Watford.
September 6, 2011 7:20 PM Subscribe
I got the original on a mixtape a long long time ago, and loved it for its dreamy wallpaper quality. It got me through a lot of studying without ever having to pay attention to it before I learned who made it. Great job.
posted by hanoixan at 7:30 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by hanoixan at 7:30 PM on September 6, 2011
Whoa. This was completely brilliant. Loved the "That's it!" at the end.
But most of all, thank you for introducing me to The Orb.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:30 PM on September 6, 2011
But most of all, thank you for introducing me to The Orb.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:30 PM on September 6, 2011
Oh, and the version in the post is by Simon Munnery (scroll down to the last item on the page).
posted by Kattullus at 7:31 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by Kattullus at 7:31 PM on September 6, 2011
introducing me to The Orb
Christ, seriously?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:35 PM on September 6, 2011 [10 favorites]
Christ, seriously?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:35 PM on September 6, 2011 [10 favorites]
I know, right? And I've been listening to Future Sound of London and the KLF for frigging ever. Go figure.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:37 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by dunkadunc at 7:37 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]
How odd, I listened to the original version last night.
While "what were the skies like when you were young" is a stupid question, I think the difference is in the location: Arizona vs. England.
posted by troll at 7:41 PM on September 6, 2011
While "what were the skies like when you were young" is a stupid question, I think the difference is in the location: Arizona vs. England.
posted by troll at 7:41 PM on September 6, 2011
I lol'd
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:43 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:43 PM on September 6, 2011
Ah, I haven't listened to Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld in years. It's a strong album, and in my mind the epitome of its form... steady D&B with plenty of good audio sampling. "The astronauts report it feels good!"
But then the album ends with a hideous mix of Loving You entitled A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld which really does not close it on a positive note.
Anyway, Little Fluffly Clouds always makes me think of the "New" Beetle, and this is a fine piss on it.
posted by rlk at 7:47 PM on September 6, 2011
But then the album ends with a hideous mix of Loving You entitled A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld which really does not close it on a positive note.
Anyway, Little Fluffly Clouds always makes me think of the "New" Beetle, and this is a fine piss on it.
posted by rlk at 7:47 PM on September 6, 2011
My old housemate used to refer to the Adventures Beyond... disk as "perpetual yawn".
posted by jade east at 7:55 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jade east at 7:55 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Come now, Orblivion was my first Orb album. It helped me get through an enormously terrible volume of self-published allegorical science fiction about a city of time-traveling feral children.
posted by Nomyte at 8:01 PM on September 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Nomyte at 8:01 PM on September 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
Christ, seriously?
Heh, it took me like 10-15 years to even acknowledge Orbital because I erroneously thought they were hyping themselves off of my beloved Orb.
Then I discovered they weren't half bad and felt like a schmuck. I didn't like Prodigy for ages either 'cause they came off like wannabe interlopers trying to jockify techno or something, but that's kind of a product of how early i started on this stuff. "Who are these dayglo schmucks on MTV, anyway?", yet still unironically waiting for 808 state or The Orb on 120 minutes.
I love this track and sendup, and I bet they would too. For better or worse I have an intimate relationship with Little Fluffy Clouds and the Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld album. (All versions, all singles. Used to own 'em all, more or less.)
Pomme Fritz is still one of the weirdest goddamn albums I've ever heard in my life, and I've heard plenty of weird albums. It's like someone took the distilled essence of a slightly terrifying but not entirely uncomfortable mushroom trip at a nearly vacated carnival or boardwalk. An ether binge on a tilt-a-whirl, but it's really just the sun.
And one of my favorite live performaces ever was at a show called "Organic" in 96. Huge arena sized concert sound in a ski resort in Southern California in the summer. The Orb did their show in 8 channel surround. Huuuuuuge 30 foot tall stacks of sound spread all over a giant meadow for 10-20,000 people. Seriously one of the largest, loudest and nicest sound rigs I've ever seen in one place. It would make Pink Floyd weep with jealously.
