The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 354

This is the last time I’m commenting on the retirement rule.

it’s not fair and it does a disservice to the idea of the club to ‘retire’ albums.

I will not set a limit for an album or for a particular user. That is putting restrictions on something that could potentially cause a new member not to hear what could end up being their favorite album, and that’s not right. For example, if I restrict recommending Album A, and New User joins, if no one else besides me recommends Album A all that often but New User would end up falling in love with Album A if they’d heard it; then that’s denying New User that exposure.

I am willing to bet 90-95% of recommendations each week aren’t repeats (I’m not sure of the exact % @anonimito could figure it out), and even the ones that are repeats are new to that person. And denying someone of their first listen to an album is wrong. If you see a review for an album you have already read/heard and don’t want to see this new person’s POV, scroll past and read the next review.

 

Oooh those are some good albums, also nice to see a MM rec!

 

The last time I had updated data (a couple weeks ago), unique albums accounted for ~79% of the reviews. Recommendations are a different animal altogether, but since some recs (without reviews) haven't been declared in the thread, I can only speculate. I'd say that the percentage is in the same ballpark, if I had to guess.

 

@Kvothe I should have your reviews up either tonight or tomorrow.

 

I was just thinking this thread could do with a few more “classic” albums and oh boy is that Manson one great (although personally not my fav of his).

Also I hope you enjoy Turnstile that album slams.

 

What if we had a rule where if an album was recommended X times it gets shelved for say 6 months?

 

Mechanical Animals > Eat Me, Drink Me > Antichrist Superstar > everything else

 

Way different from mine haha

Top Tier (they’re all pretty close tbh)
Holy Wood>Mechanical Animals>Portrait Of An American Family=Antichrist Superstar

Lower Tier
Eat Me, Drink Me>The Golden Age Of Grotesque>>>>Heaven Upside Down>Pale Emperor>The High End Of Low=Born Villain

 

I think I read it that long ago I've actually forgotten the context

 

@ineverlose check your inbox

edit: please

 

That's fine, I'll have mine up tomorrow/Sunday at latest.

 

Re: the retired albums debate

I’m late to the convo and also my voice probably doesn’t matter because I no longer participate in this... but I will say 50% of why I lost interest in participating was the same albums constantly being assigned and reviewed.

 

Sorry for the delay, @Patterns in Traffic and @edisnfg! I'm feeling much better now, so I should have all of my reviews out by the weekend. First up, the two reviews I owe @Patterns in Traffic:



As Tall As Lions: As Tall as Lions

A couple weeks ago, it was my second week in a row partnered with @Patterns in Traffic. I've really enjoyed all of his recommendations so far, so I was excited to check out his two newest recommendations! Both were albums I hadn't even heard about in the past, so I didn't know what to expect. I went with As Tall As Lions' self-titled album first.

The instrumentation was fantastic - the guitars and keyboards were the standouts for me, but the drums were also great, since they were a big part of the groove in these tracks! I also really appreciated the use of brass here and there!

As usual, I haven't really picked up the lyrics, but the ones I've caught so far were enjoyable. The vocals were really good, but they did grate on me a bit a few times. I much prefer his falsetto, but that will probably resolve with a few more listens, though. Also, the melodies were wonderful and quite catchy!

No major critiques here!

"Stab City" opens the album with a dreamy-sounding track (later on, it builds quite a bit, though) that really reminds me of Copeland and Mutemath at the same time, as strange as that sounds. It has a fantastic groove to it, and the piano is stellar. There's even some brass! "Song for Luna" is so catchy! This is a track where I can really appreciate the vocals, also. Parts of this track reminded me of Duran Duran, which was surprising! "A Break, A Pause" is another track with an awesome groove and gorgeous melodies. I kept thinking about Windsor Drive's "Meet the Tide" when I first heard this track - it's wonderful and a top favorite! "Love, Love, Love (Love, Love)" is a lot less repetitive than the title suggests. Something about this track makes me think of Maroon 5's "Songs About Jane." Just awesome! The ending (more like an interlude) was (intentionally) chaotic, but otherwise I loved it. "Ghost of York" has some fantastic drums! Wow, this song always blows me away when I hear it! This is another really infectious track. "Milk and Honey" slows things down a bit, and is a gorgeous ballad. The guitars are fantastic, and the vocals are wonderful. There are some big moments for the drums on this track, too, which I really enjoyed. "Be Here Now" picks up the pace quite a bit! It's another track with a really cool groove - it's a real standout for me and was an immediate favorite. "I'm Kicking Myself" is a really relaxed acoustic track. The guitars and piano are lovely! This track reminds me a lot of Mae, which is pretty cool! "Where Do I Stand?" starts out rather dreamy, but it rapidly builds once the acoustic guitars come in. The ending of this track was another "Mae moment" for me, too - really cool! "Maybe I'm Just Tired" is a wonderful closing track! It opens with some gorgeous piano. The track continuously builds, with vocals and various percussion elements being added bit by bit. The backing vocals were really lovely here! There's also a hidden track, which starts with radio chatter. After a short intro, the hidden track is another really cool, groovy song that encapsulates all of the tracks on the album. In fact, this track (I wish I knew the title, lol) is my favorite on the album!

Verdict: 9.5/10

Favorite tracks: all of them!

Reminds me of: Copeland, Windsor Drive, Mae, Mutemath, Duran Duran, (older) Maroon 5


(Thanks for sharing a really cool album, @Patterns in Traffic!)









Youth Group: Skeleton Jar

As I mentioned above, I had no idea what to expect here, but I was excited to try this album out!

