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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer on February 12, 2003, 01:18:00 pm
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Anybody cvatch them live the other night?<P>My Favorite Ten Songs by the Rock Group Hall & Oates<BR>by Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie<P>Probably the most inane question asked during interviews with bands or musicians is the "what are your influences" question. For me, it ranks right up there with "where did you get your name" (which we get a lot, being a band with a silly name). Still, I see it asked to virtually every band in almost every fanzine or website in this great land. Usually, bands rattle off a safe, standard list of punk and indie rock favorites and expound on where they were when they first saw Band X play or how Band Z's first seven-inch made them realize that music was their life's calling. Hey, I've done it! We all have, especially when we were younger, more insecure, and felt it was necessary to broadcast a beacon of touchstones to let everyone know that we were "down."<P>I've been thinking about my REAL influences lately, and I've realized that the question should really go a little further back, a little deeper. Probably back to a time before I knew who Fugazi and Pavement were. For me, that time was the 80s, and it was in the music of Hall & Oates.<P>Even though my dad had an extensive collection of rock music, I wasn't allowed to buy LPs for fear that the lyrical content might corrupt my young mind. It didn't really matter, though, as I received $3/week for allowance when I was eight years old and even by 80s price standards, records were out of my price range. Fortunately, I realized that the local library had records one could check out for free. Without telling my parents, I went down there and picked up Big Bam Boom by Hall & Oates. I took it home, put it on the turntable, and began my life-long affair with this charismatic, hit-making duo. In my humble opinion, these are their best songs, in no particular order:<P><BR>"Dance on Your Knees/Out of Touch"<BR>Why we'd be asked to dance on our knees by Hall & Oates, I don't really know. It sounds kinda dirty, but also completely nonsensical. Regardless, the combination and crossfading between these two songs makes for the best opening to any H+O record. The chord progression for "Out of Touch" is a thing to be marveled at, and the outro holds some of Daryl Hall's best vocal adlibbing.<P>"Family Man"<BR>I like this song in that so-bad-it's-good way. It chronicles a chance meeting between a prostitute and a married man who, when propositioned for sex, demands that she, "Leave me alone, I'm a family man!" The woman then offers to "drops her price and pride" as to entice our protagonist, but his response remains the same. Luckily for him, by the time he gets his confidence up, she's gone and a bullet has been dodged. Also, the album that this song appears on (H2O) has one of the best back cover photos ever, where the overly perspired duo stare each down like prize fighters. It's absolutely terrifying.<P>"One on One"<BR>I've tried to convince the DCFC boys to cover this track since the band began. Walla has always been a proponent, but we've never been able to get it past Nick. The melody in the verse is so fucking good I can't stand it: "And oh, oh, I can feel the magic of your touch, um hmm," etc.<P>"Private Eyes"<BR>Some of the most persistent drumming I've ever heard. I don't think there's one fill of cymbal crash in the entire song, just "boom, bap, boom, bap." Good claps in the chorus, too.<P>"Method of Modern Love"<BR>I wish I could have been present for the writing of this number so as to discern whose idea it was to spell out "method of modern love" for the chorus. It's so ridiculous, but it somehow works. For that reason alone, it makes this list. Outside of that, though, this song kinda sucks.<P>"Say It Isn't So"<BR>80s production at its most grandiose and extravagant, but the song is so fucking catchy, it doesn't even begin to matter. I particularly like the pre-chorus melody: "I know your first reaction, you sli-i-i-ide away." Once again, stellar vocal adlibbing by Mr. Hall, who I firmly believe ranks up there amongst the best vocal adlibbers ever.<P>"Adult Education"<BR>An addition to the Rock 'N Soul, Pt. 1 greatest hits collection, which I like for the same reasons as "Family Man". The play on words and subsequent sexual innuendo is truly a career low, but hey, nobody can hit a home run every time.<P>"She's Gone"<BR>I had a conversation with Travis from the D. Plan on the Death and Dismemberment Tour last spring about when poetic license goes too far in pop song lyrics. One of the two songs that sparked the discussion was that one 80s song about not having to take your clothes off to have a good time and how they could go dancing and drink some "cherry wine" instead. The other was "She's Gone", in which the "carbon AND monoxide choke my thoughts away." We decided that the latter was unacceptable, but could not pass judgment on the former, as we were unable to find anyone that could either confirm or deny the existence of "cherry wine." Anyone?