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Last Active 12-23-19 9:27 pm
Joined 09-16-14
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| FAMILY FODDER: Don't you forget us #16
Sixteenth instalment in my forgotten/dismissed/underappreciated Post-Punk (and all of its subgenres) bands list series: The group that pioneered the world of obnoxious music like no one else. Where Alien Sex Fiend was too busy trying to come off as noisy and in-you-face as possible, and where Half Japanese was stirring water preteding they were actually straighforward, Family Fodder came through not caring at all what anyone thought of them. | | 16 |  | Various Artists (Post-Punk)
[Cease & Desist] DIY!
Before anything, I recommend you listen to this compilation of DIY post-punk from 1978-1982, where People in Control (one of Family Fodder's side projects) are featured:
https://optimomusic.bandcamp.com/album/cease-desist-diy-cult-classics-from-the-post-punk-era-1978-1982 | | 15 |  | Family Fodder
Easy Listening (Not)
Okay, so by this point in their career (2018 that is), they pretty much hit their creative peak long time ago and are now actively exploring the mysterious depths of the rock bottom. They've exchanged innovative song-writing for dreadfully boring one, intriguing execution for painfully bland one and atmosphere of excitement and mystique for some odd warped fuckery with no real direction. One thing the band has never ever been before is one-note. Congrats, this album, you made them repetitive and a hassle to listen to.
Go-to tracks: Sade's Earworm, Sweet Lesbian | | 14 |  | London Underground
Current Affairs Session
Pretty much unfindable tape by Fodde Family's sister band London Underground, but if you scrape the internet for it, eventually you will find each song apart and you can put together this magnificently uncohesive semi-album. Yeah, it's not really worth the struggle, unless you want some mostly disorganised no wave directionlessness, where even the band probably didn't really know where they were going.
Go-to tracks: Motivation, Rise and Fall | | 13 |  | People in Control
When It's War
A similar case as Londong Underground, but only three tracks long. Disorganised and mostly just causing you to scratch your head as to why does it exist (or in the case of the song Failing to Achieve: does it exist?).
Go-to tracks: When It's War | | 12 |  | Family Fodder
Water Shed
This is where the 'reggae' tag really comes into life; and if you ask me, it shouldn't have really. The songs come off more unintentionally goofy and awkward than off-the-wall by design. But at the least the addition of brass section was nice.
Go-to tracks: Naked, Rouge | | 11 |  | London Underground
At Home With the London Underground
A much more successful attempt at mixing reggae (or rather dub) with underground pseudo-punk than Family Fodder's younger release, Water Shed, this is pretty much everyone from Family Fodder, except for Alig Fodder himself. Also, it uses its bass much more maturely, which cannot be uncelebrated.
Go-to tracks: Fall In, You Don't Know, Watch Your Step | | 10 |  | The Lo Yo Yo
Extra Weapons
A rather typical no wave obscurity that only feels like Family Fodder members' side project because both bands can be described as 'weird'. So it checks out there, but not really much of anywhere else. Just being off-kilter and difficult to swallow isn't enough. But let's give them the beneft of a doubt, for a side project is not obligated to be perfectly in tune with its umbrella project.
Go-to tracks: All the Atrocities, Learning to Fly, China Blue, Cache-Cache | | 9 |  | Idol Fodder
Bäbytalk
Alig Fodder's very own bonus project, where he elected to write the kind of music he usually writes, but arranged not with electronics and oddly tuned guitars and synths, but orchestral pieces and live instruments. It is an odd EP, where essentially pretty strings clash with Fodder's inherent need to spice everything up with as much weirdness as possible, which also causes the record to drain in quality. (also, the same tendencies and songs later appeared on Family Fodder's Classical Music album)
Go-to tracks: The Oneliest Thing, Strangest Games, Death and the Maiden | | 8 |  | Family Fodder
Classical Music
Somehow, the most minimalistic album of the band's career might also be their most difficult ot decypher. This album is partially almost music-less and partially orchestrally arranged. That is at the very least unusual for the band, even though Alig Fodder attempted that same idea previously on his solo EP Bäbytalk, some of whose songs even made it onto this album. What is so outlandish about this album in the band's discographical context is that it isn't an in-your-face craziness. You can feel no presence of the once experimentating psychos of Family Fodder, apart from occasional comical novelty effects. Everything, while undoubtedly intriguing, feels a little off, when compared to their other work. Even if we assume that every band needs to progress somewhere. It still feels mildly out of place.
Go-to tracks: The Oneliest Thing, Ancestor's Feet, Strangest Games, Don't Get Me High, Death and the Maiden | | 7 |  | Family Fodder
Variety
A much needed breath of the usual air (however stale it may be). This is a mostly lo-fi, guitar-driven rock-ish album Family Fodder haven't made in a while (and as history would go to show, also seemingly won't make in a while). There may not be much of anything to hold on to in terms of memorable song-writing or fun, extravagant execution, but at least it is a safe enough journey for those ancient Family Fodder fans to drool over, even though we are now starting to see the uncomfortable tendency of the band to make their music more and more flat and straightforward (later encapsulated by Easy Listenin').
