Fischerspooner 'Odyssey'

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed
from nme.com

FISCHERSPOONER have named their second album ’ODYSSEY’.

The New York electroclash group have now finished recording their second album, with the band putting down up to 25 different ideas for songs.

The album will be released on April 4 via EMI. In a statement to fans, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner said they’ve spent the last two years attempting to make "a total statement", inspired by a range of influences.

They said: "We worked hard, for an extraordinary two years with some extraordinary collaborators, to make a coherent AOR record, a total statement. Inspired along the way by psychedelia, classic rock and the ideas of the romantics that were the roots of rock and roll, we tried to combine those influences with our own take on modern pop music to create something new and, hopefully unique."

The tracklisting runs:

* ‘Just Let Go’
* ‘Cloud’
* ‘Never Win’
* ‘A Kick In The Teeth’
* ‘Everything To Gain’
* ‘We Need A War’
* ‘Wednesday’
* ‘Happy’
* ‘Ritz 107’
* ‘All We Are’
* ‘Circle (Vision Creation New Sun)’

Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

Boredoms cover alert?

LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:45 (twenty years ago)

is susan sontag still on it?

m. (mitchlnw), Thursday, 6 January 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

holy shit - theyre covering the boredoms? that could be pretty fuckin cool.

peter smith (plsmith), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

or else awful.

peter smith (plsmith), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

wowowowo

LSD ARISTOCAT (ex machina), Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:40 (twenty years ago)

Heard "Just Let Go," which will supposedly be the single. It's about as OK as the good non-"Emerge" tracks from the last one. Which is problematic: I was hoping they'd be up to cranking out one smash-massive happy-accident single per album, really.

nabiscothingy, Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

'just let go' is on that soulwax mix from last week as mentioned on that other thread.

download it here! :

http://www.nostalg1c.org/2manydjs/

piscesboy, Thursday, 6 January 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

Obviously it's cruel and unusual to expect an "Emerge" competitor, but these guys have such a particular way of happening across simple-and-easy megahook type things that I was excited to see what they'd dredge up next. (Possibly there's a desire to be more "complex" that's killing that.) "Just Let Go" still sounds great, in a classically spoonery way, but at points it feels a bit album-track.

nabiscothingy, Thursday, 6 January 2005 19:07 (twenty years ago)

'emerge' is the most over rated single of the decade. i still just don't get it. come on it's *terrible*! all the instruments are set to 'shop demo' and as for those dreadful lyrics that appear to celebrate something called 'hypermediocrity' i mean...*what*? that song and that band symbolised everything i hated about electroclash. after months of whinging on about how they/it/the track didn't 'work' outside of london, how pleased i was that they announced a uk tour, then promptly cancelled it due to appaling ticket sales. the one gig they did do in london was *loathed* by those i knew who saw it. it still doesnt work, i still don't get 'it' or them. the fact that scissor sisters are the biggest new band over here since forever, makes it all the sweeter of course. see it's about *the tunes* aswell as the look of the thing, and if you only got one, you can fckng well forget it.

i think perhaps it was the way they were marketed that did the damage too what with that advert everywhere that said '1977 i feel love, 1983 blue monday...' i mean it was asking for trouble.

i shall be listening to the new 'stuff' with arms very much folded.

piscesboy, Thursday, 6 January 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

Frome the FS website:

Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Rockism
[posted by: Casey Spooner]

