First of all, Hi.
I'm new to The Melvins, and would appreciate being pointed in the right direction with regard to some essential albums.
I have A Senile Animal, and selected songs from the collaborations with Jello.
Apologies if this has been asked many many times before??
Many thanks in advance
I just say you pick up Stoner Witch and Houdini as starters, and then Hostile Ambient Takeover, Pigs of the Roman Empire, and Gluey Porch Treatments. If you like all that get everything else.
Start anywhere, and go from there.
Here's a guide to the Melvins Stonerrock.com has up, written by board member EGO.
http://www.stonerrock.com/features/index.asp?FeatureID=130
I'd say Gluey Porch Treatments, Lysol, Eggnog and Pigs of the Roman Empire are essential.
I don't think it's important where you start. I for one would always recommend STAG, because it's such a great mix of
Melvins music. It's weirder than for example Houdini but after all that's what the Melvins are all about, right?
I think if you like Stag, you'll like everything else.
Check out Bullhead first if you're looking for pure heaviness.
Quote from: bathroom creep on May 21, 2008, 05:25:55 PM
Check out Bullhead first if you're looking for pure heaviness.
That's one of my personal faves.
The fan favorites are either Prick, Colossus Of Destiny, Singles 1-12, or The Crybaby. :mrgreen:
welcome to the dank, depressing world of melvins fandom. don't bother trying to come up with a mnemonic device reminding you where you parked, because you will never leave.
generally speaking, i've been able to discern three categories of melvins albums: for beginners, advanced melvins, and for die-hards only (eventually, you'll become addicted to all three, but it's a good idea to start with melvins 101 so your neurons have a chance to adapt to the fookin' fury.)
A Senile Animal, i think, falls into the first category. some others are Stoner Witch (my first), Houdini, Hostile Ambient Takeover, Bullhead, gluey porch treatments
advanced melvins: eggnog, the maggot, the bootlicker, stag.
diehards: honky, colossus of destiny, PRICK, pigs of the roman empire, electroretard.
i'm not getting all the albums in obviously. but trust me, each rules in its own weird little way.
" honky, pigs of the roman empire, electroretard. "
these 3 are more accesible than you think. they are fine records.
here's a taster of electroretard:
http://www.themelvins.net/forum/index.php?topic=4073.msg170403;topicseen#msg170403
houdini and ASA in my opinion.
the live version of houdini, a live history of gluttony and lust, is also great.
O Z M A :twisted:
Stag is more difficult to track down than Stoner Witch. I'd say Stoner Witch should be your next purchase.
Since you already own ASA, and you want to gradually immerse yourself in the weirder music of the Melvins get the self titled album AKA Lysol then Bullhead, Eggnog then Honky. If you are still a fan by then, you can get pretty much any album, but save the Prick and Collossus Of Destiny albums for last.
Quote from: bathroom creep on May 21, 2008, 05:25:55 PM
I don't think it's important where you start.
Agreed
I started with The Crybaby, but I think the easier albums to jump into is The Maggot.
i actually started with honky. i was really into noisy/avant garde stuff at the time so it fit perfectly. it all depends on where your tastes are at, really...
Welcome.
My choices:
Ozma
Gluey Porch Treatments
Bullhead
Eggnog
Lysol
I dig the heavy.
1. Houdini;
2. The Maggot;
3. Honky;
4. GPT or Ozma.
And you will imagine Melvins' scale.
Quote from: norecess on May 21, 2008, 05:13:27 PM
Start anywhere, and go from there.
This is the best advice.
And welcome to the board.
It's true. Each Melvins has it's own distinct personality, I guess you could put it that way. That's why there's so many different favourites people are listing here.
Gluey Porch Treatments
Lysol
Honky
Eggnog
Ozma
Bullhead
The Maggot
Pigs Of The Roman Empire
Hostile Ambient Takeover
Get them all! Every last one of them! Then buy Fantomas, Altamont, Big Business, Thrones, Cows, and any other associated band!
But first, eh I don't know, my personal favorite Melvins albums are Stag, Lysol, A Senile Animal, and The Maggot. Oh oh and Eggnog too....and Hostile Ambient Takeover....I'll stop now.
i started with gluey, but i had no choice. it was '89.
Many thanks folks. I have stuck Houdini & Hostile Ambient Takeover in my iTunes cart for now.
at least stitch started with HAT, great choice!!
Quote from: Dudbean on May 22, 2008, 04:55:25 PM
Quote from: Stitchman on May 22, 2008, 06:35:23 AM
Many thanks folks. I have stuck Houdini & Hostile Ambient Takeover in my iTunes cart for now.
