Oh and I'm on-board with their lack of an ability to sequence. It seems like they write all the songs down on little scraps of paper and pull them out of a hat to figure out the order (with the exception of the last song being the obvious choice out of the batch in it's slow-build structure).

quote:

Originally posted by CleverName84:
"Ambulance" reaaaaaally bothered me... I used to skip that song immediately upon hearing it (now i can simply tolerate it and maybe crack a smile).

Really?!? I love "Ambulance". That's one of my favorite tracks on Desperate Youth.... I wish they'd do more a capella stuff. This and their "Mr. Grieves" cover are both awesome in my book.

quote:

Originally posted by CleverName84:
Oh and I'm on-board with their lack of an ability to sequence. It seems like they write all the songs down on little scraps of paper and pull them out of a hat to figure out the order (with the exception of the last song being the obvious choice out of the batch in it's slow-build structure).

I can also agree with this. I think, in general, bands don't put enough importance on sequenceing. Sometimes that is the major factor that brings one album to rest miles ahead of an album of similar caliber. I think a great band really considers album sequencing when they are writting songs.

As a side not. The cover of Mr.Grieves is amazing. And any band that can sing a song accapella and still be attractive to a mainly rock/dance music audience needs to be respected for talent. As a reference point I will again mention the Grizzly Bear accapella version of "Knife". Pretty much 98% of the top selling bands today don't have enough talent to even consider this, and if they tried they would likely be laughed off stage.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:
I can also agree with this. I think, in general, bands don't put enough importance on sequenceing.

Sequencing can make an album, for sure. Take any classic album and put it on random and see if it's as good. For instance, imagine Kid A kicking off with "Treefingers". Yuck.

I'd say having good bookenders is the most important thing. If the first song is a classic, I'm gonna be inclined to listen to the album a lot, 'cause the first song is like, right there! If the last song is classic, that's what sticks in the mind after it's over, even if there was a weaker patch somewhere in the middle.

How does Dear Science go? Halfway Home has become pretty much my favourite off this, not sure how I missed the killer chorus the first few times round. Lover's Day...not huge on it, yet. Really love 'Shout Me Out' though, one of their best IMO. I was a bit dubious for a while, but I'm ready to call this a very good record.

I'm sorry but the cover they do of the Pixies' song stinks. They took all of the intensity, drive and energy Pixies had mastered out of it. It's like they popped the balloon, held up for all to see, put some decent colors on it and everyone fell in love with it.

Then again, there are lots of things I don't get—or so I am told.

Just finished my first listen. It made an instant impression on me which could mean it's a great album or that it won't have the longevity of RTCM (this is often the case). I definitely think this album is more consistent and there are definetely some stand outs; Family Tree, Stork and Owl, and Halfway Home come to mind. The only real dud I found was Red Dress which did nothing for me.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
I'm sorry but the cover they do of the Pixies' song stinks. They took all of the intensity, drive and energy Pixies had mastered out of it. It's like they popped the balloon, held up for all to see, put some decent colors on it and everyone fell in love with it.

Then again, there are lots of things I don't get—or so I am told.

If you can't recontextualize and reinvent a song, there's no reason to cover it. I don't want to listen to anyone play a Pixies song exactly how the Pixies played it, because then I could very well skip over that entirely and just go straight to the Pixies song. In that respect, TVOTR's version of "Mr. Grieves" is spectacular.

Now, the issue of sequencing has come up, and I'm not sure I understand the problem. All of the band's albums have been sequenced pretty well. This one included. "Halfway Home" is unique, however, in that it could have been an opener or a closer. But I think the album flows well.

new album got a 9.2 on the fork, higher than RTCM...im still not sold that its better than RTCM, good album though.

quote:

Originally posted by cuneyt81:
If you can't recontextualize and reinvent a song, there's no reason to cover it. I don't want to listen to anyone play a Pixies song exactly how the Pixies played it, because then I could very well skip over that entirely and just go straight to the Pixies song. In that respect, TVOTR's version of "Mr. Grieves" is spectacular.

Well said. Covering the Pixies is a risky proposition anyway, because, frankly, they kick ass. No band is going to be able to capture their manic energy. The best covers, in my opinion, take a song and do something drastically different. And performing a Pixies tune barbershop style is pretty different.

Do I think it beats the Pixies? No, probably not. But it's still cool.

quote:

Originally posted by EricG75:

quote:

Originally posted by cuneyt81:
If you can't recontextualize and reinvent a song, there's no reason to cover it. I don't want to listen to anyone play a Pixies song exactly how the Pixies played it, because then I could very well skip over that entirely and just go straight to the Pixies song. In that respect, TVOTR's version of "Mr. Grieves" is spectacular.

