The Album Review Club - Week #191 (page 1286) - Harlequin Dream - Boy & Bear

[LGWIO]

Bands like The smithereens don’t push music forward, they just play a very catchy brand of rock and roll and that’s a fantastic thing. We don’t need every musician or band to push music forward or do something experimental, especially as 99% of those that do make unlistenable music.

They don't push things but as you say, not every band has to. I watched another video of a live track they did and it was pretty similar fare to this album, but still pretty good. After they had finished they chatted with the show host (to plug the album) with DiNizio saying something along the lines of, "Whats wrong with writing 3 minute catchy pop songs?"

Another listen today and I did find this growing on me. I wouldn't go quite as far in the praise of the opener as you, but, it is pretty good. Nice riff and overall track, although I think it perhaps oversells the "rock", as I don't think they match that on the rest of the album.

I did quite like the little bit of variety that came with "Blue Period", with it's harpsichord solo. Certainly a grower.

And I am pretty sure I am the only one here at present, but I shall wish you luck today. I will actually and genuinely be supporting City today.

 

[RobMCFC]

Another listen today and I did find this growing on me. I wouldn't go quite as far in the praise of the opener as you, but, it is pretty good. Nice riff and overall track, although I think it perhaps oversells the "rock", as I don't think they match that on the rest of the album.

No, I agree it’s by far the best track on the album.

I think there’s enough variety in “Room Without A View”, “Yesterday Girl” and especially “Marie Elena” to make them stand out and after that, it’s just a solid level.

Pat DiNizio is bang on with his what’s wrong with writing 3-minute pop songs comment. Sure, it’s not for everyone, but if the alternative is weird screeching and overproduced, gimmicky crap, bands like The Smithereens should be applauded for keeping the flame alive.

Shame he died relatively young. RIP Pat.

 

[threespires]

Why not just nominate one.

?

 

[BlueHammer85]

Bloody hell, it's easy to fall behind after a couple weeks off. anyhow - I'm back up to speed.


London Grammer - If You Wait

This was chilled and more atmospheric than I was expecting, Hannah Reid has a great voice - comparisons with Florence for sure but also Freya Riding (worth checking out the beautiful ‘Lost Without You’) I like the pace, the melancholy and mood throughout helped by the layered reverb guitar sound - Sure it’s one paced , but that pace sits right with me. ‘Strong’ I’ve heard on radio plenty of times but other highlights ‘Wasting My Years’, ‘High Life’, ‘Sights’ and ‘Metal & Dust’ , that’s a lot of good tracks for a album but could do with a rock number . Good pick.

7/10

Dexys Midnight Runner - Searching For Soul Runners

Loved the static opening. I always assumed Dexys were a Ska band in the bracket of The Madness/UB40 (two bands I can’t stand) but weirdly warmed to this one and found this more punk (post punk) there’s a raw sound driven by the brass and horns which become a bit over bearing at times - ‘Geno’ is such a classic and clearly stands out - the rest are pretty consistent, upbeat but gritty helped by Kevin Rowlands unique vocals. Good pick.

6/10


Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience

A band that skipped me by somehow- was always more of a UK indie rock fan than the US, however have a soft spot for the likes of Counting Crows, Semisonic and Jimmy Eat World - this has a similar fresh produced sound.
‘Hey Jealousy’ is a catchy number- their biggest hit but wouldn’t say it was no better and worse than most of the tracks on here, enjoyed the most the Crowded House sounding ‘Until I Fall Away’ , ‘Found Out About You’ & ‘Allison Road’ the other good catchy ones.

It didn’t totally click with me and nothing really stood out but it’s well produced, catchy and some nice jangly melody throughout. Solid. Good pick.

6/10


Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left

Always find it sad when it takes a death to gain wider recognition.
How sad he suffered depression and died at only 26 with very little video footage of him such was his reluctance to play live to an audience.

Actually never heard much from Nick Drake aside ‘Pink Moon’ a track I absolutely love.
Anyhow, this is simply wonderful.

It’s like a laid back Dylan, nice poetic lyrics, textured picker finger acoustic and nice use of strings and arrangements by the producers.

Drakes husky voices fits the mood perfect.

No real stand outs because it’s consistently very good and some real beautiful and melancholy moments. Good pick.

