is Of Montreal just the poor man's Olivia Tremor Control?

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or, convince me to like Of Montreal.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I have to tell you that the phrasing of your initial question does nobody any favors.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:16 (twenty-two years ago)

to much twee. hurt my ears.

listen to nilsson's 'the point'. storybook twee pop. somehow lennon was involved

― JaXoN (JasonD), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't even want to convince anyone to like Olivia Tremor Control let alone some Olivia Tremor Control knock-off.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:19 (twenty-two years ago)

of all the e6 bands, i still think i could like the Music Tapes and maybe a bit of NMH

― JaXoN (JasonD), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:20 (twenty-two years ago)

well, i do think of montreal aren't very good, but friends of mine are crazy for 'em. i just can't understand it.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmn. Maybe your friends have no taste?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 07:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"Kindercore" makes me want to hit people.

― Stuart (Stuart), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 08:08 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe my secret shame is really liking the first Summer Hymns album.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 08:09 (twenty-two years ago)

If you listen to Of Montreal too much your teeth will fall out. It happened to my friend's cousin.

― Sym (shmuel), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 08:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes they are a bit twee, but I prefer to approach that aspect like you might approach some of the Beach Boys more heartfelt and childlike material. And let's face it, they are hardly Belle & Sebastian.

I would maybe track down The Gay Parade first and take it from there, it was the first album of theirs that I heard and after a few listens it really got under my skin, the songs are strong and all the wacky OTC style noises are mainly background flourishes. OTM (IMO) try too hard with the wacky button and their songs aren't as strong as OM.

Then buy 'Better Can't Make Your Life Better' by Lily's, best non E6 (but still strangely E6) album ever!

― mzui, Wednesday, 17 March 2004 10:15 (twenty-two years ago)

New Of Montreal album is pretty cool. There is a song on it called 'My British Tour Diary' which mentions Gary Glitter, although I didn't quite catch the context. It's not as good as the last one however. In short they're my token E6 pick (a subset I have little to no interest in) for reasons I can't quite articulate, while my teeth are in exactly as bad condition as they were before.

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 12:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I listened to Dusk at Cubist Castle recently, and didn't end up buying it. Thought it was overrated. NMH gets far enough from the grating twee that it's okay, but Beulah had a song called "She likes John, I like Paul" I think, and I just remember hating it with a passion.

― David Allen (David Allen), Wednesday, 17 March 2004 14:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Early Of Montreal is great. it's acused of being twee, but tweeness here- songs about weird childhood obsessions, secret sweethearts etc. etc. - are actually rather dark and claustrophobic.

The Bedside Drama is superb. It's not a million miles away from Syd Barrett.

― Derek Walmsley, Wednesday, 17 March 2004 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Discarding the actual music for a second, I just must say that the Dustin Hoffman-centered titles, on what album I can't remember, are a bit of a laugh. "Dustin Hoffman does not resist the temptaion of eating the bath tub." or something similar.

― Carl-Johan Holden, Wednesday, 17 March 2004 16:58 (twenty-two years ago)

A friend played both Of Montreal and Mr. Bungle on a recent long drive, and both were the only music in recent memory that I really actively hated.

― Daniel DiMAGGIO (Daniel DiMAGGIO), Thursday, 18 March 2004 00:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I couldn't stomach Of Montreal for ages, but that Adhils Arboretum album cut down the twee a bit.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 18 March 2004 00:37 (twenty-two years ago)

there was a brief period of time where my best friend AND my then-girlfriend were ecstatic about Of Montreal. Don't ever say I don't know pain...

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 18 March 2004 00:38 (twenty-two years ago)

of montreal is wonderful and they don't sound anything like olivia tremor control actually. the songs are smarter and more involved than he gets credit for. i like his head but he seems to have abandoned that stuff for more straight forward material and i am not sure i am entirely pleased with that but then i've liked the three songs i have heard from the new record. still trying to figure out why it came out in australia first. it's fantasy pop, escapist and twee sure but charming. his wife is in the band now, that can't be a good thing. pas/cal is making the records the lilys should have made although their saturn ad doesn't work for me.

― keith m (keithmcl), Thursday, 18 March 2004 02:33 (twenty-two years ago)

still trying to figure out why it came out in australia first.

quick turnaround at the pressing plant, less crowded release schedule

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 18 March 2004 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

one month passes...

Of Montreal play some of the most bizarre chord progressions
I've ever heard. And that's a compliment from a weird-chord junkie
like me.

But still, they can't come close to OTC.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Thursday, 29 April 2004 18:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Of Montreal's best work was The Bedside Drama A Petite Tragedy. I don't think they could really be described as a poor man's OTC. I put them in a bracket with B&S as a band I liked for a few months but now could quite happily never hear again.

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 29 April 2004 18:41 (twenty-one years ago)

The Circulatory System show I saw kind of makes all this irrelevant.

― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Thursday, 29 April 2004 18:48 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

The album I got in the mail, which I'm playing now, has a song on it called "Vegan In Furs". That's kinda funny, dontchathink? The song-structures are pretty crazed. I like a lot of the ideas, but I think their albums just get to be a bit too much. Too long or something. Like there is a decent 20-minute e.p. in it somewhere, but the dude doesn't want to edit himself. I haven't listened to the whole thing yet and I already feel this way. That can't be good.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 15 May 2004 21:34 (twenty-one years ago)

there are good songs at the end though.

― christhamrin (christhamrin), Saturday, 15 May 2004 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

There are! Shit, I turned it off cuz i felt like it was on an endless loop. I will play the stuff I missed later.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 15 May 2004 22:40 (twenty-one years ago)

oh "vegan in furs' ha ha ha. i get it now.

― christhamrin (christhamrin), Saturday, 15 May 2004 22:43 (twenty-one years ago)

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