Quote:
Originally Posted by HejiraNYC
So what are the current holes in your collection? Chances are I probably have it; I pretty much have every 12" single and EP they ever released (and there were a lot of them!) plus a menagerie of 45 singles containing non-LP tracks. Although I don't collect Siouxsie anymore, I do recall the fun I had collecting all of their releases- they made collecting records immensely fun and challenging. They were one of the few bands who released singles just for the sake of releasing a single (which often never ended up on an album), and they always had interesting, if not sublime, B-sides and multiple configurations of singles. Back before the interwebs, there was really no way of finding out what/when something was being released, which was especially challenging being in America. So every time I visited my favorite independent record store, I would beeline straight for the Siouxsie section to see what new surprises awaited me. Fun times. LOL
I was also a big fan of the Creatures. I loved the fact that since neither of them really played tuned instruments, they built these surprisingly catchy, melodic songs using just percussion and a couple of synthesizer notes. Or a few horns. Very avant garde but classic in a strange sense too.
|
Oh my! Another Siouxsie fan! I'm in a weird place with this collection. I started with the 12" singles mostly because of the artwork, custom labels and the 'cool' factor of eventually having a complete collection. I may collect a full set of 45s, but maybe not. I would like the full set of studio albums on vinyl, but again maybe not. I'm only looking at UK releases right now because the US releases from Geffen don't have the custom artwork on the record labels. I have some Peepshow and Superstition CD singles from years back, but not a lot of interest in collecting the rest of them.
The b-sides are an interesting story unto themselves. I like that they were not album leftovers, but songs specifically chosen to be b-sides because they were unusual, or recorded in the midst of a tour and couldn't wait for the next album to be released.
I love Siouxsie & The Banshees (and The Creatures). They were always outcasts, musically, and didn't care what others thought. I feel they operated with a creative freedom that other bands could only envy, and when Sioux needed a new sound she just started a second band! I love that this band got started because there was an opportunity to perform - they had no songs, so name - and they just did it! Over the years you get to witness their growth as writers & musicians, and the evolution of Sioux's vocal range and ability are magical. From the near-barking vocals of Love In A Void to the sublime vocals of Kiss Them For Me, Siouxsie's progression is admirable.
I became a fan in '92, at the end, and so The Rapture was the only album I got to buy new. I was devastated when they called it quits in '95, and again when Budgie and Sioux divorced and ended The Creatures in 2005. The one solo album Sioux released in 2007 was somber (to me) and really seemed to sum up her entire point of view on the Banshees and Budgie with one lyric on the closing track:
I would catch a star
If you asked me to
But I can't seem to find one
To hold on to