Thoughts on this record from 2004? About six months ago when I first picked it up, I nearly threw it out my car window. Several listens later, and what do I find but one the best records of the last several years.

I only ask because I've never heard anybody mention this record on these forums, but on other forums that I visit (oink, etc.) it is considered a classic.

Has anybody heard this record?

I posted that I think this album is one of the best of the decade in the "Sacrilege" topic, but I got one hater and a bunch of crickets. A quick search and it is oddly comforting to know that at least one poster here agrees with me.

I like it, I wouldn't call it a great album though, just good. I found their recent album to be a disappointment.

Here's another interesting thread.

Say Anything has to compete with being associated with the Taking Back Sunday demographic. That's too bad because they're really not that kind of band. As far as lyrics if not outstanding, Max Bemis is certainly a fascinating personality. There's a self-awareness and vague misanthropy that is usually not associated with a band with this kind of fanbase. And musically, it's a lot more indie-pop than you'd expect.

Think less Saves the Day and more Ben Folds with electric guitars. But not quite as good.

Best of the last several years? Hardly. But it's a pretty interesting place to go for indie kids who would probably love the record if they gave it a chance.

I never gave these guys a chance because i just thought they were emo as all hell, and someone told me i look like the singer, so that hurt my soul and made me want to crawl into a dark, dank pit and never emerge again. And that's why I'm here!!!!

Okay, the Ben Folds comparison isn't really getting me too excited, nor is the Taking Back Sunday demographic. This sounds like something i would absolutely despise.

Does emo belong in Indie though? Aren't these guys on like some massive label by now? Don't they do the really clean vocals about no one liking them and "angular" dueling guitars? I've never heard a song by them, but that's my guess, and i bet i'm right.

They're not really LIKE that kind of music. And anyone who can't like Ben Folds, I mean come on. Sure he gets/got a little bit lame. But he's got some absolutely stellar songs. Plus he can shred the drums. Definitely one of the most talented people ever.


"Emo" doesn't belong anywhere. Emo is a word that basically is meant to refer to bands Guy and Ian were in after Minor Threat and before Fugazi. People, for some reason, use it today to describe the kind of music that was on Vagrant Records a few years back and also generally shitty bands with whiny lead singers. I don't know why, do you?

They're really kind of parody the genre you're thinking they might belong to. On one song he keeps repeating "I'LL KILL MYSELF" but it's kind of tongue-in-cheek. Elsewhere there is, however, some pretty radio-ready balladry.

I don't know if they're necessarily worth writing this much about. If you like pure POP music that your stupid girlfriend will also like, with some interesting lyrics and ideas from a precocious young frontman, it's pretty good.

Yeah, BlackGravel, "one of the best of the last several years" was certainly hyperbole on my part with hindsight. My excitement in discovering an album that at first induced eyes rolling and an immediate urge to hit the 'eject' button, but later come to really appreciate must have gotten the better of me. I still really enjoy the album, but don't care too much for their more recent double album In Defense of the Genre.

I'm certainly not a fan of 'emo'. Before this album Sunny Day Real Estate was about as 'emo' as I got. And while the vocals and subject matter of the album certainly have a fair amount of immature(Bemis wrote these songs when he was 18, 19 years old), emotive quality to them, the song compositions more than make up for anything that may bother you with the vocals....if you give it time.