Go-to tracks: The Pain Won't Go, Vampyre On My Mind, It's 1965, Backstreets of Infinity | | 6 |  | Family Fodder
Sunday Girls
The band's debut and in many ways a pioneering album that pretty much established the psychadelica-infused noise punk scene, together with Lou Reed, Chrome, Circle X or Psychic TV (to name a few). This album is pure anti-conventionalism from the 70s in its filthiest, ugliest and most chaotic form. It is the very sound-definition of a bunch of yougsters coming together to create whatever insane crap their minds stumble upon.
Go-to tracks: Sunday Girl Pt. 1, No Man's Land, Accapulco, Debbie Harry, Playing Gold (with My Flesh Crawling), My Baby Takes Valium | | 5 |  | Oedipus (UK)
Oedipus
Another Alig Fodder side-project, but this time he actually tried to step away from the engulfing odd nature of Family Fodder and its subsidiaries and deliver something out of a completely different universe. This is largely a guitar'n'female vocals 12 tracks long album of just pure singer-songwriter simplicity. And it actually is fairly pleasant, what with the truly nice vocals over the actually gentle guitar, accordion or other instruments' chords tenderly caress your ears. If nothing else, it's a nice detour from Fodder's other odditiy.
Go-to tracks: Riddle Spire, As Angela, Que Lindo Meu Amor, Two Little Hours, Ginger Rogers | | 4 |  | Family Fodder
Foreverandever
A recently unearthed collection of obscured forgotten recordings, where the band's decision not to release them doesn't really make that much sense to me, because these are some quality tracks. Indeed, perhaps they aren't examplary Family Fodder material, but a great tune is a great tune. There isn't really a specific coherence between the tracks, it is a collection of lost tapes, after all. But almost each song is still a decent enough funhouse, and the fact that each cut came from a different period gives each track its own unique merit.
Go-to tracks: Walls of Ice, You Came (Again), Mountains of Your Moon, La Poete, Disappointment | | 3 |  | Family Fodder
All Styles
As true an album title as it can ever be. This album goes in deep and delivers eeeeverything the band has delved into in the past, or was yet to fully develop in the future. You had straightforward post-punk cuts, no wave oddities, more noir atmosphere buolders, synthwave cuteness, minimal wave ambient-isms and just noisy weirdness. It's all over the place, but in the best possible way.
Go-to tracks: Disarm Completely (Progressive), Windmills (Badtime), Don't Make Me Need You (Easy Listening) | | 2 |  | Family Fodder
Schizophrenia Party!
Thei most staightforward record from this era (late 70s-early 80s), which is odd, considering the title. But even though this is not the usual whacky all-out-there anti-music the band usually delves in, it is still a surprisingly enjoyably little noise-punk album with its own song-writing zaniness and depth.
Go-to tracks: Dinosaur Sex, Emergency, Tea with Dolly, The Big Dig | | 1 |  | Family Fodder
Monkey Banana Kitchen
Sunday Girls was an exhausting album, but an iportant feat for the band. A sort of shout into nothing, so that on their further material they had what to learn from and more room for wreaking havoc. Sunday Girls' (arguably) best cuts were the singles released after the album's release that only made it on there on later re-editions. Now, Monkey Banana Kitchen takes influence primarily from those singles, rather from the fun, but disorganised Sunday Girls. It is a zany album, but not without its depths and touching moments that rise up from momentary moments of self-consciousness.
Go-to tracks: Symbols, Savoir Faire, Cold Wars, Love Song, Cerf Volant | |
Papa Universe
06.11.18 | This episode was supposed to be about the Japanese band The Willard, but due to the fact I could not find a lot of their discography in full online, I decided against dedicating them a spot in the series. And then a recent reminder of the existence of this substitute band made me go down the lane of nostalgia and rank Family Fodder.
Beginner's Guide:
Debbie Harry
No Man's Land
Playing Golf (with My Flesh Crawling)
Symbols
Cold Wars
Windmills (Badtime)
Emergency
The Big Dig
Walls of Ice
The Oneliest Thing
The Pain Won't Go | SandwichBubble
06.11.18 | HOOOOOOO | Papa Universe
06.11.18 | CHOOOOOOO | SandwichBubble
06.11.18 | Props for even bothering with the extraneous projects, Oedipus is going in my check folder
And 1 is where it should be good, yes very good | Papa Universe
06.11.18 | You heard that Foreverandever unreleased songs project? | butcherboy
06.11.18 | Hell yes!!! | butcherboy
06.11.18 | My favourite of the series so far, along with half man half biscuit.. | SandwichBubble
06.11.18 | Uni no I haven't, I never had the drive to check it. Maybe with their last one being such a dumpster fire, I should give that one a spin | DoofusWainwright
06.12.18 | I listened to a bit of these and enjoyed, I just can't keep up with all these lists, impressive | Papa Universe
06.12.18 | Weakness disgusts me. | Papa Universe
06.12.18 | I am planning on putting up another episode this month, cause I didn't get to make one in May. |
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