Supergrass - In It for the Money poll

http://bit.ly/WLbRhs

found this on Wiki:

The guitar solo in "Sometimes I Make You Sad" was written during the recording of In It for the Money; it was recorded at half speed then sped up to achieve the mandolin-like sound. The only use of percussion in the song is a cymbal, the drum noises were instead simulated by members of the band making 'grunting' noises. These were then put on a loop.

my god i love this album.

my god i love this album.

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall)

Yeah this! One of the best albums of the 90's.

Will probably vote for Richard III but Cheapskate, Late In The Day and the title track are all up there too.

Late in The Day hands down! despite the mediocre chorus. Just love that verse chord progression so much.
Does Gaz sound kind of like Freddy Mercury to anyone else? It was one of the things that drew me into this album.

Sun Hits the Sky for me.

Voted 'Richard III'.

I remember spinning this album endless times during 1997/1998, and to this day it's still the album of theirs that I return to whenever I get the urge to listen to this band (Road To Rouen comes in at a very close second place for me). Even though I Should Coco is normally the album that gets cited as their best album, I remember thinking that this album was vastly superior to it then, and I still think it's twice the album that I Should Coco is now. It's got a much less slick feel to it than I Should Coco, and feels less dated to me now than that album does.

It really annoys me in some way that one of the songs that they're forever going to be most known for ('Alright'), is in my opinion one of the worst things they've ever done... it was as ubiquitous, corny and annoying as, say, 'Good Enough' by Dodgy, and I think that it gave some people (me included) the wrong first impression of this band when it took off and became a big hit... especially with that fucking video! It's still very much a song that I can't really stand to hear these days. But, when I heard 'Richard III', I thought "huh... maybe that 'Alright' song wrong-footed me and there's a little bit more to this band than I initially thought", and then I checked out In It For The Money, loved it, and continued to buy the rest of their catalogue. Saw them live twice (once in 1999, and again in 2003), and both times was far from disappointed. For a while, I used to find myself curiously at odds with fans that had got on board with I Should Coco and 'Alright', and I got the sense that some fans wanted them to re-make I Should Coco over and over again and create more tracks like 'Alright', whereas I was more thankful that they (at least) attempted to move or (at most, like on Road To Rouen) had moved away from all that.

'Alright' was fine on the album, a bit of light relief. Then it got overplayed, and it's the one I have no doubt my kids could sing you...

I got into them late 1994 when a friend played me his Caught By The Fuzz single, which I loved. Saw them twice early 1995 around the time Mansize Rooster came out, and yeah I remember thinking when they played Alright, wtf is that shit, the rest of their stuff is OK. And then it was released as a single and was huge etc etc. Which basically turned me off them for good, I never owned any of their albums. I had/have a few of the singles off the this one (and I Should Coco) though. Between Richard III and Sun Hits The Sky I guess.

xpost: Good post Turrican. As much as I love Coco I agree that this is a much better album and I also never really need to Alright again (although comparing it to Dodgy is harsh ) A lot of people like the rush of the debut and how it's just all over the place but this just works better as a whole album and the highs are just as high.

Have said this in other Supergrass threads I'm sure but I'll say it again, they never made a bad album. The third album was a huge disappointment for me at the time and I still think it's their weakest but there are plenty of great moments (What Went Wrong, Moving, Mary and Faraway) Agree that Road to Rouen is a really good album, St Petersbourg in particular is one of the best things they ever did. I always like to mention the last album which despite it's fairly weak lead singles is a really great album, probably my third favourite after the first two. Ghost of a Friend, Rebel With You and Butterfly are all up there with their best. I was sad when they split but it was a great swansong.

I think Supergrass are one of the few indie bands I loved in the 90's that I still love as much now. I can probably only still say that about them SFA, St Etienne, Divine Comedy, Suede, Denim and Pulp.

THese guys were the 'worst' culprits of taking two songs and nailing them together.

"Sun hits the sky" being one.

"Late in the day" being another, but at least it works.

I still prefer the first album, but if I could I'd substitute the version of "We're not supposed to" for the version I remember from "The Late Show"...

Have said this in other Supergrass threads I'm sure but I'll say it again, they never made a bad album. The third album was a huge disappointment for me at the time and I still think it's their weakest but there are plenty of great moments (What Went Wrong, Moving, Mary and Faraway) Agree that Road to Rouen is a really good album, St Petersbourg in particular is one of the best things they ever did. I always like to mention the last album which despite it's fairly weak lead singles is a really great album, probably my third favourite after the first two. Ghost of a Friend, Rebel With You and Butterfly are all up there with their best. I was sad when they split but it was a great swansong.

