So I come on here often and talk about how the Chemical Brothers are my generation's Pink Floyd. It is even hard for me to say it, because I don't want to risk selling the Brothers short, like when someone says, "you look like David Beckham", and you're like, "well... thanks, but doesn't he cry all the fucking time?" But of course the person was complimenting you, because all the ladies want to fuck David Beckham, but it just stings a little bit because you want to look like you, and maybe have someone say to David Beckham, "Hey... you look like Stumpbone (for the record, I look nothing like David Beckham)". But alas, I say my comment about them being our generation's Pink Floyd, and I say it with what I'm sure many of you would understand, is great honor.

Anyways, it's like this. Pink Floyd had a once in a lifetime way of capturing emotion. They connected with us on Dark Side of the moon that was uniquely timeless. The song Us and Them is as relevant today, as it was then. Turning on Dark Side of the Moon and lying on your couch after a long day, is still as amazing as it was 30 years ago. My dad still makes it a point to do it every once in a while with no interruption. The band drifted from album to album with an ability to blow us away every single time. And we find ourselves staring at the artwork like we've never seen it before. The live shows were the kinds of things that when your aunt says, "I saw them on the Animals tour in Cleveland", you're filled with an overwhelming sense of jealousy for something that happened even three years before that magical night your mom and dad had in the back seat at the drive in theater. And the videos they made like "Meddle - Live at Pompeii" were treated like their own beings, which raised a bar that few artists have even seemed to try to reach (cough cough Don't Think cough). The idea of a concept album essentially came from Dark Side of the Moon, and when Roger Waters put together The Wall, you would have had a hell of a time telling me that one of the best double album, rock opera, film, albums/pieces of art came from a band that was on the brink of quadruple homicide.

And that brings me to my point. Here I am, in my apartment, staying up later than I should, yet again. Sitting on the Chemical Brothers forum, searching for new videos, remixes (just discovered the Teardrop remix), and enjoying the conversation between fans. I realized this was time for my Chemical Dissertation.

I love music that has the ability to pull us up when we're down, make us dance when we've had enough, and make us feel things that no other art form can do. And I tend to believe that the true artist is trying to do that to his or her viewer. They want to connect with us, and they use their innate creative abilities to do so. I also tend to believe that those are the artists we see sticking around for the longest because it is that true ability to connect with other human beings, that makes an artist hungry to continue. We saw a stretch from Meddle, to the Wall in which Pink Floyd seemed to never lose their ability to do it, and they were about to kill one another and still pulled it off. The Beetles disappeared from the stage that they felt was ruining their craft, and they made an historic amount of work that people have never let go of. Radiohead sounds like nearly a completely different band during the span of 8 albums, and yet Lucky, Idioteque, House of Cards, and Lotus Flower, and have a tendency to slow me down in my tracks and make the lights seem brighter.

And here are the Brothers. Where Pink Floyd were fighting and breaking up like a married then divorced couple, the brothers seem as close to one another as they ever have been. When the Beatles felt like running from the live stage to save their art form, the Brothers use it to take their art to another level. When acts like "Daft Punk" wow us with an amazing 2 year stretch of live shows, then disappear into the darkness and ride the hype bus for half a decade, only to pop out and do a forgetful film soundtrack for a massive film corporation, the Chemical Brothers.... well.... don't do any of that.

The point I'm trying to make that I'm sure anyone on this board is ready to at least consider agreeing with me on is this.

We had the holy shit from Exit Planet Dust that came from a couple of college buddies fucking around with vintage synths and stacks upon stacks of floppy disks. We had the "they did it again" from Dig Your Own Hole with its ridiculous Hip-Hop, psychedelic infused funk that no one had even imagined hearing before. We had the "Electronic artists can make what amount to rock albums?" when Surrender came out, and so on and so on. Fast Forward to this last year and a half, give or take however many months I'm off. You'll have to forgive me, I'm seriously writing this as I go. It's 2010 The Chemical Brothers have been around for 19 years. There's talk on the boards of a new single, and clips begin being released of this classic rocky style, vintage synth beat that was originally heard in a DJ set from Coachella. It's clear that the Brothers have something new up their sleeve. Turns out, it's a seemingly new direction for them that is received by critics across the board as one of their best works of their career. There's a DVD with visuals that bring the album to life, and brings a little, tiny, crumb of a slice of what it's like to see them live, and puts it in the listener's hands. They follow it up with a film score, that they don't touch in a live show and let it live as its own work of beauty. Then, they loop back around and begin, what I think many of us see as their best tour yet (I saw WATN tour, and the first half of the Further tour). And now... "Don't Think". I mean, even if you just took the live audio from this tour and allowed me to listen to it, I would feel like it's a fucking holiday. But no... I get to sit in a chair in the center of a theater that was chosen for its audio prowess, and relive the tour on the film screen.

