Originally posted by sunset3: Wow, I'm a bit surprised by what a lot of you think about Funeral.
I don't think it's bad, it just doesn't impress me that much outside of a couple of tracks. Looking back at 2004, it definitely hasn't held up for me the way some other releases have. I'd take Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Love Bad News or The Hold Steady's Almost Killed Me any day of the week.
----- I’ll be Ben Gazzara, you’ll be Gena Rowlands.
Posts: 5159 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
I don't think it's bad, it just doesn't impress me that much outside of a couple of tracks. Looking back at 2004, it definitely hasn't held up for me the way some other releases have.
I agree with you on that one too. I have a few great albums that I would reach for first before Funeral. That's not saying that it is bad, because it isn't, but I just don't think it is the best thing to happen to indie music in 2004.
----- Things could be different but they’re not…
Posts: 5705 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
That review for Funeral from Pitchtfork was one of the reasons I started to respect Pitchfork. I think they intuited right that the album was something special. Yes, it was the best of 2004 in my mind, and may prove to be one of the best of the decade.
Originally posted by FragileKidA: Heck, it wasn't even the best album of 2004; albums by Brian Wilson, Interpol, Madvillain, et al were better than it. [/b]
Antics better than Funeral? HAHA!
Posts: 746 | Location: San Diego ==> Duke U. 2012 :D | Registered: 24 July 2006
Yeah but Smile and Madvillainy were definitely more accomplished efforts. He still gets points for 2/3. And 2/3 is a better percentage of good to bad than Neon Bible.
This is a grand album by a band that hopefully continues to grow and improve. I think that it’s magnificently ordered—far better than its predecessor—and I find it to be an enthralling and quite rewarding listen. What’s even better is that you can hear that they are borrowing some great sounds and styles from their influences; past giants that aren’t really making music anymore—let alone good music. The penultimate song is catchy, the female vocals are utilized in a way that they melt with what’s going on around them and the final song is sheer brilliance. Everything in between, from the spectral “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations” to the leg-tapping, again with wonderfully-used female vocals, “The Well & The Lighthouse” to the soothing “Ocean of Noise” are all just great.
It’s a great piece of music and if this doesn’t make you want to go out and listen to the past greats that helped influence it—especially the most obvious one, which happens to have the word “Head” in it—then you are crazy and well, lost.
----- Things could be different but they’re not…
Posts: 5705 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
Originally posted by CouldBAnyone: Yeah but Smile and Madvillainy were definitely more accomplished efforts. He still gets points for 2/3. And 2/3 is a better percentage of good to bad than Neon Bible.
I don't know anything about Madvillainy, not my thing. However, we could start a whole thread on how overated Smile is, at least, if you're going to compare it to Funeral. Let's ask the Metacritic forum members how often they listen to Funeral and Smile. My bet, and my personal answer, is that Funeral gets a lot more play. Smile might be a great concept from a great artist, but for me, it's just not an album I feel like listening to all that often.
Posts: 848 | Location: Ain'T it stiLl obvious? | Registered: 22 August 2006
Originally posted by FragileKidA: It’s a great piece of music and if this doesn’t make you want to go out and listen to the past greats that helped influence it—especially the most obvious one, which happens to have the word “Head” in it—then you are crazy and well, lost.
The word "Head" appears nowhere in the title of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA.
----- I’ll be Ben Gazzara, you’ll be Gena Rowlands.
Posts: 5159 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
I think I like Neon Bible more than I like Funeral. I agree with the posters above that said Funeral is good, but not the "best album ever" that Pitchfork and a lot of fans would have you believing it is. (I'd take DFA79, Dungen, or the Futureheads myself, even if no one else would. They're not as "important" releases but I like them better.) The "Neighborhood" songs are great, but for the most part, I felt like the second half wasn't as good. The new album doesn't have as many standouts (No "Neighborhood #1 or #3"s) but I like it better as a whole. Oh, and I like the title track for some reason.
Posts: 232 | Location: Iowa City | Registered: 15 June 2006
Originally posted by ezkcdude: I don't know anything about Madvillainy, not my thing. However, we could start a whole thread on how overated Smile is, at least, if you're going to compare it to Funeral. Let's ask the Metacritic forum members how often they listen to Funeral and Smile. My bet, and my personal answer, is that Funeral gets a lot more play. Smile might be a great concept from a great artist, but for me, it's just not an album I feel like listening to all that often.
I had said this before but it must be repeated. If SMiLE had been released in the haze of the late 1960s—like Brian Wilson had intended—then it would be revered as one of the top albums of all time, a classic. Because it was released in 2004 I feel that it does get slighted a lot. Now, no offense to 90% of the people that post here but of course it isn't going to get listened to as much as Funeral. All the people who are looking for the next best indie group were amazed with the latter and immediately fell in love with it. Now as for a better overall album, taking into account creativity, influence, and pure quality there is no match for SMiLE. Personally, I would listen to it first, I like both, but for me, Wilson's 2004 album is just something special.
