A lot can happen in friendship / business relationship dynamic. Since we’re outsiders we don’t really know. Maybe some people view removing Ben from the band as an asshole move, but it resulted in lots of great records and Ryan Mendez joining the band (who still works with Ryan). It’d be cool if they did something together again. All it takes is some willing participants.
I find myself coming back much more to Lift a Sail then the S/T over the last couple of years. I can't get into the sound of MSK and the chorus to My Mountain made that song almost unlistenable to me( really cool bridge in it though), but I love most everything else about the record. Transmission Home is such a banger, and that violin solo in Fragile&Dear still moves me. I do like this version of MSK though!
Lift a Sail and S/T definitely do sound different than the OA to SA (including Big If) run. I guess there could have been different lineup for a non-Yellowcard album if they had wanted to (with Ryan producing). There seemed to be an interest in a Will and the Whiskeymen thing before that, and try and keep Yellowcard to their more established sound. Save songs like Empty Street for that YC album kind of thing. Never happened though, so just hindsight.
I used to be friends with Ben Harper years ago on Facebook. I remember he posted a throwback Yellowcard photo and someone posted a negative comment about Ryan. Ben's response was "if you only knew the half of it" or something like that, and a few other people agreed with him. But I've always heard negative things about Ben as well.
I think there was a podcast with Ben I can’t remember which one it was though- oh it was the mike Herrera one I believe he talks about the YC stuff I’ll have to revisit that episode
And the follow up post still rings true and is relevant to all of the speculation above: “A bands inner workings are often more complex than fans see.”
5 yr anniversary of the final album today (right?). Listening through Jason and Craig's podcast again right now. Going to start a discog run again after.
Can't believe it's already been 5 years! I don't love the S/T as much I initially did( Lift a Sail is far better, imo). I have conflicted feelings about it these days. In one sense, they clearly just went in and recorded what they wanted in the moment, which I totally respect. But because they knew it would be their last, it sorta feels like it lacked ambition/purpose. "The Hurt is Gone" has 2+ minutes of a really boring/awkward outro that makes me really scratch my head of why they didn't do more ."I'm a Wrecking Ball" and "Empty Street" were written several years prior and just seemed like filler. ( I've said it before, but the Big If version of Empty Street is way better). "What Appears", A Place We Set Afire" and "Rest in Peace" are solid, and "Fields &Fences" is in my top 5 songs in all of their discography. "Leave a Light On" really just wasn't for me. I think they really focused most of their energy on the final tour and making it as strong as possible(which they absolutely nailed). I would of loved to have seen what a follow up album would of looked like to Lift a Sail had they not decided to end.
Still love Leave a Light On (appeals to my Ben folds sensibilities), Rest in Peace, Empty Street and Fields and Fences
I thought they might play it on the Southern Air track by track stream on Ryans Twitch - they hinted at it - but I wasn’t able to catch the stream and it’s not archived to watch either.
I’ve been checking this thread religiously in case someone confirmed whether that was the “unreleased song” in question haha
I had put it on in the background at work but got called into a surprise meeting and missed basically the entire stream. Was so irritated
It was the Patrick Stump version... and it was as good as hoped (although I still think Tay's version is great as well, and perhaps complements Ryan's voice better anyway)
“Shrink The World” is such a fucking MONSTER song. It’s been a top 5 YC song for me since the day I heard it. Light Up The Sky is a good song, and it is probably fine for a single…but it is surrounded by five or six other songs in the first eight tracks that are better. Not necessarily better for radio airplay, but certainly better live and better for those who love the sound of the band.
I had asked Mara after the WYTTSY stream if she would upload it and she said she couldn't because they had played unreleased stuff and would take too much time to edit. I'm sure that was true for the Southern Air too. If they do end up achieving it safe bet they will cut out the Patrick Stump version. Bummed I missed both- it sucks they do it in the middle of a work day- I have no chance of listening live.
I didn’t know this was happening. I just brought it up because I want to get that song? Is there a way to get it?
Man that’s such a shame, the technical difficulties he had on the stream caused me to miss it entirely, had been waiting for that since 2012. Not meant to be, I guess.
Yeah it’s tough. I donated to the cause but was unable to watch it and it does suck that it’s not available anywhere even for subscribers. Curious what they played that was unreleased from WYTTSY though. I wasn’t aware of any unreleased tracks from that record!
I don’t get why this stuff doesn’t get released. Put it up on a site like bandcamp and make some money off it. There is an audience there. If it’s a song that “can’t be released”, leak it. Bring some good buzz to your band for a change.