So... all those stereo panning sounds and samples The Orb likes to do... the single engine plane purring by overhead, the sounds of flies buzzing - or a dirt bike tearing around... in 8 channel surround on I have no idea how many watts and speakers. People were leaping out of the way of invisible motorcycles tearing around the meadow, looking overhead for airplanes flying too low. There was a part in the show where the plane crashed and I watched a hundred people snap their heads to look, even standing up and going "WTF was that!?". Rumor has it someone had a panic attack or even heart attack from the experience or the bass or something. The bass was incredible. A mighty dub. I've seen a lot of different piles of speakers but I've never seen anything like it on such a large scale.
Major point of shame? I missed going to an open jam and party with them at a nearby cabin because I wanted to DJ to a suddenly empty basement in my friend's cabin where a group of us were staying for the concert. Durrrr. Where'd everyone go?
posted by loquacious at 8:31 PM on September 6, 2011 [9 favorites]
Heh, it took me like 10-15 years to even acknowledge Orbital because I erroneously thought they were hyping themselves off of my beloved Orb.
Then I discovered they weren't half bad and felt like a schmuck. I didn't like Prodigy for ages either 'cause they came off like wannabe interlopers trying to jockify techno or something, but that's kind of a product of how early i started on this stuff. "Who are these dayglo schmucks on MTV, anyway?", yet still unironically waiting for 808 state or The Orb on 120 minutes.
I love this track and sendup, and I bet they would too. For better or worse I have an intimate relationship with Little Fluffy Clouds and the Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld album. (All versions, all singles. Used to own 'em all, more or less.)
Pomme Fritz is still one of the weirdest goddamn albums I've ever heard in my life, and I've heard plenty of weird albums. It's like someone took the distilled essence of a slightly terrifying but not entirely uncomfortable mushroom trip at a nearly vacated carnival or boardwalk. An ether binge on a tilt-a-whirl, but it's really just the sun.
And one of my favorite live performaces ever was at a show called "Organic" in 96. Huge arena sized concert sound in a ski resort in Southern California in the summer. The Orb did their show in 8 channel surround. Huuuuuuge 30 foot tall stacks of sound spread all over a giant meadow for 10-20,000 people. Seriously one of the largest, loudest and nicest sound rigs I've ever seen in one place. It would make Pink Floyd weep with jealously.
So... all those stereo panning sounds and samples The Orb likes to do... the single engine plane purring by overhead, the sounds of flies buzzing - or a dirt bike tearing around... in 8 channel surround on I have no idea how many watts and speakers. People were leaping out of the way of invisible motorcycles tearing around the meadow, looking overhead for airplanes flying too low. There was a part in the show where the plane crashed and I watched a hundred people snap their heads to look, even standing up and going "WTF was that!?". Rumor has it someone had a panic attack or even heart attack from the experience or the bass or something. The bass was incredible. A mighty dub. I've seen a lot of different piles of speakers but I've never seen anything like it on such a large scale.
Major point of shame? I missed going to an open jam and party with them at a nearby cabin because I wanted to DJ to a suddenly empty basement in my friend's cabin where a group of us were staying for the concert. Durrrr. Where'd everyone go?
posted by loquacious at 8:31 PM on September 6, 2011 [9 favorites]
I love this album, and this is great.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:31 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:31 PM on September 6, 2011
Well that wasn't nearly as annoying than the original. But few things are.
posted by octothorpe at 8:38 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 8:38 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
b1tr0t: "For those new to MeFi, just flag octorhorpe's comment as "offensive" and move on. No need to rise to the bait."
Sorry, I didn't really mean it to be flame bait. I always thought that it was a joke novelty song, meant to be an annoying earworm kind of thing.
posted by octothorpe at 8:50 PM on September 6, 2011
Sorry, I didn't really mean it to be flame bait. I always thought that it was a joke novelty song, meant to be an annoying earworm kind of thing.
posted by octothorpe at 8:50 PM on September 6, 2011
And the other voice on the original is, of course, Levar Burton.
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 8:53 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 8:53 PM on September 6, 2011
And the other voice on the original is, of course, Levar Burton.