Okay, now take them out of the cart and buy the actual CDs. The artwork is part of what makes the band so different. Houdini and Stoner Witch cost very little on CD -- probably the same as they would on iTunes -- and they're great albums to hear early on anyway.
Agreed! Not to mention buying mp3's is a HUGE ripoff, especially from Itunes.
Quote from: Dudbean on May 22, 2008, 04:55:25 PM
Quote from: Stitchman on May 22, 2008, 06:35:23 AM
Many thanks folks. I have stuck Houdini & Hostile Ambient Takeover in my iTunes cart for now.
Okay, now take them out of the cart and buy the actual CDs.
:lol:
I agree! the artwork is equal to the tunes.
examples:
HAT
Electroretard
Bullhead
The Trilogy
The Solo Albums
Eggnog
and so on and so on...
Lysol
Stag
etc...
great art, great songs. Complete package.
Hostile Ambient Takeover is a great choice. But believe me Stitchman, you want to see the HAT artwork. And every other artwork for that matter.
Don't iTunes downloads come with a bunch of solid looking high-res JPEG files?
Never bought digital, but I'd assume it would only be the cover and maybe the back of the cd (front cover for Melvins) if you're lucky.
Quote from: SpaceFarm on May 23, 2008, 08:55:54 AM
Never bought digital, but I'd assume it would only be the cover and maybe the back of the cd (front cover for Melvins) if you're lucky.
I have often downloaded albums that also included a HIGH-RES JPEG (sometimes even BMP) scan of the CD itself!
Also, CD's only take up space and it's a hell to archive them. For example, where do you put split CD's? Or four way splits? Or compilation cd's? What to do with the Suspended Animation calendar (it's not even useful!) CD that doesn't always fit in CD racks? Digitalize, baby!
:lol:
First time I ever heard the Melvins was at a live show. After the show I told Kevin, Buzz and Dale how awesome the show was. Dale said "great, now go buy all of our albums!" I'd say that was some of the best advise anybody has ever given me.
QuoteAlso, CD's only take up space and it's a hell to archive them. For example, where do you put split CD's? Or four way splits? Or compilation cd's? What to do with the Suspended Animation calendar (it's not even useful!) CD that doesn't always fit in CD racks? Digitalize, baby!
No thanks. I buy all (well, 99% anyway) of my music on CD. Shit happens. Like when our house got broken into a couple of years ago and they swiped our laptop (among other things) with all my music on it. Plus, not everyone has a means to play an Ipod on their stereo or in the car. I'll continue to buy CDs.
Quote from: spunkmonkey on May 23, 2008, 12:56:10 PM
QuoteDigitalize, baby!
No thanks. I buy all (well, 99% anyway) of my music on CD. Shit happens. Like when our house got broken into a couple of years ago and they swiped our laptop (among other things) with all my music on it. Plus, not everyone has a means to play an Ipod on their stereo or in the car. I'll continue to buy CDs.
Oh man, the hassle!
Here's my advice, to make your life much easier. Download a cd ripper, preferably one that supports VBR, and then archive your entire collection, including vinyl (ask Butthole if you have no experience with this, he'll tell you where to start). RAR format would be the best choice. Send this archive file to a Gmail account every week, at noon. Ask Danny to write a batch file for you combined with a cron job if you like. Every time you add an album to your collection, make sure to RAR it and update your Gmail account. Maybe Danny can write a plugin for your cd extracter so it will RAR the output and sends it your Gmail automatically.
Now that will teach those burglars!
;)
ozma
Quote from: norecess on May 23, 2008, 09:01:48 AM
Quote from: SpaceFarm on May 23, 2008, 08:55:54 AM
Never bought digital, but I'd assume it would only be the cover and maybe the back of the cd (front cover for Melvins) if you're lucky.
I have often downloaded albums that also included a HIGH-RES JPEG (sometimes even BMP) scan of the CD itself!
Also, CD's only take up space and it's a hell to archive them. For example, where do you put split CD's? Or four way splits? Or compilation cd's? What to do with the Suspended Animation calendar (it's not even useful!) CD that doesn't always fit in CD racks? Digitalize, baby!
:lol:
i do both.
it sounds insane, but i find great pleasure in keeping my physical cd's in alphabetical order all the time....
400+ cds is not really that bad!!!!
Quote from: WithEvilTeeth on May 23, 2008, 10:12:05 PM
it sounds insane, but i find great pleasure in keeping my physical cd's in alphabetical order all the time....
400+ cds is not really that bad!!!!
I tried to do that for awhile too. But then from moving them around so much they lost the order and i couldn't be bothered re arranging them. Maybe i'll alphabetize again some time.