TS: Turbonegro Versus Monster Magnet

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Continued from Best Band from Norway thread, figured it was enough to start its own. I also realize that I'm probably not going to win this
one, but what the hell.

jeff, name one band rock band in the 90s that had a better 3 record run than "ass cobra" "apocalypse dudes" and "scandinavian leather"

-- UncleTomfly, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:25 PM (Yesterday)

Monster Magnet. Superjudge, Dopes to Infinity, and Power Trip.

-- Jeff Treppel, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:30 PM (Yesterday)
that doesn't even include spine of god, which is easily the best monster magnet record.

-- UncleTomfly, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:31 PM (Yesterday)

I prefer Dopes to Infinity. But if you include Spine of God, that's FOUR killer records in a row. (25... tab was a contract filler, I don't really count that)

-- Jeff Treppel, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:32 PM (Yesterday)

tab is filler, and taste aside, no way do any of those records measure up to apocalypse dudes.

-- UncleTomfly, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:35 PM (Yesterday)

I won't deny that Apocalypse Dudes is a great record. But as far as hard rock goes, Powertrip hits way harder.

-- Jeff Treppel, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:37 PM (Yesterday)

Apocalypse Dudes is better than Powertrip(and I like powertrip) Spine Of God is easily the best MM album though.

-- Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:42 PM (Yesterday)

Seen both Live too and Turbonegro shaded it.

Live version of Spacelord vs live version of I Got Erection. Now that's a hard *snigger* one.

-- Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:43 PM (Yesterday)

cool it's a beavis and butthead and butthead fite on the norway thread!!! yay!!!!!

-- scott seward, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:44 PM (Yesterday)

Well,I disagree greatly, to my ears powertrip cant compare to AD and for damn sure nothing on it hits nearly as hard as "I got erection" on ass cobra, which I have seen turn J-crew wearing jocks at a Queens of the stone age show turn into crying little bitches.

but here we're getting into semantics and taste. Personally, I dont care for some of the radio-friendly alt rock that monster magnet made when they had their brush with serious fame. they were getting a little to close to the generic shit in the "rock radio" toilet for my enjoyment.

and my opinion of them is colored by the one time I saw Monster Magnet in 1993, when Dave threw a bitch fit onstage because they were playing outside at the edge in fort lauderdale instead of inside (and got blown away by clutch) and played a 4 song set - with tab 3rd. shitty attitude, shitty show instead of "spine of god" and when my friend who was their #1 fan in florida heckled them for being such little bitches, he got tossed and arrested for tresspassing.

-- UncleTomfly, Friday, April 6, 2007 5:48 PM (Yesterday)

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 20:18 (eighteen years ago)

Well, of course Turbonegro win in the live department. They have a pretty amazing stage show. And there is no denying that Dave Wyndorf has his... quirks. A lot of them because of the drugs, I'm guessing. I interviewed him a couple years ago for my radio show, and he seemed like a fairly cool guy. He may have been sober at the time, though.

God Says No is not a very good album (although it certainly has some good songs). However, there was a lot of record label turmoil going on at the time, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it. Monolithic Baby was an excellent return to form, though.

The main reason Monster Magnet has it over Turbonegro for me is that Turbonegro aren't what you would call the most diverse band. Monster Magnet have lots of different-sounding songs, whereas Turbonegro songs tend not to stray very far. Lyrically, Monster Magnet are also more interesting. Turbonegro have their shtick, but the shtick grows old after a little while. Monster Magnet have some really great imagery in their songs, whether or not they make sense.

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 20:26 (eighteen years ago)

Monster Magnet. Don't like the funny stuff Turbonegro do. (and their weird fanclub)

Anybody hear anything about Wyndorf since his overdose in February of last year, by the way? It's been suspiciously quiet.

― StanM, Saturday, 7 April 2007 20:36 (eighteen years ago)

MONSTER MAGNET Frontman Resumes Work On New Album - Apr. 5, 2007

MONSTER MAGNET frontman Dave Wyndorf has returned to the studio with producer Matt Hyde to resume work on the band's new album.

Wyndorf was forced to halt work on the CD in February 2006 after overdosing on prescription drugs.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=69992

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 20:40 (eighteen years ago)

Great, thx!

