Bad opinions [ARCHIVED] • Page 159

ban

 

Sufjan is okay.

 

I second this motion.

 

Tuneless wankery from someone gifted enough to know better

 

someone stop this mad man.

 

I haven't heard it yet, but I feel like 22, A Million is going to be influenced by Age of Adz

 

Someone tried to say Elliot smith is a better lyricist than John k Samson and John darnielle? Welp

 

Chris why

 

It's a worse version of adz

 

Like 3-4 songs on Adz are some of the best songs he's ever written and the rest is awful.

 

no? I told Matt lyrics was where Samson and Darnielle had the edge. I just think Elliott is a better overall songwriter who was just plain intuitive and second-nature about coming up with things that are actually complex, and constantly full of unique patterns and transitions from unrelated keys and chords, in terms of music theory.

 

Ah ok I totally misunderstood you lol

 

yeah. And if Elliott's lyrics were crap maybe I wouldn't have this opinion but it's not like he can't hold his own there. Plenty of relatable and wise concepts even if his style is a little more straightforward.

 

dude high five. Exactly why I take Illinoise, Michigan, Carrie & Lowell, AND Seven Swans over Age of Adz. Maybe even BQE cause even that wankery is using symphonic instruments which he has repeatedly shown he is good at, and feels much more deliberate note-for-note than some of the randomn bullshit on Adz. I do very much enjoy a fair amount of Age of Adz, there are highs and beautiful moments, but the listen is ruined by the like 7 minute stretches of computerizing craziness I get tired of. Just give me Four Tet or Caribou for intense electronic music and let's stick to Sufjan's strong suit(s).

 

John Darnielle is forever underappreciated and Transcendental Youth is a criminally underrated album

 

i agree that there's a pretty significant gap in terms of how much i can enjoy it - Carrie and Lowell is his only one i can listen to without getting exhausted and that resonates with me - although John Wayne Gacy, Jr. remains wonderful.

 

Sufjan playing Carrie & Lowell live a year ago is up there w/ Kanye for best concert I've seen

 

I saw Gaslight and National (my two favorite bands) back to back and the Violent Femmes are still probably my favorite show Ive seen.

 

Sorry these are old, catching up!

Their metalcore stuff is the best! 2nd Sucks, Hammer and Nail, Sonic and Tails, Mr Highway are all awesome songs. Love WSYFM too, I'd never argue what their best album is because I think they are all good with their best songs spread across them all.

John Mayer is Kirt Hammett?

 

Age of Adz is an absolutely perfect album. Nothing is more incredible than the last 5 minutes of "Impossible Soul". I guess I can just about understand why some people wouldn't like it though since it's different from most of his other stuff. But if you don't like Illinois then you're pretty much just a bad person and there's no hope for you lol. It's my favourite album ever.

 

Agreed. Illinois is perfection. Who can forget this gem?

 

In the context of the album, that 7 second interlude actually works really well. Your attempt to discredit Illinois has failed, I'm sorry.

 

If I was forced to pick my top 3 songs from Illinois I'd probably go with these but tbh I love every inch of that album. These songs are more representative than a 7 second interlude

 

Illinois has some incredible stuff on there but I pretty much never want to listen to the whole thing.

 

I agree, those songs are fantastic. So are Chicago and the Man of Metropolis. There are some spectacular songs on the record. Now that we've established that, there are still 17 tracks remaining, half of which don't need to be there. Yes, they "work" in the context of the album. In the context of listening straight through to a 75 minute album. The length itself is not a criticism as there are albums twice as long that are spectacular. But those albums are great because the songs are great. You can listen to the tracks individually, you can play the album on shuffle, you don't need to actually listen to the whole thing at once to get it. Illinois would have been a very good 10-11 track record. You can still put in an interlude or two and have it work. But like, seven or eight? Nah. That's just unnecessary filler that literally can only work if you listen to the album straight through.