Battles - Race:Out & Tij Live 2007

[candrew6]

oh my gosh. the timing, not just for stanier but for the whole band is absolutely amazing. I'm so glad I just happened to stumble upon an article on Gloss Drop on Stereogum over the summer. Battles is now one of my top 5 fave bands.

[shaolinkin]

why is that cymbal so high?

[UltimateVenom]

abso-fuckin-lutely-positively-­fuckin-amazing.

[Hentaifreak50]

HEEEEERREEESS JOHNNY!!!!

[EatPieYes]

John Stanier is a real beast of a man!

[Ziggatass]

there is so much shit going on!!!!

[modestrocker1]

check out lightning bolt for good druming

[needlessdestruction]

stanier has played with high cymbals for years even with mark of cain.

[joyusachoobarb]

DEAR GOD

[VoiceofCthulhu]

Perhaps not the highest quality of video or audio, but GODDAMN is this band awesome.

[shoey920]

Stanier in beast mode.

[jakeghabrial]

i'm 99% sure jesus and nine inch nails all had an orgy and created stainer.

[MarkHarrellJr]

I'm guessing that if you don't do acid or eat shrooms that this music won't be enjoyed.

I'm not on acid or shrooms.

.

[BGriffJames]

@MarkHarrellJr what a dumb thing to say

[gregorioster]

This band is just insane.

[ntimkovich]

the cymbal is so high b/c when they first started rehearsing, the drummer had a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder. turns out it was easier for him to hit the cymbal way up there than just in front of him.

[DaFTdIVAD]

@ntimkovich that's incorrect.

[mrhappysod]

@ntimkovich Nope, it was just a joke that they have within the band.

[GIMPmanipulated]

after seeing this video, i discovered that i love this band even more, now.

[TheWezel1995]

Why is his crash so high? XD I love this band, my cousin covered them... looked just like them.. Specialy atlas..

[88fuzz]

@TheWezel1995 I watched in an interview that he put it up so high for their first show as a joke. And then it just kind of stuck around.

[mikedies89]

you can tell they really enjoy playing their music, i like that in a band. plus they groooove.

[matthewm9859]

why does the drummer have his cymbal up so high? does it effect the sound?

[thecrikster]

@matthewm9859

the stand got stuck. :P

[VagueAnxiety]

2:58 haha

[chupchup2]

Great!

[Colenelly]

For people who are interested in counting music: This song is easily counted in 4/4. When he starts the hi-hat tapping when the guitars come in, start counting in 3/4 (1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3) and just keep it going. After a couple of bars, he gets right back on beat (beat 1 coincides with count 1). This is just a good way of showing inexperienced viewers how 4/4 and 3/4 are the same, it's just how you look at it.

[SinceTheBeatdown]

fucking sick

[vivelavidarocka]

Why in the fuck this band is not getting the recognition they deserve from the public? I mean, really!!.... The first time I saw them waaay back then (six years ago) here in NYC, I predicted they were gonna be huge in three, four years tops...what happened? does anybody listen good music anymore? I can't wait for their next album...

[athoughtcomes]

@vivelavidarocka what are you talking about? Mirrored was on everyone's top-ten list, and everyone who's anyone's on their collective jock. They're huge.

[vivelavidarocka]

@athoughtcomes I said "the public". I know that anybody who knows at least a little bit about good music had them in their lists two years ago, but that didn't translate into anything. Let's say for example, if they were to play tomorrow here in New York City, they wouldn't be playing at the Madison Squire Garden, not even at Radio City Hall nor at the Beacon Theatre, but at the Roseland.

[RacismIsSchism]

@vivelavidarocka music like this isn't easily consumable, this shit would never get played on radio, it's too challenging for the common ear, people want 4/4 shit you can sing along to with catchy hooks and melodies, not 4 dudes challenging the art of music, they'll always have an audience but never on a mass scale, at least not for a great while

[Spiralminds]

Very good! Congrats Battles!! ;)

[Unclescatpants]

don't suppose Stanier does a lot of cymbal chokes ...

[soddom1]

tits

[captainanomaly]

fucking incredible. Stanier is my favourite drummer ever!

[Jd4eva626]

@captainanomaly

gavin harrisson is better in my opinion

[Kelavmeister]

@Jd4eva626 He didn't say he was the best, just that it's his favorite. Also, there are plenty of better drummers, technically and musically, than Gavin. But stylistically, John Stanier is pretty neato.

