Spin Magazine 25th anniversary shows

July 27, 2010 1:18 AM

Spin's 25th Annivesary: 5 nights of live music. I am a day late with this as the Smashing Pumpkins played last night, but you can see the rest of the free live streaming concerts this week, in order, one per night, The Flaming Lips, The Black Keys, The National, and Spiritualized.

There is a small non monetary price, the shows are sponsored by American Express and you are required, as far as I could tell, to click through to Facebook, "like" an American Express page, then you may stream. It was harmless and took a few seconds.

posted by lee (19 comments total)

Smashing Pumpkins would be in my top 3 "used to think they were just commercial FM radio fodder but now I realise they were quite good song writers" list.

The world is a vampire...
posted by uncanny hengeman at 2:30 AM on July 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

The editors of Spin also made a list of the 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years.

P J Harvey at number 8. Hooray!
posted by Houyhnhnm at 5:02 AM on July 27, 2010

Yes, yay indeed, but the album they've got at #1?
posted by blucevalo at 5:35 AM on July 27, 2010

Nowadays I don't think there's anything wrong with missing out on the Smashing Pumpkins.
posted by jackflaps at 6:24 AM on July 27, 2010

The editors of Spin also made a list of the 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years

None of the top ten are from this century. I am happy.
posted by kitsy at 6:55 AM on July 27, 2010

Yes, yay indeed, but the album they've got at #1?

I won't argue that it is the best album of the last, whatever that list was for, but I would say it's the only U2 album I ever really enjoyed.
posted by mannequito at 7:30 AM on July 27, 2010

I am a day late with this as the Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan and three other people played last night
posted by shakespeherian at 7:53 AM on July 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

you are required, as far as I could tell, to click through to Facebook

Jesus fuck. Is this a thing now?
posted by twirlip at 8:09 AM on July 27, 2010

Requiring one to "like" a fucking American Express page on Facebook in order to stream "free" live videos is even more lame than calling Achtung Baby the best album in the past 25 years.
posted by Houyhnhnm at 8:10 AM on July 27, 2010

Achtung was an effort, stoked primarily by Bono and the Edge, to "deconstruct" the band and rewire it with jolts of beat-generated clutter and collage, nicked from industrial music, hip-hop, dance remixes, and the Madchester scene.

Hello beans. Meet plate.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:26 AM on July 27, 2010

My wife and I considered trying to go to this, despite the fact we are three weeks away from her due date. This lineup is pretty much every thing she would ask for in a show.

It's a good thing we didn't, though, as we are in the hospital getting ready for a very punctual baby.

So how to stream this to my iPhone?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:54 AM on July 27, 2010

Jesus fuck. Is this a thing now?

Increasingly, yes.

Oh, anyone thinking of watching Spiritualized, don't bother: even speaking as a big fan of their records, they aren't that interesting live.
posted by Infinite Jest at 9:09 AM on July 27, 2010

Yup, they lost me at Facebook. Fuck that shit. And Achtung Baby the best album of the past 25 years!?!?!? I doubt it would even occur to me to rank it the top 100. Some good songs, for sure, but all that supposedly groundbreaking "deconstruction" generally just amounts to a few weird beginnings and endings, with the odd bit of NOISE thrown in, I guess to be cool ...

... which, in a nutshell, has always been my SPIN experience. Not near as cool as they think they are. Or more to the point, not near as cool as they SAY they are.
posted by philip-random at 9:12 AM on July 27, 2010

The Smashing Pumpkins did not play last night. A band named "The Smashing Pumpkins" played last night.
posted by triceryclops at 10:01 AM on July 27, 2010

Spiritualized, don't bother
:(     I saw them two years ago in Chicago, and while not the most energetic bunch on stage, it was an awesome show. I've described the show to friends as how going to church should be/feel. But, yeah, it probably wouldn't translate to a web experience (same goes for The Flaming Lips - amazing, unforgettable concerts that could never be encapsulated in a live feed.
posted by kitsy at 10:04 AM on July 27, 2010

Spiritualized has been one of my favorite bands for years. Over those years I've seen them play live five or six times.

The quality of the shows and albums vary widely according to Jason's heroin intake. Unfortunately Pierce's song and album creation seems best on albums when he was using. kitsy is right that on a night when they are on their live show is what church ought to be. Not that surprising since their basic formula is reinterpreting gospel with drugs standing in as god.

The best overall live concert I ever saw was at the Vic in Chicago. Spiritualized opened for Curve who opened for Jesus and Mary Chain. All three acts were in top form and the crowd was somehow exactly primed for the experience.
posted by Babblesort at 11:18 AM on July 27, 2010

I'm jealous, Babblesort. I've seen Spiritualized three times, and only the first one was very good (and I didn't know their music so well then). Jealous of the JaMC too...only saw them once (late 90s) and they were only average. (And Psychocandy was pretty much my favourite album at the time).
posted by Infinite Jest at 12:45 PM on July 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

I wrote a review of the Billy +3/Pumpkins show last night right after it ended.
"You probably know that Billy is the only one still in the band from the original lineup. It was a good show tonight. The new kid on drums, Mike Byrne is great, but eh, there's no soul. He's super quick and plays a spot on beat, but it's too mechanical. I feel like I am watching him play along with the recorded versions of these songs. The new guitar player, Jeff Scroeder is damn good. He played some absolute monster solos on Tarantula! Yet the Pumpkins have become a self-cover band for Corgan. Everyone is playing their parts, but there is not much magic. New bass player, Nicole Fiorentino looks bored and has barely moved while playing fine. Don't get me wrong, this new band is very good and I am sure that all of their playing is directed by Billy, so running anywhere but straight on track is probably not allowed."
posted by lee at 1:28 PM on July 27, 2010

I'd watch if not for the facebook thing.
posted by princelyfox at 7:28 PM on July 27, 2010