[The Soup Nazi]

Originally Posted by Severian

Did you make this? If so, nice.

Pfft, no, I wouldn't know how. But nice anyway! I stole it from a Wilco HQ e-mail I received some time ago, when they had a neat-o sale. Notice Kotche's Adventureland CD!

Originally Posted by Severian

Also, nice cactus.

 

[noisereductions]

y'know what? SY is my favorite band of all time. Period.

But lately I think that Wilco may well be my favorite ACTIVE band. I just love them so so much.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

y'know what? SY is my favorite band of all time. Period.

But lately I think that Wilco may well be my favorite ACTIVE band. I just love them so so much.

You think too much.

I used to think about stuff like this all the time and it sometimes drove me crazy. You aren't Irish by any chance are you? I think this is something Irish people do, and no that's not offensive because I'm as Irish as someone born and raised in America whose never been to Ireland can get.

[Severian]

 

Jay-Z - 4:44

There have been some contradicting reports about who can access the album. Apparently Tidal said it would only be available to Tidal subscribers who either A.) subscribed prior to the arbitrary date of June 26, or B.) use Sprint and subscribe to Tidal -- apparently at any date.

I can tell you that at least for the time being, this is not true. At least not everywhere. I haven't had a Tidal account since The Life of Pablo became available on Mp3 and Apple Music. I also don't have Sprint, because, honestly now, who the fuck has Sprint if they can help it?
But, first thing this morning, I hopped on my phone, re-downloaded the Tidal app, and set up a new account (with yet another 30-day trial period offered to me ) and I was able to listen to the album immediately and without issue.

Ima post this in the hip-hop café too, because that thread needs all the posts it can get.

[noisereductions]

I do think too much. I think. But I don't think I'm doing that here. It wasn't like a "hmm, I want to think about who my fav band is" kind of thing. It was more that IT DAWNED ON ME that for months I've been listening to Wilco so so much and that I love all of their albums.

Either way, I listen to plenty of Pumpkins and Weezer as well, so just be happy I wasn't talking about them again.

You know my feelings on Tidal and "exclusives" (IE: A company/artist demanding that I am only allowed to purchase a product from one specific store), so I'll be waiting for a wider release on the Jay-Z. I heard some snippets on NPR this morning though, at least three songs, and they all sounded good. Wasn't enough to get a real impression of the whole of course.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

I do think too much. I think. But I don't think I'm doing that here. It wasn't like a "hmm, I want to think about who my fav band is" kind of thing. It was more that IT DAWNED ON ME that for months I've been listening to Wilco so so much and that I love all of their albums.

Lol. I know man. Just giving you a hard time.

I used to actually get stressed about which band was my "favorite" and feel guilty whenever that changed, so that's why I said that.

Mostly in high school... I'd be like "Nirvana... hey everyone, I'm sticking with Nirvana!" Then, "Actualllyyyyy... Pixies. Definitely Pixies... or Modest Mouse or Flaming Lips?" I did feel like everyone has kind of an ideal band for their needs and purposes. Like, I always felt that in order to truly call a band your favorite, and in order to really experience everything that band had to offer, you had to look forward to and purchase at least a few of their albums right when they came out. Above all else, I felt that seeing a band live was extremely important. Like, how much can you really know about a band if you haven't gotten sweaty with them in a too-small club?

Anyway, this made the Pixies really tough, because I didn't see them until their reunion in '04. I had seen Nirvana, but even in high school, I didn't remember much from that experience, and felt bad counting it. So when I saw Sonic Youth for the first time, I felt like I'd found my band, because I already loved their music so much. And I got to look forward to and purchase a whole BUNCH of SY albums despite the fact that they'd been around for 15 years by the time I got into them. And they had music that was deeply personal to me. In fact I loved/love it so much that I'd rather listen to it by myself than with others, because I don't want to hear what anyone thinks of SY's music. That shit is for me. The only exception being going to a show with a bunch of diehards. That can be a lovely communal listening experience. But it's certainly not party music.

ANYHOO... My favorite band will always be SY, I'm pretty sure, since they have been for like 18 years at this point, but I'm comfortable enough with all of that that I can say Kanye is my favorite artist and just leave it at that.

Wilco's damn good, but I'm rarely in the mood to listen to them. And I've only really been disappointed when I've seen them love, which is a real shame. I feel like they have to be a great live band, but they just haven't been on when I've been around.

Originally Posted by noisereductions

Either way, I listen to plenty of Pumpkins and Weezer as well, so just be happy I wasn't talking about them again.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by noisereductions

You know my feelings on Tidal and "exclusives" (IE: A company/artist demanding that I am only allowed to purchase a product from one specific store), so I'll be waiting for a wider release on the Jay-Z. I heard some snippets on NPR this morning though, at least three songs, and they all sounded good. Wasn't enough to get a real impression of the whole of course.

