Wernehm_Zackariaah wrote:I notice they've gone from headlining shows to being 2nd in a lineup of 4 bands.

Wernehm_Zackariaah wrote:Their shows are sparsely attended.

Neither of these points is in any way relevant to the quality of rock band Oxes, or any other rock band for that matter.

The questions of whether the members of rock band Oxes are "big-headed" or not "decent people" are unimportant as well.

Bottom line: Is rock band Oxes a good rock band?

I think so.

NOT CRAP

Bradley R. Weissenberger wrote:

Wernehm_Zackariaah wrote:I notice they've gone from headlining shows to being 2nd in a lineup of 4 bands.

Wernehm_Zackariaah wrote:Their shows are sparsely attended.

Neither of these points is in any way relevant to the quality of rock band Oxes, or any other rock band for that matter.

and i have to wonder how accurate these claims are in the first place, to even consider them as "points". for example, i have only seen them live once. while they were the second of three bands, rather than the headliner, i would say that they were some fortunate motherfuckers, what with the headliner being mission of burma and all. and yeah, that show was, uh, sparsely jam packed.

oxes rock. they do some really interesting stuff, as musicians and as performers. pretentious? maybe. but considering their style of music, i wouldn't expect much otherwise. as long as they aren't total pricks if/when i ever meet them in person, i'd say they can be pretentious all day long and i won't care. i like their music. and i found them more genuinely interesting live than overwhelmingly kitschy. so points for that, too.

NOT CRAP.

as long as they aren't total pricks if/when i ever meet them in person,

I've met them, and they seem nice. The Windor Castle guy is nice. Prison too. Nate seemed cool too. I've just heard things from people who know them better. I've heard Nate is full of himself and thinks he writes better tunes than Robert Fripp. You have to take KC into context. They're not the best prog band ever (not even in my top 10), but they did this shit over 30 years ago. For someone to come around 30+ years later and say their stuff is better, well, I think that's a crock. And if you read my other posts, I'm currently in a "heated" debate with the capnreverb about the "greatness" of KC...

The thing I prefer about KC over Oxes, is that KC wrote balanced compositions. Oxes just stick with noisy/angular metal stuff, so it's very one dimensional. I really dig Cheer-Accident, becuase they know when to rock and when not to rock. I think they blow KC out of the water, but Thymme would probably never ever think or say that... They continue to be a great band because they don't let their greatness go to their heads. They work hard (for the past 25 years) and never rest on their laurels.

But hey, in rock music, that's not too uncommon. They probably have a couple groupies that kiss their ass, and going from getting wedgies and swirlies in high school to that would really effect someone. They're young.

Still, they have a lot of filler on their albums, and their gimmics aren't that spectacular. If you're into gimmicks, check out Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. They're very talented too, but the costumes, makeup, and home-made instruments are kind of gimmicky, but in a well thought out and "we did a lot of hard work to do this" sort of way. Plugging in a geetar to a wireless box and dancing around isn't that revolutionary.

I voted not crap, mind you, but I'm a critical person. This is what happens when you hang with Fugazi on the Canadian leg of their 1993 tour. I guess that experience made me a bit full of myself.

I guess the best way I can put it is this... I've seen the Oxes twice and have both of their full length CD's. I've met them and talked to them.

There is a certain "wow" ness with their music. Some of it is quite good. But the thrill wears off, and it's difficult for me to get through one of their albums without forwarding through tracks or just turning it off. Their 2nd album suffers more from this lack of quality material. I'll admit, that song half and half and half fucking rocks. They do have good ones.

This is my opinion, after listening to the band for 5 years now.

Not crap, but not the best of the angular-sort-of-mathrock stuff. Then when I hear people tell me about how big-headed they are, and that "better than Fripp" crap, I really lose a lot of respect for them.

Actually, they're similar to KC in that they have a few really great songs, and then some where they don't really seem to try at all...

Their gimmicks are kind of lazy and half-assed, and I'm personally tired of people acting like they invented wireless guitar playing. People did that back in the 70's...

The first time I heard the Oxes, I was intrigued enough to figure out where the track "and giraffe, natural en.mp3" came from and how it landed on my computer in the first place. This was unsuccessful, but I tracked down the artist and bought the album only to discover that I'd known two of the guys since the three of us were in (different) high school(s).

I have just, as of two days ago, ripped some old tapes of bands that Chris & Marc (I don't remember their made-up names) were in around that time and will probably get around to uploading them to the gmail account as soon as I mess with the levels a little, unless there is an overwhelming response to the effect of "who cares" or "I am Chris Freeland, and please don't do that."

Oh, and they're not crap. That's just mean.

ironyengine wrote:The first time I heard the Oxes, I was intrigued enough to figure out where the track "and giraffe, natural en.mp3" came from and how it landed on my computer in the first place. This was unsuccessful, but I tracked down the artist and bought the album only to discover that I'd known two of the guys since the three of us were in (different) high school(s).

I have just, as of two days ago, ripped some old tapes of bands that Chris & Marc (I don't remember their made-up names) were in around that time and will probably get around to uploading them to the gmail account as soon as I mess with the levels a little, unless there is an overwhelming response to the effect of "who cares" or "I am Chris Freeland, and please don't do that."

Oh, and they're not crap. That's just mean.

Don't do that. Yardsale does not belong being played in people's ears.

Angry_Dragon wrote:Don't do that. Yardsale does not belong being played in people's ears.

Hey, you're not Chris. At least, not the one I was referring to.

At any rate, the Yard Sale and ISI stuff must be heard. It's for historical purposes.

boring crap.





Faiz

ironyengine wrote:Oh, and they're not crap. That's just mean.

The Oxes are the best rock band in the world. Period.

Just saw their pre-tour show and man did they ever melt/slay my face off. Crowd surfing that makes that Pearl Jam video look like a Pearl Jam video.