FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Dear Tom => Topic started by: Sploops on March 26, 2007, 06:20:05 PM
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Dear Tom,
Do you think Polvo will ever reunite? Also, what did you think of Shapes? My friend sez it's proggy. I think it's great. Sure, Downtown Dedication is totally progged out but the rest is unmistakable Polvo even if it is a bit hifalutin' in spots.
P.S. Prepare to be smoked at Burger Time. Or should I say flame-broiled at Burger Time!
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I am not Tom, but did you know that Dave from Polvo is playing in a band called the Black Taj?
Check them out at www.myspace.com/blacktajrock .
I love Polvo.
Jeremy.
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I am also not Tom
But Polvo is one of my all-time favorites.
And Shapes sucks!
I do know that Tom doesn't like Polvo-kind-a-likes Arches of Loaf. Well, neither do I really.
-John
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My third favorite tee shirt in high school was what may or may not have been a Polvo shirt. It said "Polvo de La Escoba" on it, it was blue and orange, and it had a marginally sexy witch on it. Also, it was form-fitting and not boxy or too tight! I loved that shirt.
I think I got it at Miami Twice. I used to browse in there after grabbing my weekly haul of comics at A & M.
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I hated Shapes when it came out.
Over the years I have softened on it and now like it.
I think their best stuff are those two eps (Celebrate the new Dark Age/This Eclipse) that came out between Today's Active Lifestyles and Exploded Drawing. Thats some hot stuff.
I like Archers too, although I have friends that think of them as Polvo soundalikes. Archers have weird guitars but are far more melodic and poppy. Polvo are like indie Rush. ( in a good way )
Thats my two cents..
Jeremy..
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Lets keep talking about Polvo alot.
They are one of only eight bands from the mid ninties that haven't mounted a reunion tour over the last three years.
Lets start a petition!
Jeremy.
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today's active lifestyles is the GOAT. "stinger (five wigs)" is especially epic, the outro kills me
love love love polvo
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I found a tape of Today's Active Lifestyles in a Sam Goody at the Willowbrook Mall somehow. I bought it based solely on a review in Spin. Seriously, this band changed how I thought about the guitar. This album is one of my all time favorites. "Time Isn't On My Side" is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
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"Time Isn't On My Side" is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
yeah that's a great one. 'thermal treasure' is a a perfect way to open the album too.
i used to have the cd with the lion heads on the cover
(http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/8/2/1/8/278128_170x170.jpg)
unfortunately it was lost in the vortex of a breakup a few years ago
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My tape had the lion heads, and my cd had the lion heads. I think I have the case somewhere, but the cd is shot to hell. It would've been worth 30 dollars in 25 years if I had only taken care of it.
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My friends and I followed Polvo around for a few shows on the Exploded Drawing tour.
It was amazing, we asked Ash if he would play lazy comet the second night and he said that he couldn't remember how to play anything off their first two albums.
JK
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polvo are wonderful. the 3x7" set (celebrate the new dark age), todays active lifestyles and exploded drawing are three incredible albums. i don't like shapes too much, but it can still be an enjoyable listen.
also, ash's stint in helium (although he played bass) coincided with what i believe to be their best album (magic city). so good!
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I'm a Dirt of Luck fan myself, but Magic City is good too. The Superball EP is righteous.
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yeah that's a great one. 'thermal treasure' is a a perfect way to open the album too.
Long ago, I had this misguided notion that I was John Cusack, and put "Thermal Treasure" on a carefully crafted mixtape I made for a girl I was sadly trying to impress. I excitedly popped it into her tapedeck at the beginning of a roadtrip, only to have my confidence shattered when she said something to the effect of "what the fuck is this? it sounds like you tuning up your guitar or something...but at least this sounds better".
In case you might be wondering...no, that mixtape did not get me laid. But she did end up marrying a guy who liked Pearl Jam so much, he got a fucking tattoo of them on his forearm.
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I own every Helium album (and EPs), but I could only stomach listening to The Magic City once. I totally love pre-Magic City Helium, but the Dungeons and Dragons crap really started oozing out with that record, and i never listened to it again.
