Had their day??

There was a point back in the day when i was obsessed with BOC..

Music has the right still stands as probably the most influential album for myself, and still sounds strong now though ive heard it millions of times.

I was similarly obsessive about the hi-scores ep, and also loved in a beatiful place and other releases...

Though campfire headphase had its moments, i saw this as a more watered down release and not so powerful and addictive as previous releases, trans canada highway returned to the BOC that I liked..no guitars etc...and i think Left Side Drive is one of the best songs they have produced..but still it wasnt a solid release, and was a bit too much like we had heard it all before..(a bit of a catch 22 situation maybe!!)

Anyway, obviously im yet to hear any new material apart from that why remix, but i reckon the best we can expect from boards in future is the standards of their latest material.....maybe 3.5/5 standards

As i say, its a bit of a catch 22 situation, cos we want to hear something new from boards....but when they tried the guitar direction i wasnt 100% satisfied......for me I would love them to take the dark route.....and produce an album like clarks body riddle to shut me the hell up .....

I think im less of a fanboy now, and can admit when i BOC doesnt float my boat entirely....

That's perfectly fine - I think it's very unrealistic to expect an artist to please you musically with every release. It's their art, and taking a different direction or refining it is what's it's all about. Sometimes you'll like what they did, sometimes you won't.

They need to strip things down a a bit I think. That & do exactly what they want to do & not so much what people expect them to do i.e. more of the same with knobs on! But it's like you said. Bit of a catch 22. There was a time when we couldn't get enough of BoC & just wanted more of the same. But now we've had that for the last 10 years I think we want something that is still very much BoC but just done a little differently. MHTRTC is still the best BoC album. The others have been fantastic but that one is still the best. I think it's because it is more stripped down. Geogaddi & Campfire Headphase had a lot more going on in each track. As I said originally, I think they need to strip things down a bit.

the campfire headphase is the best album imo...they cant obviously please everyone...the best thing they can do is to do what they want to.

think the next album maybe will top all the other releases as it seems like they are in top form...

broken drum, peacock tail, 84 pontiac dreams, last walk around mirror lake, two dogs dead, satellite anthem icarus, farewell fire, left side drive, skyliner, slow this bird down etc etc is some of the best tracks they ever made!

i don't think mhtrtc is stripped down at all, half the tracks revolve around heavily complicated drum programming. sure that album might have used more simplified monophonic synths but alot of those tracks had a lot more going on beat wise.

each album i think what is going on they seem to be adding more and more layers of unneccessary sounds, collaged samples , like this new album , guitars, to the point where now they are almost parodying themselves.

i want what most of us on this board want. mhtrtc, again.

i don't want complicated over production. walls of sounds. tricky stuff. it's just not what i grew up on you know?

and for the record, the beats are always cool too, if they can find a balance like they did on their first record. of course it would be boring (and pointless) to pull of another mhtrtc, BUT, i mean, word gets around and i know how people feel about that album, most just like me, it's almost legendary in the underground.

there comes a point when a group has to stop doing their own thing and listen to the fans.

Imagine being in their position, knowing how their legions of fans are and what they expect and at the same time trying to make yourself happy creatively. You want to explore new ground, but yet do not want to alienate your listeners.

We'll see which way it goes if and when the next one comes out.

  YEK said:

i don't think mhtrtc is stripped down at all, half the tracks revolve around heavily complicated drum programming. sure that album might have used more simplified monophonic synths but alot of those tracks had a lot more going on beat wise. each album i think what is going on they seem to be adding more and more layers of unneccessary sounds, collaged samples , like this new album , guitars, to the point where now they are almost parodying themselves.

This is what I was getting at. There's more layers of sound, more going on in the later albums. I love all the albums. Campfire Headphase is awesome. But there's something very speical about MHTRC. I think its one of the best albums ever made.

  Quote

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down

You can't let go and you can't hold on

You can't go back and you can't stand still

If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will

i'm super bored by the old records. i like headphasers and their latest stuff because its new. i was far more obsessed with music has the right to children, because i heard color of the fire and i have not committed suicide since then.

when's this "emphasis on major" release coming out???

