Відео

I remember back in the 90s, there was no rock bar and club in Athens, Greece that didn't play "Winning" or "I can't Escape Myself". They were big. Jeopardy and From the Lion's Mouth are among my favourite albums ever. You might also want to explore the Dutch band Mecano. Listen to "Links"

Real Romona walked so University could fly.

I was lucky enough to see two gigs of the band in 2016 and one in 2017, all in Germany, I drove all the way from Russia, Moscow, and both times I had a chance to speak with Mark Burgess after the gig, and he was so fascinated as I was the only Russian who did that journey only because to see the band, and he was quite modest at the same time. What a memories... really underrated band that moved ahead of the time!

A great review of a favourite of mine - thank you 🙏🏻 There are some absolutely beautiful moments in this album, it’s poignant, saccharine melancholy, mixed with sugar hits of melody and harmony. There are a couple of lyrics that don’t seem to say much, but in the whole it’s pure class!

Saw them at the Hammersmith Clarendon Ballroom in the mid 80s when I was 17 and been listening to them ever since. Amazing band, as are The Chameleons.

How in the name of all that is holy do you have a book specifically focused on Manchester post-punk, and not mention The Chameleons once??

The Minutemen are far more recognised now, however true it is that they are more 'under the radar' than other similar acts, than they were in their day, at least over here in Europe and the UK. I'd literally find hardly anyone who had ever heard of them. I hit on them the same way Thurston Moore did: via their track 'The Search' on the compilation 'Rodney on the ROQ, Vol.2', started buying imports of all their stuff that I could (got most of it, still have it all), and I was lucky enough to see them February 83 when they supported Black Flag at the 100 Club in London, which Mike Watt, when I met him years later, confirmed was most likely their and his first European gig. He said they were 'stoked' to play where the Sex Pistols had played, but I don't think he quite appreciated the even longer and more illustrious history that place has. And as for the band, yeah 'could be your life' is kind of apt, because somehow it shone through even in their music and lyrics that they were so much about being close to the ground, and direct and effective in their relationships with each other and people in general, and that human lives and their real essence came before anything else for them. Reading what you read in that book, and in others (you should get and read 'Wailing of a Town' by Craig Ibarra, a friend of theirs, about the San Pedro punk scene, which is about so much else, but where they are pretty much the centre and main driver of it - incidentally, Linda Kite, D Boon's girlfriend who was driving the van when the axle broke, leading to his death, liked my review of that on Goodreads), and seeing what you see in the documentary 'We Jam Econo' confirmed this all for me, was 'surprisingly unsurprising' because their whole attitude is somehow so sharply visible in their music, the lyrics, and how they presented themselves and their work, and how they went about things. Possibly the most influential band in my life. Though others are candidates, and sometimes very different ones. And they were and are just really good guys.

I have a neighborhood bias and access privilege, and it warms my heart to know it's not just is. This is what real dc produces.

Grew up listening to them from the age of 11 . I'm 41 now and I still listen to them. My favorite album is Red Heaven.

Just got to see them in Athens, GA with Deceits and Athens own Vision Video. It was a fantastic show, all around, from all bands. So glad I got to see The Chamelons.

Great album

Up to our Hips.. what an album

I was in a band when i was 19.. and we could all play 😂😂😂😂

Thank you for this video. Incredible analysis. I have always been semi obsessed by Scrip if The Bridge but didnt know how many bands rate them. OK time for Second Skin again...

If you weren't aware of Throwing Muses you're just admitting to being a slave to the corporate music business. Also claiming every talented music act that hasn't reached a certain level of commercial success as being underrated is tiresome.

I listened to script of the bridge routinely when I cleaned gutters for money when I was in college. I don't remember the work as much as I love the music. I am part of the cult and while I still love the Smiths and New Order I still mainly replay the Chameleons.

Saw them 1984 Middleton Civic Hall. Still a fan.

I love “In Shreds” and “Nathan’s Phase”. Mark was a profoundly gifted songwriter.

SFAOK!

The Chameleons, The Sound and The Comsat Angels - in a league of their own in the 80's and only a few of us realised it, it would seem. Depressing but true.

The Sound, Comsat Angels and The Chameleons. Cream of the crop. Wonderful and woefully underrated bands.

Thank you for making this video I frealing LOVE LOVE LOVE MCLUSKY and Future Of The Left.

I KNEW you was gonna say Love As soon as you mentioned a 60s band that influenced The Las I hear it too

Also recommend the album University and the song "Flood" - but it's all good.

Wonder if Ian McCullough has ever mentioned them. I’ve always considered Echo & The Bunnyman a close cousin in sound. Echo got more recognition but I still wouldn’t consider them stadium sized either. Great piece on a classic alternative band

Why do I get the feeling I'm the complete stranger in the car park

As a four piece band R.E.M. did not make a bad album. I've never understood why people don't share my reverence for the band, I think they are the most underrated 'biggest' band in the world. A band that doesn't tour their 2 best selling albums demands respect.