9/10


Taylor Swift - Speak Now

Here she finally appears , I was actually tempted to go for Taylor Swift before as she was taking over the world and aside the regular radio pop hits - would be fair to give an album of hers a go although a tough ask on a Mancunium football forum with us bunch of FOC.
Firstly, i like her - as a person - she's a good role model for youngsters, she's great live and puts on a show, grew up playing guitar and writes her own stuff - so clearly talented.

However like many felt - it's aimed at 12 year old girls really, found it all squeaky clean and melodramatic, pretty much every track was about breaking up with some high school douche bag and all the heartbreak that comes with it - would have resonated and cared when i was listening to this fluffy stuff when i was coming out of puberty.

There is some tracks with some good melody, and a bridge before the encore chorus on alot of the stuff become predictable after a while, agreed the rockier numbers actually sound identical to Avril Lavigne. 'Mean' 'Dear John' and 'Back to December' are catchy. Good pick.

5/10

 

[threespires]

I've described this in a previous post as pleasant and if that seems to be damning it with faint praise then that's not my intention. It's not a synonym for bland etc it just means it was pleasant to listen to. It didn't take any really effort on my part and though I might not regularly seek it out again in an active fashion, I'm sure some of the tracks will come on up autoplay and I'll be happy to listen to them. Background music is pejorative so perhaps a better way of describing it is good accompaniment to other activities. Some music I can't work to, it's simply too distracting - this wasn't; it was enjoyable to have on without having to invest too much into it. As has been said multiple times now, not every band needs to change the world and I suspect most of us would struggle with a diet of music that was exclusively emotionally devastating innovation.

Personally I think they're at their best on the poppier tracks like Maria Elena or Blue Period both of which stuck in my mind. The Elvis Costello lite comparison is valid and doesn't need to be viewed as a barb as whatever else you think of Costello I think it's hard to argue he can't write a song. These are not at that level imo but the fact some songs put people in mind of him isn't bad. Think someone already mentioned Big Star and it put in mind of Matthew Sweet too, basically it's power pop. If I'm actively seeking out music in roughly this space I tend to go a bit janglier/lighter like The Church and have no issue with saying it's 'lightweight' at least musically, because sometimes that's all I really want.

Scoring's problematic because I enjoyed this more than the Swift album but I gave that an ok score based on her abilities rather than enjoyment.

Anyway 6.5/10 I think, if A Girl Like You resonated with me like it does Rob I'd have bumped it up to a 7.

 

[GornikDaze]

Bloody hell, it's easy to fall behind after a couple weeks off. anyhow - I'm back up to speed.


London Grammer - If You Wait

This was chilled and more atmospheric than I was expecting, Hannah Reid has a great voice - comparisons with Florence for sure but also Freya Riding (worth checking out the beautiful ‘Lost Without You’) I like the pace, the melancholy and mood throughout helped by the layered reverb guitar sound - Sure it’s one paced , but that pace sits right with me. ‘Strong’ I’ve heard on radio plenty of times but other highlights ‘Wasting My Years’, ‘High Life’, ‘Sights’ and ‘Metal & Dust’ , that’s a lot of good tracks for a album but could do with a rock number . Good pick.

7/10

Dexys Midnight Runner - Searching For Soul Runners

Loved the static opening. I always assumed Dexys were a Ska band in the bracket of The Madness/UB40 (two bands I can’t stand) but weirdly warmed to this one and found this more punk (post punk) there’s a raw sound driven by the brass and horns which become a bit over bearing at times - ‘Geno’ is such a classic and clearly stands out - the rest are pretty consistent, upbeat but gritty helped by Kevin Rowlands unique vocals. Good pick.

6/10


Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience

A band that skipped me by somehow- was always more of a UK indie rock fan than the US, however have a soft spot for the likes of Counting Crows, Semisonic and Jimmy Eat World - this has a similar fresh produced sound.
‘Hey Jealousy’ is a catchy number- their biggest hit but wouldn’t say it was no better and worse than most of the tracks on here, enjoyed the most the Crowded House sounding ‘Until I Fall Away’ , ‘Found Out About You’ & ‘Allison Road’ the other good catchy ones.

It didn’t totally click with me and nothing really stood out but it’s well produced, catchy and some nice jangly melody throughout. Solid. Good pick.

