Beet. Great stuff for fans of that Crazy Velvet Horse Underground sound. Man, it's a shame one of the best Chicago bands of the last 15 years is so unknown. Just did a search and only a few posts by the usual suspects. But here's one for a personal top 20.

Just listening to Beet myself from 1989 and these guys were great, and still are. Very nice mix of Neil Young and Television and Lou Reed and maybe a bit of Sonic Youth. Not sure which one I would call their best. Rick Rizzo learned well from the Neil Young songbook, and Doug McCombs on bass (also of Tortoise) and Janet Beveridge Bean on drums (also of Freakwater). Being late to the party in about 1999, the first one I got was Eighth...and I loved it immediately. And then they released a new one in 2000 called Stalled Parade that easily became one of my favorites of the year. Wow, what a great, raw, sloppy, turmoil filled album! Can't think of any other album in recent memory that so well captures that Neil Young/Crazy Horse/Lou Reed/Velvet Underground sound I like so much.

And some of the older ones were a bit harder to find, but they were reissued in 2001 so should be easier now. And one of the reasons for this post, besides having a very good time lately with Beet, was that I also remembered this article on DOA from a couple years ago on the band and looked it up and it's still there and it's some good reading ...
http://www.adequacy.net/reviews/uam/uam-sept03.shtml

How'd you get 221 posts??

fp

Like this?

I bet that devil hit the "submit" button.........

Hey, 222.

The usual suspects, huh?

Sumbitch. I don't remember reading any posts by the guy, and all of a sudden he's got 222 (oops! 223! Oops! 225! Oops! 928!!).

Is this the RR-only thread?

fp

They have a new album coming out in the near (or is it distant?) future. I'm looking forward to it. They're my favorite band featuring a drummer and guitarist who used to be married to one another.

I have never really heard of these guys before but Davey's posts always peak my interest. So I went to AMG to see what they say about this band because you can't hear everything. Ned Raggett reviewed most of these albums and this one got a ranking of three stars but the next album by them got a four and a half stars and that checkmark pick. So I'm going to seek out this album and see what I think because ever since I discovered Songs: Ohia The Magnolia Electric Co I have really been into that Neil Young vibe.

Davey use to post a lot on this board, back in the day, but he stopped. I believe the reason had to do with a few bad apples saying that his posts were a bit long winded. I always loved reading what he had to say because they were pretty informative and a great read compared to your normal one sentence posts. Pretty sure I wasn't the only one that liked him posting on this board and I hope his reemergence is permanent.

I remember when this record came out. I remember it, because I liked their earlier ep, the one with the cover of "Southern Pacific". They should have quit while they were ahead.

He's been around, albeit intermittently...perhaps you skip those threads...

Glad they didn't, but I'm a pretty big sucker for this type of music, and Rick Rizzo learned well how to use guitar distortion. Some amazing sounds since that early time from these guys. Eighth will probably be the one I always think of as the classic since it was the first one I heard, but wouldn't wanna be without any of them now. Real hypnotic stuff.

Yeah Bee, once you get into that NY vibe it's hard to shake. Been there since the 70s myself

Made a couple posts way back about the Wayne Robbins and the Hellsayers Lonesome Sea form last year. Great Neil Young vibe that can seriously get under your skin. Not much distribution though. Shame, but if you get the chance, check them out. Songs:Ohia really came through on that one and on Didn't It Rain. Great music. Did you ever hear the Radar Brothers? They also put out a record in 2002 called And The Surrounding Mountains that became one of my favorites. Another with lots of Neil Young vibe, maybe mixed with a touch of Pink Floyd. Some very cool stories on that one. More long winded stuff here

i just saw them at the hideout block party last weekend. i'd never heard of them before, but liked them quite a bit.

I think Beet is generally considered the worst of their first 4 albums. So if you love that, how much are you gonna love, e.g., Lived To Tell? (Can't tell from your post if you've heard their other albums)

No, that's the only one of the first 4 I have so far. I was thinking of getting Lived To Tell first, but based on some comments I read about all the early ones by Rick Rizzo and Doug McCombs in that retrospective link I posted including how terrible Lived To Tell sounds, and comments from a person I know on another board who sometimes lists Beet as one of his all time top 20, I went with it first. Still lots to explore but I am loving it. I has a lot different sound then the later albums like Eighth, where they do move more into Tortoise territory at times, although I love that too. Thanks for the feedback and will probably have to go ahead and get Lived To Tell now if it's that good. Well, probably not right away - still gotta wear this one out a little first.

