They could have stuck this at the end like "Fodderstompf" on the previous album, but by wearing you down up front they make you grateful to hear anything else. Interesting strategy.
I saw PIL open up for INXS in the late 80's at Radio City Music Hall. PIL opened up and at the end of the set, Johnny goes "We all know who you came to see..." and does an awesome mic drop. Amazing show - both bands were on fire that night!
TRUE STORY I bought this when it came out (Metal Box Edition) It had virtually no liner notes, just a small piece of paper with song titles. I put side one on and me a friend listened. Sounded pretty gloomy and dreary but Hey Its PIL and the first lyrics are "Slow motion..." What did we expect. Got about 12 minutes into this song (Albatross) and went over to turntable and said "I wonder if this is actually supposed to be 45 rpm, not 33?" IT WAS!!!! (The Metal Box edition was three 45rpm 12" eps) BIG LAUGH because we just accepted that it was supposed to be that slow FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE SONG !
After about 20 seconds, I was hooked, feeling it had a very Joy Division feel (in tone, in structure, and other ways) and expecting a great pastiche of or even tribute to a band I really like. About 2 minutes in, I was thinking "Is this going to go anywhere?" and then noticed I was only 1/5 of the way in. But I held on to see if something did indeed emerge. At 5 minutes, I noticed JP looking rather bored, mirroring my growing feeling. By 6 minutes, I'd invested so much time I felt I may as well let it play out and see if anything happens. Nothing did happen.
Sometimes, when nothing really happens, it can be enjoyable too, it's just another experience. Dominic Christ by Suicide is very "boring" because it's very repetitive and it's always the same but I love it
@@Alix777. Suicide, a band that lives up to its name (having said that, it's still a little more bearable than PIL). In the ultra-repetitive vein, Simple Minds' “In Trance as Mission” is definitely my favourite! (nearly 7 minutes of unchanging metronomic rhythm section bliss).
@@Alix777. I love some 'nothing much happening' tracks, trust me! I will willingly listen to, for example, "Waiting for Cousteau" by Jean-Michel Jarre where nothing happens except for sea-related noises for 46 minutes. Also, "Wildlife" by Pengiuin Cafe Orchestra, which is 10.55 of not much happening. I like much of Mono's postrock work where they are passively playing gentle notes and no real tune or discernible rhythm to catch onto. I enjoy almost all of the 1 track, hour long albums by The Necks in which musical sections repeat and repeat, only very slightly evolving themselves into the next section over the course of 10+ minutes You're arguing a "You don't like long and repetitive music" position against the wrong person here, I assure you!
@@AriadneJC I agree about "Waiting for Cousteau" by Jarre, a composer I don't usually like, but who exceptionally did something excellent in the ambient genre! (Perhaps he should have persevered with this style of music). Yep, it all depends on whether you manage to make the static genre interesting. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but when it's done well, it's pure bliss! (PIL, on the other hand, is a complete failure).
I knew this wasn't gonna go over well but I'm sure you'll want to check out the updated version of this Jah Wobble did a few years ago on an album called Metal Box Rebuilt in Dub. The good news is it's shorter and an instrumental.
Justin!! Yes!! It’s their attempt at late 70’s goth. Bauhaus, Caveat Voltaire and the likes. We thought it was cool at the time, because it wasn’t punk. And Jonny Leyden was in a different dark direction!!
PiL are a very intriguing band. For me, some of their stuff works incredibly well and some just lies there and moans a lot. Lydon is not a singer though he was an excellent Sex Pistol and occasionally a good weird instrument used on the likes of Public Image, Poptones and Rise. The same goes for Levene who sometimes hits the mark but is often deliberately unmusical, as in this track. Wobble is usually good and the drummers functional, if unexciting. I want to like PiL and often do but then they go and release time-wasters like this.
Great reaction! I find PiL very drony too. For a much better take on post punk check out Manchester band the Fall (but not the song "Repetition"!) eg "Couldn't Get Ahead", "Eat yourself Fitter" or "Totally Wired". Live, of course.
I was hoping it was "Albatross" by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, but no such luck, I would have been intrigued by a cover. Instead, I skipped ahead in 2 minute increments, after hearing the monotonous bass line, and noticed it wasn't going anywhere. Instead of listening to it, I suppose it could be nice to play in bars and clubs where no one would be listening to it. I agree, it uses 10 minutes of time that we won't get back.
