Our biggest hits!

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Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 16 Jun 2018, 05:13

bobzilla77 wrote:Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey


It really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?

I went to the Twins' Wikipedia page and..yes, once that moniker gets introduced (2014), it does sound increasingly "Tourrettic" with each subsequent re-iteration.

I also see that they have quite a few more hits than I remember.

Yeah, I suppose I really don't know what drives me to project so much hypothetical misery onto someone like him. How could I possibly know?

I certainly wouldn't mind touring this summer, singing through some gigantic P.A. while the punters file in. Having a song you wrote 35 years ago that means something to a number of people is also...yeah, you're right. That might be nice.

I just don't know what it means to be in Smashmouth.

There's a local act who had a minor "third wave radio grunge" hit, and they're out on some "late alternative rock era" package tour this summer. I know another dude who has been in the current performing company of The Romantics for over a decade now, and however rote festival season might seem as a person creeps into a certain stage of life (the same hotels, flights, shuttle buses, hospitality suites, etc. year after year - and this is by his own narration), my own ideals about the performing arts may be lofty in a way that only I need them to be. A lot of people who play to thousands of people a night (even as sort of "filler" entertainment) well into middle age and beyond might feel some profound "All I ever wanted was to make music" fulfillment and gratitude. Life, to some extent, is what you make it.

But...you know, I've got this book about Led Zeppelin's concerts. Probably needs to be updated. They were a well documented act, and it sort of goes through every gig from their first to their last and explores - in, to my mind, compelling detail - the ongoing journey of that ensemble onstage from night to night. If you know and love this stuff, you know they were sort of the 1970s rock equivalent of a great small jazz combo. The arrangements and the approach were incredibly fluid, as was the repertoire up to a point. That someone could even be bothered to document their heavily bootlegged live career in such a fashion speaks to an often captivating range of one off musical events. Same with The Who. There's scarcely a note they played onstage ca. 68-70 that doesn't sound like incredibly powerful and high stakes telepathy (of the Grateful Dead, I will only say that I find them severely lacking in comparative "oomph"). Frequent magic, if you will. They say Woodstock was them at their worst and...I've been worshiping at the altar of that version of "Sparks" for decades.

I guess if you've had any real taste of that kind of volatility and flexible expressiveness, chemistry, and communication (I feel like the right musicians together are often able to "take a big drink from the well" and frequently spur each other on to some unrepeatable event or response), it may haunt your dreams forevermore. It can't necessarily happen every time you go in front of an audience, but..,surely it's fair for some percentage of performing musicians to require it as a feasible possibility.

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bobzilla77
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby bobzilla77 » 18 Jun 2018, 19:57

I will admit that it is a little troubling to see the Who in their current condition, freed completely from their improvisational impulses. It is about as sad as seeing them in 1989 on the "Who On Ice" tour, maybe the one thing is, they really and truly CANNOT play that way anymore, while in 1989 they were CHOOSING NOT TO. Back then, it seemed possible they might throw out the extra players, quit all that orchestra nonsense and get down to rock and roll business, and they did for a couple years around 2000. The best outcome today is that they will perform all their hits capably well and create an impression of visibly enjoying themselves as opposed to being visibly miserable.

I was always happy to see jazz legends in their sixties through their nineties, they were sometime diminished from their height of excellence, of course. But Christ, to see Ornette Coleman solo, or Aretha Franklin tear into "Never Loved A Man" at 75% capacity was still a prodigious thing to witness. They still had it.

I also know a guy, who is friends with one of the people in the current incarnation of the Motels. While they do have their handful of hits they have to do every night, they continue to make new music, and care about it and try to make sure it can be presented properly. There's a comp that came out recently of all the best of their 2000s-era material. Maybe the rest of the world thinks of them as an 80s nostalgia band, but they seem to be soldiering on, doing the best with the hand they've been dealt. If you think about it, they probably get 45 minutes on stage every night, and only 15 of that is taken up by their hits - for the rest of the time they can do whatever they want, with a captive audience, every night.

I don't know where Thompson Twins Tom Baily fits in that continuum... maybe he too is still trying to write his best work.
Jimbo wrote:I guess I am over Graham Nash's politics. Hopelessly naive by the standards I've molded for myself these days.

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bobzilla77
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby bobzilla77 » 18 Jun 2018, 20:00

As for Smashmouth, come on man... those guys sucked live when they were still in "Best New Artist" territory and I'll wager they still do.
Jimbo wrote:I guess I am over Graham Nash's politics. Hopelessly naive by the standards I've molded for myself these days.

Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 18 Jun 2018, 20:10

bobzilla77 wrote:As for Smashmouth, come on man... those guys sucked live when they were still in "Best New Artist" territory and I'll wager they still do.


I have not now or ever mounted anything remotely resembling a defense for them.

They may very well be the sort of act who - from day one - were (knowingly or not) aimed as squarely at "Have at least (but not necessarily more than) one goofy song that will sound recognizable at state fairs in 20 years" as anyone ever could.