Ah, but in fact, it's not.
posted by kcds at 9:10 PM on September 6, 2011
Ah, but in fact, it's not.
posted by kcds at 9:10 PM on September 6, 2011
Sorry, I didn't really mean it to be flame bait. I always thought that it was a joke novelty song, meant to be an annoying earworm kind of thing.
Yeah, as much as I try to be open-minded every time I hear electronic music I feel like a stuffy old man in the 50s must have felt like when he heard Elvis.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:20 PM on September 6, 2011
Yeah, as much as I try to be open-minded every time I hear electronic music I feel like a stuffy old man in the 50s must have felt like when he heard Elvis.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:20 PM on September 6, 2011
God, this thread is so early 90s, I love it.
Pomme Fritz holds a special place in my heart.
I got a temporary assignment teaching at YKK world headquarters in a place called Kurobe, Toyama during the winter of 94/95. It's pretty far out. I lived in a house built originally for Jimmy Carter (he helped YKK set up shop in the States in the 70s) in a subdivision waaay out in the fields. To say I was isolated would be an understatement.
This was pre-internet. There was no such thing as MP3s. My only tenuous connection to pop culture was the CD store in the next town. And they had Pomme Fritz.
It was a cold winter, and whenever I listen to Pomme Fritz I am immediately transported back in time to the interior of a train on the Hokuriku Line. It is cold, the air outside painful to inhale, the fields are covered in snow, and the sunlight is dazzling as it is reflected off of ice crystals.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:31 PM on September 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
Pomme Fritz holds a special place in my heart.
I got a temporary assignment teaching at YKK world headquarters in a place called Kurobe, Toyama during the winter of 94/95. It's pretty far out. I lived in a house built originally for Jimmy Carter (he helped YKK set up shop in the States in the 70s) in a subdivision waaay out in the fields. To say I was isolated would be an understatement.
This was pre-internet. There was no such thing as MP3s. My only tenuous connection to pop culture was the CD store in the next town. And they had Pomme Fritz.
It was a cold winter, and whenever I listen to Pomme Fritz I am immediately transported back in time to the interior of a train on the Hokuriku Line. It is cold, the air outside painful to inhale, the fields are covered in snow, and the sunlight is dazzling as it is reflected off of ice crystals.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:31 PM on September 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
In 2006, I saw the Orb playing as "Le Petit Orb" at DEMF/Movement.
Of course, they played this.
I'd seen them on the Orblivion tour, and I believe one other time...1995, surely?
I think Cydonia's the album that sort of fractured the Orb's fan base and pushed Alex Paterson and various other members into permanent "remixer of other artists" territory.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:05 PM on September 6, 2011
Of course, they played this.
I'd seen them on the Orblivion tour, and I believe one other time...1995, surely?
I think Cydonia's the album that sort of fractured the Orb's fan base and pushed Alex Paterson and various other members into permanent "remixer of other artists" territory.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:05 PM on September 6, 2011
I hate to be the thick and uncultured one to butt in here, but.....what the hell are we talking about? I seriously have no idea what any of this is about...
posted by schmod at 10:20 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by schmod at 10:20 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
You know what the Russian for wormwood is? Chernobyl. FACT
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:23 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:23 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]
As we look at the weather map, we see a cold front with forecasts of subzero temperatures, with tomorrow's forecast for continued mild… continued mild?!
posted by Nomyte at 10:29 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by Nomyte at 10:29 PM on September 6, 2011
As far as I know, the Orb only made it to Vancouver once. It would've been about 1994, in the heat of summer, at a club called Graceland, which was packed to the rafters and HOT. A lot of what they were up to on stage (live mix and real drums) felt like it kind of went over most peoples' heads ... but when they played Little Fluffy Clouds, that whole crowded room synched up and achieved a certain beautiful symmetry ... at which point I realized, Little Fluffy Clouds is one of the greatest f***ing records ever. All uplift and positivity.
