C/D: Ruby

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Spawned by a mini-conversation I was having with Matos on the Grand Royal thread. I love her. He doesn't. WHO'S RIGHT?

(NB The correct answer is "me".)

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)

He.

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)

not as good as Silverfish

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Salt Peter is a super-evocative nostalgia-yummin' briney YAY. The second one wasn't very good. But the Tiny Meats on the sleeve of the first are a superduper packaging triumph.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:56 (twenty-two years ago)

all I can ever remember is that one part that goes "WAH! WAH! WAH!" but it's enough. dud.

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:57 (twenty-two years ago)

i remember liking that first record ok too.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:57 (twenty-two years ago)

not as good as Silverfish

Who in turn weren't as fun as Daisy Chainsaw. Who themselves were quite shit.

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i didn't know any of Daisy chainsaw were in Ruby

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

They weren't.

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I just always put the two bands in the same box.

I'm pretty sure I saw Silverfish live somewhere...

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Ruby are great, Salt Peter is a criminally forgotten LP - I'd class it alongside the other trip-hop spawning LPs of the time like Maxinquaye and Dummy. It's very... lubricious.

I never heard the second album, but the lead-off single "Grace" was fantastic - not as dark or twisted as anything on Salt Peter, but it had a nice groove.

Er, I never heard Silverchair either.

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I've got Salt Peter, because Tiny Meat was a terrific single (wasn't as keen on Paraffin), and also loved "Grace" off the second album (like butter running over me indeed), and occasionally see it fairly cheap. Is it worth getting?

― edward o (edwardo), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:06 (twenty-two years ago)

i liked the first silverfish i think. it had "dolly parton" on it, right? but by the time i heard that hips tits lips power thing i didn't like it(great t-shirts though). ruby was really bad and boring trip-hop, no?

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

No.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

yes.

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i think i only remember a couple videos anyway. maybe the singles they pushed here were the bad, boring songs(they did push it too, i remember. people weren't really biting.)

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:16 (twenty-two years ago)

the video i remember made me think of kathleen hanna doing an album of may west covers.

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I've never understood how anyone could call Salt Peter boring - it's one of the most tangential, powerful, twisted, off-kilter records I own, PLUS it has great pop melodies and beats.

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

i remember tiny meat being an awsome song and i remeber a girl thrashing about in a construction helmit. based on that and that alone i side with dan (as usual).

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Ruby ended up being all lumped in with Lamb/Sneaker Pimps/Morcheeba/Moloko/Archive/Dubstar(!) as trip-hop pretendah larvae maggots in lots of the UK press; in some of these cases it was semi-justified and in others it clearly was NOT but certainly it seemed strange that certain journos ranked Salt Peter alongside things like the first Morcheeba album which is ploddy-zero where SP is a far more intoxi-gasping proposition.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I never understood the love for Morcheeba.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:26 (twenty-two years ago)

i find myself nodding

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

They probably only heard Paraffin and, being lazy journalists, never listened to the album because it would have got in the way of their derisory copy.

There was love for Morcheeba now?

― edward o (edwardo), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Ah, no, there was insta-dismissal of them, and many of the above bands also, for Not Being Tricky. Although MM liked Big Calm a bit I recall.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember getting annoyed back then that the music press seemed to decide that the trip-hop genre had reached saturation point after Tricky, Portishead and Massive Attack whereas boring Britpop bands were spawned every day with no objection from them.

Sneaker Pimps were great, Moloko still are, and even Morcheeba had their moments in their Big Calm era. Dubstar trip-hop?! (But then - Moloko trip-hop?!)

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

hahah, yes, I never understood how Dubstar quite fitted in there. I remember an NME interview with Portishead when their second album came out and the interviewer was citing all the (supposedly laughably second-rate) trip-hop bands that Portishead had (supposedly) spawned and tha 'Head were fantastically rude about Dubstar and Moloko ("it's actually very insulting to be compared to them!" WELL THEY'RE STILL GREAT WHERE ARE YOU NOW EH? EH? etc)

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:32 (twenty-two years ago)

(um, obviously Dubstar are a bit long-gone now also. but Moloko remain joyous)

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Were Beth'n'Geoff ever NOT grumpy about anyone? There was a Portishead album rumoured to be in the pipeline last year but two albums in two years for Beth would've been an unthinkably fast work rate.

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:34 (twenty-two years ago)

the great trip hop reappraisal starts here!

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Thw new Portishead was going to be called Alien and out last spring, I think. But wasn't. I find it very hard to imagine that a new Portishead album could be that great or thrilling these days but would dearly love to be wrong about this.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Salt Peter was excellent, and definitely one of those curious and rare albums which is astonishingly diverse thematically and sonically and yet maintains an iron-grip awareness of its core strengths. The real irony about it being dismissed as a trip-hop also-ran is that it's pretty much the only album from that 95-96 period to actually prefigure the turn towards darkness all the main players were taking by the end of that period.

