Kclone,
IMHO, the Feelies are a little different animal from Husker Du and The Replacements (although, obviously, those bands differ from each other, too). I like both of the above (Paul Westerberg, in particular), but none were barking up quite the same tree as this band. I put the Feelies more in the company of Brian Eno and Lou Reed (and, in a bit of a stretch, Phillip Glass).
The Feelies (on record, at least) were trying to abstract the rock backbeat, much like Reed, who (often) went for jaded ennui and Eno who took it toward the mechanical or robotic or hypnotic. The Feelies used highly repetetive, slowly shifting rythms to more traditional rocking effect, in almost the flip side of the Reed/Eno idea, and in a nod to the Phillip Glass material of that time.
Anyone remember Polyrock? That was a band that Glass directly assisted around the same time and they were a more keyboard driven variation of this approach. The distinction I'm trying to draw is that The Feelies were definitely screwing around with the basic rythmic conceits of rock music in a way the other bands (to my knowledge, anyway) weren't.
The result - for me - is less heartfelt than Westerberg or Mould/Grant, admittedly more mannered, but (again, to me) more interesting. Don't really know Sonic Youth well enough to compare.
Just one more take for you.
Marty
IMHO, the Feelies are a little different animal from Husker Du and The Replacements (although, obviously, those bands differ from each other, too). I like both of the above (Paul Westerberg, in particular), but none were barking up quite the same tree as this band. I put the Feelies more in the company of Brian Eno and Lou Reed (and, in a bit of a stretch, Phillip Glass).
The Feelies (on record, at least) were trying to abstract the rock backbeat, much like Reed, who (often) went for jaded ennui and Eno who took it toward the mechanical or robotic or hypnotic. The Feelies used highly repetetive, slowly shifting rythms to more traditional rocking effect, in almost the flip side of the Reed/Eno idea, and in a nod to the Phillip Glass material of that time.
Anyone remember Polyrock? That was a band that Glass directly assisted around the same time and they were a more keyboard driven variation of this approach. The distinction I'm trying to draw is that The Feelies were definitely screwing around with the basic rythmic conceits of rock music in a way the other bands (to my knowledge, anyway) weren't.
The result - for me - is less heartfelt than Westerberg or Mould/Grant, admittedly more mannered, but (again, to me) more interesting. Don't really know Sonic Youth well enough to compare.
Just one more take for you.
Marty