The Hotelier - Goodness (May 27, 2016) Album • Page 148

Cope is great

 

You're an asshole for having a different opinion than me!!!

 

Interesting. I definitely feel like I get a lot of the same vibes from Home that I do from Devil and God. And it's funny you mention Limousine, cause that song to me is the most similar in subject matter to a Hotelier song.

But yeah this one is going to be a ton of fun to loud sing in the car too. Sun, End of Reel, Soft Animal, etc.

 

Cope is great definitely

 

I like Cope now!

Simple Math is also super great

 

Simple Math the song is garbage. I will never back down from that hot take

 

It's just my take on it, so I might be wrong, but okay!

Right off the bat, we get the line "We sit and we talk, not of much but of little". That's the line that starts off the record and is, in my opinion, pretty big thematically. The concept of gaining little/nothing is talked about a lot in this record. We see this in the album closer, "End Of Reel", where we're met with the lyric "If I ask you for Nothing will Nothing there stand? ". I have interpreted this in two ways so far: 1) If you expect nothing, will you gain nothing? and 2) It doesn't matter what you receive, what matters is the time shared. With that opening line, it reinforces concept two, as the poem then talks about good moments that should be preserved in thought but cannot exist forever in reality. Looking at the moon, in the presence of others, watching the sky transition its colors, and realizing that you are alive. We all know we're alive. It's a no-brainer, but I myself have experienced moments where I stop and think wow, look how much I've been through. I made it this far. I have so much more to live through, so much more to learn from, more things to love and more ways to love.

The second part of the poem ties to "You In This Light" being a direct shout out ("You in this light feels new/woken"). I'm not sure if it's a 1 for 1 comparison on the relationship aspect that actual song brings (the song's reminiscing a failed, but possibly still, in someways, loving, relationship vs the realization that there are more things to love in life than 1 on 1 relation based human interaction, such as appreciating love as a community or a whole). We also see the return on the aspect of gaining little/nothing and being okay with it, seen in the line:

"This place speaks. It says many things of Nothing, makes no demands, and offers no salvation. Only repeats what you say in a way you've never heard it. "

It's interesting to note that "Nothing" is stylized in the same way it is when you read the lyrics to "End Of Reel". The word itself is mentioned again in the album in the form of "nothingness" in "Two Deliverances", but it isn't stylized in the same way, leading me to believe those two concepts are supposed to co-exist inside a similar thought. The last sentence of that quoted line reminds me of that concept I mentioned before on how you know you're alive, but you have moments where you realize it. It's nothing new, yet the way it presents itself becomes fascinating.

The moon mentions in the poem play out in "Piano Player" ("Inside your room there’s 40 few 
remaining figures of new moons...") but also provide juxtaposition when the song "Sun" and the chorus of "Two Deliverances" are such an essential parts of the record. Both the sun and the moon give the concept of brightness in different ways, especially when you factor in all the day/night & mid-day/midnight mentions within the songs. A couple pages back, there was also discussion on how the album mentions all of the seasons as well. Jason's thoughts on how it's like sitting in a field, barely paying attention to the music, but just enjoying it, is pretty cool too.

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Please do note that I am not trying to give my interpretation as the definition of the song. It's whatever the band wants it to be. I have made emotional attachment and associations with the piece and possible guesses on what they might mean, whether it be what the band might mean or what it means to me as art. I hope this doesn't come across as me putting words into the bands mouths.

 

Simple Math is a fantastic song on an okay record.

I wish I liked the rest of this record as much as I like You In This Light and End of Reel.

 

This is really just about what I needed right now. Strange how Hotelier albums seem to coincide with the way my life is going at the time of release. When Home came out was probably the worst stretch of time in my life, and now Goodness is out and I'm nearing graduation and I would say I'm content. Not necessarily extremely happy or anything, but everything feels fine.

This band's music means a lot to me

 

I can't say I ever related to Home on a significant level, but it's a fantastic record. In comparison to this album and INGO, I never find myself wanting to listen to it.

INGO reminds me of a very specific time of my life and period of growth and friendship for me. Being from their area and going to school in Worcester, I saw them what feels like once a month when that album was released. That album resonates on a level unlike any other for me.

This album helps me to appreciate the beauty in life. I hated the poem at first, and I'm still not in love with the delivery, but the content (I.e. "Makes no demands, and offers
no salvation. Only repeats what you say in a way you've never heard it.") portrays how I feel about simple beauty in the world in ways I can't quite describe. Idk just sort of rambling here, but I love how refreshing this album is

 

Two Deliverances or Soft Animal?

 

they're alright. i think home is a vastly superior album to this one, and yet home isn't even an album in regular rotation for me, nor has it been since it first came out.

 

Hahaha yeah. Probably the worst on that record.

 

Simple Math is my favorite Manchester Orchestra record.

 

It's great live

 

I completely agree. There are songs I really like on here and a couple have grown on me but I'd take Home over this any day. Actually I went back to Home after a few days with Goodness (a lot people probably won't like this) and it made Home sound/seem/feel even better.

 

Probably have to agree with that. Took a while but it clawed it's way above METN over the years.

 

Same. When it first came out, I wasn't very into it. It was a little too soft and quiet for me back then, but within a year I really grew to appreciate it.

 

That's easily my favourite song on that album and one of my favourite songs they've done. I'm not a big Man Orch fan though.

 

That's what's really cool about art.

 

That live video....... I'm so ready for Tuesday.

 

ILAV is the best ManOrch album but ILAV, METN, and SM are really fucking great so

 

I don't think I've listened to a Manchester Orchestra record in over a year. Maybe I should remedy that soon.

 

I was listening to this around my wife, and she said she liked it, which I was very surprised to hear. She said it sounded "dreamy". I haven't let her listen to home, 100% sure she wouldn't like it.

 

Simple math is a garbage album and the title track is absolute nonsense