My first reaction was how can CJ possibly leave this one off the Newbury St shelf, and I am still of the opinion that this album should be there, not for the first time I realise that my taste is very much aligned with Ken.
There are some songs that have stood the test of time, the personnel Natalie gathered for the album all add something, especially Jennifer Turner, and certainly you can feel that this collection has come from the depths of her heart (River is stunning and still makes me cry).
But it is funny what time can do and not having listened to it for maybe 5 years, revisiting it now and I hate to admit I sort of see CJs point, there are large parts of the album that I no longer connect with, and songs like Beloved Wife that I once thought were moving now seem a bit silly. I am not sure I could listen right the way through for a second time without hitting the skip button.
That said, I still agree with Ken and disagree with CJ!
We thrive on disagreement here Wyn. And your experience with this album actually mirrors mine. Except you loved it at the time and I only kinda liked it. So when we both played it today, your love only shrank to a like whereas my like devolved all the way to a meh. Completely agree with you on "River", though. A moving tribute. And, by they way, don't let Mitch fool you. He wasn't in love with this album at all. He just let me be the bad guy.
Don't drag me into this. I loved this album when it came out and I still think it's great. I even bought Ophelia on release day because Tigerlily was so good (Ophelia sucks). You combine great vocals with long jams and I don't really care how depressing the lyrics are. I do agree that Beloved Wife and Cowboy Romance are pure schmaltz.
Merchant was an undeniable talent (that voice!), but I think her records-and to an extent 10000 Maniacs-- embody that pitfall of pre-streaming music; 1-2 great songs, and a lot of filler.
Which tracks make up the 1-2 might up for debate, but the end result is the same. Tepid, anodyne music that's right at home in a dentist's office, or Safeway, but doesn't have much electricity. Merchant is part of a very specific vein of music that feels like something Bennington co-eds think they're supposed to like. But I wonder how many actually did, and how many simply weren't willing to say what CJ just did.
P.S. I should take a minute here to carve out an hard/fast exception for "Hey Jack Kerouac." That song is above reproach.
Yes, exactly! A dentist's office. That's a perfect description for where this music found its audience. Or a CVS, when they're not playing Guster. You see, Ken and Mitch, Kevin gets it.
Kevin, I really tried to like L7 as much as I like (love) Girlschool. But for every "Pretend We're Dead" there was an "Andres". They could never push it over the line for me.
She is, in fact, teaching underprivileged kids in upstate NY. Not many (once) A-listers doing that. A refreshing change from the abhorrent people we’ve been discussing over the last few weeks
My first reaction was how can CJ possibly leave this one off the Newbury St shelf, and I am still of the opinion that this album should be there, not for the first time I realise that my taste is very much aligned with Ken.
There are some songs that have stood the test of time, the personnel Natalie gathered for the album all add something, especially Jennifer Turner, and certainly you can feel that this collection has come from the depths of her heart (River is stunning and still makes me cry).
But it is funny what time can do and not having listened to it for maybe 5 years, revisiting it now and I hate to admit I sort of see CJs point, there are large parts of the album that I no longer connect with, and songs like Beloved Wife that I once thought were moving now seem a bit silly. I am not sure I could listen right the way through for a second time without hitting the skip button.
That said, I still agree with Ken and disagree with CJ!
We thrive on disagreement here Wyn. And your experience with this album actually mirrors mine. Except you loved it at the time and I only kinda liked it. So when we both played it today, your love only shrank to a like whereas my like devolved all the way to a meh. Completely agree with you on "River", though. A moving tribute. And, by they way, don't let Mitch fool you. He wasn't in love with this album at all. He just let me be the bad guy.
Don't drag me into this. I loved this album when it came out and I still think it's great. I even bought Ophelia on release day because Tigerlily was so good (Ophelia sucks). You combine great vocals with long jams and I don't really care how depressing the lyrics are. I do agree that Beloved Wife and Cowboy Romance are pure schmaltz.
Merchant was an undeniable talent (that voice!), but I think her records-and to an extent 10000 Maniacs-- embody that pitfall of pre-streaming music; 1-2 great songs, and a lot of filler.
Which tracks make up the 1-2 might up for debate, but the end result is the same. Tepid, anodyne music that's right at home in a dentist's office, or Safeway, but doesn't have much electricity. Merchant is part of a very specific vein of music that feels like something Bennington co-eds think they're supposed to like. But I wonder how many actually did, and how many simply weren't willing to say what CJ just did.
P.S. I should take a minute here to carve out an hard/fast exception for "Hey Jack Kerouac." That song is above reproach.
P.P.S. L7 put on a great show back in the day.
Yes, exactly! A dentist's office. That's a perfect description for where this music found its audience. Or a CVS, when they're not playing Guster. You see, Ken and Mitch, Kevin gets it.
Kevin, I really tried to like L7 as much as I like (love) Girlschool. But for every "Pretend We're Dead" there was an "Andres". They could never push it over the line for me.
She is, in fact, teaching underprivileged kids in upstate NY. Not many (once) A-listers doing that. A refreshing change from the abhorrent people we’ve been discussing over the last few weeks