|
Post by Rattlesnake Gospel on Jun 19, 2019 23:26:04 GMT -5
I'm always shocked at the love The Ambassador gets. To me, it's a cloying, mid-tempo dirge, and far and away my least favourite THS song ever. I should probably give it another chance. I like how it kinda saunters along for a while and then ramps up in a great way when they hit the “you came back to us” part. That makes the whole song for me. It’s like a hazy memory of someplace and then it comes into clearer focus by the end. Best part of the song for sure. I'm sure this is an extremely unpopular opinion but as far as album ballads go for me: Ambassador > Lord I'm Discouraged.
|
|
|
Post by muzzleofbees on Jun 20, 2019 3:53:22 GMT -5
I like how it kinda saunters along for a while and then ramps up in a great way when they hit the “you came back to us” part. That makes the whole song for me. It’s like a hazy memory of someplace and then it comes into clearer focus by the end. Best part of the song for sure. I'm sure this is an extremely unpopular opinion but as far as album ballads go for me: Ambassador > Lord I'm Discouraged. I totally agree on both points. The Ambassador is so damn beautiful, and I think it totally nails a intense and hot summer in the city vibe. To me it's probably their best slow jam. And that part where "You came back to us" hits, is the high point of the song. It just feels so emotional, heavy and narratively meaningful. It gets even better with "Man, it feels kinda magical". Soooo good. I sort of like Spinners for the same kind of thing. Their not similar in any way, but both sounds like really accomplished and full-realized versions of the kind of song they were supposed to be. The Ambassador is this warm, soothing but still intense and something-at-stake ballad, while Spinners have this melancholic bittersweet midtempo pop thing going, which they nail really well. And like "You came back to us" make The Ambassador extremely great, the part in Spinners where the band stops and the guitar solo kicks in, is really sweet. Come to think of it, there's plenty of really nice details in Teeth Dreams. The sweeping intro of Big Cig is sonically great, the eerie mood of Almost Everything (very Led Zeppelin-esque) works well, the dreamy and psychedelic bridge, and the subsequent rocking up-part of Frighten You. There's just too many songs who just keeps rolling along in its own idea (The Only Thing, On With The Business, Wait A While, Runner's Hight), and while they are often good, they're seldom great.
|
|
|
Post by doctoracula on Jun 20, 2019 11:31:18 GMT -5
The bridge into the ending of “Runner’s High” might be my favorite bit of the whole record. The bridge already elevates the song and the narrative and then he hits “then it came true” and we are OFF
|
|
|
Post by muzzleofbees on Jun 20, 2019 12:51:35 GMT -5
The bridge into the ending of “Runner’s High” might be my favorite bit of the whole record. The bridge already elevates the song and the narrative and then he hits “then it came true” and we are OFF Ok, I kinda dig that too.
|
|
|
Post by timmytva on Jul 15, 2019 16:06:25 GMT -5
I'm always shocked at the love The Ambassador gets. To me, it's a cloying, mid-tempo dirge, and far and away my least favourite THS song ever. I should probably give it another chance. I like how it kinda saunters along for a while and then ramps up in a great way when they hit the “you came back to us” part. That makes the whole song for me. It’s like a hazy memory of someplace and then it comes into clearer focus by the end. Ha, different strokes for different folks. The Ambassador is my favorite song on TD, which is my least favorite THS album. I'm in the minority that likes HIW better. The production doesn't do it for me. Too many effects on the vox and guitars. IMHO, YMMV, etc. Tim
|
|
tbob
True Scene Leader
Posts: 548
|
Post by tbob on Jul 22, 2019 13:17:22 GMT -5
I like how it kinda saunters along for a while and then ramps up in a great way when they hit the “you came back to us” part. That makes the whole song for me. It’s like a hazy memory of someplace and then it comes into clearer focus by the end. Ha, different strokes for different folks. The Ambassador is my favorite song on TD, which is my least favorite THS album. I'm in the minority that likes HIW better. The production doesn't do it for me. Too many effects on the vox and guitars. IMHO, YMMV, etc. Tim You can count me in the minority that prefers HiW. I don’t dislike Teeth Dreams but Heaven is a great record. Both records miss Franz but I like the comedown feel after the preceding 4 beer drenched parties of AKM, SS, BaGiA and SP. It’s got some of my favourite less heralded THS tunes as well. I’d love to hear this line-up tackle Barely Breathing, and Our Whole Lives is a banger. I was listening to Hurricane J the other day at the same time as reading Ryan Adams’ “I’m still here!” tweets and found it refreshing to hear a song about dating a younger girl but being responsible enough to say things like “I don't want this to stop. I want you to know. I don't want you to settle. I want you to grow.” and “Jesse, I don’t think I’m the guy.” Great stuff.
|
|
tbob
True Scene Leader
Posts: 548
|
Post by tbob on Jul 22, 2019 13:42:56 GMT -5
As this thread is about Teeth Dreams though I have to give a shout out for Oaks which is just brilliant and I’ve seen that performed live 3 times and I’m eager to again. I also love Records and Tapes which, while it understandably doesn’t fit the mood of the album, is the best song of those sessions for me. My biggest problem with Teeth Dreams is the awful Nick Raskulinecz production. My initial fears that a noise merchant famous for over produced drivel like Evanescence, Foo Fighters and Coheed and Cambria wasn’t the right man for the job were unfortunately realised!
|
|
|
Post by thesemiracleswork on Aug 3, 2019 17:36:58 GMT -5
Also prefer HIW to Teeth Dreams, by some distance too. I think it's Craig's weakest album lyrically. At a certain point in the Hold Steady journey he started writing just a bit too much life advice into his songs, which, while well intentioned, has never worked for me. I think the Holly/Gideon/Charlemagne/Cityscape Skins narrative (in retrospect) should have been closed off in the first half of Stay Positive. I am really hoping there is none of it in Thrashing Thru the Passion. In saying that, I did once love that narrative.
