why does it seem the embarrassment never get any attention

I don't think the Wipers are STILL underappreciated. They were in the 80s, for sure, but Kurt helped a little with that.

Funny you should put it that way. The way I remember it, I saw The Embarrassment play in Detroit and they were good. Then I saw the band that closed for them that night, a group called The Fall, and, well...there was no comparison.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000048EC/qid=1132380914/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-7749397-6619355?v=glance&s=music

I just heard "Celebrity Art Party" for the first time - what an awesome song... what else is like this? The Feelies maybe, kind of?

Funny this should be revived, since I picked up the new Big Dipper 3 CD reissue the other day.

EVERYONE BUY THE BAR/NONE EMBARASSMENT 2CD COMPILATION CALLED HEYDAY RIGHT NOW!

"LEWIS AND CLARK" AND "D-RINGS" DEMAND IT!

i like heydey, but my fave song is still "two week vacation" from that homestead human music comp. absolutely perfect tune.

huh, turns out i've only got disc 1 of heyday. need to hear the rest now.

EVERYONE BUY THE BAR/NONE EMBARASSMENT 2CD COMPILATION CALLED HEYDAY RIGHT NOW!

I would but it is out of print! I will survive on my burnt copy for now.

Shit I thought it was still in print!

It's on iTunes (U.S.) - listening through 30 second samples right now... 20 bucks though :(

(which I guess is a pretty weak complaint, considering it's 42 songs!)

Apparently "listeners also bought":
Pere Ubu
No Age
The Modern Lovers
Magnetic Fields
A.C. Newman

Yeah, I almost bought the Big Dipper anthology on iTunes, but its $30! I'll just order it direct from Merge.

Yeah, the Big Dipper collection is around $16 in the real world, and definitely worth it if only for the 1st and 3rd disc. The Embarrassment thing for $20 on iTunes is also worth it. There's also another odds-and-ends collection (Blister Pop, released by My Pal God Records) that's still in print and worth a look-see, assuming you've given Heyday first dibs.

they also had a great retrospective cassette on the Fresh Sounds label, there is some overlap with the 2CD but not all of it.

search: "Sex Drive", "Woods Of Love".

also search: (im a) don juan - a great pre- "man or astro man" sort of a song

"what else is like this?"

mission of burma,devo,wipers...american 80's post punk

The Bar None "Heyday" 2xCD comp is out of print, but it also has a terribly tinny sound; I'm hoping that someday we get a re-eq'd version. The Embarrassment were rich and churning, so to go all digitally shrill on them is a huge disservice. The Blister Pop cd that's probably still around isn't so essential. A bunch of covers and outtakes. The version of "Podman" is superb, though.

If bleeping Big Dipper can get a proper 3 CD comp that sells for less than $20, I've no idea why the the vastly superior Embarrassment ca't'. I mean, "She's Fetching" is nice and all, but "Woods of Love" is an American classic.

The Bar None "Heyday" 2xCD comp is out of print, but it also has a terribly tinny sound; I'm hoping that someday we get a re-eq'd version. The Embarrassment were rich and churning, so to go all digitally shrill on them is a huge disservice. The Blister Pop cd that's probably still around isn't so essential. A bunch of covers and outtakes. The version of "Podman" is superb, though.

If bleeping Big Dipper can get a proper 3 CD comp that sells for less than $20, I've no idea why the the vastly superior Embarrassment can't. I mean, "She's Fetching" is nice and all, but "Woods of Love" is an American classic.

yeah, i KNEW I had heard bad reports about that Heyday sound. I'll stick with my Fresh Sounds tape, thanks... by the way that is easily found by googling "embarrassment retrospective blogspot"...

Yeah, I almost bought the Big Dipper anthology on iTunes, but its $30! I'll just order it direct from Merge.

eMusic!

BTW, eMusic also has God Help Us by The Embarrassment. Seems like a reunion-type disc with re-recordings of their earlier songs. Is it good? (n.1)

_______________________
(n.1) Ned gave it a lukewarm review for AMG.

Indeed.

God Help Us is pretty crap.

Blister Pop is OK, but really they just need to reissue (and apparently remix) that damn Heyday comp. I was grumbling about it upthread in 2005 and still haven't found a copy!

Unfortunately, I think eMusic had that damn Heyday comp at one point, and then lost it. OTOH, I think The Rolling Stones turn up tomorrow on eMusic, so there's that, I guess. Trade-off!

is it just me or does "death travels west" sound a lot like the go-betweens?

Lewis & Clark is a doozy, people!

New Big Dipper album out next week wtf

http://blurt-online.com/news/view/6843/

I... don't think I like that new song much

well, this song and its video are great:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKZjpG9zcno

Yeah, that is better. Both Heavens and Craps meant heaps to me when they came out, though I wasn't much of a fan of the album after that. Kind of bizarre to see them again, but good to see that they're doing okay. Is that a new bass player?

I'm sorry, that "Robert Pollard" tune just sucks. It's twee in that it's very slight, falls short of its attempt to be clever, and it barely has a melody, despite being the kind of song that needs one. Though I bought their records, Big Dipper were always a diluted version of what made the Embarrassment, but this even by their standards, this is weak tea. And when I think about it, many of the worthy Big Dipper songs were actually leftovers from the Embarrassment, weren't they? And I suspect from the Volcano Suns as well.

So hey! There's a documentary being finished up and there's two weeks to go to help lock down completion funds. Pitch in, why doncha?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/embarrassmentdoc/we-were-famous-you-dont-remember-the-embarrassment

Funny you should mention, I’ve had Sex Drive going through my mind for days now.