Earphoria

[Raskolnikov]

Tossed this on for the first time in a bit today on a long bike ride, and man... thing is just so solid. Really, not a bummer track on there. The little janky instrumentals break up the giants that are between.

A few thoughts:

-Wonder if there's a longer version of Sinfony out there. Aside from Tired, it may be my favorite break 'er upper on there. Would ask WPC that one on the ol' Instagram, but you know that is block worthy.

-As a teen, I really didn't get/like the version of Disarm that's on there. The James/Jimmy interplay at the 1:15 mark is white hot. Just great James work all around on this thing.

-It's hard to pick a bad live version of Soma from the 93-94 era, but this one definitely ain't it. Just so great.

-I know that many will say that the I Am One rant sucks/whatever, but it still taps into a teenage angst vein for me and I can't help but belt out the "NOTHINGGGGGG" scream at the end.

-Wonder what the story with that acoustic Mayonaise performance was. Such a strange setting. And what's up with the giggling? Again, would ask, but... zombie block magnet type question there.

-I still refuse to believe that Why Am I So Tired was recorded back in the Gish era. Just oozes Siamese Dream to me. So strange.

In sum, this thing should get a RSD vinyl release someday. I'd stand in line for that shit. About 3 years ago, I finally got an original copy of the release, and that's a gem I wanted SO bad back in the day, but it was pretty spendy and it just never happened. Feels good to have that one over the 2002/03 commercial one. I like having that in my life. Physical media is great.

[Ram27]

great thread

LOVE that version of disarm

they only ever did it twice i believe, both tv appearances

it fucking rocks so much. pumpkins humor aside, having a sad child abuse song set to strings and clean guitar doesn't feel right, no matter how much they push that arrangement. the only highlight of that is iha's tasty outro lead when played live 94-96 or so





MTV version is even better cause the vocals are so fucked up and wild. corgan was sick i think? plus the standard frantic 94 tempo

[stumpycat]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

-I still refuse to believe that Why Am I So Tired was recorded back in the Gish era. Just oozes Siamese Dream to me. So strange.

I think of 1992 as its own era for the band musically. It sounds distinct from either Gish or Siamese Dream, but has the more dominant leads and soloing of the former mixed with the buzzsaw wall of guitars hinting towards the latter. It also defines "the" generic SP sound to me.

Frail and Bedazzled, Plume, Moleasskiss, Blue, etc. -- all songs they were performing live in 1992. Rocket has that sound, too -- and they were performing it back as far as 1991. It's got that characteristic buzzsaw lead I'm talking about, busy with lots of little noodling interludes throughout. Why Am I So Tired would fit in there perfectly.

[eviltimeban]

I find you can tell the differences of era by the drum sound. Gish has a very distinct drum sound, which carries over somewhat into the post-Gish material, but with slight differences. And then by SD the drums were in that thick stew of fuzz.

[Ram27]

yeah, Gish has much punchier drums

[ninsp]

God watching those vids, Bill was so effortlessly cool back then

[themadcaplaughs]

Disarm video from Earphoria/Vieuphoria absolutely slays. Every time I watch it, I remember it remains one of the few performances where James' guitar actually overpowers the mix (which is fucking awesome).

[stumpycat]

Originally Posted by themadcaplaughs

Disarm video from Earphoria/Vieuphoria absolutely slays. Every time I watch it, I remember it remains one of the few performances where James' guitar actually overpowers the mix (which is fucking awesome).

Very true. Every SP concert I've been to (in particular, the Adore one) the high end gain of Billy's guitar rips through everything (including my ears -- I swear to god, that was the loudest concert I've been to, and I tend to go to hard rock and metal shows.)

[stumpycat]

Originally Posted by ninsp

God watching those vids, Bill was so effortlessly cool back then

Uh huh. Pre-reunion SP is the only SP whose existence I willfully acknowledge. I'm trying to preserve my ability to enjoy it in a relatively uncomplicated way.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by Ram27

MTV version is even better cause the vocals are so fucked up and wild. corgan was sick i think? plus the standard frantic 94 tempo

I had been aware of the pumpkins at this point, thought rocket was a cool video and song, but this performance is what got me hooked on them.

they're just riding on pure emotion here.. obviously selling it for the mtv crowd, and drugs? def some drugs happening up there.

also my god, darcy is so damn loud on this one. it almost feels like they're competing to be heard, and the result is incredibly aggressive. wild.

[Shallowed]

Originally Posted by ninsp

God watching those vids, Bill was so effortlessly cool back then

idk, I get the feeling he actually put a lot of effort into being cool

[wHATcOLOR]

Originally Posted by paranoid

they're just riding on pure emotion here.. obviously selling it for the mtv crowd, and drugs? def some drugs happening up there.

if i remember right, he really didn't want to play this song for the show, and mtv/the label/whoever insisted, and so this performance was kind of like an angry protest... "if you're gonna make us play what i don't wanna play, im gonna play it in a way that you're not gonna want to hear" it kind of thing. and we all benefit

[Cool As Ice Cream]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

Tossed this on for the first time in a bit today

#metoo

[slunken]

Originally Posted by Shallowed

idk, I get the feeling he actually put a lot of effort into being cool

you're projecting

[trev]

Originally Posted by Ram27

they only ever did it twice i believe, both tv appearances

they must have done it more than just twice though, right? just nothing that was bootlegged or documented by fans i guess...