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Post by jwd on May 4, 2010 19:27:43 GMT -5
HIW is sold out at the local indie record shop. A good sign.
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Post by laurenjean on May 4, 2010 22:45:41 GMT -5
I'm so in love with "Our Whole Lives." I'm in like with the rest of the album.
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Post by ontheradio on May 4, 2010 22:57:06 GMT -5
Whaaat? I thought it was a reference to a Disney cartoon! THIS X 1000000000001.9 I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERED THIS. heart.
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Post by gettinincredible on May 5, 2010 0:15:40 GMT -5
I've been listening to it on repeat for about 12 hours now. I loved it on first listen, and it continues to grow on me. After a few weeks hopefully the OH MY GOD NEW HOLD STEADY giddiness will wear off and I can think about this with a rational mind. I don't want to rank it yet, because of said giddiness perhaps clouding my judgement. It's a new sound, I miss Franz sometimes, I find myself wondering "what would he have done with the piano there" or "how would his WHOAH OH's sound there" but it's a good change for the band I think. New sound. I dunno guys, I'm rambling. I love this album. If I'm going to pick a favorite track, it's probably Soft in the Center. It certainly isn't six lengths ahead of the other tracks though.
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Sunny D
Midnight Hauler
"We've gotta try a little harder..."
Posts: 1,900
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Post by Sunny D on May 5, 2010 1:25:03 GMT -5
Can I just express how much I love the line "You're Damn right I believe in love. Because I've been in love and I've loved right back."
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Post by nation87 on May 5, 2010 8:04:11 GMT -5
kinda late to the game here, but barely breathing sort of reminds me of mr. grieves by the pixies.
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Post by motörben on May 5, 2010 9:42:07 GMT -5
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bigontheinside
Midnight Hauler
If you don't know the words, don't sing along
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Post by bigontheinside on May 5, 2010 9:46:06 GMT -5
Woo! One behind Kate Nash is pretty damn respectable.
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Post by motörben on May 5, 2010 9:52:29 GMT -5
*resists vulgar pun*
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smugsy
Clever Kid
You're what the French call "les incompitant."
Posts: 96
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Post by smugsy on May 5, 2010 10:02:55 GMT -5
Okay, I'm gonna comment on my first time through pre-reading the rest of this thread, so please excuse any retreads.
I really enjoyed this album. I bought it, and drove around on a rainy night until I finished it and it was a pretty fucking great experience.
With this album I felt like more things were deliberate. With fast, fun songs that personified the last two albums for me, they seemed very in the moment (even when it wasn't so much) but this album felt plotted, and planned, like they were taking me exactly where they wanted me to go just about every step of the way. I both liked this, and disliked it. I liked it because it was like getting a guided tour through a zoo, where all the animals are themes and stories. I disliked it because that feeling of getting lost on your own within something wasn't there as much. I reason this away by saying that both ways are valuable, and now the band has done both successfully.
I heard some of those classic lines that Finn tosses around songs, like "we're good guys but we can't be good every night" and "You can't tell people what they want to hear if you also want to tell the truth." Awesome.
The only songs I wasn't immediately keen on were Rock Problems whose chorus felt lacking, and I guess maybe The Smidge, although for that one I think it was more that I just didn't love it as much as the other good songs.
The best for me right now are The Weekenders and We Can Get Together, but I had to think pretty hard to decide between those and Sweet Part of the City, Hurricane J and Soft in the Center. I guess I'm just more of a sucker for the grandiose (Weekenders) and the simply sweet (Get Together/ lemonade).
I can already tell this album is going to wreak some havoc on my top Hold Steady albums list.
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Post by laurenjean on May 5, 2010 12:02:08 GMT -5
Can I just express how much I love the line "You're Damn right I believe in love. Because I've been in love and I've loved right back." +1
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Sunny D
Midnight Hauler
"We've gotta try a little harder..."
Posts: 1,900
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Post by Sunny D on May 5, 2010 14:29:19 GMT -5
Upping the positivity.
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Post by doctoracula on May 5, 2010 18:14:51 GMT -5
i just realized today that, after years of singing about kids that are lost in faithless fear, we've got a song where they're not afraid because they have faith
and then it all goes to hell
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Sunny D
Midnight Hauler
"We've gotta try a little harder..."