The instrumentation was wonderful - the guitars and drums were both stellar! The guitars reminded me of Tonic (my favorite band) in a few places!

As is the norm, I haven't caught all of the lyrics yet, but I liked the ones I've heard so far! The vocals were great! His voice reminds me of Aaron Marsh (Copeland) quite a bit. Also, the melodies were excellent and really infectious!

No major critiques here!

"Shadowland" is the opener, which features some cool drums and a catchy melody! The guitars are awesome, too. The title track is next, and it starts out a bit slower, but still incorporates some really cool percussion. There's not as much going on (musically) for most of this track, but I still enjoy it, in its simplicity. The parts of the song that have more layers are also great. Very cool! "Lillian Lies" is a pretty chill acoustic-based track. I really loved the guitars here - they remind me of some guitar parts on Tonic albums. Also, this track really reminds me of The Wallflowers, too. Very nice! "The Frankston Line" fleshes out the sound of the previous track a bit, with electric guitars and bigger drums. It's really awesome! I'm reminded of Eager Seas/Lakes when I hear this one. "Baby Body" starts out as another acoustic track, with some really cool drums! About halfway through, it suddenly becomes a huge track with electric guitars, complete with distortion (and really cool drums, still). Nice! (As a side note, some of the melodies remind me of "*fin" by Anberlin.) "See-Saw" also reminds me of Eager Seas/Lakes. It has a lot of really interesting layers (musically), and I hear something new with each listen! I really love the instrumental outro. Such a cool track - it's my top favorite! I'm pretty surprised that it wasn't the closer, though, since it's the longest track on the album (by almost 2.5 minutes) and has such a cool outro. "Drowned" starts out as another acoustic track, and it has my favorite melody (during the chorus) on the album. Just like "Baby Body," the acoustic guitars are replaced by electric after a bit, and the song gets a bit "bigger" and more complex. "Last Quarter" has a bit of a Radiohead feel to it, and the drums are huge! So cool. "Someone Else's Dream" features some fantastic guitar work! It's also incredibly catchy. The guitars during the (relatively short) bridge were really awesome. "Why Don't the Buildings Cry?" is a really interesting track, from the music to the lyrics. There's a lot to hear here, and it's really impressive. The bridge is awesome! "Piece of Wood" is a pretty little acoustic track to close out the album. It's simple, but really gorgeous.

Verdict: 10/10

Favorite tracks: all of them!

Reminds me of: Copeland, The Wallflowers, Tonic, Eager Seas/Lakes


(Thanks for sharing another awesome album, @Patterns in Traffic!)

 

This is definitely a big issue. I do agree we need to diversify, but as I've said, I think it needs to be a choice from everyone to widen their recommendations rather than retiring albums.

That said, if we have to implement a temporary retirement rule like Nate suggest above then I would understand it

 

All the admins agreed that they will do their best to limit repeat albums but if it comes to down to two people being paired up that have very similar tastes then those albums may show up.

 

What is the other part of the equation in regards to why you lost interest?

 

All your reviews say "no major critiques here!" Is that some sort of running gag now or something haha just legitimately curious

 

It's a paragraph I leave for critiques in my reviews - if I don't have any, I just leave it like that. I do have some with critiques, but the vast majority don't have any, at least lately. Call it a lucky streak.

 

If im being honest its this:

Lots of the time i would get an album that i knew 3 songs in wasnt going to be my thing. And when that happened it felt like homework finishing it and then writing about it (and trying to write the review in a manner that wouldnt offend the person i got it from).

I dont really know that there is a solution to this, i also dont know if it is an actual "problem" that needs solving. Its more so a me issue i guess. One of those things where i just realized "man, this group is a cool idea but for me personally i dont know if i fit into it well".

 

That's fair and a very honest assessment of yourself. On the other side of the coin, some of the most difficult albums for me to get into have turned into some of my all time favorites.

 

See, and thats why i know there isnt really anything that can be done to counter the experience i was talking about. Because of this, sometimes albums grow on people in a big way.
I guess for me personally, i can tell though very soon if the album is going to be a grower / if it has even the slightest chance of becoming personal sleeper hit, or whether or not i just flat out dont like it. again, i cant speak for anyone else though.

 

For sure agree with this. I can tell the difference between an album that can potentially grow and one that I have no interest in at all. Like when I first heard the new Kacey Musgraves, I could tell it would grow on me but didn’t full hit since I hadn’t listened to any country prior. If I listened to an Imagine Dragons album I’d be able to tell pretty instantly that it wouldn’t grow on me.

 

Imagine Dragons is great, bro

 

I have had a similar issue. I knew my most recent review wasn't my cup of tea after the second song. But I viewed it as a chance to analyse why someone else would enjoy this music and what it was specifically that I found missing.

That said, I don't think anyone enjoys trashing an album or being negative about it. I've wrote I think 3 negative reviews on here so far and it honestly pained me because I never want to dislike something and I totally get why you feel that way.

 

Ok, I’ll bite (and it’s a shame that’s part of the reason). I know it can SEEM like that’s the case, but let’s take the bookeeper @anonimito ’s statistics.

“1,066 reviews so far, which is ~83% completion.

845 unique (without repeats) albums reviewed.”

That is a 79.27% uniqueness rating for recommendations.

Some albums Get recommended more than once because numerous people haven’t heard them. The most I’ve seen is 10x on the master list. That means that album is only 0.94% of The recommendations. 0.94%! That REALLY isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things. Have some albums been recommended a bit more than others? Yeah, but that just means there were more people that hadn’t heard them yet.