go ahead you know you're dying to GAME THEORY LOLITA NATION poll

I've never heard this album. Should I have bought it almost 20 years ago now at Locust Records (wait - that's not that name of it - I forgot the name of it...oh yeah! ATOMIC Records) in Milwaukay?!?!?!?

i'm not the right one to ask, since i bought it then and i'm starting polls about it 20 years later. but yeah i like it. the paisley pop basement tapes.

(also my favorite mitch easter production)

Alright I'll go buy it somewhere on sealed, very tightly compacted vinyl somewhere.

yeah, that's the bummer. maybe just not enough clamor for game theory reissues. probably happen eventually. somebody's always looking for a "lost classic" to sell. and for me i guess probably "the waist and the knees," but i don't know. i love "chardonnay" and "real sheila," and the donnette song. i like all the songs by the supporting players, they break things up enough to be interesting. i also love the short ones, they sort of pull the album together. i could vote for "exactly what we don't want to hear."

also i have never heard this 8-minute version of "chardonnay." curious about it.

...been listening to it since starting poll, now increasingly hard to choose a favorite. "dripping with looks," "slip," forgot how good some of these songs are.

If I'm remembering correctly, Scott Miller wanted to rerecord various parts of the album before reissuing it (perfectionist control freak), and that combined w/his current lack of a real label, problems w/rights, problems w/access to the master tapes, lack of public interest, etc. makes a reissue unlikely. The vinyl is dirt cheap, and mp3s easy enough to find, so maybe a reissue isn't even necessary.

true, about 10 seconds with google can find a copy. still, i'd buy a reissue with extras (like that 8-minute chardonnay). cater to me!

(and perfectionist rerecording wouldn't do the album any favors, its relative raggedness is part of its personality)

interesting blog post by gil ray, the drummer. (drumming on this album is very good.)

Face it, no one is going to get rich on a reissue of this CD. I would not be surprised if a bit of money might be lost in releasing it, but that's not why it should be released. It should be released because it would make a relatively small group of people very happy. That's it. That is enough.

sounds about right.

cripes. i don't think i've even listened to this album in 20 years, and just looking at the track listing, i can hum every single one of those songs. i even remember the video for "the real sheila" (a basic performance thing, with game theory-esque graphics on the floor and lots of shots of them just walking around, as i recall). my vote's going to "we love you, carol & alison," probably the most beautiful song on the album.

that real sheila video. i remember it on 120 minutes once or twice.

fuck i need to buy another copy of this album, soon. seeign the track list there reminds me how much i loved it when it came out.

acquaintance of mine from college who also loved it later joined the loud family, so -- dreams can come true, and stuff!

In honor of the Sting reference in the avalanche of titles on side three, here's Game Theory's fan-club only A Child’s Christmas Saving the Whales. AMG says this is from 1989, with Quercio.

Voting for Nothing New.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Waist and the Knees

I didn't realize this stuff hadn't been re-released. A cassette of this is on Amazon for $45.

here's Game Theory's fan-club only A Child’s Christmas Saving the Whales

cool, never heard that. "a little town called marin county..."

speaking of quercio, i like the photo on wikipedia's mitch easter page -- easter, quercio, miller during the lolita nation sessions

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/12/Mitch_michael_scott.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

the overwhelming turnout for this very prestigious poll will no doubt spur an imminent reissue. the public has spoken!

(also are there any photos of michael quercio where he doesn't look 12?)

Not to be hipper than thou, but the one that really needs to be reissued (because it actually is very hard to find in any format) is the ALRN material (Scott's pre-Game Theory band) which is surprisingly good. One album + one single, I believe. Haven't heard the single.

is good? since lolita nation was the game theory peak for me (i know, some people think big shot chronicles), i never bothered with any pre-GT stuff. but by all means, reissue it all.

The reissue is out Friday!

I just finished the section on Lolita Nation in Don't All Thank Me At Once: The Lost Pop Genius of Scott Miller. "Chardonnay" was originally over eight minutes long, but they had to cut it down because the album couldn't go over 75 minutes. That's the first bonus track on the reissue! Plus lots of fun covers!

28. Chardonnay (Long Version)
29. Dripping With Looks (Rough Mix w/ Alternate Vocal)
30. One More For Saint Michael (Live)
31. Carrie Anne (Live)
32. The Waist And The Knees (Rehearsal Demo)
33. Tiny Steps (Radio Session)
34. We Love You Carol And Alison (Radio Session)
35. Gimme Danger (Radio Session)
36. Love Will Tear Us Apart (Live)
37. Andy In Ten Years (Rough Mix w/ Alternate Vocal)
38. Candidate (Live)
39. Little Ivory (Rehearsal Demo)
40. These Things Take Time (Radio Session)
41. Roadrunner (Live)
42. One More For Saint Michael (Rough Mix w/ Alternate Vocal)
43. God Save The Queen (Radio Session)
44. Drive-In Saturday (Radio Session)
45. Public Image (Live)
46. The Waist And The Knees (Rough Mix w/ Alternate Vocal)
47. Together Now, Very Minor (Radio Session)
48. Choose Between Two Sons

http://fastnbulbous.com/game-theory-lolita-nation-1987s-lost-masterpiece/

Yeah I def need to pick up all the Game Theory reissues sometime, sooner rather than later

The Lolita Nation reissue may actually be the 2016 release that I am most excited about.

I listened to this album straight through on a road trip last week -- first time in quite a while. It sounded great. I'll buy the reissue for sure, but I'm sad Scott Miller's not here for it.

fucked up that no one voted for "mammoth gardens"

fastnbulbous is your site down?

It was from midnight to 10, but I managed to get the host to fix it.

Oh ok, I was abke to access it yesterday

I've been listening to lots of Game Theory recently, but I'm pretty underwhelmed by this album tbh. Too long, too much filler (all the snippets, annoying shit like All Clockwork), just not that many songs I actually love. Dunno why it's supposed to be the best. I'd take all the 84-86 albums over it.

Big Shot Chronicles is definitely better imo, this one's a bit more of an indulgent curio

Like a one-man white album. Love Go Ahead, You're Dying to and World's Easiest Job, throwaway charm etc

My favorite is the first Loud Family album, Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things.

The "Tinkers To Evers To Chance" best-of always satisfied my Game Theory needs. And I also think Scott's best work is the debut Loud Family album.

I've grown to really like this album but yeah Big Shot Chronicles is the classic for me.

an indulgent curio with "mammoth gardens" on it

fucked up that no one voted for "mammoth gardens"

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Friday, February 5, 2016 11:05 PM (two years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I get why the filler might bother some people (it doesn't bother me), but if this is the case, I recommend paring it down to the following more digestible single-album serving:

Exactly What We Don't Want To Hear
We Love You Carol and Alison
The Waist and the Knees
Nothing New
The World's Easiest Job
Look Away
Slip
The Real Sheila
Andy in Ten Years
Mammoth Gardens
One More For Saint Michael
Chardonnay
Last Day That We're Young

Did anyone else read his book Music What Happened? He was a fantastic music writer.

Yeah, I go back to that book quite often.

Did we ever learn what happened with Scott, was he bipolar?

Whoa, Ted Leo really built a career on "We Love You Carol and Alison," huh?

Not that that's a bad thing

"My favorite is the first Loud Family album, Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things."

I agree, I think this is the best album Scott Miller ever released.