Gets a lot of stick but I also owe getting into The Sound because Winning popped up on my weekly Spotify Discovery playlist. In terms of why they didn't make it, i remember reading that Tony Parsons wrote an unkind review an Outsiders gig, commenting on how Adrian looked. Sad to say getting backing from the NME was important back then. Disappointing that John Peel never really got behind them either by all accounts

Noel Gallaher/Oasis couldn't hold a torch to the talent of the La's. And they know it... Hence the quib.

REM in the 80s is what the 90s would end up sounding like.

My local record store was playing The Blasting Concept compilation when it came out. When I hear Paranoid Time I bought the compilation, Double Nickels and everything else they had Minutemen. Ironically I was in Phoenix where DB bought it. Since then I've always said my favorite band is the Minutemen. Everyone else is tied for second.

This was so great. Thank you, and you're so right. R.E.M. was consistently THE best American band for decades, so why are they now so seemingly forgotten? I love every album, and each was unique and special in its own way, and had its own distinctive vibe or personality. If some of the quality got a bit diluted as the albums rolled on, as on "Up" and "Collapse Into Now", most conspicuously, it wasn't because they stopped crafting quality songs, but only because a tiny number of isolated songs against the whole seemed ill-chosen and weren't discarded as they should've been. This band was still producing masterful songs and music right up to the last.

In the early 90's I used to shop regularly at a record store called Rhino Records in Claremont, CA just 25 miles or so East of Los Angeles. They had a massive wall of cassettes that they would sell at discount. You could easily get 3, 4, sometimes 5 for 10 dollars. I was perusing these tapes when the artwork of Script of the Bridge, Fan and the Bellows, and What Does Anything Mean? Basically, smacked me dead in the face. I had to have them based solely on the artwork. I had no idea what life-altering wonders were in store for me once I got back into my car a pushed the cassette in. I think I wept at how incredible the music was. I was mind-blown. How had I never heard this before? How was I the only person I knew who had these albums? A few years later in 1999 I was at the Troubadour in LA for the reunion show and I sang and shouted until my voice went out. It was easily one of the best shows I have ever witnessed. Years later in 2011 or 2012 I saw Chameleons Vox while I was living up in Oakland, CA. Mark still sounded utterly magnificent. I am really hoping to see them in a few weeks in New Orleans or Birmingham, AL. The Chameleons are absolutely one of my favorite bands and IMHO one of the greatest bands of all time. I also had that t-shirt Craig Cash wore on the tele and I normally would NEVER wear white shirts but for that one I had to make an exception.

Idlewild 's Early work remind me of Post Hardcore bands like Fugazi, Bitch Magnet and Unwound, but did the band Really fit into the Late 90s Britrock camp? or They were just indie-rock

Adrian Borland was a genious songwriter and guitarist.

The Sound were big in Belgium. Not a joke, actually :-).

REM completely changed my life in terms of musical taste. I have had the honor and privilege to see them twice live. They are a powerhouse in the live venue. They will forever be one of my absolute favorite bands.

I heard "winning" on dutch independent radio station - and was in awe from then on.

Here in Greece ,the Chameleons songs are well known in Goth underground clubs.Haven't realized since this video that are not a big name in UK.Seems very strange to me as they are one of the best post punk groups of all time.

Fugazi! In the 10 list of greatest guitar bands ever. Foo Fighters…and the rest dream on….miles behind

Heard them regularly in the day, and you hear them regularly today in the goth/ brit pop, Alternative clubs. Great side by side example of Interpol and the Chameleons. I always thought Interpol was ripping off Kitchens of Distinctions, but I guess they were both just ripping off the Chameleons. I never put 2 and 2 together.

First time I heard "High as you can go" I was blown away. Then I got the album. There was a period where I played the Chameleons almost non-stop.

agreed. Tripping dogs.

An extremely special band. Mythical really.

I graduated from HS in 91, started community college locally, and found a college radio station --> that is where I first found the Muses (glad you finally did too)! I picked up the Sire "Just Say...", in this case "Just Say Yes", and found the Muses again. Shortly thereafter Belly was in full swing on MTV...I had the biggest crush on Tonya Donelly and to this day think she / her sister / that band are one of the more critical (& agreed underrated) pillars of modern indie.

I'm Serbian and I watched The Royle Family, loved it! (We get a lot of UK shows on TV) I love The Chameleons, such an underrated band. Second Skin is one of the best songs ever.

Amazing analysis. Very similar to my POV and experience.

That comment is jokingly spot on about Interpol. Interpol is a great band as well. The Chameleons are simply superb.

The most underrated album of my lifetime.

Grand Prix by Teenage Fanclub.