A cappella Cardiacs
February 14, 2015 6:49 AM Subscribe
A cappella renditions of songs off the Cardiacs album Sing to God, aka the best album you've never heard of. The original double album (Part I, Part II) is arguably the band's magnum opus, inspiring (among other things) parts of Radiohead's OK Computer; these renditions capture some of the glorious derangement of the originals, and add all manner of delightful innovations to the material. Don't miss: Fiery Gun Hand, Insect Hoofs on Lassie, Wireless, Dirty Boy, Nurses Whispering Verses.
And after years of overpriced second-hand auctions, since 2013 Cardiacs' reissues can again be purchased from the band's official store.
posted by Bangaioh at 8:22 AM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bangaioh at 8:22 AM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm always so pleased to see a mention of The Cardiacs turn up anywhere at all. Such a great, weird, unique group. I was lucky enough to see them live about a year or so before Tim's stroke, and it was one of the most intense events I've ever witnessed. Very tribal atmosphere with the crowd.
I've tried to turn people onto them, but I have to admit that I haven't had much luck. Most of my friends are into at least semi-adventurous music, but no takers. One friend said that the music made him nauseous. Oh well. I absolutely love them.
Get better Tim!
posted by ericthegardener at 8:59 AM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've tried to turn people onto them, but I have to admit that I haven't had much luck. Most of my friends are into at least semi-adventurous music, but no takers. One friend said that the music made him nauseous. Oh well. I absolutely love them.
Get better Tim!
posted by ericthegardener at 8:59 AM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
all's I know is they have a still-unreleased double album waiting to see the light of day
According to Kavus Torabi (most recent Cardiacs guitarist and leader of the magnificent Knifeworld with fellow Cardiacs alumnus Melanie Woods), the album wasn't far enough along when The Incident occurred to be releasable, and most of that left to do was Tim's parts, so it's not that. It might be the professionally videoed and recorded Astoria gig from 2005-ish (?).
The a cappella Nurses Whispering Verses sounds like Hey Ya! by Outkast, something I find it strange to write. If someone wanted to do the former song in the style of the latter, I'd love to hear it somewhere other than the inside of my head.
I'd quite like to see a choir formed specifically to perform these arrangements.
And yes, Sing to God is magnificent.
posted by Grangousier at 9:22 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
According to Kavus Torabi (most recent Cardiacs guitarist and leader of the magnificent Knifeworld with fellow Cardiacs alumnus Melanie Woods), the album wasn't far enough along when The Incident occurred to be releasable, and most of that left to do was Tim's parts, so it's not that. It might be the professionally videoed and recorded Astoria gig from 2005-ish (?).
The a cappella Nurses Whispering Verses sounds like Hey Ya! by Outkast, something I find it strange to write. If someone wanted to do the former song in the style of the latter, I'd love to hear it somewhere other than the inside of my head.
I'd quite like to see a choir formed specifically to perform these arrangements.
And yes, Sing to God is magnificent.
posted by Grangousier at 9:22 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I love the fact that he put the intro to Dog Like Sparky at the end of Eat It Up Worms Hero despite the fact that he's not done Dog Like Sparky yet. And now I want a Cardiacs A Capella Gospel Choir so much.
posted by Grangousier at 9:54 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 9:54 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Incidentally, the official Cardiacs web site posted this last week. Which... well, all's I know is they have a still-unreleased double album waiting to see the light of day, and my favorite hobby is getting my hope up, soThe rumor I find most reliable is that it's the second Sea Nymphs record, which apparently was completely finished and just never released.
If like me you've exhausted all your Cardiacs and Cardiacs-related (you have heard the Spratley's Japs record, I hope), but still haven't heard of Shrubbies, check out that album post haste. Tim produced and a lot of it is Cardiacs-ish in flavor.
posted by dfan at 10:06 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I first checked out Sing to God because of this comment, and it is indeed one of the most incredible albums ever made.
posted by cthuljew at 10:22 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by cthuljew at 10:22 AM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Another Sea Nymphs record would be fantastic. A full hour of footage from the unreleased Bumming Shed rehearsals was screened at a fundraiser for Tim Smith last summer, strongly hinting at a forthcoming DVD release--possibly transpiring on May 2. The powers-that-be posted a clip of "An Ant" to YouTube a few months back--the first footage to see the light of day since the 2007 posting of "As Cold As Can Be in an English Sea,"Jibber & Twitch," and the "Jim's Shame" snippet.
Thanks for the Shrubbies recommendation, dfan. Can't believe I hadn't heard this amazing album before now--it'll pair nicely with Spratley's Japs, Monsoon Bassoon, and North Sea Radio Orchestra.
Back on subject---Cardiacs covers--I recommend the interpretations by concert pianist Adrian Beckwith. Really beautiful work. And no discussion about souls brave enough to tackle Cardiacs can exclude the work of Paolo Sala, who plays every instrument on renditions of "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" and 'Tarred & Feathered."
posted by prinado at 11:55 AM on February 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Thanks for the Shrubbies recommendation, dfan. Can't believe I hadn't heard this amazing album before now--it'll pair nicely with Spratley's Japs, Monsoon Bassoon, and North Sea Radio Orchestra.