posted by philip-random at 10:35 PM on September 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 10:35 PM on September 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
TITUS I'M BORED
posted by neuromodulator at 10:46 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by neuromodulator at 10:46 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
... and they will build gardens and live in them
posted by philip-random at 10:49 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 10:49 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]
plant
posted by philip-random at 10:49 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by philip-random at 10:49 PM on September 6, 2011
"Klytus," dear. It's "Klytus." It's like you didn't even watch the movie.
posted by Nomyte at 10:51 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by Nomyte at 10:51 PM on September 6, 2011
It's true. "Titus" returned google matches so I assumed it was correct.
posted by neuromodulator at 10:54 PM on September 6, 2011
posted by neuromodulator at 10:54 PM on September 6, 2011
schmod - follow the links
I have, and none of it provides enough context for this post to make any sense.
There's a band named The Orb (or Orbital? or Monster Magnet?) and their music (and this apparent parody) sounds like any other electronica of the past decade that uses found spoken-word samples in their songs...
And what's Watford? The footie club?
I'm not being deliberately thick. I genuinely have no idea what's going on here....
posted by schmod at 10:56 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have, and none of it provides enough context for this post to make any sense.
There's a band named The Orb (or Orbital? or Monster Magnet?) and their music (and this apparent parody) sounds like any other electronica of the past decade that uses found spoken-word samples in their songs...
And what's Watford? The footie club?
I'm not being deliberately thick. I genuinely have no idea what's going on here....
posted by schmod at 10:56 PM on September 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I was 11-12 years old my brother got me into Orb and a bunch of other trippy electronic stuff and it blew my mind and made me desperately want to try drugs. I used to fall asleep while listening to Orb albums. They'd play all night while I had strange and menacing and ethereal preteen dreams AND NOW I'M ALL GROWN UP AND LOOK HOW I TURNED OUT MAMA
posted by naju at 10:59 PM on September 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by naju at 10:59 PM on September 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
Schmod - The Orb might sound like any other electronic sample-heavy dance band of the past decade, but they were cooking in the early 90s and did a lot of this stuff for the first time (at least, in a consumer-friendly format. It's been around for a lot longer - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, Big Audio Dynamite, Holger Czukay...). It sounded fantastic back then, in the first flush of digital. I don't think it's aged particularly well, perhaps not as badly as Underworld but doesn't hold up like FSOL. And then people like Aphex Twin (OK, there's nobody like Aphex Twin) popped up and pressed reset.
Watford is a rather dull town north of London. It's not especially dull, but like most provincial places close to the Smoke it suffers badly by comparison and gets a lot of stick.
posted by Devonian at 11:15 PM on September 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
Watford is a rather dull town north of London. It's not especially dull, but like most provincial places close to the Smoke it suffers badly by comparison and gets a lot of stick.
posted by Devonian at 11:15 PM on September 6, 2011 [3 favorites]
And in a similar vein "We know where the time goes" by "The FLK". A folk reworking of the KLFs seminal "Chill Out".
Sacrilicious
posted by hardcode at 12:51 AM on September 7, 2011
Sacrilicious
posted by hardcode at 12:51 AM on September 7, 2011
Oh shoot, I read it as "the russian word for earworm"... he he he
posted by dabitch at 1:17 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by dabitch at 1:17 AM on September 7, 2011
After a 10 hour night shift, this is exactly what I needed to cheer me up.
posted by slimepuppy at 1:25 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by slimepuppy at 1:25 AM on September 7, 2011
I was fortunate to discover them at about the same time. Not long after discovering Autechre.
Same here!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:03 AM on September 7, 2011
Same here!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:03 AM on September 7, 2011
Why is Watford funny?
Oh god, can't you ask an easier one? It just is, I think...
* It's one of those semi-suburb kind of places. To anyone who lives in London, it's the arse end of no-where somewhere by the M25. To anyone who lives outside the M25, it's London. Watford folks are proud of the field that sits between them and London proper.
* It's a grey and boring commuter town.
* The entire town centre appears to be two lands connected by a pedestrian precinct - one is a large soulless shopping centre, and the other is all bars, fast food and puke. It's that depressing that the planners wrapped a one way system round them to stop them escaping.
