idk if this is in response to me (no big deal if it is) but for the record these guys were definitely my 2nd favorite band. My best friend tried to play me some stuff from Jackpot Juicer a few months after and I just couldn't do it. Everyone's different though.
Dude literally was just crooning during the entire song with only a few lyrics coming out like “Don’t ever come around my kid” (he did not have a kid at this point) and “smooth out the streets” LOL
it is nice to reminisce though. I remember buying Acceptance Speech on my iPhone 3GS that I still had in fall 2013
Literally why I bring up the Sublime comparison. For the self-titled album, Bradley Nowell freestyled a ton of stuff in the studio, and the producers took the best takes they got out of him. Very similar to what Kris Crummet did with Jonny. For Brad, it was with tons of analog tape, where as with Jonny it was on pro tools and what not. The producers also had to navigate Bradley being high on heroin throughout the recording process, to the point where he was kicked out for a few months. A lot of non-sensical lyrics (or lyrics that would have been a lot more clear if they had better wording), but the vocals and raw feel of the performances were really the most integral part of the recordings. Kevin Lyman when he was dealing with Jonny's issues during Warped Tour 2011 with DGD, I was told he brought up Sublime and Bradley Nowell to the band who had very similar issues in Warped Tour 1995 (the first one).
but man, the instrumentals and his melodies really hit. Dude sucks but that track was awesome. I just learned to not even listen to what he was saying and just enjoy the vocals
It's one thing if bands kick out problematic members right away and never associate with them again, but when bands take their sweet ass time kicking them out (Pierce the Veil, A Day To Remember, The Front Bottoms, etc.) I personally forever view those bands differently. It shows where their morals lie, even if the problematic member(s) are eventually kicked out. What band members do/how band member react in the immediate aftermath of a fellow band member being accused of something is important to my future support or lack of support of a band.
Oh it wasn't in response to anyone. I think everyone needs to decide how to handle this stuff themselves, and it's fairly personal. I won't sit here and tell someone they can never listen to their favorite album ever again if it brings them joy in their day-to-day life, especially in a time when EVERYONE needs something to help them get by. For me, I just couldn't separate it if I wanted to.
dbm2 and the first and middle two tilian era albums were always my least favorites. at least dbm2 was like super dgaf vibes though. pretty funny album at times and a total mess.
I think Instant Grat/Mothership are my faves of Tilian, and 2nd favorite era is the self titled/happiness. Wild to think the band that did those is even anywhere close to the same band.
Deathstar was always my favorite of their albums, but I really liked Mess' vocals during the tilian era
yeah the first three tilian albums rip but the diminishing returns start to hit around artificial and by the time you get to jackpot like half the album is a miss. still has some highlights tho but I largely stop listening after feels bad man
This is all spot on and I totally agree. I always thought Jonny was overrated as an artist so I never thought the juice was worth the squeeze tbh whereas Bradley was worth it a little more. With that said; I wish Nowell was permanently kicked out of Sublime if that meant he got treatment and could have survived his addiction. I saw some videos of his son performing at Coachella with Sublime and it was beautiful but sad at the same time IMO.
Mothership is kinda my clear #1 Tillian era album. I was bigger on Afterburner than most people but it hit at a good time for me. Will always ride or die for S/T and Happiness Jackpot Juicer is the only DGD album I'd tag as bad despite having a few solid entries, really overlong record.
Happiness is still my favourite iteration of the band though, I wish they'd have just stuck with Kurt.
Tillian is easily their worst vocalist, and a piece of shit. The fact that they welcomed back two different pieces of shit to sing for the band has soured me on the band big time. still throw on Happiness regularly though