REACTION TO CARDIACS.

[@DrCGAtherton1]

My favourite band, had the pleasure of seeing them live more than any other band and was a support act on 2 occasions, absolute top Gentleman in person. Tim was a genius, melding so many genres to create such an original sound that will never occur again! RIP You Amazing Mad Bugger!!

[@Phlakaton88]

My favorite band. Ever. Just amazing. Love to you all. ❤

[@paulpetroleum]

The childlike thing is dead on. As a fan of theirs for about 30 years. They give me wonderful feelings of childlike euphoria at times and also a melancholy feeling of memories I've never had.

[@Phlakaton88]

That was great. Your reaction on Loose Fish. With each breath you react to a change and within the same breath. You get another angle. Awwww Timmy. We miss ya pal.

[@boq780_2.0]

By the way, welcome to the pond, as Cardiacs fandom is called! It is called such as Tim once described the crowd at their concert as 'little fishes swimming in their pond.

[@Intapool]

You, Sir, are a good man. Thank you for checking out Cardiacs. Loosefish Scapegrace is a classic and like many other Cardiacs tunes once it gets under your skin the beauty of it all reveals itself. As 'childlike' as the lyrics may first appear they usually have a much deeper meaning, Tim was a genius, yet a humble man. If you haven't already done so please check out The Breakfast Line with it's marching off the edges of the Earth ending; a favourite of mine. I've been lucky to see them many times and I've never known a band to give off such love to their audience. Also try watching All That Glitters Is A Mare's Nest to see that they could actually play all this stuff live making it look easy, but without showing off.

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

I'm glad I finally listened to them after all these years. As far as my comment about child like, it was more about the music structure, how it was all over the place but happy and chaotic. Maybe as a child might attempt to put a song together. It was all good. I enjoyed it. I'll check out what you've suggested. Thanks for watching.

[@Intapool]

Hello John. Oh, I absolutely agree with your childlike comment, it was all part of their earlier sound. Loosefish was actually initially released in 1987. It's also worth watching the entire 'Seaside Treats' film for sheer childlike madness. It's not pretty, but it's hilarious. kzbin.info/www/bejne/moLbZIWahM9ng5Y

[@stevekeale4395]

Fantastic Cardiacs, lucky to have seen them many times. Welcome to the pond.

[@markevans3879]

I saw them seventeen times across the UK and they are still the band I have seen most times live. I even had a chat with Tim Smith in the bar at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall - lovely, lovely man, RIP.❤

[@PuzzledlifeTV]

Im glad you like cardiacs - means you have taste :) . Here's a recommendation for you - forgive me if you already know it but the reason I clicked on this video is the "world Music" and I clicked thinking it was a reaction to the band 'Man Jumping' and the album "World Service". Theres a track on that album - sorry I dont have the link to hand but its on youtube - called 'The perils of tourism'. Give it a listen, it's a treat ;)

[@monkeyhousescouse]

Tim Smith was a genius. He composed everything using hand written notation. You need to react to SING TO GOD. That is them at their most cognitively dissonant and intense!

[@bustedfender]

Tim learned to read & write music by following the score while listening to The Who’s Quadrophenia over and over.

[@raytrusty8618]

I adore the Cardiacs.....but when you have finshed with listening to them would you consider checking out the Aladdin Sane Album by David Bowie....Especially the first track "Aladdin Sane!".....its incredible....

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

I'm very familiar with the Aladdin Sane album so it wouldn't be much of a reaction. But I'll do it just because it's a great album.

[@stanfrancisco4573]

Brilliant- great to witness someones first go at Tarred and Feathered! Permission to come aboard!

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Permission granted. Now relieve the watch. These guys are quite the ear full. I've always liked music that was a challenge to listen to. Not everything of course but when it happens I'm ready for it.

[@Crumbleofborg]

These early Cardiacs tunes are immensely playful. And I love Tim's almost total disregard for the usual rules of harmonic progression. But I've long given up trying to make sense of the words.

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

I don't even try to figure out lyrics in most songs. Unless of course they're so obvious you can't help but understand.

[@ThePerradox]

I hope you watched the video for Tarred and Featherd later, as great as the song is, you want the FULL experience. RIP Doctor Tim Smith and RIP Tim Quay.

[@SpuddySpud]

I adore Loosefish Scapegrace. What a song! It's like bits of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas as performed in a bratty high school production, snipped up and glued back together with bits of Genesis.

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Ditto!

[@Rolling_Ronnie]

Take Punk, Fairground, Prog, mix in five different time signatures and some crazy lyrics and add a genius plus exceptional musicians (they had to be!) and you have Cardiacs.

[@ricardogomez981]

Thank You for reacting to cardiacs music. I have been listening to cardiacs for the past five years and is very hard to recommend this group, you never know if the other person is going to like them and most of the time they end up hating this music, even people that are Zappa fans or oingo bongo fans 🤷

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

An open mind to different things helps but you never can tell what people are going to like. I've just discovered them and I like them. They're unique. Thanks for commenting and watching.

[@eddiethepizzahero]

Cardiacs are my absolute fav. I remember the very first time I ever heard them and I thought "Yes! This is the exact formula I've waited for my whole life in music". They have everything. Top tier sound, excellent look, started at the exact right time, ALL of the catalog is amazing, and great side projects. I fucking love them man. RIP Tim, we could really use ya right about now.

