1. A Whisper and a Clamour 2. Godspeed 3. Adelaide 4. Disappear 5. Hearing Voices 6. The Art of War 7. Impossible 8. No Love To Speak 9. Dismantle Repair 10. Feel Good Drag
I dunno, I always thought it was a fan favorite. I always imagined it'd be an awesome opener for them. Love that song "It's not the lies that you sing, but what the silence will sccrreeeaaaaammmmm!!!!"
I'm loving it. I posted about this in another thread (or maybe earlier in this one) but the first time I listened to that song will never be recreated by another song. I replayed the thing at least 50 times and couldn't get through the rest of Cities for a few days. I am shocked too though. I've always thought it was one of the least popular on the album.
I always leave Anberlin closers off my list just because it's so hard to compare them with standard tracks. Of course "(*Fin)" would be on my list and probably "Dance, Dance, Christa Paffgen" but I couldn't say where. Also, I want to give "Closer" some love. I don't revere "Dark" enough to have two songs from the album in my top 10 but that song would probably be #11. I don't care what people say...That one-word chorus is epic.
It's just always been my clear least favourite on Cities and I've never really seen people talk about it much.
It gave me that similar giddy feeling "A Whisper & a Clamor" gave me when I first heard it so considering that song is your least favorite on Cities this all makes a lot of sense, really.
I like "Clamor" a lot. "Hello Alone" would probably be my least favorite on Cities if I had to pick one, but they're all great. At the very least, "Closer" >>> "Haight St"
Mathematics is probably my least favorite on Cities but (I'm going to completely plagiarize a statement I just made about Brother, Sister in the mewithoutYou thread) that's like saying one angle of the Grand Canyon looks less beautiful than another. I feel like for the almost unanimous praise Cities gets, people still completely forget about that song. Heck, the band themselves never even played it live until they played Cities front to back on their final tour..
I typically judge songs by whether they can make it onto my saved playlists, meaning I may want to listen to them at any time, even if I skip them sometimes on shuffle. The only two that didn't make the cut from Cities are Mathematics and Inevitable. Now years of listening to the album that way has totally shifted my perception about the possibility of adding them back in.
The exact same two songs along with "Hello Alone" were the three songs I didn't adore with 100% of my being. Time is really good to them though. I feel that way with a lot of Anberlin's songs even with them being my favorite band since I was 15.
The ending of Inevitable with those louder than life drums makes me go back to it a lot. I love the live version on Devotion where he adds a lyrics during the bridge.
That song probably wouldn't make my top 10 Anberlin songs, but that line would absolutely make my top 10 Anberlin moments.
I can get down with that. If the bridge which leads into that moment is taken out or changed, I wonder if I'd love it as much...
Vital is my favorite album (even moreso when you add the Devotion extras; No Love to Speak is tied for my favorite Anberlin song ever) but the two things that make me hesitate in saying that are Innocent and God, Drugs & Sex because their inclusion just absolutely baffles me. I think they ruin the flow of the album and I almost always skip them. Innocent more than the closer, which has grown on me, but still. The album would make a lot more sense to me with Unstable instead of Innocent and No Love to Speak as the closer. But that's just me
I think God Drugs & Sex is such a great closer and the only song better on the album is Self Starter. I think its way better than any of the Devotion extras. Before I Start Dreaming was originally written to close that album though and if that was an Anberlin song it might be my favourite.