The third album (Supergrass) sounds a lot better to me these days than it did at the time... definitely still love 'Moving', 'Mary' and 'Faraway' (I never was really all that keen on 'What Went Wrong...'), but also I really like some of the more lower-key moments on that album... tracks like 'Eon' (which is just nothing more than a building intro, a snatch of a song, then an outro), 'Born Again' (which doesn't really do all that much but I like the sound of it) and 'Shotover Hill'. I'm in total agreement with you about 'Butterfly' being a highlight of Diamond Hoo Ha... it's without doubt my favourite thing on there. I also love that bit in 'Outside' before the weird synth solo where the synth tone rises (haven't listened to that album in quite some time, mind!)

I think Supergrass are one of the few indie bands I loved in the 90's that I still love as much now. I can probably only still say that about them SFA, St Etienne, Divine Comedy, Suede, Denim and Pulp.

― Kitchen Person, Thursday, March 7, 2013 11:05 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I continued to follow Supergrass until the bitter end and still have time for quite a lot of their output, same with Suede (who I'm continuing to follow now that they've reformed), and same with Pulp. Super Furry Animals continued to do some great work well after the '90s, and I didn't start to get truly bored of them until about 4 or 5 years ago. I had a lot of time for Blur in the '90s and up until they went "on hiatus" post-Think Tank, but even though I dug out Blur and Modern Life Is Rubbish recently and enjoyed them as much as I ever have, I'm not really expecting much from them these days.

THese guys were the 'worst' culprits of taking two songs and nailing them together.

"Sun hits the sky" being one.

"Late in the day" being another, but at least it works.

I still prefer the first album, but if I could I'd substitute the version of "We're not supposed to" for the version I remember from "The Late Show"...

― Mark G, Thursday, March 7, 2013 11:16 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd say 'Moving' was probably the most obvious of their "nailing two songs together" tracks, but I still think it works. I love the bass work throughout 'Moving', actually, especially in the second verse. In fact, I think Mick Quinn provides some great bass playing in a lot of Supergrass tracks, especially on In It For The Money!

I've always found 'We're Not Supposed To' extremely annoying :/

Yeah, "Moving" also, it does work there. Which is why it puzzles me why "Sun/sky" is so beloved, it really irritates me that one, possibly having been a songwriter before...

Hmm... I understand completely what you mean about 'Sun Hits The Sky' when you say it sounds like two songs being nailed together, but I dunno... I don't find it as jarring or as irritating as you seem to, and like the track a great deal. I do know what you're getting at, though... I'm sure there's other songs that I've heard (not necessarily Supergrass songs) that have a similar effect on me as what 'Sun Hits The Sky' does for you. I quite like the u-turn into the 'I am a doctor' section, to be honest... it makes it a little bit more interesting than just keeping it as a straight power-pop thing, I think. I've heard a few people say they don't like the long outro either, but I personally like that too :/

Love songs that are two songs nailed together. Especially if they tack on a third song as a coda!

I saw them at the Elysee Montmartre in 98 or 99 (?) - great show.

They've done a lot of stapled-together songs, but "Late in the Day" feels of one piece to me. The chorus flows really well from the verse and back, probably because there isn't some weird transition to make up for an awkward key change. Definitely one of their best songs.

"Sun Hits the Sky" is all about the verse and the bridge - they're so good that they compensate for the weaker chorus.

The chorus is so much worse than the verse though (in late in the day). It's a total buzzkill.

It would be fine as a pre-chorus or "middle-8" or something.

"Going Out" was an early single for this, many months before the album itself, and I remember being shocked by how different, and mature, it sounded after I Should Coco, which was fun, but basically a kids' album.

Regarding the "grunting" noises in 'Sometimes I Make You Sad', one of the B-sides of 'Richard III' is a studio out-take called 'Sometimes We're Very Sad', which documents the recording of those grunting noises... hehehehe...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsrv6mCEyJc

Does Gaz sound kind of like Freddy Mercury to anyone else?
if you combine Freddy with Billy Corgan

Cheapskate.

this album *pisses* on the debut but you won't read that in the history books of course.

re: "Going Out" i recall that "Pumping On Your Stereo" single was released nearly a year in advance of the LP release. i figured it was a tactic they used to maintain radio presence between albums, which is pretty smart IMO.

wow, "Going Out" was released 14 months prior to "In It For the Money"

I always preferred the 1st album but I relistened to this recently and it's a closer call than I thought. My gut feeling is to go with 'Late in the Day'.

