Talk:4AD/Archive 1

Untitled
Note to potential page movers: The name of the company, according to their official website, is just plain 4AD, not 4AD Records or 4AD Recordings, neither of which are mentioned anywhere in their domain. (If this page ever gets archived, please retain this notice at the top of the new talk page.) --Geoff Capp 11:48, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

However the name of the company is 4 A.D. Limited. . Rich Farmbrough, 22:48 4 September 2006 (GMT).

Logo
The 4AD logo is a spoof of the AAD Audio CD process designation.
 * The label and logo pre-date CDs. --ajn (talk) 12:48, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
 * The gentleman probably means SPARS code. I have to say, I always thought 4AD stood for "4-track, Analog, Digital." The likeness (and coincidence) is uncanny.Arhielanto (talk) 20:51, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

"resigned"
"after resigning to Throwing Muses and Pixies" - I'm not sure what that clause means, but I have two guesses: "after resigning [itself to the more homogenous music of] Throwing Muses and Pixies" or "after re-signing Throwing Muses and Pixies." The first explanation seems rather more likely, but I'm not aware of that construct in English. And is resignation really what's meant there (i.e., were more ambitious goals a failure?), or more like limiting its scope to Throwing Muses and Pixies? At any rate, it's a very confusing clause so I'd like to ask what's meant before I try to copyedit it. Regards, PhilipR 07:51, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Guernica
Is it worth mentioning the sub-label Guernica? I'm not really sure what the distinction is, but certainly Insides were signed to Guernica (Euphoria has the catalog # GU 4 CD and is copyright GUERNICA for 4.A.D.) and I thought that at some point or other so were UVS pcrtalk 07:06, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Good point. Guernica should probably be mentioned somewhere here. They put out some good records, and are considered just as "4AD" as anything bearing the actual 4AD logo. Leamanc (talk) 00:36, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

classic?
a lot of talk of "classic" era 4AD. I dunno whose opinion this is, I would like a source. -72.81.123.153 (talk) 05:45, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

I guess it was my opinion, as I wrote most of this. :-) This is a tricky area for Wikipedia, as most 4AD fans would agree there was a classic period, although there is a lot of debate about when it started and when it ended, and it's hard to quantify.  It's a subjective thing, and the only sources are endless debates on message boards around the 'net.  Since it is so hard to quantify, it may fall out of Wikiepdia's guidelines, but I'm glad that it's survived edits by fellow Wikiepdians and is not littered with "citation needed"s.  I dunno...maybe it could be worded differently?  Break down the eras a little bit more concisely?  Like 1980-1982 was definitely 4AD's post-punk era, 1983-1987 was their goth era, 1993-1997 was their infatuation with the USA underground. Leamanc (talk) 00:35, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Reverse chronology?
I wrote all of the original "Classic and Noteworthy Releases" section, up to 1995. At that time, it was in chronological order. I am THRILLED that someone decided to pick it up and list some of the great releases from 4AD's recent resurgence (licensing Atlas Sound and Bon Iver was a stroke of genius). But I think it may be a more effective read if we started from "1980 forward" again, rather than going from the present back to the beginning. What does everyone else think? Leamanc (talk) 00:40, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Section merger?
4AD and 4AD cover much of the same ground. Should the two sections be merged together? -- Foetusized (talk) 23:30, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Intro and article needs a rewrite
I'm not interested in rewriting this article (well I am but not my field really) but it does need to be redone. After the explosion of punk had died down it was labels like 4AD that filled the gap. The artwork was an antidote to the "cut and paste" approach to punk covers and Liz Fraser has to be one of the period's greatest singers (by accident since she didn't set out to be a vocalist). I always felt as though her version of "Song to the Siren" far surpassed the Tim Buckley version in the vocal department though his surpassed in the "guitar department" (sorry Robin Guthrie loved your effects laden guitar part but Buckely's guitar did the biz). "Sugar Hiccup" has to be one of the greatest song titles ever and the tune is outstanding.

I know 4AD went all "US Indie" later but for anyone in the UK the original Cocteau Twin releases (they were some of the earliest 4AD releases I think) were exciting events. A friend of mine bought the first few singles when they came out and played them to me - from that moment on I was happy to say that I was a fan of the Cocteau Twins.

The Pixies and Frank Black were fine but the impact in the UK started with the Cocteau Twins. The design aesthetic of the cover artwork was superb - on par with Factory Records. The music was an antidote to post-punk bands like Adam and the Ants - long before he became Prince Charming his "ant people" movement was much touted in the underground whisper factory as the next big thing as was King Kurt and his pyschobilly movement. 4AD or I should say the Cocteau Twins never became the next big thing but they did influence a generation of UK music fans in a far more meaningful way. First of all they introduced that generation to "Song to the Siren" (and by extension Tim Buckley - yes Americans reading this - punks did not listen to Tim Buckley it was the Cocteau Twins version that brought him to the attention of the "lost generation"). Secondly Liz Fraser had that "folky arabic" thing going on with her vocals - no shouting "White riot, I wanna riot" (love The Clash don't get me wrong) - could anyone at the time in the English speaking world sing the words "sugar hiccup" in the way Liz Fraser does - I doubt it. Lets see, Paul Weller singing it - nah. Bono singing it - nah. Let's try some female singers of the day: Barbra Streisand or how about Olivia Newton John (all Cocteau Twin fans reading this will be smiling now).

Someone do 4AD a favor and rewrite the lead-in to encapsulate the essence of this great label. Then rewrite the whole article so that it sounds like a Liz Fraser vocal and make it interesting to read (so cold an article for such a hot label).

Sluffs (talk) 21:43, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

COI
The last 20 or so edits are by user:willtompsett, who almost certainly has a huge COI. This is just a heads up, if anyone wants to look over the edits to check neutrality. Benboy00 (talk) 18:35, 29 November 2013 (UTC)