Your controversial BoC opinions.

[Sherbet Head]

And it's an honest question for all of you. Did you find MBV through BOC or by your own volition?
I say half but I do not rely on that percentage, you couldn't know precisely.

I sincerely don't mean any disrespect as you're a top dude, but you seem quite young. You're speaking as if MBV are some super-underground niche musical act that BoC put on the map. They were already well established and popular in alternative circles way before MHTRTC came out, and even now I'd say more people are generally aware of MBV than they are of BoC.

Do you also think most Bowie fans on this forum only began to enjoy his music since BoC's tweet?

[Orbited insanitarium]

And it's an honest question for all of you. Did you find MBV through BOC or by your own volition?
I say half but I do not rely on that percentage, you couldn't know precisely.

I sincerely don't mean any disrespect as you're a top dude, but you seem quite young. You're speaking as if MBV are some super-underground niche musical act that BoC put on the map. They were already well established and popular in alternative circles way before MHTRTC came out, and even now I'd say more people are generally aware of MBV than they are of BoC.

Do you also think most Bowie fans on this forum only began to enjoy his music since BoC's tweet?

You are correct fella, I am young as 18 in fact. I don't have the foreknowledge admittedly.
I do disagree, I don't speak for My Bloody Valentine claiming them as a niche or underground band, I do know of their history and influence and them having a wide reach and being a staple of shoegaze as a genre, I can't see why you think I don't?

It's just me, as surprising as it seems, I only found out about MBV through BoC's interviews!! Genuinely.
Perhaps in that sentence I presumed on others but I only hope to interact on this thread. (With it being the controversial and all, maybe not the best o' choices to choose. I hardly come on this subforum nowadays and spend most of my time in The Playground.)

The Bowie statement is a reach yes, and of COURSE I don't think that. Are you making fun of me with that? (Because I hope to come across happy and non-confrontational in everything I write.)

I think you're top as well but I'm not coming across as knowledgeable in this field.

[Sherbet Head]

I don't like 'quarrelling' with folks on the internet, unless they deserve it (you don't), so again, I'll preface this post by saying that I do not wish to cause offense and it's simply a friendly debate.

I do disagree, I don't speak for My Bloody Valentine claiming them as a niche or underground band, I do know of their history and influence and them having a wide reach and being a staple of shoegaze as a genre, I can't see why you think I don't?

It was mainly your assumption that half of the MBV fans on this forum only actually listen to MBV because the bros name-checked them a couple times, as if it was an unlikely scenario that MBV could be heard and appreciated totally independent of BoC.

If we were talking about The Sexual Objects or Boom Bip, I could kinda see your point, but MBV are globally recognised as pioneers within the alternative music scene and, like I say, probably have a larger (but certainly less dedicated) fanbase than Boards.

The Bowie statement is a reach yes, and of COURSE I don't think that. Are you making fun of me with that? (Because I hope to come across happy and non-confrontational in everything I write.)

I wasn't trying to make fun of you with the Bowie comment, I was simply applying your initial logic to a similar scenario, although I certainly may have exaggerated the point a little.

Anyway, it's Friday. Time for a beer!

[Phade Rhombus]

BOC said it themselves. Music has the right to children.

However, when those children appear, they are treated like they're illegitimate offspring.

All the greats we know of like Bowie, The Beatles, Prince, The Rolling Stones etc.......were simply transmitting the sum total of everything they had absorbed, Through their own unique filter of course, but, for some reason, when others are inspired by BOC, they are treated very differently.
It's very possible that other artists have been jointly discovering the same sonic landscape that BOC travel in, because they are a similar age, have similar nostalgia because they watched the same TV, and experienced the same trends for VHS, polaroid cameras, super 8 video, watched the same movies etc..... and it's not second-hand to them, but first-hand, and experiential.

10th June 2023 will be 10 years since the release of Tomorrow's Harvest.
I simply can't fathom how an artist can't manage to release even one 4 track EP in 10 years ( 1 track every 54 months ) .

If they can't do it, others who don't enjoy the luxury of being backed by a great label, and are still hungry, most certainly will.

