Saw this guy open for Swans once. He did a harsh noise set. People were walking into the venue, covering their ears, then walking right back out. 10/10 performance.
once saw a Xiu Xiu concert where someone brought a baby and as soon as the show started Jamie ran over, hit the ground and flopped around in front of the baby for a couple of minutes and then ran back to the stage in time to start singing. 10 outta 10.
I think that the following line is the most accurate way of describing what Xiu Xiu really is about: "[...] makes you reevaluate your opinion on what emotions music has the right to explore." Vast majority of the music that I listen is more cryptic, solemn and reserved in their bleakness. While this, Xiu Xiu is completely jarring and erratic in how it express darkness, but without sounding edgy, corny or exploitative in any sense. It is just an authentic portrait of how life is bleak as fuck sometimes, and there is no hope of a resolve, it just gets worse, and worse, and worse, and worse... until death is the only kind of comfort or relief that remains. Xiu Xiu is much probably the bleakest musical act that I've listened to this day. Jamie Stewart is certainly one of the best songwriters that we ever had, it is because of their (they go by "they/them") extremely empathetic and humanizing vision that something as Xiu Xiu can exists without being too much or crossing a line. Jamie knows exactly which are the boundaries and pushes them precisely as far as they can go, without falling off and seeming in bad taste. "Girl With A Basket of Fruit" is probably their most ugly, conceptual, inaccessible and avant-garde album (and with 100% of certainty is the worst way to introduce someone to the band), but it surely isn't their darkest, saddest or most disturbing, their early work is more suitable of receiving this title. "Knife Play" (their debut album) is extremely bombastic, immediate and "in your face" about what the band is about, and how is the tone of their music. The album literally opens with the chorus "I cross my heart all the times, it's always the same... NOTHING HAPPENED. I cross my wrists now you shut up, it's always the same... NOTHING HAPPENED!". In my opinion is the most appropriate entry to anyone that wants to start into the band, since it is the band at their more raw state, so, it's more accessible. "A Promise" is extremely bleak and depressive, while offering some kind of weird oxymoronic comfort in its helplessness. It is their most celebrated album, since it is one of the most consistent outputs of their whole career, with one song being more hard-hitting and devastating than the other. It is a really desperate, but warm and hospitable experience (as strange as it sounds). But I would say that "Fabulous Muscles" is their most devastating album, it is simply pure unfiltered darkness expressed in the most apocalyptic way possible. Nothing can prepare any human being to genuinely painful songs like "Crank Heart", "I Love The Valley OH!", "Little Panda McElroy", "Support Our Troops OH!", "Brian The Vampire", "Nieces Pieces", and especially "Mike", the most miserable way to end an album that I've ever seen on my life. It is minimalistic, crushing, hopeless, cold, unapologetic and completely miserable, it is certainly the biggest downer I've ever heard in life. Albums that I also recommend to check: "La Forêt", "Always", "Angel Guts: Red Classroom" and especially their magnum opus "Plays The Music of Twin Peaks". Long live to Xiu Xiu, one of the best bands that I ever had the pleasure to know.
Xiu Xiu are one of my personal favourite bands, I hope you end up listening to more of this band :D edit: I'm actually so glad you didn't look at any of these songs in like a "laughable" way and treated it with the maturity it deserves
@@finnishere3021 to be fair, xiu xiu lyrics almost always convey some sense of heightened surrealist melodrama, which some people might mistake for an attempt at ironic humor, when in reality they're of course being sort of uncomfortably raw and earnest. he also says "bah-nay-nays" in this one
I hope Brad’s recent challenge brings a lot more attention to Xiu Xiu, they’re so insanely underrated even in internet music circles. Saw Jamie do a solo set when they opened for AJJ on the Knife Man 10th anniversary tour in 2021 and what an incredible show. Jamie is so insanely talented with any instrument they pick up, even got to meet them backstage and they’re one of the sweetest, nicest and most approachable people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
I've just been getting into this band for the past month, and it was only last week I decided to listen to this album. I had heard most of their essential albums beforehand (Knife Play, A Promise, The Air Force, Dear God I Hate Myself, Forget, to name a few) and still, nothing prepared me for THIS. Jamie Stewart is one of the most inventive musicians we have, and I can't sing their praises enough.
Jamie Stewart has always had a foot in the harsh noise world, he's a big fan of shit like Merzbow so a lot of the xiu xiu discography has a lot of abrassive sounds. Girl with basket of fruit is just so out there with its sounds tho, compared to a lot of their other stuff which is already insane to think about
I really like your reaction and that you actually having limits. Things like this is what I listen to when I can't feel myself anymore. The fact that you can't, is a sign of something good - that you don't want to be in pain just to feel alive. No need to feel sorry about that, rather feel proud.
