Alright, I have some time to kill so here goes: I've listened through 8 (the re-recording) again, and so I'm kind of on a nostalgia kick, so let me write this down while I'm thinking about it. Also keep in mind I'm a *little* bit high right now (took mah back pain meds about an hour ago), so if it seems like I'm getting too into this (or start trailing off on tangents), that's probably why :o
First and foremost, I want to say (again) that this album is, for me, strongly associated with Digital Devil Saga for PS2, because I was listening to this on my MP3 player while playing it (that game's soundtrack is alright, but it's very grating and when you play it for long periods of time it gets old really fast). As such, it feels more like a video game or movie soundtrack than just an album. So maybe that's why it's still my favorite thing you've done so far (that I've heard); it may also help that it's the only one I'm really seriously familiar with (I know a lot of other stuff, but not always by name).
First thing's first....comparison to the original recordings: there's no doubt that the revised recordings are significantly better quality, although the revised edition seems to have quieter vocals that are sunk farther into the mix, which makes them slightly more difficult to hear, but they also fit into the mix better than the original --- the original vocals were almost *too* present. Not enough to ruin anything, but it was definitely noticeable. The revised version ultimately ends up sounding more professional. Although there is one thing I miss from the original --- the vocals were a little more timid and restrained on the original. Not better or worse, per se, but that's how I got to know this album....so I guess I'll be forever torn between the original and the remake (like I am with many of my own songs....).
All I Can Say
I just want to let you know off the bat, this is my favorite song off here. I dunno why, I guess it's just the most nostalgic one. It's the first RT song I ever heard. There have been two or three or times when I came *so close* to recording a cover of this song (twice now I've put out EPs with "surprise secret covers" that were originally supposed to be this but ended up being something else).
Listening to Pop
Listening to this again, I think I realize another reason why I like this album --- it has a lot more (comparatively) slower-paced songs. I like those because it's easier to find a bunch of slow songs that sound different than it is to find fast ones; for awhile now I've been kind of drifting in and out of my "punk" phase and into some kind of weird in-between "pop-folk-punk" state. As a result I've been listening to a lot more Weezer, Collective Soul, Green Day, Alkaline Trio, Bottle Rockets, Jimmy Buffet, etc. But I digress....I like that this song has a slower overall tempo, but still has a busy, driving drum beat --- that's what I liked about NOFX when I first got into them, was their drums were so insanely fast. My favorite thing about this song is that it captures that fast-paced intensity with the bass drum pedal, without being 22305978235 bpm. Makes you want to like, headbang and shit. Great stuff.
No One Has Heard
A slightly faster kind of 8-beat tempo, rapid chord changes....a little more pop-punky, this kind of drumming always reminds me of Green Day (even though the chord progression here is a lot more "punky" and kind of random). Nice and frantic. This song lead me to coin the idea of someone having a "reverse messiah complex."
I Would
Beginning kind of reminds me of early, early Offspring (S/T era). Kind of a Phyrgian(sp?) vibe. Lyrics and vocal cadence makes me think of a Dead Kennedys motif, maybe something like California Uber Alles? Very short, in any case. Nice use of punctuating octave riffs, also, nice little solo in the middle! I always forget that's there and am pleasantly surprised when I rediscover it.
Confessions of the Music Industry
Okay, when I first heard your singing, I imagined this like 9-foot tall Titanic Giant Person. So when I heard this song, and I didn't know for sure if it was serious right away, it made me laugh really hard. I mean, it's a good song, I didn't laugh cuz it was bad, but it was funny because I thought of this like HULKING dude with a little guitar singing this nice happy little song about a lady. Kind of like the Ramones singing "Loudmouth" followed by "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."
Call me an ass, but I like this song even if it is sarcastic; then again, I'm the guy who covered Rick Astley, so that may or may not mean anything coming from me. Is it sarcastic? From the title I assumed it was.
Blind
Irrelevant but interesting: my favorite southern rock band, The Bottle Rockets of Festous, Missouri, also have a song called "Blind." It sounds nothing like this, though.
I like dynamic songs like this one. Steady cymbals keep the rhythm so you can kind of do your little dance in your seat while you're playing or typing or whatever, but then you have those little start-and-stop fills to keep you on your guard and set you up for the "comeback head bop." Also like the weird little guitar riffs here and there, kind of dancing in and out of the chord progression. Then there's this loud-ass closing chord at the end, kind of like that guy from the food network who goes "BAM!"
Say What You Mean
Another dynamic song. W00t! Neat chord progression, though, I like the back-and-forth two-chord major-minor thing in the slow parts. Also like the slow-fast thing. Like with Break Down, every time the fast part winds down, I think it's the end, but then the slow part just kinda kicks in. The melody (and just the timbre of your vocals) on the slow parts makes me think of something off of Midnight Oil's Red Sails In The Sunset (
Harrisburg or
Jimmy Sharman's Boxers, maybe?). I dunno. Don't ask me why I draw that comparison, it's not the melody itself but rather the feel of it. I like. That's gonna bug me though, cuz I can't remember which song that reminds me of.
Anyway, good song. Song that's basically bashing fake ass dudes can't go wrong :D
Welcome (To My New Reality)
This is my other favorite one off here, just because the intro rhythm makes me think of it as a sort of bookend to All I Can Say; reminds me of how the first and last tracks of the 1039/Smoothed-Out Slappy Hours comp use the same little riff at certain points. If you listen to the whole album in one run, this one just sounds pretty fucking heavy. It's got this stomp-along riff for the...the what, the verse-bridge-thing after the verse? And then there's this part in the middle that takes the stomp-alongness
up to 11. I imagine this song being played at a protest show of some kind, in the middle of summer, on a cheapie handmade stage of some kind.
All in all, a solid album. I don't really want to give it an x/10 rating (if I give it a 10, which I want to, it'll seem like I'm just being generous, but if I give it a 9 or 8 just so I won't look like I'm being generous, then I'll feel like I'm not being honest, but I can't give it anything less. I just really like this thing. The fact that it's home made just gives it extra novelty points and makes me like it even more. It's like a little envelope with someone's ideas from halfway across the world that I would never have heard if not for the internet. Fuck yeah internet!
That's all for now, I'm gonna go ahead and post this because it's thundering outside and THIS IS THE THIRD GODDAMN TIME I'VE TRIED TO WRITE A REVIEW OF THIS ALBUM AND HAD IT EITHER BLOW UP OR GET ERASED/LOST. Not gonna happen this time. I've been C+Ping to notepad this whole time, just in case.
