Article response -- me mumbling about some new albums

NEU!

Taking sides: "Seven Years Of Plenty" versus Ned mumbling. Score draw I reckon.

I didn't think the "I'm going to justify including New Order here if it kills me" bit was very convincing 'though.

Nice reviews, Ned. Agreed about New Order - it's beautiful, magnificent etc..(but what else COULD it be). It's good to see that someone agrees that 'Dots and Loops' was a mis-step and that 'Cobra..' is better (but still not as good as it SHOULD be). Your comments about high O'Hagan content on the new one puts the fear of God into me. He's useless, and should be beaten about the head with a harpsichord. Still, aping B. Wilson so slavishly means that a mental breakdown is on the way soon.

Can't believe that the Charlatans can be any good. I mean, it's the Charlatans, THE CHARLATANS - synonymous with dull-witted underachievement. Clods.

I didn't think the "I'm going to justify including New Order here if it kills me" bit was very convincing 'though.

I'd have to agree, but it came out too and DAMMIT I wanted to talk about it. ;-)

Well it could be boring shite, like most New Order records ;) Dots & Loops = not good? Cobra = good? How strange. Anyway, so many good records out, that Stereolab have ceased to be an automatic purchase, although I dig 'Captain Easychord'.

But more important: is there any record, ever, of which you have something really bad to say Ned? ;)

oh yeah and that shocking confession re. Billy Corgan has been noticed. ;)

I love "Dots and Loops", and think that "Cobra..." is less good (tho I still like it as well).

"shocking confession"...hell, a s. pumpkins rekkid was 2 or 3 in his best of the 90s list. ;)

about bad things to say, i know ned will have his own answer on this, but for me, i know that - especially when you're NOT getting paid to write about it - it's hard to devote the energy to writing about something you loathe rather than lub.

And also the fact that these days I get less stuff in the mail to review and therefore tear apart if I really hate it. It's good to sharpen my claws now and again, but I need something to do it with!

Good God, Ned! My opinion of you as a human being has been rocked to its foundations by the revelation that you're one of apparently 12 people on the planet who thought Cobra was good. I'll need some time to get over this.

What's stranger to me is that I was going to start a thread last week with roughly the same theme to it, prompted by my digging through old tapes for car listening and coming up with the Charlatans' Up to Our Hips. What fascinates me is that it's possible to greatly enjoy records in a certain vein at one point, and then completely sour on the vein itself without ceasing to enjoy the specific records and songs you've already collected within that vein. Which is to say, if I can drive around truly enjoying Up to Our Hips, why is it that I'd find the exact same record boring and embarrassing if it were handed to me today without my having heard it before?

I'll need some time to get over this.

Oh, that's *easy*, Nitsuh. Just listen to the vile kettle of abstract boredom that is Dots and Loops and imagining strangling John McEntire with your bare hands. Then listen refreshed to Cobra and imagine all of Stereolab kicking McEntire's ass and saying "You moron, don't do that again! Now sit down and shut up and do it better this time!"

As for the other question -- why? Who can say? I have two friends who think the best Charlatans album ever is Between 10th and 11th, which I think is the one album the band themselves hate the most.

"Vile kettle of abstraction"- 'kin hell, Ned, couldn't have put it better meself. You're spot on about D+L and Cobra. You are a God striding amongst mere mortals! (let's gloss over the Corgan thing for now)

If I can throw one crumb of comfort Omar-wards I'd say that the Mouse on Mars tracks on D+L are much better than the rest. Why, oh why, oh why didn't they do a whole album with them?

I do agree on the Mouse on Mars part, no question. Only three tracks or so! Makes for a great EP, but they get lost on the album...

nice, but i have to say the new order record is terrible, there isn't even a 'regret' on this one everything is middle of the road nothing ventures to great heights. funny line about that one great shady album. agree with the sean o'hagan hating, fugu are like the non- muzak version of the high llamas and i find them rather pleasant.

Jess, I know. I find it hard to do myself (wasn't a serious comment, just keeping Ned sharp ;).

Now onto the endless D+L discussion: strange how they never worked with Mouse on Mars again, since those tracks were indeed among the finest on D+L, bar 'Miss Modular' of course.

The New Order album is kind of fantastic, only without the "kind of". (It's hard work being the black version of Ned, but someone has to do it. I will say that I liked _Dots and Loops_, but only felt the need to play it three times. Actually, I only bought it because of the song that was in the Beetle commercial; the actual single is really snoozeworthy. So snoozeworthy, in fact, that I'm looking at the CD and can't identify which track it was.)

It's hard work being the black version of Ned, but someone has to do it.

Eventually we're going to star in a buddy picture about two guys who wander through record stores and concert halls reflecting on our wonderful natures and wondering why beautiful women aren't constantly throwing themselves at us. Like Waiting for Godot, only in this case called Waiting for A New Prince Album.

Didn't Nick Hornby write a popular novel about that?

The difference here is that unlike Hornby's creations Dan and I grew up. ;-)