* Every part of Watford that has any money or pretentions of class or style seems to call itself something other than Watford.
Of course, I was brought up in a field, so I hate the place for being grey and smelly and full of people. My wife was brought up there and she pretty much hated it for the same reasons too. None of this is unique to Watford - it's just an easy joke taking the piss out of a place the people listening to the track are likely to know...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 2:40 AM on September 7, 2011 [3 favorites]
Oh god, can't you ask an easier one? It just is, I think...
* It's one of those semi-suburb kind of places. To anyone who lives in London, it's the arse end of no-where somewhere by the M25. To anyone who lives outside the M25, it's London. Watford folks are proud of the field that sits between them and London proper.
* It's a grey and boring commuter town.
* The entire town centre appears to be two lands connected by a pedestrian precinct - one is a large soulless shopping centre, and the other is all bars, fast food and puke. It's that depressing that the planners wrapped a one way system round them to stop them escaping.
* Every part of Watford that has any money or pretentions of class or style seems to call itself something other than Watford.
Of course, I was brought up in a field, so I hate the place for being grey and smelly and full of people. My wife was brought up there and she pretty much hated it for the same reasons too. None of this is unique to Watford - it's just an easy joke taking the piss out of a place the people listening to the track are likely to know...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 2:40 AM on September 7, 2011 [3 favorites]
I always thought that it was a joke novelty song, meant to be an annoying earworm kind of thing.
I hated it as well. I saw it as yet another attempt to try and make dance music by and for people who didn't like dancing. We'd been listening to Marshall Jefferson, Joe Smooth, Derrick May, etc., then all of a sudden we get subjected to this?
Didn't like it then. Don't like it any better now.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:09 AM on September 7, 2011
I hated it as well. I saw it as yet another attempt to try and make dance music by and for people who didn't like dancing. We'd been listening to Marshall Jefferson, Joe Smooth, Derrick May, etc., then all of a sudden we get subjected to this?
Didn't like it then. Don't like it any better now.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:09 AM on September 7, 2011
Those of you dissing the original have souls as shriveled and black as Kingsford charcoal briquettes. Although not as useful, because whereas those charcoal briquettes emits a lovely, food-enhancing aroma when ignited, your burning souls would smell like a tire fire crossed with the Gulf oil spill.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 4:59 AM on September 7, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 4:59 AM on September 7, 2011 [5 favorites]
I saw it as yet another attempt to try and make dance music by and for people who didn't like dancing.
You were supposed to dance to it? Funny, I thought it was the soundtrack for tripping balls while hiking in the gorges back in college. Different strokes and all that, I guess.
posted by KingEdRa at 5:07 AM on September 7, 2011
You were supposed to dance to it? Funny, I thought it was the soundtrack for tripping balls while hiking in the gorges back in college. Different strokes and all that, I guess.
posted by KingEdRa at 5:07 AM on September 7, 2011
That question hurts.
posted by heatvision at 7:03 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by heatvision at 7:03 AM on September 7, 2011
I hated it as well. I saw it as yet another attempt to try and make dance music by and for people who didn't like dancing.
Like someone else mentioned earlier, the Orb is more like Brian Eno - the music is a (humorous) sound collage that's really fun to listen to while stoned, or at the end of a night of dancing.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:26 AM on September 7, 2011
Like someone else mentioned earlier, the Orb is more like Brian Eno - the music is a (humorous) sound collage that's really fun to listen to while stoned, or at the end of a night of dancing.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:26 AM on September 7, 2011
Orbital. They made the Brown Album
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:27 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:27 AM on September 7, 2011
Oribital. They made In Sides. But you must ignore The Altogether, which is crap.
posted by echo target at 7:34 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by echo target at 7:34 AM on September 7, 2011
Lovecraft In Brooklyn: Yeah, as much as I try to be open-minded every time I hear electronic music I feel like a stuffy old man in the 50s must have felt like when he heard Elvis.
