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Post by oh oooh on Jan 17, 2019 20:39:48 GMT
I really enjoyed the documentary (I tend to enjoy these things almost regardless of the subject matter) but I'm blowed if I can listen to much Damned without thinking 'meh'. They just rarely seem to lift off...
The first album has a couple of great songs ('Neat Neat Neat', 'Fan Club'), but 'New Rose' is like 'Teenage Kicks' to me - just a dopey thrash that doesn't take me anywhere. And then it gets worse.
Like REM, I think they're one of those 'jagged career profile' bands whose greatest moment might have been in the middle of side two of their 1983 album, if you know what I mean. I mean, this is just fabulous:
and this is probably my absolute favourite (and it's not especially typical):
you a Damned fan?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2019 21:13:29 GMT
I think the the most cohesive album was Machine Gun Etiquette and got it together for Phantasmogoria, but are a band best served by compilations. The problem is that they are such a personal band and some songs might be selected or left off depending on the compiler. I have the Smash it Up anthology and Total Damnation and are what I listen to most often for them.
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Post by jeffk on Jan 17, 2019 21:16:24 GMT
'but 'New Rose' is like 'Teenage Kicks' to me - just a dopey thrash that doesn't take me anywhere.'
You just bashed two of the greatest punk singles!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2019 21:19:38 GMT
The Damned remind me of a UK equivalent to Husker Du/Replacements, except they lasted much longer.
Inspired at times, but you sometimes wonder how the group who can do such great songs could do such crappy ones.
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Admin
Administrator
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Post by Admin on Jan 17, 2019 21:21:47 GMT
'but 'New Rose' is like 'Teenage Kicks' to me - just a dopey thrash that doesn't take me anywhere.' You just bashed two of the greatest punk singles! I hate 'em both. Gimme any of the first four Pistols singles. Or any 1977/1978 Clash A-side. Or 'Personality Crisis' or 'Non-Alignment Pact' or 'No Fun' or 'Cars and Girls' (the best 'punk' to me is often the stuff that only has one foot in).
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loveless
god
Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
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Post by loveless on Jan 17, 2019 21:51:06 GMT
My affection is almost exclusively for the best moments of the first LP and Machine Gun Etiquette. Things like "Feel the Pain" (the great lost Alice Cooper track?) or "Anti-Pope" will always sound great to me, but as a general "THAT'S my band!" proposition, I'm fairly indifferent.
Love "New Rose", but can't quite...you know...get it up, I guess, for "Teenage Kicks".
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Post by clive gash on Jan 17, 2019 22:22:09 GMT
CONTROVERSIAL OPINION CORNER
I dig Music For Pleasure more than the first (see also This Is The Modern World v In The City)
Pure Back In The USA-style riffola.
A pisstake that transcends. I could live in that rhythm guitar for years.
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Post by dipstick on Jan 17, 2019 22:31:19 GMT
Today I used the Damned as my soundtrack to a bunch of dicey licence upgrades across several software systems. It gives you just enough recklessness to click Upgrade when you probably wouldn't normally do so, much like a third glass of wine.
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Post by oh oooh on Jan 17, 2019 22:31:58 GMT
A pisstake that transcends. I could live in that rhythm guitar for years. Good stuff!
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Post by jeffk on Jan 17, 2019 22:50:51 GMT
A pisstake that transcends. I could live in that rhythm guitar for years. Good stuff! They wrote that after traveling to Los Angeles thinking they were going to open for Television. When they got there, Verlaine didn't want them on the bill and they were stuck in LA for a few days.
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Post by jeffk on Jan 17, 2019 22:54:15 GMT
Probably my favorite Damned song.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Jan 17, 2019 23:06:53 GMT
A fan from the beginning, but – and you are going to be surprised to hear this, coming from me, but it's the singles I go for – I had/have Sanity Claus on a 7". While New Rose, Stretcher Case Baby and the first album were fine for their time, for me, the band really came into their own when Brian James left, the Captain took over on guitar and they became effectively the first post-punk band, pop with psychedelic twiddly bits around the edges. I did buy a few albums – although never, for some reason, Machine Gun Etiquette - and enjoyed them, and came to the conclusion that the aforementioned Captain was a bit of a pop genius, fine solo records too, while there never has been much more than a schtick to Mr Vanian, while I'm not one to notice a rhythm section.
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Post by oh oooh on Jan 17, 2019 23:16:13 GMT
...came to the conclusion that the aforementioned Captain was a bit of a pop genius, fine solo records too, while there never has been much more than a schtick to Mr Vanian That was definitely something I took away from the documentary. Vanian is a mystery even to his own bandmates. Sensible is a decent chap with quite a few tricks up his sleeve. London fellas, tho', so really hard work to fathom. Not that you'd want to.
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fonz
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Post by fonz on Jan 18, 2019 0:15:26 GMT
Has the doc been on telly or something???
‘Strawberries’ is my personal fave, but I’d take the MGE/ Black Album/ Strawberries run over most pink/post-punk run.
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Post by oh oooh on Jan 18, 2019 0:24:00 GMT
Has the doc been on telly or something??? Yeah - I think it was on Sky Arts late last year some time.
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