"Hollow Little Reign" and "It's Not Me" are the most underrated

this album *pisses* on the debut but you won't read that in the history books of course.

― piscesx, Thursday, March 7, 2013 7:46 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It may take a few years (christ, I've been waiting for this album to get its due pretty much since the year it came out), but I'm fairly confident that this'll be a record that eventually gets rediscovered and hailed as being superior to the album that came before it. I mean, the fact that that we're talking about and praising this album so much in 2013 when so many other indie albums from around that time are seen as something of a joke these days says a lot, don't you think!?

love this band.

for so long i hated hated, hatedalright, and as turrican said earlier so brilliantly, that one track meant i completely ignored everything else by this band until many years later when i got sent promo copies of road to rouen, and diamond hoo ha, resulting in me realising the errors of my ways.

now they are genuinely one of my all time fave guitar pop bands with their love of glam, psych, and massive hooks.

oh, and i love the 2 songs in one thing they do ..

the results are so much more interesting than the usual plod along britpop crap ..

I love the way the title track cuts off abruptly before 'Richard III' starts up... the first time I heard the album I actually thought something was up with the CD, but when I realised that the sharp segue was intentional I grew to love the effect.

That title track is wonderful though, isn't it? The way it fades in ominously on that organ chord before the guitar arpeggios come in and meander their way through those dark chords... it's the exact opposite of "*click* knowwhatImean? ONE! TWO! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"

Have this vivid memory of a DJ interviewing "Danny from Supergrass" over the phone. Danny pauses and there is the sound of inhalation down the line. "Are you smoking a fag?" the DJ asks. There is a pause. "Might be..."
Anyway, great band. I still love Caught by the Fuzz, Richard III

i saw them around seven times in total. during their first tour they played in a place called "The Bottom of the Hill" in San Francisco. having a blast, had too much beer and went to the bathroom. they ended their set and also went into the bathroom between the encore. it was surreal then i went out the door.

Love this record and I Should Coco. Really wish I could've seen them in '95-'97. But all the records after these just seemed dull by comparison (and the Moon-like approach to the drumming -- some of the best since the MC5's Dennis Thompson -- completely vanished).

re that night in San Francisco, they kind of looked like this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/1813517554_4b52984bed.jpg

Voted It's Not Me over Late in the Day. The chords in the chorus are lovely.

I'm amazed at how good this album is. Had it on this morning, expecting some nice ditties, but there's so much going on. It's hard to pick a track though because there are seven or eight contenders, they keep the quality needle so high. Maybe Late In The Day?

It may take a few years ... but I'm fairly confident that this'll be a record that eventually gets rediscovered and hailed as being superior to the album that came before it

Not just that, it strikes me that the whole band might be candidates for a wholesale reappraisal, like Steely Dan or Fleetwood Mac. They've been totally diminished by being largely in-step with their era imo. They were so much better than good britpop also-rans - if they'd put out this run through the 80s, or in some other contrarian period, we'd most probably be lionising them like crazy.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5857/movingb.jpg

Speaking of Supergrass and Fleetwood Mac, I don't think I've ever coveted an item of clothing like I coveted this three-quarter-sleeve green-and-white t-shirt that Danny wears in the 'Moving' video.

when were steely dan in need of 'reappraisal'? (they were always p big critical darlings back in the day - high ratings from christgau and in the rolling stone record guide etc)

This thread is making me really happy right now.

Ismael, you are are spot on. I played the album when this thread popped up and enjoyed as much as I did when I got it when it came out. They are probably the most underrated band of that whole era.

I suppose I'm talking about whole eras drifting out of fashion until you can wade in and pick out only the best bits. Weren't the Dan exactly the sort of thing that was reviled until the punk aesthetic itself faded away?

They are underrated only inasmuch as other Britpop bands of the era are either 'canon' (Blur, Oasis, Pulp etc), or slagged off (Cast, Shed7, Dodgy, etc)

There aren't that many that sit between those extremes, I'd say...

Supergrass, Mansun, maybe Elastica if anyone knew what the second album sounded like

I thought it was alright, like "Adventure" was to "Marquee Moon", if you see what I mean..