I'm glad you checked out Girl with Basket Fruit by Xiu Xiu, this album is a journey, dark one at that. Hopefully you also check some of their albums as well. Much love man
Please do sprain the lamb as effigy, as a noise rock fan i consider this album as the top 1 ever made, it's rich and full of surprises and worth experiencing as well, hope u make a reaction on that ♡
Have you ever listened to anything by Magma? They're a really interesting band that sort of created their own genre that some people describe as " prog-rock jazz fusion, alien military march," and I would tend to agree. I think either their debut album Kobaia, or my favorite, Udu Wudu would be a good first listen.
this is a pretty good xiu xiu album, but A Promise still wins out for me in terms of it's emotional effectiveness and unique combination of styles (GWBOF does win out in overall esotericness, but i prefer the mix of sounds and approaches on A Promise, i mean). it's older and more 'lo-fi' and quite purposefully stripped down compared to a lot of their other stuff. it is also probably their most well known album aside from this and maybe fabulous muscles (which is also great!)
saw them in 2017 they came to Argentina. one of my favourite shows, they had just released Forget which is an amazing album. at the end of the show Jamie started to throw Knife Play vinyls and some singles at the audience, and since i was at the front he handed me the last one :D
As a fan, ur reaction is obviously understandable and if anything i enjoy more raw reactions. If something left u speechless or something felt horrible then good. Man i love watching people interact with art like this.
BRO I've been watching your videos and I just checked your socials and realized ur part of Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique!!!! I have a shirt from u guys that I wear all the time LOL i cant believe it
I highly recommend checking out some Oxbow!! An Evil Heat is their best imo and I think it'd make for an interesting reaction... One of my favorite albums of all time. Highly recommend ;))
pulse demon is seriously one of the most uneventful noise albums i've ever heard. If he's starting on noise i'd rather he start with dark ambient like puce mary or something
please do allelujah! don't bend ascend by godspeed you black emperor, there aren't currently any reactions I can find on youtube but I would really like to see what you would think of the heavier side of gybe
Do you listen to or are interested in getting into any hip hop records? Regardless, I think you’d enjoy 808’s & Heartbreak by Kanye West back from 2008. Maybe check it out sometime.
Mary Turner utterly repulsed and terrified me in first listen. Then the second spin I was able to appreciate the creative decisions in vocals and atmosphere. I do highly recommend the earlier work like Fabulous Muscles or Knife Play. Lot more melody and less pots and pans XD
Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this album, however i find it weird that Brad is using this as the record to introduce people to Xiu Xiu when they have less disorienting records that might make for an easier first listen. But i'm glad people are finding out about this band anyway. 💜
Saw this guy open for Swans once. He did a harsh noise set. People were walking into the venue, covering their ears, then walking right back out. 10/10 performance.
They*
@@MrFish626 huh?
@@nicknickson3650 They're nonbinary now
@@SATANS_SPHYNX what does that mean
@@nicknickson3650jamie from xiu xiu is nonbinary and goes with they/them pronouns 👍
in the stripped club. straight up "jorkin it to mush". and by it. lets justr say. ha ha. my peanits
Mee 2
baynaynays
You're being a peñis. Colada, that is.
02:03
"This is kinda dancy"
Famous last words.
once saw a Xiu Xiu concert where someone brought a baby and as soon as the show started Jamie ran over, hit the ground and flopped around in front of the baby for a couple of minutes and then ran back to the stage in time to start singing. 10 outta 10.
WHO BROUGHT A BABY TO A XIU XIU SHOW😭
Foreboding black screen: "And.. here we go"
*Mary Turner Mary Turner* starts playing
.....yeah.
I think that the following line is the most accurate way of describing what Xiu Xiu really is about: "[...] makes you reevaluate your opinion on what emotions music has the right to explore."
Vast majority of the music that I listen is more cryptic, solemn and reserved in their bleakness. While this, Xiu Xiu is completely jarring and erratic in how it express darkness, but without sounding edgy, corny or exploitative in any sense. It is just an authentic portrait of how life is bleak as fuck sometimes, and there is no hope of a resolve, it just gets worse, and worse, and worse, and worse... until death is the only kind of comfort or relief that remains.
Xiu Xiu is much probably the bleakest musical act that I've listened to this day. Jamie Stewart is certainly one of the best songwriters that we ever had, it is because of their (they go by "they/them") extremely empathetic and humanizing vision that something as Xiu Xiu can exists without being too much or crossing a line. Jamie knows exactly which are the boundaries and pushes them precisely as far as they can go, without falling off and seeming in bad taste.
