The Gaslight Anthem Band • Page 6

"Rosemary" is basically "Here Comes My Man Part II"

 

I was thinking that as I posted this! LOL!

 

The album is so high on my list for this same reason. I had gotten into the band just a few months before, and spent that whole summer playing them nonstop while hanging out with friends. "Mae" might be my all-time favorite Gaslight song, and I love all the others. Even if the album as a whole isn't as good as the rest, it'll always hold a spot in my heart.

 

I think there's a pretty strong argument to be made for either "Mae" or "Here Comes My Man" being the best song Fallon ever wrote. Only other song I'd put in the conversation with those two is "The Backseat."

 

All three belong in the conversation. I'd throw in Cowgirls, Go Tell Everybody, 45, Black Betty, and Blood Loss as well.

 

"Blood Loss" is definitely up there. That song and one of "Dark Places" or "The '59 Sound" would round out my Fallon top five.

 

Yeah, Dark Places too. Damn haha. That's a hard list to make.

 

"Have Mercy" is near the top of my list.

 

God dammit I forgot that one too.

 

Picked up a used copy of Get Hurt on vinyl today for $10

 

Want more new music from these guys when the time is right

 

That was maybe my third favorite on Get Hurt when the album came out, but it's definitely the one that's stayed with me the most from that album.

 

Not having Have Mercy run into Rollin' and Tumblin' to open that album still bothers me.

 

As much as I love Painkillers, I can't lie - my heart skips a beat whenever this thread gets bumped back up because I think there has been some news or announcement about these guys putting out another album.

I have to throw my hat in the ring and say that Mae is the best song that Brian Fallon has ever written, but it's not easy because the guy has written so many amazing songs. I put Sugar and Have Mercy right up there too. Also, the original version of Biloxi Parish they played live, all of Sink or Swim, all of The '59 Sound, the MATZ version of Long Drives, Blue Dahlia, the rest of Elsie, She Loves You... Looking back on my favorites, it is becoming clear how much of a Brian Fallon / TGA fan-boy I am, but also that I really love it when he/they branch out their sound a little bit.

The one hang-up I have with albums like Elsie and Painkillers is that they just don't sound that different from Gaslight to me, and I honestly feel that, as amazing as both of those albums are, they would have been even better as Gaslight albums. Mae being so incredible only reinforces this to me. I realize there are all sorts of dynamics and relationships at play there and there could literally be hundreds of reasons why he/they chose to do things the way they did, but I can't lie - when I listen to those two albums or even MATZ the thought is always there in the back of my mind.

 

How do we feel about Underneath the Ground? I like it a lot, but I'm not in love with the drawn out ending or the lyrics where he thanks the listener.

 

Nowhere near enough people talking about "Bring It On" in their list of top Gaslight/Fallon songs.

 

"Stay Vicious" is easily my favorite on Get Hurt.

I also think American Slang, in general, is their best album.

 

I really like American Slang, but it also has none of my favorite Fallon songs so it's hard for me to call it their best.

 

When it comes to Gaslight, that's where I go the most (and Get Hurt.)

When it comes to Fallon, it's easily Elsie. No questions asked.

 

It's probably the Fallon record I spin most on vinyl. It might be his most consistent album start to finish. All the songs are very good, it's just that none of them have ever jumped out at me quite like "Mae" or "The Backseat" or even "Open All Night" do.

 

I was so glad that he was playing a ton of Elsie songs on his solo tour last year.

 

Oh man a top 5 Brian Fallon song list? That's almost impossible but my first reaction was this (in no order):

Mae
Dark Places
Blue Jeans & White T-shirts
Here's Looking At You, Kid
Open All Night

 

I think time will be kind to both Handwritten and Get Hurt. Those are both great great albums, as is Painkillers. The man can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Top 5 list is almost impossible but I'll try a top 10.

Not in order.

We Came To Dance
Cowgirls
Bring It On
Boxer
She Loves You
Handwritten
Here Comes My Man
Dark Places
Selected Poems
Smoke

 

The '59 Sound is still my favorite. American Slang is weird. There aren't any bad songs on the album but there aren't any of his best either. Handwritten has a lot of his best stuff but it also has stuff like


Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
Great Expectations
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
The Backseat
Blue Dahlia
Dark Places
Have Mercy
Go Tell Everybody
Blood Loss
Open All Night

Something like that. It's damn hard for me to narrow it down haha. I really want to include 1930 and Mae haha.

 

I fucking love American Slang. I forgot how good it was until the other day when I spun my record