MadPooter, on 18 June 2013 - 10:44 PM, said:

I enjoy hearing what he has to say! Let him continue.

Saying the track is raw or unfinished doesn't make it okay or acceptable. It's like appreciating an unfinished piece of bad art and calling it "well its still art". Anything can fall under the category of "music" if you add two beats and a synth line together. I have so many unfinished little loops sitting on my laptop, would that be considered as "raw"? No it won't. For it to be raw it has to entice or elicit a wild response in the mind, sort of like the entire album of DYOH. That's raw. This is just a dj tool Fx type of thing. Not even a proper Chems release. Listen, Chems are the gold standard for me. The best of the best. I compare regular artists with the Chems and see how miserably they fail in comparison. The gold here is starting to turn silver and putting out half-assed dj tools. Through me and Nothing but pain are empty tracks. That's not acceptable from Chems. No way I will sit here and take that motherfucker.

chemicalreaction, on 18 June 2013 - 11:33 PM, said:

Yep. And, here's the thing, I judge it as such. You sound like someone who doesn't like a big action film because it's not intellectually stimulating. It's not supposed to be intellectually stimulating, it's just supposed to blow up and look awesome. And said film might be the absolute best at bringing bad-ass entertainment to the screen, but it'll get poor reviews from film critics because they hold it to the standards of Citizen Kane.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: there's a reason why Tom released this under his own name and not under The Chemical Brothers. It's not meant to be judged in comparison to the rest of the Chem's body of work. It's meant to be judged as a little side-project, a "dj tool Fx type of thing". And quite frankly, it's a really good "dj tool Fx type of thing". You can continue to compare it to the gold of The Chems and completely miss the point, or you can re-evaluate your standards based on the context of the release and enjoy it. It's up to you.

chemicalreaction, on 18 June 2013 - 11:33 PM, said:

Lol

Champiness, on 12 April 2013 - 9:09 PM, said:

Well hey now.


And I don't get what any of you guys are talking about, Through Me has a great groove and Pleasure is just awesome outright. Actually still a bit disappointed that the latter didn't turn out to be a Chems track, it would've been killer in their live shows.

I prefer Nothing But Pleasure over Through Me. But that's just a matter of personal taste and nothing more. I don't want to hear and feel music through anyone else and I don't think anyone would want to hear through my ears, either. Be thankful for that.

Now that the "it's new and exciting!!!!11" novelty has worn off a tad, I can say the song rambles on and on and in all fairness, I can see how Nothing But Pleasure would wear out its welcome with some people. It hasn't with me yet - then again, I am sure in time it will. Like other things.

I get the Chems as gold standard. I think many of us who bother spending any time here at all talking about The Chemical Brothers will agree with that point to some extent.

So when a track comes along that we feel lowers the bar, we get bent. We deem the end is near. Tom and Ed don't care, they have forsaken us and their passion for music. That is how I felt when I first heard Come With Us (long before I was assigned moderating duties and took a solemn oath to kiss Tom and Ed's musical asses and applaud every time they sneeze out a bass line). As fans we don't have to think everything they do is a masterpiece that is deserving of our unconditional love.

So these two Tom tracks to me sound finished and I would love to hear these in the element where their music shines brightest for me - live. Or at the least, at ear splattering volumes in a club amongst a bunch of dancing fools gettting all crazy. But I'm not going to sit here and say that when all is said and done, they aren't missing something. They are not lacking in quality necessarily, nor do they lack in the trademark builds. But there is something that's not present in these tracks that I mentioned a while back. The Ed Element, that thing I haven't quite pinpointed but we know is there when Tom and Ed produce an epic swirling of madness that sounds undeniably Chemical, well rounded, and expertly polished like we come to expect and enjoy when we think of 'zomg new Chems!'

But these aren't traditional Chemical Brothers tracks. They are Tom Rowlands creations. It is taking some getting used to, with separating the two entities.

Quote

Oh yes let't mix the bloody beetroots, the chemical brothers and afrojack together. Would be a killer mix!

NBP - 8 out of 10
TM - 7 out of 10

Would like to see these played live and have T and E do a little improv on them as well.........then the scores go much higher!

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Pe9YKGhe-SU

MadPooter, on 19 June 2013 - 3:28 AM, said:

Didn't you see that "irony" sign inbetween my lines, Pooter? I used 'if anything' (maybe should have used 'if at all') to contradict chemreaction's statemnt. I'm not interested in imposing any opinion on anybody. In fact, I love that we all have different ones and discuss them here.
I'm sad a little that some arguments on here get somewhat personal at times, out of nowhere. I think, most of us know each other that well that it needn't to be that way.

WhiteNoise, on 19 June 2013 - 7:17 AM, said:

Lets compare it to a big budget summer block busting action film. Nothing but pleasure would be a like Hulk. It looks promising but ends up being very meh after couple of huge fight sequences, which weren't that badass and awesome to begin with. It could have been epic like Man of Steel or the Avengers. Pleasure track had so much potential and had Tom put in some more time and effort into it.A complete beast. This sounds like premature ejaculation. I would much rather wait a long time and get quality material rather than get mediocre tracks in quick progressions. This dj tool fx sort of thing is not even a complete track, its a bridge djs use to transition to actual musical tracks. When Erol dropped the pleasure track, he only used the first half of it because that's all that's bearable, anything after that is just pain and repetitiveness and redundancy. And the context of the track was not even "here it is, a dj tool", it was more like "here's some of our tracks on our friend Erol's label". Had they released it as b-sides or Electronic battle weapons I would be more understanding. Still Ed would have heard the tracks before anyone else, why didn't he step in? Are Tom and Ed breaking up? Is Tom much more interested in his solo career as a mediocre producer? You can't help but have these dark thoughts when you listen to it.