<P>"Italian Girls"<BR>This is a rare appearance of John Oates on lead vocals. A quick perusing of the liner notes indicates that Oates penned this tune without the assistance of Daryl Hall or any of the other songwriters the duo had been known to collaborate with. And you can tell. The ethnically tinged lyrics (ex., "I see Sophia on the silver screen-a" ) hit a level of offensiveness rivaled only by Genesis' "Illegal Alien". Why do I like this? Please see #2 and #7. "Where are the Italian Girls," you ask? I have no idea. John, please let Daryl Hall write the lyrics from now on.<P>"You Make My Dreams"<BR>I just reread my last few entries, and realize that this article has steered dramatically from the positive sales pitch I was trying to get going at the beginning, so I'm ending with one that I really, really like. "You Make My Dreams" has the shuffling dance beat and pro-love lyrics of a true 1980s white-person-dance-party movie classic. Everybody cut footloose.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rhett Miller:<BR><B>Anybody cvatch them live the other night?<BR></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I didn't, but I thought this article was extremely amusing. Partially because I love classic H+O (no, i am not ashamed), and partially because he ends up inevitably picking apart much of their music even despite his best intentions. Mainly it's just nice to know I am not the only one who can get with a little "Out Of Touch".<BR>
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funny article...Kiss on My List didn't make his list, though...<P>we always used to sing "Tits on My List" when we were kids!!!
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Has anybody heard The Postal Service by any chance?<P>Much more synth-oriented than Death Cab for Cutie. One review said it was like an indie rock version of New Order/Pet Shop Boys, and from the two songs I've heard, that's not far off the mark.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rhett Miller:<BR><B>Has anybody heard The Postal Service by any chance?<P>Much more synth-oriented than Death Cab for Cutie. One review said it was like an indie rock version of New Order/Pet Shop Boys, and from the two songs I've heard, that's not far off the mark.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I have heard the ep, I liked it alot.
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apparently they now have a full length<P>Coming off their work on Dntel's beautiful This Is the Dream of Evan and Chan, Jimmy Tamborello and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard team up again for their full-length debut as Postal Service, Give Up. Instead of covering that EP's territory again, with this album the duo crafts a poppier, new wave-inflected sound that recalls Tamborello's work with Figurine more than Dntel's lovely subtlety.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jadetree:<BR><B> I have heard the ep, I liked it alot.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>
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I ordered the full-length from Sub Pop a couple of days ago.
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I know i was a big Hall & Oates fan growing up, my favorite was "Your Imagination" which never seems to get mentioned.
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i have the postal service full length and it's excellent. definitely some of the best synth pop i've heard recently and if you dug the EP i think you're in for a treat.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wingelbert humptyback:<BR><B>i have the postal service full length and it's excellent. definitely some of the best synth pop i've heard recently and if you dug the EP i think you're in for a treat.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>how the hell do you get all these albums before they come out?
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jadetree:<BR><B> how the hell do you get all these albums before they come out?</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>other than cursive's latest (which happened purely by luck), i just get them from people i know. it's not the most exciting answer, but that's pretty much it. maybe i should start telling people i sleep with the bands.
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When I was a kid, I went out of my way to purchase the H20 Album... with Family Man, One on One, etc. I wore it out. What I remember most vividly was my father's response "This is a horrible album".... I liked it though.
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July 02, 2007
Strathmore, Bethesda, MD
July 04, 2007
Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
free show!
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I can't go for that. NOOOO. No can do.
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Hall & Oates are the shit. Period. They're in my iPod & I am not ashamed to admit it.
