I can't even think of Not Asking You to Leave and The Worst Part as B-sides they feel integral to the album. Like an epilogue after the title track
Conversations like this just make me think I’m not really a MCS fan. I’d absolutely take Go (Which I think is basically perfect) over CTTM and IATM. I just think the songwriting is way more mature, and the themes are way more relatable. For me, anyway. I always thought MCS got better - Dinosaur Life, Go, Panic Stations - all of those are improvements over their 2000s output for me. But also... who am I to argue with Justin? If he says it was lackluster or however it was worded, how can I tell him he’s wrong? MCS was a Mount Rushmore type band for me during their last several years. But I fear I never actually understood them the way they wanted me to.
Oooh that's interesting! I like Go just fine, but CTTM - MDL is definitely my favorite run. Panic Stations has grown on me, but I was pretty disappointed in it when it came out.
You're a fan if you like their music. ANY of their music. It doesn't matter to me if it's one song or the whole discography. If you find a connection or something relatable and enjoy it, that's all that matters. I'm sure the band would say something similar. Don't let the idea of "these are the popular albums, this is the REAL MCS" get in your head because it's bullshit. You're definitely a fan!
I've never really gotten into anything anything past My Dinosaur Life but I do really enjoy his solo album In The Drink. All this talk though I think I'll revisit their last two albums to see if anything has changed.
Happy Anniversary is such a great and touching song from Go. It’s a good MCS record. It’s was nice to hear them do something slightly different like that.
Did you happen to find MCS well into the career? Or did you find they finally hooked you once MDL came out? I like their first 3 album much more than the last 3 but I still consider myself a mega fan, don't see why you should feel any different feeling the reverse of that. Also MDL is Justin's 2nd favorite album as of 5 years ago Rank Your Records: Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre Rates the Band's Five Albums
YES! Easily their best b-side and an extreme head scratcher that it wasn’t on the album. I have always loved that song and am shocked more people don’t talk about it. Also, as for the discussion around Go, I liked it when it came out but found it underwhelming/a little disappointing. It’s grown on me a lot over the years. It also came out right around the time my grandmother died and I think it helped me deal with those feelings.
Yeah, this was an awesome read! He recently had surgery so he's been having some downtime and responding to a bunch of tweets. He also gave information on his new record which was super cool.
The talk about bsides and rarities reminded me of how much I loved the MCS song "Always Running Out of Time" from the film "Almost Alice." Never saw the film but listened to this song on repeat in 2010.
I almost certain I am in that crowd somewhere. It was the only time I got to see them play but it was so good.
I think it’s cool that Brett Gurewitz is working with Justin on this. Also, it’s feels like a long while before this one is done too. Looking forward to it though.