My little sister went to a rave when she was in high school, and she came back with a new understanding of the weird electronic music I love so much. Except she thought I was doing drugs to enjoy it. It confused her that I could listen to repetitive stuff without my mind somehow altered. To this day, I've enjoyed it all with nothing more than an occasional second-hand high.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:44 AM on September 7, 2011
My little sister went to a rave when she was in high school, and she came back with a new understanding of the weird electronic music I love so much. Except she thought I was doing drugs to enjoy it. It confused her that I could listen to repetitive stuff without my mind somehow altered. To this day, I've enjoyed it all with nothing more than an occasional second-hand high.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:44 AM on September 7, 2011
Really like the original. Loved this, thanks.
Some English towns have names that just scream "Stay away". I used to work for a British company in the U.S. office, and if you got on to a project that was based in the home office you'd go to Leatherhead. The name "Leatherhead" was enough to make me think that would be a bad thing.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:49 AM on September 7, 2011
Some English towns have names that just scream "Stay away". I used to work for a British company in the U.S. office, and if you got on to a project that was based in the home office you'd go to Leatherhead. The name "Leatherhead" was enough to make me think that would be a bad thing.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:49 AM on September 7, 2011
Quick! Orb vs. Orbital battle! Who is supreme?
Dude, don't make me choose between "Plateau" and "Halcyon."
posted by en forme de poire at 8:22 AM on September 7, 2011
Dude, don't make me choose between "Plateau" and "Halcyon."
posted by en forme de poire at 8:22 AM on September 7, 2011
You were supposed to dance to it? Funny, I thought it was the soundtrack for tripping balls while hiking in the gorges back in college.
Yeah, for context, I'm pretty sure I heard Orb pretty much immediately in terms of their records making it to the Americas (summer 1990?) as my brother worked in the Vancouver's big deal import record store and he was always one to be onto THE NEXT BIG THING.
I doubt it took less than a week for the Little Fluffy Clouds 12-inch to get recorded onto a cassette mix tape and lugged into the local mountains to join the "acid-hike" soundtrack. Basically, we'd drop a hit or two of the ole lysergic and disappear into the trees with a ghetto blaster in tow, not to be seen by normal folks again for a good eight or ten hours. And yeah, Little Fluffy Clouds was perfect for those high trees, twisting gorges, roaring creeks, occasional breathtaking views as it offered both easy groove (impetus to keep on stepping lightly) and ethereal textures (impetus for mind to expand) ... and entirely fresh in its unrestrained positivity coming as it did at the end (finally!) of the 80s, which for me anyway, will always be remembered as the decade where the sun never really shone.
posted by philip-random at 9:13 AM on September 7, 2011
Yeah, for context, I'm pretty sure I heard Orb pretty much immediately in terms of their records making it to the Americas (summer 1990?) as my brother worked in the Vancouver's big deal import record store and he was always one to be onto THE NEXT BIG THING.
I doubt it took less than a week for the Little Fluffy Clouds 12-inch to get recorded onto a cassette mix tape and lugged into the local mountains to join the "acid-hike" soundtrack. Basically, we'd drop a hit or two of the ole lysergic and disappear into the trees with a ghetto blaster in tow, not to be seen by normal folks again for a good eight or ten hours. And yeah, Little Fluffy Clouds was perfect for those high trees, twisting gorges, roaring creeks, occasional breathtaking views as it offered both easy groove (impetus to keep on stepping lightly) and ethereal textures (impetus for mind to expand) ... and entirely fresh in its unrestrained positivity coming as it did at the end (finally!) of the 80s, which for me anyway, will always be remembered as the decade where the sun never really shone.
posted by philip-random at 9:13 AM on September 7, 2011
Little Fluffy Clouds is an all-time favorite of mine.
Loquacious, I remember Organic in '96. Were you on SoCal Raves back then?
posted by gen at 9:29 AM on September 7, 2011
Loquacious, I remember Organic in '96. Were you on SoCal Raves back then?
posted by gen at 9:29 AM on September 7, 2011
Not too disimilar story. Worthless druggie technohead and now I have a bitchin' house and travel around the world. Eat me, vice principal!
