Say Anything - I Don’t Think It Is Album • Page 3

“I would like to write a Book which would drive men mad, which would be like an open door leading them where they would never have consented to go, in short, a door that opens onto reality.” -- Antonin Artaud

 

oh yeah?`

 

Yeah, it was strange at first, but we ended up talking about just how much I loved his discography up until now and how that's not going to change, and he mentioned that it was eye-opening to be able to talk to a critic on a personal level who had a negative reaction to something he's worked on but still respected him as a musician. It was cool.

 

I'm glad you got to talk to him about it because I feel like we have very similar feelings about it.

 

Not gonna lie, this is my second favorite SA release by far. I've enjoyed all of their output and will have seen them live six times come June, so I can't say that it's coming from the position of a skeptic. Despite really digging Hebrews, I had little hype or interest in this until it dropped unexpectedly and can't stop playing it since. The production is definitely rough, but it feels intentional, like it creates an aesthetic (which is contrasted by some of the "prettier" moments on the album) compared to AMD or Hebrews, where I felt the production attempted to be more clear than they had the budget for (at a guess). I get that it isn't an album for everyone, but it's definitely the album I've been wanting to hear from them for a while-I just don't think I realized it until I heard it for myself.

 

I've always wanted to talk to Max about bipolar disorder too. A few years ago I wanted to start a blog about mental health and I messaged him on skype asking if he'd be interested in doing an interview about it, he was interested because he said it was for a good cause and put me in touch with someone to set something up. I never found the time to make the blog so the interview never happened but it meant a lot that he was open to it.

 

If you told me at the beginning of 2016 that the new Say Anything would be my least favorite album of the year and that I'd like a Teen Suicide record, I'd think you're crazy.

 

I finally listened to this last night and thought it was alright. I'll have to listen again to see if something specific stands out to me though.

 

The bonus tracks are more enjoyable than the album. They're just a guitar layer, and vocals (the last one is instrumental). Max can actually sing instead of yell still, so that's cool I guess. They're really short songs though. First is 2 minutes and 35 seconds, and the rest are under 2 minutes.

 

where these at?

 

Yeah, I never heard of any bonus tracks

 

There was a download card that came with my CD pre-order with 4 bonus tracks. If you want to hear 'em, just PM me and I'll get a link for you. I don't think these are ever going to be a public release.

 

I can't decide if Princess or Varicose Visage is the worst Say Anything song ever.

 

I usually dig Say Anything's bonus tracks, and like I said before, really liked this album, but the bonus tracks aren't worth the time imo. They're like half-finished Painful Splits tracks. I was really hoping for fully fleshed-out tracks for some reason. (I thought he mentioned cutting some songs that were already recorded, but I could be mistaken.) I don't necessarily even think they're terrible, so much as they're just not much of anything. They feel like they never should have been recorded or released in the state they're currently in (inb4 someone replies to this comment by saying the same for IDTII).

With that said, I really hope they record an instrumental track or two on the next album. I've been wanting them to do that for a few albums now. Clearly, Max wants to experiment with as many weird approaches as he can and doesn't give a damn (no pun intended) what fans or critics think, so why not? Shit. The next album'll probably be entirely instrumental-

 

I think the bonus tracks are nothing special, but they're better than everything on the album. I tried to like the album for I believe the 15th time today, and it's just such a shitter. Haha I love every Say Anything album, but this one is just bad. The lyrics, composition, production, all of it. I am jealous of people who are able to enjoy this.

 

I know it's all subjective, but maybe the listener's opinion on the album has for their perception of the bonus tracks. Like, those who hated the album were pleasantly surprised that the bonus tracks sound nothing like it, and those who did enjoy the album were disappointed that it didn't.

What I like about the album is that it feels so unrestrained Bemis. I don't think he's ever necessarily held back, but it's by far the weirdest SA album imo, and it is very much scattershot and has its fair share of cringe, but I think the band always has. I'll take ...Is A Real Boy over this any day (I'd take it over any album, but that's just me.), but I think it's a really fun album and actually like the production on this better than the last two albums. I get that some people just don't like that, though. I've had quite a few albums that way, that I just did not like at all.

 

Haven't listened to this in the longest time and I barely remember what any of it sounds like.

 

Yeah I'm not that into the b-sides but I definitely like them more than the album.

 

Basically how I feel. The first one I kind of like, and the other 3 are just whatever. But whatever is better than I Don't Think It Is.

 

Is Max just obsessed with the fact so many people don't like this album? haha Such a strange video.

 

it is a really weird video, haha. I really liked the angle it was going with at the beginning actually, but then it got super weird

 

That video straight up rubs me the wrong way. Max has reissued IARB on vinyl more than once, toured the full album extensively, and sold a LOT of IARB merch within the last 18 months. The takeaway I'm getting is "fuck our fans who only like IARB, except let's totally make money off them whenever possible." Can this album cycle be over already please?

 

Also, Max won't say curse words on albums anymore because he has kids, but he has no problems with showing a kid snort a line of coke and kill someone with an axe? Alright.

 

I view Max and Tom DeLonge pretty comparably at this point