FSOL: FN or BE?

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In the spirit of acronymization, FN being Flaccid Noodlers, and BE being Bold Experimentalists.

I find most of their albums boring (cept for Lifeforms, both the album and EP, and Tales From Ephidrena), even "Papua New Guinea" which for me lacks a really deep punch.

― Lee, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Lifeforms = super dud. Very flaccid noodling if ever I heard it. 'Papa New Guinea' I love, and ISDN and Dead Cities are both enjoyable enough. None of their stuff has exactly captured my heart and mind though.

― johnathan, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

(er... apart from 'Papa New Guinea' that is).

― johnathan, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Papau New Guineau is amazing. "Sussan" by Loop Guru is still holds up, as does "Templehead" by Transglobal Underground, although I can sympathise with the Freaky Trigger writer who thinks the lyrics are trite.

Loop Guru were brilliant live at Glasto one year. The weather was pretty uninspiring when their gig started, but the cool bassist/singer bloke said "is the sun coming out? Come on, let's make the sun come out!" or something ridiculous like that, but it DID! Heavenly, lush, dubby, danceable, evocative, trippy etc

Does anyone know who the female sample is on PNG?

― Chris, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Lisa Gerrard.

― Lee, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I always thought they were nothing but industry hype. They never struck me as particularly viseral or connected to anything I found interesting. They seemed like a couple of working musicians who had a decent schtick that worked at the time. I do not believe that any of the old albums dated well at all.

The one thing I will give them is that Humanoid by Stakker was the only record made in the UK to be released on Trax.

― mt, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Stakker Humanoid is still one of my favourite music videos. All the pretty colours!

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"I find most of their albums boring" -- Well, sometimes boring albums are the best ones of all... I'll take a boring album any day over one that annoys the living shit out of me. As for characterizing the music of Cobain and Dougans with two initials, I'll pass... that's really not quite fair, is it? But if you must though, how about DF? That's Damn Fine.

― Tim DiGravina, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I thought BE was Brian Eno.

― Damian, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Accelerator is 75% great. ISDN is okay, but I remember the original radio broadcasts being more humourous (neutered because of copyright problems perhaps?). Life Forms single is fabulous, all the morer surprising given what a dud the LP is (the definition of FN). Dead Cities I haven't listened enough to.

― Jeff W, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, I have "Lifeforms" on the first Northern Exposure comp. and it's gorgeously gloopy. I've been tempted to buy the album but have (perhaps luckily) been scared off by the fact that most people who tend to be OTM seem to hate it.

I have ISDN but listen to it so rarely that I can't even remember if I enjoy it or not. "Papua New Guinea" is of course mindblowing.

― Tim, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't think FSOL ever really recovered from the 'Invisible Jukebox' they did in The Wire, where they came across as the biggest know- nothing fuckheads this side of...

― Andrew L, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't know why people say that Dead Cities was all dark and disturbing. It seemed kinda boringly flacid

― ejad, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm not sure if that last word is a real one

― ejad, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dud. Flaccid noodlers w/o a doubt, added to a serious case ov holier than thou self importance. Chex0r them in that dance scene film (arrgh can't remember title) "we are he sacrificuial lambs" Oh please. I'm amazed anyone still gives a shit abt them. A boring album is obv MUCH worse than an irritating one, b/c the irritating one obv has enough going on that it's memorable, & U might get 2 like it in time, which has happened to me sometimes. FSOL were terribly boring IMO.

― Norman Phay, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Lots of ambient listeners seemed to big them up like four years ago or so, which may have a lot to do with how much their reputation has lingered on despite possible boringness.

― Josh, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

four months pass...

I thought DEAD CITIES was plenty dark & disturbing. Even straight! Then I dosed and it REALLY wigged me but good. I don't play it much (so much more water under the bridge), but stuff like that is best if taken in small but meaningful lumps anyway. cf. Tear Garden's 1st 2 LPs.

― Matt Riedl (veal), Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

eleven months pass...

revive.

i bought lifeforms today and i love it. it *is* noodly, but quite beautiful too. props to stevem as it was he who suggested it on the "recommend me ambient records" thread...

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 29 May 2003 22:59 (twenty-two years ago)

They were least flaccid and most galvanic on their early Jumpin and Pumpin 12"'s. In that lightening moment just after Duigans stopped imitating Red Mecca-era Cabaret Voltaire, and finally really learned some studio craft, but just before he sold out ('Humanoid is gonna rock ya!'), he creating two classic acid tracks as Humanoid, the eponymous 'Humanoid' and 'Cry Baby'. If you like these, well, then you'll love the very early FSOL tracks. But they were released under a number of names: Yage, FSOL, Mental Cube, etc etc. There's a compilation somewhere collecting them all. They're great, they just get down without very many arty pretentions, andwith none of those irritating extranous sound effects cluttering up the grooves.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Friday, 30 May 2003 00:26 (twenty-two years ago)

God damn but I love me some Dead Cities. If they'd've just gotten day jobs after that, I'd think they were one of the best bands EVAH

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Friday, 30 May 2003 01:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Hear hear!

And I don't see how noodly and experimental have ever been mutually exclusive.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 30 May 2003 01:30 (twenty-two years ago)

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