― StanM, Saturday, 7 April 2007 21:19 (eighteen years ago)

I disagree. God Says No was a good album but the last album was not. 1 good single and the rest was forgettable.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Saturday, 7 April 2007 21:48 (eighteen years ago)

Jeff,

Turbonegro are way more diverse sonically than Monster Magnet. They do hardcore, punk rock, deathpunk, glam rock, power ballads and power pop.
Their new music tends to be more glam, but they still play deathpunk and the other stuff live.

Monster Magnet does stoner rock, mid tempo hard rock, - and what else exactly?

As far as lyrics go, turbo writes amazing anthems that appeal to the loins, and tickle the brain. They are also funny as hell on occasion.
I'm not a fan of "party animals" but it does have some good tunes on it.

Confusing an act for "schtick" is a common mistake made in this century. Turbonegro had "schtick" when they wore blackface. That was one dimensional. The denim/gay/deathpunk/turbojugend aesthetic is much more than that. Also, they write concept records. Happy Tom told me in an interview that Scandinavian Leather was their attempt to merge 1968 detroit with 1981 Hollywood. And the record does play that way.

― UncleTomfly, Saturday, 7 April 2007 22:04 (eighteen years ago)

I like God Says No, don't get me wrong, but it's not as good as the preceding records. How could you not like Monolithic Baby, though?! Two great covers ("The Right Stuff," "There's No Way Out Of Here"), some scorching rockers ("Super Cruel," "Unbroken (Hotel Baby)," "Radiation Day"), and one of the most awesome songs in the history of awesome songs ("Master of Light"). It made my top 10 for that year with a bullet.

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 22:16 (eighteen years ago)

I've given Turbonegro a chance a couple of times, but they've just never done it for me. Monster Magnet, on the other hand, have some of the funniest, most brilliant lyrics ever, and the four-disc streak from Spine through Powertrip is an astonishing catalog they could coast on forever.

― unperson, Saturday, 7 April 2007 22:25 (eighteen years ago)

(For disclosure's sake, the only Turbonegro records I have are Apocalypse Dudes and Party Animals, but I have seen them live, so I'm familiar with their other songs)

Monster Magnet do space rock, Stoner, scorching Detroit hard rock, lounge, weird noise collages, acoustic ballads (which happen to be some of their best songs), psychedelic, et cetera. Their very sound is a pastiche of a whole bunch of different styles to begin with.

Monster Magnet write concept records too. I mean, they aren't particularly deep concept records, but neither are Turbonegro's. Dave Wyndorf told me in the aforementioned interview that Dopes to Infinity was a concept record about getting high in his house in New Jersey, while Power trip was about debauchery in Vegas. And, they do in fact play that way.

Look, I'm not trying to put Turbonegro down, I like them a lot.. There may be a mythology and delivered aesthetic, but if you want to get technical about it, dictionary.com says:

Shtick:
1. A characteristic attribute, talent, or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention: waiters in tropical attire are part of the restaurant's shtick.
2. An entertainment routine or gimmick.

So, yeah, it's a shtick.

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 22:28 (eighteen years ago)

(deliberate, not delivered)

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 22:29 (eighteen years ago)

that is one crap definition of shtick.

websters online:

1 : a usually comic or repetitious performance or routine; a bit.

what turbonegro does, is not a bit any more than an episode or season of Seinfeld is a bit. there are lots of bits, that make up their comedy and aesthetic. thus, it is not shtick.

I highly recommend you pick up Ass Cobra and Scandinavian Leather. Party Animals does not even begin to measure up to those two.

I've heard MM's hard rock + stoner stuff. I would argue that psyche and stoner rock are essentially synonyms. Last time I checked, they were from new jersey so don't know about MM playing "detroit rock" as I really doubt wyndorf checks the stooges and the mc 5 as much as he does 70s AOR rock.

But like you, I dont wanna bury them. I still think spine of god is a very good record, even if they rank right up there with Life of Agony as one of the worst live hard rock acts I've ever seen.