[exquisiteoath]

@captainanomaly Drummers like Stanier inspire me to be a better guitarist.  That's how awesome he is.

[yurksemesh]

What's the time signature for the second song?

[andsoonetcetera]

4/4, genius

[yurksemesh]

Nah, there's no way Stanier's at 4/4 for the whole of that

[andsoonetcetera]

Yes, he is. I am a music major. I know how to count. He just accents the upbeats a lot.

Try counting 1, 2, 3, 4 for the entirety of Tij. Trust me.

[Kelavmeister]

Just because it fits in its entirety doesnt necessarily mean its in 4/4. Just like I could play 3 measures of 4/4, or 4 measures of 3/4, and its the same thing... But youre right, it is in 4/4, hah....

[Colenelly]

Yes, it's the same number of beats, but the time signature dictates the part that they are playing in this bands case. True it is in 4/4, it just seems different because its a tab spazzy.

[funnyguypanda]

does anyone know what kind of loop/delay pedal is used for the intro to tij??

[ketchupwontonmee]

line 6 dl-4

[s005288]

Alot of energy! :)

[CRAPCANNONS]

this rocks...

but whyfor his ride so high?

[13crapa]

I ask myself the same thing. Shellac have behind the drum a set a ride high as this with a mic to capture some natural reverbs- Here I wonder why

[dante666diaz]

His cymbol was original put up high as a joke, but it became the norm after John toured with the battles with it up like that for 5 years.

[DangerRifai]

This song has so much groove its unbelievable.

[mariorossipuzza]

when i saw them this summer, i was terrified for the bass intro because it sounds like an apocalypse is coming or something similar... who agree?

[missjoke]

Holy Crap that was effing AWESOME! I love these guys!

[hawk65]

john stanier is the whole blue man group

in one killer!

[Curlyfriezzz]

why does that retard have his cymbal so high, its stupid it doesn't look cool

[sempoii]

no it's not stupid.

it's different from the norm.which is...cool~

[gabe25591]

Battles have stated that they constantly attempt to retain a very minimalist sound, which is not helped if the drummer is constantly tempted to use his crash cymbal. Race:Out is the ONLY song in Battles back catalogue that uses the cymbal that many times in quick succession.

You're watching the wrong video if you're going to critisise the aesthetics of one of the best drummers alive today, so, in short; fuck off you wanker.

[curtisnt]

i love gabe

[gabe25591]

Thank you :D

[teegemagic]

@gabe25591 and by back catalogue you mean their only album, right?

[specialkayyyyleigh]

@teegemagic Nope, I also mean the EP C / B EP, which may be two old EPs combined but still makes for a 12 track album when put together.

[teegemagic]

@specialkayyyyleigh oh sweet i'll have to look those up, i really kind of dig battles, i'd like to hear some older stuff.

[gabe25591]

@teegemagic EP C / B EP is technically an album.

[EtcEtcAndEtc]

maybe he's making the point that they are all making life very difficult for themselves by using ridiculous equipment and strange time sigs/harmonies/rhythms. I think its an ironic joke.

This performance made me dribble.

[MoonUnitLatina]

Or he might just be a dickhead.

[EtcEtcAndEtc]

like,yeah,totally. nice one

[redandblack666]

apprently the drummer hurt himself somehow so he has to have it at that heigh. what i heard anyway

[zedascouves78]

that was a joke he told for the london paper

[denxos]

In one word: Hyperincrediblyfuckingawesome!

[DangerRifai]

Oh my goodness. How good is Race Out?

[Gana0]

Very

[DangerRifai]

Correct answer. Ten points!

[curtisnt]

it's my favoree.

[gretsch19]

so good live.

amazing.

[randolphhplodnar]

This band makes me happy.

[Derobrash]

Oh wow, what an excellent video of Battles doing their stuff.

[Glonito]

yea this is race:out into TIJ

[Roswellsounds]

Fantastic show! This version of Tij is excellent. What a band! It must be one of the best live shows to see this year.

[strictlydiatonic]

dudes its race: out into tij

[LTTLBITLAFF]

STANIER

[Roswellsounds]

Great video of a fantastic band!!!

But you must correct the name of the song/s, mate...

[Sodchucker]

SZ2? I think its Race:In into Tij?

[desmondddenker]

half of all my friends where there and deeply impressed. thanks for the video!