Favorite Golden Smog Album

Discuss Golden Smog, The Volunteers, The O'Jeez, and any other bands related to Soul Asylum.

Which is your favorite Golden Smog album?

On Golden Smog (1992, EP)
0
No votes
Down By The Old Mainstream (1996)
4
18%
Weird Tales (1998)
10
45%
Another Fine Day (2006)
3
14%
Blood On The Slacks (2007, EP)
1
5%
I have never heard a Golden Smog album before
4
18%
 
Total votes: 22

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sayeeda
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by sayeeda »

Doh! Now I remember where i first heard a GS song! Almost a year ago, I came across youtube videos posted of the Mad Ripple Hootenanny at Java Jacks (6/8/07). So, technically, Ill Fated is the first song I heard...or should have heard. :roll:

So frustrated. Get up anyway.
So complicated. Changes every day.

So the darkness fades
And the light, will come shining through.

crawl
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by crawl »

For GS I would recommend Pecan Pie, still a fav of mine.

Hope you are makeing it through them all... they are great!

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zany
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by zany »

i started with weird tales in December sayeeda and i loved it enough to buy my 2nd gs album now (just arrived today yay!) down by the old mainstream. (thanks you all for the recommendations) i listened through only once and a half so far but love it so far :) too early to say which i like better.

i had already heard a few of the songs on this album before but of the new-to-me songs so far i really liked V when it first came. maybe i'll vote after i have more time to listen to this one instead of waiting to get a 3rd albu

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swendo
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by swendo »

I'd put them in the order of:
- Mainstream - For me, this was the first time the Smog whole became greater than the sum of its parts. You had Jeff Tweedy in the mix, the revelation that Kraig Johnson could write songs (Friend!), Dave's appearance on 'Nowhere Bound' - when he came onstage at Grand Old Day to sing it was one of my favorite Smog/Mpls music moments
- Weird Tales/Another Fine Day (tie) - both GREAT albums with probably better songs than on Mainstream. I love every song on Weird Tales, and Another Fine Day is great and was great just because it'd been so long since anything from the Smog, but not everything feels like the first time.
- On Golden Smog - I got it when I came out (If you were a fan of ReSoulHawkRun et al, how could you not, and I think I even bought it at FlipSide by St Kate's in St Paul which I think was Crackpot records' home or something like it but I'm not sure). It's great and fun but more tongue-in-cheek than a real deal which again is what makes Mainstream tops for me.
- Blood on the Slacks - okay but maybe released a little too soon. Great covers, though which is a Smog forte, especially live, and this is a band that could play a lot more, too.

As far as what to start with Mats/Huskers-wise, Sayeeda, any of the Replacements Greatest Hits compilations would be good. If you got "All for Nothing/Nothing for All", you'd be set for a while, and then you could go exploring from there, especially with the Rhino Replacements re-releases which are all well worth the $. And I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Philipgar, in that if you like SA, especially their TwinTone/A&M stuff (Bob Mould produced "Made to Be Broken" for Pete's Sake), there's tons of Husker Du you'd dig. I'd get "Flip Your Wig" cause it will. I wish Rhino or somebody would do a Huskers Greatest Hits/Outtakes release because I'm sure there's tons and it'd be awesome, but there's probably too much legal mumbo jumbo with SST and all other involved parties in the way.

Speaking of SST bands (and to bring this post back home), the Meat Puppets (I remember a promotional sticker on the "Too High to Die" CD, which featured 'Backwater' on it, had a quote by Dave saying "Their my favorit f*in' band") played in Duluth last month and it was awesome. Greg Norton and Grant Hart (of Husker Du and Grant produced some of Run Westy Run's albums- Kraig J being of the Westies and Golden Smog - there's the tie in) went onstage with them, plus members of Low. Greg and Grant did their same duties onstage that night as with the Huskers (Greg bass/Grant drums) and with Curt Kirkwood playing guitar, they did an amazing cover of 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. I'd catch them if you can.
There's a ringing in my ears that's Heaven-sent

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philipgar
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by philipgar »

which makes me think of tonight, i'm currently laying out on my roof (i have a door leading out to it), watching the meteor shower. During this, I'm playing the smog's cover of shooting star. Seems fitting to me!

na na na na na na na na na na,
don't you know?
phil

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zany
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by zany »

ok i'm glad i waited until i had more than 2 albums to vote for my favorite. i voted for Blood on the Slacks. ... and !!!! i'm the only one so far that voted it my favorite.

there isn't a single song i want to skip over on that album, it's the perfect length to play through on my commute to work, and it makes me happy!

i love scotch on ice, the starman cover, look at you now, can't even tie your own shoes... and i 'really really like" the other half of the album too.

wierd tales only has 1 song i want to skip (please tell my brother) although it has my favorite GS Song (until you came along) on it.

down by the old mainstream - i LOVE some of the songs on this album but like to skip a 'he's a dick" and "walk where he walked" and sometimes "willlmington angel" annoys me... (sorry!)

so i think part of the reason i like blood on the slacks is the absense of JEFF....

mystic_spiral_3
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by mystic_spiral_3 »

That Starman cover gets stuck in my head easily.

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zany
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by zany »

darnit! now it's in my head! :)
hazy cosmic jazz...

crawl
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by crawl »

Heard they were releasing a "Best of..."

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philipgar
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Re: Favorite Golden Smog Album

Post by philipgar »

crawl wrote:Heard they were releasing a "Best of..."
They kind of did last year I think. It was really a joke of a release, as it was the best of the ryko disc years... basically it was some tracks from mainstream and weird tales. I think there was a better version from borders that actually had a couple unreleased songs on it as well. I never found a copy of the borders one, and am not wiling to spend that much money on a worthless greatest hits album that adds nothing to what I already have.

Phil

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