"Early morning in the home room/
And they're about to let you gooooo/
And the locker slammed on the plan you had tonight/
You were messing around with a boyfriend maybe better left alone/
There's a wise guy that you know could put you right"
Sometimes what's perceived as "cheesy" is still greatness comitted to audio.
I know a lot of you like Hall & Oates, you're just too ashamed to admit it . . . ;)
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man, people are really whippping out threads from years and years ago.
marshmallow pulled out a thread from before he even existed on this board!! nice!
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Classic example of Blue Eyed Soul. I certainly couldn't say I don't like them. I know all of their hits. It's pretty damn impossible not to. I was just listening to I Can't Go For That the other day. It's a good song!
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
Hall & Oates are the shit. Period. They're in my iPod & I am not ashamed to admit it.
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haha! I was browsing the old threads and saw this one. Too bad the Bethesda show is the same night as Morrissey!
Originally posted by le sonick:
man, people are really whippping out threads from years and years ago.
marshmallow pulled out a thread from before he even existed on this board!! nice!
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Originally posted by econo:
Classic example of Blue Eyed Soul. I certainly couldn't say I don't like them. I know all of their hits. It's pretty damn impossible not to. I was just listening to I Can't Go For That the other day. It's a good song!
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
Hall & Oates are the shit. Period. They're in my iPod & I am not ashamed to admit it.
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Nooooo can do. LOL
I like your style, econo. We gotta chop it up over some drinks and compare iPods or concert tales, etc. They are the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
Michael Bolton, not so much.
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I've always thought of Michael Bolton as the epitome of Brown-Eye Soul.
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
They are the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
Michael Bolton, not so much.
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Always up for a beer.
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
I like your style, econo. We gotta chop it up over some drinks and compare iPods or concert tales, etc. They are the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
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Originally posted by nkotb:
I've always thought of Michael Bolton as the epitome of Brown-Eye Soul.
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
They are the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
Michael Bolton, not so much.
[/b]
If Brown-Eye Soul is a pseudonym for Shitty Soul, then yes. I whole-heartedly agree.
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I've always thought of Michael Bolton as the epitome of Brown-Eye Soul.
Hahahahaha.
Just when I thought making fun of Michael Bolton was getting old...
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Anybody hear Daryl Hall's "Sacred Songs"? It was produced by Robert Fripp and was intended to be part of a trilogy comprised of Hall, Peter Gabriel's second album (scratch cover) and Fripp's "Exposure." Last year, Fripp released a two-disc "definitive" edition of "Exposure" with two versions of the album, alternative versions and outtakes, many sung by Hall. Hall's great on the songs from the original release but not as good as Peter Hammill on the Hammill songs.
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Originally posted by TheDirector217:
Van Morrison (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sK3AqFYAWQ) is the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
there you go, i fixed it
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Originally posted by econo:
Always up for a beer.
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
I like your style, econo. We gotta chop it up over some drinks and compare iPods or concert tales, etc. They are the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
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Most def. We'll do it up one of these days . . . :D
In the meantime, here's a lil' somethin' from my iVault.
Hall & Oates - Everytime You Go Away (Live @ The Apollo) (http://www.mediafire.com/?2xngyldejhm)
They're live at The World Famous Apollo doing a cover of the Paul Young joint, "Everytime You Go Away." Nice stuff. It's all good. Y'all download it & turn it up real loud when no one's around. I won't tell nobody . . . . :p
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Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
Van Morrison (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sK3AqFYAWQ) is the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
there you go, i fixed it [/b]
I can't really argue too hard on that, but Van had kinda a folk-ish vibe to his music. Soulful, but kinda folkish. (For straight Blue-Eyed Soul, I'd nominate Joe Cocker. But I digress.) Time for a story . . .
