#crazy rhythms

[mywifeleftme]

247: The Feelies // Crazy Rhythms

Crazy Rhythms The Feelies 1980, Stiff (Bandcamp)

I was in a conversation recently where the other person cited the Feelies as a band that discovered their sound early and never changed. This, to me, is transparently insane: the Feelies, as any right person should know, changed exactly once. It was between their 1980 debut Crazy Rhythms and 1986 sophomore comeback The Good Earth. Somewhere in that break they dropped their gawky, New Wave affect in favour of a graceful, rural gravitas, and the nerviness of their driving beats turned to something more Zen. The Feelies have never released a bad album, and I love later efforts like Good Earth and Here Before, but those records feel like the work of a different project altogether, a New Order to the original lineup’s Joy Division perhaps, a Luna to a Galaxie 500.

No, Crazy Rhythms stands apart from the other records, and alongside Remain in Light, as American New Wave’s ne plus ultra statement on horizonless rhythm. The “songier” parts of the songs (that is, the parts with lyrics) work brilliantly, like the Velvet Underground meeting Wire, but listening to the album alone and in full, they begin to seem like mere islands floating on a primeval sea. It’s those instrumental voyages that inevitably consume each song, the album itself, and the listener. When you get away from the time-stamped vocal passages you find yourself in a place that could be the soup from which modern rock emerged or the dark future star into which it will inevitably plunge.

That’s because the Feelies were formed in the perfect place and time to be key acolytes of the dead-but-dreaming god that was the Velvet Underground. Like all truly groundbreaking bands, the Velvets left so many ideas lying barely explored that simply by being among the first and best to flesh one out a band could deliver an immortal statement of its own. Songwriters Bill Million and Glenn Mercer and their compatriots seemed to understand the potential of the Velvets’ most propulsive ideas better than any other act of their time, and they represented an evolutionary leap in terms of musicianship: at the Feelies’ sweat-soaked finest they transcend their influences and become a foundational band in their own right.

They made many excellent records, but only one Crazy Rhythms.

247/365

[k-zit-the-oooze]

The Feelies, c. 1980 (Crazy Rhythms era)

Glenn Mercer, Bill Million, Keith De Nunzio, Anton Fier

[spilladabalia]

The Feelies - Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)

[thevellaunderground]

The Feelies: A Post-Punk Beacon of Peace

In the eclectic world of post-punk music, few bands have encapsulated the essence of peace and tranquility through their art as effectively as The Feelies. Emerging from the suburban landscapes of Haledon, New Jersey, The Feelies’ journey is a testament to the enduring power of music to convey peace amidst the chaos of the modern world. Influences and Musical Style The Feelies, formed in 1976,…

[chrismcshell]

have a body, feel the groove

[deforest]

SHE'S CRAZY WITH THE HEAT — 1946 ft. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm

In 1946, William D. Alexander began the production of a series of one-reel shorts, half-hour featurettes and feature films that would serve a dual purpose. These black cast subjects would be released to theaters that welcomed African American audiences; concurrently, the music segments would be excerpted from the films and released as Soundies. Ultimately, sixteen of Alexander’s musical shorts reached the Panoram screen, spotlighting the bands of Lucky Millinder, Billy Eckstine, Henri Woode and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. (Alexander actually produced four films with the Sweethearts, three ten-minute short subjects and one feature, although some of the performances turns up in more than one film; only three performances saw release as a Soundie.) The International Sweethearts of Rhythm grew out of a band formed in the 1930s at the Piney Woods Country Life School, an institution – in part an orphanage – for poor African American children. A member of the music department had apparently taken note of the success of Ina Ray Hutton’s Melodears and decided that an all-woman band composed of school members might lead to something special. While they performed locally, the ISR did not begin to hit its stride until it left Piney Woods and became a professional touring outfit in 1941. The band was certainly “international” in nature, and its ranks included African American, Latina, Chinese, Indian, White and Puerto Rican musicians. In 1941, Anna Mae Winburn joined the orchestra as front woman and featured vocalist. During the war years Maurice King joined the band as both arranger and band manager. Born Clarence King in 1911, King played reeds and later became a fine swing arranger. While here we recognize his composition and arrangement for the Sweethearts – he called this tune “She’s Crazy with the Heat ” – King is best known for his longtime association with Barry Gordy and Motown Records for which he served as director of artist development. He worked closely with vocal groups, teaching the singers how to voice and phrase together. “Maurice brought sophistication and class to Motown,” said session musician Johnny Trudell. By 1946, the Sweethearts was recognized as one of the finest African-American bands in jazz. They recorded for Guild and RCA Records, broadcast regularly for the Armed Forces Radio Service, and toured Europe entertaining the GIs. While much of the success was due to Maurice King’s arrangements, the band’s musicians were all strong, and a special nod must go to Viola Burnside, one of the most neglected tenor soloists of the 1940s. I chatted with my friend Roz Cron, a member of the Sweetheart’s reed section, shortly before her passing. When I thanked her for her contribution, she paused and said, “Yeah, we were one of the best, one of the very, very best.” (via Jazz on Film)

[front-facing-pokemon]

[starryarchitect]

okay yeah yeah villain but the diagram is so cool you guys

Wall I made for this (featuring: Russian, Spanish, toki pona, DNA code, women's script, a few alphabets, some geometry and arithmetic, and a language that I invented, among other things. I had fun with this)

[acronym49]

I am ✨️not straight✨️ ♡♡♡

But yeah lmao sketchpage for Satan! And a random eye for some reason bc shading is fun.

Took a bit over two hours to finish.

[mistysteps]

Encounter: Planet of the Bass

[tdot192-1929]

*gripping the sink* when the rhythm is glad, there is nothing to be sad

[itslydiapm]

LIFE IT NEVER DIE

WOMAN ARE MY FAVOURITE GUY

DONE

[kelvingemstone]

no other song is as satisfying to me as that thirty second snippet from planet of the bass my playlists have been rejected in favour of voracious lust for the other one minute of that siren song

[thanksgiving-isnt-ur-fav-holiday]

not enough love for biljana electronica for my taste

[watashime-ciel]

Villain - cover

the villain™ is reeeeaaaaaall

[m3llowm1sh]

a mini moral orel x tboi crossover comic