I think this is the best song he ever wrote. It took me a while to realise it, but I feel that the atmosphere he created in this is far beyond anything he has ever done before or since. I keep coming back to it.
Charles has done a lot of great music, but TotY felt like the culmination of everything he had been trying to do with the Pixies. Who else seven albums into their career released a 22-song album without a single dud?
I couldn't agree more. For the longest time I thought that anything after the first six or seven songs was pretty forgettable. Now I can't believe how amazing every single song is.
Bought this cd on a whim when I was 11 or 12. And the Breeders a few weeks later, never knew of the Pixies then, this is still a fav after all those years, one of my top 2 albums I've ever bought.
gah everytime i think ive heard everything from frank black and the pixies i come across another song i like.. its both frustrating that i cant find anything this good and great that im finding something else i like from him xD, im turning into such a Frank Black fan boy :P
Me Too !! but there is no need for that.. I love FB ..too and I am just as excited as you .... this country needs a rock n roll enema I shall not lay down quietly.. Long Live Rock N Roll
"The Frank Black song "White Noise Maker" deals with Joe Meek's suicide by shotgun, the white noise maker of the title. "It's been so long since my Telstar." see Wikipedia entry for Joe Meek
+Buzzer365 It could be. But Frank is sometimes so oblique with his lyrics getting a meaning out of it is hard. (thats one reason I like his lyrics)Stilll, if he is imagining saying the lyrics as if he is Joe Meeks, it might make sense.
You know, I hear a lot of talk So I'm headin' for the stereo store To get a white noise maker and turn it up to ten Or maybe the interior Of somewhere like Siberia Yeah, the yak is back again Like harvest moon over my head, yes it was That billboard prose shinin' on me and it shines because It's been so long since my Telstar I hope it crashes in the sea Or maybe the interior Of somewhere like Siberia Yakety-yak is back again You know, I hear a lot of talk So I'm headin' for the stereo store To get a white noise maker and turn it up to ten Like harvest moon over my head, yes it was That billboard prose shinin' on me and it shines because It's been so long since my Telstar I hope it crashes in the sea
underrated by the general public i think he means. like why is it always bands that have massive amounts of advertising behind them that are the ones that are popular, the bands with albums which every song is exacty 3 and a half minutes long, whos every second word is ''tonight'', ''Babe'', ''love'' the bands or solo artists whos music is more about an image than a sound. Thats whats underrated, not that his talent is over looked by publications but as a public opinion.
Certainly no need to apologise at all, in retrospect I used the wrong word, just popped out, and again I totally agree with you and the over-usage of the term. I am almost positive I would have had a few drinks prior to listening to the song, so I shall uh.. blame it on that. :) Glad you are listening to Teenager again, geez its been so long I might give it a listen also, in fact I have to catch up and see what Frank has been up to! I have no idea at all..
Thanks, your reply makes me embarrassed for how aggressive my original comment sounds: I do apologise. All I was saying was what you now said: "underrated" and "not achieving mainstream success" are two different things. And, quite frankly, it does feel good to know I'm listening to something that's not on Top 40 :) AND your commend made me listen to Teenager of the Year again, which I hadn't done in a while and which is always great. So thanks!
I agree, that's most likely what he means. And I don't feel that Frank Black (or Pixies for that matter) has ever aimed to appeal to "the general public".
Oh, I love potatoes :) As for the new Pixies stuff, I have mixed feelings. The review is an exaggeration, but I think I know what the guy means. It feels more like a Jane's Addiction comeback ("not much worse than the old stuff" at best) than a Swans comeback ("on par with anything they've done in the past, if not better"). I like Bagboy and Indie City, but the sad truth is I'm nowhere near as excited as I thought I would be.
you know what - I agree completely, I actually cannot stand, usually, the tag 'underrated'. I think I just wrote it listening to this thinking, as reddevil mentioned, in terms of the general public, this song is completely unknown, and therefore underrated. It took, like all of 5 seconds for that comment.. so no big deal. I guess my biggest beef is with the likes of the Top 40 or whatnot.. I just cant stand it. To me it is pure rubbish, and has been since its inception.
What is it with this "underrated" fetish? Does it make people feel more special if they listen to something that "underrated"? According to Wiki, "Teenager of the Year" got 4,5 stars out of 5 from Allmusic, A- from Entertainment Weekly, 8 out of 10 from NME, 3,5 out of 5 from Rolling Stone, and a "very positive" review from Nude as the News. How is that "underrated"? I feel that Frank Black has been enjoying the status of a classic for quite a while now, and rightly so.
Teenager Of The Year is Frank Black's finest solo album. And a copious one at that!
Every track on this album is an absolute banger. Thank you music store employee from 2003.
Free Form 🤑
I think this is the best song he ever wrote.
It took me a while to realise it, but I feel that the atmosphere he created in this is far beyond anything he has ever done before or since.
I keep coming back to it.
Totally agree
Charles has done a lot of great music, but TotY felt like the culmination of everything he had been trying to do with the Pixies. Who else seven albums into their career released a 22-song album without a single dud?
Totally. Frank Black's solo stuff makes listening to anything else a total fucking chore.
I love you FRANK BLACK never die.
We all die.
I couldn't agree more. For the longest time I thought that anything after the first six or seven songs was pretty forgettable. Now I can't believe how amazing every single song is.
The chorus is so oddly infectious. I love it.
This is my favourite Frank Black song.
It really is just sublime.
Bought this cd on a whim when I was 11 or 12. And the Breeders a few weeks later, never knew of the Pixies then, this is still a fav after all those years, one of my top 2 albums I've ever bought.
