Notice that the girl on the cover looks like she's about to throw up. That's about how I feel. This song has gotten entirely too much airplay. If you want bluegrass, play bluegrass, not bluegrass-lite.

 
It is interesting to note that the bassist who plays with Nickel Creek in the Smoothie Song video is the "new" bassist for Metallica.  Also, Steve Morse has repeatedly expressed his affection for bluegrass music and has been in bluegrass bands in his past.  I personally don't consider bluegrass and hard rock to be that different at their cores, and certainly the likes of Nickel Creek and the Dregs are capable of spanning that divide.

below72 wrote: 

 horstman wrote: 
Let me get this straight - you all are comparing The Dixie Dregs to Nickel Creek?   Nickel Creek vs. Dixie Dregs ?  Really?
I'm speechless.
Clearly you have no idea what the difference is between bluegrass and...
a bowling ball.      
Furthermore...
to stay above the waterline (so to speak) Steve Morse plays with Deep Purple now (I'll venture a guess that DP were one of the inspirations for that spot on commentary on rock music bombast - This Is Spinal Tap) - so go figure...

Music is a cruel business and you all make it more so by these comical comparisons...Geez.
Go back to listening to Beiber. 
 

 cc_rider wrote: 
Chris will be the new host of Prairie Home Companion later this year after Garrison retires.

        I am wtching the scene since eons
      I guess I;d watch it hundertwasser more
        You can't catch a kid raising a hand
         And I am fast as hell out of nowhere

extremely enjoyable and tight. except where it is loose and extremely enjoyable.

I really like this - hard to believe there is no drummer playing, because it gets my feet tappin'!

Awful … sucko-barfo

Just so you know, Nickel Creek is back on tour, though who knows for how long. I saw them billed at the Mesa Center for the Arts in Mesa, Arizona, a really nice great views venue for 500 folks. Nickel Creek is releasing a new album as well. Awesome.

Ugh. This song got so much airplay when it first came out, that you wonder if any of these music industry bozos ever heard bluegrass before. Now, it just makes me want to crawl under a rock.

 edatwork wrote: 
2+ years later it's gotten worse...

Just saw Nickel Creek on Audience channel do a show.  I didn't even know they still played together, pretty neat. Oh and Chris Thile....best.....vocalist......evah!!

 imhorstman wrote: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Morse%20

STEVE MORSE!

any other WFIU listeners waiting for Earth Eats to start now?

One of the few pieces of music that deserves an 11. 

Remember that Chris Thile (the mandolin player here) was 21 when he recorded this.   

 Businessgypsy wrote: 

Aw, some one else compared Nickel Creek to the Dregs, not I. Not even close.

Dregs should be played here, they fit the Bill bill.

Where tadpoles and crawdads used to frolic in the bubbling water, now there is only lifeless dirt and rocks.  A dead, dried up creek is a sad thing.

 Businessgypsy wrote: 
Yes, Chris Thile is amazing. I heard him recently on 'Prairie Home', and I couldn't believe his playing. Incredible. And it's not just a zillion notes, it's got style too. Phenomenal.

Something about that repetitive violin riff detracts from the overall appeal of this tune, for me.  Luicia Micarelli from HBO's Treme
is a violinist worth listening to, and looking at. She makes that instrument talk in tongues.

Oh, how I miss Firefly...

 Kokoloco53 wrote: 

Anyone who's never heard Dixie Dregs owes it to themselves to go find out. I'm a big fan, but I don't hear the connection with Nickel Creek. I like 'em both. Agree that the Dregs were far superior to this, though.

The Dregs were more in the southern funk, jazz fusion vein. Actually the Dregs are in a genre all their own. Kind of like an instrumental version of Sea Level and Jean-Luc Ponty rolled into one. Time to go upload a few tracks to RP, I think...

nice

 a_genuine_find wrote: 
These guys couldn't hold a candle to the Dregs.

But that said, this is still really good. Speaking of the Dregs, I recently saw Rush in concert and was totally blown away by their musicianship, skill, and verve. I walked away thinking "Have I ever seen a group as technically brilliant as this"? And the Dregs came to mind when I saw them in 1981.

 a_genuine_find wrote: 

Sounds like it.

Dixie Dregs Inspired?

awsome!

Wow. Just wow. I'd never heard of Nickel Creek before now. Stuff like this is why I send Radio Paradise money every month.

Freeking great song from some ultra talented kids!

absolutely! And if you like this song, you should definitely get one of their later albums, "Why should the fire die?" which has the famous Mark Shatz playing bass, formerly with Bela Fleck.

7 8

 Roverfish wrote: 
This is the mindset that would rate a sound check by the Beatles' roadies as a 10 simply because, hey, it's the Beatles. However, that doesn't mean this is a good song. It is extremely repetitive. Of course, very few songs don't repeat. But, they don't repeat themselves quite so often in such a short period.

There's something missing from this song. Perhaps it needs some more instruments to flesh out the sound. Or, it needs something to replace the lyrics it doesn't have.