They're probably somewhere inbetween Super Furry Animals (who are almost canon but just seem to get taken for granted) and The Charlatans (who were canon until Up at the Lake) Not sure if that really makes sense. I'm trying to picture how all the bands of that era would be ranked if the NME (or whoever) decided to do on a feature on Britpop, which they probably will at some point. Anyway if Suede can get back in favour then Supergrass surely can.

xpost to ismael

punk aesthetic never the whole story, tho' - popularity of the dan never diminished amongst jazzbos, musos, soul boys etc who cldn't give a fuck abt punk rock (and also, dan actually had a part-punk aesthetic - black, cynical lyrics and nyc outsiderdom amidst california sunshine - and appealed to early punk adopters like danny baker eg)

I'm tempted to ditch my forthcoming Doors poll for britpop now

Going for Richard III. But damn, what a perfect album. Their best by miles.

Funny that people keep referring to them as an indie band. My copies say Parlophone on the spine.

Pretty sure the tour I saw was 1999. They were great, though I wasn't too pumped about that third album... and never listened to anything that came out afterwards. Always assumed they'd jumped the shark for good.

I don't think Supergrass ever really had a big 'shark jump' moment, in all honesty... the problem with Supergrass (which wasn't really their problem at all) is that they didn't do what pretty much everyone expected them to do, which was to stick with their I Should Coco sound. Put it this way, if you'd told me in the '90s that Supergrass would eventually make a record like Road To Rouen, I wouldn't have believed you at all.

They were offered their own Steven Spielburg TV series, weren't they? Presumably based around their "Alright" personae. Which is why they didn't go for it.

Yeah, he wanted to make them into the 90s Monkees.

Thank god they had the good sense to turn it down.

I've heard that so many times! I always assume it's the longest-running throwaway PR gag in history.

Hold on, is everyone in on it except me?

I guess because they stuck to the story for so long, I'm inclined to believe it.

As opposed to The Teletubbies doing "Common People", for instance...

Just found an interview with Gaz from a few years ago where he says the band had a few meetings with Spielberg regarding the TV show, but they wanted to concentrate on recording IIFTM instead. So maybe it's true.

awesome album, voted for "You Can See Me"

i was only vaguely aware of the first album and "Alright" had seemed kind of lightweight, so i was totally surprised and won over by the procession of "Cheapskate" and "Richard III" and "Late In The Day" videos on 120 Minutes. funny how "Cheapskate" apparently wasn't even a single in the UK, but in America it was the lead single and their only song that's ever charted here.

Nah, 'Cheapskate' wasn't a single here, but it's always been a track I've had a lot of time for... love the wah-wah guitar in it!

THese guys were the 'worst' culprits of taking two songs and nailing them together

I wish you hadn't pointed this out, every transition sounds dodgy now. I'm not a huge fan of the Late In The Day chorus, but there's so much to love in the song regardless - Gaz's solo in particular.

songs are allowed to have distinct sections that don't all sound the same, it's ok

Happiness is a warm segue.

tell that to Kevin Shields

'Cheapskate' was used for the promos for a BBC America show in the States. I think that gave them more exposure than they were otherwise getting.

If there's any criticism I can level at this album, it has nothing to do with the music. Rather, it's that I don't feel the album artwork matches the contents very well.

Annoying thing number two: the CD has nothing on it that lets you know it's this album. No band name, no title, just artwork that was going to be linked to the front cover. Except, they changed the front at the last minute...

never got into this album. somehow i only like the odd-numbered supergrass albums. love the cover though.

Annoying thing number two: the CD has nothing on it that lets you know it's this album. No band name, no title, just artwork that was going to be linked to the front cover. Except, they changed the front at the last minute...

― Mark G, Monday, March 11, 2013 2:45 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I just had to go and get my copy of the album out to check this, and the CD does indeed have the title and the name of the album on it... it's around the edges with the copyright notices and everything. I don't know whether this changed on other issues of the album, but I've had the same copy of the album since '97...

Oh yeah, the little writing..

Anyway, what was it? I forget now, for some reason I have "ashtray full of spent tabs" but that might be the Arctic Monkeys one (which, again, has no indic..

IIRC, it's meant to be a close up of a paint palette, because the original cover was meant to have the band members painted on it, in a similar way to I Should Coco... that's how I remember it, anyway.

So happy I didn't miss this thread! Leaning towards Late in the Day but giving the album a thorough listen before committing.