I got into techno when I was about 10-11 (I'm not ashamed to admit that it was the Hackers soundtrack that turned me on to the genre, then in the heady early days of MP3 my collection expanded vastly). I proceded to be a very square, depressed teenager. Didn't do drugs. Managed to avoid the rave scene, which was ridiculously huge while I was in high school.
Now I'm still depressed, have dropped out of college multiple times, and have an exceedingly poor work history. The conclusion is obvious.
Also, thanks. I spent a good two hours listening to my old favorites before plying my ass off the computer and into bed last night.
posted by polyhedron at 9:55 AM on September 7, 2011
I got into techno when I was about 10-11 (I'm not ashamed to admit that it was the Hackers soundtrack that turned me on to the genre, then in the heady early days of MP3 my collection expanded vastly). I proceded to be a very square, depressed teenager. Didn't do drugs. Managed to avoid the rave scene, which was ridiculously huge while I was in high school.
Now I'm still depressed, have dropped out of college multiple times, and have an exceedingly poor work history. The conclusion is obvious.
Also, thanks. I spent a good two hours listening to my old favorites before plying my ass off the computer and into bed last night.
posted by polyhedron at 9:55 AM on September 7, 2011
polyhedron, if I were Oprah I'd give you a hug, and a free car.
posted by Nomyte at 9:59 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by Nomyte at 9:59 AM on September 7, 2011
filthy light thief-
To this day, I've enjoyed it all with nothing more than an occasional second-hand high.
Second-hand?! Explain plz.
posted by Zorsha at 10:35 AM on September 7, 2011
To this day, I've enjoyed it all with nothing more than an occasional second-hand high.
Second-hand?! Explain plz.
posted by Zorsha at 10:35 AM on September 7, 2011
I hated it as well. I saw it as yet another attempt to try and make dance music by and for people who didn't like dancing. We'd been listening to Marshall Jefferson, Joe Smooth, Derrick May, etc., then all of a sudden we get subjected to this?
Hey, I cut my teeth on all of that, too, and I still dance. The Orb isn't techno or acidhouse, it's technically a kind of dub. Not as in step, but as in pre-reggae dub soundsystem type noises.
But more directed and poppy, obviously. But I liked it because it was basically trippy, future-looking heartbeat dub with a sense of humor. What is it? I've never heard any music like that in my life before, and if I ever have I don't know here I heard it!
posted by loquacious at 1:00 PM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hey, I cut my teeth on all of that, too, and I still dance. The Orb isn't techno or acidhouse, it's technically a kind of dub. Not as in step, but as in pre-reggae dub soundsystem type noises.
But more directed and poppy, obviously. But I liked it because it was basically trippy, future-looking heartbeat dub with a sense of humor. What is it? I've never heard any music like that in my life before, and if I ever have I don't know here I heard it!
posted by loquacious at 1:00 PM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Loquacious, I remember Organic in '96. Were you on SoCal Raves back then?
Back then? *smiles* I'm still on that list. I think I'm probably the 2nd or 3rd longest/oldest continuous subscriber at this point, just behind Dana and Mark - unless Joachim is secretly lurking around.
Man, so many great things came out of that list.
posted by loquacious at 1:04 PM on September 7, 2011
Back then? *smiles* I'm still on that list. I think I'm probably the 2nd or 3rd longest/oldest continuous subscriber at this point, just behind Dana and Mark - unless Joachim is secretly lurking around.
Man, so many great things came out of that list.
posted by loquacious at 1:04 PM on September 7, 2011
Watford Watford Watford Watford
posted by yoHighness at 2:06 PM on September 7, 2011
posted by yoHighness at 2:06 PM on September 7, 2011
Steve Reich did it best in 1965: Its Gonna Rain.
posted by sulphur at 3:52 PM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sulphur at 3:52 PM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
...And did you know that "Little Fluffy Clouds" samples Steve Reich's "Electric Counterpoint"?