Regardless, while Nickel Creek may have some good songs, this is not one of them. Also, even if the violinist is a hottie, that isn't enough to overcome the boredom from listening to this instrumental to inspire me to seek other music from this group which may appeal to me more.

 a_genuine_find wrote: 
Sure do, still love them.  I just uploaded Refried Funky Chicken to the LRC.  Maybe we can convince Bill & Rebecca to add a little "South to their Mouth" (aka playlist).

 bugleboy624 wrote: 
She has a solo album due out soon.  I am looking forward to hearing it.

 a_genuine_find wrote: 
Never heard of them, but I just ordered that CD. Just because of that CD-cover

Such an infectious groove to this one. And the violin player is a total hottie!

that is hysterical!  yes i remember them - that's a blast from the past - i have the old albums somewhere at my mothers! a_genuine_find wrote: 

just caught the end of this song...is this the song that plays at the opening credits to the amazing HBO tv series "Deadwood" ??

bmeador wrote: Yikes, maybe so. From their website: Dearest Listener, After seven years of extensive touring in support of three records (seventeen years as a band), we've decided to take a break of indefinite length at the end of 2007 to preserve the environment we've sought so hard to create and to pursue other interests. It has been a pleasure to write, record, and perform for you through the years and we'd like to heartily thank you for your invaluable contribution to our musical lives. Yours, Nickel Creek

Tight! A great way to get me started on Monday Morning. Thanks RP.

andrewimft wrote: Didn't they break up?

chirpie wrote: Produced by the great Allison Krauss. I think that's the best thing about the album as it didn't stand up to repeated listenings for me-- I wanted to like it a lot, but heard too many fatal flaws in the band's performances on it, but I think this band will get better, and they are already better than much of what's out there.

If I'm not mistaken, this may have been PG's very last post on RP. Jan 02, 2007 - 04:48. Ah yes, true to the bitter end... physicsgenius wrote:

This album is recorded really well. It's not "dark sounding" but at the same time they didn't compress the hell out of the dynamics. A great CD to own to show off a good hi-fi rig. :-)

d00kie wrote: Everybody got it's own taste.....

Tireux_De_Roche wrote: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/NickelCreek.jpg

jcjoh wrote: Maybe it's my penchant for mando- and vio-lins, but I think it's quite energetic. Stunning musicianship, for starters, and a unique spin on the 'bluegrass-inspired' genre.

Yes!

Great talent. Must be fantastic live. Boring song on Internet radio.

saw these guys (and girl) at Austin City Limits last year - one of the best shows i've seen yet. i loved their version of Britany Spears' "Toxic"

ZarSU wrote: AH! The Dregs! Man, what a flashback. The Dregs could really rip it up. I'd forgotten all about them. Dang, now I've go see if I can find a CD of theirs... c.

cptbuz wrote: just because it was cool. (click here)

Get your toes a tappin'!

healyf52 wrote: agreed

Perhaps my favorite NC track! More shivers.

Pyro wrote: Agreed. THEY ARE AMAZING LIVE. If you get the chance, dont pass it up

These guys have incredible energy live! After they played their concert here, they ended up playing for 45 minutes on the sidewalk outside their bus, for the fans who stuck around. They obviously just love to make music! And it shows in their performances.

I love tunes with this kind of sound and feel, :) thanks for playing it Bill! :)

bdr wrote:I bet that was great!!!

Jeesh. I was just playing this earlier today. I didn't even think Nickel Creek was to the point of being played on RP yet. Congrats to Bill for finding an awesome group, and to Nickel Creek for hitting the big time. :D

Yet another cool track in this series of good music

In the video, but not the recording, bass duties were taken over by Robert Trujillo, the bassist for Metallica. don't know why...

Me likey...

You all need to hear these guys cover Britney Spears' "Toxic".

I recognize their talent and have friends who are raving about these guys but it is just not my choice of genre.

liser wrote: NB: This sentence makes more sense if you put the stress on "top-rated" rather than "mandolin players".

Yahoo....I'm back !! Really nice segue from the Wailin' Jennys

jatue wrote: Chris may very well be full of himself as he's one of the top-rated mandolin players in the country. And as you said - they're young and they'll only get better if they can stay out of their own way.

This song's got me jumping in my seat. They sound awesome. Sorry to say I haven't heard anythting from them until this song, althought I plan to make up for what I've missed so far. Another one goes to the list!

that's so cool

If you get a chance to see this band live, GO! I saw them play a show with Glen Phillips about 5 years ago in Ames, IA. Incredible show. You definitely get your money's worth - they didn't want to leave the stage. Glen Phillips came on to play TTWS's Walk On The Ocean with them near the end -- wow. I've never been so moved listening to live music.

For some reason, this gives me the willies. Feels like there's some kinda "Stepford Wives with mandolins" vibe goin' on.

sara plays a mean violin

this is really good

Great song and Sara (the violinist/fiddle player) is a total cutie.

