I Got In One Album Too Late!

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So I had avoided Blonde Redhead all these years after seeing them once at the Westbeth Theater on a bill with Stereolab. Then last year I got Misery Is A Butterfly which is very good, but maybe a little too conventionally pretty. My guess is that their previous album which has the word "lemon" in the title (The Mysterious Scent of The Lemon?) is the optimal combination of pretty and outside for me. I got in one album too late! Am I right about this? Please post replies to this specific question and pose your own similar questions here.

― Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 7 March 2005 04:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons is definitely much better than Misery is a Butterfly, but I actually think their best two records are In an Expression of the Inexpressible and Fake Can Be Just as Good. You can make an argument that they were less original then (the were often regarded as Sonic Youth ripoffs at that time), but I think those records are a lot more fun to listen to.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Monday, 7 March 2005 04:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I like Misery better than MoCDL, and I haven't heard the earlier stuff.

― Star Cauliflower (Star Cauliflower), Monday, 7 March 2005 04:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, you are right, Ken. I used to love Blonde Redhead but found Misery is a Butterfly to be pretty dull. Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons is very good and probably their most "pop" album (esp. "In Particular" and "This Is Not"), which means it's the one I often recommend to those interested in the band. As for those early, not-quite-original but definitely FUN records, though, I'd add La Mia Vita Violenta, which I prefer to In an Expression of the Inexpressible. (I'll second Fake Can Be Just as Good, though.)

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 7 March 2005 04:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I loved Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, buying it recently reminded me how much I heart this band, I hadn't paid attention to them for several years.. Fake Can Be Just as Good is probably my favorite, second after that would be In an Expression of the Inexpressible - I saw them on the tour right after that album came out & they finished the set with Kazu singing the title track on stage by herself, it was completely weird but somehow I appreciate the song now.

They are much much better than any Sonic Youth ripoff comparison would lead you to believe.. I always thought that was silly - how many SY ripoff bands are there? It's just that they happened to be on Steve Shelley's label before they signed to Touch and Go.

― daria g (daria g), Monday, 7 March 2005 04:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I always thought that was silly - how many SY ripoff bands are there?

Yeah, I know, I bought La Mia Vita Violenta after reading the review in SPIN that compared them to Sonic Youth, and I thought, hey if it sounds like Sonic Youth it must be pretty good!

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 7 March 2005 04:44 (twenty-one years ago)

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