cre618
True Scene Leader
Posts: 714
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Post by cre618 on Apr 19, 2010 0:13:20 GMT -5
Very few stand out lines as well, but to give those credit- 'New York' line in A Slight Discomfort, the train wreck line in The Weekenders, the 'Heaven is Whenever' line in We Can Get Together. I mean, "They didn't name her for a saint / They named her for a storm" is a top 5 line on the album and there are some SONGS on AKM and SS with 5 better lines on them. I respectfully disagree. Case in point: She said the theme of this party is the industrial age/You came in dressed like a train wreck. She always claimed that she was from Tennessee/Now it seems to me like distance doesn't equal rate and time no more. I know bodies of water freeze over/I'm from a place with lots of lakes. We used to want it all/Now we just want a little bit. ----- I could go on, but I have to work tomorrow.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 19, 2010 0:24:02 GMT -5
there's like a 5 second loop of an instrumental part of a modest mouse song in a commercial, and they probably got an absurd amount of money for it. i'd do that in a heartbeat. there's a perfect example of a band that improved exponentially when they signed to a major label.
but that's a discussion that should probably happen in another thread or something
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 0:29:41 GMT -5
I'd expected this from the songs we got early, but it's a lot softer-sounding than we've grown accustomed to. Lyrically, I can feel a grower on our hands. And there are a couple standout guitar tracks. But it just feels weird. You can hear Franz's silence. I like the idea of a change of direction sonically, something they certainly delivered, but it's going to take a while until it becomes a welcome change for me. I need the riffs, man. this is how i'm feeling after listening to the stream the first song feels very Wilco... i know the board loves Wilco, and they're an enjoyable band, but they're not the loudest guys, you know? but i'm listening at work on a stream with crappy headphones, so when i hear it properly i'll probably get a better idea
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Post by ontheradio on Apr 19, 2010 0:30:26 GMT -5
Modest Mouse has been getting it for their last like, 4. You're a bit confused, on this. People started calling Modest Mouse sellouts after their songs started showing up in minivan commercials. People started calling them shit about 4 or so albums back. Different terms. I think they came about at the same time but whatever, it's nothing to argue about. I happen to adore "Good News for People Who Love Bad News." Fuck I even love "We were dead..." Also, and idk if you're taking sides or something, but what's wrong with minivan commercials when you have kids to support? Do people forget that it's really hard to make a living making music? It wasn't so long ago that THS members were still keeping day jobs, lest we forget.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 0:33:12 GMT -5
i get this mental image of whoever discomfort is about (holly, maybe? who knows) just giving in to the succubi from the earlier verse at the end. they tried everything, its not working, so they're giving up and letting go. it's horribly sad. and its so affecting. ' NERD HAT Succubi are usually female. the male are Inccubi/inccubus so that means... something /NERD HAT
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tyrone
Cityscape Skin
Posts: 3
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Post by tyrone on Apr 19, 2010 0:35:46 GMT -5
Is it wrong that I want to get absurdly smacked out and listen to Sweet Part...?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 0:37:11 GMT -5
Very few stand out lines as well, but to give those credit- 'New York' line in A Slight Discomfort, the train wreck line in The Weekenders, the 'Heaven is Whenever' line in We Can Get Together. I mean, "They didn't name her for a saint / They named her for a storm" is a top 5 line on the album and there are some SONGS on AKM and SS with 5 better lines on them. I respectfully disagree. Case in point: She said the theme of this party is the industrial age/You came in dressed like a train wreck. is anyone else tempted to crash every steampunk party they can find just so they can use this line? alright, last post of the day. i reckon this one will be a grower. but it does feel kinda regretful/mournful but man... Smidge, Weekenders, Rock Problems. so good. We Can Get Together... heartbreaking 'The hardest part is trying to talk some sense into our sparkling hearts'
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 19, 2010 0:40:07 GMT -5
i get this mental image of whoever discomfort is about (holly, maybe? who knows) just giving in to the succubi from the earlier verse at the end. they tried everything, its not working, so they're giving up and letting go. it's horribly sad. and its so affecting. ' NERD HAT Succubi are usually female. the male are Inccubi/inccubus so that means... something /NERD HAT true, but let's not forget: "she licked her lower lip and then she kissed that hallelujah chick"
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2010 0:45:18 GMT -5
