Why do you even bother?Bunch of music collecting kids with a thirst for their opinions to be heard.Let's face it:a lot of them never will and that's for a good reason.P.E.R.I.O.D.

i think he just does that for entertainment value rather than anything else

Oh, come on now... the only time I saw them live MES looked more like a clown than as a scientist to me... he was drunk, he walked off halfway during the encore and he was backed by a bunch of pub rockers indeed, like others have stated in this thread. It really turned me off of them for quite some time.

I like the classic era Fall as much as the next person, but I sometimes wonder why they're too holy to be subject to criticism for quite a few people on this board. Maybe I'm just not British enough? Or maybe none of the Fall-disciples has seen them live recently? One-liners like "you don't get it", "he's a genius", etc don't really help a non-believer like me in understanding what makes him still an amazing musician these days other than living of the reputation of past achievements.

yeah, M.E.S. lives off past glories even more than thurston moore

exactly... Sonic Youth have been my favourite band for the last 15 years or so, but when they release something I dislike so much as Rather Ripped then I have no problem in voicing that it's an utter crap album... it's utter crap Thurston, are you listening?

A few things:
I don't revere Mark E Smith as a God almighty figure and certainly don't consider him a dogmatic figure in many ways but i'll give him the benefit that he incorporates the english language in more interesting settings than most people will ever be able to achieve in three lifetimes.His live outings are often erratic and they don't bother me much because the the last time i've seen him live was quite a while ago and even then i was not expecting much.I'm not British but i can appreciate a living blank canvas when it's been worked on as much as the next person.Call it an artistic cop-out or whatever but that's the way it feels.Attending a bad Fall gig certainly is not excuse for forming a definite opinion on just about anything,let alone The Fall themselves.

Well he may not be your God, but when you're an atheist then a genius or a scientist is pretty much as far as it gets.

It wasn't just based on that gig alone... it was the main reason, but that in combination with not exactly being blown away by their latest two efforts lead me to the conclusion that he's mostly living of past achievements... whereas contemporaries like Sonic Youth*, Einstürzende Neubauten or The EX can still give me interesting things both on record and on stage. Anyway, thanks for elaborating.



*excluding their last Geffen album and ATP gig... I hope I won't be saying the same things about them in a couple of years as I did about The Fall.

Exactly, if The Fall makes someting you dont like its cool to say so. Mr Smith doesent regard his previous work as sacred, thats why the group has been able to remain credible in its output over the years i think.

The Fall are one of those bands that will always cause a stirr with fans, we supported them in sheffield once and Mark E was really ignorant, untill he saw my SY tattoo and he spoke to us after that. really sound bloke, genius and shit vocalist! ha!

THE FALL!!

this is a bit of a coup, is he a fan of sonic youth?

i don't think he would admit that in public.

Is this refering to me as well? i was simply stating that it must be a nightmare working with him, due to the fact he is a complete cunt, but then again most genius's are..
What else do you expect on a forum anyway?

I wasn't refering to anyone in particular.I don't have any big expectations for a music forum such as this but a mild diversion from the same dirge would be much appreciated every now and then.In saying that,i i must go to the toilet now.

same!

You must be taking a long poo.I just went for a slash.

That's funny because MES always claims that he hates Sonic Youth but I think that he secretly likes them. Unless of course he punched you when he saw the tattoo........