6/10


Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left

Always find it sad when it takes a death to gain wider recognition.
How sad he suffered depression and died at only 26 with very little video footage of him such was his reluctance to play live to an audience.

Actually never heard much from Nick Drake aside ‘Pink Moon’ a track I absolutely love.
Anyhow, this is simply wonderful.

It’s like a laid back Dylan, nice poetic lyrics, textured picker finger acoustic and nice use of strings and arrangements by the producers.

Drakes husky voices fits the mood perfect.

No real stand outs because it’s consistently very good and some real beautiful and melancholy moments. Good pick.

9/10


Taylor Swift - Speak Now

Here she finally appears , I was actually tempted to go for Taylor Swift before as she was taking over the world and aside the regular radio pop hits - would be fair to give an album of hers a go although a tough ask on a Mancunium football forum with us bunch of FOC.
Firstly, i like her - as a person - she's a good role model for youngsters, she's great live and puts on a show, grew up playing guitar and writes her own stuff - so clearly talented.

However like many felt - it's aimed at 12 year old girls really, found it all squeaky clean and melodramatic, pretty much every track was about breaking up with some high school douche bag and all the heartbreak that comes with it - would have resonated and cared when i was listening to this fluffy stuff when i was coming out of puberty.

There is some tracks with some good melody, and a bridge before the encore chorus on alot of the stuff become predictable after a while, agreed the rockier numbers actually sound identical to Avril Lavigne. 'Mean' 'Dear John' and 'Back to December' are catchy. Good pick.

5/10

Despite the fact you have now caught up, you have had me thinking of this classic over the past few weeks!!

 

[GornikDaze]

Before I actually fall behind @BlueHammer85 amd my above comment falls flat, I thought I best get my ‘review’ in quick.

In some ways I think I’m the opposite of @threespires views. For me Maria Elena and Blue Period are the low points. So that’s the negative out of the way.

What an opener!! That guitar sound on A Girl Like You is just awesome, dare I say a bit EVH light. The second track is a belter as well. After that it does go a bit rock lite but I’m in a positive mood, so I’ll skip over the weaker tracks.

Happily give this a 7/10 because the opener does resonate. As an aside, listening to this in the car yesterday, one of the tracks reminded me of I Only Wanna Be With You, but I can’t seem to replicate that vibe, so I can’t say which one. I’m also getting a bit of Elvis Costello, Housemartins and some Foo Fighters but I’ll shut up now.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

11 - The Smithereens

Ironic that we should be listening to an album title inspired by Spinal Tap's infamous amp settings within weeks after their sequel comes out.


Of course it was also inspired by the 1960 version of Oceans 11, and given the musical nod to the Beatles and Buddy Holly as inspirations for the songs, that's about the straight up early rock n' roll period that the band was going for.

I was familiar with this album from the first two tracks, singles back in late 1989. As already noted, I was a big fan of their first album and had heard the singles from their second, but never enough to buy either record as a poor struggling college student, more inspired by other bands at the time, and in mostly listening to college radio back then.

I do remember when first hearing "A Girl Like You", musically I liked a lot. However, for some reason I remember not being a fan of the backing vocals of Maria Vidal. I don't know, maybe I wasn't used to hearing it with the band and their previous songs. Either way, the guitars on that track are great and it didn't surprise me how this track pulled Rob in as it is the best on the album.

"Blues Before And After", their second track and single from this release was another I remembered, but I don't recall the other singles as this album came out. The guitars here again is straightforward rock, and the piano touches within are very well done.

I didn't remember "Blue Period", the 4th single as I think I was too immersed with Motor City Rock from those Detroit stations at that time that likely didn't play that. Belinda Carlisle adds some nice backing vocals here, but I will admit to not recognizing her at first. However, that track is deserving of the Best Of/GH compilations it has been featured on.

Some of the tracks that harken back to the simpler eras of rock, as "Yesterday Girl" was inspired by "Louie Louie" of The Kingsmen. For some reason, this song and "William Wilson" in their simplicity and repetition just didn't go anywhere to me, so those weren't ones that stuck, despite YG being their 3rd single from this release.

I very much enjoyed "Maria Elena" when I first heard it when Rob nominated it on the Playlist Thread, and I found it a very touching tribute to the early rock song approach of Buddy Holly as a homage to his widow, still alive at 92 today. Some moving lyrics in "I will love you all my days, you're still a part of me, I believe in true love ways, Maria Elena".