You are correct - "Knowing what it means to be in Smashmouth" was as valid an unknowable hypothetical then as it is now.

sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 21:17

Bent Fabric wrote:
bobzilla77 wrote:As for Smashmouth, come on man... those guys sucked live when they were still in "Best New Artist" territory and I'll wager they still do.


I have not now or ever mounted anything remotely resembling a defense for them.

They may very well be the sort of act who - from day one - were (knowingly or not) aimed as squarely at "Have at least (but not necessarily more than) one goofy song that will sound recognizable at state fairs in 20 years" as anyone ever could.

You are correct - "Knowing what it means to be in Smashmouth" was as valid an unknowable hypothetical then as it is now.


Carson Daly, a local Bay Area radio DJ at the time, began promoting them locally and they were his favorite band. Which is all you need to know, really.
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sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 21:19

My daughter went to Santa Cruz with her friends a few years ago and happened to catch the Friday concert on the beach.

I asked her how it was and who the band was. She said, "I dunno, but they were soooooo '80s."

It was ABC.
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bobzilla77
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby bobzilla77 » 18 Jun 2018, 21:57

Bent Fabric wrote:
bobzilla77 wrote:As for Smashmouth, come on man... those guys sucked live when they were still in "Best New Artist" territory and I'll wager they still do.


I have not now or ever mounted anything remotely resembling a defense for them.

They may very well be the sort of act who - from day one - were (knowingly or not) aimed as squarely at "Have at least (but not necessarily more than) one goofy song that will sound recognizable at state fairs in 20 years" as anyone ever could.

You are correct - "Knowing what it means to be in Smashmouth" was as valid an unknowable hypothetical then as it is now.


I played at a festival with them in 1998, they were semi known for "Walking On The Sun" but had not become inescapably huge with "All Star" yet.

Their guitar player was a nice guy. I kinda wanted them to be good live, so I could wish him well professionally. But it was not to be. "Walking On The Sun" was clearly their finest moment by a long shot.

Am I gonna have be fucking intolerable oversensitive indie guy for pointing out that the lyric "All that glitters is gold/ only shooting starts break the mold" stands in direct opposition to the concept of Indie Cred? And that it bothers me?
Jimbo wrote:I guess I am over Graham Nash's politics. Hopelessly naive by the standards I've molded for myself these days.

sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 22:29

bobzilla77 wrote:
Bent Fabric wrote:
bobzilla77 wrote:As for Smashmouth, come on man... those guys sucked live when they were still in "Best New Artist" territory and I'll wager they still do.


I have not now or ever mounted anything remotely resembling a defense for them.

They may very well be the sort of act who - from day one - were (knowingly or not) aimed as squarely at "Have at least (but not necessarily more than) one goofy song that will sound recognizable at state fairs in 20 years" as anyone ever could.

You are correct - "Knowing what it means to be in Smashmouth" was as valid an unknowable hypothetical then as it is now.


I played at a festival with them in 1998, they were semi known for "Walking On The Sun" but had not become inescapably huge with "All Star" yet.

Their guitar player was a nice guy. I kinda wanted them to be good live, so I could wish him well professionally. But it was not to be. "Walking On The Sun" was clearly their finest moment by a long shot.

Am I gonna have be fucking intolerable oversensitive indie guy for pointing out that the lyric "All that glitters is gold/ only shooting starts break the mold" stands in direct opposition to the concept of Indie Cred? And that it bothers me?


Steve Harwell was and is a notorious star fucker. He's Fred Durst without the Playboy mansion membership. Or Adam Duritz without the Warriors courtside seats.

Smash Mouth is notorious on Twitter for trolling people who bad mouth them. Like anyone cares?
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Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 18 Jun 2018, 22:30

bobzilla77 wrote:Am I gonna have be fucking intolerable oversensitive indie guy for pointing out that the lyric "All that glitters is gold/ only shooting starts break the mold" stands in direct opposition to the concept of Indie Cred? And that it bothers me?


I would not even ascribe to "the Mouth" whatever motives such a pandering, cynical, "go for it, dude!" lyric might suggest. There is a deep, vacuous, emptiness behind all of these cliche sized shits the writers are throwing at the wall, and...for all we know, they think it sounds like Pavement or Unrest.

Those guys wrote:“First off, sales for ‘All Star’ keep very consistent, and we’ve enjoyed a spike recently,” Harwell said, noting the band’s recent Geico campaign. “It also really helps keep our live performance quote [for bookers] super strong.”

Harwell thinks it’s the song’s sound and positive message that’s helped it resonate with a new generation.

“It’s a fun song to remix and mashup, that’s for sure,” Harwell wrote. “The pocket it sits in lends it to work with tons of songs for mashups.” He added later, “The feel of the song initially is super fun and poppy, and the lyrics, although sung in a fun way, actually delivers important messages people can relate to.”

Harwell insists that the band appreciates all of the attention.

“It’s very weird, but we always feel honored when someone takes their personal time to create anything Smash Mouth related,” he said.

