Dance Gavin Dance Band • Page 16

I hate the sound at Rams Head and if there are a lot of people there it gets so disgustingly packed.
i've also seen a couple very good shows at soundstage

 

Yo we doing top 3 DTBMII songs jeez

great choices though! I've always been more partial to the Post-Deathstar albums. Once they started incorporating funk and more poppiness they really started hitting their stride and finding their niche.

 

^^dbm2 is so bad that it's best songs aren't dbm2 songs lol

 

pounce bounce is fun

 

Oh my bad. Yeah Pounce Bounce, Need Money, and Blue Dream.

 

Purple Reign is the only song I really like on that album at this point.

 

Love Blue Dream... that's one song on DBMII where Jonny actually puts in a good vocal performance imo

 

I think Spooks is the only song I return to on DBM2.

 

Knowing that pounce bounce is actually written from the perspective of Jonny while he's shooting up, that song makes me uncomfortable and I don't return to it. For me, my favorites from DBM2 are Spooks, Elder Goose, and Purple Reign.

I never knew what Jonny was singing in the outro of purple reign, but it really felt like a nostalgic moment from when I first got into DBM and Jonny just winged a melody over Jon Mess's vocals. It sounds awesome.

Honorable mentions for me are Privilously Poncheezied and Heat Seeking..

 

I actually really like DBMII, though it and DBM are pretty interchangeable as my least favorite DGD album.

Instant Gratification > Acceptance Speech > Deathstar > Happiness > DBM = DBMII

Instant Gratification is what got me into the band, so I might be a bit biased, but I also just really like that album. Acceptance Speech did a lot of cool things, and I'd only put it slightly below IG at this point. Deathstar barely beats Happiness for me, I prefer a lot on Happiness (and I prefer Will and Kurt's screams to early Mess screams) but overall I think songs like Me and Zoloft, and Caviar are just too good. Also, Rock Solid is really fun in the most bizarre way. Happiness has that title track that could end up my favorite DGD song. The DBM's I enjoy, but II has some of the most bizarre shit on it that makes it fun, and the darkness to I is an interesting way to hear DGD since it's really their only album like that.

 

This is always hard for me to do, but I think I would go something like this:

Deathstar > Happiness > Instant Gratification > Downtown Battle Mountain > Acceptance Speech > Downtown Battle Mountain II

 

IG > AS > Happiness > Deathstar > DBM > DBMII

Not hard for me at all lol

 

Kurt is awesome, it makes a little sad he is the least popular of the three vocalists.

 

Happiness > Deathstar > DBM > IG > AS > DBMII

 

What exactly is everyone's issue with DBM2?

 

Happiness > IG > AS > DBMII > DBM > Deathstar

Dang, that's a weird ranking.

 

For me, the main issue is the lyrics. Jonny's are so phoned in, generic, and are impossible to relate to, and Jon's are complete nonsense. I also do not like Jon's screams on this album. The music is mostly great, though.

Yes, I know Jon is known for having nonsense lyrics, but I think they are a bit too much for my taste on DBM2.

Another factor for me is how much I love the Kurt albums. Those are my top two DGD albums. For them to kick out Kurt just to release an album like DBM2 never sat well with me. Such a downgrade.

 

Jonny sounds like he doesn't want to be there.

 

Curious, which vocalist do you people think is the best fit for DGD? I'm not saying the best voice, or who made the best song or album, but who do you think fits in best with the band? I say Tilian, but I'd be curious to see opposing views.

 

I think the band and the vocalist both tend to adapt to make a cohesive sound. Tilian doesn't sound the same in Tides of Man as he does in DGD, and I think it's more than just him maturing as a vocalist, it's a very different style of music and usually different songs structures too. Same goes for Jonny and Kurt -- I think stylistic differences are pretty obvious in DGD versus in their other projects and I think that's proof of how each vocalist has adapted their sound for DGD...but they've each done it in different ways. Jonny had those soaring R&B melodies that neither Kurt nor Tilian can match, but Tilian's pop style has given DGD more hooks than ever. That said I think I'm leaning towards Kurt as my pick because I feel like he helped round out the soundscape through virtue of his range and the fullness of his voice whereas Tilian's voice combined with the guitars can be treble-y overload (Jesus H. Macy in particular).

 

Good post. Yeah I personally have always preferred Kurt, but Tilian does "match" the stylings of the music more than the other two imo.

 

I'm kind of in the boat where I think Kurt has my favorite voice of the three, but I think Tilian is the best match for the band too. I guess their sales numbers since he joined kind of help confirm that. But also, I just think the band has become so much more focused with Tilian, and the band seems to actually be stable and happy for the first time ever. I'm actually fairly confident that Mothership will be the best DGD album too.

 

Kurt for sure. My favourite stuff is still the first album with Jonny but he's human trash and I don't think DBM2 is very good and I don't like Tillian's voice so yeah, Kurt.

 

I don't think I even need to say who I think is the best lol.

 

Honestly, Jonny. Even though DBM2 doesn't touch 1, there really is just something about how his vocals meshed with both Jon and Will. It's something that from the time they started has always been unique, and unmatched in their genre. Back then Jonny could still really sing and even if his lyrics sometimes were bad, his melodies saved it and truly were impressive on both albums at times.

Tillian is a close second, and honestly as of right now I view Tillian as the best match for them. My only issue with him is that since he joined the band, I felt like he was sometimes trying to lyrically match with what Jonny used to sing about to please fans, compared to what he did in TOM.

Lyrics like these make me cringe:
"Girl don't be so difficult, come here lets get physical."
"And we'll tear apart those sheets. And forget the world, a little while. I'll get to know your form again."
"I'm terribly wasted. You're coming to pieces. Let's get fucking naked, and fall off the deep end."

Thankfully, on IG, he was able to be a lot more creative, and when writing about a girl was much more tasteful about it. At least, IMO.