yeah. I fall for all these illusions of purity and genius. I am rockist because I want to believe that great artists are conduits for truth. And because they truly commited to a path of internal truth they can be a barometer of the times. They give voice to collective urges that cut through the bullshit of the world and offer a brief bit of solace and real human contact. At the same time I have felt this contact from different things. Things that were pop. Things that were art. Things that were classic. Things that were trash. Things that weren't necessarily meant to be meaningful. Obviously, the rock style of music gets in the way for me though. There's no risk in using this language and everyone acts like it is so tough and intense. It is easy. It comes with this false sheen of rebellion when it is one of the most organized and hierarchical systems of modern music. And rockers can be the most condescending and dismissive bunch. It is such a double standard. I think it is a cycle of abuse. Rockers have to work to establish credibility to their peers and so therefore they expect the same from others. It is how I imagine the classical music world to be. There are rules that are tried and true and they must not be broken. That is the part about Rock that gets me. conformist rebellion. nothing rock and roll about rock and roll. (and it knows it.) It is so much more exciting and interesting to be able to enjoy music without the weight of "taste". Yes, I believe in the appreciation of challenging and forward forms but also in simple and classic forms. That's what rock is now. a simple and classic form. As for lip synch, I am only an advocate for it if it is being used as a theatrical device. If it is being used to complicate the language of performance. Otherwise it really is a cheap sham to conceal false musical integrity. We have always been very clear about this. I have never felt uncomfortable or compromised by the criticism of our show because we couldn't be more blatant and more honest. We hide nothing. If people can't see or understand that then it is their shortcoming and inability to see beyond their own prejudice. I think in the long run it will be appreciated as a unique idea that is beautiful and interesting. A reflection of the times and technology. Making something new is always going to be met with criticism because it ultimately turns worlds upside down. It makes people very uncomfortable to have their systems of meaning challenged. This does raise issues about the new show. What are we doing? Are we being pulled into more traditional ways of thinking about music because it is now a business. Is that bad? Should I only sing live? Should we build that perfect illusion of rock god. What the hell are we saying? Why are we making music? Where is this going? Are we just aping a new genre? What do I want to see when I go see a show. Do I want to go see a rock show? What is the best live event you've ever seen. Why? We really need to rebuild this idea from the ground up. back it up and start again. The first real rock show I ever show was in Athens, Ga. and it was a band called The Fleshtones. It was a rockabilly band and they were amazing to my 18 year old suburban little mind. I really felt like I had found my world. A crowded dingy club with the most intense energy I had ever experienced. It was packed with a group of people that I felt like I shared something in common with. I was hooked. Through the years the style of music changed (rock, house, performance art, electro) but the feeling was always the same. Sharing something with a group of people at a finite moment. Alive as an observer and a participant. An affirmation. BUT>>>>>> My bigger question is....why is everyone preoccupied with this notion of "new". it is very American. very capitalistic. very 20th century. Maybe there is nothing wrong with not being "new" which most of the time isn't actually "new" at all. Maybe we keep saying the same things the same way for a reason. Because it works. I mean, the Egyptians didn't change styles for two thousand years. more later. CS

LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Thursday, 6 January 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

Musician in embarrassing-internet-rambling shocker!

nabiscothingy, Thursday, 6 January 2005 19:53 (twenty years ago)

casey is ALWAYS embarrassing. warren is the lovebug.

Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Thursday, 6 January 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

critics in being-defensive shocker!

Carl Winslow and Jeanne-Claude (deangulberry), Thursday, 6 January 2005 19:57 (twenty years ago)

???

nabiscob, Thursday, 6 January 2005 20:26 (twenty years ago)

spooner was attacking you personally, apparently, nabisco.

???


I thought "Emerge" was brilliant. Fischerspooner were very important in making electroclash what it was, as much to those who hated as anything else.


Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 6 January 2005 21:34 (twenty years ago)

HEY IT'S RONAN

Carl Winslow and Jeanne-Claude (deangulberry), Thursday, 6 January 2005 21:36 (twenty years ago)

I actually do "get it". I saw that "rambling" on the site a month ago and I still totally agree with him on every point.

kevin says relax (daddy warbuxx), Thursday, 6 January 2005 22:56 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah, the Jaques Lu Cont remix to "Just Let Go" is GOD! He kills it yet again.

kevin says relax (daddy warbuxx), Thursday, 6 January 2005 22:58 (twenty years ago)

i still like 'Emerge' and it's minimal/subtle but taut production

Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 6 January 2005 23:22 (twenty years ago)

it's pretty embarassing that i thought 'The 15th' was their own song tho

Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, 6 January 2005 23:23 (twenty years ago)

Thin White Duke remix making me like this much much better...

nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 23:08 (twenty years ago)

has the album proper leaked?

