I know this has probably been discussed extensively, but what are your thoughts about the upcoming "Weekend at Burnsie's" episode (DABF11) featuring an appearance by the improvisational Vermont rock quartet Phish?
Phish is one of those somewhat-obscure pop culture references that are only intended for in-the-know viewers, but I am excited to see what will result when the Simpsons writers devote an episode explicitly to Phish.
Sounds like "The Simpons are going to Canada" episode. Somebody will be disappointed!
I'm guessing that you're a Phish fan that came to the Simpsons newsgroup just to see what we think about the band, right? Nothing wrong with that...I'm just wondering. Anyway, I'm not into the band all that much, but I think it'll be a good show. I'd rather see them on the show than NSYNC or Britney Spears or someone.
Anyway, I'm really replying to your last sentence..."I am excited to see what will result when the Simpsons writers devote an episode explicitly to Phish." You shouldn't go into this episode thinking that Phish will be everywhere...if you do, you'll probably be very disappointed. I can see Homer going to a Phish concert at the end of the episode, with them playing a minute or so of the song...and then the theme song at the end. I don't think Phish will be featured all that much...the episode is about Homer's addiction to marijuana, not Phish. The Canadian media hyped the episode from a few weeks ago where The Simpsons went to Toronto...they were there for only a few minutes, and it was a major disappointment to a lot of Canadian viewers. So, just a heads up. If you're a Phish fan just checking out alt.tv.simpsons, maybe you should relay this info to the other Phish fans so they aren't overly disappointed.
Austin
is that a joke?
Probably not. He's probably a Phish fan. Phish fans like to think that Phish is an obscure band because it adds to that whole "cult following" feel. If they admit that Phish is fairly mainstream then that means that the band, and by extension themselves, are not cool anymore. It's the same reason that hardcore fans of Green Day went apeshit when they "sold out" to a major record label and became popular...it meant they weren't really alternative anymore.
Kevin
I have yet to hear a song by Green Day that doesn't sound like every other song by Green Day.
That band mystifies me. They are so uncreative and yet they have like 500 albums out. The Spin Doctors were the previous band whose songs all sounded the same, but everyone got sick of them after they released the second album.
Jason Saslow wrote:
God punished them for sucking so bad and gave the singer some throat disease. Sincerely, Little Girl
Kevin Madden wrote:
The whole "Sell Out" thing cracks me up. How can a fan of a bang get upset when they become popular and can actually make a living with their music. Just because they play it on the radio doesn't mean it's not good anymore. I used to go see the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones at a club on Landsdown Street in Boston for $4 almost every weekend back in 1988-1990 and I couldn't have been happier to see them selling out national tours and getting radio play. Sincerely, Little Girl
Bosstones? They're such sellouts!!
Jason Saslow wrote:
They're no Doodle Town Pipers... Sincerely, Little Girl
[email] (tuggle9000) sez:
You ain't been a flavor of the month till you been on the Impsons.
-Sir Lee Surly's Human Admirers Desiring Additional Productions! club Pres.
tuggle9000 wrote:
Sir, please step away from the water bong. How is Phish an obscure reference? They suck! Most over rated hippie band ever. Sincerely, Little Girl
Hey, whatever kind of band they think they are, they really do suck.
oh, man am i glad to read these last two replies! here it was, last night, bleary eyed, upset was i cause they ran "kill the alligator and run" as the second episode in syndication, and the phish thing came up in my OE. and all i wanted to say was how much i hate that miserable bunch of clowns but didn't cause i thought i might be in the minority (as has been the case everywhere so far pretty much) and would get flamed as they say.
being a musician for 20 years, i appreciate the fact that technically speaking, everyone in phish is extremely talented. but technical detail doesn't make you a good musician necessarily, and those guys IMHO can't write a song to save their lives. worst band ever. well, maybe not but really, really bad.
p.s. am looking forward to the episode though cause, well, it's the simpsons and it's new.
P. Piggly Hogswine wrote in message news:Mspk8.27755$[email]...
night,
the
This isn't a flame, just wondering who in rock music you do like? I think one of the reasons i got into them in the first place was their technicality and the lack thereof in most heavily commercial stuff these days. Although if you didn't like improv i could see why you wouldn't like them.
Drunk and full of pie, Dan wrote:
Sorry for jumping in here, but a band like Tool is much more commercial than Phish, but Tool's music is amazingly complex. There's gotta be 100 key-changes in "Stinkfist", for example. I just use Tool for comparative purposes. I'm not dissing "Phish".
i tend to go for more fluid, spacey (if you will) stuff. course that depends on what one thinks "fluid" means, but for example i'm really into early Verve (the boys from Wigan, England, not the jazz label) - their first record is like nothing else i've ever heard anywhere ever - it's so amazing (nothing like that "bittersweet symphony" stuff - good music but nothing like what they used to be in the early 90's). it's called "a storm in heaven." also, i adore Spiritualized/Spacemen 3, Flying Saucer Attack, Colfax Abbey, Bardo Pond, Slowdive/Mojave 3, Brian Eno, Windy & Carl, Roy Montgomery, Low, The American Analog Set, The Olivia Tremor Control/Circulatory System and Morphine to name the spine of my collection so to speak. a lot of it is improv - there's nothing better than hearing the verve play a 14 minute improv "gravity grave" or spiritualized doing "shine a light" for example. there is a lot of bootleg trading for the verve from the early years and i have some of them and i really have never heard anything else quite like it. it's similar to some stuff sort of, but takes it further and in different directions than anyone else that i know of.