The songs I was not familiar with on this that I especially liked the most first was the closer "Kiss Your Tears Away" with some strong music and lyrics on consoling his wife.

Next "Cut Flowers" reminded me the most of an approach to a song off their first album with the backing vocals adding a nice layer here. A bit of an "Only A Memory" vibe with the symbol of loss in the title subject. Finally, the guitar solo and music in "Room Without A View" helped me come around to enjoying that song about the visual of being in such, presumably to come up with music for this album. Musically, that was the pleasant surprise, including the drumming at the end of the track.

I know this album probably isn't for everyone as this band were what they were, and it's a shame about Pat DiNizio's passing 8 years ago. When I think of them now, I remember how their approach to rock n' roll in the mid-80's captured me on a college alternative rock station in my freshman year along with other bands that were new to discover. While this wouldn't be my go-to release from them, there's enough here that take me back to those times and what I enjoyed about straightforward garage and alternative rock. While I'm tempted to knock them for being Mets fans in being too far north in NJ to enjoy better baseball (Go Phillies!), I'm just as tempted to add it back for the new band I was unfamiliar with that I liked a lot, and Bob Mould and Hüsker Dü that played right after this a few times on Spotify. It's a 7.5/10 for me here with a thanks to Rob for a good appreciation of this band worthy of mention and nomination.

 

[RobMCFC]

11 - The Smithereens

Ironic that we should be listening to an album title inspired by Spinal Tap's infamous amp settings within weeks after their sequel comes out.
View attachment 170250

Of course it was also inspired by the 1960 version of Oceans 11, and given the musical nod to the Beatles and Buddy Holly as inspirations for the songs, that's about the straight up early rock n' roll period that the band was going for.

I was familiar with this album from the first two tracks, singles back in late 1989. As already noted, I was a big fan of their first album and had heard the singles from their second, but never enough to buy either record as a poor struggling college student, more inspired by other bands at the time, and in mostly listening to college radio back then.

I do remember when first hearing "A Girl Like You", musically I liked a lot. However, for some reason I remember not being a fan of the backing vocals of Maria Vidal. I don't know, maybe I wasn't used to hearing it with the band and their previous songs. Either way, the guitars on that track are great and it didn't surprise me how this track pulled Rob in as it is the best on the album.

"Blues Before And After", their second track and single from this release was another I remembered, but I don't recall the other singles as this album came out. The guitars here again is straightforward rock, and the piano touches within are very well done.

I didn't remember "Blue Period", the 4th single as I think I was too immersed with Motor City Rock from those Detroit stations at that time that likely didn't play that. Belinda Carlisle adds some nice backing vocals here, but I will admit to not recognizing her at first. However, that track is deserving of the Best Of/GH compilations it has been featured on.

Some of the tracks that harken back to the simpler eras of rock, as "Yesterday Girl" was inspired by "Louie Louie" of The Kingsmen. For some reason, this song and "William Wilson" in their simplicity and repetition just didn't go anywhere to me, so those weren't ones that stuck, despite YG being their 3rd single from this release.

I very much enjoyed "Maria Elena" when I first heard it when Rob nominated it on the Playlist Thread, and I found it a very touching tribute to the early rock song approach of Buddy Holly as a homage to his widow, still alive at 92 today. Some moving lyrics in "I will love you all my days, you're still a part of me, I believe in true love ways, Maria Elena".

The songs I was not familiar with on this that I especially liked the most first was the closer "Kiss Your Tears Away" with some strong music and lyrics on consoling his wife.

Next "Cut Flowers" reminded me the most of an approach to a song off their first album with the backing vocals adding a nice layer here. A bit of an "Only A Memory" vibe with the symbol of loss in the title subject. Finally, the guitar solo and music in "Room Without A View" helped me come around to enjoying that song about the visual of being in such, presumably to come up with music for this album. Musically, that was the pleasant surprise, including the drumming at the end of the track.

