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Some words about Slint
Much as I think 'Spiderland' and, to a lesser extent, 'Tweez' are awesome records, after seeing Slint's entire set at ATP and going to the Forum gig tonight I wanted to write a few thoughts about all matters Slint.
1. Slint should not have reformed.
2. They played with no passion and, quite frankly, didn't appear to be enjoying themselves or digging their own rock.
3. They sounded as if they relearnt their songs by listening to their own records and mimicking them exactly.
4. They seemed to be so scared about hitting a single bum note that they fretboard-gazed the entire time.
5. Brian McMahon hardly played any guitar. Now here's a guy who can't sing for shit, yet because he and his band were writing awesome songs and he was playing some great guitar, he just talked/shouted his way through it and it didn't matter. He was never meant to be a guitar-less singer (see point 4 again - who cares, boys? Play like you mean it.)
6. Their shows didn't tarnish their records for me, but neither did they add anything of value to my estimation of the band.
I wanted to be profoundly rocked by Slint, I really did. I wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren (who will no doubt be into cool music) that I saw Slint live and that it was transcendental. I saw Slint live and it was.....meh. Anyone who posts on here saying that they were amazing is either blind, deaf, lying, mad, or doesn't understand what makes bands and live shows great. I walked out of their (ATP-identical) Forum show after five songs. If you'd told me I'd do that when I first heard that Slint had reformed I would have laughed at you. Well I'm not laughing now.
1. Slint should not have reformed.
2. They played with no passion and, quite frankly, didn't appear to be enjoying themselves or digging their own rock.
3. They sounded as if they relearnt their songs by listening to their own records and mimicking them exactly.
4. They seemed to be so scared about hitting a single bum note that they fretboard-gazed the entire time.
5. Brian McMahon hardly played any guitar. Now here's a guy who can't sing for shit, yet because he and his band were writing awesome songs and he was playing some great guitar, he just talked/shouted his way through it and it didn't matter. He was never meant to be a guitar-less singer (see point 4 again - who cares, boys? Play like you mean it.)
6. Their shows didn't tarnish their records for me, but neither did they add anything of value to my estimation of the band.
I wanted to be profoundly rocked by Slint, I really did. I wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren (who will no doubt be into cool music) that I saw Slint live and that it was transcendental. I saw Slint live and it was.....meh. Anyone who posts on here saying that they were amazing is either blind, deaf, lying, mad, or doesn't understand what makes bands and live shows great. I walked out of their (ATP-identical) Forum show after five songs. If you'd told me I'd do that when I first heard that Slint had reformed I would have laughed at you. Well I'm not laughing now.