TKalltheTime
Sniffling Indie Kid
Blotto / Blacked Out / Cracked Out / Caved In
Posts: 194
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Post by TKalltheTime on Apr 29, 2019 14:39:05 GMT -5
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Post by muzzleofbees on Apr 29, 2019 15:47:47 GMT -5
Since Dan Monick and his photgraphs came up here: After spending some time with the new album, I sort of feel that the cover photos of Faith In The Future and I Need A New War could/should have been swtiched. That shot on FITF is just so in sync with INANW's lyrics, and everything Craig has been talking about in interviews before and around the release. That everyday life and struggles, the alienation, the people living on the edges of the mainstream society. That guy, his outfit, where he's heading, the surroundings - it fills me with the same sort of melancholic and weary emotions of a country I don't really know that well as the songs on the new album does.
Not a big deal, really, but still.
And about the album: It still talks more to my brain than to my heart. So muscially accomplished, extremely well-written lyrics, lots of beautiful details. And I really dig some of it (Something To Hope For, Bathtub, Grant At Galena my current favourites), but I don't get dragged into it the way I thought I would. I think part of it is how extremely sad it feels. I've heard Craig talk about "melancholy", but I think this is a lot more bitter than bittersweet. A little bit ripped of genuine hope or even a sort of romantic dwelling-in-the-misery kind of thing (and on a side note, maybe because these are really believeable sketches of very ordinary people, and the older i get, the more I think of these portraits as a loooot sadder than the bigger, more classical ways of imaging defeat or loss). Probably very intentional, it's not that I think Craig would have wanted it to sound any different. But I don't know if I'm in the right place to really take it in. It's still growing on me, though. And from a pure intellectual point of view, it's a pretty perfect ending to what now is being labeled as a trilogy. Faith In The Future had a lot of hope in it, We All Want The Same Things had a lot of coming to peace with ordinary life, while I Need A New War seem to focus a lot more of what's missing in subpar ordinary lives than what makes the same lives worthwhile.
Ok, this was a bit all over the place. I'll probably get back with some more condensed thoughts a couple of weeks in.
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TKalltheTime
Sniffling Indie Kid
Blotto / Blacked Out / Cracked Out / Caved In
Posts: 194
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Post by TKalltheTime on Apr 29, 2019 15:52:45 GMT -5
Dan shared with me the other night that the locations geographically for the cover records & EPs form somewhat of a cross. Thought that was pretty cool.
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Post by joeyslugs on Apr 29, 2019 16:03:06 GMT -5
Did anyone get the clear vinyl version? Listening to it for the first time and it's definitely not the best sounding LP on my collection. Track 4 on side A is full of pops and it skipped a couple of times, etc. Anyone having the same issue? Finally spun mine. Sounded fine. No skips or pops.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 29, 2019 18:48:10 GMT -5
Partisan Records responded to me and said the item I ordered didn't include a download. They seem to be the worst. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but did they even offer a version of the LP without a download?
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 29, 2019 18:54:36 GMT -5
the record is very good though! my clear copy sounds great. "grant at galena" has major leonard cohen vibes. "carmen isn't coming in today" is absolutely heartbreaking.
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robs
Hoodrat
Posts: 297
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Post by robs on Apr 30, 2019 3:56:39 GMT -5
Since Dan Monick and his photgraphs came up here: After spending some time with the new album, I sort of feel that the cover photos of Faith In The Future and I Need A New War could/should have been swtiched. That shot on FITF is just so in sync with INANW's lyrics, and everything Craig has been talking about in interviews before and around the release. That everyday life and struggles, the alienation, the people living on the edges of the mainstream society. That guy, his outfit, where he's heading, the surroundings - it fills me with the same sort of melancholic and weary emotions of a country I don't really know that well as the songs on the new album does. Not a big deal, really, but still. And about the album: It still talks more to my brain than to my heart. So muscially accomplished, extremely well-written lyrics, lots of beautiful details. And I really dig some of it (Something To Hope For, Bathtub, Grant At Galena my current favourites), but I don't get dragged into it the way I thought I would. I think part of it is how extremely sad it feels. I've heard Craig talk about "melancholy", but I think this is a lot more bitter than bittersweet. A little bit ripped of genuine hope or even a sort of romantic dwelling-in-the-misery kind of thing (and on a side note, maybe because these are really believeable sketches of very ordinary people, and the older i get, the more I think of these portraits as a loooot sadder than the bigger, more classical ways of imaging defeat or loss). Probably very intentional, it's not that I think Craig would have wanted it to sound any different. But I don't know if I'm in the right place to really take it in. It's still growing on me, though. And from a pure intellectual point of view, it's a pretty perfect ending to what now is being labeled as a trilogy. Faith In The Future had a lot of hope in it, We All Want The Same Things had a lot of coming to peace with ordinary life, while I Need A New War seem to focus a lot more of what's missing in subpar ordinary lives than what makes the same lives worthwhile. Ok, this was a bit all over the place. I'll probably get back with some more condensed thoughts a couple of weeks in. I think I feel roughly the same as you, unless I'm misunderstanding. Sounds beautiful, but probably not one to listen to when feeling a bit down and hitting the whiskey. Especially the last two lines of Blankets...
