gang of four

i've been a fan of this band for a long time but these last few days i've rediscovered them; i'd forgotten how god damn fucking dancy they are.

gang of four have a really odd, skewed take on the post-punk thing (particularly their debut, entertainment! imo) - intelligent, political lyrics, funky-ass bass, a sort of uniquely english take on the dub aesthetic in the production, and really fucking weird scratchy trebly guitar - andy gill has a pretty unique style. jon king sounds sounds absolutely fucking furious on entertainment from start to finish, but you can still go mental on the dancefloor to every track on the album too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7sNfbprnKU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE8Taygteak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFKT6eXUT-M

i suppose the closest thing to them would be wire (maybe the slits or pil with the dub), but they're all even a bit different to gang of four. later albums got really dubbier, and a bit disco in places too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnieMPy1xtM

i'd agree with a lot of what you say, i managed to catch the reformed them live last year and they still have "it". i'd thoroughly recommend the Return The Gift cd too, I'd ignored it for a few years thinking it was likely to be an horrific "re-imagining" but a friend one a copy in a raffle (honestly) and when i heard it i realised i was being idiotic.

it's worth mentioning Andy Gill's production on the last Therapy? album is cracking too. As is that album... easily their best album since Troublegum.

john

yeah, the return the gift version of not great men i posted is pretty decent. they seem to swing a little bit more on it, it's sorta less amphetaminey than the early stuff, lol.

  On 6/3/2010 at 12:43 AM, jeyemusik said:

it's worth mentioning Andy Gill's production on the last Therapy? album is cracking too. As is that album... easily their best album since Troublegum.

only therapy? i really rate are the first two eps (babyteeth and pleasuredeath - although sometimes they verge on a bad big black cover band) and the especially the debut album (nurse) - great use of samples. they were actually my first gig

but i might check that out.

anyway, gang of four:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akz2efTdJ-E

left speaker, jon king singing a meditation on love. right speaker andy gill reading a list of the gear used to record the song - except occasionally, when he sings along with king. that's fuckin IDM.

the version on entertainment changes the spoken word in the right speaker, damn it.

i am swearing a lot tonight when i look at this thread.

Probably obvious choices, but these two are my long-standing faves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XatoHLQcrTY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akz2efTdJ-E

This one makes me really nostalgic for my lost youth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3yqL8HQtg

I remember my bro having Songs Of The Free when I was a kid and thinking it was just tuneless crap. I soon learnt though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XOhds4pHBQ

Edit: double post of Anthrax, sorry. Worth posting twice though.

Its pretty cool stuff. I find a lot of post punk is completely mind blowing when I first hear it but I don't have a lot of time for it in my day to day listening. I loved Entertainment! but I probably haven't listened to it for over a year before seeing this thread. Return The Gift is fucking crack!

Ive tried to like them, theyre like stuff I like and friends with music taste I respect tell me theyre good, but I just dont get it. Theyre just seem to cold for me.

  On 6/3/2010 at 1:17 AM, Coalbucket PI said:

I loved Entertainment! but I probably haven't listened to it for over a year before seeing this thread.

same here before last monday morning

  On 6/3/2010 at 12:57 AM, Caretstik said:

This one makes me really nostalgic for my lost youth:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3yqL8HQtg

peel session version, fucking sweet! hadn't heard that before

  Quote

See the girl on the TV dressed in a Bikini

She doesn't think so but she's dressed for the H-Bomb

always loved that particular couplet.

  On 6/3/2010 at 12:57 AM, Caretstik said:

Edit: double post of Anthrax, sorry. Worth posting twice though.

yup yup. lcd soundsystem are about 33% gang of four, 33% fall, and 33% mechanically reclaimed krautrock, if you think about it.

  On 6/3/2010 at 1:40 AM, kaini said:

  On 6/3/2010 at 12:57 AM, Caretstik said:

This one makes me really nostalgic for my lost youth:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3yqL8HQtg

 

peel session version, fucking sweet! hadn't heard that before

  Quote

See the girl on the TV dressed in a Bikini

She doesn't think so but she's dressed for the H-Bomb

always loved that particular couplet.

The whole CD is pretty fucking good. I have it somewhere in storage. When I dig it out I'll, like, let you know.

And yeah, that's great lyricism.

  On 6/3/2010 at 12:33 AM, kaini said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7sNfbprnKU

Great!

Damaged Goods!

I love for this group for so many reasons. While they have the typical sound of post-punk bands of that time, they also interpolate a rigid edge that's very unique to them. Their lyrics are also consistently more interesting than those of their contemporaries -- one of the few that can successfully use political lyrics. Entertainment! is a near-perfect album, in my opinion, the first to introduce me to that 'angular guitar' sound. Andy Dill even produced the first Red Hot Chili Peppers album.

Another favorite -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5pleZFUa4M

check out Map Ref. 41°N 93°W

Entertainment! is brilliant, looking forward to their new album.

I much prefer what Dave Allen did with his bass with Shriekback:

Thought this was probably the best place to ask. What Mekons should i listen too? I got the first album which im fairly meh about and Rock and Roll which I quite like.

  On 6/3/2010 at 12:22 PM, ieafs said:

  On 6/3/2010 at 7:46 AM, tipper said:

check out Map Ref. 41°N 93°W

oh right that's the other one i like haha

MBV did a great cover of it too.

love love LOVE Gang of Four. Entertainment is up there as one of the best albums ever. Completely timeless.

Saw them at Glastonbury, and they were immense. Jon King was fucking raging!