Round of 8: (7) Jimmy Eat World - Futures vs. (31) David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust Bracket • Page 2

I told you Jimmy Eat World is gonna go all the way, it became obvious the first time a contest involving them got significantly more votes than other contests

 

I assumed futures was the most beloved album on this site so this doesnt surprise me.

 

What does Futures have that Clarity doesn't?

As usual, genuine question here not me being a dickhead. If I could get a "DH" tag for when I am being a dickhead that would be appreciated.

 

I just prefer loud, polished pop-rock Jimmy over the more twinkly, emo Jimmy. Both great albums made by the same great band. I just prefer the songs on Futures most days.

 

Fair, I prefer the latter to the former but I get that

 

Gimme clarity any day for the quality of the home run swings (Just Watch the Fireworks), the cool little mood building stuff (12.23.95), the complete absence of bad material, and most of all the degree to which it pushed the genre forward in 1999. Bleed American I kind of get as a favorite because it’s such a deliberate pop rock album in a way that’s a really big pivot from Clarity and a super solid take on the style at that. Futures kinda feels like it sits somewhere in the middle of the two and while it’s for sure good I can’t help but hear it in a way as a step back from both of them. Not to knock anyone for having it as their favorite, just my view of it.

 

Futures is more of a pop-rock album is than Bleed American, which skews more pop-punk/emo, imho

 

It's a couple things for me, but a lot if it has to do with timing. I was literally a few months from turning 23 when the album dropped and going through a very tough emotional and romantic time, and while I don't love that song nearly as much as I used to it still has that nostalgia that gets me into it. And, for me, nothing on Clarity hits as hard as "Kill".

Plus, like @Aaron Mook I love the polished, pop-rock Jimmy Eat World sound and Futures takes what they did with that on Bleed American and improves on it. It also makes the album feel timeless, like it still sounds like it could have come out today, whereas Clarity, because of the production and because the band still had a rawness to them, feels a little dated, even though the songs are still incredibly strong.

 

genuinely, i think it have riffs and pop hooks/polish that clarity, the album i prefer greatly, doesn’t have

 

IMO, stronger hooks, better riffs, I like the lyrics more, and it’s basically my platonic ideal of what a pop/rock album should sound like. Plus, it literally changed my life and shaped my love of music. There are two albums ever that I’d vote for over it, and one of them is still in this bracket.

 

Oh, and Jim Adkins sings the absolute shit out of that record.

 

the lyrics and how Jim sells them are the best part of Clarity and what puts it over Futures every time, for me. and just generally not being so handcuffed to pop songwriting structure. but it's the difference of preferring something (only slightly) punk leaning vs. something more pop leaning.

 

I do like the more abstract/stream-of-consciousness feel of the Clarity lyrics, but I get a bigger emotional impact from the Futures lyrics.

 

Ziggy

 

bunch of perverts