This ain't no, "let's remake Tron". This isn't a band that can't get along? These guys don't hide from the stage. This is the fucking Chemical Brothers and frankly, I think they may be at the pinnacle of their careers. So many people thought that's what Surrender was. I was reignited when We Are the Night came out. Never did I think it would get to this point. Further, the Tour, the Hannah Soundtrack, Tom's Psychtronic mix, and now this?

It's always fun when my friends tell me I'm obsessed. I start by telling them they'll figure it out right about when it's too late and by then, I'll be the uncle saying, "Oh yeah. I saw them on the We Are the Night Tour in LA". I then explain to them that Deadmau5 is a really fun time but I don't like partying with 18 year olds on drugs anymore, and that a dubstep concert is pretty cool, but let's revisit your most groundbreaking dubstep artist 19 years from now, and that Discovery was fucking incredible, but it's time to consider getting off the Daft Punk train before it derails at Tron 2. And then I close by saying, "yeah, it's a shame that none of your favorite artists from the 90s... or the 2000s stayed together as long as my favorite artist has, because I gotta tell yeah... It's been a fucking sweet ride from bumping CDs upstairs and learning to play drums to "Lost in the K-Hole", to playing "Let Forever Be" the same week I lost my virginity, to touching the summer sky in LA during the live version of "the sunshine Underground", to sitting in a fucking movie theater at the age of 30 and watching "Don't Think".

And that is how I soak up the fact that, 20 years later... my favorite artist isn't entertaining me, they're blowing my fucking mind with what they're doing.

It all begs the question, has any other group ever done what the Brothers have done? At the end of the day, we aren't talking about album sales and months on the top ten. Madonna isn't in the same sport anymore, though I do have a soft spot for Material Girl. I'm talking about something intangible. This is fucking art on a level that may be deeper than everyone has the capability to understand.... the spectacle that is the human creative spirit. These are artists that put up "Love is All" on the screen at the end of their shows, and mean it so deeply and simply, that for some, it's even hard to comprehend and needs an explanation. Have we ever seen artists that were able to connect so often and so powerfully at every single opportunity that they're given?

I'm pretty sure I haven't.

Long... Live... the Brothers.

That was very profound Stumpbone!

I wish I could wave a magic wand and make more people notice that our heroes created something that all started by playing records in a pub in 1992, into this band that can conquer the most human senses in us, as well as telepathically!

There was something I always wanted to say to T and E backstage (when i get the chance) but i don't know how to say it because I need to research it! If the Chemical Brothers are still together right now after all these years, what other bands out there are still together? I can think of some other bands that started in the 90's when the Chems did, but are they still around (with the original members)!

The longevity and the ingenuity of the Chems wins! Here's a list of those who didn't make it! (but feel free to correct me!)

Nirvana
Smashing Pumpkins
Luscious Jackson
Jellyfish
The Refreshments
Sublime
Hole
Gin Blossoms
The Fugees
Alice In Chains
En Vogue
The Presidents of the United States of America
Crash Test Dummies
House Of Pain
Sepultura
Letters To Cleo
The Lemonheads
Dog's Eye View
Spin Doctors
Arrested Development
Blind Melon

If there were no Chemical Brothers, 1/3 of my playlist from my Ipod would be gone!

Once again Stumbone, you never fail to exort your 'chemicalness' and deepness about our band! Brilliant read!

Thanks a lot for the response, and I appreciate you adding that list. I was doing something similar. I think the fun part is actually trying to piece the list together of artists that are actually still together.

My bold prediction of a band that stays together for a long time is MGMT. Those guys seem to have that something that's been missing from a lot of American Rock and Roll for the last long time.

But regardless, it felt good to finally spill this post, so thanks for reading.

Wow what an great bit you posted there stumpbone!

As I sit here typing this on my phone in the parking lot of my job before I head in and face today's pre-holiday workload - I have to just a quick thank you for taking me with you on your amazing insightful journey with the Chems.

So much of what you said rings true for me in a lot of ways (will hopefully have a chance to discuss more later) and I think so many of us can relate to your observations.

Great read!

Best of luck with the workload. Mine is thankfully lighter right now and will pick up in the beginning of the year, so I will have time today to search for hidden Chems Gems.

