The new dB's album -- are you gonna buy it?

Fans of The dB's (that incredible & incredibly underrated alt-pop band active in the 1980s) have a lot to celebrate right now:

1. New album of new studio material "Falling Off the Sky" by the original lineup to be released this coming June.

2. The band will play the first of several live shows at SxSW Festival, Austin, TX later this month.

http://blurt-online.com/news/view/6070/

3. A new fan blog (created by yours truly) devoted to the group & its musical collaborations is now up & running:

http://dbs-repercussion.blogspot.com/

I'll do new posts with music every Friday.

Anyone else out there happy yet?!?

We were happy there, dunno about here.

I quite liked the new song I heard, both sound and content.

When was the last time Holsapple wrote a really great song?

cool stuff!

no

Serious question, btw

The Holsapple/Stamey album from a few years back was legit great.

Here and Now. Yeah it was pretty darn good - excepting the use of sax on a couple of tunes (what were they thinking?). still prefer Mavericks, but it was a welcome addition.
and by the way as an older dude and fan of jangle pop with at least some guts, I'll probably get the newie in June

PaulTMA asked, "When was the last time Holsapple wrote a really great song?"

I say: Probably yesterday; he writes all the time! As far as ones I've actually heard that I think are great, try these on for size:

"Revolution of the Mind" (from the forthcoming album) and another new one he probably wrote, "That Time Is Gone" (which can be heard at the SxSW site I quote in my initial post).

Older ones that are great: "Love Is for Lovers" from Like This, "Never Before & Never Again" from The Sound of Music and "She Was the One" from Mavericks. I can probably pick out one from "Here & Now," but haven't listened recently enough.

So Paul, when was the last time *you* wrote a great song?

Wow, talk about an over-reaction! That question was meant to be taken as literally as quoting of song titles can allow.

In answer to your question - it was also yesterday, but then again we're meant to be talking about Peter Holsapple here.

I wish Chris Stamey had a proper anthology, I've yet to find my way into his solo work as much as I love everything he's done with Peter H.

yeah a stamey anthology would be good, i'm pretty clueless when it comes to a lot of his stuff. that Yo La Tengo collaboration (mostly covers) was entertaining, I really love his re-imagining of Television's "Venus."

While there's no anthology for Chris' stuff, you might want to give a listen to his last proper solo album, "Travels In the South" (especially the first two tracks). If you like those, you'll probably enjoy the rest of it. You can sample and buy the digital version at all the usual places...

Robin - dig your blog, always respect people like you who go all-in for a band like the dB's. Given your enthusiasm, care to suggest a best-of Chris Stamey's non-dB's work? I always appreciate a starting point.

I wrote another great song today. I listed to Travels In The South yesterday, it sounded mainly pretty great.

robinbrevard

ilx welcomes careful spammers

(I also sneezed and it was about as good as 'Paris Avenue')

Gerald, thanks for the props. Check out the first two "Travels In the South" tracks & go from there. I have to say, though, a lot of Chris' earlier stuff is hit or miss to my ears.

Paul, cheers on your song-writing prowess. Gesundheit!

Noodle Vague, when was the last time *you* made a blog and started a thread about it? Ptthhhhaw!

a lot of Chris' earlier stuff is hit or miss to my ears.

Exactly my feeling as well on the handful of times I've heard it, which is why I was trying to pick your brain for a fan's view of what his best stuff is off all his albums.

Death metal version of "ask for Gill" featuring Mike Patton?

OK Gerald, here are my recommendations for Chris Stamey songs to sample (other than what I've already said about "Travels"):

Avoid "Wonderful Life" altogether unless/until you decide you like his other stuff enough to branch out.

Try the first 3 tracks from from "Fireworks" and the first 2 from "It's Alright." Then, if you want to try more after those, pick and choose the titles that sound interesting to you on those & other albums. Chances are, you'll find some to like, but others (especially a lot of tracks on his 1980s albums) that don't hold up well due to dated production qualities & effects.

One of the best things Chris ever did was an obscure 6-song EP called "Alaska" that's almost impossible to find now. (But I'm going to try to persuade him to let me release it digitally on my blog. We'll see...)

Anyway, happy listening...

Hey Noodle V -- if my posts are spam, there's a TON of it here at ilxor. Amazing how you manage to put up with it all...

8-)

Oh yes, Alaska was fan-frickin-tastic, I forgot about that. It was part of They Might Be Giants Hello CD series. I got a set of those years ago, must finally rip them.

i like the "Instant Excitement" ep, and his Christmas lp is fun... and those two early singles "The Summer Sun" and "I Thought You Wanted to Know" are fantastic.

holy shit. robinbrevard, ignore the haters. the blog (although you could do something about the background, which obscures some of the text,) is great. i've been looking for the cossacks stuff forever. and live db's stuff from the late 70s/early 80s is golden. i'm from winston-salem, so i kinda got into the db's with a grain of salt, but they are a truly great band.

hey nerve_p - great additions to my suggestions for gerald.

hey zingzing - thanks. yeah, the haters are just funny to me, so that's why i reply sometimes... Gotta work on the blog background, yup (just learning how to use Blogger). with your background, i think you'll like the new post i just put up there...

ah, cat's cradle. many fond memories. keep up the good work...

thanks, zing -- give me a shout if you ever want to contribute to the blog...

New album is one of the most enjoyable and memorable things I've heard all year.

I'm only on the second listen. This isn't bad, but it sounds like a comp of "Like This" era dBs and late 80s Stamey solo stuff. The more nervy, less predictable elements that were present in the first two albums don't seem to be found anywhere. I like the Holsapple dBs and the 80s Stamey solo stuff, but I had hoped for a little more maybe.