Re: Dismemberment Fan

Music fans have mentioned not cathing the buzz of Stooges, MBV, Radiohead, etc. I don't get the Dismemberment Plan. Sounds like a generic cutout bin 'alternative' corporate act. Someone explain...

I'm not sure I get 'em either. The first one of their recs I picked up was "Change", which I guess was a big shocker to their longtime fans. Your assessment above pretty much sums that one up, tho it is pleasant enough - just nothing special. I found another, earlier one (...Is Terrified) in the used bin a few months ago and found it positively annoying.

On a related note, the frontman just put out a solo album which was savaged today on Pitchfork (a rare 0.0 out of 10). I guess I'll be taking a pass on that one.

well, their third record Emergency & I is quite good, in my opinion. kind of like all sorts of pop-music and experimentation merged together. of course, if one doesn't like Travis Morrison's voice, that won't help much, but just lots of different elements thrown into one record. rave-ups rockers w/ annoying one-note guitar lines with a redeeming chorus ("What Do You Want Me To Say"), heartbreaking breakup songs ("The City"), stuttering songs, etc...

yeah, it's a pretty good record, probably the best representation of what they were capable of.

That's the one I have. I was sorta hoping there was a better introduction. The subject came up after a few years of seeing Emergency & I on so many 'best of' lists, etc. Not only was Travis' outing ravaged on Pitchfork, it's the only review that I found on their site with 0 of 10. I'd like to hear it just to clean the palate and set a standard for scale bottom. (If it's really that bad).

A sorta side note: Sonic Youth's "NYC Ghosts and Flowers" also got a 0.0 on Pitchfork a few years ago. While I agree that it's a pretty crappy record, I don't think it deserved a ZERO. Hard to believe there could be NO redeeming qualities whatsoever to Travis Morrison's rec, but then again, there weren't all that many with D Plan either....