I will start by watching the Golden Path video in honor of our day jobs.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Really good read. I enjoyed enormously.

Mumbo, on 06 December 2011 - 7:45 PM, said:

cheers Mumbo. Thank you.

I've been thinking about this thread all day, haha! So now that I am on my lunch break I can dig in a little more to discuss.

The Pink Floyd connection is an idea that was brought up previously (years ago) by another forumite named JacksRevenge. He very rarely pokes his head in here anymore and even though it's presumptuous of me to speak for him, he too has connected the dots between what Pink Floyd and the Chemical Brothers are doing. It would be a cool read if he was able to join in and share some additional thoughts to what was written, since you both are pretty much on the same page in that regard. But alas...

A band like Pink Floyd is considered sacrosanct and untouchable in many circles. Who knows, maybe a die hard Pink Floyd fan unfamiliar with the Chemical Brothers and what they are doing would take offense to the comparison. But I think the comparison has been laid out in a smart, passionate and respectful way. And I think given where the Chems are now in their career with what they are doing, it's an interesting parallel at the least.

For every band that's made it, there is an even longer list of those who just couldn't hold it together for whatever reasons. We could spend all day adding to inchemwetrust's list.

So the question, "has anyone ever done this before?" is a good one and I think that was answered pretty much in the first sentence of the first post.

Quote

I am a fairly curious guy and I totally love listening, watching, testing new stuff so to say. I discovered the chemical brothers thanks to my father who gave me the album surrender after finding it in his company car. One of his colleague (god bless him, he changed my life) probably had left this masterpiece by accident in the car.

I must admit that I really hate this album at first. I wasn't into electronic music at all. But I never listen to new a album only once. Conversely, I am used to listen to songs that I dislike after some time just to make sure that my tastes haven't changed. I listened again to surrender 2 years later, and this album started to grow into my mind.

I have been more and more addicted to the chemical brothers since that day. I saw them playing live for the first time back in 2007. They blew my mind. I hadn't experienced such a thing before (except at Robert Plant & the strange sensation and Mattieu '-M-' Chedid gigs)

Today I keep on listening to the chemical brothers over and over again. I have tried for many years now to find something better but I haven't found anything yet.

Sometimes I feel nearly ashamed to be so much addicted to them especially because nobody understands it except you guys.

Nice, nice, very nice.

Dude, awesome read. My thoughts = voiced. You're going to the Chicago showing, right? I can shake your hand in person.

I've only been a fan for 3 or so years and I'm just 15, but I totally know where you're coming from. The Chem's have soundtracked so many parts of my life, Surface To Air especially. They're just a perfect example of what a timeless band should be. I hate that I've missed out on the whole 'ride', but having all this music to grow up with, and still such a long road ahead, is more than enough to ask for!

I think I said it well in this review I posted on Discogs quite a few months back (full thing here):
"Tom and Ed have been recording whatever the hell they wanted to for eighteen years now, blowing the minds of partiers and intellectuals alike. And they know what they're doing. They can make you feel, dance, sing, and experience things only music can bring. So respect the bros. It Doesn't Matter whether you can't stand anything past Dig Your Own Hole, love what they did with Push The Button and We Are The Night, jam to their entire back catalouge like I do, or are totally new to their music, you simply have to hand it to these pioneers of music. They've done it all."

Your dissertation is way more badass than that, but you get the point. A band for the ages.

Nice read Stumpbone. Being an old fucker I grew up with Pink Floyd, saw them live way back some time, not sure when. Excellent show for the times. I discovered the Chems late ... too damn late, I saw them live in 2008 before I was even a fan, and was so blown away I haven't gotten over it yet. They came back to Aus this year so I followed them around and saw their live show 4 times, 3 of them full length with the encore. And if they don't come back in the next year or 2 I'm gonna have to travel OS to get some more. Everything they do excites me no end, now I can't wait to see the Don't Think movie.

Awesome read Stumpbone!

Thanks to everyone for reading. Solid community we have right here!

Really good read.

I'm not sure there's anyone (or at least anyone that springs to mind) that have continually done their own thing throughout their entire career - I'd say Sigur Ros (I'm a big fan) and Talking Heads/David Byrne are close. There are a few that have seemed to get more courageous and free as their careers have developed - The Beatles for one, and Underworld (another one of whom I'm a big fan) from Mk 2 onwards, who are increasingly branching out into different areas. Free from the shackles of corporate constraints lets the real artists' creative juices flow, and in having such creative freedom instills a degree of stability that keeps them together.

Long may they continue!

