Sparta, The Mars Volta, or At The Drive-In

[sonny-boy]

I though it would be interesting to see which band everybody likes more. personally, I like all three but Sparta is my favorite.

[skyneverclaimed]

At the drive-in is one of my top 5 bands ever :D other two are in the top 20 maybe

[clifford]

sparta is very good! i saw them live, and that is all ive heard.. are they considered a punk band? cause if they are, they're the only 'modern' punk band i like

i should hear the others as well.. is relationship of command the best intro to atdi? and where to start with mars volta?

so i didnt vote for lack of familiarity (i think i just made that word up).. sparta rocks hard tho, theyre definatley top 11

[sonny-boy]

Originally posted by clifford
sparta is very good! i saw them live, and that is all ive heard.. are they considered a punk band? cause if they are, they're the only 'modern' punk band i like

i should hear the others as well.. is relationship of command the best intro to atdi? and what to mars volta?

so i didnt vote for lack of familiarity (i think i just made that word up).. sparta rocks hard tho, theyre definatley top 11

did you see them with Jimmy Eat World? I heard that tour was very good. I would've killed to see them in europe with Queens of the Stone Age.

[clifford]

Originally posted by sonny-boy
did you see them with Jimmy Eat World? I heard that tour was very good. I would've killed to see them in europe with Queens of the Stone Age.

nope, they opened for pearl jam. i felt bad because it seemed like i was the only one paying attention to them :\ .. they were great. they did say "thank you" a whole lot.. thats my only complaint! i wish i was closer, not up in the towers of rupp like i was, so i could be more 'involved' with the music.

[300mhz]

at the drive is my favorite band ever. You can still hear the different sides of ATDI in Sparta and Mars Volta. But At the Drive-In is f'n amazing. Their instrumentals and lyrics are mind blowing. Cedric really knows his poetry. Their shows are off the hook too.

[NoteBOOM]

Sparta is currently my favorite band. "Wiretap Scars" is an amazing album, and I would kill to see them live. Their songs are pretty visceral, but they're not visceral in the ADTI sense, it's still very nice. Best Sparta songs (to me): Assemble the Empire, MYE, Echodyne Harmonic, Collapse, Cut your ribbon, **** there's just so many.

Oh, and they're not really modern punk, they're pretty much impossible to classify.

[clifford]

whats the deal with the song titles that dont have a lot to do with the song? all three of them seem to do that quite a bit.. like Rx Coup?? i dont think that song is about "prescription- government overthrow or "force" ..weird.. it does kinda sound cool though

it doesnt matter, im just wondering/observing :D

[sonny-boy]

Originally posted by clifford
whats the deal with the song titles that dont have a lot to do with the song? all three of them seem to do that quite a bit.. like Rx Coup?? i dont think that song is about "prescription- government overthrow or "force" ..weird.. it does kinda sound cool though

it doesnt matter, im just wondering/observing :D

more than likely those song titles make sense to the guys that wrote them because it came from an experience that they had that was connected to the song but not actually in the lyrics. RX Coupe could have had to do with a car that drove by while they were writing the song.

[clifford]

Originally posted by sonny-boy
more than likely those song titles make sense to the guys that wrote them because it came from an experience that they had that was connected to the song but not actually in the lyrics.

RX Coupe could have had to do with a car that drove by while they were writing the song.

it IS kinda cool not just having the main line of the chorus as the title.

lol at the bottom part

[BlueOrb]

i'd say the mars volta, but only because they have the coolest name, and i saw them live

[boyecho]

at the drive-in introduction. pickup relationship of command [their best album] and Vaya. [second best in my opinion.]

sparta is okay, i bought the EP. nothing too fancy

mars volta is pretty good, i have the ep Tremulant. Tracks 1 and 3 are just utterly amazing completely chaotic and noisy free jazz freakouts that make me blow up my car speakers.

the album, though, kinda has the same song structure from track 1 to the end... with little deviation..

overall. songwriting. at the drive-in excelled. with honours ;)

[leeferdude]

at the drive in

[HappyNoodleBoy]

I used to listen At the Drive-in a lot, and I still do! I think they were fantastic...it's one of those bands that I love all their songs.

[Ice age coming]

I love Sparta! Wiretap Scars is a great album! its like a mix between The Bends and a Hardcore band!

three words!: CUT YOUR RIBBON!

[sonny-boy]

Originally posted by Ice age coming
I love Sparta! Wiretap Scars is a great album! its like a mix between The Bends and a Hardcore band!

three words!: CUT YOUR RIBBON!

I've heard Jim Ward say that Kid A was a big inspiration for Wiretap Scars.

[Ice age coming]

Originally posted by sonny-boy
I've heard Jim Ward say that Kid A was a big inspiration for Wiretap Scars.

One the official site Kid A is in the top 5 list of albums....

[Welladjusted]

sparta rules

[toneseeker]

I'd have to say At the Drive In. Only because they had a chance to grow as a band. It shows because each album got better.

If it were a choice between Sparta and The Mars Volta, I'd have to go with the latter. IMO, Sparta seems content to carry on that same sound that At the Drive in had, wheras, the Mars Volta sounds nothing like their former band. Don't get me wrong, Wiretap Scars has some really good songs, but overall, I was kinda disappointed with the album. I was also somewhat dissapointed with De-Loused..., but I like the direction that they're going in.

