Episode 2 — Analyze Phish Episode 2

[joeavella 2]

Hey Harris,

I'm not much of a Phish fan, but lived with one in college. I too was like Scott, until I heard 'Birds of a Feather 'on Letterman. That was the first (and one of the only times) I enjoyed Phish. Maybe try playing it for Scott:

Good luck!

Joe

[PWestgate 9]

Scott, you list Oasis as one of your Top 10 favorite bands. I'm one of the very few Americans who prefers (or who even knows) Blur in the age-old battle of Britpop. What are your thoughts on them?

[Pete Velcro 0]

Oh and, Harris, never ever ever play Scott any Purple Rain with the vacume solo. That will not go down well.

[Pete Velcro 0]

Oooh and please try and get Trey in the studio on one of the podcasts. He's really smart and can talk about all kinds of music with an infectious enthusiasm.

The coup de grace would be to hear Trey play something live and have Scott "call it" one verse in.

[Lamenstein 0]

I LOVE this show...I dont know how long it can go on, but I hope if the whole Phish "theme" fizzles, you guys continue to Analyze something...

[WillisJames 21]

OASIS! Hell ya. Possible spin off show?

[bmerrell 0]

Show is awesome and funny as hell. As a former phish and other bands in the same "genre" I sometimes wonder what I ever liked about these bands. As I've gotten older (32), I find their music and lyrics lack enough depth to really resonate any more. I think their biggest appeal to fans at this point is that since of being in a club that they know the ins and outs of. I think it would be interesting to see if Harris' opinion on the music will change with age, as it did with me.

Also, I think that if Scott values the lyrics, he will never enjoy phish as their lyrics are and always have been god awful. Maybe you should make it analyze Widespread Panic, though Harris being a phish fan probably thinks they suck. They actually do suck but at least they attempt on the lyrical side.

Anyway if I was going to show someone that phish was a good band here are some songs I always did and still do at times enjoy (he may have played some of these already, I can't remember)

Split Open and Melt
Maze
Rift
Lama
Dirt
First Tube and Tube
Big Fat Furry Creature From Mars
Icculus

Some songs I would just enjoy hearing Scott react to:
Tela-God that song is f'ing terrible
Mango Song
Makisupa Policman
Guyute
Meatstick

Note to scott: if you go to a show it's better to get loaded for sure. Just stay away from any heavy psychedelics cause being around that scene might wig you out if your not used to it.

Keep it up though for sure.

[gratefulshred 0]

I think third episode should be both of you going to a show, I would love to hear Scotts comments on the people there haha, but i think he would gain a much better perspective of the band after seeing them live. Phish is about the jams as others have stated but one wont really understand the jamming till they have seen it live where your there to see a 3 hour show and can listen to an extend jam, I think that for someone like scott he wont want to sit or pay attention to a 20 minute song but maybe he will who knows it sounds like he appreciates their musical talent but cant get past the "weird" lyrics.

[parnold 0]

o fucking asis

[Brendan 96]

I lost it at "Reggae music!" "Expertise!" Well done, gentlemen.
 Scott, if you read this, have you heard Neil Finn on the Flight of the Conchords 6-part BBC radio series? He doesn't do any musical performing, but his phone bits with Rhys Darby are pretty damn funny (he's the "straight man" as you might expect). Since you seem to be a Neil Finn superfan, I thought I'd mention it.
 
By the way, if Harris reads this, Parks & Recreation continues to be outstanding!

[FlanSolo 1]

Since Harris mentioned my post on the air I'll just comment that when I suggested he go with show opener type of songs I didn't mean that he play only the first 60 seconds of dumb lyrics. It's a pity Chalk Dust got killed because the solo off A Live One is ripping and anyone who likes rock would have a hard time disliking it.

Another point, and I don't remember if anyone pointed this out on the board for the last one, is that when people say Phish is "all about the jams," most of what they mean is that it's about the improvisation. If you put it like that to Scott, he may be a bit more willing to see things in a different light given that it's basically the entire premise of his podcast. I mean, if you picked up 15 seconds of a CBB episode when it's gotten really weird (but funny), I really doubt anyone's first reaction to hearing that would be "that's genius!" Rather, they'd probably act a lot like Scott when Harris skipped to the 20 minute mark of the ALO Tweezer. Likewise, a successful segment from a CBB shouldn't necessarily be compared to a finely-tuned track on a comedy album or even a well developed sketch. To evaluate it in such a way is to totally miss the point, and you really can't "get it" without being there. I look forward to when Scott makes it to a show.

[kens522 0]

Harris, you're killing me. Play only studio stuff. Why you would choose to play Bouncin' and then play a live version? If you're playing it so he can hear the overlapping instrumental parts and vocal harmonies, why wouldn't you play the studio version???? You seem to have an issue with Rift and Picture of Nectar... I mean why wouldn't you play the albums where Trey's vocals sound the best: Rift and PoN...

[kens522 0]

I think Harris should follow a different poster's instructions each week, because he just seems lost... And let Scott know Steve Lillywhite produced Billy Breathes...

[not_jimmy_buffett 0]

If Scott says he doesn't like Phish after the show, I'll say he's right.
If Scott says he likes the Phish after the show, I'll say he was just on drugs.

There needs to be a control for the experiment.

[futuredays 0]

I love this show, this ep was even funnier than the first. But Harris, seriously. Your attempts to convince Scott to like Phish seem almost counterproductive at times.