But I get the feeling that he’s gritting his teeth while forcing a smile. Smash Mouth has a terse relationship with the internet, to say the least. The band is overly sensitive about its legacy, quick to point out to trolls on Twitter that “All Star” was a hit “before Shrek was even green lit,” as Harwell put it to me via email, pretty much unprompted.


My own BCBmemory doesn't indicate whether or not "Shrekgate"* was ever discussed here.

*In essence, one or two people - seemingly at random - tweeting something about "your one hit - the song from Shrek" at "Official Smash Mouth" and a pattern emerging in which the band would gleefully (yet defensively) trot out their "We had SEVERAL charting/selling songs/albums" stats in response. Naturally, the internet being what it is, word spread quickly and "the Mouth" found no shortage of opportunities to correct the internet - painstakingly, one person at a time.

http://gawker.com/smash-mouths-desperate-endless-twitter-battle-1781910819

Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 18 Jun 2018, 22:32

Sloop knows.

Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 18 Jun 2018, 22:34

Let us hope Thomspon Twins' Tom Bailey is enjoying his victory lap more than these guys:

https://www.stereogum.com/1808547/smash-mouth-singer-freaks-out-when-food-fest-crowd-wont-stop-throwing-bread-at-him/news/

sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 22:41

Bent Fabric wrote:Let us hope Thomspon Twins' Tom Bailey is enjoying his victory lap more than these guys:

https://www.stereogum.com/1808547/smash-mouth-singer-freaks-out-when-food-fest-crowd-wont-stop-throwing-bread-at-him/news/


Too bad it's over, but I wonder if they played San Mateo County Fair. It would have been worth throwing a couple corn dogs or an oversized pretzel their way just to see what he'd do.
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Charlie O.
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Charlie O. » 18 Jun 2018, 22:42

sloopjohnc wrote:
Bent Fabric wrote:Let us hope Thomspon Twins' Tom Bailey is enjoying his victory lap more than these guys:

https://www.stereogum.com/1808547/smash-mouth-singer-freaks-out-when-food-fest-crowd-wont-stop-throwing-bread-at-him/news/


Too bad it's over, but I wonder if they played San Mateo County Fair. It would have been worth throwing a couple corn dogs or an oversized pretzel their way just to see what he did.

I'm thinking popcorn.
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Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 18 Jun 2018, 22:43

An entire audience dressed up as Shrek and Donkey just seems like way too much to hope for.

sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 22:44

Charlie O. wrote:
sloopjohnc wrote:
Bent Fabric wrote:Let us hope Thomspon Twins' Tom Bailey is enjoying his victory lap more than these guys:

https://www.stereogum.com/1808547/smash-mouth-singer-freaks-out-when-food-fest-crowd-wont-stop-throwing-bread-at-him/news/


Too bad it's over, but I wonder if they played San Mateo County Fair. It would have been worth throwing a couple corn dogs or an oversized pretzel their way just to see what he did.

I'm thinking popcorn.


Nothing says public shame like a real mustardy corn dog.

You get some good rotation on that thing and the mustard goes everywhere.
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Charlie O.
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Charlie O. » 18 Jun 2018, 23:01

sloopjohnc wrote:
Charlie O. wrote:
sloopjohnc wrote:
Too bad it's over, but I wonder if they played San Mateo County Fair. It would have been worth throwing a couple corn dogs or an oversized pretzel their way just to see what he did.

I'm thinking popcorn.


Nothing says public shame like a real mustardy corn dog.

You get some good rotation on that thing and the mustard goes everywhere.

The thing is, if you're a performer and someone throws corn dogs at you, you have some justification for getting upset. I'm going the other way - the pleasure of seeing Whatshisface pitch a hissyfit over something that's literally completely harmless (unless there's a swarm of birds about - and that would be funny too, obviously).
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sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 23:07

Charlie O. wrote:
sloopjohnc wrote:
Charlie O. wrote:I'm thinking popcorn.


Nothing says public shame like a real mustardy corn dog.

You get some good rotation on that thing and the mustard goes everywhere.

The thing is, if you're a performer and someone throws corn dogs at you, you have some justification for getting upset. I'm going the other way - the pleasure of seeing Whatshisface pitch a hissyfit over something that's literally completely harmless (unless there's a swarm of birds about - and that would be funny too, obviously).


In the Bay Area, the sea gulls would come swooping.
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Charlie O.
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Charlie O. » 18 Jun 2018, 23:09

And they'd be singing better than Whatshisface.
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sloopjohnc
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby sloopjohnc » 18 Jun 2018, 23:48

Charlie O. wrote:And they'd be singing better than Whatshisface.


:lol:
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Bent Fabric
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Re: Our biggest hits!

Postby Bent Fabric » 19 Jun 2018, 00:00

Charlie O. wrote:The thing is, if you're a performer and someone throws corn dogs at you, you have some justification for getting upset.


The jellybabies of "late stage alternative nostalgia".


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