.the divine comedy.
March 29th, 2009 § 6 Comments
So I discovered who The Divine Comedy is this week, and I’m still skeptical whether or not I like them or not. [One of their songs was downloadable for free from another entertainment blog I go to].
The Divine Comedy is a [I'm not sure what to classify them as] from Northern Ireland [that's the Protestant side!]. Founded in 1999 by Neil Hannon, who remains to be the only consistent member of the band.
Anyway, their music is almost like spoken-wordish [at least what I heard was]. It takes awhile to get used to, but I’m still not quite sure.
They are due to release a new album [speculation] this year.
If you personally like The Divine Comedy, tell me why I should or suggest some songs that will change my mind.
Cody.
The Divine Comedy is not spoken word. When you think of spoken word, think Def Jam Poetry readings.
This guy just has no vocal talent, so he doesn’t draw out his notes often. I kind of hear ben gibbard + 50 years elevator edition.
They date back before 1999, because Liberation came out in 1993. In my opinion, this ‘band’/lonely guy making shit music. The ‘band’ produced mostly in the 90s and they sound like they’re still stuck there.
Side note: Why does it even matter if they’re from Northern/Protestant Ireland?
Another Side note: This music sucks and is BARELY current.
I refuse to let the above comment be the only one. No, the Divine Comedy are certainly not a spoken word band/musician/thingummy. People who have heard TDC have very strong feelings about Neil Hannon and his music-both good and bad. Personally, I think that’s an important sign of a good artist. I, for one, think he’s a modern musical genius.
His father was a Cannon/Dean/Bishop who had him sing in the church choir throughout his adolescence. He had a few bands throughout his teens. In 1992, when the first Divine Comedy album and EP tanked, the band split up and Neil decided to go it alone. He basically locked himself in his parents attic for a year or so, listening to Scott Walker, watching French New Wave films, and writing music which became two albums: Liberation, which came out in ’93, and Promenade, in 1994.
The latter is a semi-concept album, spanning a day with two childhood friends/lovers, and is absolutely gorgeous. It actually took me a little while to get into, because the album really wears its influences on its sleeve, and I didn’t know those influences. But one night I just lay in bed and listened, and let the intricacies of the strings sink in, and then really listened to those lyrics, and it just clicked. It’s one of the most beautiful albums. Completely and unashamedly romantic and lush.
It’s one of the things I absolutely love and admire about Hannon- he knows exactly what he’s doing, has the musical chops to pull it off, and is not ashamed to create what he thinks is beautiful, especially despite what current musical trends are. Because his influences come from every possible genre and time period (Scott Walker, Nina Simone, Kraftwerk, ELO, Kurt Weill, Pixies), it kind of exists on it own. And his songwriting is incredible. It’s really more like storytelling.
Sorry for this rambling post, but I love introducing people to the band…thingy…that’s brought me so much joy. What I would do is go on youtube and look up “divine comedy”. Promenade is virtually impossible to find, although if you’re in the UK, it might be on iTunes. But in the states, you can only get the last 3 albums. Unless, of course, you make a request on a music community like album_love on livejournal. But stick with it, and listen well before you make an assessment. And hey, you may decide you don’t like the music, and that’s fine, but at least you’re exposing yourself to some important British pop.
Oy, that was long. I really can’t shut up about this kind of thing But I hope it helps!
I do not think I will ever understand why people think that because they have never tried something before they do not have a valid opinion about about. I personally have never heard of this band before, but from the above’s ramblings I can already tell you I want nothing from them. And if you were reading, both the author and Tricia3 have heard this before, so I think they already exposed themselves to this “phenomenon.”
And why would the past history of the musician effect my liking of the music in any way? The song could be about the troubled life the musician had after their cat past away, but if the music still sucks big doggie turds, PLEASE tell me why I should listen to it??
And there are so many story telling bands out there, not that original.
Maybe it exists on it’s own because it sucks and people don’t want to make more music like it?
Amen to that.
The Divine Comedy are an excellent band. Top musicianship, melodies, and lyrics. Love his voice. Listen to “Mastermind”, “Lost Property,” and “Timestretched” from Regeneration: totally different to a lot of the rest of their work. Also, “Lady of a Certain Age” from Victory for the Comic Muse, “Commuter Love” from Fin de Siecle, and “Edward the Confessor”, which should be on Youtube.
I’d say you should check out my personal favorite of theirs: Death of a Supernaturalist – The Divine Comedy
If you don’t like them after that, then you’ll probably not like them. Let me know what you think!