i of course like many other things, like the classics - rolling stones (esp. early stuff), zeppelin and rush of course, jeff/tim buckley, nick cave, blues in general, black crowes are a good modern rock n roll band i think (they're tight live), i like OK computer by radiohead and some of the new stuff, but they're a bit pretentious for me.
i think tool is a great band and they're really talented and technical, absolutely. most top 40 current stuff is shite as far as i'm concerned, britney beers and linkin fart and whatnot. i am an avid classical guitar player and fan, love classical music of all sorts (chopin, rachmaninov, mendelssohn, ludwig van of course being some of my favs) and indian classical music too. but there's just something about phish that makes me cringe, totally rubs me the wrong way. i think part of it is the atmosphere and the baggage that goes along with it for many of their fans. mostly it's just the music that i can't listen to though. i do have a friend, however, who knows them (phish) personally and says they're great guys and good friends and great fathers/family people so i respect them and they're doing what they love and that's great. and i don't have anything against their fans either, it's just something i don't want anything to do with. it's hard to explain. their musical energy is on an end of the spectrum i generally stay away from. sometimes i get mouthy calling them "miserable clowns" and whatnot but i don't mean anything really derogatory or hurtful, i just feel strongly about certain types of music both positively and negatively and it comes out kinda harsh. i'm sorry for the long post, just trying to explain myself well.
While we're talking about great rock bands, I've got to recommend that you get Wilco's newest album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot".
It's not on sale yet, but it's been finished for almost a year, and it's all over the net. After listening to it for a couple months, I think that it is the best album I've heard in years. It absolutely blows away anything they've ever done, and I love their earlier albums, too....
MG
"Mango Song" by Phish is one of the best songs I've ever heard, IMHO. And I've actually never met ANYONE who doesn't like "Down with Disease".
They have plenty of catchy, great songs. And a few long songs that turn many people off. I don't particularly like any of Phish's recent albums - (moved on to Wilco!) but the first 4 or so albums they put out are just chock full of great, catchy, fun tunes.
MG
Matt G wrote:
I hate all PHISH, I was inundated by them in college, they played at UNH every other weekend and you couldn't go anywhere without hearing their endless drivel or get hit with a hackey-sack. Give me my Beasties or give me death. Sincerely, Little Girl
Drunk and full of pie, Internet King wrote:
Listen all-e-yall, this is Sabotage.
"The Rack" wrote in message news:[email]...
detail
can't
but
me
Well, during my college and grad school years ('88-97), at Kent State and then University of Michigan, I remember hearing alot of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, occasionally Phish and then later Dave Matthews Band. Though I generally preferred to listen to U2, Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, & Tori Amos..
Rob (recovering Ph.D. candidate exiled in Colorado)
Hey Einstein, you misspelled GRADE school! Ha, bet you feel silly!
Swinefeld
"Swinefeld" wrote in message news:[email]...
and
No, graduate school. The MS & Ph.D. years..
Rob
No, I think he was being a wiseass...
Jason Saslow wrote:
Ding-ding-ding. Yes, - we have a winner! Thanks for playing!
Swinefeld
robert w hall wrote:
Rob gets jokes. Apparently you didn't get your Ph.D. in humor. Sincerely, Little Girl
Drunk and full of pie, robert w hall wrote:
Watch to whom you attribute posts there, fella.
they put
that's exactly one of my major, major problems with them. i can't stand their style of "catchy, fun tunes." it honestly makes me nauseas. and that goddamn "bouncing around the room" song makes me want to put my fist through my head which has already gone through the wall. yeah, i was inundated with them in college and high school too, and nothing against their fans personally, but the typical bare-footed patchouli-stinking let's dance and feel good together man garbage makes me hate the whole miserable ball of bong resin even more. whenver i hear phish, i honestly think of clowns - bad, not funny clowns, mind you - jumping around and making fools of themselves. oh, i'm gonna stop now. it's nothing personal.
"P. Piggly Hogswine" wrote:
They suck worse than Starland Vocal Band. Sincerely, Little Girl
Internet King spewed forth in news:[email] on 18 Mar 2002:
Starland Vocal Band? They SUCK!
Anyway, methinks Phish is the most over-rated act since Kiss and the Grateful Dead. (NO, I'm not trolling, I really believe that.)
i concur.
On 3/15/02 6:40 AM, Internet King noted, somewhat erratically :
Oh, the Germans are mad at me. Ooh! The Germans.. I'm so scared!
Drunk and full of pie, tuggle9000 wrote:
I'm stoked about the episode, but not at all because of "Phish". "Weekend at Burnsie's" (coincidentally) is the same title as one of my old Simpsons fan scripts.
Phish is not really that obscure.