Is this one of those "you'll-only-appreciate-it-after-listening-to-it-4000-times" kind of records?
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I'm a Dirt of Luck fan myself, but Magic City is good too. The Superball EP is righteous.
The Dirt of Luck is one of the best albums of all-time. The Magic City is almost as awesome.
My first exposure to Helium was Beavis and Butt-Head commenting on the "XXX" video from the Pirate Prude EP.
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I totally agree with bookem_dan-o about Helium. I loved the stuff where she was a cool, slightly dirty rocker chick. Then it got a little to D&D for my tastes.
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But what you are forgetting folks is that Helium stunk live. What works really well on album does not carry over well in a club atmosphere.
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I own every Helium album (and EPs), but I could only stomach listening to The Magic City once. I totally love pre-Magic City Helium, but the Dungeons and Dragons crap really started oozing out with that record, and i never listened to it again.
Is this one of those "you'll-only-appreciate-it-after-listening-to-it-4000-times" kind of records?
I don't know if it's one of those, I liked it a bit the first I listened to it, and a lot more the second time.
I assume the "Dungeons and Dragons" crap deals with the lyrical content? To be perfectly honest, I've never listened to the words that much, but I will focus on them exclusively next to I drop the needle.
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Hey, what's wrong with Dungeons & Dragons?
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But what you are forgetting folks is that Helium stunk live. What works really well on album does not carry over well in a club atmosphere.
I've never forgotten how much they stunk live. It's been a lifelong regret of mine that I saw Helium twice and Polvo nonce.
The "D&D" stuff on the Magic City always struck me as strictly metaphorical and slightly tongue in cheek. Pavement was writing songs about Cotton Mather (Pacific Trim EP) and the Civil War around this time, and Timony was writing songs in the style of early Puritan American short stories about Satan. It seems to me more old-timey Salem Witch Trial type stuff then D&D stuff. Ayway, Magic City has some great sonic touches, though I suppose there are one or two stinkers.
"XXX" is one of the greatest indie rock songs ever.
Everyone I've ever met has always shrugged off Helium. I'm pretty psyched there are other people that actually like them. And FOT's no less!
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I think the new Mary Timony Band record is her most Helium-y thing since, um, Helium.
Re: Laurie's "Hey, what's wrong with Dungeons & Dragons?" If Daniel Desario digs it, it can't be that bad ...
Harris Trinsky = best dungeon master eva.
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Re: Laurie's "Hey, what's wrong with Dungeons & Dragons?" If Daniel Desario digs it, it can't be that bad ...
Harris Trinsky = best dungeon master eva.
Exactly! Carlos the Dwarf REIGNS.
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I saw Helium live once and they were good.
Last year Mary Timony opened up for Spoon at the Phoenix and she was kinda boring, but not bad. She just played with a drummer. I got her last album but never got that into it.
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I saw Timony live with that drummer a few summers ago. But she had a real bad slot. After Teddy Rockstar solo and before Lightning Bolt.
TL the AS220 fest on the street. Fun in the sun.
Also I saw Polvo like twice can't remember much though. They were just one of the bands on the bill.
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Man, I saw Spoon at Arthurfest and they were a whole lot of not-exciting live. Just seemed like the one dude and his amiable indie rock hired-hands banging out the hits for the fans. and I really liked the last couple of albums, but that show kinda drained out my enthusiasm for them. I was like "Wait, Britt Daniels just seems like a nerd with tight pants on." Like there was some indie rock Clay Aitken shit going on with his sex appeal.
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for those who didn't see polvo live, you should take a moment to seek out some of their cover tunes...namely, "rock me amadeus"
i think i might still have a copy buried on my hard-drive if anyone is interested...
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Man, I saw Spoon at Arthurfest and they were a whole lot of not-exciting live. Just seemed like the one dude and his amiable indie rock hired-hands banging out the hits for the fans. and I really liked the last couple of albums, but that show kinda drained out my enthusiasm for them. I was like "Wait, Britt Daniels just seems like a nerd with tight pants on." Like there was some indie rock Clay Aitken shit going on with his sex appeal.