LSD ARISTOCAT (ex machina), Wednesday, 12 January 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

does anyone have "Circle" yet?

LSD ARISTOCAT (ex machina), Friday, 14 January 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

jacques kills it every time.

I look forward to the album nonetheless.

Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 15 January 2005 00:09 (twenty years ago)

where can i hear this thin white duke remix?

toby (tsg20), Saturday, 15 January 2005 11:16 (twenty years ago)

it's in the soulwax e-mix, that's the only place I managed to get it.

Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 15 January 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

This sets the stage for them to title the next album "And Oracle."

John Fredland (jfredland), Saturday, 15 January 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

casey is ALWAYS embarrassing. warren is the lovebug.

OTM. I fall in love with him in the Emerge 2000 video. Then his nose starts bleeding and I kinda freak out.

I experienced Fischerspooner nostalgia over Christmas break. I was amazed. Wonderful, though.

Does anyone else understand what they mean by "a coherent AOR record"? The very concept frightens me.

Atnevon (Atnevon), Saturday, 15 January 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

adult orient-ed --->

Snappy (sexyDancer), Saturday, 15 January 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

album oriented album

Snappy (sexyDancer), Saturday, 15 January 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

get me that jacques mix. and a sandwich. if you have time.

i really, really like the original. i'd almost say i prefer it to 'emerge' which i always thought was horribly overrated.

Rollie Pemberton (Rollie Pemberton), Saturday, 15 January 2005 18:25 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...
it's at least half great, isn't it?

toby (tsg20), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)

no idea ;...(

Site Admistrator (deangulberry), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:15 (twenty years ago)

tried to slsk it this weekend, only got the single.

gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)

I went to one of their weekly thursday evening "salons" at Deitch Brooklyn. The dj was previewing a few tracks. Sounded great to me. Deeper, psychedelic production. Free drinks.

Snappy (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

It's much better than the last album. 8+
"A Kick in the Teeth" is the best song.

Ersaph, Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

I like it a lot, it is all lite and springfresh.

Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

The "salon" of which I spoke still goes for those in brooklynside:
http://www.fischerspooner.com/news.aspx

Snappy (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 2 February 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

album oriented album

I understand the the ramifications of AOR. What confuses me is whether Fischerspooner's proclamation is to be interpreted ironically.

Atnevon (Atnevon), Thursday, 3 February 2005 06:36 (twenty years ago)

my ex worked on the first video, maybe it's "just let go?" should be totally roffle-worthy.

hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 3 February 2005 06:37 (twenty years ago)

This album is impressive. I was shocked...I liked their first album, but didn't expect them to last this long, let alone release a superior follow-up. "Just Let Go", "Never Win", and "Kick in the Teeth" are the standouts. More pop this time around.

a. begrand (a begrand), Thursday, 3 February 2005 06:51 (twenty years ago)

Sounds to me like they're not sure what they're supposed to be now: Synth-pop oddities? Dance music? Electro-funk lite? The Postal Service?

There's something both mindbending and moderately boring about that Boredoms cover: you kind of just sit there and listen and go, umm, "Geez, they really are covering the Boredoms. Yep, yep, that right there is them covering the Boredoms. Huh."

nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 7 February 2005 22:30 (twenty years ago)

Sorry, Casey -- but here's Fred Durst from the Limp Bizkit blog:

