Isn't Anything was good enough to inspire an entire scene of My Bloody Valentine soundalikes, but Loveless' greatness proved that the band was inimitable. After two painstaking years in the studio and nearly bankrupting their label Creation in the process, the group emerged with their masterpiece, which fulfilled all of the promise of their previous albums. If Isn't Anything was the Valentines' sonic blueprint, then Loveless saw those plans fleshed out, in the most literal sense: "Loomer," "What You Want," and "To Here Knows When"'s arrangements are so lush, they're practically tangible. With its voluptuous yet ethereal melodies and arrangements, Loveless intimates sensuality and sexuality instead of stating them explicitly; Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher's vocals meld perfectly with the trippy sonics around them, suggesting druggy sex or sexy drugs. From the commanding "Only Shallow" and "Come in Alone" to breathy reflections like "Sometimes" and "Blown a Wish," the album balances complexity and immediately memorable pop melodies with remarkable self-assurance, given its difficult creation. But Loveless doesn't just perfect the group's approach, it also hints at their continuing growth: "Soon" fuses the Valentines' roaring guitars with a dance-inspired beat, while the symphonic interlude "Touched" suggests an updated take on Fripp and Eno's pioneering guitar/electronics experiments. These glimpses into the band's evolution make Shields' difficulty in delivering a follow-up to Loveless even more frustrating, but completely understandable -- the album's perfection sounded shoegazing's death-knell and raised expectations for the next My Bloody Valentine album to unreasonably high levels. Though Shields' collaborations with Yo La Tengo, Primal Scream, J Mascis, and others were often rewarding, they were no match for Loveless. However, as My Bloody Valentine fans -- and, apparently, Shields himself -- will attest, nothing is.
"What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly" - Thomas PaineI wish I could say that I had picked that line from Common Sense, but I remember hearing that quote from the movie Loser. It's still an astute statement. So let me tell you about many and varied attempts to catch My Bloody Valentine live in concert. Let's see if this quote holds true.[For those that aren't interested in the deta...
More >
My Bloody Valentine closed out their seminal 1991 shoegaze album Loveless with something shocking: an extremely danceable track called "Soon". Loveless was a record-length exploration of noise and melody masterminded by guitarist Kevin Shields. On it, Shields combines the quavering tremolo tones of surf guitar with layers of Marshall amp distortion. The effect is the auditory equivalent of rapi...
More >
So much has already been written about the after-16-year reunion of this, the greatest shoegazer band of all time. What is then that I could possibly add?Well, one thing (and its really the only thing in my book) - I can add are my own unique impressions and experience on it all.Anyone familiar with this current tour knows the deal by now. Band makes never-matched, unparalleled album "Loveless"...
More >
Head frm Dublin, the iconic Jazzmaster lover, MY BLOODY VALENTINE wont bored u with same chord prog. and simple song structures.. their come with sounds that youve never heard before.. their dont fake ass with those fx pedals, their work with it! Only Shallow is one of the best track in the album "Loveless".. its dreamy, angry, lovely, evrything! Althought the band was no longer exist but their...
More >
(Hey, if Anna can say "Oh my Kapranos", I can say this. It's MY soft-swear, and I like it!)About 10PM tonight, I decided I was tired of sitting in front of the PC's, so I grabbed the dog leash, and took the dog on a walk. Of course, the Gigabeat came with us as well. As I powered it up, I realized that The Smiths' Louder Than Bombs was finishing, and my heart leapt as I realized that My Bloody ...
More >
Yeah, I know, another paean to MBV from me, how unexpected ...An "unbelievably kind MOGger":http://mog.com/d0gstar sent me a copy of the recently-released 33 1/3 book on Loveless, the brilliant album by My Bloody Valentine. Having heard a lot of good things about the series, having heard from "the author":http://mog.com/Mike_McGonigal himself, I dove in.Some observations that surprised me:1) Th...
More >
33⅓ is a series of short books written about important and/or seminal music albums and published by Continuum. The books in the series vary widely in style, from fiction (e.g. Joe Pernice's Meat Is Murder which is fantastic) to musical analysis to recounting the history of the given album's birth. Mike McGonigal's volume on MBV's Loveless has been for ages in the making. But now its imminent r.
More >
Just because I feel like tweaking Eric and Amy, just a bit, and because if I write for posterity my list for 2006, I'll have to shoot myself after looking at it next year, not to mention fifteen years down the road.Why 18? WHY NOT?And so, my Top 18 Albums of 1991, with one-line pithy comments.1) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - Who didn't expect me to pick that one?2) Nirvana - Nevermind - Mayb...
More >
My first and so far only electric guitar is an ESP Telecaster. I bought it with summer job money when I was 17 and have been reasonably happy with it. Since high school I've only played it by myself, for recreation or procrastination, so I haven't felt the need to acquire multiple electrics. But obviously I dream of having other guitars. (It would be sweet to have a Rickenbacker. In my Ramones ...
More >
"What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly" - Thomas PaineI wish I could say that I had picked that line from Common Sense, but I remember hearing that quote from the movie Loser. It's still an astute statement. So let me tell you about many and varied attempts to catch My Bloody Valentine live in concert. Let's see if this quote holds true.[For those that aren't interested in the deta...