Posts: 1,900
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Post by Sunny D on May 5, 2010 19:58:59 GMT -5
i just realized today that, after years of singing about kids that are lost in faithless fear, we've got a song where they're not afraid because they have faith and then it all goes to hell I kind of see it as a "well, you have it comming" kind of thing. That their optimism bias is hurting them.
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davew
Clever Kid
Posts: 90
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Post by davew on May 6, 2010 17:15:18 GMT -5
goddamn, just listening to Almost Killed me and suddenly realised 'rather be a trash bin or an ice machine' on Rock Problems is a reference to Most People Are DJs....damn never picked that up before. gave me a small thrill....sorry if this has been pointed out 100,000 times before.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2010 18:31:10 GMT -5
as much as it sucks, i love that an album called Together is beating Heaven is Whenever (er, the fact that it's beating THS sucks. the album probably doesn't suck, given the quality of the band)
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Post by eumenides on May 6, 2010 18:48:45 GMT -5
I've skimmed through many of the comments posted in this thread but haven't read all of them. My apologies if I repeat what others have said.
1. My initial impression is that this is a much more somber and subdued album than we've heard before. In fact, in one word I would describe it as subdued. I think this is primarily due to Craig writing from the first person and no longer from the third person.
2. This is not a bad album. It strikes me as an album that could evolve into a type of darkhorse that appears in a band's catalog. One of those albums that first appears as a "Meh...wtf?" and later becomes canonical.
3. I am ambivalent on the production. When it works, it really works and when it doesn't, it comes across as overproduced.
4. The vinyl sounds better than the cd. I was wondering if it would because sometimes the vinyl is an after thought but this one sounds pretty good.
5. I don't think this would be the best album to introduce someone to the Hold Steady but for longtime listeners and avid fans I think it's a pretty good change.
Overall, I think it's a pretty solid album and am looking forward to hearing the songs in a live setting.
I can't believe I used the word 'canonical' in describing an album.
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davew
Clever Kid
Posts: 90
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Post by davew on May 6, 2010 18:53:01 GMT -5
"I don't think this would be the best album to introduce someone to the Hold Steady but for longtime listeners and avid fans I think it's a pretty good change."
actually a few mates of mine who were apathetic to or plain-just-didn't-like THS have decided to give em a go based on me playing them the new one.
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Post by Ellie J on May 6, 2010 19:44:50 GMT -5
Can I just express how much I love the line "You're Damn right I believe in love. Because I've been in love and I've loved right back." Agreed. One of my favorite lyrics from HiW.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2010 20:54:44 GMT -5
Can I just express how much I love the line "You're Damn right I believe in love. Because I've been in love and I've loved right back." Agreed. One of my favorite lyrics from HiW. yes! i had that in my head all day yesterday! a total rebuke to cynicism and bitterness (which i've felt most of my life...). perfect
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Post by bartman on May 8, 2010 9:13:13 GMT -5
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Sunny D
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"We've gotta try a little harder..."
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Post by Sunny D on May 8, 2010 18:37:12 GMT -5
Agreed. One of my favorite lyrics from HiW. yes! i had that in my head all day yesterday! a total rebuke to cynicism and bitterness (which i've felt most of my life...). perfect It's the most relatable Hold Steady line for me. Ever since I can remember I've always been one of those hopeless romantic types. And we all know how common the people that think love in that sense is nonexistant or unimportant and only care about sex are. Especially in high-school.
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Sunny D
Midnight Hauler
"We've gotta try a little harder..."
Posts: 1,900
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Post by Sunny D on May 8, 2010 18:39:37 GMT -5
goddamn, just listening to Almost Killed me and suddenly realised 'rather be a trash bin or an ice machine' on Rock Problems is a reference to Most People Are DJs....damn never picked that up before. gave me a small thrill....sorry if this has been pointed out 100,000 times before. I have wanted a T-shirt that said "TEENAGE ICE MACHINE" for the longest time because of that song. When I heard Craig reference it I flipped out.
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Post by doctoracula on May 8, 2010 21:51:32 GMT -5
the princess lyric near the end of the album got me paying more attention to other princess references in THS songs. i never really took note of them before
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Sunny D
Midnight Hauler
"We've gotta try a little harder..."
Posts: 1,900
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Post by Sunny D on May 8, 2010 22:23:18 GMT -5
the princess lyric near the end of the album got me paying more attention to other princess references in THS songs. i never really took note of them before "To me you didn't seem all that much like a princess with your bandaged hands and your hacking cough." fits right in.
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