"Girl With A Basket of Fruit" is probably their most ugly, conceptual, inaccessible and avant-garde album (and with 100% of certainty is the worst way to introduce someone to the band), but it surely isn't their darkest, saddest or most disturbing, their early work is more suitable of receiving this title.
"Knife Play" (their debut album) is extremely bombastic, immediate and "in your face" about what the band is about, and how is the tone of their music. The album literally opens with the chorus "I cross my heart all the times, it's always the same... NOTHING HAPPENED. I cross my wrists now you shut up, it's always the same... NOTHING HAPPENED!". In my opinion is the most appropriate entry to anyone that wants to start into the band, since it is the band at their more raw state, so, it's more accessible.
"A Promise" is extremely bleak and depressive, while offering some kind of weird oxymoronic comfort in its helplessness. It is their most celebrated album, since it is one of the most consistent outputs of their whole career, with one song being more hard-hitting and devastating than the other. It is a really desperate, but warm and hospitable experience (as strange as it sounds).
But I would say that "Fabulous Muscles" is their most devastating album, it is simply pure unfiltered darkness expressed in the most apocalyptic way possible. Nothing can prepare any human being to genuinely painful songs like "Crank Heart", "I Love The Valley OH!", "Little Panda McElroy", "Support Our Troops OH!", "Brian The Vampire", "Nieces Pieces", and especially "Mike", the most miserable way to end an album that I've ever seen on my life.
It is minimalistic, crushing, hopeless, cold, unapologetic and completely miserable, it is certainly the biggest downer I've ever heard in life.
Albums that I also recommend to check: "La Forêt", "Always", "Angel Guts: Red Classroom" and especially their magnum opus "Plays The Music of Twin Peaks".
Long live to Xiu Xiu, one of the best bands that I ever had the pleasure to know.
I miss the 22 minutes ago when I didn't listen to that one "Quieted quieted by a boots' heel" line on Mary Turner Mary Turner.
Brutally real reaction
Mary Turner is also the most unsettling song I've ever heard
my favorite xiu xiu album that has a lot of emotional impact as well is their 2003 album “a promise”, highly recommend it
one of the most effective album closers ever imo
Xiu Xiu are one of my personal favourite bands, I hope you end up listening to more of this band :D
edit: I'm actually so glad you didn't look at any of these songs in like a "laughable" way and treated it with the maturity it deserves
Why would anyone look at xiu xiu songs in a laughable way
@@finnishere3021 to be fair, xiu xiu lyrics almost always convey some sense of heightened surrealist melodrama, which some people might mistake for an attempt at ironic humor, when in reality they're of course being sort of uncomfortably raw and earnest. he also says "bah-nay-nays" in this one
@@finnishere3021 Because people don’t take this type of music seriously.
I hope Brad’s recent challenge brings a lot more attention to Xiu Xiu, they’re so insanely underrated even in internet music circles. Saw Jamie do a solo set when they opened for AJJ on the Knife Man 10th anniversary tour in 2021 and what an incredible show. Jamie is so insanely talented with any instrument they pick up, even got to meet them backstage and they’re one of the sweetest, nicest and most approachable people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
You need to listen to The Lamb as Effigy by Sprain. It’s a very similar sound to Xiu Xiu and Swans
YESSSSSS PLEAAASE!!!
I've just been getting into this band for the past month, and it was only last week I decided to listen to this album. I had heard most of their essential albums beforehand (Knife Play, A Promise, The Air Force, Dear God I Hate Myself, Forget, to name a few) and still, nothing prepared me for THIS. Jamie Stewart is one of the most inventive musicians we have, and I can't sing their praises enough.
Jamie Stewart has always had a foot in the harsh noise world, he's a big fan of shit like Merzbow so a lot of the xiu xiu discography has a lot of abrassive sounds.
Girl with basket of fruit is just so out there with its sounds tho, compared to a lot of their other stuff which is already insane to think about
I really like your reaction and that you actually having limits. Things like this is what I listen to when I can't feel myself anymore. The fact that you can't, is a sign of something good - that you don't want to be in pain just to feel alive. No need to feel sorry about that, rather feel proud.
BRAD TASTE GANG RISE UP
15:30 lol the uncertainty of whether or not you should move to the beat is hilarious and also, same
xiu xiu my fav band, so happy to see more people checking them out!
people finding xiu xiu is so funny to watch lmfao
I'm glad you checked out Girl with Basket Fruit by Xiu Xiu, this album is a journey, dark one at that. Hopefully you also check some of their albums as well. Much love man
Please do sprain the lamb as effigy, as a noise rock fan i consider this album as the top 1 ever made, it's rich and full of surprises and worth experiencing as well, hope u make a reaction on that ♡
Already heard it! I actually have the vinyl for it too. Phenomenal album.