Well said. Covering the Pixies is a risky proposition anyway, because, frankly, they kick ass. No band is going to be able to capture their manic energy. The best covers, in my opinion, take a song and do something drastically different. And performing a Pixies tune barbershop style is pretty different.

Do I think it beats the Pixies? No, probably not. But it's still cool.

I like TVotR's cover... but it certainly doesn't come close to the Pixies. It's also (by far) my least favorite song on that EP.

Really looking forward to this album... but... I'm pissed at Amazon. I pre-ordered it on vinyl and now I find out it isn't supposed to ship until Oct 14. WTF? I guess I've waited this long I can wait another two (or three) weeks.

Did they originally say it would be released the same day as the CD? If so that's annoying, but I ran into a similar problem with Insound and the new Walkmen album. Sometimes there are pressing issues...

Any reactions to Dear Science, getting a better rating than Return To Cookie Mountain from pitchfork? Not that it's an interesting topic, but for some reason i haven't seen the message-board take-over that i expected when this album dropped, so i'm trying to stimulate conversation.

I'd say a 9.2 is somewhere around what i would give it, but RTCM is a 10 (okay probably a 9.4 or 9.5) in my opinion, so i think this one is pretty damn close.

Some say this album lacks the standouts of albums past, but i'd say the whole thing is a standout, much like RTCM.

Some complain of the sequencing, and though i tend to agree, the flow this time isn't brought to a halt like it has before[ahem, "Poppy," "Wear you Out," and "A Method"]. Basically, this could be that album that propels the band to massive heights, and will likely cause a stir with us geeks (it kind of has already).

The more I've listened to this, the more I like it. It could be better than RTCM. I think RTCM was more front loaded than Dear Science. Alternately, this album really finishes strong.

If it had a "Wolf Like Me" or "Staring at the Sun" type single, this would really be a home run. Unfortunately, the first two songs they released from this, "Dancing Choose" and "Golden Age" are the album's biggest clunkers. Skip over those two tracks, and it is a 9.2.

Man, I went to get this last night and it isn't out on LP yet! I'm definitely not going to wait that long to hear it.

I gotta agree with Eric; I'm finding more to like on this with each listen. I just realised Crying has a number of fantastic subtle background bits, and Stork and Owl has a great chorus.

For me it's actually about as consistent as RTCM, but lacking the real great number of songs that RTCM had. But it's got a different style and feel to it, and I know I'll enjoy listening to both albums plenty in the future depending on my mood. So this is a great band, and I'm happy.

quote:

Originally posted by cuneyt81:
Did they originally say it would be released the same day as the CD? If so that's annoying, but I ran into a similar problem with Insound and the new Walkmen album. Sometimes there are pressing issues...

I think what happened it that I ordered Dear Science the same time as the new Streets record. For shipping purposes, they are shipping them together, when the vinyl version of Everything is Borrowed drops on Oct 7. Why both my records can't be shipped Oct 7 instead of a week later I don't know.

I just gave in and downloaded versions of both. I paid for the albums... not my fault I hadn't heard them until after they were released. (I wonder if the people against downloading have a problem with this situation too...)

Anyway, I'm digging Dear Science, even though I've only made it through once. If it is anything like RTCM, which really hit me about a month in (at which point I couldn't turn it off), then Dear Science will probably grow on me exponentially also.

Reading the TMT interview with Mr. Sitek was really interesting. It's refreshing to hear that TV On The Radio doesn't want to make the same album twice and I think that kinda goes for and against them, especially for the fans like myself that really wanted a "Wolf Like Me" type song.

With that said I love everything they've released thus far and I think the P4K review is accurate and fair.

quote:

Originally posted by CleverName84:
Some complain of the sequencing, and though i tend to agree, the flow this time isn't brought to a halt like it has before[ahem, "Poppy," "Wear you Out," and "A Method"].

Man, "Poppy" is easily one of my favorite songs of theirs and is definitely one of the highlights of that album. And I love "A Method" as well. Both are built largely around their distinctive doo-wap vocal stylings, which I have always loved about TVOTR. I also love "Ambulance" which I guess a bunch of people here don't really get into. Songs in this vein are unfortunately missing from the new one, in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, the new one's still great in its own right, I guess I just miss their "Staring at the Sun" days.

After digesting every song on the album, I realized that my favourite songs were all written by Tunde, while my least favourite (although I do enjoy all of them a lot) were the Kyp-written tracks. Anyone here share these thoughts?