S**t Music Thread

**Marie Monday** · 06-13-2020, 04:13 AM

Hey, the Shaggs are amazing. Did you know that their origin story starts with a family legend involving a fortune teller?

rostasi · 06-13-2020, 09:07 AM

Yes, I did. Following something like that to a tee, gave us some hauntingly great music,
but, unfortunately, created some emotionally scarred children. It’s said that when the old
house they lived and recorded in was set ablaze, the ghost of their old man, Austin,
could be seen in the window.

**Marie Monday** · 06-13-2020, 10:26 AM

Oh wow. Stories like these are like real life fairy tales, of the dark-ish kind

Neapolitan · 06-13-2020, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea

Just discovered this yesterday. Nobody's gonna beat it for s**t music. It's so bad it's mind-boggling.

But Frank Zappa loved it. Go figure.

Yesterday? Really? Not sure if this really happened or Beatle reference. Frank Zappa said they were one of the top three bands better than the Beatles.

rostasi · 06-13-2020, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neapolitan

Yesterday? Really? Not sure if this really happened or Beatle reference. Frank Zappa said they were one of the top three bands better than the Beatles.

No, he didn't say that. It was taken from the title of an article written by Lester Bangs.
Zappa was a fan tho. The album was in the top five favorites of Kurt Cobain
with some other artists completely spellbound by it. (Carla Bley, for instance).

OccultHawk · 06-13-2020, 06:31 PM

It’s so crazy the way the guitar and the vocals mimic each other

She must have had a tremendous ear

It really is one of the most unique musical universes ever created

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 06-13-2020, 07:18 PM

Yes, I had just first heard of them "yesterday."

And I'm sorry, but they're a classic case of some people with no talent making some random noises on some musical instruments and then some other people coming along and saying "Wow that's brilliant!"

If either those kids or their father had some extensive musical training or at least some notable prior musical experience maybe one could say they were being extremely clever, because at least it would be clear they knew what they were doing. I mean, at least Merzbow was an actual musician for some time before delving into "noise music."

But since neither the kids nor their father had any prior musical experience and had little musical training they were clearly just amateurs making some noise (badly, too), and didn't know what they were doing.

The fact that the two surviving women are befuddled at their cult status goes to show that, yes, they were really just a bunch of amateurs making some bad noise.

rostasi · 06-13-2020, 07:22 PM

Yeah, the free floating aspects (and cRaZy syllable emphasis, rhyme, etc.) of the lyrics with Helen's sometimes-rhythm paired with no intentional harmonies and two-singer+guitar unison melodics is really the only key sound aspect that you can say had a really unintentional uniqueness.

There was NO "tremendous ear" here at all. They had absolutely zero interest in music (including listening) and weren't even allowed to go out to dances or parties because of their strict disciplinarian father who demanded that they rehearse every day in the basement. They had a immense hatred for this duty that they had to perform each and every day for something like 7 years. They were even forced to do physical exercises so, as their father said, they would be ready for touring when the time came. Sometimes, when Austin was at work, they'd all go to the lake and come back just before he came home and head downstairs as if they'd been practising all day.

After 5 years of all of that, dad said that they were ready to record an album. Even then, he had rules and regulations about what to do and not do.
You thought Beefheart was a taskmaster?
Holy shit!

In the end, the father finally died in '75 after 7 years of The Shaggs and there was a collective sigh of relief from the family and it all just ended.

To the above statement, I'll just say that if you are the kind of person who ties technique to greatness (or even "goodness"),
then it's understandable why you would be befuddled by people who don't necessarily make that connection when listening to music.

OccultHawk · 06-13-2020, 07:53 PM

Quote:

There was NO "tremendous ear" here at all. They had absolutely zero interest in music (including listening)

That’s irrelevant to their talent. Brilliant artists can care nothing about art or have terrible taste or whatever. However it was achieved it’s unlike anything before or since.

rostasi · 06-13-2020, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

That’s irrelevant to their talent. Brilliant artists can care nothing about art or have terrible taste or whatever. However it was achieved it’s unlike anything before or since.

Yes, I agree that there are “non-artists” making good art, but what is the “talent” you’re talking about that they have, but don’t know? A “tremendous ear” implies a personal intuitive connection that they used to mold their personal sound which, they’ve clearly said (and their stories attest to), they didn’t do. Working an assembly line job for 7 years with the boss over your shoulder doesn’t mean that you have an inherent dexterous ability to assemble stuff.

06-13-2020, 06:31 PM	#16 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	It’s so crazy the way the guitar and the vocals mimic each other She must have had a tremendous ear It really is one of the most unique musical universes ever created __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

06-13-2020, 07:18 PM	#17 (permalink)
DriveYourCarDownToTheSea AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,174	Yes, I had just first heard of them "yesterday." And I'm sorry, but they're a classic case of some people with no talent making some random noises on some musical instruments and then some other people coming along and saying "Wow that's brilliant!" If either those kids or their father had some extensive musical training or at least some notable prior musical experience maybe one could say they were being extremely clever, because at least it would be clear they knew what they were doing. I mean, at least Merzbow was an actual musician for some time before delving into "noise music." But since neither the kids nor their father had any prior musical experience and had little musical training they were clearly just amateurs making some noise (badly, too), and didn't know what they were doing. The fact that the two surviving women are befuddled at their cult status goes to show that, yes, they were really just a bunch of amateurs making some bad noise. __________________ Stop and find a pretty shell for her Beach Boys vs Beatles comparisons begin here

06-13-2020, 09:07 AM	#12 (permalink)
rostasi . Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4,007	Yes, I did. Following something like that to a tee, gave us some hauntingly great music, but, unfortunately, created some emotionally scarred children. It’s said that when the old house they lived and recorded in was set ablaze, the ghost of their old man, Austin, could be seen in the window.

06-13-2020, 07:22 PM	#18 (permalink)
rostasi . Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 4,007	Yeah, the free floating aspects (and cRaZy syllable emphasis, rhyme, etc.) of the lyrics with Helen's sometimes-rhythm paired with no intentional harmonies and two-singer+guitar unison melodics is really the only key sound aspect that you can say had a really unintentional uniqueness. There was NO "tremendous ear" here at all. They had absolutely zero interest in music (including listening) and weren't even allowed to go out to dances or parties because of their strict disciplinarian father who demanded that they rehearse every day in the basement. They had a immense hatred for this duty that they had to perform each and every day for something like 7 years. They were even forced to do physical exercises so, as their father said, they would be ready for touring when the time came. Sometimes, when Austin was at work, they'd all go to the lake and come back just before he came home and head downstairs as if they'd been practising all day. After 5 years of all of that, dad said that they were ready to record an album. Even then, he had rules and regulations about what to do and not do. You thought Beefheart was a taskmaster? Holy shit! In the end, the father finally died in '75 after 7 years of The Shaggs and there was a collective sigh of relief from the family and it all just ended. To the above statement, I'll just say that if you are the kind of person who ties technique to greatness (or even "goodness"), then it's understandable why you would be befuddled by people who don't necessarily make that connection when listening to music.