johnny Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 ....i just sorta discovered. i was watching the end of lost in translation and "just like honey" came on....and thats the only song i've been able to think about.... so i was wondering are they a good band? in the video clip for just like honey they slighty looked like the cure (which i think is always a good thing) are there any other songs by them that are exceptionally good? if i do by an album by them which one should i start with? i was thinking phyco candy or whatever it was called cause it looks like that one is really highly rated.... thoughs....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 never heard of them... are they good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible_r Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I have "psychocandy" and another one which I can't remember, I bought them because I liked "cracking up". They are not bad, but I never got that into them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth-Angel Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 JaMc are pretty good. They have a really nice mix of "Just like honey" on the soundtrack for Lost in Translation. I also liked "Snakedriver" from The Crow. "Penetration" is also a good song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Sometimes they are a little too distorted for me, but sometimes they make really beautifully atmospheric music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 The long and short of it is that the mary chain achieved much in the way of critical acclaim and popular appeal, despite being a band of fairly limited scope. They were the UK music press "band of the year 1985", "Psychocandy", their debut album was hailed as the best thing since...etc. and they were the future of rock'n'roll. "Psychocandy" was the album that featured their early "simple/minimalist 3-chord melodies saturated-in-distortion" sound. At the time of debut single "Upside Down" this was hailed as something revolutionary; whilst it might have been described in the press as a genius "Ramones-meets-The Velvets produced by Phil Spector" phenomenon, or somesuch, the truth is their early sound was actually a conscious rip-off of a little known French artist Dr Mix and the Remix (formerly of Metal Urbain). That titbit wasn't widely reported... Nonetheless, whilst it may not be the legendary album it was hailed at the time "Psychocandy" is a pretty good album, if you like that sort of thing.(i.e. it can be a little bit challenging...) The second album "Darklands", featuring the classic single "April Skies" is more brooding, melodic, better-crafted and generally more accessible than its predecessor. They proceeded to release quite a number of albums: to say they are of "variable quality" is so vague and subjective, it renders the phrase almost meaningless. Most of their albums contain some really good, sufficiently good to compensate for the "filler". What I can say is that, whatever the quality of their albums across the years, they released a string of damned fine singles, which listened to in sequence, demonstrate the band's progress from squalling feedback merchants to purveyors of brooding pop-genius to Bolanesque glam-stompers, etc. Hence, I can strongly recommend their singles collection, cunningly entitled "21 Singles". Well worth investing in, particularly as it can often be picked up fairly cheaply nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 A review of The JAMC "21 Singles" I found on the Inet. It's a rare trick to uphold the sacred tenets of rock & roll while simultaneously reinventing them. But over the course of their 21 Singles, compiled here, the Jesus and Mary Chain did just that. When the first, "Upside Down", emerged on Creation in 1984, the template was set. The Reid brothers who anchored the band would take the idea of sullen, black-leather-clad rebellion to a darker and more inhospitable place than anyone before them. Even now, the early Mary Chain singles sound astounding, the way pop and the avant-garde are mangled together in them so beautifully. But 21 Singles goes far beyond these, through another 14 years of protean glumness, patchy albums and, fortunately, many excellent singles. It proves, once and for all, that the Mary Chain's forte was the three-minute pop thrill, the precisely calibrated jukebox hit. An uncanny number of them--"Some Candy Talking", "Sidewalking", "Reverence"-- remain among the very best of the past 20 years. And the more slack moments still have their uses: to render futile the entire careers of artless impersonators such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, for a start. The Mary Chain's last two singles, from 1998, "I Hate Rock'n'Roll" and "I Love Rock'n'Roll", neatly close affairs: bitter and celebratory; consumed and confused by music and the impulse to make it, which has driven them for so long. This band were genius, and this is why ...is a pretty fair approximation of what I was trying to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 I think I know what you mean about challenging but could you still explain it? what other albums that I might know that are challenging? I thought the Flaming Lips' "Clouds Taste Metallic" because when I first heard it I was worried I wasted my money but now I love it and have embraced it's true genius.... So yeah, what do you mean challenging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Well...the sweetness of the simple melodies was masked by layer upon layer of relentless shrieking, squalling, tinny, ear-bleeding feedback. To some, that is challenging. It didn't bother me that much: in 1984, I was an anarcho-punk, so the presence of melody amongst the unlistenable noise was like a step-up for me. A couple of years later I would be revelling in the noise of Big Black, Butthole Surfers, etc, which, again, some (but not me) would find challenging. I suggest that if you enjoyed "Just Like Honey", you might enjoy "Darklands" more than "Psychocandy". However, if you can get to hear "Upside Down", "Never Understand" and/or "You Trip Me Up" and you find that they float your boat, then "Psychocandy" might be right up your alley. But honestly, you really can't go far wrong with "21 Singles", unless you have some fundamental objection to "Best Of" compilations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Well...the sweetness of the simple melodies was masked by layer upon layer of relentless shrieking, squalling, tinny, ear-bleeding feedback. To some, that is challenging. It didn't bother me that much: in 1984, I was an anarcho-punk, so the presence of melody amongst the unlistenable noise was like a step-up for me. A couple of years later I would be revelling in the noise of Big Black, Butthole Surfers, etc, which, again, some (but not me) would find challenging. I suggest that if you enjoyed "Just Like Honey", you might enjoy "Darklands" more than "Psychocandy". However, if you can get to hear "Upside Down", "Never Understand" and/or "You Trip Me Up" and you find that they float your boat, then "Psychocandy" might be right up your alley. But honestly, you really can't go far wrong with "21 Singles", unless you have some fundamental objection to "Best Of" compilations. Well thank you. I just listened to "Never Understand" and other songs off Psychocandy but I didn't like them as much as "Just Like Honey". So this weekend I'll look for either Darklands or 21 Singles. Thanks again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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