― UncleTomfly, Saturday, 7 April 2007 23:27 (eighteen years ago)

Stoner rock is way heavier than psychedelic. I'd hardly say that they were synonyms at all. As for Detroit, Monster Magnet have covered both Stooges ("1969," a really sleazy version of "Gimme Danger") and MC5 ("Kick out the Jams," of course) songs. So I would say that they've checked those bands pretty well.

I know a lot of people love Spine of God, but it never did it for me the way Dopes to Infinity and Power Trip did. It's probably the one that I toss on the least. It's good, and I've tried to appreciate it more, but Dopes to Infinity blew me away when I first picked it up on a whim, and it still does. I'm still getting new stuff out of it every time I listen.

And as for Wyndorf being a dick -- if I didn't listen to bands where the front man was a jerk, I wouldn't listen to very much rock 'n roll at all.

― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 7 April 2007 23:50 (eighteen years ago)

Monster Magnet didn't write I Got Erection. Case closed.

― Colonel Poo, Saturday, 7 April 2007 23:52 (eighteen years ago)

Turbonegro didn't write "Space Lord," "Powertrip," or "Negasonic Teenage Warhead," what's your point? "I Got Erection" is kind of funny, but I've heard funnier, and I'm still not convinced that it's that good of a song. "Age of Pamparius" is probably my favorite song of theirs, mostly for the AC/DC bludgeoning simplicity.

I wonder if your preference between these two bands is based on whether or not you're a metal guy or a punk guy.

― Jeff Treppel, Sunday, 8 April 2007 00:04 (eighteen years ago)

Oh I have no point, not a serious post. I've never heard Monster Magnet. I'm a punk guy, I guess. I do like stoner rock though.

― Colonel Poo, Sunday, 8 April 2007 00:09 (eighteen years ago)

oh! Sorry. Didn't mean to be a jerk. Well, if you like Stoner rock, you should check out Monster Magnet. You can probably find a copy of Dopes to Infinity or Power Trip pretty darn cheap used.

― Jeff Treppel, Sunday, 8 April 2007 00:27 (eighteen years ago)

Both bands are great. No need to choose between them. One thing they have in common (apart from touring with Qotsa) is that their last albums weren't as good as came before it.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Sunday, 8 April 2007 00:32 (eighteen years ago)

I have a Turbonegro sailors cap though!

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Sunday, 8 April 2007 00:32 (eighteen years ago)

It's called "Taking Sides" for a reason, Brigadier. GET WITH THE PROGRAM.

Seriously, though, I do like both bands. It's just fun debating completely inconsequential stuff like this. I mean, it's sort of a random pair off to begin with, isn't it? They're two bands that excel in their respective fields. I just think Monster Magnet had a better 3-4 album run in the 90s. Considering that Monster Magnet are easily in my top 10 favorite bands of all time, I'm not sure that listening to the other two Turbonegro albums would convince me otherwise.

― Jeff Treppel, Sunday, 8 April 2007 01:01 (eighteen years ago)

i prefer Turbonegro, i'm kinda ambilvalent about Monster Magnet.

punk guy FWIW.

― circa1916, Sunday, 8 April 2007 01:08 (eighteen years ago)

the red hot chili peppers and EMF have butchered the stooges - don't think that has any bearing on their sound. to my ears, Monster Magnet went from checking influences I dug on spine of god, to kinda boring 70s rock ones when they got semi famous.

When it's the same band doing "stoner" and "psyche" rock -- it's pretty much the same aesthetic. "hey man, wiild" and I say this as someone who loves the melvins, floor, kyuss and torche.

And while technically I'm a Funk guy - my background is much more underground rock / Punk (which is the side of the fence that spine of god swung on, i played it on my old college radio show "underground america") than metal, so take that for what it's worth.

I've got erection is fucking hilarious and a great rock tune, especially when used to abuse QOTSA fans who came for the rock radio singles.

Re Wyndorf's attitude. There's being a dick and a great performer at the same time - like alan jourgansan in the early 90s -- and there's being a dick onstage and making your audience suffer because of it, like Ian Mckaye on bad days and Dave Wyndorf.

― UncleTomfly, Sunday, 8 April 2007 01:51 (eighteen years ago)

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