Yeah, I'm not big on the exclusive shit either. I think it's terrible. Physical releases are going to die, and that cuts me pretty deep. However, even though I'm not the Jay devotee I once was (I'm able to admit at this point that he only really has 4 great albums, and the rest vary from mediocre with some shining moments to just plain mediocre, if not outright bad), I still have a long history with him, and he's the kind of artist I will go out of my way to hear new albums by. Especially when each album is likely to be his last.

It's a good album so far. Still quite traditional (not interested in experimenting with the genre) but that's ok and I expect it from him. I'll be buying this when it comes out in CD. For sure. Better than MCHG by a substantial amount after one listen.

[evollove]

Dude stuck a gun in my face. Told me I could only listen to one Ramones album for the rest of my life. I chose ROCKET. Hope I didn't fuck up.

[Drjohnrock]

Originally Posted by evollove

Dude stuck a gun in my face. Told me I could only listen to one Ramones album for the rest of my life. I chose ROCKET. Hope I didn't fuck up.

You didn't fuck up--good choice

[Severian]

Originally Posted by evollove

Dude stuck a gun in my face. Told me I could only listen to one Ramones album for the rest of my life. I chose ROCKET. Hope I didn't fuck up.

Dude, you're safe. In fact, lookit this right here! Not that I always (or ever, really) put much stock in Rolling Stone's ideas of what's good and bad, but this was a fan poll.

Really, besides self-titled, what else would you pick? I guess some might say Leave Home. I can see that. Others might say Road to Ruin. Some folks probably have a really strong argument for End of the Century. But for me, peak Ramones is self-titled and Rocket to Russia. I prefer self-titled, probably about 80% of the time, but that's just me. Maybe the dude would have shot me.

Actually, hey... if the deal was to pick the best Raymond's album and die if your choice was wrong, you're obviously in the clear.

[noisereductions]

even "bad" Ramones albums have great songs. They're one of THOSE bands.

[noisereductions]

 

Back in the day I bought the Nirvana Singles box set because, well, it looked handsome sitting on a shelf. It was a nice little collectors item, yet not that convenient to actually listen to. Mostly I'd go to it for maybe a single b-side that I wanted to put on a mixtape or whatever. But for the most part, it was just something cool to look at. But I recently came into the good fortune of acquiring a bootleg release that puts the entire box on a single disk. And it turns out that listening to Singles in one sitting is a fascinating experience. One that I actually realized about a decade ago after ripping the contents of the box set into a single mp3 playlist. While there are plenty of Nirvana compilations out there to choose frome, they generally cater to one facet of the band. That is, the self-titled one collects their major A-sides; Sliver collects demos and outtakes; and so on. But Singles in this long-play format serves as a total Nirvana mixtape. One that allows huge hit singles to rub elbows with live tracks and b-sides. It's... actually pretty great.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

 

Back in the day I bought the Nirvana Singles box set because, well, it looked handsome sitting on a shelf. It was a nice little collectors item, yet not that convenient to actually listen to. Mostly I'd go to it for maybe a single b-side that I wanted to put on a mixtape or whatever. But for the most part, it was just something cool to look at. But I recently came into the good fortune of acquiring a bootleg release that puts the entire box on a single disk. And it turns out that listening to Singles in one sitting is a fascinating experience. One that I actually realized about a decade ago after ripping the contents of the box set into a single mp3 playlist. While there are plenty of Nirvana compilations out there to choose frome, they generally cater to one facet of the band. That is, the self-titled one collects their major A-sides; Sliver collects demos and outtakes; and so on. But Singles in this long-play format serves as a total Nirvana mixtape. One that allows huge hit singles to rub elbows with live tracks and b-sides. It's... actually pretty great.

That's a good idea. I should do that. Because you're right -- it's inconvenient as hell to listen to this thing. But there are some nice tracks on here. Like "Drain You" live at the Paramount (which I know is on the Live at the Paramount video/album, but still), and "Even in His Youth" and *especially* "Curmudgeon" from the Lithium single.

Though now that I think on it, pretty much all of this stuff is available elsewhere, and accompanied by more songs that make a more interesting experience. Just the Nevermind deluxe edition collects "Erin in His Youth" and "Curmudgeon" and all the live tracks from the singles PLUS the whole album.
Ditto for the In Utero deluxe edition.

So, maybe I won't do this. Maybe I'll just put the deluxe editions into a playlist and hit shuffle. Shrug.

[Rob Instigator]

I am lucky to have a stacker turntable that can play 7-8 seven inch singles back to back. it's awesome.

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by Severian

Though now that I think on it, pretty much all of this stuff is available elsewhere, and accompanied by more songs that make a more interesting experience. Just the Nevermind deluxe edition collects "Erin in His Youth" and "Curmudgeon" and all the live tracks from the singles PLUS the whole album.
Ditto for the In Utero deluxe edition.