I’m sure they put the longest, most repetitive song first for a reason. Like John thought of the Sex Pistols as an albatross still around his neck or something. They weren’t into grabbing people immediately, but the album as a whole is worthwhile. I’m used to it and like it as much as the rest. Memories and Swan Lake/Death Disco are next, would still recommend them. Swan Lake as in the ballet.
I think they wanted to sound like a No Wave version of CAN. However, that went quite wrong. Two years before this recording, Suicide proved with "Frankie Teardrop" that you can make a 10-minute song much more exciting with relatively sparse instrumentation. However, it must also be said that there are 2 or 3 really good songs on this album.
JP it was worth a listen to get a flavour of what John Lydon did after The Sex Pistols, but you would get more enjoyment out of a track by Public Service Broadcasting, say from 'Inform-Educate-Entertain'. They are art rock. Try 'Spitfire' to get an idea of what they are about...
Siouxsie Sioux could've sung it tunefully Budgie would've / could've drummed it fuller Robert Smith may have pouted thru it Jonathan Richman would've smiled or cried thru it it was so vacant it was Jam Full of Nothing and because of it's duration it served a Purpose namely it ticked and it tocked As I Typed So, frankly , yes , in similar vein to VDGG, Hammill - land Magog, It Is ART one must conceed
PIL had a few good songs - I remember getting this album home, the metal box and packaging were an unnecessary gimmick and tedious to deal with, as was most of the music.
I understand that you don't like the song. I know you have the right to dislike it, but you should not insult the poor guy who recommended it to you because he obviously likes the band.
I generally like PIL (and also this album), but especially this song sounds like they were just trolling and deliberately trying to get on the listener's nerves. It's still better than The Shaggs' album though.
I thought it might have something to do with Monty Python's Albatross skit. Doesn't look so. Here's a version where "she" doesn't say "For Ch--- Sake!" anywhere. (Too offensive for the occasion, I suppose.) ua-cam.com/video/wrqW_BZu5Xk/v-deo.html You do know you could've done Fairy Mary Mag in that time, seen the best dancing baby ever if you watched the right video, have said your say, and been half way to the pub by the time you got to the end of this? Just saying. Long, long way to go till Foundling (at the very end), which I bet my neighbour's wedding silver you'll find to be even more beautiful than Fairy Mary Mag (which is beautiful - which as good a reason as any to listen to a song - especially when someone talking it up turns it into a disappointment, by not being what your imagination makes of the uptalk ... I'm rambling aren't I?)
A 'Margatini' - you've invented a new drink JP. I reallly like this LP but I usually skip this track! Yep by the 6 minute mark we've all had about enough (as your your body language seemed to concur with JP!!) This is the sound of the band at this time and for most of this LP although the other songs do work on the whole - just not this one. The final piece 'Socialist/Chant/Radio 4' is a bit more expansive and indeed exciting. Trouble is you are going to be very prejudiced against anything else this LP has to offer though I can't say I blame you. There was a deliberate don't care attitude as an antidote to the overly produced stuff around. I'd still rather listen to this than anything by Genesis though😀
Even though Lydon has become increasingly irritating and irrelevant, he deserves great credit for being the intellectual force behind two important and influential bands. "Metal box" is a patchy album but when it's good, it's very good. The stand out track is "Poptones", which I'm sure JP will appreciate.
Justin, a negative reaction is also a reaction, sooner or later it was bound to happen to you when you came across bad music, like rotten cheese with old prunes.
😒😴I've never liked Lydon's voice or that agonising sound that leads nowhere. Just listen to the (fairly decent) track "Public Image" on their debut album and that's enough. Rotten/Lydon said prog rock was pompous and boring but I think he was talking about his own band!😉🤣
@@pentagrammaton6793I don’t really like this track either or John Lyndon. But surely you don’t really think that punk musicians are jealous of more technical music. That’s just ridiculous. What would be the point of the genre at that point.
I like the sound of the song but for me it drones on for far too long, far too monotonously. So now if it comes up in my Tidal track-radio, I'm skipping it just because I don't feel like having it in my ears for that long. And it's a bit of an earwurm too, gets stuck in your brain. I was initially not even going to listen to your reaction, but then I saw your post with the trashcan, decided to listen to your reaction to hear what you have to say about it.