TOTY - Incredible album,it has about 15 mini masterpieces on it
You know I hear a lotta talk! So I'm headin' for the stereo store...
gah everytime i think ive heard everything from frank black and the pixies i come across another song i like.. its both frustrating that i cant find anything this good and great that im finding something else i like from him xD, im turning into such a Frank Black fan boy :P
frank is the man!
Great fucking lead !!!
UNDERRATED
:) i love this song i think this is my favorite by frank black thanks for posting it
this song is about my great uncle. thanks, frank.
Me Too !!
but there is no need for that..
I love FB ..too and I am just as excited as you ....
this country needs a rock n roll enema
I shall not lay down quietly..
Long Live Rock N Roll
i have my cd lend out 10 years ago. Wauv Frank Black is bach in my favorite :-)
Lol like a copy of on the road i "lent"
my hero!
I do enjoy these.
TEENAGER OF THE CENTURY!
I would take a BULLET for you, Charles!
Dam still lovin it!!!!!!!!!!!
Love this song.
yackety yack is back again....
Amazing 1993 Still sounds FrEsH!!!!!!!!
‘94
Black Letter Days is some of Charles' best work, in my opinion.
Song about Joe Meek
Slow-burning album, but multiple listens really pay off.
His best solo song in my opening. It is a just a cracking effort.
"The Frank Black song "White Noise Maker" deals with Joe Meek's suicide by shotgun, the white noise maker of the title. "It's been so long since my Telstar." see Wikipedia entry for Joe Meek
+Buzzer365 It could be. But Frank is sometimes so oblique with his lyrics getting a meaning out of it is hard. (thats one reason I like his lyrics)Stilll, if he is imagining saying the lyrics as if he is Joe Meeks, it might make sense.
Nothing in the tune besides the word Telstar hints at this interpretation. Where does Frank say it?
"I hear a lot of talk" is something a schizophrenic might say, I suppose.
You know, I hear a lot of talk
So I'm headin' for the stereo store
To get a white noise maker and turn it up to ten
Or maybe the interior
Of somewhere like Siberia
Yeah, the yak is back again
Like harvest moon over my head, yes it was
That billboard prose shinin' on me and it shines because
It's been so long since my Telstar
I hope it crashes in the sea
Or maybe the interior
Of somewhere like Siberia
Yakety-yak is back again
You know, I hear a lot of talk
So I'm headin' for the stereo store
To get a white noise maker and turn it up to ten
Like harvest moon over my head, yes it was
That billboard prose shinin' on me and it shines because
It's been so long since my Telstar
I hope it crashes in the sea
underrated by the general public i think he means. like why is it always bands that have massive amounts of advertising behind them that are the ones that are popular, the bands with albums which every song is exacty 3 and a half minutes long, whos every second word is ''tonight'', ''Babe'', ''love'' the bands or solo artists whos music is more about an image than a sound. Thats whats underrated, not that his talent is over looked by publications but as a public opinion.
Mine too!
@marvelousmarvyn amazing you said it!!!!
Or maybe the interior, of somewhere like Siberia :)
great album..good memories bombing around in my best buds car listening to this,sucks royal horse wang I can't buy it on itunes though :(
Certainly no need to apologise at all, in retrospect I used the wrong word, just popped out, and again I totally agree with you and the over-usage of the term. I am almost positive I would have had a few drinks prior to listening to the song, so I shall uh.. blame it on that. :)
Glad you are listening to Teenager again, geez its been so long I might give it a listen also, in fact I have to catch up and see what Frank has been up to! I have no idea at all..
Thanks, your reply makes me embarrassed for how aggressive my original comment sounds: I do apologise. All I was saying was what you now said: "underrated" and "not achieving mainstream success" are two different things.
And, quite frankly, it does feel good to know I'm listening to something that's not on Top 40 :)
AND your commend made me listen to Teenager of the Year again, which I hadn't done in a while and which is always great. So thanks!
Apparently, he's busy "debasing the legacy of Pixies" with Santiago and Lovering (at least if you believe the Pitchfork review of EP-1)...
I CAN call itl...
I agree, that's most likely what he means. And I don't feel that Frank Black (or Pixies for that matter) has ever aimed to appeal to "the general public".
Oh, I love potatoes :)
As for the new Pixies stuff, I have mixed feelings. The review is an exaggeration, but I think I know what the guy means. It feels more like a Jane's Addiction comeback ("not much worse than the old stuff" at best) than a Swans comeback ("on par with anything they've done in the past, if not better"). I like Bagboy and Indie City, but the sad truth is I'm nowhere near as excited as I thought I would be.
I this is not a commercial
for the:
walkman\discman \ipod \ipod man \ipad\ipod
then ..
@ncf1 yepski
Yakidi Yak! lmao. Who does that??
Ive recorded an acoustic version of this. Check it out please
Pretty solid!
You should realize that UA-cam, like anyone else, has to make its money somehow.
you know what - I agree completely, I actually cannot stand, usually, the tag 'underrated'. I think I just wrote it listening to this thinking, as reddevil mentioned, in terms of the general public, this song is completely unknown, and therefore underrated. It took, like all of 5 seconds for that comment.. so no big deal. I guess my biggest beef is with the likes of the Top 40 or whatnot.. I just cant stand it. To me it is pure rubbish, and has been since its inception.
What is it with this "underrated" fetish? Does it make people feel more special if they listen to something that "underrated"? According to Wiki, "Teenager of the Year" got 4,5 stars out of 5 from Allmusic, A- from Entertainment Weekly, 8 out of 10 from NME, 3,5 out of 5 from Rolling Stone, and a "very positive" review from Nude as the News. How is that "underrated"?
I feel that Frank Black has been enjoying the status of a classic for quite a while now, and rightly so.