I would love to hear some more of the abstract sound collage stuff that was demostrated on Geogaddi. Maybe also some stuff in the vein of Corsair as well. I really don't think they have had their day.

Well my favorite will always be MHTRTC. I do think Campfire sets better with me than Geo. I will never get tired of BoC. They can put out complete shite, and I will stand by it.

  Archrival said:

the campfire headphase is the best album imo...they cant obviously please everyone...the best thing they can do is to do what they want to.

 

think the next album maybe will top all the other releases as it seems like they are in top form...

 

broken drum, peacock tail, 84 pontiac dreams, last walk around mirror lake, two dogs dead, satellite anthem icarus, farewell fire, left side drive, skyliner, slow this bird down etc etc is some of the best tracks they ever made!

yeah I agree, the first night I heard this I was so satisfied. It seems the newst boc album is always my favorite

Threads like this are really pointless, as there always comes a point when people who are honest with themselves just know when a band is past their prime. Some will come to terms with the latter career material, and some won't. Look at bands like U2 and the Stones - clearly past their prime, not even close to being fresh anymore, but they can still make tracks that please their most loyal (and aging) fanbase. I hate to even mention BoC in the same breath, as they clearly still care a ton about their music, I don't get the sense that they are tossing things off, or doing weird pisstakes, or experimenting out of desparation (as I felt, for example, on the last three Orbital albums). I don't want another MHTRTC, I just don't want them to get too pop, or too dull and start repeating themselves. So far, they haven't, though certain tracks are starting to sound a bit samey, and a few stray too close to pop for my tastes. That's why I prefer Campfire Headphase to Trans Canada EP - it's more experimental.

I think what happens with bands as they age, is their ability to craft truly brilliant combinations of melody and beat diminishes. Look at early BoC tracks like Telephasic Workshop, Sixtyniner, Everything You Do Is a Balloon, etc - as much as I love their later work, nothing comes close to those tracks in the combination of melody, beat, and simplicity. But they've made up for that, to an extent, by adding all sorts of interesting textures and samples, aging the music in interesting ways, etc. So I don't think you can say, "get back to the basics, guys", as they may just not be as capable of hitting the same level of minimalist genius as previously. Personally, I think Autechre have gone the same route, compensating for diminished melodic ability, by bringing production, samples, and insane drum programming to the fore. I don't resent it, it's just the nature of things. If a band I like still seems to be putting their love into their work, I usually just adjust my expectations rather than feel upset.

I may be the only one, but though I enjoy all three major releases, Geogaddi is my favorite. It was MHTRTC taken down a slightly darker road, but still full of nostalgia.

I do enjoy The Campfire Headphase, but I think it's not the addition of guitars that throws me off so much as the lack of voice samples. I know they had said they didn't want to be typecast as the band with the obscure/demonic samples and wanted to drift away from that, but I think this is what they were best at - adding in those bits to help create the mood. Not that the next album has to be as dark as Geogaddi, but it will seem more "BoC" if it's got those samples again.

$0.02

edit: grammar

I listened to June 9th last night, first time in a long time, and was blown away by how utterly simple, but yet terribly good the melody and structure of the track is. That synth line in it (not the bass one) is so unique and crisp... reminds me of why I fell in love with their music in the first place.

I think some of the newer tracks lack a bit of this magic, although there are a few standouts (Skyliner comes to mind) and Under The Coke Sign.

we still ready to kick your arse

BURN THIS FORUM TO THE GROUND

campfire headphase was the best album ever released ever.

jsut gonna pop in and say geogaddi is probably their best album

  essines said:

jsut gonna pop in and say geogaddi is probably their best album

I agree with this statement.

  patternoverlap said:

  essines said:

jsut gonna pop in and say geogaddi is probably their best album

 

I agree with this statement.

as long as they keep worshipping satan i'll be happy.

  streamrunner said:

as long as they keep worshipping satan i'll be happy.

The day they come out and admit that they do worship $atan, is the day I take my BoC catalog and burn them to ashes. MUAHAHA.

would love to see them increase the beats per minute...nlogax for example but faster

I reckon as you get older you get more content, less paranoid, more at ease with yourself, more tolerant - less to ponder and rant about. I wouldn't be surprised if they did a comedy album next. Well probably a bit surprised.