I know a lot of fans don't like Damage too. And Invented. And Chase This Light, somehow. Case in point: Ian Cohen. Doesn't really bother me, though. The same people tend to think Bleed is their first or second best record, which I very much disagree with. Also, listening to Static right now and I'm enjoy it more than I remember enjoying it in the past, for what it's worth.
i dont want to tell anyone here that their opinion is wrong if they dont like static. youre totally entitled to it. but there is a phenomenon where a "hive mind" opinion (sorry if you dont like me using that phrase but i cant think of a nicer one to explain what i mean) can be so powerful in suggesting and influencing other peoples opinions that i think it is worth it for me to speak up on behalf of static prevails and on behalf of the many people who love that album, just to rebalance the scales a little bit and help other people reading this to keep an open mind about an album that many consider to be a classic work of 90s emo.
my recommendation for anyone trying to get into static is to listen to claire or anderson mesa or in the same room, just to accustom to the different vocal style. if you jump into the album from the beginning its a bit jarring because the first line thats sung on the first track is literally the most jarring and abrasive vocal line on the album. once youre used to the singing style, then go back through and enjoy the album. instrumentally its very creative and i grew to really adore the vocal style jim has on the album. i didnt like it at first because he does sing sort of off-tune like Mineral, but once youre used to it its wonderful. some styles of music just require more time investment
if anyone thinks the debut sounds like SP, you definitely havent given SP a proper listen. they couldnt sound more different. one is easy pop punk and one is edgy emo. robot factory is the only vestige of the sound of their debut.
thats fine. it is a different genre to their later works, all things considered. but for its genre, its excellent.
Regarding your avatar; I was actually about to start a discussion on what everyone thought the cover art for Chase This Light is meant to represent. the cover has a direct correlation with the title. The artwork could be looked at as a number of different things. Curious to hear what everyone else thinks it is before I say mine hah.
Unless you're gonna enlighten everyone, I'm fairly sure you're making that up Peacock feathers have vague religious/spiritual meaning in several cultures, ranging from immortality to fortune to watchfulness, or prettymuch anything you want it to. Whoop de doo lol
The quality difference between SP and the following albums is so large I find it hard to believe anyone couldn't see it. Not hive mind mentality, it's just not as good of an album as the rest.
Does anyone here struggle with which version of Dizzy is better to the same degree that I do...? Both versions of the song are absolute masterpieces. However, just taken alone as songs, I feel like the acoustic version is slightly better. The lyrics are more powerful and make more sense, and they are delivered with more passion and emotion. If I am just listening to that one song, I always go with acoustic. (As an aside, calling that version 'acoustic' has always seemed weird to me because it definitely has electric guitar.) All of that being said, I could never argue that the acoustic version is a better closer to the album. The instrumentation on the album version just fits perfectly with the style of the album. The consensus here seems to be that the album version of Dizzy is much better. I feel kind of out of the loop. Also, I think the alternate, full-band version of You Were Good is infinitely superior to the album version. In my mind its not even close.
everyone on this website. thats why i used the phrase "hive mind" (though i dont like using it). look at RYM. ive been following this band for 17 years, and have always been active in online communities for this band (including their own now-defunct message board), and i have never, anywhere else, seen the kind of disregard towards SP than i see on this forum. thats why i was so baffled. SP has always been looking upon very fondly by the community of JEW fans outside of this website.
RYM is pretty much always more partial to earlier, "less mainstream" albums from popular bands though. I don't think that's a good indicator of the quality of those albums.
I bought Static Prevails around the time I first got into the band, during the early BA era. It has never stood out to me as anything special. I listened to it because I loved Clarity and BA and I wanted to hear more from the band. It never stood out as anything that great. Even then it clearly was the odd album for the band. As in, "which one of these is not like the other, which one of these is not the same" type thing. Again, I still jammed it at times, but it's just not in the same game as their other material. This was before I joined AP by about a year. Free of the hive mind!
its a pretty good indicator. and we arent talking about quality of the albums in any objective sense. its more about consensus opinion of fans. you get that of course just wanted to be clear.
hive mind is the wrong phrase. im not saying all of your opinions have been influenced by others. im saying that your opinions, which happen to line up in unusual concordance with each other, could end up influencing other people, who havent necessarily participated in this discussion