The second album is good but a bit too laidback, plus the jazzy textures and drum & bass beats were less surprising than the sort of genre fusions the first album mined (eg. "Tiny Meat" - a better Pixies song than "Hey Ya"!). But it's still really nice and menacing. I should listen to it again.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 01:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i wouldn't call Dubstar trip-hop. although My Favorite do their schtick heaps better

― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 01:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Dan loves Ruby and ponders at Morcheeba = Dan is once again me. Woo!

Very nice take Tim has on Salt Peter, I'll have to go back again and relisten to it. I lurved Silverfish and was very pleased to hear about this thing coming out when it did come out and I was not disappointed -- there's one song in particular towards the end of the album that has this strange, dramatic rise in the chorus which I can't quite describe to my satisfaction, but it's so memorable and striking to me that it almost overwhelms the album. It's not overblown, it's just...like a spotlight moment in pure black and white.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 03:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll have to listen to Salt Peter again after reading this. Totally effing classic.

― Blood and sparkles (bloodandsparkles), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 04:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Is that the "WOULD YOU SAY THE WORD WAS MINE??!" bit Ned?

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know! But once my DI Five EP disc finishing playing and I finally hear that Marissa mp3, then I shall relisten to the album and deduce what it is. It might well be that, though, it sounds right!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Really menacing, calmly spoken but very loud chorus with industrial drumming in background.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:08 (twenty-two years ago)

And then it goes "leech in ma belly suck on me daddy-o!" and these creepy flutes come in.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Hee hee hee. I'm looking forward to this!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:09 (twenty-two years ago)

*reads sleeve* Now I wonder if it's "The Whole is Equal to the Sum of Its Parts"...

*reads lyrics, thinks to self 'Ha! That must be it, it's the song Tim's talking about.'*

So I'll find out when that song plays but in the meantime, the rest of it. "Something tells me I've been here before..."

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:18 (twenty-two years ago)

You know, "Salt Water Fish" is one hell of a good song. *arrangement hits minimal weird guitar break* ...a GREAT song.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:22 (twenty-two years ago)

...and yup, that was the song. Amazing stuff.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 05:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I quite liked "Tiny Meat". What's happened to her since?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 13:26 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Whole is Equal to the Sum of Its Parts" is ridiculously fine (and I remember thinking when I heard the album "Wow, this out-KMFDMs KMFDM!").

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:58 (twenty-two years ago)

the remixes!! "paraffin" was remixed in style by red snapper, luke vibert and richard fearless. "whole is equal..." by grantby and fila brazilia, and "tiny meat" by danny saber and monkey mafia. the paraffin remixes are the best (especially red snapper's, it's equal parts charles mingus circa "tijuana" and john barry) but i have a soft spot for all of them...

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Did I imagine it, or was Lesley Rankin in a cola advert at one point (Pepsi Max?)?

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it was Mountain Dew, she was muttering "thank god for little girls" or something.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 15 January 2004 13:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I was listening to Salt Peter again today, and it reminded me of how I always thought this sounded like a trip-hop album produced by The Bomb Squad. The sheer amount of layering is incredible, like when the distorted guitar starts bleeding all over "Salt Water Fish". Even on something straightforwardly poppish like "Tiny Meat", there's enough different breakbeats used over the main rhythm for it to be "Pump Up The Volume" or something. And they manage to save using an Amen right until the fade-out!

The other big sonic cue for the album is the disco freak-out section of "Closer To God", I guess.

Thank you Dan for making me pull out this album again!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 15 January 2004 13:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I wonder if it might be worth sending "paraffin" to Viz's Profanisaurus

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 15 January 2004 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

I love how so many of Lesley's lyrics make no sense in total but as snatches sound great - "Stretch my neck to look up to him" is so evocative of a masochistic attitude, only coming from Lesley you don't really trust it. Actually I'm convinced that "Paraffin" is a straight roleplay of the part of the German maid in Norman Mailer's An American Dream - "there's a flower-thief in my backyard again"!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 15 January 2004 13:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Tim,

We never had Mountain Dew in the UK (pity, I really like it), so it must have been re-cut over some other soft drink by the company. Definitely the same advert though.

Decided to just Google it. It was for Pepsi, and she did a version of "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" . That's bugged me for years. God Blass the internet.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Thursday, 15 January 2004 13:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Thank you Dan for making me pull out this album again!

Yes indeed! I hadn't thought about it in quite a long time and now I think I might enjoy it more than I did then.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 15 January 2004 14:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm fairly sure it was for Pepsi here as well, the ad had lots of (ahem) chicks kicking arse doing stunts didn't it?

― edward o (edwardo), Thursday, 15 January 2004 14:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I love how so many of Lesley's lyrics make no sense in total but as snatches sound great

I think her knack for the (usually extremely filthy) ear-catching turn of phrase sometimes overshadows the fact that, while her lyrics are rarely coherent in the conventional narrative sense, the accumulation of random tenuously linked snatches of sex/angst/sadism/wordplay usually result in an overall situation which makes sense.

