Best of Bristol

Portishead wil walk this, I'll be surprised if the others get any votes at all.

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00029/meg1_29088a.jpg

Disorder! Chaos UK! Vice Squad!

I voted for Blue Aeroplanes myself. I don't agree Noodle. Surely Massive Attack are in with a shout?!

sorry Noodle, I meant Nate!

nate is on a one-man mission to planet Rong.

I hoped there was something better (i.e. more English-sounding, less "soul"/R&B) to vote for, but it doesn't seem like. So Massive Attack then.

Yeah, you'd never guess that Tricky's smooth American vocals are from the Bristol area.

Blue Aeroplanes are English sounding! What could be more English than Gerard Langley's poetic vocals:

The docks are gone
But the pub survives
They wouldn't have let us in here
If the dockers were alive

Flying Saucer Attack!

Someone tell me about Head. Any good or what?

There's a few other decent bands on the list, I just thought that Portishead are strong enough to take all the votes. If Portishead weren't on the list, I would've voted for the Blue Aeroplanes.

Enjoying the apparently random selection of 'local' bands among those that the general public might have actually heard of. I saw Turbowolf about a year ago, good gracious they were shite

If Blue Aeroplanes dude could've been arsed to sing they might've been quite good.

I got 99 guitarists but a tune ain't one.

Yeah, you'd never guess that Tricky's smooth American vocals are from the Bristol area.

Surely, the accept is oviously English. But there are no signs of influence from Music Hall, twee childish 60s psychedelia or The Beatles. Thus it doesn't sound English at all.

I very very vaguely remember Head, they had one or two decent singles I think. Never really amounted to much. Although, wasn't it Head!, with the exclamation mark?

Worst thing about Blue Aeroplanes was the irritating dancer dude.

I wonder if its Bristol that has the most insufferably pleased-with-itself musical heritage of any city in the UK?

But there are no signs of influence from Music Hall, twee childish 60s psychedelia or The Beatles. Thus it doesn't sound English at all.

Benjamin Britten to thread.

I wonder if its Bristol that has the most insufferably pleased-with-itself musical heritage of any city in the UK?

I think you're forgetting Liverpool. Which had the added bonus of being 99 percent shit.

Also Manchester than Bristol but only about 50 percent shit.

If Blue Aeroplanes dude could've been arsed to sing they might've been quite good

...ah but one of them did! There were quite a few Blue Aeroplanes tracks where Rodney Allen took the lead vox rather than Gerard Langley. "Streamers" and "Worry beads" for example. I was going to put Rodney Allen on the list as a solo artist but opted not to as I am not sure he is actually from Bristol.

I think it makes Blue Aeroplanes albums more interesting that there is a mixture of Rodney's sung and Gerard's poetic vox.

Never saw Blue Aeroplanes live (for shame!) so can't comment on the dancer, but yes, I'd imagine he was shite.

Liverpool and Manchester have that "we're brilliant we are, fuck everything else that's going on" arrogance to them. Bristol has this sort of smug "look at what we've been doing, Observer readers of Britain" condescending teacher feel.

It's possible I'm just projecting my general distaste for second rate trip-hop and coffee table drum and bass and spending the late 90s hanging out with students in Brighton here.

I'm just sad that Bristol's contribution to noisy hardcore punk has been completely overlooked :(

I don't think I've ever met any Bristolians irl. I kind of assumed that the Observer readers latch onto this shit rather than vice versa, but I've never had a lot of problem with the loungier end of trip hop per se, i.e. I don't hate the music but I will glass anybody who uses the phrase "chilled beats" without spitting. In short coffee table is fine it's the peeps often gathered round the coffee table that are the problem.

We had a thread years ago about bands or genres that were okay in themselves but made hateable by idiot fans, I think.

yeah, drinking Coffee, um...

I somehow saw Blue Aeroplanes live 3 or 4 times, always as a support band. I'm fairly sure two of the bands they supported were the Darling Buds and That Petrol Emotion. They were very good and very loud, but the dancing dude was extremely irritating.

Oh man 1990 was a helluva year.

Coffee is great, tables are great, Portishead are great, Massive Attack are great, Tricky was great for a bit, the Observer still has some good bits, I like a lot of people who read it. Kosheen is rub though.

nah I don't even hate on a Kosheen really. I think their rub-ness is more contextual than musical.

I'd rank Manc's level of self-satisfaction above Bristol's, if only because they're magnitudes louder about it. Liverpudlian pride is like 90% about one band so unless you really hate the Beatles not as bothersome.

I post on one Bristol board and browse another and yeah I'd say that there is a very big level of self-absorption, albeit often about pretty decent bands

I'd find it very difficult to put my dislike of Kosheen into words without just stapling a load of straw men together, but they rub me up the wrong way to the extent I find them basically unlistenable

I think there are some genres or sounds that I just generally feel warm to across the board, so's I don't hate even their lesser practitioners/bandwagon humpers.

Liverpool and Manchester are so obviously the two leading music cities in the entire world anyway. Virtually all of the best music comes from one of those two.

No Gravenhurst? Anyhow, Hunting Lodge for current band (I hope they're still current), FSA for all-time. From that list I guess I'd have to go for Tricky or Massive Attack but I really ought to hear more Pop Group.

Oh, Geir.

Adrian Sherwood is a Londoner.