"i have been in prague, and i am still here, putting vocals on the new album. the world has so many wonders to it. the czech people are a very interesting society. i do enjoy it. this album is dark musically already, but when mixed with the tone in the air of prague it becomes somewhat horrifying. wes, ross, and myself have set up protools and a beta 57 microphone in an old apartment right near the charles bridge. this is where i am connecting with the darkness. some days are explosive others just plain heavy from the gothic aesthetic of this city in general. we have gone to the other side a few times with absinthe to discover the unknown. as it seems the unknown is quite demanding these days. we have watched no television or listened to no radio. we walk everywhere we go on cobblestone streets. the beggers bow down, as if they were praying, and hold their hands out for money. much different than the states. the weather is very cold and unforgiving. the perfect call for where my head needed to be. as for updates on this site or anywhere else, you know we are finishing our new album which we consider the best of limp bizkit. definitely the heaviest and most consistant in intention. so i can only emphasize that this needs room to grow its wings on its own and does not need to have its innocense and freedom taken away by every detail that could be provided along the way until it is ready to take off on its own. that time is very near. we have created a monster that cannot be kept down for long. it's time to gather the troops. what do you think?"

I Saw That (Ian Christe), Monday, 7 February 2005 22:43 (twenty years ago)

it's so, so good! the boredoms cover aside. i've got "cloud" and "we need a war stuck in my head.

toby (tsg20), Monday, 7 February 2005 23:55 (twenty years ago)

I think we should make a separate thread of these lower case righteous artist website rambles, they're a scream!

Momus (Momus), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 09:39 (twenty years ago)

the album is overall seems better, than the first, but hasn't got the standout tracks like Emerge or the 15th. but hasn't got much weak points either.

zeus, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 09:46 (twenty years ago)

Hah the Boredoms cover reminds me of something from Dark Side of the Moon! Its pretty radical tho.

I dont know what to think of the new video. I like Fischerspooner a lot, but i dont think i like this video or the song (aside from Casey's Adam Ant jacket). I mean its a little bit cool and i get it, but it feels like it was done by someone not really related to FS. Will it be on MTV?

Adam Bruneau (oliver8bit), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

vision creation newsun!

(I don't care for the sound of the sequnced riff and thought the beats were kind of lame)

he does guitar with his mouth lmao mint (ex machina), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 16:13 (twenty years ago)

music for gay hipster fags who wear make up and shit.

dave matthews, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 16:17 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...
the nicest surprise of the year so far. this is really excellent.

mark p (Mark P), Saturday, 26 February 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

yeah it's great so far (six tracks in) and i actually can't believe it's the same band. i'm preferring the fischerspooner lp to the daft punk one. that's a sentence i never thought i'd see written by anyone, least of all me.

piscesboy, Sunday, 27 February 2005 17:37 (twenty years ago)

i agree! the slow stuff ("ritz 107", "everything to gain", "all we are") is especially fantastic. also, "wednesday" is ace. and "a kick in the teeth" sounds like postal service. it's good, really!

mark p (Mark P), Sunday, 27 February 2005 17:44 (twenty years ago)

cool!! i'm looking forward to this

s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 27 February 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

so when i put the promo in my computer, windows media player gives me the album info and tracklisting for the futureheads. does anyone know what's up with this?

A Pittman (alexp), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

maybe it has the same track listing and length? that's how cddb works

anyway i like this album! it's a real pleasant surprise

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 20:39 (twenty years ago)

It better be, given this tripe that just landed in my mailbox:

NYC art/pop duo Fischerspooner has added David Byrne
to the list of contributors to their long-awaited sophomore album,
Odyssey, which will be released on April 5.

"Get Confused," a last-minute addition to the album, was built around
a set of previously-written lyrics Byrne personally contributed to
Fischerspooner.

The song went through many incarnations throughout the Odyssey
recording sessions, but Warren Fischer only recently hit upon the
dark, sparse and psychedelic production treatment that befit them,
and he and Casey Spooner decided to add the song to the album at the
eleventh hour. The track's vocals are provided by Mira Billotte,
lead singer of the band White Magic.

