Talk:All Time What

Doodlebug

so it turns out the name "doodlebug" has been given to quite a lot more vehicles than i realised. i assumed vw beetle. any guesses as to what flans means here? -- 14:31, 3 January 2018 (EST)

My guess is VW Beetle as well. Looking through the list on that wikipedia page it seems the likeliest of transport modes to be carefree on a highway with. --User:MrDJ 14:44, 3 January 2018 (EST).

I've always thought that "doodlebug" was her pet name for him before the relationship went sour, and that the wiki page was confusing things by tying it to a vehicle. --Nehushtan (talk) 18:54, 6 October 2019 (EDT)

I don't think anyone's denying that it's a pet name, but pet names are very often also names for other existing things. Considering that the line immediately following begins with "rolling down the highway," I don't think a car connection for the source is too outrageous of a leap. --Self Called Nowhere (talk) 22:51, 6 October 2019 (EDT)

Plodding

In the excellent Consequence of Sound interview of Jan 2018, Flans reflects on the career of the band. Interestingly, Flans discusses the shift between live band and the old duo format. Although he's not changed tack from the his 2000 position,opined on the Gigantic DVD- i.e that the band's sound better as a traditional band - there is an interesting concession that I've not heard him make before: that the post-duo work does sounds more conventional.

All Time What is a good example of a song written with a full band and a tour in my mind. Perfectly competent but it couldn't be any more middle of the road. Lyrically, a more oblique (and far less effective) version of Lucky Ball and Chain, it plods along at mid tempo. When extra energy is required the band resort to he chopped chord riff, a leitmotif of the band that excited in the 1980s, but is very tired now. Given the ingenuity of musical expression that they've got, Flans really should retire this aspect of his songwriting. The only experimentation is the "bridge' which sounds painful enough in the studio so one shudders to hear Linnell yodelling this live. Even if it had worked, it wouldn't have really lifted this from what it is: a filler song, that will be played a bit on this new tour and will then be quietly retired.

In their duo incarnation, the band were far less worried about making records that they could faithfully replicate live. This made both their original recordings and duo performances unique and what made them stand out out from the rest of their contemporaries. As a songwriter, Flans now writes almost exclusively with the band in mind, and although he still can produce some good material, to often his original idea can become rather bland when the full band join in. All the left field aspects are smoothed over. The Giants used to sound like no one else, now, there are times they sound like any 90s band that are still going. This could easily be a Blink 182 recording, which isn't a compliment. Incidentally, my view of what the band have "lost" since becoming a full group is shared by Bill Krauss, which for those who haven't seen it, he discusses on the 2000 Gigantic DVD. (Mr Tuck) 06:46, January 14, 2018

Plodding but on purpose

I kinda feel for some of Mr Tuck's points. Parts of the track are Plodding.
BUT the HORN RIFF is MASSIVE, combined with the pounding drums and fuzzed guitar it all works.
It drives this song completely, to being one of my favorites from the album. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Minimumwage (talk • contribs) 15:07, February 8, 2018

Flans Only

Why does it say Linnell sings the bridge on this one? I don't hear his voice on *any* of this song, but the bridge is obviously Flans. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Deysian (talk • contribs) 02:13, February 12, 2018

To me it sounds like Linnell singing the bridge, but I suppose it could go either way until we hear officially from the band. --MisterMe (talk) 15:00, 12 February 2018 (EST)

It’s performed solely by Flans live. It sounds like just Flans in the album version, too. -Acey