Came here to post that, what a read
1 Like
Live At The Star Club Hamburg. Incredible. Most bands haven’t got near that.
3 Likes
My mate interviewed Bobby Gillespie once and asked what the best book on rock and roll was. He said this.
6 Likes
RIP Geraldine Hunt. Passed on October 27th.
6 Likes
3 Likes
Noel McKoy. Always loved his vocal on this
9 Likes
Low’s Mimi Parker has succumbed to cancer at age 55. My favourite performance by her is on the track “2 Step” from the Secret Name album. A truly singular voice in music - she will be missed.
7 Likes
Terrible, what an amazing singer and musician. What a band.
1 Like
here’s another stand out vocal from Mimi
2 Likes
Terrible hearing this 
Sames 
1 Like
Such sad news.
So sad. I Could Live In Hope is such a tremendous debut album, and to release such forward thinking and unique records like Double Negative and Hey What nearly 30 years into your career is some feat.
Also, there’s very few tracks out there that evoke such a feeling of fuzzy warm nostalgia more than this, just a lovely, beautiful song.
4 Likes
“two step” is just about as good as it gets, right? i’d put that song and vocal performance up against anything in the last thousand years. low was exactly the art i needed, when i needed it.
in the mid-nineties i was a bit on the edge of machine music. i had been all in for years on esoteric house and techno and noise and - growing up in portland - it felt like a good time to look into local stuff, guitar stuff, real “band” stuff. portland’s small, it’s real easy to stay connected to folks who love machines and records as well as folks who love guitars and microphones.
i was djing four nights a week and on the off nights i was trying to go to as many guitar shows as i could in hopes i could get some balance. i had a sort of spirit guide, a pal who was deep in that scene and i don’t remember exactly what was what, but i asked her if she was going to some show on like a tuesday and she was like “oh yeah, low? i plan to.” the funny thing was i was asking about some completely different band but as soon as i realized i was on the wrong side of the misunderstanding, i was like “ok, i’m going to this ‘low’ show instead”. she was that clued in.
so i went, i and i watched low play in an attic for like 12 people. and it was amazing. like immediately engaging and silent and all-encompassing. we sat on the floor. i later told everyone i could find who might care about this band - they were unlike anything i’d ever seen before. they were plain and awkward and they turned their amps up so loud and played their instruments so quietly - it was like guitars were live grenades that had to be handled so gently. the microphones picked up the soft ones, the loud ones, the good pets, the wordless, the stateless.
and since then, i’ve tried to see them every time i’m in the town they’re playing. they’re my “grateful dead”. i’ve probably seen them 20-25 times and been so happy every time i did. i feel like i absolutely understand their arc - slight success, reverence, confusion, parenthood, mental health breakdowns, anger, remorse, more parenthood, drugs, and ultimately (all the way along) - trust and faith in those closest to you.
my daughter just turned eight on thursday, and it probably doesn’t make sense why dad is sad today. that (and i haven’t explained it to her yet) the good people that wrote her lullaby, the one she can probably still sing from memory (“will the night”) are hurting today, and while we aren’t “friends”, we have these connections.
the record store i ran for a nice long time was right next to one of the mid-size venues in town, and low played it a couple of times. one of those times, al and mimi brought daughter hollis in to look around. it wasn’t their scene at all, but hollis ran around and looked at all the fliers and played on the carpet and it was awesome. i wanted to fan out super bad and be all SEE YOU TONIGHT but i held it together and just gave casual smiles and told them it was nice to see them. i did my best to give them a bit of post-soundcheck normalcy and peace as that’s what i imagined they’d want. but i knew they knew that i knew - i had that weird smile on my face that had to say OMG YOU GUYS ARE GREAT and they were perfectly nice about it, in that midwestern sort of way.
anyway, i fucking love those guys and my heart hurts for them as they deserved better than this, and what a terrific band and while i could tell a long form story like this for pretty much every song they’ve written and performed, this will do. i’m so much better for having heard them at all.
20 Likes
Tame One from Artifacts
5 Likes
Killer record.
1 Like
An excellent piece that got me thinking I must check this out. I was aware of Low only from Iggy Pop listing Double Negative as his album of the year. I dipped into it then and didn’t really get it.
Based on your words I decided to give them another go and I have to say I’m astounded, how did this pass me by? Obviously I’ve hardly started yet but Hey what is jaw droppingly good, Trust is doing it for me as is Ones and sixes.
Thank you for sharing and now I have a new jam to work my way through, tinged with bittersweet thoughts of excitement with so much to discover and sadness at the way it’s come to me.
3 Likes