Good band. I had Lived To Tell & El Moodio at one time, but somehow they didn't make it from NY to Atlanta. Aaaarrgh! One of the extremely rare times I've lost track of any of my music.

Steve

I only have "El Moodio" and I only have it for "Makin' Like a Rug". The rest of the album doesn't do a whole lot for me.

That Janet Bean character sure is a hottie though

I've got Prairie School Freakout and it's all right. I think I sold Beet way back when. I can see how someone jonesing for that Crazy Horse chug would fall in love with 'em, but they never entirely did it for me. Liked their lyrics, though.

Oh, and...

Holyfuck, you can be annoying. And wrong. Davey's posts were always well received. There are no bad apples. Um, okay, actually... there's one.

Since you don’t believe me I decided to find one of those posts. I remember it happening a few times where people had this kind of comment.



Geez Radcliffe, I have no idea what I have done to get on your bad side as of late? Or maybe it has always been that way but I never noticed it before. Either way I hope we can co-exist because this is getting old…

Hehehe, I didn't remember any concerted effort to shut me up either, but sometimes I'm kinda dense

I just stopped coming around because I just didn't feel like I fit all that well here. Nothing any more complex than that. The board seemed like it was veering further away from music talk and a lot of the topics didn't interest me enough to try and keep up. No big deal. I actually like the fact that people disagree about music here and aren't afraid to say what they think, even if it can get kind of rude at times. So many boards nowadays try to legislate away any and all contentiousness and it can get real bland, real fast. And then there are others that are nothing but negativity. This one seems to keep a pretty nice middle course, probably because a lot of the people actually like each other, and there's a certain level of mutual respect among them even when they tell you you have really sucky taste in music .

Bee, that quote you found illustrates my point. Somebody merely stated that Davey's post was longwinded, then seemingly agreed with Davey's take on the album - all perfectly casual and cordial - and in your mind that's a case of a bad apple chasing someone away from Obner. I'm just saying you've got to lighten up - you don't have to take everything as a personal slur. Disagreements, opinions, arguments, reactions, and pointless sarcasm are the traits that make this board entertaining and/or tolerable.

Davey says he quit posting because he felt like he didn't fit in here that well - but the reality is, with the exception of the few Obnish who maintain friendships in real life, NONE of us fit in. We're all the odd man out. That, again, is what makes the board interesting. Whether it's Davey's take on Eleventh Dream Day, or your take on the Boo Radleys, or Todd's take on Shrimpboat, or my take on some piece of shit '70s band nobody cares about, it all adds up to a cool amount of diversity and, occasionally, some informative reading. And not everybody has to like it (and, thankjehovah, not everybody does).

But the constant whimpering has got to go. Here's a mantra for you: "I like shoegazer, and I'm proud of it." Say it over and over to yourself until you feel that self-empowerment soothe your soul and fill your lungs. "I like shoegazer, and I'm proud of it... I like shoegazer, and I'm proud of it." Just like that. Now reread all your threads - and - see? - it ain't that bad.

BTW - shoegazer sucks monkey sack.

Cool.

I know I can get annoying; hell I annoy myself to no end. This is why I take two or three week breaks from this board, just to recharge and have a better outlook. I also understand why I get kicked in the teeth for things stated. Its frustration with things around me more than anything else and it comes out. Also when I'm drunk I shouldn't post because it's even worst than. Obner puts up with many of my idiosyncrasies and thankful for that.

Yes I need to buy a sense of humor and some sarcasm wouldn't hurt.

I vaguely remember spinning two EPs in college radio. They were good, though I never bought them. Beet is the only one I currently own and somehow never heard the subsequent three.

But yeah, Beet is a good bean.

I like this album. Bought it when it came out ,after seeing the video for "testify". I loved the guitars. And the scene in the video where either Rizzo or Figi beat the fuck out of a salmon or whatever, slamming it around their guitar and mike stand, was just twisted enough to peak my interest.

I later picked up Prairie School Freakout, but never really got into it as much as Beet.

I bought Beet back in '89 when it came out. (I am a Chicagoan, you know.)
I liked it pretty well. I think it's time to pull it back out of the stacks.

Look for it in my NP: tomorrow.