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

Good results

i ended up voting for "Richard III" kind of wish i voted for "G-Song."

high 5 fellow Cheapskate-ers!

High 5, fellow "Tonight" voters!

(meekly high-fives self, lights solitary candle on cupcake in the dark)

wtf I did not expect "Richard III" to win at all.

"Hollow Little Reign" did not deserve to be in the zero-votes club, so I think I did the right thing.

I was barely driving age and "Cheapskate" was my introduction to Supergrass via 120 Minutes. They weren't really that big in the US. I assumed "Cheapskate" and "Late In The Day" were the big singles... "Late In The Day" was a winner on an episode of 12 Angry Viewers, and a few months later I blindly purchased the 7-inch of "Sun Hits The Sky," which convinced me to buy both albums within the next few months. I assumed "Richard III" was an album cut and not considered such a huge favorite.

Good turn out for this poll, really happy to see this album has a fair few supporters. I've been a big fan of this album since it came out but since this poll came about I played this twice and really there is no excuse for not having this in my top 50 albums or so, it's just about perfect.

Nice to see nearly all the tracks get a vote, 'Sometimes I Make You Sad' is probably the only song that doesn't deserve one.

I always thought the picture on the CD was an extreme close-up of a wicker basket or something.

I'd've given G-Song a vote if I'd known - terrific chord progression & guitar, again let down by chorus. Like Late In The Day, only each element's not quite as good.

haha pretty similar experience to billstevejim -- "Richard III" is awesome but i was pretty surprised to see it was the album's biggest chart hit

i should have voted Cheapskate. voted Richard thinking Cheapskate was gonna clean house!

Nice to see nearly all the tracks get a vote, 'Sometimes I Make You Sad' is probably the only song that doesn't deserve one.

I always thought the picture on the CD was an extreme close-up of a wicker basket or something.

― Gavin, Leeds, Tuesday, March 12, 2013 9:39 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

'Sometimes I Make You Sad' definitely deserves one! The beatboxing, the sped-up guitar solo, the weird vocal sound, the dark chord progression... it rules! I could have voted for any track on this album depending on my mood at the time...

I remember the original album cover for In It For The Money was actually available on a Supergrass website at one point, but I'm struggling to find it.

i should have voted Cheapskate. voted Richard thinking Cheapskate was gonna clean house!

― Porto for Pyros (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

'Cheapskate' is wonderful, but this big overseas fandom of it is news to me!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7a/Supergrassinitforthemoneyjapan.jpg

'Sometimes I Make You Sad' definitely deserves one! The beatboxing, the sped-up guitar solo, the weird vocal sound, the dark chord progression... it rules! I could have voted for any track on this album depending on my mood at the time...

― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican)

Yeah I love that song, it's such a great end to the album. Sun Hits The Sky is probably the weakest song on here but I still like it a lot.

Sun Hits The Sky was always my favourite!

Every song has at least a good melody and something interesting going on; most songs have a great melody and something awesome going on. What a rhythm section.

I think Sun Hits The Sky is the only song that was overplayed at the time, it always seems like was a bigger single than Richard III for some reason.

I just remembered there used to be a Supergrass fansite in the Internet 1.0 days... Circa 1998. The guy who maintained it used lots of wacky British slang that I'd never heard at the time, and he used to conduct a "Top 5" Supergrass songs poll.. In one update, he got really excited because "Going Out" placed at #5.

Every song has at least a good melody and something interesting going on; most songs have a great melody and something awesome going on. What a rhythm section.

Yeah, the bass playing on this album (and the debut) is really creative.

Xposts to Turrican, I had no idea 'Cheapskate' was a US hit either, I think that's quite cool as it's one of the best tracks. I do remember it getting used as incidental music on Grange Hill or something.

CAN YOU HEAR US HUMPIN ON YOUR STEREO?

That's the only song I remember seeing/hearing in America.

Loved that third LP. Always surprises me when I find out the album that got me into a band is the "worst" or "bad." I never thought of it as bad when I was 14. Quite the opposite. That album was probably the first modern British album I ever loved. I haven't listened to it in years now, though.

"Alright" and "Pumping on your Stereo" got some play on MTV or VH1 or whatever, and they played "Pumping" on Jay Leno, but other than that, Supergrass was pretty much invisible in the US.

I need to revisit the third album, I never owned a copy and I always found 'Pumping...' kind of annoying but 'Moving' was one of their best singles.

third album is my favorite