[tonx]

My controversial BoC opinion of the day is that Mike and Marcus probably read this forum a lot and think most of us are insane, assholes, losers, or insane asshole losers.

But any fandom looks a bit… intense… when you start looking at it too long or go into its most active little corners. I’m betting their best shit is still to come and eventually more of their old shit too.

[Echelon]

10th June 2023 will be 10 years since the release of Tomorrow's Harvest.
I simply can't fathom how an artist can't manage to release even one 4 track EP in 10 years ( 1 track every 54 months ) .

If they can't do it, others who don't enjoy the luxury of being backed by a great label, and are still hungry, most certainly will.

Oddly enough, this is a mystery in itself. I do wonder about this sometimes. Ironically it adds to the enigma even if this wasn't their intention. Have BOC been brainstorming their next move/masterpiece over the last ten years, or have they been sitting around drinking mountain dew and eating Doritos? The world will most likely never know! (Perhaps both!)

The thing with BOC is they took those analogue drones and updated them for the post modern 90s culture. They added the hip hop IDM drums to the documentary synth sounds. It's a pretty original idea in itself. Thus when people hear this combination, they go "BOC vibes."

I've probably made some stupid comments on this site about people inspired by that BOC sound, but everyone is totally allowed to use whatever they like as an influence to further their art and put a unique stamp on it. I'm an artist myself and I am pretty open about the ideas I poach from other, more established artists and synthesize into my own thing.

But yes, I fully get your argument about BOC and not releasing music and others filling the void. We should not hate this, because BOC means just as much to the art creators as they do fans.

[Phade Rhombus]

everyone is totally allowed to use whatever they like as an influence to further their art and put a unique stamp on it. I'm an artist myself and I am pretty open about the ideas I poach from other, more established artists and synthesize into my own thing.

But yes, I fully get your argument about BOC and not releasing music and others filling the void. We should not hate this, because BOC means just as much to the art creators as they do fans.

If music has the right to children, it's fair to assume that BOC was the "child" at one point too.
They also absorbed from other artists, who in turn laid their brick on the wall ( representing the sum total of all musical expression / experience ) before them, and they cherry-picked techniques and timbres from everyone who influenced them.
All musicians do it. No man is an island.
Without a Little Richard, we may not have had an Elvis Presley
Without the Beatles , we may not have had a David Bowie
Without a Kate Bush, We may not have had a Goldfrapp
etc........etc........

But, when it comes to BOC, people put them on a pedestal, and consider them untouchable. Some of their tracks are complete genius ( Roygbiv ), but some are terrible ( opening the mouth ), and other artists that would be considered derivative, have made some better tracks than BOC have. Clocolan would be a good example.
Personally speaking, Cult48 is inspired by the best of BOC, but is also the sum total of every other audio / visual experience that was absorbed, filtered, and translated along the way as well

BOC has the right to musical offspring too.

[mechanismj]

They are actually one horse in a two-person disguise.

This guy gets it.

[steeldancer-x]

Telephasic Workshop is Twoism's anthem

[Flory]

Posted this in general speculation but might as well post it here too.

I honestly don't think BOC will release any of there old missing albums until they pass away. I have a hunch BOC want to purposefully create a sort of mythos of sorts, a legend if you will. To keep people constantly talking BOC and thus keeping demand for more BOC content high.

Let me put this into perspective. Wouldn't be extremely boring if the lost albums were to just be released lets sayyy sometime this year? I mean sure at first everyone will be all excited, but then in time the whole mythos of "what could possibly be on there lost albums" would die down all together. And places like the forum and the BOC subreddit will suddenly lose a good chunk of activity in relation to discussing said lost albums. Wouldn't in a way feel somewhat sad, to no longer have the ability to imagine what those 5 lost albums would sound like according to anyone's imagination.

[Sherbet Head]

Posted this in general speculation but might as well post it here too.

I honestly don't think BOC will release any of there old missing albums until they pass away. I have a hunch BOC want to purposefully create a sort of mythos of sorts, a legend if you will. To keep people constantly talking BOC and thus keeping demand for more BOC content high.