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Post by muzzleofbees on Apr 30, 2019 13:07:52 GMT -5
I was so glad when I saw that. A recognition he really deserved. It meant a lot more (culturally and commercial) ten years ago, but it's still a nice accolade. I had to go back and check, and was surprised to see We All Want The Same Things got an 7.8. I sort of felt Pitchfork had been quite lukewarm to Craig solo all the way, but it could be I just though the 6.3 to Faith In The Future was so unfair. Clear Heart Full Eyes got 6.0.
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Post by delboydrums on Apr 30, 2019 13:16:58 GMT -5
After several more listens, I reckon you guys might be right - not so much hope, but people just doing the best they can???
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Post by muzzleofbees on Apr 30, 2019 14:05:21 GMT -5
After several more listens, I reckon you guys might be right - not so much hope, but people just doing the best they can??? Yeah, very much that. And either not being very good at it, or maximizing their potential at a level well below the expectations they might had. Craig has been talking a lot about these stuff in interviews too, and maybe even more before the release of We All Want The Same Things. But some of the stuff he talked about that time, rings even more true now. I've been listening a lot to Silver Jews lately, and while this new Craig record sounds nothing like Bright Flight, I think there's a little bit of the same perspective and scope. To find both the darkest darkness and the sweetest redemption in very ordinary or small things, in everyday life rather than in grandiose and dramatic tales. Dave Berman is (at least on the surface) more personal, while Craig writes about these characters. But it's sort of the same approach - and I like that.
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Post by kayfaberaven on Apr 30, 2019 18:05:49 GMT -5
Since Dan Monick and his photgraphs came up here: After spending some time with the new album, I sort of feel that the cover photos of Faith In The Future and I Need A New War could/should have been swtiched. That shot on FITF is just so in sync with INANW's lyrics, and everything Craig has been talking about in interviews before and around the release. That everyday life and struggles, the alienation, the people living on the edges of the mainstream society. That guy, his outfit, where he's heading, the surroundings - it fills me with the same sort of melancholic and weary emotions of a country I don't really know that well as the songs on the new album does. Not a big deal, really, but still. And about the album: It still talks more to my brain than to my heart. So muscially accomplished, extremely well-written lyrics, lots of beautiful details. And I really dig some of it (Something To Hope For, Bathtub, Grant At Galena my current favourites), but I don't get dragged into it the way I thought I would. I think part of it is how extremely sad it feels. I've heard Craig talk about "melancholy", but I think this is a lot more bitter than bittersweet. A little bit ripped of genuine hope or even a sort of romantic dwelling-in-the-misery kind of thing (and on a side note, maybe because these are really believeable sketches of very ordinary people, and the older i get, the more I think of these portraits as a loooot sadder than the bigger, more classical ways of imaging defeat or loss). Probably very intentional, it's not that I think Craig would have wanted it to sound any different. But I don't know if I'm in the right place to really take it in. It's still growing on me, though. And from a pure intellectual point of view, it's a pretty perfect ending to what now is being labeled as a trilogy. Faith In The Future had a lot of hope in it, We All Want The Same Things had a lot of coming to peace with ordinary life, while I Need A New War seem to focus a lot more of what's missing in subpar ordinary lives than what makes the same lives worthwhile. Ok, this was a bit all over the place. I'll probably get back with some more condensed thoughts a couple of weeks in. I think I feel roughly the same as you, unless I'm misunderstanding. Sounds beautiful, but probably not one to listen to when feeling a bit down and hitting the whiskey. Especially the last two lines of Blankets... I'd actually like to hear Craig do a bunch of songs from the trilogy as an acoustic album. For me, for his solo stuff the lyrics are the thing, and a lot of the musical flourishes I can take or leave, especially on this new album, at least based on my 5 or so listens thus far.