the last track is just so creepy it starts off poking fun at metrosexuals (does anyone use that term anymore?) and then gets into all this weird imagery, with spiders-things and succubi and vampires (see Arctic Monkeys, 'All you people are vampires')... and i know it's all/mostly metaphorical but there's still that horrible atmosphere of dread
(there's something somewhere about how vampires basically live in the sort of nightclubs THS write about, so they're the perfect metaphor)
"you might feel a slight discomfort" = "you'll just feel a little pinprick" off Comfortably Numb? like whoever it is being drugged/bitten/captured/eaten
might just be me though
bit more storyline stuff... there's all that goths/fake vampires and there's that line about the semi-industrial party and all that stuff in the end... so the protagonist has fallen into the goth/industrial scene, which represents.... something. dunno if it's meant to be a 'fall' in any real moral sense
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Post by hostilemass27 on Apr 19, 2010 1:21:50 GMT -5
I'm long past my first time through HiW, but I can say I was into it from the first listen. "The Sweet Part of the City" reminds me of acoustic Zeppelin like Hey Hey What Can I Do more than anything, and I'm really loving it. Change of pace for them but not forced at all, it feels so natural, and I love the closing lines "We got bored so we started a band / We like to play for you...". "Soft in the Center" gives us more of the HS we know and love, and like what seems like many of us I'll need to get used to the amount of backing vocals but it's a good high-energy anthemic song that we've come to expect from them. The chorus is so simple but true. "The Weekenders" is still one of my favorites, there's the obvious U2 comparison with the verse but I really like the dynamics combined with the subtle references to past HS songs in the lyrics.
"The Smidge" is one of my favorites so far as well. It sounds fresh and familiar at the same time. Craig Finn doesn't sing straight bluesy vocals too often, I liked what he did here. The emphasized cowbells and shakers reminded me of Guns N' Roses but I'm sure there's plenty of bands out there that could have influenced that. That and "Rock Problems" are fun rock songs with plenty of unique riffs. At least at this point every song on the album is revealing new subtleties with each listen, which is proving Finn's "more complex" description.
"We Can get Together" is a grower for me I feel. I definitely wasn't too disappointed with it, I just have to get used to the album version as opposed to the live versions I've heard, particularly the lack of a solo. There's a quiet interlude type part where I thought the solo would be and I'm actually a fan of the backing vocals in this one and I'll always be a fan of the lyrics. "Hurricane J" is still addictive for me, just a solid well-written tune. Some people might be off-put by how formulaic it may be compared to other HS material, but Finn at least elevates it with his lyrics, which ultimately don't disappoint in this one for me.
"Barely Breathing" is unlike anything they've ever done. It's another complex one with a lot of subtleties that unfold with each listen. It felt strange at first but the more I've listened to it the most I enjoy it. "Our Whole Lives" could end up being one of my favorite HS songs of this type, the fast-paced youth culture anthems. I knew some people wouldn't like the telephone lyric, but I can't complain about "Cheerleaders go for quarterbacks/jock Jills go for jumping jacks/Goth girls go for vampire bats/Gotta draw a little blood for the bath."
Well..."A Slight Discomfort" might be THS out-doing themselves in terms of album closers. It's certainly the darkest closer they've ever made, but the second half is just so epic and the way it fades out with the piano into the crickets...It's dark, atmospheric, powerful and beautiful all at once. And not to mention more incredible lyrics from Finn.
As of right now, the big standouts for me are Sweet Part of the City, Soft in the Center, Smidge and Slight Discomfort. The 'S' songs if you will. I might honestly be able to say right now that Sweet Part and Slight Discomfort are instant HS classics. But that's just my opinion. This would be at least a 4/5 star album for me, maybe somewhere past 4.5. Repeated listens will show you the complexity of the music and Finn hasn't shed much of his lyrical integrity while taking a step forward vocally. Not much to dislike about this one the way I see it.
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Post by motörben on Apr 19, 2010 6:04:42 GMT -5
I am fucking breathlessly bitter that I missed out on this and there's already about fifty copies on Ebay for £40-£130. Mother fuckers.
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mattjs
True Scene Leader
Posts: 573
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Post by mattjs on Apr 19, 2010 6:08:26 GMT -5
Shit, dude didn't know you'd missed out...thought the guy at your store had sorted you one out!
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Post by motörben on Apr 19, 2010 6:12:20 GMT -5
Yeah he said they were deffo getting at least one and not to bother getting there early but I showed up half an hour early anyway coz I was excited. Queued for just shy of an hour and had to get on with my day. Didn't even get in the shop. So angry. If I'd have had a gun on me, I'd be in lots of trouble now.