Where are Maximum Joy, Rip Rig & Panic and Mark Stewart - if Pigbag are to be counted separately from the Pop Group then so should the rest of them (and arguably also Float Up CP and Head).

Also - no Keith Tippett, no cred.

Oh yes - where is Monk and Canatella band?

some of kosheen's early tunes is awlroit

could've had Earthling

Hunting Lodge bruk up recently spacecadet poster :(

http://www.myspace.com/tottonglass is something that's come out of it, I think it's a free improv dealie or something but I'm yet to listen

I think Nellee Hooper should've been on the list, I would've definitely voted for him.

Why do i immediately scan the list looking for the missing ones in these regional pools, and then despite the fact I probably wouldn't have voted for them suddenly really want to give them my vote? Surely thats the behaviour of an anti-social smart ass who needs a good kicking?

Oh right, I think I answered my own question there.

Anyway, I looked for Glaxo Babies first, and now I feel upset about voting for the Pop Group, but I would have gone Pop Group even if Glaxo babies was there.

well i'm voting for Krust because 'Jazz Note', 'Angles', 'Warhead' and 'Coded Language' are all deadly

No Experimental Pop Band, John Parrish, Bronnt Industries Kapital, The Heads ("Head" is listed?), Rip Rig & Panic, Purple Penguin, Rusting Man?

Anyway, of those listed, Tricky.

Head were one of Gareth Sager's bands.

No Fred Wedlock either.

Ah, thanks! That guy's been in some good bands...

Portishead being, of course from... er... Portishead and so should be in the Somerset poll and not the Bristol one.

Far too many bands missing from this, So I think I will just have to settle for the Pop Group.

The entire trip hop genre is - sort of by default - counted as coming from Bristol, I guess :)

Adrian Sherwood is a Londoner.

Phew, and there was I thinking WTF!! when I spotted that inclusion.
Does that small matter mean I cant vote for Adrian then ?

so eh, where are all the Sarah Records acts (or were none of them actually from Bristol)?

I am voting for Roni Size despite not hearing anything after 2000, I guess (I am presuming this vote includes everything everyone involved in that project did.)

Oh wait I just saw that Adrian Sherwood and the Pop Group are on there. I should have voted for Sherwood. :(

hence my point.
I would vote for Adrian (no contest if he's allowed!), but if he aint Bristol I cant really now can I ?

Pigbag!

That's pretty much why I didn't vote for Adrian, is he doesn't count at all.

WHERE'S THE HEADS

Or Gonga

Grandpont - you not familiar with
Immense (sadly busted up)
You and The Atom Bomb

Maybe you not rate them? I do

ps : Bronze Age fox.

Perhaps the fact that Sony never released the album that they paid for, aint going to help the band cause.
Its great though in case anyone knows of the band.

so eh, where are all the Sarah Records acts (or were none of them actually from Bristol)?

I don't think they were, oddly.

Oh no, no more Hunting Lodge! I happened to get talking to the guitarist (I think) and he said something about how he didn't really listen to any of the bands they were supposed to sound like any more because he was too busy listening to free improv stuff. So now he's gone and formed a free improv thing instead. Oh well.

I fergot about Fuck Buttons, so, them. Hell yes.

Flying Saucer Attack!

Liverpool and Manchester have that "we're brilliant we are, fuck everything else that's going on" arrogance to them. Bristol has this sort of smug "look at what we've been doing, Observer readers of Britain" condescending teacher feel.

It's possible I'm just projecting my general distaste for second rate trip-hop and coffee table drum and bass and spending the late 90s hanging out with students in Brighton here.

-- Matt DC, Friday, February 1, 2008 10:45 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Link

lol i can relate. still think bristol showed a lotta heart.

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Milo+Johnson

Art Objects

but settled for Blue Aeroplanes (pre-Swagger era)

Where are the Heads and Bucky?

Surely, the accept is oviously English. But there are no signs of influence from Music Hall, twee childish 60s psychedelia or The Beatles. Thus it doesn't sound English at all..

Geir, you do realise that Mary Poppins wasn't a documentary?

"Sgt. Pepper" is the most archetypically English of all. The more it sounds like "Sgt. Pepper" the more archetypically English.

Where are the Heads and Bucky?

Ha, have Bucky ever even put a proper record out?

I don't think so, no. They were on a compilation, though I can't think what it was called.

Didn't Crispian Mills' non-Kula Shaker band (The Jeevas?) record a version of 'Bike'?

Just checked their website, they have a self-released CD out.

Hongro is beyond parody now. Not even the most ludicrous toytown pseudo-nationalists of the Britpop era sounded quite so stupid.

"Sgt. Pepper" is the most archetypically English of all. The more it sounds like "Sgt. Pepper" the more archetypically English.

This would have rather more weight coming from someone who actually lived in this country.

I'd say Glaxo Babies. I can sing along to more of their songs then the Pop Groups, though the later were more influential.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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

Wow, a tie!

Had I remembered to vote I would've given it to Head. I loved that Tales of Ordinary Madness album

haha i was just about to whinge about the lack of sarah bands. where the heck were they from then??

researching..

sea urchins - birmingham
field mice - south london
orchids, the wake - glasgow
spingfields - american
st christopher - york
harvey - london
14 iced bears - brighton
heavenly - oxford

bit weird to have a label with virtually no local bands

oh apparently secret shine are from bristol.