I thought they got better with each album, which suprised me quite a bit when Sumday came out because I thought there was no way they could equal, nevermind surpass The Sophtware Slump. But they did it, IMO, so I'm really looking forward to their next (and last) album. Even Concrete Dunes, a collection of b-sides and throwaway tracks is pretty damned good.

Oh well, we still have Earlimart, don't we?

NP: "The Warming Sun"

I offer a shrug of indifference.

Earlimart? Does Earlimart sound like Grandaddy?

Can only speak for Everyone Down Here and Treble & Tremble, but yes.

NP:Enon - High Society

I think I caught maybe 2.5 songs for this reason.

this is why I never go to see a show just for the opening band.

that said, Grandaddy has been one of the best (Sumday tour) and one of the worst (right before Sophtware) live shows i've ever seen.

I'll miss 'em, but I'd still much rather this than them being miserable and putting out crappy albums for the next 4 years until Fairchild stabs a motherfucker.

Sumday can proudly boast of being one of my ten most hated records of the decade.

How is there anything about it that could even inspire the energy to hate it? It's such a relaxed, slow burn of a record and ultimately hard-pressed to offend. First 3 songs on the record bored me to tears for months, and then click...they became my favorites. The uber harmonized vox on Go in the Go and I'm On Standby...sigh. Seriously bummed about them calling it a day.

I have all their albums except that Todd Zilla debacle and Concrete Dunes (which apparently isn't approved by the band) and I've enjoyed them all. I think I saw them twice and while they weren't mindblowing I really liked their sound and slide show thingy. I hope the new album is at least as good as Sumday, anything more would be a bonus.

I think Longwave were listening to Grandaddy A LOT when they recorded Life Of The Party.

I think you just answered your own question.

My god I agree with this soooo much.

The only Grandaddy songs I actively hate are "The Team Who Couldn't Say" -- which is way too literal an illustration of Grandaddy's bread and butter theme of the alienizing effects of technology, and is about a generic corporate "team" who takes a fieldtrip to nature and discovers its beauty -- and "Fuck the Valley Fudge," from the recent EP, which is about all of the aspects of LA which make Lyttle love and hate it, all mashed together into "Fuck the Valley Fudge," the worst imaginable metaphor.

It's too bad that they couldn't really break through to the next level, but their type of sound was kind of destined to have a limited appeal. Just not dynamic enough for most. But I always loved those great buzzing pop tunes they did, drenched in analog synths and humorous lyrics. Almost reminded me of Electric Light Orchestra some times when they amped it up a bit. But I love the slow drawn out ruminations on life too. The standard 4/4 rhythm they seem to use in almost all their songs could use a little more variety, but the music itself always connects pretty well with me.

Tracker did something similar on the "Polk" album that I really like too. The guy is John Askew, and some friends recruited from other indie bands like Death Cab for Cutie. Probably more along the lines of Califone, which means my favorite type of music these days. He has a real vision and is kind of like Grandaddy with the warm analog sound, and some quirky moments too. They do a very nice cover of Brian Eno's instrumental "Somber Reptiles" too. A little Wilco mixed with a little Beck and the Mercury Rev and all the rest. Nice review at AMG.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5sx7gjir46ic

I love that moog solo on "The Go in the Go For It."

Grandaddy didn't branch out much, and they were pretty easily defined as "in a rut," but one of the perks of them having spent a lot of time in that rut is that they really explored that sound well. If you like the sound, it works out well. If not, I guess it's annoying.