Jawbox

Crap
Total votes: 5 (8%)
Not Crap
Total votes: 59 (92%)
Total votes: 64

Band: Jawbox

22
NOT CRAP, but plenty of waffles.

Their best records (last and second to last) have some very, very annoying production quirks and at times they were hugely derivative.

Still, NOT CRAP.

Band: Jawbox

23
Champion Rabbit wrote:NOT CRAP, but plenty of waffles.
Their best records (last and second to last) have some very, very annoying production quirks and at times they were hugely derivative.


Never noticed the production quirks... but haven't listened to them in a while. Back when I was into Jawbox I wasn't really paying attention to production details.

I sometimes found the number of syllables in J. Robbins' lyrics excessive... but I was usually ok with it in the end.

Band: Jawbox

24
gio wrote:
Champion Rabbit wrote: Their best records (last and second to last) have some very, very annoying production quirks


production quirks


Please elucidate. I've always found the low end on "Sweetheart" and to a lesser extent the last album to be lacking. I'm not looking for overwhelming bass, but the kick is almost non-existent and even the bass lines sound trebly. Given the kick-ass tunes, I'd rather have a low end that was more pounding/whiplash-inducing.

Oh, and NC.

Band: Jawbox

25
G10 wrote:that one song, savory, rules.

i agree but i have an issue with the continual misrepresentation of this song. i have read that this is a 'love song' on several occasions in different publications. for example -
trouser press wrote:"Savory," an uneasy love song sung to an angel (real or metaphoric, it's impossible to tell), welds a mesmerizing melody to an enigmatic hook — "one hand will wash the other."

eh? surely this is a song about sexism and the objectification of women. ("whatever position we consider fit to put you in you protest your complicity" / "i'm all eyes and you're all you need to be." )

jawbox also set a precedent in terms of dischord bands weathering an internal storm - kim coletta left j.robbins for bill barbot, whom he had only just welcomed into the band. i'll bet their tour-van was very interesting during that era. of course drummer adam wade obviously did the 'smart' thing and jumped ship to shudder to think to avoid unnecessary tension. or so he thought -
nathan larson wrote:Drummer Adam Wade probably had the most difficult job from a technical standpoint: the stuff we had written was extremely taxing, and Ted Nicely went way overboard in his quest for the perfect drum-take. This was before digital systems like Pro-Tools allowed for all manner of editing and looping, and Adam was worked nearly to the point of tears. It was hard to watch, but I kind of figured it was a necessary part of the process, though I know now it was overly anal. Ted had this evil machine called the Russian Dragon, which was hooked up to the click track and the bass drum, and would give you a digital measurement of the kick drums position relative to the click. It was horrible to sit there in the control room, all eyes glued to the moving red lights of that nasty little box, looking instead of listening, praying the machine would spit out it’s approval so that we might proceed to the next bit of business. This was not uncommon practice back then, so I don’t blame Ted for taking this approach; now it appalls me to think of it, and I truly feel for Adam. He had it tough.

....followed by universal rejection and craig wedren's cancer scare. poor senor wade!

there are some pretty crap jawbox videos here if you want to see them awkwardly glancing at the camera every three seconds while miming to their 'hits'.
run joe run wrote:Kerble your enthusiasm.

Band: Jawbox

26
I only have For Your Own Special Sweetheart, but it's badass. The production is kind of strange: everything is upfront but hazy. "Storm-like" I guess you could say. Or maybe you could say "maelstrom of rock."

You could say that, but I won't.

I like this band. Some unique, two-guitar craziness. Kind of like a less interesting (but still rocking) Fugazi.

I didn't realize there was any connection to Shudder to Think. Such a connection adds a few waffles for me.

NOT CRAP :WF:4

Band: Jawbox

27
das konner wrote:I didn't realize there was any connection to Shudder to Think.

they were on the same label (dischord), used the same studio (inner ear) and the same producers (mackaye and nicely), toured together on countless occasions, shared a drummer and road crew, left dischord at pretty much the same time for major labels and then released their two finest albums to little acclaim before being dropped.

they practically ran neck and neck throughout their careers.
run joe run wrote:Kerble your enthusiasm.

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