think of that are any good are 'Urban Clearway' - Saint Etienne (Saint Et have a few instrumental goodies actually, but I would still prefer them with Sarah's vocals on); 'A Warm Place' - NIN; 'Oscillate Wildely' - The Smiths and 'Balloon' - ROC.

What else?

― DavidM, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I agree that Out of Time's instrumental-ish songs (endgame and low) are dull. And there are tons of worthless instrumentals tacked on to the end that drag down records. I like some of the instrumental tracks on Bewilderbeast, tho. They sound more complete than some of the other tunes on the record.

Some other good instrumentals: Sugar's "Clownmaster" (not really on an album), "Opening Theme" to Key Lime Pie, some of Fugazi's instrumentals (it's fugazi without the dated opinions!), "Dandare" is almost on the Wedding Present's Sea Monsters record, and it's almost and instrumental. "Touched" on loveless.

Some things that would be better if they were instrumentals: all music by Ride. Any song featuring Fred Schneider.

― Blanky, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Metallica's Call of Cthulu. YES.

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Edgar Winter Group's "Frankenstein" is fun, pretty much the best thing they ever did. I loved doing interpretive dancing to Elton's "Funeral for a Friend" when I was a kid. Is the intro to the Rock 'n' Roll Animal version of "Sweet Jane" considered an instrumental? It used to be a fixture on FM radio way back when; do they ever play it on Classic Rock stations? Recent stuff? The Super Furry Animals song that starts off Radiator--"Furryvision", I think it's called--is terrif.

What else? Billy Preston's "Outaspace". Blue Oyster Cult's "Buck's Boogie".

My fave rock/pop instrumentals, though, are the ones on Low and Heroes. Yup, all roads lead to the Dame. They're perfect.

― Arthur, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

instrumentals are great. by the way, singing is the lowest form of communication......

― ernest, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sometimes it sets up the next track. Sort of like an open space. 'Sempiternal Darkness' by Felt is good this way. Also, I always have fun listening to 'Junk Culture' by OMD.

― youn, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That setup and segue thing: "Pioneer" sets up "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" beautifully.

― Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I sometimes think that "Spiderland" would be twice as good if there were no vocals. Have you all ever heard their S/T EP? No vocals, and it communicates more effectively, I think. There's enough going on with "Spiderland" for it to be interesting without vocals, I believe.

― Clarke B., Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Why is it that among techno bods, the greatest spleen is not reserved for straightahead guitar bands, but for guitar bands who record 'techno' instrumentals? (NOT remixes.)

― tarden, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Here I go again on my o-o-own..

This is where this is already being discussed.

― Nick, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Most of Felt's The Splendour of Fear is 'vocaless' and utterly beautiful. Carnage Visors by the Cure, a great soundtrack!

― flowersdie, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

good god man. all of train above the city & let the snakes crinkle their heads to death by felt are instrumental ( satie derived piano jazz & spacious drony music for pleasure respectively) as well as a fair proportion of most of their other lps. all of which are great & provide good counterpoint to their more frivolous party moments. apart from the robin guthrie produced one but we don't talk about that. instrumentals are always a good thing. especially brian wilson ones. people who make artificial distinctions between music with & without singing on it baffle me, frankly.

― cw, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Not sure I want to see Felt and "frivolous party moments" in the same sentence, Christopher! What was the second line of black ship in the harbour anyway? j.

― flowersdie, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mission of Burma have a nice instrumental about cowboys. Not only is it a good song, but it's single handedly responsible for the first few Archers of Loaf albums. So everybody wins! Unless you hate indie rock.

― Larms, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"i was a moment that quickly past" i reckon.

― cw, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

1. REM's 'Low' does not seem to me much like an instrumental.

2. I think instrumentals can be just fabulous.

3. How does Nick D make those funny blue letters that are so distinctively his schtick happen?

― the pinefox, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What about good instrumental albums ruined by awful singing? For example: Tony Williams' "singing" on Emergency! - what the fuck was he thinking?

I think The Cold Vein would also be better as an instrumental album. It has some great beats but most of Cannibal Ox's ridiculous psuedo-intellectual rhymes could make the most marginal Wu Tang affiliate cringe.

― Randolph Blensten, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Isn't it determined largely by how much meaning people attach to the lyrics of the band in question? Depeche Mode's Speak and Spell, lyrically not exactly great, the stand-out track is the instrumental "Big Muff". New Order's lyrics are generally considered trite and so we have "Elegia" as one of the best tracks on Low-life and "Avalanche" as one of the best on Republic. Stipe's trying to mean something with "Ignoreland", "Everybody Hurts" etc so "New orleans Instrumental" gets people upset.

― MarkH, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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