Help Carrie Brownstein Love Phish

We’ve been big fans of Carrie Brownstein’s Monitor Mix blog on NPR.com ever since she started, so we’re a bit verklempt to see that the former Sleater-Kinney guitarist is trying to embrace our favorite band – the Phish.

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Back on Friday, Carrie asked readers to justify their love for a band that is not-so-popular and less-than-respected. Reader Cameron Norbert posted a comment that got Carrie’s attention and it was about his love for Phish.

“I love Phish. Phish embodies what I love about all music: excitement, energy, unpredictability & fun. They play because they love it, and it shows. They do jam, but as a group, feeding each other — like Jazz instead of Jam. It’s not the solo heavy crap that occupies most “jam” music.

They have shared the stage with Neil young, Jay-z, BB King, Alison Krauss, and even Bruce Springsteen – so obviously fellow artists take them seriously. But amongst the public, they still carry such a stigma.

Phish turned me onto My bloody Valentine, Pavement, Django Reinhardt, The Talking heads plus many more. I could recommend any of those bands to you with no trouble, but mention the band that lead me to them, and I’m laughed out of the room.”

Carrie respected Cameron’s comment so much that she’s dedicating her week to exploring the music of Phish to see if she actually likes them when pointed in the direction of their best material. To that extent, she’s asked Phish fans to leave her comments telling her what songs or jams she should listen to in order to fall in love with the band. We’ve all been asked to turn folks onto Phish in the past with varying results. What video/audio should Carrie watch/listen to in order to become a Phish fan?

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16 Responses

  1. Sadly, most of what people suggest will probably completely turn her off to the band. I’d suggest simply starting with Billy Breathes – a concise, well written, well recorded album. After that, probably a selection of tunes from ALO.

  2. And I was wrong – looks like most comments on her blog are recommending studio stuff, with a few live cuts here and there.

  3. What’s the purpose of struggling to turn on the masses to Phish exactly? Part of the appeal for me is that they’re not everybody’s cup of tea. They don’t have the mass appeal of a Dave Mathews band and that’s why I love ’em! Quirky, eclectic risk-takers who put it all on the line every show – warts and all. I remember when they were playing in bars and I wished that some day they would make it big. Be careful what you wish for! Within a year they were signed to a major label and playing bigger and bigger venues. Now it’s nearly impossible to buy a ticket for an arena show when they go on sale.

  4. Take it from Jerry “Our audience is like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice”

  5. “What’s the purpose of struggling to turn on the masses to Phish exactly?”

    not the masses. just one person who WANTS to know Phish. Big difference.

  6. MSG NYE 95 is as good as it gets, that show is perfect in every way, lately i’ve been concentrating on shows from 95-97 or so which are extremely solid…should definitely give a listen to The Great Went but if you’re looking for simplicity, there’s only one place to start: the beginning with Junta.

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