Byrne joins the ranks of Linda Perry, Mirwais and Susan Sontag as
Odyssey contributors, along with noted culture critic, art theorist
and MacArthur Fellow Dave Hickey, who has penned the album's liner
notes.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 21:22 (twenty years ago)

the full impact of the TWD mix of "Just Let Go" hit me last weekend in the car. too many drugs (for a cold, mind you) and driving at 100+mph for an hour on the turnpike + the volume up at 10+ when this came on, and the whole thing kinda vibrated my body like a big comfy sonic easy chair. that part where it builds to a crescendo with the "Just Let Go" lines looping over and over was amazing. i wound up listening like 4 more times until i got where i was going. launched itself way up my list as one of my favorites of the year

rentboy (rentboy), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

David Byrne owns your face by the way

David Allen (David Allen), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

Has anyone listened to it more than five times? It gets played out real quick and it also gets hard to ignore the trendy vibe ("angular" guitars, light idm pop ala Postal Service.) It seems made for people that watch the OC, "ironically" or otherwise.

boltonlover657, Friday, 18 March 2005 04:10 (twenty years ago)

I remember liking the song "Never Win" a lot. That's about it.

The Brainwasher (Twilight), Friday, 18 March 2005 04:18 (twenty years ago)

i tend to get lotsa mileage out of this light-as-air pop stuff, its very low calorie

mark p (Mark P), Friday, 18 March 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

There's some real clunky songwriting on a few songs and the Boredoms cover is a harder sell than their Wire cover, but I keep falling into listening to the middle portion of this album. There's some cool harmonies on that 'Kick in the Teeth' song.

mike h. (mike h.), Friday, 18 March 2005 05:02 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...
I like this album a lot. Doesn't dignify their pretension but doesn't deserve the one-star reviews I've seen. I may enjoy it more as a whole than I do LCD Soundsystem's full-length.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 3 April 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

I put "all we are" on a mix cd for a FS fan, and in the process of doing so began to enjoy it rather significantly.

jermaine (jnoble), Sunday, 3 April 2005 16:28 (twenty years ago)

one-star reviews? Where?

Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Sunday, 3 April 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

Blender for one.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 3 April 2005 17:53 (twenty years ago)

The Boredoms cover is also more or less a cover of Kraftwerk's "Elektrisches Roulette" (first track from Ralf & Florian). The resemblance is uncanny, which I guess furthers the idea that Boredoms were v. inspired by Krautrock.

Mark (MarkR), Sunday, 3 April 2005 23:49 (twenty years ago)

BLENDER doesn't like the new FISCHERSPOONER?!?!?!

s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 4 April 2005 00:56 (twenty years ago)

yeah youd think Blender would eat that shit up. maybe its got too much of a "homo" vibe for those masculine bastards.

jmeister (jmeister), Monday, 4 April 2005 01:30 (twenty years ago)

they gave the last album one-star too, though I haven't heard that so hell if I know if they earned it.

miccio (miccio), Monday, 4 April 2005 01:39 (twenty years ago)

in the same issue they gave LCD Soundsystem 4 stars and (if i remember correctly) a highlight as one of the "albums of the month"

i mean i do like the LCDS record better, but not 3 stars' worth.

rentboy (rentboy), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

dude they gave it FIVE stars (courtesy of Simon Reynolds!) and its in the issue the month before.

miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 15:26 (twenty years ago)

reaffirming my theory that one-star albums are often just as worth checking out as five-stars (their prev. one was the arcade fire).

miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

my wife's boss's son is in fischerspooner's live/touring band now. this is the WEIRDEST THING EVER.

kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 15:31 (twenty years ago)

So, I picked up a copy today, and this is seriously fucking good. I try to stay away from full album leaks, so this is my first time listening to the whole thing, and I'm really impressed. And this may be the first time I like a JLC remix less than the original (though the remix would work better on the dancefloor).

The "visualizer" on the limited edition is probably the lamest bonus feature thing I've ever seen, though. OOH THE PRITY COLERS! At least the Beck DVD had some effort put into it...

Telephonething, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

so fresh, so clean (i likes, i likes)
itz a make out record

The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 18:52 (twenty years ago)

i had no idea that linda perry co-wrote some of these songs.

mark p (Mark P), Monday, 11 April 2005 03:38 (twenty years ago)


You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.