When you think that Keith Levene was part of the Clash in their early days (before they recorded their debut album), you'd think they'd escaped the worst!😂
I love this album. Thanks for doing it, Justin. Cheers.
I love this album and still have it, I also have Second Edition, next track “Memories” is one of my favourites 🖤
They could have stuck this at the end like "Fodderstompf" on the previous album, but by wearing you down up front they make you grateful to hear anything else. Interesting strategy.
"It's a big old burger for nothing." 😂I liked the reaction 😂
🍔🛑
Metal Box or Second issue is a great post-punky, dark, moody very interesting album.
Love this metal, plastic, album. Keith Levene 🎸🔥
I saw PIL open up for INXS in the late 80's at Radio City Music Hall. PIL opened up and at the end of the set, Johnny goes "We all know who you came to see..." and does an awesome mic drop. Amazing show - both bands were on fire that night!
TRUE STORY I bought this when it came out (Metal Box Edition) It had virtually no liner notes, just a small piece of paper with song titles. I put side one on and me a friend listened. Sounded pretty gloomy and dreary but Hey Its PIL and the first lyrics are "Slow motion..." What did we expect. Got about 12 minutes into this song (Albatross) and went over to turntable and said "I wonder if this is actually supposed to be 45 rpm, not 33?" IT WAS!!!! (The Metal Box edition was three 45rpm 12" eps) BIG LAUGH because we just accepted that it was supposed to be that slow FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE SONG !
After about 20 seconds, I was hooked, feeling it had a very Joy Division feel (in tone, in structure, and other ways) and expecting a great pastiche of or even tribute to a band I really like.
About 2 minutes in, I was thinking "Is this going to go anywhere?" and then noticed I was only 1/5 of the way in. But I held on to see if something did indeed emerge.
At 5 minutes, I noticed JP looking rather bored, mirroring my growing feeling.
By 6 minutes, I'd invested so much time I felt I may as well let it play out and see if anything happens.
Nothing did happen.
The whole album is in the same vein! Boring.🙄
Sometimes, when nothing really happens, it can be enjoyable too, it's just another experience.
Dominic Christ by Suicide is very "boring" because it's very repetitive and it's always the same but I love it
@@Alix777. Suicide, a band that lives up to its name (having said that, it's still a little more bearable than PIL). In the ultra-repetitive vein, Simple Minds' “In Trance as Mission” is definitely my favourite! (nearly 7 minutes of unchanging metronomic rhythm section bliss).
@@Alix777. I love some 'nothing much happening' tracks, trust me! I will willingly listen to, for example, "Waiting for Cousteau" by Jean-Michel Jarre where nothing happens except for sea-related noises for 46 minutes.
Also, "Wildlife" by Pengiuin Cafe Orchestra, which is 10.55 of not much happening.
I like much of Mono's postrock work where they are passively playing gentle notes and no real tune or discernible rhythm to catch onto.
I enjoy almost all of the 1 track, hour long albums by The Necks in which musical sections repeat and repeat, only very slightly evolving themselves into the next section over the course of 10+ minutes
You're arguing a "You don't like long and repetitive music" position against the wrong person here, I assure you!
@@AriadneJC I agree about "Waiting for Cousteau" by Jarre, a composer I don't usually like, but who exceptionally did something excellent in the ambient genre! (Perhaps he should have persevered with this style of music).
Yep, it all depends on whether you manage to make the static genre interesting. It's a lot harder than it sounds, but when it's done well, it's pure bliss! (PIL, on the other hand, is a complete failure).
Pil can be a challenge to listen to, well done for giving them a go. Keep up the good work.
A challenge indeed, as the comments clearly emphasise. Nothing negative from this end though!
@@Owlstretchingtime78 same here but for a lot of people it's just unlistenable.
I knew this wasn't gonna go over well but I'm sure you'll want to check out the updated version of this Jah Wobble did a few years ago on an album called Metal Box Rebuilt in Dub. The good news is it's shorter and an instrumental.
Justin!! Yes!! It’s their attempt at late 70’s goth. Bauhaus, Caveat Voltaire and the likes. We thought it was cool at the time, because it wasn’t punk. And Jonny Leyden was in a different dark direction!!