Great sound!

NiceGuy2005 wrote: And thus the biggest misconception about Nickel Creek is revealed! If you think they are the "Yanni of Bluegrass" then you're listening to them in the wrong context. While Nickel Creek without a doubt has ROOTS in bluegrass, they have insisted that they are NOT a bluegrass band, and this has become obvious as each consecutive album becomes more diverse and strays further from those bluegrass roots. Unfortunately, I don't think their record label makes this clear in promoting them. When their new album came out, there was a "listening party" on CMT.com. Based on my general dislike for country music, I would have never thought to look there for stuff from Nickel Creek. Thanks to marketing like that, every time I tell friends I'm going to a Nickel Creek show they say "Oh, that's bluegrass right?" So while you're certainly entitled to say Nickel Creek sucks (which I assume is the message you were trying to convey) saying that they are the "Yanni of Bluegrass" is a non-point because well...they're just not bluegrass. BTW, I've seen them in concert 3 times and every show is amazing! They are high energy, have a great rapport with the crowd, and (unlike many bands I've seen in concert) are able to play their instruments and sing as aptly in real life as they do on their CD's.

Saw them live last month in Lexington Ky. Fantastic show!

NiceGuy2005 wrote: Ouch! I like smoothies, and Nickel Creek, so you got me on 2 out of 3. For a dude with "nice guy" as a moniker and who professes to "try not to say un-nice things" - seems like you might not be as a nice as you think! Back to my smoothie... ;->

NiceGuy2005 wrote: I hear you. Don't you just Hate all those yuppies, driving their SUV's (which they never actually take off-road), while drinking their damn smoothies that they didn't even get from the kind of decent juice bar that any good self-respecting under-achiever would go to? You go, girl!

NiceGuy2005 wrote:

NiceGuy2005 wrote: "The Ya(w)nni of Bluegrass"... now there's a put-down!

Excellent!!

I like them, but....well, i saw them in concert, and I think they have a lot of potential -- they're good instrumentalists, you can't deny that -- but they'e young, and I'm not a huge fan of Chris's voice (Sean's a different story). Also, Chris seems a bit full of himself. But the music is good and I expect time will only make them better.

This reminds me of "Dregs" aks "Dixie Dregs", great tune.

NiceGuy2005 wrote: OUCH!!

Volume up. Head bobbin'. Toe tappin'. Fingers keepin' time on the keyboard. That's some good pickin'! :nodhead:

NiceGuy2005 wrote: I hear you -- but damn, they're good at what they do!

I try not to say un-nice things, but you know why they call this the smoothie song. It's what all the yuppies are listening to in their SUV's (that they never actually take off-road) while driving to buy their smoothie from Jumba Juice. Nickel Creek is the Yanni of Blue Grass <-(

Yup!

:-({|=

This song ROCKS! No wait, this song BLUE GRASSES! Err, umm. I give it a 9.

Katie wrote: You are right. But they are a DON'T MISS live.

Oooh this is good! I've failed trying get some Yonder Mtn. Sting Band through the LRC... any assistance is good!

Saw Chris jam with Mike Marshall in Telluride '03 -- UNBELIVABLE! They were fast as lightning and wonderfully tasteful -- total musicgasm!

Cool! Long time in between plays. Good to hear again. What talent. That Chris is QUICK! A 9.

Roverfish wrote: Note that on RP, it says "Rate Song," not "Rate Band." Not rating the song a 10 because of the reasons you mention (other really great bands, amount of time the band has been together) isn't accurate, nor is it fair. Judge the song on its own merits, not on anything else.

shayde wrote: How can any human being on the planet rank this song as a '10'? It's good, sure, but you want to tell the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, et al. to move over for an instrumental from a band with only 2 albums? Don't get me wrong, I rate this a strong 8 (and I really like Nickel Creek), but you're just as faulty to question 1's and then give a 10 as the 1's are. Opinions are what they are. The 1's are just more wrong. ;-)

Easily one of the finest instrumentals I've ever heard. When they play it live, it's twice as fast and Chris uses a mandolin instead of a bouzouki...I prefer the studio version.

This song is fabulous! Too bad the rest of This Side is not as good as their first album or this.

:D

How can any human being on the planet rank this song as a '1'? This is a masterpiece. What is it with people who don't know moderation? As an aside, this is my first '10', and I rank a LOT of music :)

Upstart mando virtuoso Chris Thile (deservedly) sits firmly in the company of Sam Bush and David Grisman - 8-string geniuses.

Mmmm, yes. Thank you sir, may I have another?

And they've come a long way from their beginnings as lil' cowpokes. (click here)

I just plain old love this song!

geomorph wrote: Well then, tell them to get their banjo banging butts on a plane to visit us here in England! Good stuff!

Very similar sound to Zubot and Dawson (who would sound great on RP, by the way...)

Even though it's called "The Smoothie Song", it does ROCK!

These kids can flat out play music. Saw them in concert last year and they were outstanding.