[@boq780_2.0]

That is one great compilation album of their early EPs. The songs all precede their first album which was released in 1988 (though Cardiacs had existed for 10 years by then and released a number of demos)If you want to move through their work chronologically (through the official albums) you should go to the excellent debut album 'A Little Man, A House and the Whole World Window' next, which is a treat.from beginning to end. You have the Cardiacs right. Tim had a child-like sense of play and openness. He was the centre of a group of friends who made up a small scene and he was by all accounts a very loving and generous soul. Some have called their music 'pronk', a fusion of punk and prog, but Tim hated the term and would call his music pop, or psychedelic music, if forced.

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Thanks. This time I'll do the songs you mentioned because I know it was you I mentioned in the video as the 'someone' that asked me to listen to something.

[@boq780_2.0]

@@JohnCregoWorldMusic no worries, they're all gold!

[@CharlesCarlson-kn1ip]

JC I haven't changed my opinion on these guys ,, but you and the show are great!

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

They don't call me 'The Fantastic Johnny C' for nuthin' ya' know. Thanks.😁

[@ThePerradox]

Hope you can listen to more Cardiacs. More, thank you, more, thank you!

[@bellyeyed]

Is the knowledge of my own existence real?❤

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Yes. Yes it is.

[@ThePerradox]

I wish I was as sure.

[@grayjohn6332]

Watching you comment is brilliant. I saw the cardiacs live many times. Because you have great music knowledge you spot all the influences going on. I saw the big band and the quartet. After listing to the Cardiacs most other music is a disappointment.

[@sicko_the_ew]

If you want to hear something more mellow from them (with marching band bass drums, I think), with lyrics selected from Mark Twain's favourite book, the English-Portuguese phrase book, _English as She is Spoke_ - which is basically a randomizer (interesting story behind the book if you get into it), then one option is *Vermin Mangle* from the later years. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJ-7cmN6jtWUoZI

[@sicko_the_ew]

OTOH, if you want something which "goes Queen" at one point, and also has an enactment of the "two marching bands approach out of time, join, and fall into step with each other" idea that someone famous that I can't remember used to explain something I've forgotten about rhythm, and also first introduced the Cardiac idea that one should kiss the big ugly shark (I think), then *Maresnest* (the song - which is maybe a bit of a mare's nest) should do you nicely. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6G7f56chsadoZI (Fan video in VHS, with puppet animation, and a big ugly shark in it.)

[@sicko_the_ew]

OTOH (the other one), for aggressive, quick punk : an angry song about ants - or *An Ant* kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGHchXqDaalkn9E (It's the shortest of the _Tales From the Rotten Shed_ series of videos, that you might enjoy.) In the end, Tim is saying, "Babba Leith" - the drummer's name. AKA Bob Leith. I seem to recall there was some competition fans got signed into, in which if they won, they got a kiss from Bob Leith. I forget the details.

[@sicko_the_ew]

Babba Leaf played drums on the *Sterbus* double album, *Real Estate/ Fake Inverno* (they're from Rome). The song *Home Planet Gone* doesn't have mysterious lyrics. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKfIYZ9ua8p5esU

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Thanks for all the info. It should keep me busy for a while investigating it. Look for a video in the near future on something you suggested. I don't know what though.

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Just got back from Bandcamp after listening to a bunch of Sterbus. Very cool. I'll do something from them soon since I've done a few Cardiacs already. Thanks again.

[@Bartislartfast]

'If you can get into Zappa, you can get into this' - for sure, this was where I came from... Try and track down Cardiacs' ARCHIVES recording - many of their very early tracks, deeply influenced by Zappa (I did read somewhere that Tim & co had attended a Zappa concert in London (Hammersmith?) perhaps '78, which prompted the inclusion of percussion a la Ed Mann)

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

So you're saying Ed Mann did some percussion with Cardiacs? I did not know that. I've always liked the connections from one band to another personal wise.

[@Bartislartfast]

Sorry, no, I meant they were possibly influenced by zappa compositions which featured complex percussion parts. The reference to ed mann was due to the concert they attended which had Ed Mann on percussion.

[@Bartislartfast]

kzbin.info/aero/OLAK5uy_ncjndLlq2IjfC9HgMRO9btotmaQpALBxQ&si=NQzCvLaQnBTMipuW

[@Bartislartfast]

BTW, was lucky enough to see the reformed Cardiacs last Friday in Glasgow with John Poole fronting. Truly mind-blowing performance with the band once more adorned with sax and percussion. ❤❤❤

[@Bartislartfast]

'Piffol Four Times'

[@CMJ1964]

Don't try to understand the lyrics, just relish the sound they make. I have seen a nice illustration proposing that he would use a well known book and pluck words and phrases from it to string together in his own special way. I think the title of this came from Moby Dick.

[@Mink-yu8nu]

Prunk!

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

Exactly right. Don't know why I didn't think of that.

[@brianandjillianadamson5479]

Pronk!

[@RichardStamp-s4e]

Its opera

[@JohnCregoWorldMusic]

In a strange kind of way, you're right. But not too strange.