Good call on David Byrne. I was listening to a few tunes off Talking Heads Little Creatures on my drive home from work and it still sounds great after all this time.

Those who know me and my past ramblings can start yawning now, but I can't let an opportunity for discussion on band longevity and endurance go without at least throwing in a couple of nods to U2. Sure, the band are criticized for being tax dodging corporate rockers, and Bono is a punching bag for criticism with his well-intended but patronizing windbag ways. I love them regardless and am in it for the long haul even though my rabidness from my teen years has subsided most substantially. I've been a fan for a long time, going on the better part of 30 years now even though I must say ever so stridently that their stuff from the past 16 years hasn't held my gaze as much as their earlier stuff. So yeah I'm one of "those" old fart fans who listened to them and saw their earlier shows "back in the day". But I'll save the harsher judgments for another day.

Anyhow. So there's a tiny smidgen of my history before Tom and Ed swept me off my feet. But hear out the parallels. U2 formed when they were still teenagers, they were friends and the band held their friendship together. Yes they are older now - much older - but they've kept on without severing the band or their 4-piece friendship. Their core and their fanbase is solid and far-reaching. U2 released a film as well that showed in theaters - Rattle & Hum. Looking back it was a bit gratuitous "look how much we loooooooooooove America and American music!!" but it had some pretty sweet live bits and it was a tremendous risk for the band to take, even at that successful point in their career. Conceptually they nailed it with Achtung Baby which (imo) is one of the most innovative and creative albums that drew some of its inspiration from 'techno' and obscure German industrial bands. For me the strongest parallel for the 2 bands are their live shows. I once read years ago that U2 play every show as if it was their last and this is a truth - and I get that same sense when I see Tom and Ed go on stage. Both bands put a lot of stock in the overall show of both sound and vision. U2's live shows evoke a sense of evangelistic fervor in their audience - it is magnificent to be in a coliseum with 75,000 concert-goers singing along to the same thing. Even if you're not a fan of the band being in the thick of something like that is still impressive. And I might have said once upon a time that you haven't lived until you've experienced something like that. I've seen some cool shit over the years including Pink Floyd which was mind bogglingly awesome in its sheer awesomeness and to be fair, what I witnessed there took place on an awesomely different plane of existance... but the *only* other crowd response I have seen that comes close to the 75,000-person U2-acid-test is being at a Chemical Brothers show. It is really a strange and wonderful thing that I have a hard time explaining. There are no words to sing along to at the Chems like there are at a traditional arena rock show, but the spectacle that is the sound and light display acts as this pulsing giant carrier wave. And everyone's along for this wildly fun magic carpet ride.

So once the parrallels have been drawn there comes a fork in the road. For me it's not so much the Chemical Brothers have picked up where U2 left off. I still have all this awesome music and will always have a soft spot for U2. U2 just evolved to a safer place with fewer risks (that I can perceive, anyway) that is not as interesting to me. For the Chems, even at the risk of sore feelings and harsh criticisms of being formulaic or worse, being accused of not making more Dig Your Own Holes - the Brothers seem to never bend and take the softer, easier route. Always pushing forward. It's music I want to listen to right now, dammit!! That's so exciting to me, and it surprises me. It's music that evolves as I am evolving, and it keeps things fresh and discussion-worthy which I suppose explains my post count. And that's the long and short of it. I'll shut up now, haha

Oh! Bonus points for Whirls in sharing her affinity for both bands! Good connection that you made in sharing the bands 'labor of love' for the craft.

You and Stump can start the prologue for the Chems autobiography!

whirlygirl, on 08 December 2011 - 6:13 AM, said:

Slightly off topic, but Q magazine did a free CD last month with cover versions of Achtung Baby - you can read about it here. http://news.qthemusi...m_of_u2s_a.html Some better than others as is the norm with these things, but Nine Inch Nails' Zoo Station has been on repeat since I got it.

graysquire1969, on 08 December 2011 - 5:36 AM, said:

Oh nice! Thanks for the heads up. I heard about these covers but haven't checked them out yet. I know what I'm doing on my downtime at work today!!

whirlygirl, on 08 December 2011 - 4:56 PM, said:

Whirly, killer writing about U2. I've had my fair share of U2 days. I was a HUGE fan of Zooropa. Obviously Achthung Baby, but Zooropa didn't get half the attention I felt it deserved. Lemon is a gem.

Beautiful writing. And whenever you want to start this biography thing, try and talk to the guys and I'm in.

Amazing! I like it here. (throws arms behind head and kicks feet up)