Caught PIL in Montreal w/ The Sugar Cubes opening.
You may hate it, but I guarantee you will never forget the experience of listening to it. That may not be a good thing, but its something...I think
Yes, it happens when you come across bad music, I always write or tell the truth if I don't like it.
PiL are a very intriguing band. For me, some of their stuff works incredibly well and some just lies there and moans a lot. Lydon is not a singer though he was an excellent Sex Pistol and occasionally a good weird instrument used on the likes of Public Image, Poptones and Rise. The same goes for Levene who sometimes hits the mark but is often deliberately unmusical, as in this track. Wobble is usually good and the drummers functional, if unexciting. I want to like PiL and often do but then they go and release time-wasters like this.
Hi JP. DP from UK. I really like Albatross... by Fleetwood Mac, that is.
Yes, the most relaxing piece of music ever!
I love it! I saw them do this live last year and it was fantastic.
Great reaction! I find PiL very drony too. For a much better take on post punk check out Manchester band the Fall (but not the song "Repetition"!) eg "Couldn't Get Ahead", "Eat yourself Fitter" or "Totally Wired". Live, of course.
Love your reaction JP
No fakery no BS.If you don't like it you'll tell the truth.
Thank God for your reaction! if you liked that I would have lost all faith in you, LOL.
I was hoping it was "Albatross" by Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, but no such luck, I would have been intrigued by a cover. Instead, I skipped ahead in 2 minute increments, after hearing the monotonous bass line, and noticed it wasn't going anywhere. Instead of listening to it, I suppose it could be nice to play in bars and clubs where no one would be listening to it. I agree, it uses 10 minutes of time that we won't get back.
I’m sure they put the longest, most repetitive song first for a reason. Like John thought of the Sex Pistols as an albatross still around his neck or something. They weren’t into grabbing people immediately, but the album as a whole is worthwhile. I’m used to it and like it as much as the rest. Memories and Swan Lake/Death Disco are next, would still recommend them. Swan Lake as in the ballet.
If you want a 10min. song to go somewhere, check out “Frankie Teardrop” by Suicide
Fair reaction. Thanks for your patience. I skipped the middle part.
Did someone recommend this? PIL must have some bangers.
@@blitztim6416 they do but they are always mixed in with the more experimental aspects of the music.
@@kevv117 Well suggest a banger.
Death disco , memories, this is not a love song.@@blitztim6416
Great, now do Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross" (1968) and while at it "Oh Well, part 1+2," " Rattlesnake Shake", "Black Magic Woman" " Green Manalishi"
John Lydon somehow succeeds in getting a reaction .. respect your views though :)!
I think they wanted to sound like a No Wave version of CAN. However, that went quite wrong. Two years before this recording, Suicide proved with "Frankie Teardrop" that you can make a 10-minute song much more exciting with relatively sparse instrumentation.
However, it must also be said that there are 2 or 3 really good songs on this album.
I saw/heard “Rocket USA” in a Prada add this week. Couldn’t believe it. It was pretty cool.
JP it was worth a listen to get a flavour of what John Lydon did after The Sex Pistols, but you would get more enjoyment out of a track by Public Service Broadcasting, say from 'Inform-Educate-Entertain'. They are art rock. Try 'Spitfire' to get an idea of what they are about...
Siouxsie Sioux could've sung it tunefully
Budgie would've / could've drummed it fuller
Robert Smith may have pouted thru it
Jonathan Richman would've smiled or cried thru it
it was so vacant it was Jam Full of Nothing
and because of it's duration it served a Purpose
namely it ticked and it tocked As I Typed
So, frankly , yes ,
in similar vein to VDGG, Hammill - land Magog,
It Is ART
one must conceed
I agree! Siouxsie and Budgie would've sounded wonderful 👏
@@JustJP I refer hof course to The Creatures, not Burke's Power trio!
I Can't See My Feelings though Justin. Please Check Dat One out too! :>)
PIL had a few good songs - I remember getting this album home, the metal box and packaging were an unnecessary gimmick and tedious to deal with, as was most of the music.
I understand that you don't like the song. I know you have the right to dislike it, but you should not insult the poor guy who recommended it to you because he obviously likes the band.