For those of you who aren't familiar with The Mars Volta, I highly recommend Tremulant. It's a 3 song ep. If you like that and are still wanting more, pick up De-Loused in the Comatorium. It's not quite as refined, but I still dig it for the most part.

[300mhz]

Originally posted by toneseeker
IMO, Sparta seems content to carry on that same sound that At the Drive in had, wheras, the Mars Volta sounds nothing like their former band.

I disagree. I think that there were two sides to At the Drive-In. You can definitely still hear ATDI in both bands. On one side, you can hear the more melodic/harsh sounds carried on in Sparta. Their songs remind me of the ATDI songs like "Star Slight" and "Lopsided." On the Mars Volta side, you can hear the abstract/romantic sounds of ATDI. I think their songs are generally more reminiscent of songs like "Ursa Minor" and "Metronome Arthritis."

[hoarski]

at the drive in. no contest

[Clayton38]

You know... I think I saw one of those bands down here. I went to see them, and I talked to one of the guys after who said he was in At The Drive In at one time. I told him I didn't even know the band was broken up(I don't listen to them) and he said something about the band not going in the direction he wanted it to and that he wanted to play punk... but the band he was with was really spacey. I can't remember his name or the band's name... I'm just not a fan. Nice guy though.

[Ice age coming]

Originally posted by Clayton38
You know... I think I saw one of those bands down here. I went to see them, and I talked to one of the guys after who said he was in At The Drive In at one time. I told him I didn't even know the band was broken up(I don't listen to them) and he said something about the band not going in the direction he wanted it to and that he wanted to play punk... but the band he was with was really spacey. I can't remember his name or the band's name... I'm just not a fan. Nice guy though.


cool you may have met Jim Ward :D
did he look alittle angry when he sang?

[edly]

i hate sparta. i think their music is boring and doesn't have a lot of energy to it. i love the mars volta though, their new album is incredible. but at the drive-in was a perfect mix between the two.

it's funny to watch live videos of at the drive-in and see the noticible seperation between the sparta guys and the mars volta guys.

[Ice age coming]

Originally posted by edly


it's funny to watch live videos of at the drive-in and see the noticible seperation between the sparta guys and the mars volta guys.


because they look mexican?

[edly]

Originally posted by Ice age coming
because they look mexican?


no, just because the mars volta guys dance and jump off the drums and are really into the music, while the sparta guys just stand there.

maybe funny was the wrong word? how about interesting? :)

[Ice age coming]

Originally posted by edly
no, just because the mars volta guys dance and jump off the drums and are really into the music, while the sparta guys just stand there.


hehe ok...

maybe they think that there is enough with two guys jumping around ?

[edly]

i highly recommend downloading any live at the drive-in videos that you can, they're incredible. my fav is the conan o'brian performance of one-armed scicsor

[clifford]

Originally posted by edly
i hate sparta. i think their music is boring and doesn't have a lot of energy to it.

are you serious!? they rock pretty hard in my opinion.. i dont see how anyone could say that "light burns clear" lacks energy...

oh well, its your opinion

[edly]

i dunno i guess i just don't like their style.

the def weren't my fav half of atdi

[sonny-boy]

Originally posted by edly
no, just because the mars volta guys dance and jump off the drums and are really into the music, while the sparta guys just stand there.

maybe funny was the wrong word? how about interesting? :)

I would hate for my music to be judged by being "fun to watch". however I will agree that as much as I love Sparta they don't have that same raw energy that At The Drive-In captured. the way I look at it is that Sparta has a much more mature sound.

[Ice age coming]

Originally posted by sonny-boy
I would hate for my music to be judged by being "fun to watch". however I will agree that as much as I love Sparta they don't have that same raw energy that At The Drive-In captured. the way I look at it is that Sparta has a much more mature sound.

yeah and they concentrate more on playing than jumping around...

[edly]

i just thought that atdi were expressing themselves more and not worrying so much about playing everything perfectly. just my opinion

[sonny-boy]

Originally posted by edly
i just thought that atdi were expressing themselves more and not worrying so much about playing everything perfectly. just my opinion

you're entitled to your own opinion. I sure don't have a problem with someone playing everything perfect, I'd rather see a show with a band playing "perfectly" and not jumping around than a band thats alot of fun to watch but they sound like sh*t.

[toneseeker]

Originally posted by sonny-boy
you're entitled to your own opinion. I sure don't have a problem with someone playing everything perfect, I'd rather see a show with a band playing "perfectly" and not jumping around than a band thats alot of fun to watch but they sound like sh*t.

I disagree to a certain extent. I'd rather go watch a band who is so into their music that the energy is passed on to the crowd. I get bored watching people stare at their feet for the whole set. As far as playing everything perfectly, that's your aesthetic. For me, it doesn't necessarily have to sound exactly like the record. I don't go to a show to hear a band sound exactly like their CD. I'd rather hear them change it up, keep it interesting and still manage to sound good.

[State]

I'm gonna have to say The Mars Volta but I think thats cause I'm listening to Televators right now.