79. Tim Friese-Greene Discusses My Bloody Valentine, Isn't Anything

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Musician/songwriter/producer Tim Friese-Greene (solo, Short-Haired Domestic, Heligoland, Talk Talk) joins Al to talk about My Bloody Valentine's 1988 debut, Isn't Anything. Tim talks about why this is an important album and which tracks stand out for him. He also discusses his new album, Melodic Apoptosis, and upcoming projects.

Tim briefly alluded to the novel process used to write and record the last two Talk Talk albums. Al looked for some documentation of that process to share here in the notes, but was not able to find many sources, but this piece provides a start:  https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/13/talk-talk-mark-hollis.

Tim also mentioned that he kept and published a Twitter blog that documented his experience of creating Melodic Apoptosis. You can find it at https://twitter.com/fatpet3.

Be sure to check out Tim's website, https://www.timfriesegreene.co.uk/,  and his Bandcamp page, https://calciumchloride.bandcamp.com/!

You can also follow Tim on Twitter at @curonianspit2.

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

Al launched You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter earlier this year. You can subscribe for free to get Al’s monthly posts, but paid subscriptions give you access to weekly posts and much more. Please consider trying a paid subscription as it also helps to support this podcast! https://youmealbum.substack.com/

1:42 Tim joins the show

2:29 Al’s normal routine for preparing for the show did not serve him well this time

4:06 Tim describes how he and his family listen to music at home

5:47 Tim explains why Isn’t Anything is an important album for him

10:18 Was Talk Talk affected by 1980s music trends that Tim wasn’t fond of?

13:31 Tim explains why he chose Isn’t Anything instead of Loveless

19:06 Tim recounts the one time he met Kevin Shields

21:20 Tim gives an example of the messiness of Isn’t Anything

23:00 Tim appreciates the sound of Isn’t Anything

24:27 Tim is reluctant to call Isn’t Anything a rock album

29:02 Tim imagines what Isn’t Anything would sound like if recorded by an American rock band

31:55 Tim talks about how he typically listens to Isn’t Anything

33:29 Tim gives the songs on Isn’t Anything a passing grade on the “busker’s test”

36:01 Tim identifies a pair of standout tracks

44:02 Tim is curious about My Bloody Valentine’s process for recording acoustic tracks

46:01 Sometimes Tim reflexively analyzes music

47:35 Tim talks about how he connects with Isn’t Anything

50:56 Tim offers Al a suggestion on how he might get more out of the album

54:48 Tim discusses the circumstances around the recording of Melodic Apoptosis

1:01:07 Tim is happy with the way the Short-Haired Domestic album came out

1:01:47 Tim talks about his upcoming albums

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