Have you ever listened to anything by Magma? They're a really interesting band that sort of created their own genre that some people describe as " prog-rock jazz fusion, alien military march," and I would tend to agree. I think either their debut album Kobaia, or my favorite, Udu Wudu would be a good first listen.
this is a pretty good xiu xiu album, but A Promise still wins out for me in terms of it's emotional effectiveness and unique combination of styles (GWBOF does win out in overall esotericness, but i prefer the mix of sounds and approaches on A Promise, i mean). it's older and more 'lo-fi' and quite purposefully stripped down compared to a lot of their other stuff. it is also probably their most well known album aside from this and maybe fabulous muscles (which is also great!)
Please react to A Promise, another Xiu Xiu album and a classic
the vibe change from 1:33 to 23:03 is crazy
I'm a Xiu xiu fan, i'm SO happy to see reactions about them, please A promise next 🙏
What makes this album so special to me compared to the other xiu records is that its amazingly produced and mixed. So crispy.
saw them in 2017 they came to Argentina. one of my favourite shows, they had just released Forget which is an amazing album. at the end of the show Jamie started to throw Knife Play vinyls and some singles at the audience, and since i was at the front he handed me the last one :D
love u dude omg take care of urself
Can you check out Duck Stab by The Residents?
brain-changing album
listening to a xiu xiu album is the auditory equivalent of getting skinned
As a fan, ur reaction is obviously understandable and if anything i enjoy more raw reactions. If something left u speechless or something felt horrible then good. Man i love watching people interact with art like this.
well now I gotta listen to this album
edit: I don't think I will be listening to that again
Listen to A Promise next
BRO I've been watching your videos and I just checked your socials and realized ur part of Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique!!!! I have a shirt from u guys that I wear all the time LOL i cant believe it
love xiu xiu
I never thought music would make me feel nauseous
YES XIU XIU!!!!
A Promise next?
I’m begging you, PLEASE listen to The Drift by Scott Walker. Words can’t even describe this record, you need to listen to it
bird seed by whitehouse would be an epic wholesome reaction
I highly recommend checking out some Oxbow!! An Evil Heat is their best imo and I think it'd make for an interesting reaction... One of my favorite albums of all time. Highly recommend ;))
react to Oh No, their album of duets! totally different vibes though still very xiuxiu
Next time: Diamanda Galas. You're welcome.
Another banger reac from the man with the luscious locks 🙏
mount eerie is cool album if you have listened to glow pt 2
The Microphones (Phil Elverum in general) is my favorite artist period. Love that album.
@@snowy6301 oh so you have already heard the album
@@snowy6301 absence by dalek is also great experimental rap album ,would love to see you react to that
Take care of yourself 💗
Ooh yeah I did a reaction to this album a long time ago too, this album is fucking MAD
I sent him a link to the vid but IDK if he saw it or not
Yeah, this record is actually emotional disturbing. React to Pulse Demon by Merzbow. 😅
pulse demon is seriously one of the most uneventful noise albums i've ever heard. If he's starting on noise i'd rather he start with dark ambient like puce mary or something
@@lemmmakestunes8312 ramleh - hole in the heart
please do allelujah! don't bend ascend by godspeed you black emperor, there aren't currently any reactions I can find on youtube but I would really like to see what you would think of the heavier side of gybe
you should definetly check out suicide's debut album (self-titled), there is one song right there that is probably the most intense song ever written
Please do "Trout Mask Replica" by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
Do you listen to or are interested in getting into any hip hop records? Regardless, I think you’d enjoy 808’s & Heartbreak by Kanye West back from 2008. Maybe check it out sometime.
Do a promise next :0
Mary Turner utterly repulsed and terrified me in first listen. Then the second spin I was able to appreciate the creative decisions in vocals and atmosphere.
I do highly recommend the earlier work like Fabulous Muscles or Knife Play. Lot more melody and less pots and pans XD
Hi Snowy, could you do a enola gay reaction from Asia Menor? Greetings from Mexico
Hi Snowy, could you do a gay enola reaction from Asia Menor? Greetings from Mexico
what was your most special music experience? which album was the most special for you?
Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this album, however i find it weird that Brad is using this as the record to introduce people to Xiu Xiu when they have less disorienting records that might make for an easier first listen. But i'm glad people are finding out about this band anyway. 💜
u need to redacted brad. idk if u hav herd but hes cancelled
Blame Brad for this then? Lol