Jimmy Eat World - Surviving (October 18, 2019) Album • Page 128

it’s not so much wanting more “ambition” from them. i’m good with that. it’s more than their more ambitious songs since chase this light just don’t really land the same. he’s improved exponentially as a lyricist, so it feels “wrong” to say his songwriting has gone down, but the songs lack the urgency or, idk, “quality” of that classic run.

no one in the crowd is getting riled up for anything post chase this light when you see them, man

 

Yeah, that song is just pure joy to me.

This is definitely true, but couldn't you say this about most of the bands from that era that are still playing together and touring? I feel like most acts from this "scene" have a similar nostalgic sweet spot of albums/songs that the bulk of the crowd at any given show is there to see. I'm not sure it speaks as much to the songs themselves as it does to the ages of the core fans.

 

I suppose I'm not the target demo, cuz I don't go to very many concerts these days, but if I did go see them I would be FIRED UP if they played anything from Integrity Blues. And I'm old and a long time fan. But I really think IB is up there with their top tier albums, so it seems a little different for me.

Surviving is a solid album but it hasn't had nearly the same impact on me as Integrity Blues has. I haven't really gone back to it since it first came out, whereas I've listened to IB hundreds of times.

 

Legit have never stopped returning to this thing regularly since it came out.

I think IB is maybe a better album but this one has had more staying power for me.

 

People got really fired up for Sure & Certain, I was surprised

 

i agree. i think there’s a reason for that though. like, it’s not all nostalgia. some of it actually is just the songwriting. JEW is a much better band than TBS but no one is getting excited about a Tidal Wave song. maybe that’s bc people have nostalgic memories associated with TAYF and maybe it’s bc those songs are actually just better

 

Futures, Chase this light, Bleed American, IB, Surviving. Everything else.

 

I cant imagine thinking that album didn't end with dizzy lol.

 

How about every album by them rules and unique in their own way?

 

Any time we start ranking I feel like I want to stick up for Damage. It is such a great album.

 

lol I'd lose my shit to hear most Tidal Wave or Invented songs live y'all silly

 

only this site!

 

i don't think you can determine the quality of something from crowd response

 

no, i know. that’s not really what i was trying to say. crowds can suck. if we went off the crowd at a thrice show, you’d think deadbolt is their best song. but there is, idk to me at least, a bit of a lack of identity for the songs from post-CTL. i’ve listened to those albums more than albums that i generally don’t “love” from some of my favorite bands bc of how much JEW means to me. if i played a playlist of post-CTL songs on shuffle, the majority of the songs i wouldn’t be able to tell you the name of the song or the album it came from. there’s a handful i love, for sure, but the majority of the songs don’t have a clear identity or “stand out” nature that a lot of the more classic run does have. and that does translate to a bit of a lackluster reaction at a show, as well

 

hm I really think Integrity Blues in particular has a very distinct identity and sound. I don't agree about the other two although I kind of see what you're saying

 

@Craig Manning out of curiosity, what are your favorite Jimmy Eat World songs of all time? Let's say top 5 (or 10 if that works better).

 

Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely not going to argue that they've written a song as good as "Dizzy" since Chase This Light, or a crowdpleaser as indelible as "Big Casino." And as you can see from my ranking, I largely agree with you that those earlier albums are better. But just thinking back through the bands that I've seen that are 10+ years into their career, I can't think of many where the new stuff got anywhere near the reception of the older stuff. Sometimes that's definitely because the newer stuff isn't that great, but I also just think people tend to connect differently to new material from artists they've loved for a really long time. Hard to recapture that initial spark or magic, even if the songs are really good.

I've always liked that the community here seems super willing to give new stuff a shot from bands or artists that have been around for awhile, even if you're totally right that we're kind of in a bubble and most folks outside of this site are absolutely not going to rank Surviving or Integrity Blues anywhere near Bleed and Clarity.

 

@CoffeeEyes17 and I did a full-discog ranking a few years back. Pretty sure I wouldn't agree with any of it now, though!

Off the top of my head:

Kill
23
Dizzy
If You Don't, Don't
For Me This Is Heaven
Invented
My Sundown
Work
The World You Love
You Were Good

Honorable mentions: Disintegration, Polaris, Pol Roger, Always Be, Diamond

 

I love the word indelible, I do not like the song big casino lol

 

Pretty solid list of songs.

 

absolutely. didn’t really mean it as shade or whatever. i’m just definitely “missing” whatever it is people seem to be finding in those albums. there are certainly individual songs i see it in though.

 

chronologically, since im a coward:

table for glasses
lucky denver mint
authority song
if you don’t, don’t
futures
23
disintegration
gotta be somebody’s blues
dizzy
invented

 

I would agree that the post CTL albums are generally weaker than the pre, but I don’t think any of them are bad by any means and I think invented is a top three album

 

Nice list. Was hoping to see Big Casino on there though!

 

Can't pass up an opportunity to rank. Top 10, no particular order:

23
Goodbye Sky Harbor
Big Casino
Kill
Bleed American
Just Watch the Fireworks
Night Drive
Dizzy
Invented
Sure and Certain