I got into Phish in high school and out of them in college, but I still remember how / why:

#1 smoking weed, which leads directly into...
#2 the jams

I don't listen much (maybe once a year?) to Phish anymore, but I would recommend doing what you said last episode and PLAY A WHOLE JAM.

The biggest Phish heads I knew would never, ever listen to the actual song. They'd skip straight to the jam, and we openly made fun of their horrific songwriting - especially lyrically.

I know not everyone feels this way, but Scott clearly finds the song structures cliched and hackneyed when they follow pop formats (which they are, eg Farmhouse, Story of the Ghost). Play him the fun stuff that comes after. And it probably wouldn't hurt to drink a few heady beers before the show.

Personal recc: Live Phish Vol. 17: 7/15/98, Portland Meadows, Portland, Oregon, disc 2: (specifically the california love section)

1. Roggae
2. Birds of a Feather
3. Loving Cup
4. Limb by Limb >
5. Simple >
6. Tweezer >
7. California Love >
8. Tweezer >
9. Free

[kens522 0]

Flan Solo's comments about improv are right on too. I think if Scott understood that they completely abandon all previously established musical patterns and go into complete new territory on stage, that might make it more understandable. There's definitely a similarity between Comedy Bang Bang and a Phish show in this way.

[ZeroCamel 0]

Sorry Dan Mangan (your music is beautiful!)...but to judge a band or entire aesthetic based on lyrics is absurd. "There are leaves on the trees, there are trees in the forest"....really? Examining lyrics with a microscope is (to borrow a metaphore) to examine a leaf without seeing a tree, let alone an entire forest! Shit, maybe I just made a point for the profundity of Dan's lyrics. Whether or not Dan's lyrics are profound or absurd, Phish inspires emotion and their lyrics should not be intellectualized so meticulously. I remember 11 years ago, at age 16, tearing up to the vocal effect at 7:10 on Guyute because of the emotional thrill ride on which the previous 5 minutes had taken me.

Beyond the emotional side of things I'm somewhat surprised that Scott has no appreciation for venturing outside the norm...something which CBB does very well! He prefers bands that adhere to an ABABCAB (not to be confused with ABACABB - the blood code for Mortal Combat), under 4 min song style, and he has never voiced appreciation for a more adventurous long form style (even though the "Would You Rather" theme may be categorized as such in certain circumstances).

Keep up the good work Harris! And Scott keep an open mind just let yourself be the Hot Dog. What's up?

[Bucho 188]

Some things I read in this thread that echoed thoughts I had while I listened to this episode --
 
Mathew: "... why don't they write lyrics that are innocuous, instead of these gallingly dumb lyrics that call attention to themselves?"
 
Matt Wright: "Drugs can make any shitty band sound good. Why not take drugs and listen to music that sounds good sober?"
 
Dimattiafilms: "I would love to see this continued as a recurring show where various comedians try to get their friends to become fans of one of their guilty pleasures."
 
Jeremiah Messer: "Oh Harris! Never play a Phish song and claim that it is "funk"! Only Grateful Dead fans rival Phish fans for misunderstanding what funk is."

[jasonz 1]

Let me just say that I absolutely LOVE this podcast. Its definitely one of my favorites. In spite of the fact that I continue to hate, hate, hate Phish, Harris and Scott make this podcast so much fun to listen to. Keep it up, guys! Maybe more of this, with different bands/band advocates? I'd be all over it. Harris is one of my favorite Earwolf guests, and it actually causes me to enjoy listening to music I hate. Bravo.

[jasonz 1]

Or, more specifically, Scott and Harris could pick a band they both hate, find an Earwolf guest who loves said band, then then co-host a show featuring that band and it's advocate. That would be glorious.

[waffleking 0]

Just wanted to post my first every forum comment to let you guys (Scott and Harris) know how much I enjoy this show.

Harris, don't let the commenters get you down. You're doing an admirable work at a sisyphusian task.

Looking forward to episode three.

I've included a photo of myself at Phish's show in Telluride last summer (drove there from NYC) to bump my credentials.

[attachment=8508,184]

[waffleking 0]

A suggestion: Harris, just have Scott listen to Hoist in it's entirety. He seemed to get into Julius at the end of episode two. That was the first album I owned (followed by A Live One) and it is super accessible.

The jams are the deep end. And we all know that 100% of babies cannot swim in the deep end.

[treiphish 38]

Way to fight the good fight Harris! You sounded defeated, but this is supposed to be fun!

A comedy show where you try to change a haters mind? Impossible feat. The only comedy comes from shitting on your likes. You can dissect and ruin any band. I just don't want to see you enjoy them less! Scott may not like it, but we can sleep soundly knowing he settles for nothing less than the brilliant lyrics that go with his dance music...HA!

Keep enjoying phish and keep up the great writing!

Also I vote for no drugs for Scott at the show. A few beers and maybe a little weed at most. Otherwise if he likes it the drugs will be a scapegoat and if he doesn't he just hates on it like every week, oh well. I've gone to most of my shows without drugs...still jammed.

[PWestgate 9]

Some GREAT quotes from this episode....

During "Train Song", Scott says "Uh oh....someone's bouncing some bones off some skeleton heads!"

Scott: "Where do they live?"
Harris: "New York and Vermont."
Scott: "New York AND Vermont...wow. Bi-coastal."

After "Character Zero", Scott says "Ummmmmmm...........why did you play me that?"

[Thomp-bot 5000 0]

Full frontal disclosure...I hate Phish. But I do like one song, "Free". This could be the song that pushes the Hot Saucerman firmly into the Phish camp.