Mark E. Smith is a scholar & a gentleman.

Apathy's_Child · 01-21-2011, 02:30 AM

Whether you're a Fall fan or not, just know, when you read this, that this guy has probably influenced some of the musicians you like.

http://drownedinsound.com/community/.../music/3331055

Oh, and while searching for this interview, I also found this little round-up of his most charming moments: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musi...hatloveableguy

CuckooTuli · 01-21-2011, 05:37 AM

I LOVE Mark E Smith. I saw The Fall a couple of years ago and they're still amazing. His more recent interviews are usually hilarious in some way. It's easy to see his belligerence as the major reason reason they didn't become more well-known.

Apathy's_Child · 01-22-2011, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuckooTuli

I LOVE Mark E Smith. I saw The Fall a couple of years ago and they're still amazing. His more recent interviews are usually hilarious in some way. It's easy to see his belligerence as the major reason reason they didn't become more well-known.

True dat. He basically fires the band every couple of years and replaces them (if he needs to - a lot of members quit because the guy's so fucking impossible to work with). There's an apocryphal story about him lining the band up and walking down the line slapping them upside the head before firing them all in the middle of a US tour that was supposed to be a kind of break-through for The Fall - I think they were supporting some other, more well-known band. The musos who organized the tour told him firmly that he cannot sack the band in the middle of a tour. His response was basically, "Fuck yoo!! I do what I want!". They bounced his ass back to England, and The Fall never did crack America. Or England, come to mention it. It's unbelievable that such an influential band remains so little-known.

CuckooTuli · 01-22-2011, 07:33 AM

That's hilarious. When I saw him he was wandering around the stage playing with the volume on various instruments. We were right at the front by the barrier, maybe six feet away from him whenever he wandered our way, and there were these guys behind us moshing really hard and bashing into everyone near the front. We were on heavy amounts of MDMA and were too awed at being so close and too pumped at how good the music sounded to really react, but it was proper annoying. But then MES saw them, stopped singing right in the middle of Sparta FC, and started growling something in their direction. I didn't catch much as the music was right up but I definitely heard the words "cunts".

Okay, okay, I got one: apparently he used to record the band members slagging him off, then on the tour bus he'd pretend he was putting on music and play the tape to watch them squirm.

Apathy's_Child · 01-22-2011, 10:03 AM

That's magical. Like having Bill Hicks rock up and save you from the school bully. Also - moshing at a Fall concert?

Assholes.

EDIT: Yo, Cuckoo, you & me need to take over the music section. You and Sinjob are pretty much the only people on here I seem to have anything in common with musically. And since I have impeccable taste, I'm forced to conclude that the rest of these peope suck.

CuckooTuli · 01-23-2011, 07:35 AM

Let's do it. We'll institute a benevolent dictatorship and farm out a little piece of Heaven right here on earth. It will be glorious.

Apathy's_Child · 01-23-2011, 10:35 AM

Imma take you on the trip of your life, angel-puss.

JCC · 01-23-2011, 11:37 AM

Mark E. Smith is an utter shit and a horde of worthless iconoclasts follow him around thinking he's clever but he's not, he's just a tosser.

Apathy's_Child · 01-23-2011, 11:40 AM

Guy's a cantankerous cunt, this is true. However, the truth is, he's just fucking talented.

Sinjob · 01-23-2011, 05:14 PM

He's a perfect example of a RAGING genius. I can't agree more, the Fall is an amazing band. Everything I've heard from them I've loved. They need more attention.

vx cheerleader 69 · 01-24-2011, 12:26 AM

Quite stangely, I never got into The Fall - and god knows I've tried. Excerpt for Totally Wired, which I rank among the five greatest songs ever written.

Apathy's_Child · 01-24-2011, 03:03 AM

Yeah, Totally Wired is fucking shweeeet. Which albums did you try? There's so much material, and obviously some are way better than others. I took a while to get into them - I'm usually not a fan of ugly-sounding music (not sure that description makes sense but it's the best I can come up with right now). Here're a few of my favorite songs:

Probably my favorite Fall song ever, Eat Y'Self Fitter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c3dWfKn_Lo

Flat of Angles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV3rz9FwKKQ

Dice Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZToNDehlInA

Totally Wired (for anyone else who's interested): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-lMEBHwwBw

CuckooTuli · 01-25-2011, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

Imma take you on the trip of your life, angel-puss.

Oh baby. Take me there - let's do it up the alley.