Riding back from work with my man from high school/work one day. He's a casual music listener, so I try to turn him onto the classics every so often. Anywho, I played him "Rich Girl." He's lovin' the joint (vaguely remembers it), tapping on the steering wheel, singing along and what not. He says:
"Damn, music would suck without black people." (He's white, by the way. Before someone "Dupek"s me, race is only relevant to this story. But I digress . . . )
I simply proceed to laugh my ass off and pull out the CD cover to Rock 'N Soul Part I and respond:
;)
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Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
Originally posted by TheDirector217:
Van Morrison (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sK3AqFYAWQ) is the epitome of Blue-Eyed Soul at its finest . . .
there you go, i fixed it [/b]
did nobody get RICKROLL'D?!?!
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Neva gonna give neva gonna give
Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
did nobody get RICKROLL'D?!?!
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I put Hall and Oates in the same category as Pabst Blue Ribbon -- Things of horrible taste that hipsters latch onto for some inexplicable reason.
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Originally posted by econo:
Neva gonna give neva gonna give
Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
did nobody get RICKROLL'D?!?!
[/b]
I will neither confirm nor deny the presence of that song in my collection.
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
I put Hall and Oates in the same category as Pabst Blue Ribbon -- Things of horrible taste that hipsters latch onto for some inexplicable reason.
I hate hipsters my damn self, and I can't sit here and say Hall & Oates are the pinnacle of popular music & what not. But with that being said, they are pretty solid songwriters (please see "She's Gone", "Sara Smile", etc.) with an undeniable back catalog. I think their cheesy label comes from their more or less wack ass videos which inexplicably got mad airplay when MTV actually mattered.
You won't admit it in public, fam, but you dig the Hall & Oates . . . . . ;)
Don't fight it. Resistance is futile . . . .
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No way did I latch onto this shit. There's no way I could have avoided it. All over the adult contemporary stations growing up. That's all my parents listened to. IT HAS AN EFFECT!!!
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
I put Hall and Oates in the same category as Pabst Blue Ribbon -- Things of horrible taste that hipsters latch onto for some inexplicable reason.
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You need not explain it. Simply embrace it. Now there's Hall & Oates songs stuck in about 30 posters head's for the next 24 hours. I fuckin' love it . . . . Music's all about balance. Everyone can't be brooding, intellectual, and poetic. You need a couple of Ricky Martins for every Santana. There's always a couple MC Hammers & Nelly(s) to every Jay-Z & Rakim. Sexy girls usually have at least one fat/ugly friend. It's just the way of the world . . .
Originally posted by econo:
No way did I latch onto this shit. There's no way I could have avoided it. All over the adult contemporary stations growing up. That's all my parents listened to. IT HAS AN EFFECT!!!
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
I put Hall and Oates in the same category as Pabst Blue Ribbon -- Things of horrible taste that hipsters latch onto for some inexplicable reason.
[/b]
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
I put Hall and Oates in the same category as Pabst Blue Ribbon -- Things of horrible taste that hipsters latch onto for some inexplicable reason.
I like H&O and PBR in a can, but don't ever call me a hipster again.
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listening to them now :)
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My name is Random Citizen PDX and I have Rock & Soul Pt. 1 on vinyl. :D
Jefitoblog, which is an awesome blog if you haven't checked it out previously, re-posted the Idiot's Guide to Hall & Oates (http://jefitoblog.com/blog/?p=1261) last week. There are a bunch of Mp3s within the article.
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I hate all this post-irony/hipster BS about bands that are so cheesy you love them or a record that's so awful that it's one of your favorites.
I love Hall & Oates. They wrote a lot of great pop/soul songs.
Two of my favorites are the ones that Ben Gibbard thought were horrible: "Adult Education" and "Family Man."
Brian
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Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
I hate all this post-irony/hipster BS about bands that are so cheesy you love them or a record that's so awful that it's one of your favorites.
<img src="http://ethnocenter.org/files/BadMusic.jpg" alt=" - " /> (http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Music-We-Love-Hate/dp/0415943663/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-1342889-6777545?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182865105&sr=1-2)
Have I got a book for you!