Let me put this into perspective. Wouldn't be extremely boring if the lost albums were to just be released lets sayyy sometime this year? I mean sure at first everyone will be all excited, but then in time the whole mythos of "what could possibly be on there lost albums" would die down all together. And places like the forum and the BOC subreddit will suddenly lose a good chunk of activity in relation to discussing said lost albums. Wouldn't in a way feel somewhat sad, to no longer have the ability to imagine what those 5 lost albums would sound like according to anyone's imagination.

I get where you're coming from, but realistically, it's not like they're going to release all of their early material. It would need to be a 20LP set or something, and that ain't happening. Even if there is a boxset, most of the old stuff will likely remain a mystery.

Also, let's not forget these are the same dudes that never tour, rarely drop new music and rarely give interviews. I think there would still be a mythos.

Just look at post-comeback Aphex. In 5 years (2014-2019) he released an album, four EPs, a bunch of limited 12"s, music videos, 20 hours of archival material on Soundcloud, he did interviews, toured the world and live-streamed some of the gigs, worked with hardware manufacturers on new gear, and directly communicated with fans online (and did so pretty regularly), yet he remains one of the most enigmatic artists in modern music. I don't think the BoCset would leave a negative impact on their legacy.

[playbyletters]

Just look at post-comeback Aphex. In 5 years (2014-2019) he released an album, four EPs, a bunch of limited 12"s, music videos, 20 hours of archival material on Soundcloud, he did interviews, toured the world and live-streamed some of the gigs, worked with hardware manufacturers on new gear, and directly communicated with fans online (and did so pretty regularly), yet he remains one of the most enigmatic artists in modern music. I don't think the BoCset would leave a negative impact on their legacy.

AFX is the perfect example here. BoC finally releasing their back catalogue wouldn't make them less enigmatic, it would just make their enigmatic nature a lot more bearable. The fact of the matter is that I've listened to AFOT, OTV2 and R35TT as much as I've listened to their combined released catalogue. I don't believe for even a second that the mysterious early tapes are worse than their WARP albums, likely less conceptual and narrative-driven, more rough around the edges—things that would bother the musicians themselves, but be a non-issue to listeners who love their sound regardless. That goes for a lot of art, really. The curse of perfectionism.

[Sherbet Head]

I don't believe for even a second that the mysterious early tapes are worse than their WARP albums, likely less conceptual and narrative-driven, more rough around the edges—things that would bother the musicians themselves, but be a non-issue to listeners who love their sound regardless. That goes for a lot of art, really. The curse of perfectionism.

Exactly.

Also, people tend to forget that MHTRTC is essentially a compilation, yet it is widely regarded as their best work. With similar curation, the BoCset could be presented in a way that maintains the cohesion and conceptualization the bros are known for. Perhaps this is why it's taking 20+ years?

[fujee]

My controversial BoC opinion of the day is that Mike and Marcus probably read this forum a lot and think most of us are insane, assholes, losers, or insane asshole losers.

But any fandom looks a bit… intense… when you start looking at it too long or go into its most active little corners. I’m betting their best shit is still to come and eventually more of their old shit too.

I think this is way off. I can imagine them reading this forum from time to time, but certainly not regularly. And I imagine they are very appreciative and respectful of the fans, albeit from a distance.

[Glen_Glog]

Old tunes tapes are kinda lame I think Spectrum is the only really good track -- I would rather hear a new record

[luminousdusk]

Boards of Canada is a project designed and operated by British psyops to study the effects of subliminal messaging and cult formation

[arvy]

Boards of Canada is a project designed and operated by British psyops to study the effects of subliminal messaging and cult formation

Boards of Canada is a project to study the effects of subliminal messaging and cult formation by British psyops

[steeldancer-x]

[luminousdusk]

Couldn't have said it better myself

[Echelon]

My controversial opinion is BOC love their fans, but they're just very busy with life and they've been doing other things for the last 10 years alongside recording. BOC is their side project and isn't a steady job. The reason it isn't their main job is because they are very precise with their catalog and wouldn't want to add any missteps to it. That's why they took eight years to respond to the criticism of TCH (which I genuinely think is a stellar album but the critical consensus is that it's good but not great)

But going by the words of MDG, PIC and Bleep, I think there's been subtle hints that our patience will be rewarded when the time comes.