Apparently Reich, unlike Rickie Lee Jones, was happy to be sampled.
posted by dunkadunc at 3:59 PM on September 7, 2011
Apparently Reich, unlike Rickie Lee Jones, was happy to be sampled.
posted by dunkadunc at 3:59 PM on September 7, 2011
Apparently Reich, unlike Rickie Lee Jones, was happy to be sampled.
Why would a songwriter want their words taken out of context and chopped up?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 4:20 PM on September 7, 2011
Why would a songwriter want their words taken out of context and chopped up?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 4:20 PM on September 7, 2011
Might as well finish up the Orb... troika with a mention of William Orbit - he of Ray of Light and the ambitious Pieces in a Modern Style (and its 2010 followup).
His accomplished, underappreciated sound can be heard at some length here.
posted by Twang at 6:27 PM on September 7, 2011
His accomplished, underappreciated sound can be heard at some length here.
posted by Twang at 6:27 PM on September 7, 2011
Just remember, an Orb is for life, not just for Christmas.
posted by pashdown at 7:45 PM on September 7, 2011
posted by pashdown at 7:45 PM on September 7, 2011
I love Orb. I have every album they've ever made, including all of the 'bad' ones. Patterson is not as great without Felmann. Oxbow Lakes is my absolute favorite, but not the album version, the instrumental version on the UK single; and Orbus Terrarum is the best album. It would be impossible to figure out all of the samples used in all albums, but samples from the film NAKED seems to be the most quoted, along with Levar Burton (who is not really Levar Burton). I had a Russian friend translate some of the Russian samples from that Russian one, but I can't remember what it was, something along the lines of "Your brain is a machine and whatnot."
You can compare Orb to Orbital in the same way you can compare Motzart to Led Zepplin. They are both fine in their own genre, but they are not compatible. I love both. And if you like these, you will also like KLF, FSOL, AA, William Orbit and 808 State.
But, William Orbit gets old, you can only listen for so long, then he gets tired. FSOL is kinda the same way, I cannot listen forever, I have to shut it off after a while, not so with Orb and 808 State, I can keep those on forever and never get tired of them. Same with some Eurythmics albums, such as the soundtrack for 1984 and Touch (the rest arecrap not too bad).
I wish I had time for a better comment, but no. Blue Room isn't all that bad, but isn't their greatest work, even though lots of Orb fans seem to think so.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 8:15 PM on September 7, 2011
You can compare Orb to Orbital in the same way you can compare Motzart to Led Zepplin. They are both fine in their own genre, but they are not compatible. I love both. And if you like these, you will also like KLF, FSOL, AA, William Orbit and 808 State.
But, William Orbit gets old, you can only listen for so long, then he gets tired. FSOL is kinda the same way, I cannot listen forever, I have to shut it off after a while, not so with Orb and 808 State, I can keep those on forever and never get tired of them. Same with some Eurythmics albums, such as the soundtrack for 1984 and Touch (the rest are
I wish I had time for a better comment, but no. Blue Room isn't all that bad, but isn't their greatest work, even though lots of Orb fans seem to think so.
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 8:15 PM on September 7, 2011
Strange things happen on Metafilter when it's evening in England.
posted by smithsmith at 9:08 PM on September 7, 2011
posted by smithsmith at 9:08 PM on September 7, 2011
Oxbow Lakes is my absolute favorite, but not the album version, the instrumental version on the UK single; and Orbus Terrarum is the best album.
Eh, while I enjoy the more "serious" musicianship or craft of Orbus Terrarum, but Pomme Fritz is still my favorite. Orb Live '93 and UFOrb would probably be second for full albums.
posted by loquacious at 12:19 AM on September 8, 2011
Eh, while I enjoy the more "serious" musicianship or craft of Orbus Terrarum, but Pomme Fritz is still my favorite. Orb Live '93 and UFOrb would probably be second for full albums.
posted by loquacious at 12:19 AM on September 8, 2011
« Older Spook Countries | Humakti Death Duck demands vengeance! How many... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Kattullus at 7:25 PM on September 6, 2011 [4 favorites]