I know this album probably isn't for everyone as this band were what they were, and it's a shame about Pat DiNizio's passing 8 years ago. When I think of them now, I remember how their approach to rock n' roll in the mid-80's captured me on a college alternative rock station in my freshman year along with other bands that were new to discover. While this wouldn't be my go-to release from them, there's enough here that take me back to those times and what I enjoyed about straightforward garage and alternative rock. While I'm tempted to knock them for being Mets fans in being too far north in NJ to enjoy better baseball (Go Phillies!), I'm just as tempted to add it back for the new band I was unfamiliar with that I liked a lot, and Bob Mould and Hüsker Dü that played right after this a few times on Spotify. It's a 7.5/10 for me here with a thanks to Rob for a good appreciation of this band worthy of mention and nomination.

Nice review. I'm in general agreement there except for some reason I've never been able to warm to "Kiss Your Tears Away" but I love "Yesterday Girl", simple though it is.

 

[Coatigan]

Glad to see the album getting a bit of love, after the initial dismissals. The negatives have already been said, so I'll just point out that I agree with it being generic, and leave it there, without labouring the point.

It is fine. An ok album, not unpleasant. It is a typical formulaic album. Find the formula, rigidly copy the formula, don't dare (or have an inability to) in any way alter the formula, and hope that people who like the formula and don't care enough to distinguish it from other albums - will like it because it sounds like other stuff they like.

With any other genre or subgenre, that wouldn't bother me. With rock, I expect, nae demand, more. With a few others here including Rob, it seems to be the opposite - with other genres that is a point of contention, but with rock it is overlooked or forgiven.

I do think it suffers from being a 30+ year old album where lots more like it has come since, compounding the issue of its genericness. Would I have liked this more a couple of decades ago? Possibly. And as a result I'd maybe like hearing it again now.

Is it enough that they can play the instruments they have chosen to dedicate themselves to? Not in the slightest for me. So it didn't do much for me at all. Yesterday Girl was about the only track worthy of a mention, Belinda Carlisle a welcome eyebrow raised, but barely more than that. Guitars and drums were fine. Vocals actually grew on me and I got used to. Didn't feel the urge to skip any of it, wouldn't if it came on randomly, if that's any kind of a compliment. A 5.5, with the extra bit for the choice of formula to copy, but I can't go beyond the middle ground I was left in.

 

[RobMCFC]

Glad to see the album getting a bit of love, after the initial dismissals. The negatives have already been said, so I'll just point out that I agree with it being generic, and leave it there, without labouring the point.

It is fine. An ok album, not unpleasant. It is a typical formulaic album. Find the formula, rigidly copy the formula, don't dare (or have an inability to) in any way alter the formula, and hope that people who like the formula and don't care enough to distinguish it from other albums - will like it because it sounds like other stuff they like.

With any other genre or subgenre, that wouldn't bother me. With rock, I expect, nae demand, more. With a few others here including Rob, it seems to be the opposite - with other genres that is a point of contention, but with rock it is overlooked or forgiven.

I do think it suffers from being a 30+ year old album where lots more like it has come since, compounding the issue of its genericness. Would I have liked this more a couple of decades ago? Possibly. And as a result I'd maybe like hearing it again now.

Is it enough that they can play the instruments they have chosen to dedicate themselves to? Not in the slightest for me. So it didn't do much for me at all. Yesterday Girl was about the only track worthy of a mention, Belinda Carlisle a welcome eyebrow raised, but barely more than that. Guitars and drums were fine. Vocals actually grew on me and I got used to. Didn't feel the urge to skip any of it, wouldn't if it came on randomly, if that's any kind of a compliment. A 5.5, with the extra bit for the choice of formula to copy, but I can't go beyond the middle ground I was left in.

The generic, or safe, or whatever you want to call it comment is interesting.

Certainly in my limited collection, this is something a little different. It doesn't have any Americana traits that many of my albums do, but neither is it as slick as some of the other bands I was listening to at the time (Bon Jovi, Journey, Dare, Europe etc.) It was released a couple of years before the more raw guitar bands of the early 90s became popular, so as you say, maybe the passage of time has dulled the effect but certainly when I first heard "A Girl Like You", this was a big guitar sound that wasn't too common on the radio at the time.

 

[GornikDaze]

The generic, or safe, or whatever you want to call it comment is interesting.

Certainly in my limited collection, this is something a little different. It doesn't have any Americana traits that many of my albums do, but neither is it as slick as some of the other bands I was listening to at the time (Bon Jovi, Journey, Dare, Europe etc.) It was released a couple of years before the more raw guitar bands of the early 90s became popular, so as you say, maybe the passage of time has dulled the effect but certainly when I first heard "A Girl Like You", this was a big guitar sound that wasn't too common on the radio at the time.

