The Knife - I don't get it?!

bringitdown

I am at a loss as to why and how The Knife are so popular...

Its just crappy techno with occassional kraftwerk-esque or screechy vocals thrown in.

Pitchfork #1 of 2006:

Vocals aside, Silent Shout is deeply rooted in contemporary European techno at a moment when techno remains deeply unfashionable among American listeners, for all but a few Europhilic holdouts. Retaining the merest echo of their last album's electro-pop perk, Silent Shout plunges into the darkest thickets like a Japanese horror flick, turning sunny-day steel drums into instruments of harmonic torture and processing vocals in a way that decouples the "human" from "expression."

Granted Pitchfork are, in my book, far from infallable dare I say it. Anyways I call bollox, I can't get into it at all. I normally don't care but so many people have said 'check em out, they are soo happening' that it is annoying me now.

Can someone/anyone enlighten me? What am I missing ...

/sorry had to get that off my chest.

loyatemu

i don't think they're total ****e, but they're definitely not all they're hyped up to be.

tywy

Oh they are! The Knife are FANTASTIC! Once you listen to the album a couple of time you're addicted! It's crazy good!

EDIT: Switches iTunes to play The Knife instead of MSTRKRFT

Linoge

All I'm saying is

Heartbeats Remix

ianmc38

I think they're excellent, although I think Deep Cuts is far superior to Silent Shout...

ianmc38

Linoge wrote:

All I'm saying is

Heartbeats Remix

You mean the original! The José Gonzales cover is poisonous.

tywy

Love that everyone thinks that Jose Gonzalez wrote Heartbeats. FFS!
He is such a tool! I didn't think an album that boring could get released...

elephamt king

I love the knife, deep cuts is a great album...
John Meagher got it right when he was talking about how surprised he was that the knife never really hit the mainstream, but some argentinian swede cashes in by mumbling his way through it...he does a great version of it, but its neither his, nor their, best song...

radiospan

ianmc38 wrote:

I think they're excellent, although I think Deep Cuts is far superior to Silent Shout...

I also much prefer Deep Cuts. Silent Shout is a bit too dark for my liking, the tracks on Deep Cuts are great pop tunes. (Apart from Listen Now, waaay too cheesy!)

davyjose

ianmc38 wrote:

You mean the original! The José Gonzales cover is poisonous.

Absolutely, it murders me that everyone thinks JG wrote heartbeats - as if; he butchered it.

biko

The Knife won a load of prizes at the Swedish something Awards. Beats me why, they're not that good. In My Opinion.

Creamy Goodness

it's not jose gonzalez's fault that the majority of people think he wrote the song.

bluto63

davyjose wrote:

Absolutely, it murders me that everyone thinks JG wrote heartbeats - as if; he butchered it.

I thought he did a great cover. I love his version of the song. Also, Heartbeats is the only song by The Knife that I like. Couldn't get into the rest of their stuff

nettranny

I'm avoiding this band. don't know them at all. But from reading your posts they sound like one of those very mediocre bands that ill listen to and try and convince myself "hey, yeah, it's not really having a wonderful effect on me, but that's a nice bass line, that little guitar bit sounds a bit like such and such" and i will eventually start claiming that they're good, when really i've just convinced myself that they're good. On the other other hand, they might end up being fantastic. I don't know whether or not i should listen to them, i don't trust my brain enough. It's a bit like porn i suppose, there's really good porn that hits you and you just go "wow, give it to her, cream her, cream her!"; then there's crap porn and you just go "god she's ugly"; and then there's mediocre porn, which is usually two hot lesbians who unfortunately can't act and you just sit there going "they're hot and they're exploring each other's insides; i should really be enjoying this; it must be my own fault that im not enjoying this, i must just not be in the mood for this" fap fap fap

John

Hahaha, one of the best analogies I've read on boards in ages!

Frankiestylee

The original Heartbeats is pretty cool... haven't really heard anything else by the band, but I can see them going either way. If Hearbeats is the best they have, then ouch, I'll probably avoid, but if it's just their most famous song due to JG ... then maybe, just maybe I'll fap one off to them

JC 2K3

Meh, I could make countless similar threads expressing my disbelief at the mediocracy of many very popular bands.

I've learned to curb my tendancy to lash out at people for liking stuff I'd consider crap, it's very simple. You simply have to remember: "YOU'RE BETTER THAN THEM!", and smile to yourself.

Orizio

I thought Silent Shout was quite good, a little over rated yes, as where a lot of the 'best' albums released last year(Subtle for example).

Flying Lotus' 1983 and Sissy's All Under were superior electronic albums imo.

yevveh

I'm always very dubious when people say "best" as opposed to "my favourite" anyway. Deep Cuts is great but haven't really listened to Silent Shout too much, like other people here I felt it was a bit too dark on first impressions. That said the stuff I've heard off it is decent.

by the by nettranny indeed a great analogy, and MSTRKRFT are great.