london_dust_explosion, on 19 June 2013 - 1:26 PM, said:

Compare this with through me or pleasure. Mumbai science totally own chems here. THey get it. What's sad to see is the complete waste of vocal samples and potential here. There is some Klickity-Klackity-Squeaky synths and sound but no Ummmph or WOW factor, you get me?

chemicalreaction, on 19 June 2013 - 12:04 PM, said:

Yes, I agreed already. There's unfinished business with Pleasure. I mentioned in reviewing Through Me that there's a lack of those off-the-wall sounds common in Chems records, and maybe that's Ed's job? The thing is, you need to stop comparing it to other Chemical Brothers songs because it isn't one. It's a Tom Rowlands solo release. And secondly, I am sure this song could have been released with all those psychedelic touches you mention, but it wasn't. Tom decided to release it exactly as it is, meaning it was his decision that the song should be heard as such. Tom wanted it to be stripped down and simple, or else he wouldn't have released it. Glako-fahn said it best: "I feel that trying to build a more complex progression around the track would defile its singular, pulsating directive". It is just some stupid synth and some drums, it's meant to do just one thing, be nutty, rave mercilessly. Which of course is unnerving, as nearly all Chemical Brothers songs so far appeal to both the casual listener and the crazy raver. But why rip at Tom for doing something different? Half the genius of The Chemical Brothers' music is the element of change, experimentation, they don't repeat the same formula. This is experimentation. Nothing But Pleasure is intentional, it is what it is. And I like it for what it is. And you don't. And quite honestly both of our interpretations of this are valid. No need to bash those of us who genuinely enjoy the track.

My theory is that these tracks were not slated for the next Chemical Brothers album. But instead of letting them fall behind the couch, especially after all the hype built up here, Tom used the opportunity of Record Store Day to put out the two tracks. And instead of putting out a polished, edited version of the track (the Chems used to DJ with a crazy, much more acid version of this track around 2001), he put out the real thing, unaltered. An exciting behind the scenes look at a wild raw unpolished track. Because honestly, how could he release it as-is under the name of The Chemical Brothers? People like you would tear it apart for all the reasons you mentioned.


Tom and Ed aren't breaking up. Last I knew (which was a long while ago), Ed has been taking classes at a university and been busy dating a girl for quite a while now. Perhaps Tom is a bit more free, which might explain why we see more output from him. Maybe Ed's just taking a bit of a sabbatical from music to enjoy his personal life. Doesn't matter really.


And, well, before you lose confidence in the Chem's future work, keep the first 4 & 1/2 minutes of this video in mind. This is an unidentified track that is almost surely new Chemical stuff:



EDIT: And if that above doesn't even work, listen to their remix of XTC.


If you really want to hear what Nothing But Pleasure would sound like, polished and Chemical'd up, I suggest passionately petitioning for a Chemical Brothers remix of Nothing But Pleasure, to be released as a b-side of a future single. I'd totally help you. And who knows? This could already be happening.

Hopefully this giant post makes my point well enough so that I don't have to repeat myself again.

Bouh, on 19 June 2013 - 3:58 AM, said:

???
Also what's with all the negativity in this thread, sheesh guys.

The problem with Tom & Ed is that they are doing electronic music for club AND home. So many people listening to the chems doesn't know nothing about electronic and club music, and I think this topic is the best example...

Many DJ and (good) bands plays Though Me/Nothing But Pleasure, they are great track to dance/headbang, it's a fact.

Mia, always lovely points of views ^^

And I'm well aware that 2manydjs are playing "Lotus" at the start of that clip I posted, but you can see the EP1 artwork pop up on the screen near the end and there are some synths from "Nothing But Pleasure" that start to come in.

Champiness, on 19 June 2013 - 1:38 PM, said:

No kidding, but I think it's funny. I can see the headlines:

Nothing But Pleasure is a minimal techno song.

Discuss.

Trying to build a more complex progressions around the track would actually enhance the hard singularity. Not defile. Given you keep the focus of the track central. Most good tracks take you from point A to point B. This one just takes you half-way between A and B and just stands there, confused and wondering as to which direction to take, so it starts chasing its own tail and going around in circles rather than complete the journey it started. Tom did not do justice to this amazing idea. Don't get me wrong the premise of this track is completely awesome. The drop is funky but it sort of gives up on you after that. That's my complain. And yeah yeah it is what it is, that's easy to say, candy coat it all you want, experimentation is necessary for progress blah blah but not all experiments end up with worthy results. Some cause bad chemical reactions and a lot of unnecessary white noise (a random signal with a flat (constant) power spectral density). It's random, though it is disguised as a repetitive techno track. Random as in Tom thought this is actually a finished product whereas it is merely collection of sounds and beats, nothing musical about it. Its like a starting point for an actual great track and that greatness is never there. Even if we critique it as Tom only track, its a bad first attempt at solo career given the back catalogue and amazing past productions. Its Tom fault for having raised the bar that high for himself and now only to disappoint by producing a mediocre song that gets nowhere. The intention is all there for it to be a dirty, techno, club track but it doesn't have the punch of "don't think", even the main synth isn't that amazing as you think. Its nothing special. Its' good but not god damn that's good. Not addicting enough to loop it for eight minutes.

I would love a remix of this track by Chems themselves. If they can do an amazing xtc remix, why can't they do it with their own tracks? Dig your own hole Tom! It's hard to make any judgments about the track from that video. Sounds good so far. Listen, I'm not losing hope here. I'm on their side. I want the future chems to amaze me and take me on a journey.

I'm going to lay down a comment here so that ChemicalRetard isn't the last thing in this thread.

Love the fact that the Chems are still producing music.

@Csar: word.