More >
A Loveless so clear and pristine you can smell the reverb? Well, not quite, but My Bloody Valentine will be re-mastering their two most epic albums just in time for "their summer European tour and fall US jaunt,":http://www.myspace.com/mybloodyvalentine kicking off on June 20th with a 5 night stint at London's Roundhouse. Frontman Kevin Shields remastered 1991's Loveless as well as 1988's Isn'...
More >
I'd been bumming lately after a routine visit to the dermatologist turned into a scalpel sawing off the top layer of a new white mole located on the tip of my nose for a biopsy, cause it could be a local cancer. So the next day when my buddy Dan emailed and asked if I wanted his extra pass to the second night of the sold out My Bloody Valentine run at the Roseland Ballroom I said "F%@k it. I'l...
More >
(Hey, if Anna can say "Oh my Kapranos", I can say this. It's MY soft-swear, and I like it!)About 10PM tonight, I decided I was tired of sitting in front of the PC's, so I grabbed the dog leash, and took the dog on a walk. Of course, the Gigabeat came with us as well. As I powered it up, I realized that The Smiths' Louder Than Bombs was finishing, and my heart leapt as I realized that My Bloody ...
More >
So much has already been written about the after-16-year reunion of this, the greatest shoegazer band of all time. What is then that I could possibly add?Well, one thing (and its really the only thing in my book) - I can add are my own unique impressions and experience on it all.Anyone familiar with this current tour knows the deal by now. Band makes never-matched, unparalleled album "Loveless"...
More >
Just because I feel like tweaking Eric and Amy, just a bit, and because if I write for posterity my list for 2006, I'll have to shoot myself after looking at it next year, not to mention fifteen years down the road.Why 18? WHY NOT?And so, my Top 18 Albums of 1991, with one-line pithy comments.1) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - Who didn't expect me to pick that one?2) Nirvana - Nevermind - Mayb...
More >
Since this question has come up in a few posts, I thought I'd try to answer the question myself. I did use allmusic.com and wikipedia.com as references, but I decided to not just link to the articles; however, you may notice that I'm no writer. Now that the self-deprecation is out of the way, let us begin.Shoegaze is a term most often used for a group of British indie bands from the late 80’s.
More >
Yeah, I know, another paean to MBV from me, how unexpected ...An "unbelievably kind MOGger":http://mog.com/d0gstar sent me a copy of the recently-released 33 1/3 book on Loveless, the brilliant album by My Bloody Valentine. Having heard a lot of good things about the series, having heard from "the author":http://mog.com/Mike_McGonigal himself, I dove in.Some observations that surprised me:1) Th...
More >
I woke up with a headache today, something that hardly ever happens. Another thing that hardly ever happens is getting a chance to see My Bloody Valentine live in concert. As I waited for friends outside of the Austin Music Hall I noticed several empty boxes of ear plugs and overheard staff members calling down for more. I opted to forgo the ear plugs, hence the throbbing head this morning.My B...
More >
Well, it's another rainy day here today, and I got tired of reading my book, so why not make a post about my bike ride the other day? Sure, ok!After reading Sam's post about rain (http://mog.com/fistula_spume/blog_post/90098), and then another mogger commenting on my post that the concept of just "returning from the woods" was a foreign one, I decided to take a bike ride and take some pics to s...
More >
My first and so far only electric guitar is an ESP Telecaster. I bought it with summer job money when I was 17 and have been reasonably happy with it. Since high school I've only played it by myself, for recreation or procrastination, so I haven't felt the need to acquire multiple electrics. But obviously I dream of having other guitars. (It would be sweet to have a Rickenbacker. In my Ramones ...
More >
Sometimes nothing is better ( or often as possible in my case) than firing up your cenrtral music brain, plugging in the best pair of ear rupturing devices your money can buy, cranking it up to 5000, and put on an album that you know will blast you away. My song for today...SometimesMy Bloody ValentineThis song makes me float, so put it on and kill the lights.It shall not disappoint.
More >
My Bloody Valentine closed out their seminal 1991 shoegaze album Loveless with something shocking: an extremely danceable track called "Soon". Loveless was a record-length exploration of noise and melody masterminded by guitarist Kevin Shields. On it, Shields combines the quavering tremolo tones of surf guitar with layers of Marshall amp distortion. The effect is the auditory equivalent of rapi...
More >
33⅓ is a series of short books written about important and/or seminal music albums and published by Continuum. The books in the series vary widely in style, from fiction (e.g. Joe Pernice's Meat Is Murder which is fantastic) to musical analysis to recounting the history of the given album's birth. Mike McGonigal's volume on MBV's Loveless has been for ages in the making. But now its imminent r.
More >
So a lot of bands have suddenly decided to grace St. Louis with their presence. I'm not sure that I want to go to all of these (much less have the money needed), so I need your help to decide which ones to go to. Which bands have you seen? Were they good live? Are the ticket prices decent enough?Film School - $15The Ting Tings - $12Vampire Weekend - $20A Place to Bury Strangers - $12The Koo...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Only Shallow |
|
|
| 2 Loomer |
|
|
| 3 Touched |
|
|
| 4 To Here Knows When |
|
|
| 5 When You Sleep |
|
|
| 6 I Only Said |
|
|
| 7 Come in Alone |
|
|
| 8 Sometimes |
|
|
| 9 Blown a Wish |
|
|
| 10 What You Want |
|
|
| 11 Soon |
|
|
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Loveless")