I do like Funeral and I think that it is all right, but did it deserve all the wild praise it got? Does it deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the term "best album of the decade"? Nah. Just because Pitchfork says it's the best thing ever doesn't mean it is.
----- Things could be different but they’re not…
Posts: 5705 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
Well, to me Funeral is probably top 20 of the decade material and I haven't listened to Smile hardly at all since its release. I'm not discounting Smile, I still think its a great album, its just when I'm scrolling through my cd's I'm never drawn to put it on.
Posts: 1315 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: 24 December 2004
Originally posted by ezkcdude: I don't know anything about Madvillainy, not my thing. However, we could start a whole thread on how overated Smile is, at least, if you're going to compare it to Funeral. Let's ask the Metacritic forum members how often they listen to Funeral and Smile. My bet, and my personal answer, is that Funeral gets a lot more play. Smile might be a great concept from a great artist, but for me, it's just not an album I feel like listening to all that often.
Although FragileKidA has already refuted this, I'd just like to add that I have Beach Boys/Smile on rotation constantly. To be fair, I've listened to Smile less than the previous Beach Boys classics, however the album is an absolute treasure. Funeral ended up being an appropriate name after all, not for the personal narrative significance it initially references, but more for the fact that the album has actually died on the shelf, rarely seeing the light of day. R.I.P.
its not their Neon Bible. w r talkin here about their POP BIBLE...!
n it sounds well..quite great... but not so great as their first one... do i really care for that? no. how many funerals can we have? one is enough... now we can move on n enjoy the pleasures that their new album brings.
Originally posted by sk: its not their Neon Bible. w r talkin here about their POP BIBLE...!
n it sounds well..quite great... but not so great as their first one... do i really care for that? no. how many funerals can we have? one is enough... now we can move on n enjoy the pleasures that their new album brings.
?
"Violence, she solved everything"
Posts: 1235 | Location: Nowhere | Registered: 31 July 2006
Originally posted by ezkcdude: I don't know anything about Madvillainy, not my thing. However, we could start a whole thread on how overated Smile is, at least, if you're going to compare it to Funeral. Let's ask the Metacritic forum members how often they listen to Funeral and Smile. My bet, and my personal answer, is that Funeral gets a lot more play. Smile might be a great concept from a great artist, but for me, it's just not an album I feel like listening to all that often.
I had said this before but it must be repeated. If SMiLE had been released in the haze of the late 1960s—like Brian Wilson had intended—then it would be revered as one of the top albums of all time, a classic. Because it was released in 2004 I feel that it does get slighted a lot. Now, no offense to 90% of the people that post here but of course it isn't going to get listened to as much as Funeral. All the people who are looking for the next best indie group were amazed with the latter and immediately fell in love with it. Now as for a better overall album, taking into account creativity, influence, and pure quality there is no match for SMiLE. Personally, I would listen to it first, I like both, but for me, Wilson's 2004 album is just something special.
I do like Funeral and I think that it is all right, but did it deserve all the wild praise it got? Does it deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the term "best album of the decade"? Nah. Just because Pitchfork says it's the best thing ever doesn't mean it is.
I never looked to Pitchfork to validate my love for the album, and I certainly wasn't looking for anything "new and hot" when I picked it up. I grabbed it, listened to it, loved it, and still listen to it to this day.
SMiLE, on the other hand... I haven't listened to it since 2004. I remember some of the songs being excessively goofy, but overall I remember it being a pretty good listen.
Either you're going to want a sunny, fun pop record like SMiLE, or a sweeping and anthemic indie rock album like Funeral. More often than not, I want me some Funeral.
------ Let's raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer! I do believe he was our only decent teacher
Posts: 2060 | Location: ATL-abouts. | Registered: 24 October 2006
its not their Neon Bible. w r talkin here about their POP BIBLE...!
n it sounds well..quite great... but not so great as their first one... do i really care for that? no. how many funerals can we have? one is enough... now we can move on n enjoy the pleasures that their new album brings.
im guessing you were drunk when you wrote this?
well attempted to write this...
ha
Posts: 211 | Location: GA | Registered: 08 January 2007
Originally posted by sk: its not their Neon Bible. w r talkin here about their POP BIBLE...!
n it sounds well..quite great... but not so great as their first one... do i really care for that? no. how many funerals can we have? one is enough... now we can move on n enjoy the pleasures that their new album brings.
Hahahahahahaa. Sorry dude I'm going with option C: drunken over-eager 12 year old