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Post by doctoracula on Apr 30, 2019 19:16:36 GMT -5
an acoustic collection of these songs would be really great. i love the acoustic performances he's done for radio shows and whatnot over the last few years, especially "be honest"
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TKalltheTime
Sniffling Indie Kid
Blotto / Blacked Out / Cracked Out / Caved In
Posts: 194
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Post by TKalltheTime on May 1, 2019 9:56:56 GMT -5
On the flip-side, I'd really love to see a Hold Steady version of "It's never been a fair fight". That song to me could work seamlessly as a THS tune.
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Post by lukeindetroit on May 2, 2019 15:02:26 GMT -5
Dan shared with me the other night that the locations geographically for the cover records & EPs form somewhat of a cross. Thought that was pretty cool. Seems like a good place to jump in with a debate I've been having with friends that are fellow CF/THS fans. Given the cover art of this album, on top of the lyrical content he's been putting out since Almost Killed, can we finally admit that Craig's solo work and THS are Christian rock?
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Post by delboydrums on May 2, 2019 15:53:23 GMT -5
Dan shared with me the other night that the locations geographically for the cover records & EPs form somewhat of a cross. Thought that was pretty cool. Seems like a good place to jump in with a debate I've been having with friends that are fellow CF/THS fans. Given the cover art of this album, on top of the lyrical content he's been putting out since Almost Killed, can we finally admit that Craig's solo work and THS are Christian rock? No.
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Post by lukeindetroit on May 2, 2019 16:44:20 GMT -5
Seems like a good place to jump in with a debate I've been having with friends that are fellow CF/THS fans. Given the cover art of this album, on top of the lyrical content he's been putting out since Almost Killed, can we finally admit that Craig's solo work and THS are Christian rock? No. Why not?
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Post by delboydrums on May 2, 2019 17:35:59 GMT -5
Just never thought of it that way at all. Sorry, but that would have put me off!
Despite the obvious Catholic imagery and content of CF's lyrics, I don't think the band present themselves as Christian rock at all. I have no idea of the faith (if any) of any other THS band member other than CF.
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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 May 2, 2019 18:49:32 GMT -5
hmm Attachments:
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Post by doctoracula on May 2, 2019 19:07:31 GMT -5
When I think of “Christian rock”, I think of music that’s written specifically to celebrate faith and/or convert listeners. There’s definitely nothing in Craig’s lyrical history that is trying to convert anyone. And while there’s a lot that celebrates faith, there’s also lyrics that question it and the institutions around it. I like his lyrics because they have such a complex relationship to faith. Christian rock tends to be way more simple in its message. Sunny Day Real Estate and Mineral and Spiritualized have much more direct lyrics about god but I wouldn’t consider them Christian rock either.
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uncpdt
Cityscape Skin
Posts: 34
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Post by uncpdt on May 2, 2019 20:34:35 GMT -5
Partisan Records responded to me and said the item I ordered didn't include a download. They seem to be the worst. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but did they even offer a version of the LP without a download? same situation; the $20 vinyl should include a digital copy of the EP. you can still see that plainly in their store. i can't find the link anywhere, will email support with crossed fingers.
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Post by doctoracula on May 2, 2019 20:50:07 GMT -5
Partisan Records responded to me and said the item I ordered didn't include a download. They seem to be the worst. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but did they even offer a version of the LP without a download? same situation; the $20 vinyl should include a digital copy of the EP. you can still see that plainly in their store. i can't find the link anywhere, will email support with crossed fingers. If they tell you your order didn’t include digital items, reply again! I wrote back with copied text from the webstore and the next reply they sent me had a link
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howard
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 172
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Post by howard on May 3, 2019 5:24:28 GMT -5
I love the album - the PItchfork review is quite right: - pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/craig-finn-i-need-a-new-war/ The Plattsburgh EP is probably my favourite version of the songs, as the lyrics stand out even more. Plus the Lyrics book - with photos from Dan - is a thing of beauty in its' own right. I'd love to think there might be a Hold Steady lyrics book in similar vein one day. The Boys and Girls comic was all very well, but a bound lyrics book would be very special.
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howard
Sniffling Indie Kid
Posts: 172
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Post by howard on May 3, 2019 5:24:54 GMT -5
Also, Christian Rock.
Ugh, what a horrible, preachy label.
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Post by delboydrums on May 3, 2019 9:00:22 GMT -5
I'm still giving this repeated listens, and hearing / noticing things I like, such as the harmonica in Blankets (pure Bruce).
Also, Her With the Blues has really grown on me. A sad but beautiful song.
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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 May 3, 2019 10:28:12 GMT -5
I'm still giving this repeated listens, and hearing / noticing things I like, such as the harmonica in Blankets (pure Bruce). Also, Her With the Blues has really grown on me. A sad but beautiful song. I love the harmonica at the end of Blankets so much that I bought a harmonica
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