Listening to Salt Peter again, it struck me how well it's dated - I'd say even better than Maxinquaye, and certainly better than Protection.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 15 January 2004 14:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah it's dated very well, mainly because almost none of the rhythms are draggy like all other trip hop ever. The only track that sounds really of its time is "Paraffin".

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 15 January 2004 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

...for some reason, i didn't really care for Ruby when first i heard them. i can't quite place why, although i've since heard songs i've liked a lot and found out it was them.

Silverfish was okay. and had the excellent "HIPS LIPS TITS POWER" t-shirt. yes.

― janni (janni), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:28 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

Finally got the second album yesterday. Tim's description is good -- not as strong as the first but still quite enjoyable.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:12 (twenty years ago)

Silverfish's entire recorded output can be distilled into the "Don't Fuck/Weird Shit" single, but what a glorious mess...fans of the 'Fish should also seek out John Wilkes Booze...

― hank (hank s), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:23 (twenty years ago)

Salt Peter is still awesome, Matos is still wrong if he hates it.

― Dan (Sez Me) Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:28 (twenty years ago)

Yus.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 17:37 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

i've inexplicably been jamming salt peter and 'grace' again this week and they still sound great! they should not be as forgotten as they are

also 'paraffin', jesus, so creepy. OLD...MAN'S...ASS...

― lex pretend, Thursday, 20 November 2008 22:15 (seventeen years ago)

Youve painted up your lips an rolled and curled your tinted hair.
Ruby are you contemplating going out somewhere?
The shadow on the wall tells me the sun is going down -
Oh ruby
Dont take your love to town

Its hard to love a man whose legs are bent and paralysed
And the wants and the needs of a woman your age, ruby I realize,
But it wont be long Ive heard them say until I not around
Oh ruby
Dont take your love to town

It wasnt me that started that old crazy asian war
But I was proud to go and do my patriotic chore
And yes, its true that Im not the man I used to be...
Oh ruby
I still need some company.

Shes leavin now cause I heard the slammin iof the door
The way I know Ive heard it slam one hundred times before
And if I could move Id get my gun and put her in the ground
Oh ruby
For gods sake turn around

― m coleman, Thursday, 20 November 2008 23:10 (seventeen years ago)

three years pass...

I'm gonna listen to this again tonight.

― Tim F, Sunday, 13 May 2012 08:12 (fourteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

http://waitingforlight.viinyl.com/

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 7 May 2013 18:51 (thirteen years ago)

Interview from a few weeks back

http://www.chaoscontrol.com/lesley-rankine-ruby-2013/

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 7 May 2013 18:52 (thirteen years ago)

one year passes...

NAOOOOOW
NAOOOOOW
NAOOOOOW
YOU SILLY GIRL

― aaliyah papi (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 16:38 (eleven years ago)

three weeks pass...

Liking the new album

― Elvis Telecom, Saturday, 19 July 2014 22:12 (eleven years ago)

four years pass...

Did someone say American tour?

https://www.facebook.com/RubyLesleyRankine/photos/a.529159337107817.120075.408149075875511/2072852286071840/?type=3

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:32 (seven years ago)

yeah wow weird coincidence i just randomly listened to RtSF yesterday for the first time in ... well def the first time in the two thousand teens

(the good tracks are still good)

― the late great, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:36 (seven years ago)

Uhh, what the hell!? Was just listening to her yesterday and wondering what happened to my ca. 1995 Ruby t-shirt. Had zero idea she was still doing anything musical.

― Funkface LLC (Old Lunch), Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:40 (seven years ago)

The fuck is going on up in here!

― Funkface LLC (Old Lunch), Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:40 (seven years ago)

(By which I mean: I was writing as tlg was posting. Weird-ass coincidence.)

― Funkface LLC (Old Lunch), Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:41 (seven years ago)

Zeitgeist. She's got a good Twitter feed too BTW.

https://twitter.com/lesleyrankine/

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:42 (seven years ago)

Also, catch up!

https://rubyofficial.bandcamp.com/

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:42 (seven years ago)

Salt Peter man, what a tune

― Ross, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:51 (seven years ago)

paraffin (richard fearless dub) is the one i kept hitting rewind on

― the late great, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:53 (seven years ago)

i also inexplicably liked the danny saber tiny meat mix even though it sounded the most stereotypically "blade end credits"

― the late great, Saturday, 11 August 2018 03:55 (seven years ago)

Thw new Portishead was going to be called Alien and out last spring, I think. But wasn't. I find it very hard to imagine that a new Portishead album could be that great or thrilling these days but would dearly love to be wrong about this.
― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), Wednesday, January 14, 2004 12:51 AM (fourteen years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Just wanna frame this post!

― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Saturday, 11 August 2018 08:53 (seven years ago)

one month passes...

Okay the show in SF tonight with Martin Atkins is immediate top 5 of my all time shows. Just an amazing raconteur and performer both.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 30 September 2018 07:33 (seven years ago)

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