God, "Wait a While", how did that get on an album when so many, many great B sides fade into obscurity.
|
|
|
Post by muzzleofbees on Aug 5, 2019 5:15:10 GMT -5
I think the Holly/Gideon/Charlemagne/Cityscape Skins narrative (in retrospect) should have been closed off in the first half of Stay Positive. I am really hoping there is none of it in Thrashing Thru the Passion. In saying that, I did once love that narrative. Some (like a member of this board with a nickname who corresponds really well with yours) would say it never went away. And I would be suprised if some of the he's and she's of Denver Haircut isn't Mary, Charlemagne or Gideon. Regarding lyrics: I went back to Records And Tapes this morning, and it's just so damn well written. It's always been one of my TD favourites on a strictly musical basis, but every time I revisit it I get blown away by a new little lyrical detail, and how it connects with previous lines or an allready established metaphor. In very much the same way as Girls Like Status, who's also incredebily tight. I've written a little piece on it in Norwegian, but I guess that's pretty useless to most of you guys.
|
|
|
Post by fontaine on Aug 5, 2019 8:27:31 GMT -5
I think the Holly/Gideon/Charlemagne/Cityscape Skins narrative (in retrospect) should have been closed off in the first half of Stay Positive. I am really hoping there is none of it in Thrashing Thru the Passion. In saying that, I did once love that narrative. Some (like a member of this board with a nickname who corresponds really well with yours) would say it never went away. And I would be suprised if some of the he's and she's of Denver Haircut isn't Mary, Charlemagne or Gideon. Agreed, they are probably from the same universe with some character overlap. But they also work self-contained. For this reason, I like to think of Eureka or The Stove and The Toaster as great short stories. Also agreed on Wait a While though, perhaps my least favorite THS tune.
|
|
|
Post by thesemiracleswork on Aug 5, 2019 15:49:33 GMT -5
I think the Holly/Gideon/Charlemagne/Cityscape Skins narrative (in retrospect) should have been closed off in the first half of Stay Positive. I am really hoping there is none of it in Thrashing Thru the Passion. In saying that, I did once love that narrative. Some (like a member of this board with a nickname who corresponds really well with yours) would say it never went away. And I would be suprised if some of the he's and she's of Denver Haircut isn't Mary, Charlemagne or Gideon. Regarding lyrics: I went back to Records And Tapes this morning, and it's just so damn well written. It's always been one of my TD favourites on a strictly musical basis, but every time I revisit it I get blown away by a new little lyrical detail, and how it connects with previous lines or an allready established metaphor. In very much the same way as Girls Like Status, who's also incredebily tight. I've written a little piece on it in Norwegian, but I guess that's pretty useless to most of you guys. I have read that thread (and admire it), I don't know, it just feels more forced for me after BAGIA. I'd love to sit down with Craig Finn and try and understand how some songs stayed b sides (like record and tapes) and some songs (like Wait a While) end up on albums. Is there a studio version of the band doing Separate Vacations?
|
|
|
Post by muzzleofbees on Aug 5, 2019 22:47:54 GMT -5
Some (like a member of this board with a nickname who corresponds really well with yours) would say it never went away. And I would be suprised if some of the he's and she's of Denver Haircut isn't Mary, Charlemagne or Gideon. Regarding lyrics: I went back to Records And Tapes this morning, and it's just so damn well written. It's always been one of my TD favourites on a strictly musical basis, but every time I revisit it I get blown away by a new little lyrical detail, and how it connects with previous lines or an allready established metaphor. In very much the same way as Girls Like Status, who's also incredebily tight. I've written a little piece on it in Norwegian, but I guess that's pretty useless to most of you guys. I have read that thread (and admire it), I don't know, it just feels more forced for me after BAGIA. I'd love to sit down with Craig Finn and try and understand how some songs stayed b sides (like record and tapes) and some songs (like Wait a While) end up on albums. Is there a studio version of the band doing Separate Vacations? Come join that thread! There's a lot of fun going on there, and it's actually well worth the couple of weeks it will take to get through it I'm not gonna let it bleed into this one, but just for the "forced" thing: I think it's kinda the opposite. Where lyrics (at least to me) still seem to be built around that core narrative, but in a quite obscure and subtle touch. Not trying to convince anybody, it's just my opinion. I think the album sequencing is very much a band effort. And for what it's worth, I think many of the best THS b-sides actually feels very much like b-sides, though pretty great ones. Ask Her For Adderall is an exception, but it's on the vinyl version of Stay Positive, so I guess it don't quite count. I think Girls Like Status could have fitted into Boys And Girls, but I'm not quite sure where or how. And, yeah, Records And Tapes could have worked well on Teeth Dreams. Maybe replacing Almost Everything. Or removing Wait A While or Runner's High, and but R&T in between Almost Everything and Oaks. But I mostly thing Hold Steady have chosen the right tracks to keep an album flowing - even though I agree on R&T being a way better song-song than Wait A While. If a studio version of Separate Vacations exist, it haven't been released. I think it came from the Heaven Is Whenever sessions. It debuted live at the same time as We Can Get Together and Our Whole Lives (and Goin' On A Hike). There might never be a reissue of Heaven Is Whenever in the same style as the four first albums, but I hope the band release rarities/demos/b-sides in some format somewhere down the road. With Franz back in the band, it's even possible to hope for some sneak peeks of the songs he played on, before they were scrapped.
|
|