Search and Destroy: 4AD (!!!)

I'm fighting the impulse to do this record-by-record, but it's Saturday morning and I'd really like to read the paper. I'll just stick to both ends of the extreme...

My favorite 4AD release is the first Throwing Muses or the Cocteau Twins' Head Over Heels, so search those. My least favorite could be the Tanya Donelly solo record, but I'm sure there are plenty that I haven't heard that fit the bill. They've indeed gone downhill in the last several years, but who could keep up that level of quality? Stax couldn't, after all.

Their recent releases aren't that horrible, despite some questionable additions to their roster. I fall more in love with the Brendan Perry record with each listen. Hersh, Hope Blister, Mojave 3 -- not bad at all.

search: _in the flat field_

destroy: that 90s cocteau twins album with the blue cover

search: RHP and mojave 3 destroy: the rest

Search: for every last album cover they did ever, so you can set up your own art gallery.

Destroy: the fucking import prices I used to pay.

Having disposed of that pain, when it comes to the music:

Search: uh, everything? At least up through 1992, and then being slightly selective after that. Life without Dead Can Dance -- not worth living. I care not what you think.

Destroy: someone explain why they signed the Paladins.

search: red house painters, pixies, throwing muses, the first breeders album.

destroy: when i take over the world (and i WILL take over the world), my first act of business will be to create a sarlac pit, and hire freddie from madball to throw dead can dance and this mortal coil in it. because freddie is tough, and dead can dance and this mortal coil are limpwristed goth dorks.

Search : Pixies (all), Muses (Real Ramona, University), Breeders (Pod), Frank Black (Teenager of the Year)

Destroy : Dead Can Dance (I would rather have a couple of limbs amputated than ever hear this pompous crap again. Just about everything I hate about music in contained within) The Cocteau Twins - I used to like 'em. Now find them just about unlistenable.

ooh, red house painters. i forgot they were on 4ad. they might give that cocteau album some competition (not that the 4ad roster didn't offer many worthy competitors already).

Search: Tarnation, AR Kane

Destroy: That Dog, The Amps

Destroy - Any record that features the sound of someone gargling phleghm and attempts to pass it off as a vocal. So, the whole Cocteau Twins back catalogue then, at the very least.

I'm starting to wonder about 4AD. There's something rather annoying about the preciousness of the whole aesthetic, and basically they've made their money by peddling "intelligent goth music". Now there's nothing much wrong with a bit of goth music, but what makes it is its humour, not a word one associates with the non-Bostonian end of 4AD.

And then they had to go and sign the Pixies. Search: Trompe Le Monde.

Destroy: "Ladykillers" by Lush - proves that 4AD bands' non-popness was inability rather than choice.

Strange how almost everybody starts to cheat when 4AD are the subject of S&D ;) Yeah, yeah, of course Pixies, Breeders all classics. Still I'd say, search: 'Gala'- Lush. Whatever they did after that I don't care about, but on this collection of their first E.P.'s they sound angelic. Sweet, drunk and floating gently into bliss. And that's just 'Sweetness & Light'. destroy: A.R. Kane, of course.

Yep, looking back, it looks like 4AD was a triumph of packaging over content. Nice sleeves, shame about the music.

Search...well I'm going to obvious to start with and say Colourbox, A.R.Kane and then MARRS, the b-side of "Pump up the volume" dumps all over the a-side from a great height.

Also, and am I the only one who knows about this... the two Colin Newman solo LPs from 1982? "Provisionally entitled the singing fish" is twelve bizarre instrumentals, while "Not to" is sheer pop nirvana, in a typically quirky post-Wire way, I suppose Josef K fans should check it out, except that it features the worst Beatles cover ever ("Blue jay way", as done by a bunch of tuneless drunks), but it's at the end so you can edit it out. Both albums were on one CD for a while, seek it out and change your life.

Also, any Ultra Vivid Scene (more skewed pop with a perverted lyrical bent), I suppose the Guernica label counts, so I'll add Underground Lovers, Insides and Spoonfed Hybrid (a very beautiful record), and any This Mortal Coil up to "Filigree and shadow".

Destroy. Never cared for the Boston bands much, Red House Painters wore out their welcome after three albums, all the early sub-Bauhaus goth stuff - yuck! But worst offender of all has to be the third TMC album "Blood", piffle from end to end. Some BRILLIANT songs on there, done DREADFULLY. Ivo - WHY?

Rob, no you're NOT the only one who knows about Colin Newman's solo albums! To be honest I'd forgotten they were on 4AD! I have them on vinyl, but haven't played them for a while. Great opening track, "Lorries" on Not-To, as I recall .There's also A-Z on Beggars Banquet, which was either the one before or the one after the 4AD pair. I'll have to dig out all 3 of these asap!

Search: Throwing Muses - "House Tornado" [it still ties me in knots; from that Golden Year of '88]

Destroy: Scheer - "Infliction" [just when there was a hint the label might be taking notice of all that funny dance music, here was a blast of goth-metal to steer them back on course. Jesus.]

(BTW, Sundar: that Cocteaux record with the blue cover was on Fontana)

Search: Some Napalm Destroy: Burn it all down, every single last album that label ever released.

What? NObody mentioned The Birthday Party? I really hope I am reading this wrong.

Oh yeah, and let's not forget new signee The Mountain Goats.

Oi oi oi - whassgoinonere? I officially killed this bleedin' thread 12 months ago, revivin' it ain't no use to nobody.

Actually, nice surprise from the last coupla days: The Wolfgang Press' Bird Wood Cage. It's really quite good.

Some things that haven't been mentioned:
Search: The two Voix Bulgares things, Wolfgang Press's Queer. Destroy: Spirea X. Can anyone explain what was supposed to be their appeal of Spirea X?

Search: Air Miami!

I mentioned Birthday Party in another thread, as well as the first Bauhaus. Wierd. I thought this was the same thread, but the other one would be right here.