I've only left two shows. One was Spoon. I thought they we're boring, and they also looked bored. The only other show I left during was Bonnie "Prince" Billy, or whatever Oldham was calling himself. I liked the show, but it was so long. He played forever.
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I forgot! The actual first time I heard Polvo was their cover of "Mexican Radio" for a charity comp. that was all indie rockers doing eighties songs. It also had Yo La Tengo doing Dreamin' by Blondie and Sonic Youth doin' that song that's in French Sah Plah Por Moi or whatever. The one that's in National Lampoon's European Vacation I think. Can't remember the name of that tape right now but it was awesome. Muff's did "Rock'n'Roll Girl".
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I saw Timony live with that drummer a few summers ago. But she had a real bad slot.
I'm going to resist as much as humanly possible to make a crass, juvenile joke about Mary Timony's "real bad slot".
And there's nothing wrong with D & D...I just don't think it should be set to music. If I want to hear that, I'll go dust off my old cassette copies of "Caress of Steel" or "A Farewell to Kings"
Besides, I was always a Car Wars and Gamma World fan my own self...
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I never saw Helium live in the flesh (the best band that we've managed to delude into playing out here in the past 10 years is Shellac, which was mondo-surreal to see), but I own several Helium boots, and Bruce is right on the money regarding Helium being a shit band live. It disappoints me so much that I don't even bother searching down helium bootlegs on Soulseek and whatnot.
The first time I was exposed to Helium was back in the old MTV "120 Minutes" days...it must have been when Pirate Prude first came out. I totally remember it like it was yesterday...Thurston Moore was hosting the show, and they played "XXX". Mary instantly became my first serious indie-rock crush (though I had a disturbing "thing" for Kristen Hersh a few years earlier).
I'm glad Thurston was pretentious enough to mention the fact that that Mary used to be in Autoclave. I love that Autoclave record a lot.
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I forgot! The actual first time I heard Polvo was their cover of "Mexican Radio" for a charity comp. that was all indie rockers doing eighties songs. It also had Yo La Tengo doing Dreamin' by Blondie and Sonic Youth doin' that song that's in French Sah Plah Por Moi or whatever. The one that's in National Lampoon's European Vacation I think. Can't remember the name of that tape right now but it was awesome. Muff's did "Rock'n'Roll Girl".
I had that same CD John. It was called Freedom Of Choice. On it was a bit of the Orson Welles tape of him berating some sound engineer on one of the tracks
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I forgot! The actual first time I heard Polvo was their cover of "Mexican Radio" for a charity comp. that was all indie rockers doing eighties songs. It also had Yo La Tengo doing Dreamin' by Blondie and Sonic Youth doin' that song that's in French Sah Plah Por Moi or whatever. The one that's in National Lampoon's European Vacation I think. Can't remember the name of that tape right now but it was awesome. Muff's did "Rock'n'Roll Girl".
I had that same CD John. It was called Freedom Of Choice. On it was a bit of the Orson Welles tape of him berating some sound engineer on one of the tracks
Yeah, that's it! And Superchunk doing "Girl You Want".
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i've got mexican radio if anyone would like to hear it. i guess i don't have "rock me amadeus" anymore.
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i've got mexican radio if anyone would like to hear it. i guess i don't have "rock me amadeus" anymore.
yes please
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But what you are forgetting folks is that Helium stunk live. What works really well on album does not carry over well in a club atmosphere.
I disagree on the live dismissal, at least when they were in their early phase (I never did see any of the Magic City material done live). I caught them sharing a bill with The Dambuilders at the Rat in 1993 or so and they were stellar. Three words: Sean King Devlin. Specfreakingtacular. Lucy-loose and wire tight all at once.
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for your consideration:
polvo - mexican radio
http://www.sendspace.com/file/t6566v
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Holy shit! Polvo are having a reunion tour! http://www.touchandgorecords.com/news/detail.php?id=365 (http://www.touchandgorecords.com/news/detail.php?id=365)