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bigontheinside
Midnight Hauler
If you don't know the words, don't sing along
Posts: 1,478
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Post by bigontheinside on Apr 19, 2010 6:14:45 GMT -5
I'm trying not to listen to all of the stream - gonna wait until it comes out properly - but Our Whole Lives is fantastic, as expected, Soft In The Center is freaking awesome, and I almost cried listening to We Can Get Together. Beautiful. I thought I'd miss the solo, but I didn't really... I can see why they didn't include it.
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Post by jwd on Apr 19, 2010 6:38:26 GMT -5
Who else caught the Lifter Puller reference in "A Slight Discomfort"? Hint: New York City.....
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Post by st5801 on Apr 19, 2010 8:35:36 GMT -5
Who else caught the Lifter Puller reference in "A Slight Discomfort"? Hint: New York City..... And in Our Whole Lives: "I like the lights and the uptempo tracks"
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Post by st5801 on Apr 19, 2010 9:09:01 GMT -5
I can't get The Smidge out of my head.
And on The Sweet Part of the City, I can't help but smile on the "We were bored when we didn't have a band, we like to play for you" lyric.
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piske41
Cityscape Skin
Hey Nelson Algren
Posts: 9
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Post by piske41 on Apr 19, 2010 10:35:46 GMT -5
As far as the "loudness' of the record, I agree that it isn't as loud as we're accustomed to. I mean "The Smidge" is the closest we get to a loud & really abrasive rocker in the same vein as "Chicago Seemed Tired". But at the same time this isn't a bad thing in my opinion. This album DOES fucking ROCK.
And as far as there being a lack of themes, I disagree. Trainwrecks, Heaven (obviously), other religious themes (as usual with THS), tons of references to past songs by THS and LP, and a few songs that seem like sequels to past songs (The Weekenders comes to mind as a direct sequel to Chips Ahoy!). And most of our favorite characters are there, just not named outright (In my opinion A Slight Discomfort is directly about Holly, and Our Whole Lives has some Holly-related lines as well). The themes and characters are just more masked this time around. I mean how many times can you really talk openly about Charlemagne and the Skins and Ybor City before it gets just a little repetitive? I love the way Craig has kept his characters both visible and concealed throughout this record, and it really speaks to his insane lyricism.
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mcstevepants
Hoodrat
Shaky but still tryin' to shake it.
Posts: 400
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Post by mcstevepants on Apr 19, 2010 10:41:55 GMT -5
Rock Problems is super fun to play.
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Post by mikeflynn on Apr 19, 2010 10:51:46 GMT -5
Our Whole Lives is a stone cold jam. I've been super anxious to hear it since I fell in love with the live version, and they exceeded my expectations by a mile. Not much to say that hasn't been said; same old Steady, different direction. Not a song I don't like.
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Post by theriver on Apr 19, 2010 11:02:27 GMT -5
Anyone else hear a bit of Sigur Ros in the second half of Slight Discomfort? Fucking love it! As said above, not a song I don't like.
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Post by blackbeard on Apr 19, 2010 11:28:08 GMT -5
You're a bit confused, on this. People started calling Modest Mouse sellouts after their songs started showing up in minivan commercials. People started calling them shit about 4 or so albums back. Different terms. Also, and idk if you're taking sides or something, but what's wrong with minivan commercials when you have kids to support? Do people forget that it's really hard to make a living making music? I was helping to de-confuse you. Not taking sides. I don't give a fuck what Modest Mouse does. They're no sell-outs, whatever that is. Isaac Brock no doubt needs some money to keep going to rehab every few months, and I wish him nothing but the best. You gotta protect your neck.
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Post by blackbeard on Apr 19, 2010 11:33:40 GMT -5
Also, I cannot for the life of me tell what Finn is saying, at one point in "The Sweet Part of the City." He says, "And now it seems to me that distance _________, no more. It's like gravity doesn't apply." Or something like that, anyway. Any thoughts? A few dozen pairs of ears are no doubt better than my one.
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mick
Clever Kid
Posts: 142
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Post by mick on Apr 19, 2010 12:17:11 GMT -5
Also, I cannot for the life of me tell what Finn is saying, at one point in "The Sweet Part of the City." He says, "And now it seems to me that distance _________, no more. It's like gravity doesn't apply." Or something like that, anyway. Any thoughts? A few dozen pairs of ears are no doubt better than my one. I'm pretty sure the line is: "And now it seems to me that distance doesn't equal rate and time no more" It's a fun little math joke
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Post by blackbeard on Apr 19, 2010 12:18:10 GMT -5
Boo-ya. That sounds very reasonable. All I could make out was "asldhfawef;jskdf h."
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