Posts by thewatcher

  • GENESIS - Live At Wembley Stadium (DVD) - a reassessment 2023

    Quote from WinstonWolf

    Something a lot of folks don't realize is that those bits of banter give everyone a minute or two to catch their breath, take a sip, and get ready for the next song. Those little gaps are a necessary part of managing stamina and endurance to play through a show like theirs.

    Yes. All part of the tempo of the show. And it's something they had from the very early days, it was part of their thing. There are plenty of bands that just go from one song to the next - the Pixies come to mind. It's a different experience, but I for one like the bit of interaction.

  • Random non-Genesis music stuff

    Heard "Go Your Own Way" on the radio today for the zillionth time, and it struck me that of all the songs I've heard a zillion times on the radio, there is something particularly evergreen about this song. It always sounds fresh somehow, 45 years or so on. I think they nailed the tension in the song. The kind of push and pull between the guitar/vocal and drums in the verse. Also the real-life drama behind the lyrics that maybe adds a notch of authenticity. And probably the production, which is nice and vibrant.

  • TotW 02/20/2023 - 02/26/2023: GENESIS - Horizons

    It's very nice, but as a completely solo contribution by Hackett, it's a bit hard to rate in the context of the band's work. I gave it 13. I remember when I was listening learning guitar, I told my teacher at the outset that I liked Genesis. He was obviously unimpressed, although he told me he liked the opening of Jesus He Knows Me, where it shifts from major to minor. One week I brought in Horizons on cassette as the thing I wanted to learn that week. He listened with his head tilted to one side, nodding slowly and clearly very non-plussed that this was so different to the Genesis he knew, before going "hmm. Okaaaay.... That's pretty advanced, maybe we should come back to that!".


    As an aside, I did make an effort to learn Blood on the Rooftops and had it past the first few vocal lines but never persevered enough.

  • RIP Thread!!

    Quote from Backdrifter

    Farewell Raquel Welch. Often lazily thought of as the beauty from One Million Years BC and Fantastic Voyage, her career was much more than that and took in a range of films as well as stage and TV work. She also fought for more recognition for women in the industry, notably winning a case against MGM for firing her from a role for, as she established, being essentially too old and in doing so made an important point about the paucity of roles for women over 40. Her determination made her unpopular, got her labelled as "difficult" and in fact she was blacklisted after the MGM case.


    She played up to this reputation in an episode of Seinfeld in which she played an irascible version of herself!


    A sad loss

    That is sad. I knew of her name and something of her reputation but didn't know she had pioneered that push against stereotyping women. A great legacy to leave.

  • Genesis in the media

    I find that pretty incredible. The list includes actors and tv creators too. It wasn't even a stadium tour but maybe the margin on those is less even if the attendance is greater?


    Anyway to see them top an earnings list that includes Taylor Swift among others is remarkable (to me, a person with zero insight into the economy of the entertainment industry).

  • PETER GABRIEL - The Court - track discussion

    Quote from Fabrizio

    I can assure you I wasn't expecting to be bowled over like it happened with PG3 for instance and it doesn't have to do entirely with his music, I'm much older to begin with

    This is a great point I think a lot of fans miss, or gloss over in their own mind. I think older fans half expect to experience the same thrill or vitality when an older artist releases new music, as they did when they heard the artist's earlier releases in their youth. When they don't experience that, they feel let down and call the music bad. I think a lot of this happens subconsciously. The music may very well be subpar, but it can feel more so due to expectations being misaligned.


    To be clearer, I've noticed this more with early-middle age fans than older fans. Maybe 40s/early 50s is close enough to youth that that entitlement to being bowled over is still there. If I want to get even more into sophomore psychology, I wonder on some level if there's an unconscious distancing from die hard fans against artists releasing new music, as it makes their past releases seem more in the past, if that makes sense. It's a clear sign that time is moving on and we are getting older. It's an uncomfortable, complicated feeling. I'm probably talking shite but I muse on these things from time to time, particularly as I age and the bands I love continue to be quite active, with fascinating responses from fans online. Like this thread!


    Agree also that the Court is more interesting than panopticom and more likely, to my ears, to have staying power.

  • Version Living Forever with rehearsals in 1992

    Quote from Backdrifter

    The cupboard under the stairs

    Basement

    Loft

    Shed

    That drawer with all loose rattly stuff, some of which is unidentifiable metal implements and an odd number of corn-cob pins.

    We would have lots of space in our basement, but it's unfinished. It's a shame because at some stage it was a nice brick cellar but in the intervening decades it's fallen into disrepair, ductwork has been added so the height is too low, there's a furnace and a boiler etc etc. It's mostly a dirt floor basement now and the house is old enough that lead dust and lead in the earth is a concern, so we really can't do anything with the space as it is. I have a dream someday of getting it refinished and having a nice wine cellar or something in it.

  • Songs I'm Afraid to Admit I Don't Like

    I missed this thread, seeing as it preceded my joining the board.


    I'm afraid to admit I'm not a huge fan of Cinema Show. I don't dislike it, but in terms of their epic songs (?8 minutes plus if you want), it is way down the pecking order for me. I just find it a bit bland and noodly, compared to Giant Hogweed for example, or Ripples which I find more atmospheric.


    Edit: it's not really Cinema Show's fault, but I can never seem to hum it in my head without transitioning smoothly into Can Utility and the Coastliners. It happens just after the line "more earth than seeeeeeaa...". The e-bow bit from Can-Utility (I'm sure it's not an actual e-bow in 1972, it's at 1:45) just before the heavy bass pedals pops into my head instead and the track plays out. It would have made a nice medley actually.