The Hotelier - Goodness (May 27, 2016) Album • Page 40

The thing that just doesn't make sense to me was the live stream.. Why share those songs that early. People were listening to them a ton.. Just doesn't really make sense.. I mean I'll never forget this roll out and I've been extremely excited for the album but I think that's bc I love the band not bc of a good marketing strategy ha

 

Yeah, I forgot about that live stream. That's twice that we've been given the chance to listen to the record in full with some kind of strange limitation to it. I didnt listen to either but both times I felt as if the record was actually really close, then I look at the calendar and its still months away.

 

I'm about to get very sappy and sentimental so please bear with me.

Today my girlfriend came over and we had a lovely day together, walking my dog, eating a great meal my dad cooked, watching the final episode of Parks and Rec, etc etc. I was feeling so good that I decided I wanted to play Goodness Pt 1 for her (even though I am not a singer and have an atrocious singing voice), and she adored it. It was a special moment with a special song. Well, when I drove her home just a few minutes ago, I decided to play it again in the car as an encore, I suppose. I turned it up loud, and her and I sang in unison together (she, conversely, has a gorgeous voice). In those two moments, if for no other reason than the connection my girlfriend and I forged with it, I think Goodness Pt 1 became my favorite song. Period. In that moment it meant so much to me, more than some of the songs I call my favorites ever have, and it's a memory I'm already cherishing. I am so ready and eager to hear this album, and although I don't want to risk unfairly skewing my expectations, I want it to slam into me like a brick wall. Home is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I want Goodness to take the top spot.

Maybe this is all very hyperbolic and admittedly fueled by very fresh, visceral emotions, but having such a strong connection with such a young, innovative band is extremely refreshing and invigorating for me. Thank the lord for Goodness Pt 1 and thank the lord for The Hotelier.


TL;DR: My girlfriend and I bonded over Goodness Pt 1 today and had an extremely special moment singing it together. I love this band and am greatly aggravating my anticipation for the album by placing potentially unrealistic expectations upon it, haha.

 

That's an awesome story man. Every time I listen to "Soft Animal" something inside of me just feels spiritual. It just makes me so happy whenever I hear it, the imagery from the lyrics just take me to another level. That feeling hasn't gone away since I heard it.

 

Thank you! It's genuinely thrilling to me that other people have similar reactions to this band (and music in general) to the ones I have. I'm basically champing at the bit to hear Soft Animal, but I want to hold off until the album comes out.

 

That's amazing. I've never felt anything like that before but I bet it's a grand feeling. Happy for you man.

 

Thank you it's quite the sap story but it was too lovely not to share.

 

This, man. That song fucking does something to me, affects me in a truly deep way, that no other music has in man, I don't even know how long. I don't know how or why it's this song, but it's this song. Just skyrockets my already high expectations.

 

I really do think this band is the most important band in our scene since Brand New


Obviously a lot of subjective opinions go into that statement I guess... But whatever. Just my way of saying I love this band a lot, and for me they are putting out the most important music, so far, of this decade. (Again, these are just my opinions...)

 

that's a nice story dude. my gf doesn't listen to the same stuff as me haha. she's still cool though

 

But did y'all smash?

 

i wish i believed in this band the way ya'll do. they just don't click for me the way they do a lot of people here.

 

Yet here you are..I still think you will be drawn in, just hasn't hit you yet

 

i'll listen for sure. what i mean is home, like no place... really didn't mesh with me. it was an alright album but i didn't find it as spectacular as a lot of people.

not trying to derail the convo or take anything away from the hype. i'm still excited to see if this changes anything for me.

 

Have you tried listening with th lyrics? I will say this.. Christians voice alone is an aquired taste. I did not like them when I first heard them. I originally thought he sounded like every other "sloppy" pop punk or emo singer out there. I've also showed this band to numerous friends only for them to say that they were too "generic" or their singer was too "whiney". Once you look deeper you find some really cool things about this band that are beneath the surface. For instance, the use of odd time signatures on home is absolutely brilliant, they use these to add to the urgency and "instability" that you can hear throughout the record.
Second, although his voice is raw, christian hits some really high notes in a way that really feel like they are being screamed at you.
And finally, the lyrics are just absolutely incredible. Like I said I felt the same way at first and then once I dug deeper I realized, wow this is a very important record. Hope this helps.. I will end this by saying that this is now my favorite record of all time. So take tha for what it's worth.

 

I think people really connect with the lyrics of Home, if their lives have been impacted with the specific situations the album observes and creates music around.

I myself have given it several listens, and it still hasn't clicked, but I will give this new one a chance too, hoping that whatever isn't clicking with Home will click with me in the new one.

 

I'm worried the mixing and rawness of the new record is going to keep people from recognizing the song writing.

It's mixed with a purpose, and I totally get it but I could see people being very confused by what they are hearing at times.
That being said, after hearing it, I've never been more exciting for a record ha.

 

Also discussed above, I have a thorough dislike for long-ass (3 or 4 month) album buildups. Beyonce is doing it right.

 

I really liked Christian's voice from the get go. Currently my favourite voice in the genre.

One thing I've been seeing a lot in discussion about this band/album that I dont really get is people throwing the word 'important' around. What exactly does that mean to you? Important to you, important to the scene or just important in general? I get it if its the first two, but am curious to know what is meant if its something else.

 

It's a political/social justice thing. I personally don't really jump on board with that; I take music for music and don't really focus on social implications/broader implications.

 

I think the lyrics to that album are just incredible and that's where most of my love stems from.

 

I think when I use the word "important" in regards to the Hotelier I'm essentially saying: a band of this caliber doesn't come around often. They will have an impact on a specific community of listeners that few bands do.

 

When I call a band important I usually mean that they are important to me, as a listener, in a way that bands I simply "like" are not. However, as an extension of that, I like to call bands such as The Hotelier important because I know I'm far from the only one that feels this way. So, they are both important to me, and important to the scene because of the connection so many people now have with their music.

 

I'd also make the argument that this band is the most important scene band since Brand New. All 3 of their records are important pieces of scene history now. INGO was their YFW, Home their Deja, and now we've arrived at the magnum opus: TDAG/Goodness.

My opinions, of course.

 

TDAG is my favorite album of all time so you basically just paid Goodness the highest compliment you possibly could, for me.