Talking of Bon Jovi, has anyone heard their new single?

If you haven’t I’d do everything in my power to give it a swerve. Total Pish!!!

Apologies @Coatigan for use of Pish but I feel it’s warranted

 

[Coatigan]

The generic, or safe, or whatever you want to call it comment is interesting.

Certainly in my limited collection, this is something a little different. It doesn't have any Americana traits that many of my albums do, but neither is it as slick as some of the other bands I was listening to at the time (Bon Jovi, Journey, Dare, Europe etc.) It was released a couple of years before the more raw guitar bands of the early 90s became popular, so as you say, maybe the passage of time has dulled the effect but certainly when I first heard "A Girl Like You", this was a big guitar sound that wasn't too common on the radio at the time.

I can see that. Maybe that's that little bit that it is missing for me, either a bit more polish in the delivery, or something else as you say in influence, as a hook.

The point about time is a valid one, it is hard to play the what if game, but I dare guess if you were hearing this for the first time today, it would be received different to how you re-experience it with the engrained memories and emotions of having heard it then. I do find this for a large number of my own liked albums. A relevant example to this is probably again Del Amitri, where I think there are similaritiesin sound, to at least some of their stuff. I have for some time come to the realisation their music is and was quite generic. But ut resonated at various times, and had that little bit of something extra that made it stick. The folklore, and clever lyrics. Strip that relatability away, the music itself is no less basic than this. Ok they have more variety over the years, but often not on individual albums. Gin Blossoms on the other hand, who I think this also has similarities to, I kinda felt like that about back when I did try listen to them, so it really is a guess what I would have thought of this decades ago.

I often apply that question to many of my albums though, it is an interesting conundrum.

 

[RobMCFC]

Talking of Bon Jovi, has anyone heard their new single?

If you haven’t I’d do everything in my power to give it a swerve. Total Pish!!!

Apologies @Coatigan for use of Pish but I feel it’s warranted

Not listened to any of their music post-1995 so I'm unlikely to hear this :)

I can see that. Maybe that's that little bit that it is missing for me, either a bit more polish in the delivery, or something else as you say in influence, as a hook.

The point about time is a valid one, it is hard to play the what if game, but I dare guess if you were hearing this for the first time today, it would be received different to how you re-experience it with the engrained memories and emotions of having heard it then. I do find this for a large number of my own liked albums. A relevant example to this is probably again Del Amitri, where I think there are similaritiesin sound, to at least some of their stuff. I have for some time come to the realisation their music is and was quite generic. But ut resonated at various times, and had that little bit of something extra that made it stick. The folklore, and clever lyrics. Strip that relatability away, the music itself is no less basic than this. Ok they have more variety over the years, but often not on individual albums. Gin Blossoms on the other hand, who I think this also has similarities to, I kinda felt like that about back when I did try listen to them, so it really is a guess what I would have thought of this decades ago.

I often apply that question to many of my albums though, it is an interesting conundrum.

We talked about this last week and it is becoming a problem for me on this thread.

The thread was set up for us to share our stories and memories of albums that we loved "back in the day", and the general approach when reviewing 9 out of 10 albums seems to be to criticise an album for being "too safe", "friends music", "nothing stands out", "similar to a, b, c but not as good as x, y z". You keep an eye on reviews this round and tell me I'm wrong when we get to February.

The simple fact is that, for whatever reason, our individual imaginations were captured by a piece of music for a moment in time that is lost forever (except in our heads).

 

[bennyboy]

Loved the Smithereens in the 80' when I was into American groups at the time.
Husker Du...Long Ryders....Green on Red...REM....and the likes.
Wall of Sleep was my introduction to the Smithereens from their first album Especially For You and slbum that I loved.
11 is still a good album though after my first listen for over 20 years.
A girl like you sets the tone for the album.
Good simple music yo enjoy
Nothing fancy just a good solid album to enjoy.
Thought about a 7 but 10 songs in just under 35 mins that I played a few times without even thinking of skipping one in this day and age of Spotify i will give it an 8.

 

[threespires]

Not listened to any of their music post-1995 so I'm unlikely to hear this :)


We talked about this last week and it is becoming a problem for me on this thread.

