lets discuss soft machine

[diesel]

i was just listening to 12/7/06 which up to the point this song came on is very good, but right after the intro, which i wouldn't call first panda, b/c its a little different than lately, the song literally made me cringe. what happened to soft machine? they changed the intro, changed the instruments, and changed the song. this song used to be awesome, it used to be emotional, dark, and mysterious. the old lyrics were better and music sure as hell didnt drag on. i think the band improved every song on ike except for this one. i have listened to many of the shows recently and s.m. misses more than it hits. i love the first panda intro, but as soon as the song starts, it drags. i just dont understand why this happened. i'll just go back to ice cream truck i guess...

share your thoughts.

[tyler]

on the contrary its my favorite song on Eisenhower.

I do like old lyrics better. and nothing will ever touch the ICT version (my favorite piece of Slip music ever probably). i think a lot of the versions from late last year were lacking, but recently they've got good again, albiet in a very different form than the old 04 version. it's interesting to see a song like this go through so many different incarnations. but i do approve of the new one (although i haven't heard any super recent live versions--i'll let you know about that thursday).

[Dan]

i thought the bass harmonic intro was killer

[BrentW]

haven't heard this one yet, maybe they'll give me a taste tomorrow night in Burlington.

Go back and listen to the 4-19-03 Somerville version (one of the first times played, I believe). That version always brings me to a special place - as does the whole show. I think he was still working on the lyrics, compensated with some slide work, just an amazing version of the song....

[francis]

i'm going to have to check this out..

[putty]

My least favorite Slip song. Old, new, doesn't matter. In fact, I think it's the only song by them I just don't care for at all.

[etahn]

Let's hear it for "Slide Tune". 2003 anyone?

I love that ICT is such a legendary version. I love the way Marc and Andrew come in together, so soft and subtle, yet so powerful. That first note where Marc steps on his pedal while Andrew hits his kick drum is one of my favorite moments.

[chloster]

i thought the memories of the "slide tune" had long since faded to black and white... but woo hoo slide tune... actually really though, i think i first heard the "slide tune" after killing three cars and making it through yet another torrential downpour and it made my mouth drop open... we were so late i believe folks were just getting back from setbreak as we were runnng in and i was preoccupied with thinking of what i was going to do if my mom's car broke down too... (years later i finally took the hint from the car gods and got my old bike from when i was 12 out of the shed this fall - a teenager told me it looked "cool and retro" and i didn't have the heart to tell her that was cause i got it fifteen years ago when i was about her age so she should hang on to her stuff so some teen can tell her it's cool and retro in a decade and a half) but i remember hearing brad humming/vocalizing over and with the slide guitar and thinking.... well... at least we made it for this... and then i asked why he wasn't singing the words and was given the you've got ten heads look that followed the statement that it was a brand new song and that it was an instrumental (silly me...) it used to have this big build with a different energy than the current incarnation does, more frenzy and forward motion, less passion and longing.... anyways... don't quote me on any of this... it's been a long time since then and i've heard many versions of said song(s)...

[Guest]

yeah the version of soft machine on eisenhower is pretty horrible. just no substance there.

[Cleantone]

I guess I'm in the minority on this one.

[Guest]

I think it's grown. That 12/7 version was pretty shit hot in the flesh. Not sure I have an impression of new vs. old lyrics though.

I will say though that there is a moment Guigsy clued me to in the Ice Cream Truck version (like 12:11) or something - he'll have to remind us- but the whole thing coalesces and hits super hard. I would say if you're comparing it to as it grew and coalesced and the ICT (their 'festival') version your sort of bound to be let down.

[sm]

yeah luke, i think its 13:37 or something like that... basically when it all comes back together and smacks ya in the face... just one of those distinct moments in a live recording that takes me directly back to that place in the world and that spot on our timeline.

funny though that ICT and first panda were both mentioned in this thread.... i've kinda thought that First Panda was almost born out of that "jam" that came in the middle of that ICT soft machine... "jam" for lack of a better expression, though, as it definitely sounds to me like a "piece" they were working on... go back and listen to High Sierra from that year, and listen to that soft machine from a month earlier... similar type "jam" in the middle... and they pulled it off perfectly at ICT... then some of those themes started to show up at the beginning in an intro type fashion... then eventually that intro became First Panda in Space.

as for the soft machine, the meat of it, i've said in the past that i preferred the older lyrics, but im not down so much on these new ones anymore, as i used to be. musically, i think the song has definitely grown up, and i think i almost prefer the bigger sound that it has now.... but i think i hear what diesel's on about - i really cant put my finger on it, though... there's certainly a different dynamic to the tune. i've heard good and bad soft machines both old and new, and certainly it used to be a must-hear song for me if i was travelling for a show... but recently, i havent gotten as enthused over it... like i said, there's just something i cant put my finger on.

still a fan, though.

edit: post #216.

[casey]

i think the studio version is pretty good, but live its never that great. brad just can't hit the notes.

[hoby]

i think the studio version is pretty good, but live its never that great. brad just can't hit the notes.

I enjoy the tune immensely live, but am always hyper-conscious of how hard it is for Brad to sing. It's like the National f*ckin' Anthem of Slip tunes!

I think the album version is excellent. I think the the uncontrolled (uncontrollable?) passion of the live versions is replaced by a more "focused" emotion and I think that's okay.

These vocals are more approachable for the general public. By that I mean: Brad's tortured vocals are appropriate if you're at a show and swept up in the emotion of the moment. They're okay if you're listening to a live recording and can imagine in your mind's eye what's going on because you've seen a show in the past. Without those reference points, those live vocals can be, umm. distracting.

But if this album version is the first time you're hearing the tune, it's a great version full of emotion. Then, when you go to see them in person, the live version will tear the top of your head off.

Having said all that, I must confess that I have never heard the ICT set. I'll have to see if it's on LMA or something, 'cause you guys have definitely piqued my interest.

hoby

[appleofmyeye]

has anyone wondered what this daggers reference is and the part that says love is death? i wonder about that all the time.