Back on subject---Cardiacs covers--I recommend the interpretations by concert pianist Adrian Beckwith. Really beautiful work. And no discussion about souls brave enough to tackle Cardiacs can exclude the work of Paolo Sala, who plays every instrument on renditions of "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" and 'Tarred & Feathered."
posted by prinado at 11:55 AM on February 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
The Cardiacs are a band I want to love and should love, considering that they remind me at times of some of my other favorites like XTC and some of the Tubes' stuff. Somehow the only Cardiacs I've ever warmed to is a couple of lo-fi cassette MP3 rips I found on the internet years ago. It must be the production style, because the elements are certainly all there. In any case, I'll keep giving them a listen just in case something clicks somewhere down the road.
posted by metagnathous at 1:03 PM on February 14, 2015
posted by metagnathous at 1:03 PM on February 14, 2015
I hope that someone who has never watched this video before clicks on this link and watches this video. Kind of sums up the near-religious fervor that the Cardiacs were able to conjure up in concert.
posted by vverse23 at 1:11 PM on February 14, 2015
posted by vverse23 at 1:11 PM on February 14, 2015
I've heard of it! And the rest of them!
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:23 PM on February 14, 2015
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:23 PM on February 14, 2015
This is great, thanks. For your further consideration, here's Napalm Death covering Cardiacs.
posted by ceiriog at 4:39 PM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ceiriog at 4:39 PM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thank you for introducing me to Sing to God.
posted by the sobsister at 5:19 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 5:19 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
OK, this is kind of awesome, because I really dig both Cardiacs (had William D Drake on my podcast! Which was AWESOME! And he is super nice!) AND the 180-Gs (a/k/a David Minnick) who's doing the covers in question. He also did an album of all Negativland covers (180-D'Gs To the Future), which came with the Our Favorite Things DVD from Negativland. (I also did an interview with him about the Negativland record -- but way before the Cardiacs project so that is kinda crazy.)
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 5:58 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 5:58 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
(also: If anyone's on the fence, the All That Glitters is a Maresnest DVD is actually a pretty nice transfer.)
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 6:01 PM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 6:01 PM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
It makes me so stoked to see people remarking that comment threads from a couple years back were what got them into Cardiacs. I am a pretty zealous fan, and while I've been a bit scarce round these parts recently, this was too good a discovery for me not to share.
I've been debating making a megapost about Cardiacs-affiliated musicians, most of whom are geniuses in their own right and utterly, deliriously enjoyable musicians beside. A lot of their stuff captures aspects of what make Cardiacs great, but without the tempestuous chaos that make the main band so difficult to listen to. William Drake, Jon Poole, Bic Hayes, and Craig Fortnam, whose Shrubbies was mentioned earlier, as well as half a dozen others... between them all you essentially have an alternate universe's worth of musicians, all inventive and kind and deeply, deeply joyful. It would take an effort to make sense of them all, but if I've got anything left to share here, it's probably that lot. I've been leaning towards no, but reading people's reactions to the group here is always so heartwarming — maybe I'll try to draft something for this upcoming May 2 thing.
posted by rorgy at 6:40 PM on February 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
I've been debating making a megapost about Cardiacs-affiliated musicians, most of whom are geniuses in their own right and utterly, deliriously enjoyable musicians beside. A lot of their stuff captures aspects of what make Cardiacs great, but without the tempestuous chaos that make the main band so difficult to listen to. William Drake, Jon Poole, Bic Hayes, and Craig Fortnam, whose Shrubbies was mentioned earlier, as well as half a dozen others... between them all you essentially have an alternate universe's worth of musicians, all inventive and kind and deeply, deeply joyful. It would take an effort to make sense of them all, but if I've got anything left to share here, it's probably that lot. I've been leaning towards no, but reading people's reactions to the group here is always so heartwarming — maybe I'll try to draft something for this upcoming May 2 thing.
posted by rorgy at 6:40 PM on February 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
By the way, as much as I love Sing to God, my favorite Cardiacs album is On Land and in the Sea, which is a blistering, delirious pop record that hits musical highs I'd never have dreamed of on my own. It was one of the last records of theirs that I discovered, and by the time I'd come to it I was pretty certain I'd gotten a hang of just what Cardiacs had to offer me...... but nope. They simply don't have less-than-stellar music. It practically defies some law of physics. The Sea Nymphs and Tim's solo album are just as good, too.
posted by rorgy at 6:44 PM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by rorgy at 6:44 PM on February 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I first checked out Sing to God because of this comment, and it is indeed one of the most incredible albums ever made.
I too was introduced to Cardiacs by that comment (thank you Grangousier!). Gradually I became more and more obsessed and acquired all of their albums. By now they have essentially rewired my brain, like one of those wasps that performs brain surgery on a cockroach to enslave it.
Join us!
P.S. thanks for the post, these covers are great. I love how he handled the guitar solo on Fiery Gun Hand.
posted by equalpants at 9:10 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I too was introduced to Cardiacs by that comment (thank you Grangousier!). Gradually I became more and more obsessed and acquired all of their albums. By now they have essentially rewired my brain, like one of those wasps that performs brain surgery on a cockroach to enslave it.
Join us!
P.S. thanks for the post, these covers are great. I love how he handled the guitar solo on Fiery Gun Hand.
posted by equalpants at 9:10 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh, wow, Paolo Sala's "Tarred and Feathered" is amazing too. Nice that he includes the sigh at the end.
posted by equalpants at 9:16 PM on February 14, 2015
posted by equalpants at 9:16 PM on February 14, 2015
Graceless is the place to be!
A dear friend saw them play a free concert at our student union, and life was never quite the same again.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 9:18 AM on February 15, 2015
A dear friend saw them play a free concert at our student union, and life was never quite the same again.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 9:18 AM on February 15, 2015
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posted by rorgy at 6:59 AM on February 14, 2015 [3 favorites]