The thread was set up for us to share our stories and memories of albums that we loved "back in the day", and the general approach when reviewing 9 out of 10 albums seems to be to criticise an album for being "too safe", "friends music", "nothing stands out", "similar to a, b, c but not as good as x, y z". You keep an eye on reviews this round and tell me I'm wrong when we get to February.

The simple fact is that, for whatever reason, our individual imaginations were captured by a piece of music for a moment in time that is lost forever (except in our heads).

It is difficult to get the balance right, the scoring aspect means people will understandably review with a view to explaining/justifying their score.

It depends how much the stories and memories are key to the discussion vs the music. I could nominate Swoon and relate it to failed attempts to get into a particular girls pants but that's probably not as interesting a discussion point as to how good a songwriter Paddy Mcaloon is or isn't.

 

[Coatigan]

Not listened to any of their music post-1995 so I'm unlikely to hear this :)


We talked about this last week and it is becoming a problem for me on this thread.

The thread was set up for us to share our stories and memories of albums that we loved "back in the day", and the general approach when reviewing 9 out of 10 albums seems to be to criticise an album for being "too safe", "friends music", "nothing stands out", "similar to a, b, c but not as good as x, y z". You keep an eye on reviews this round and tell me I'm wrong when we get to February.

The simple fact is that, for whatever reason, our individual imaginations were captured by a piece of music for a moment in time that is lost forever (except in our heads).

It is somewhat inevitable though. And I think accepting it with a degree of awareness is fine.

Equally annoying for me is people judging albums by looking for something in them that just isn't meant to be there.

 

[BimboBob]

Not listened to any of their music post-1995 so I'm unlikely to hear this :)


We talked about this last week and it is becoming a problem for me on this thread.

The thread was set up for us to share our stories and memories of albums that we loved "back in the day", and the general approach when reviewing 9 out of 10 albums seems to be to criticise an album for being "too safe", "friends music", "nothing stands out", "similar to a, b, c but not as good as x, y z". You keep an eye on reviews this round and tell me I'm wrong when we get to February.

The simple fact is that, for whatever reason, our individual imaginations were captured by a piece of music for a moment in time that is lost forever (except in our heads).

All of my albums so far have meant something to me and featured heavily in my life. And I couldn't give two hoots if no one else gets them. Nature of the beast.
You put your album up, explain why it's important and then watch as people pull it apart. Getting upset by criticism by someone who doesn't have your history with the album is pointless.

So what if it's described as Friends, Lift or Dinner Party Music...you get it. You love it. And rarely, someone else will get it as well. And when they do you will get a warm glow and perform a fist bump to no one in particular.

In the meantime keep chucking albums you love up. I for one get excited every Wednesday to see what's new, to see if I'll like it and to see if it's another new album to buy.

 

[bennyboy]

All of my albums so far have meant something to me and featured heavily in my life. And I couldn't give two hoots if no one else gets them. Nature of the beast.
You put your album up, explain why it's important and then watch as people pull it apart. Getting upset by criticism by someone who doesn't have your history with the album is pointless.

So what if it's described as Friends, Lift or Dinner Party Music...you get it. You love it. And rarely, someone else will get it as well. And when they do you will get a warm glow and perform a fist bump to no one in particular.

In the meantime keep chucking albums you love up. I for one get excited every Wednesday to see what's new, to see if I'll like it and to see if it's another new album to buy.

Yes.You like the albums good enough to put up for review.
Scores do not matter.
If someone does not like it do not take it personally.
I await the slagging my nomination will get tomorrow.lol.

 

[threespires]

All of my albums so far have meant something to me and featured heavily in my life. And I couldn't give two hoots if no one else gets them. Nature of the beast.
You put your album up, explain why it's important and then watch as people pull it apart. Getting upset by criticism by someone who doesn't have your history with the album is pointless.

So what if it's described as Friends, Lift or Dinner Party Music...you get it. You love it. And rarely, someone else will get it as well. And when they do you will get a warm glow and perform a fist bump to no one in particular.

In the meantime keep chucking albums you love up. I for one get excited every Wednesday to see what's new, to see if I'll like it and to see if it's another new album to buy.

Spot on. That's absolutely got to be the attitude because otherwise the thread doesn't work.

That said you're a bunch of cloth eared twats for not understanding Mike Skinner's genius.