XIU XIU--any opinions?

i gave a listen to their free MP3s on their website and really like "Clowne Towne"

i remember seeing Jamie Stewart perform as the lead vocalist for IBOPA (stands for "The INDESTRUCTIBLE Beat of Palo Alto) back when i was in high school (in city near Palo Alto) and saw that he had a lot of talent and charisma. i'm glad this new project has been working out for him

back when he was still in IBOPA, i went to Streetlight Records in Santa Clara to pick up a couple of their CDs and the girl at the register then told me that Jamie was working at the store and screamed for him to come over. at this point, i was kinda embarassed, but went with the it and asked him to autograph my CDs. i forget what his message said--something about me being "fabulous" or "fierce"...or one of those cross-dresser type buzz words, then he complimented me on the other CDs i was purchasing. i think he was WAY more embarassed than i was, though.

t-shirt slogan of the day!

That's right, your opinion is a fact. Nice one.

I disagree with ng, Fab Muscles is their most unaffecting effort. Fag Patrol is pretty weak, with a few exceptions.

I'd like to hear some of the shit Andrew and his friends came up with when they were bored and stoned.

(A friend of mine compared them to Human Drama, buuuuut I dunno..)

-- smetric (smetricus...), July 23rd, 2005.

what isn't a put-on?

"Bustling, demented little pop songs" -- lots to choose from, start with "Sad Pony Guerrilla Girl", "Jennifer Lopez", "Bog People", "I Luv the Valley", "Crank Heart", and their cover of "Ceremony".

For the quieter stuff that's being dismissed as tedious or what have you ... I think their version of "Fast Car" is the litmus test. If you "get" that, then you like Xiu Xiu, period.

good songs to get:

"I Broke Up"
"Hives Hives"
"Suha"
"Poe Poe"
"Homonculus"
"Jennifer Lopez"
"Sad Pony Guerilla Girl"
"Apistat Commander"
"Crank Heart"
"I Luv The Valley OH!"
"Fabulous Muscles"
"Clover"
"Pox"
"Bog People"

Oh man, their cover of "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything." I guess there is only one correct way to say "FACT'RY TOWWWNNN!"

http://xiuxiu.org/2011/05/09/i-love-abortion-sticker/

You know it's such bad ttenage stuff sometimes with this band but they hit me right in that bad teenage part of my heart – officiaL Xiu xiu I L<3ve Abortion stickers.

bf plays them all the time and has brought me around to them

really can't stand them

I have no real opinion on Xiu Xiu other than they did a not entirely horrible cover of ceremony a long time ago? I do, however, love them for those stickers.

also

DO NOT PUT THEM ON YOUR OWN CAR! because someone will probably assassinate you!

lol

bf plays them all the time and has brought me around to them

same with my gf. i think their creativity with sound sources & texture is way underrated.

THE AIR FORCE is one of my favorite records

xp yes! probably also the same reason i was able to turn him on to scott walker

been trying to get into this guy for years, just thinking that perhaps if i try "dear god, i hate myself" one more time than perhaps it'll click for me. the shaky, nervous vocals just grate on me - which i don't understand myself, considering ian curtis/paul banks are a couple of my favorites.

Listen to the Air Force!

the difference, i think, really lies in the the fact that xiu xiu's seem so forced; as if he doesn't understand what whinneying he should attempt next in order to give things a lil variety. there's never a point where i feel like i'm truly enjoying his voice, if that's a criticism i can make about intentionally uneasy music

Not sure why Always got slept on, I think it's his best since Fabulous Muscles.

deleted all his wonderful tweets and posted this pic 2 hours ago:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BdcyUu2CQAACR2e.jpg

worried

Do not worry.

well at the very least im bummed he deleted or hid all of his previous tweets, i really liked them

listening to the new Xiu Xiu because CAD made a comment linking him to John Grant and, while this is actually kind of great, I don't really hear it as being anywhere near the same universe (let alone one where Grant is the goofier of the two)

I feel like Always is potentially more in your wheelhouse, though admittedly I'm not that fond of Angel Guts on first listen.

And yeah I don't get the John Grant thing at all, Stewart's on a whole other tip. About the only thing they have in common is outrage, and even that they express very differently.

FORGET out in February, w/ Congleton again. Sounding poppy.

https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/product/forget

Already preordered without listening to the single. Just listened, I dig it, though will take a while to sink in like most of their stuff. So thankful to have a band like Xiu Xiu in this life, still active 15+ years on.

That's some terrible promotional doublenewspeak: "All of this frantic, external activity lead to a softly damaged dreaminess and broadened intent that has not been heard before in other Xiu Xiu works.". I'd say there'd been quite a lot of damaged dreaminess in Xiu Xiu before and as for "broadened intent" I'm really not getting that.

I wouldn't call it "one of the catchiest boogie pop gems in the Xiu Xiu catalog" though: I can list about ten tracks that're far more infectious than this. It's going to take a few listens as with all their stuff but doesn't seem like any kind of departure really. Sort of along the same lines of Always which had its share of very poppy songs on it (Hi and Honey Suckle in particular, with even the Ian Curtis Wishlist number of the record I Luv Abortion being shortened down quite drastically), just here the poppiness comes from the use of 10's pop production tropes rather than being chock full of hooks in odd places the way that, say, Smear The Queen is or Stupid In The Dark.

otm. it sounds very contemporary but not immediately grabbing or hooky. that's why i love The Air Force so much more than any of the other records, the songs are really strong and are presented very plainly. Save Me Save Me, Hello from Eau Claire, Vulture Piano, even Boy Soprano are much catchier than this.