This is true of course. But at the same time this makes for a pretty unique "album length" collection of A-sides/B-sides/live stuff.

Sometimes the super duper deluxe editions and boxed sets can be an overwhelming listen, y'know? Sometimes a more streamlined set is preferred. And then those bigger collections be there as archival sets.

TBH, unless there's a certain song I'm in the mood for, I generally reach for Sliver ("The Best Of The Box") rather than With The Lights Out for instance.

[noisereductions]

Sev, let's walk thru how weird this is when it's played like an album...


1. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Edit)
So like, the biggest "alternative" hit of the 90's starts it off. I don't recall what makes the edit different than the LP version.

2. Even In His Youth
3. Aneurysm
And then is immediately followed by these two OMG tracks that are much darker and noisier than the A-side.

4. Come As You Are
5. Endless Nameless
Another big single, and then that super secret hidden track that wasn't on some early pressings of the album by accident. I assume that's why it was re-released as a b-side. I forget how awesome this song is.

6. School (Live)
7. Drain You (Live)
And now a couple of inanely rocking live tracks. YES! One goes back to Bleach, the other is a highlight of Nevermind. That f'ing buildup in "Drain You" is one of the finest things on that record.

8. In Bloom
9. Sliver (Live)
10. Polly (Live)
Another big single, and two more live tracks. This time we get the non-album/Incesticide single "Sliver" which rules and an obligatory "Polly".

11. Lithium
12. Been A Son (Live)
The huge mellow single and then a live version of "Been A Son" - another Incesticide rarity. And something more akin to their punkier side. Which goes into...

13. Curmudgeon
...holy crap. I feel like this song kind of scared me as a pre-teen with the Lithium single (which was the first CD I ever bought if my memory is correct.)

14. Heart Shaped Box
15. Milk It
I always thought it was weird that the b-side to this was an album track. But I mean... it's such a great song. Always sounded pretty Melvins-y to me.

16. Marigold
And then this little beauty.

17. All Apologies
18. Rape Me
Another album track as b-side... but again, a great one.

19. MV
Holy crap what a weird song. I love it, though. Love it.


Looking back, this box set isn't quite perfect - it should have included the "Pennyroyal Tea" single which would have the remix of the the a-side along with "I Hate Myself And Want To Die" and then "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" from Unplugged. Incidentally, my bootleg does tack on that one last song.

[Severian]

I've always felt like "All apologies"/"Rape Me" was like the "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" of fucked up alternative shit.

[noisereductions]

ha!

As far as double a-sides go, it's pretty fantastic.

[noisereductions]

 

I think Weezer got a lot of flack for Raditude, but I always liked it. There was a certain eyeroll at the production. But I like how they have these albums that are just these little experiments. Like how the Red Album was all about letting the other band members write and sing songs? This one is like "what if Weezer made a party pop album?" So you get stuff like "I Can't Stop Partying" (co-written w/ Jermaine Dupri) and featuring Lil Wayne. But even that's interesting - because the rephrase of "I can't stop partying" doesn't sound like a celebration... it sounds like sadness. There's just a lot of good hooks and party tunes here, though. "If You're Wondering If I Want You To," "I'm Your Daddy," "Put Me Back Together," "Let It All Hang Out" - there's plenty here to enjoy. And even with the slick production and appeals to clubs ("I feel like Jay-Z/This can't be life"), this album still sounds LIKE WEEZER. So yeah. I'm a fan. It was a weird one off experiment that they didn't even tour in support of. But I reach for it fairly often compared to say Hurley or Make Believe.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

 

I think Weezer got a lot of flack for Raditude, but I always liked it. There was a certain eyeroll at the production. But I like how they have these albums that are just these little experiments. Like how the Red Album was all about letting the other band members write and sing songs? This one is like "what if Weezer made a party pop album?" So you get stuff like "I Can't Stop Partying" (co-written w/ Jermaine Dupri) and featuring Lil Wayne. But even that's interesting - because the rephrase of "I can't stop partying" doesn't sound like a celebration... it sounds like sadness. There's just a lot of good hooks and party tunes here, though. "If You're Wondering If I Want You To," "I'm Your Daddy," "Put Me Back Together," "Let It All Hang Out" - there's plenty here to enjoy. And even with the slick production and appeals to clubs ("I feel like Jay-Z/This can't be life"), this album still sounds LIKE WEEZER. So yeah. I'm a fan. It was a weird one off experiment that they didn't even tour in support of. But I reach for it fairly often compared to say Hurley or Make Believe.

Wow dude. I don't really have much to offer on this one, apart from a friendly suggestion that you might have some masochistic impulses when it comes to announcing this stuff.

Your stomach for this stuff... the no-fucks-given loyalty you have to this band... well, it's admirable.

[noisereductions]

Thanks. I like this album a lot tho. Haha.

They really are one of my favorite bands, shrug.