I didn't. David didn't recommend this, but he previously kept a list of songs I dont like, so I told him to add this one😉
So I'm guessing you didn't like it? 🤣
Me neither, though I do like some of the other tracks on the album like "The Suit" and "Radio 4".
Bad signal 😂 0:00
An XTC reaction, is the best antídote,Justin.
👍I second that😉
Oh God noooooo lol
@@pentagrammaton6793 In that case it's not Oh God noooooo but "Dear God"!🤣
@@pentagrammaton6793 lol. Yeeees
Yes..definitely. xtc are the greatest
I generally like PIL (and also this album), but especially this song sounds like they were just trolling and deliberately trying to get on the listener's nerves. It's still better than The Shaggs' album though.
I thought it might have something to do with Monty Python's Albatross skit. Doesn't look so. Here's a version where "she" doesn't say "For Ch--- Sake!" anywhere. (Too offensive for the occasion, I suppose.) ua-cam.com/video/wrqW_BZu5Xk/v-deo.html
You do know you could've done Fairy Mary Mag in that time, seen the best dancing baby ever if you watched the right video, have said your say, and been half way to the pub by the time you got to the end of this?
Just saying. Long, long way to go till Foundling (at the very end), which I bet my neighbour's wedding silver you'll find to be even more beautiful than Fairy Mary Mag (which is beautiful - which as good a reason as any to listen to a song - especially when someone talking it up turns it into a disappointment, by not being what your imagination makes of the uptalk ... I'm rambling aren't I?)
Justin, if you remove the music and leave the vocals, will it be better? 😂
Mmm, I think it just needed something more. After a couple minutes this just became tedious
A 'Margatini' - you've invented a new drink JP. I reallly like this LP but I usually skip this track! Yep by the 6 minute mark we've all had about enough (as your your body language seemed to concur with JP!!) This is the sound of the band at this time and for most of this LP although the other songs do work on the whole - just not this one. The final piece 'Socialist/Chant/Radio 4' is a bit more expansive and indeed exciting. Trouble is you are going to be very prejudiced against anything else this LP has to offer though I can't say I blame you. There was a deliberate don't care attitude as an antidote to the overly produced stuff around. I'd still rather listen to this than anything by Genesis though😀
It's just an anti-commercial song
or shit-posting in the 80's
Was that the longest 10mins 38secs of your life, Justin?
Maybe not the longest, but a worthy contender
The sound of a band that couldn't be bothered. 😢
Even though Lydon has become increasingly irritating and irrelevant, he deserves great credit for being the intellectual force behind two important and influential bands. "Metal box" is a patchy album but when it's good, it's very good. The stand out track is "Poptones", which I'm sure JP will appreciate.
Justin, a negative reaction is also a reaction, sooner or later it was bound to happen to you when you came across bad music, like rotten cheese with old prunes.
😒😴I've never liked Lydon's voice or that agonising sound that leads nowhere. Just listen to the (fairly decent) track "Public Image" on their debut album and that's enough.
Rotten/Lydon said prog rock was pompous and boring but I think he was talking about his own band!😉🤣
The punk jealously of talent knows no limits.
@@pentagrammaton6793 👍That's exactly what it is!
@@pentagrammaton6793I don’t really like this track either or John Lyndon. But surely you don’t really think that punk musicians are jealous of more technical music. That’s just ridiculous. What would be the point of the genre at that point.
There was also bad music before this.
Dislike 😄
I like the sound of the song but for me it drones on for far too long, far too monotonously.
So now if it comes up in my Tidal track-radio, I'm skipping it just because I don't feel like having it in my ears for that long. And it's a bit of an earwurm too, gets stuck in your brain.
I was initially not even going to listen to your reaction, but then I saw your post with the trashcan, decided to listen to your reaction to hear what you have to say about it.
More of a tranquilizer to put me to sleep. Too boring.
Oh hello, is that terrible guitar playing that's been thinly disguised by excessive reverb? Yes, I think it is. 🙃
When you think that Keith Levene was part of the Clash in their early days (before they recorded their debut album), you'd think they'd escaped the worst!😂
you just don't understand it's post-punk, not Van Halen
@@Alix777. Post-punk doesn't have to mean shaky vocals and cheap musicianship! ...and that's exactly what's happening here!😉