User Pick #3: There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You

[sp4cetiger]

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There Is No One What Will Take Care Of ...e Brothers

Chart: Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Norman Bates
Year: 1993
Rank on BEA Overall: 3,514
Rank on User's Chart: 9
Average Rating: 76/100
Summary Info: This is Will Oldham's debut album, which also features several members of Slint. It's often described as alternative country.

Details on the implementation and chart selection process of "User Pick of the Day" can be found here and here, respectively.

[Norman Bates]

The year is 1993. I'm 20 years-old. I'm living in England for the school year. I'm boring myself to death in Stratford-upon-Avon, a lovely city with absolutely nothing to do if you're not that much into theater. The salary I get as a foreign assistant is not enough to allow me to go to London or Birmingham or Coventry, and I don't even know these cities anyway, so what would I be doing there for just one day. I'm stuck. I just can go to the local records store and pay for one out of three cheap cassette tapes I snatch up from HMV, and fantasize over the girl at the newsagents', who looks at me as if I were the tramp that I actually am because I can't afford to buy the foreign papers and I read them in the shop and get kicked off by some security asshole. Security man. At the newsagents'. Fucking Stratford, I'll never go back to you.

I listen to the radio. I've had to buy one, because the plugs aren't the same, and I never thought of getting an adapter beforehand. This radio has a cassette player with it. I listen to the BBC pop/rock/whatev shows. On the radio: a lot of grunge, some Oasis/Blur. Grunge and britpop mostly. Little bit of rap too. You sort of get sick of the same sounds over and over, and alternative/indie music was a lot of grunge and britpop. I've already said that, but I'm using poetic license to insist.

Along came Palace Brothers. The first song I heard from Oldham was "Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings", and instantly I knew, that something new that sounded incredibly old was hooking me for life. Fucking terre brûlée policy on this record. Oldham burnt everything and just built a little hesitant something with the ashes of whatever American culture he had still left in the seemingly lostest corner of the world he was in. The declaration if intent was superb, stubborn and ignorant of whatever was in existence outside of the arse of his world. I loved it that he didn't care one bit about me. We couldn't have been more strangers, me in my shithole 2-square-meter room in Shitford, and he on his Kentucky farm and American gothic churchgoing incestuous hoboes or whatev.

I am still the most fervent admirer of Will Oldham, and I have seen him numerous times onstage. He's one of the my favourite artists ever. Please listen to this record.

[Mercury]

I have listened to it. On Norman's recommendation actually. And it was pretty beautifully desolate and grim. Very low down. But beautiful, did I mention beautiful. Kind of in the same way an old rusted, forgotten car in the middle of a field is beautiful.

I prefer "I See A Darkness" but I've been needing to revisit this and I want to get into Will Oldham much more. My fave UAOTD yet!
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Boogn1sh]

Well put, loved reading your perspective on it. I've always found it interesting that Palace Brothers/Oldham and really that whole strain of indie/alt/country from that era seems to be beloved in Europe but never really got the same footing state side, not sure why that is. Will be giving this album a listen tonight

[Norman Bates]

For those who read French, here's a little thread I'd started on another forum 3 and a half years ago.

http://www.rock6070.com/forumarchives/v...mp;start=0

It's not only on this album but about Oldham in general. I'm linking this without even remembering if it was interesting. Anyway, if you're curious and/or want to brush up your French, go ahead.

[Goodsir]

One of the best +1500 Tourney albums, easily.

[Saoirse]

it's great, probably the most intense of his early Palace records. Will Oldham is one of the great american musicians who never gets enough credit, even if his music (especially his earliest work) is never easy to swallow.