Thursday, February 09, 2006

I'm working on a couple posts, one short, one not as such, but I wanted to stop by and say this.

If you have access to a surround sound system, especially a 5.1, you need to pick up the new DVD version of The Soft Bulletin. Your ears and head will thank you for it.*

(*Not literally. If your ears and/or head actually do thank you, please consult a doctor.)

Seriously, though. I liked it so much that I'll forgive them for packaging it with the same damn CD (complete with Mokran remixes and "Spiderbite" instead of "Slow Motion").
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5 comments:

Dan said...

i almost, almost, picked up a regular copy of that album today at borders for 9 dollars. my current copy is notable for being the only cd i own that is badly scratched (enough for it to skip), a result of an injury it suffered when i was moving my cd rack a few years ago and a bunch of cds fell out.

i didn't buy it because i hate how they have two versions of "race for the prize" and "waiting for superman" on it. i hate that. i'd probably buy a version with all the lips' mixes, plus "slow motion."

side note: anyone else notice how poorly yoshimi has aged? or how unremarkable "the WAND" is?

Thursday, February 09, 2006 4:14:00 PM
plasket said...

Yeah, I never did like the remixes. It annoys me that the US version of the album begins with the remix of "Race for the Prize."

I've been meaning to burn my own CD based on the vinyl tracklist, which is basically the US tracklist but with "Slow Motion" before "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" (I think) and NO REMIXES.

of course, that would require me to get the British version. Maybe you should do the same... I know how much you hate "The Spiderbite Song." (but then you'd have to put "Buggin'" back where it belongs and ditch the remixes.)

As for yr side note: I haven't heard anything from Mystics, but I have always, ALWAYS, argued for Bulletin being the stronger, more timeless album. For me, it's just how "organic" Bulletin is compared to Yoshimi, the real instruments vs. '70s-sounding electronics.

Thursday, February 09, 2006 9:33:00 PM
Dan said...

yeah. the soft bulletn really hit me recently in a way it hadn't before. i think it has a lot to do with the state i was in when i first heard it (which is when it came out). it's taken me until now to listen with fresh ears.

back in 99 i was far more into the rockier moments, and since there's only like two on the album i was content with "liking" it but not really caring for much of it.

by the time i was in a different mindset and fully able to appreciate all of bulletin, yoshimi rolled in and soaked up all my misplaced adoration.

i think things have straightened out. "waitin' for superman" is one of the best, ever.

Monday, February 13, 2006 7:37:00 AM
plasket said...

y'know, Soft Bulletin ends with an instrumental. a good one, though.

I think as far as weak tracks go, "Suddenly Everything Has Changed."

I remember when Soft Bulletin came out and I told Mom I was thinking of picking it up, she asked, "Flaming Lips? Aren't they a one-hit wonder?"

(she failed to grasp the concept of the "fluke hit." also, I believe I used the Hendrix defense, i.e. he only had one hit single, which was "All Along the Watchtower.")

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 12:39:00 AM
Dan said...

"suddenly everything has changed" is one of the ones i used to not like, but now think is actually pretty awesome. the arrangement is...daring, but not entirely unsuccessful, and the song at its core makes it worth trudging through the empty sections. it's a good one.

"spiderbite" is the real clunker of the bunch, and the instrumentals are merely ok.

Mystics is ok. probably will take a while to sink in, but it sounded at its best when i was cleaning my room, but most things are better as background music anyway, right?

"free radicals," though. this song confounds me, and i can't say which way my opinion of it will swing at any given moment.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 5:50:00 PM

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