Customer Reviews

This Is Our Music

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I must admit that it took me many listens to This Is Our Music before it truly sunk in as a piece of slow-moving dream-pop genius. Galaxie 500 create a lush epic where guitars both acoustic and electric swirl together in a gorgeous haze. The record opens with the incredible "Fourth Of July," which for a long time ruined the album for me. This song is perhaps Galaxie 500's strongest, and to me, everything that followed just could not hold a candle to it. But after a while, and after getting heavily into the work of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, The Velvet Underground, and Low, the other songs on the record began to show themselves as unique, brilliant entities. "Hearing Voices" and "Spook" are surreal pop tunes, while the superb "Summertime" and a cover of Yoko Ono's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" are lavish guitar epics that give Dean Wareham a chance to let loose while all the sounds build to a monumental crescendo. If you decide to explore this record by Galaxie 500, do not let initial disappointment scare you away. Like all great records, This Is Our Music takes time to infiltrate one's consciousness as a piece of extraordinary artistry.

...Dean realized he and his bandmates could never top it. In parting, Galaxie 500 left their short-lived career without a blemish. A perfect end for a near-perfect band.

Essential in every respect.

at it. And so begins "4th of July", probably one of my favorite Galaxie 500 lines ever, next to "I stayed @ home on the 4th of july, and i pulled the shades so i didn't have to see the sky, and i decided to have a bed in , but i forgot to invite anybody"
Only Dean Wareham's fractured genius can paint a picture of isolation and self-doubt in this way, and his detached storytelling verses remind me of "The Gift" in a sillier setting. "Sorry" has this cool dreamy haze going on, as does "melt away", and "king of spain pt. 2" with its delicate percussion and waves of guitar gently drifts along. Find your own classics, own this lp. I can't speak for the reissue because I have the rough trade orig.

I love this album ... but I will defend the rights of anyone to hate it. On paper, this whole concept shouldn't work. The beat is slow enough to appear hesitant. The guitars are strumming one chord off a Velvet Underground album. But by god, they captured a mood perfectly - "Listen The Snow is Falling" says it all. Galaxie 500's "On Fire" has better songs, but this album is their most individualistic statement. Perfect summer listening.

I missed these guys when they were kinda-sorta-somethings. I just recently (thanks to Amazon reviews-there's a plug) picked this CD up. All it took was one listen of 4th of July to know how glad I was I spent the dough.

I have blasted this thing out so many times on my car stereo in the past few months. Good mood-perfect music. Bad mood-perfect music. Driving really fast through heavy traffic in a downpour-perfect music.

Blazing guitar work, lazy vocals. I'm not sure how the songs can be this mellow and still rock me, but they sure do it really well.

I especially like their homage payed stomps through "Listen, The Snow Is Falling" and "Here she comes now".

I ever so boldly stated this is a top ten all time favorite today? That may have been pushing it. But this is definately rock the world missed, served up on a silver platter. Delicious.

I first heard Galaxie 500 when 'On Fire' came out on Rough Trade Records years ago. I fell for the languid pace, great tunes layered in feedback, and whispery, sing-song verses. I later found this album on cassette in a cut-out bin and loved it to death. Now that Rykodisc has reissued the Galaxie 500 catalogue, more people can discover what they likely missed the first time around. While 'On Fire' is still probably my favorite album by them, 'This Is Our Music' may have some individually stronger songs. 'Fourth of July', 'Summertime', and their cover of Yoko Ono's 'Listen the Snow is Falling' all spring through the speakers and grab you. Every time I listen to this album, and the band in general, I wonder why I don't drag it out for a spin more often. Recommended...

I've sat in the middle of conversations about this band: "Are they SHOEGAZE or DREAM-POP?" I've seen people get in scraps about this. Go all Francis Begbie to hell on this. It's nonsense!! Who cares? It's just good indie music, when "indie" meant what it was intented to mean. If your a fan of Unrest or the Bomb-pops, I highly suggest buying any of their albums. There is no reason why you shouldn't at least check it out. This american college band was a HUGE influence on many European bands in the early 90's. As powerful as the Velvet Underground?(tick that under "yes").**I know there's some Jesus and Mary Chain fan who wants to lamp me one!! But errm, at least Galaxie 500 didn't use drum-machines!! gawd no they're not the Cocteau Twins!!

When I first heard this album, I found it almost unlistenable, save for the first 2 songs. Having been delighted by TODAY and ON FIRE, I found it to be a very disappointing listen. The songwriting sounded uninspired, the melodies sounded weak, and the whole thing lacked momentum. A couple of months later, I decided to put THIS IS OUR MUSIC on while I took a nap. It was easy to fall asleep to, so I used it as my napping music a few more times. Soon I began hearing the songs in my head during the day. I became just as hooked, if not moreso, on this album as I had been on the other 2 Galaxie 500 releases. My advice: be patient with this recording, it will probably become more enjoyable with repeated listens.

Someone said their first album was best, and that's absurd. It had some really bad filler tracks. This one is a great listen, all the way through.

I'll grant that the sound quality is pretty bad, and it's not their best album (that would be "On Fire"). But beating up this album seems kind of distasteful to me, sort of like beating up a beautiful, defenseless animal.