Talk:And Mom And Kid

inb4 everyone is disappointed ~ april 02:49, 30 June 2015 (EDT)

Seriously? They didn't manage to record/release (let alone write - 3 covers and a remake, so far) 52 new songs, so they just put out an old song? (Did they even re-record it? They didn't, right?) I mean, remember the Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs? There were some pretty stupid ones among those, but at least they were all new original songs. So yeah... disappointed. EDIT: also, the videos are getting really boring. The original video for this was better than the new one. (Yes, I know I'm sounding like a grumpy old guy.) --Freakiosis (talk) 04:27, 30 June 2015 (EDT)

It's weird to think of TMBG as "cashing in" because this is not a moneymaking endeavor for them. But they are certainly choosing to re-release this song at exactly the right time. Hard to argue with that, although I too am disappointed that it's not a new song... --107.72.164.124 08:21, 30 June 2015 (EDT)

Personally, I was more bothered by the release of the Glean songs after the album was already out. At least this one has a good reason, plus it wasn't readily available to most people. (Also, if you want to get technical about "new original songs," "Starry Eyes" had also been previously recorded, even if it was released in an obscure way.) --Self Called Nowhere (talk) 20:11, 30 June 2015 (EDT)

Dial-A-Song Direct has fallen from blissful grace to absolute con in the space of about two months. If it's that much of a trial to do, they shouldn't have bothered, promised what they couldn't provide or taken anybody's money upfront. I'd go as far to say that the 'two high quality rock songs with good videos and a worthwhile rarity a fortnight' pattern being frontloaded into the first three or four months was outright deception. ~SirDarrell

I think that's definitely overly harsh, Dar. While there were more songs that I absolutely loved during the first few months, I think they're still coming out with some awesome stuff--if not necessarily as brilliant as the stuff that ended up on Glean, then at least lots of fun. I most definitely don't feel ripped off at all. I don't think it's fair to say it's a "trial" for them just because you personally haven't liked some of the songs lately. I have and other people have, and I don't think The Johns feel like they're putting out crappy stuff now. --Self Called Nowhere (talk) 07:56, 1 July 2015 (EDT)

We're exactly halfway through now - 15 out of the 26 have been from Glean, leaving 11. 2 of those 11 were recorded for other 2015 projects, leaving 9. One of those 9 was a piece of commissioned music from 2010, leaving 8. One of those 8 was a deathly cover of an old DAS song they have already trotted out on several projects, leaving 7. One of those 7 was lifted from a live show projection, leaving 6. Out of those 6, one was a pretty basic cover of a Jonathan Richman song akin to something you'd get on the first year of the podcast. Out of those 5, only ECNALUBMA (I know some love Wheelyke as well, but it's not for me) is anywhere near the songwriting or production quality of the Glean material, and Thinking Machine's worthwhile/amusing too but we'll obviously see it again in the future so I'm unwilling to put too much value into its presence as part of Direct.

Put it this way, with Glean taken out of the equation, all the rest of DAS Direct added together so far is not something I would pay $15 for. I have a reasonable quality-bar expectation of this band, based on their previous 28 years of output, and I feel like I know when they're putting out flotsam and jetsam and pretending it's oysters. There are six months left. If it stays at the quality bar of May and June, not even to mention videos or bonus tracks, then it will be a grim prospect. Basically, I feel misled that we would get a full year of tracks largely good enough to feature on proper albums. Since Glean ran out, we've had a thin run of minimalistic esoterica good enough only to feature on podcasts, but which people have paid for.

One more thing, if you *do* discount Glean from the selection, the Flansburgh/Linnell equilibrium of this project is off-balance to the point of wondering what the hell is going on... ~SirDarrell

Cynical Re-release.

The Giants show their commitment to gay rights by re-releasing this simplistic piece of fluff rather than writing something good to celebrate.

By committing the band to 52 releases it's obvious that we've been running on empty for a while now what with the cover versions, the odd dire remake and now this re-release of what is essentially backing music for a five year old TV show and was never intended for proper release. Topical because of the Supreme Court ruling, it's lyrically banal, and a real sign that the band are desperate to paper over the cracks: the lack of new material. I wonder how many people won't bother to download something that they've bought? One for the completists only. Annoyingly as we discussed the other week, many uber-fans have a top 20 of rarities and unreleased gems that they'd love to hear! This wouldn't make mine. (Mr Tuck)

I don't agree with you about the quality of songs so far being poor. I really like the Starry Eyes and Bills Bills Bills covers, although I would have rather had a proper studio version of the latter, and ECNALUBMA is fantastic (which I think you agreed on). However, I would agree that this song and Summer Breeze are pretty poor choices for the project as they're both a bit throwaway and are remakes, and Sold My Mind To The Kremlin sounds sort of unfinished. Having said that, the releases have been very Flans-heavy outside of the Glean tracks so it will be interesting to see whether the forthcoming Linnell songs will be new ones or not. I suspect there's another Linnell gem on the way soon. As you said, hopefully if there are any more remakes or unreleased tracks then we'll get something like No Answer that people really want to hear. (PurpleToupee37)