Jimmy Eat World Band • Page 132

This makes me so happy

 

I realize that this opinion is a little out of the ordinary around here, but I honestly feel each of JEW's albums from Futures and going forward are absolutely amazing each in their own way... however, each one would be greatly improved by swapping out a couple of the weaker album tracks for their far superior b-sides from those sessions.

I remember being 21 when Futures was originally released - I snagged one of the double CDs, one white one black, one the album, the other demos of all the songs - and as the first six songs played I remember being blown away and thinking this was going to be a masterpiece, and then track 7 started and the whole thing derailed for me. I really only like 2 songs on the back half of Futures. I realize most people consider this album a flawless masterpiece and I really wish I connected with the second half of it as much as I do the first half. Believe me, I've tried countless times over the years. I can't think of another album where I love part of it so much and then have absolutely no connection whatsoever to another part of it.

It is most drastic for me on Futures, but this pattern keeps up for every JEW album since then. Each album has at least one track, and in some cases a couple of tracks, that stick out like sore thumbs to me as nowhere near the level of quality as the other songs, meanwhile there are absolutely killer b-sides from that session just kinda lying around.

They are still one of my absolute favorite bands and their ability to consistently crank out amazing music after all these years is astounding. I feel like many bands could struggle for years and never write a song on the level of even a weaker JEW track. I'm really hoping the new album from these guys coming Oct. 21st breaks this trend for me and I'm just blown away as this thing plays front to back the way it seems most JEW fans usually are with their albums.

Also, I tried to play the rank the album game with these guys and I just couldn't do it - they really just make amazing albums and it depends on my mood. Gun to my head, I would have to say that they they hit on something really special on Bleed American, reached another level on Futures and have really just been operating there since.

 

I actually feel like most would agree with you, be it Somebody's Blues or Electable or Firefight on CTL, Action or Higher Devotion on Invented, or Lean or Byebyelove from Damage. I would say Clarity is the only one I wouldn't change a thing on, personally

 

Thank you. I found it a little hard to articulate my thoughts on it because a lot of how the album makes me feel is an internal thing that I've never tried to explain before. I really get drawn into the world it creates though. The characters become real to me. And it's exactly what you were saying with Invented... even if it wasn't written to have a defined, linear narrative... it does have one for me and I can't hear it any other way. I feel invested in the story and I relate to it. Many of the lyrics just break my heart cause I can really feel what's going on and emphathise with the characters.

As I said before, I think Damage is a lot more direct and clear in its lyrics than Invented. It didn't really need me to explain what every song means. Some songs I feel get "misinterpreted" (as far as is possible with music that's open to interpretation) by people, like I think a lot of people interpret "Please Say No" as saying something like "please don't leave me" or "please don't end this", but it's actually the opposite I think. I feel like he is singing "please don't take me back". This is evident in the lines "I prayed for the distance to keep us in line" and "say anything but no, and I'll go, I'll go, I'll go... with you". He is battling with his own feelings and is begging for her to reject him because he doesn't have the will-power to reject her.

Anyway, as I was saying, I feel like people don't really need me to explain to them what most of the songs mean but I think maybe the value in what I had to say about it is mostly in the stuff about You Were Good being an epilogue, and my explanation as to why I think it isn't epic and doesn't have high production values, and the more "out there" interpretation about that line in Appreciation that I talked about near the end of my post.

Anyways thank you very much for reading my thoughts on it. I feel like Damage is very underappreciated and I think most people who dismiss it perhaps would think twice if they really paid attention to the lyrics and how they're sung, or if they had experienced break ups and romantic jealousy before, but that's just me. I don't want to be someone who tells another person that their judgement of something is in any way less valid than mine.

 

I still remember the first time I heard Coffee and Cigarettes. I just played it over and over again. That's probably my favorite Jimmy Eat World song. And the acoustic version is just as good.

 

This was a great post. Been listening to this album on repeat the last week. It holds up so well.

 

Thanks! A lot of people don't like the album. I can understand that (lyrics aside) because it doesn't have any standouts, but I find it to be one of their most consistent and cohesive albums. Maybe none of the songs on Damage would be in my top 10 for Jimmy Eat World, but take it as a whole piece of work and it shines.

I'm glad they're going in a different direction for the new album though. They've done Damage and I don't want them to re-do it. I'm glad the production polish is back and the high energy.

 

Listened to Damage again yesterday and it's so damn great. My only beef is that I think Lean would make a better B-side, its just too meh musically for an early album track

 

I kind of agree with it being "meh" musically but I think a lot of that is down to production. The vocal harmonies in that song are excellent but they aren't loud enough. There's too much focus on the lower-pitched vocals, which sound a little lazy in the chorus, whereas the energetic, high-pitched vocals are left in the background.

 

I like "Lean" quite a bit, think it fits in just fine on the album.

 

Lean is one of my favorite songs on Damage haha

 

I'm no production expert so you may be right. I just find the melody itself very repetitive and uninspiring.

 

I haven't been feeling well recently so I have to stay home and get rest. Shout out to this band's disography and the Encore podcast for keeping me company during the moments where I feel too nauseous to look at a screen and bored out of my mind (one can only sleep for so long!)

I've been getting better and Invented is a perfect sound for me right now

 

Thank YOU for informing me about the Encore podcast! Hope you feel better.

 

Sounds like @minty901 and I could be best pals for our beliefs in the everlasting imprint that is Damage. Great write-up. Your attention to detail and observations are top-notch. I hope people don't skip over your post. I love breaking down film & music, unfolding the lyrics and examining them.

My ex-girlfriend and I dated for nearly ten years, and we called it quits the summer Damage came out, and maaaaaan oh maaaaaan did those lyrics resonate with me. That was a wild year, especially for her & I (on several different fronts). I still have a vivid memory of the day "I Will Steal You Back" was released, riding home from work on the bus and replaying it ad nauseum. That was right at the infant stage of our break-up. I saw them on tour that summer, smack in the middle of my heartbreak, and I was fortunate enough to meet Jim after the show and say thank you for the songs. That was all I wanted to tell him.... otherwise, I probably would have geeked out like a crazy person, like I almost did with Skiba haha. Anyway, certain songs by this band connect with me for so many reasons, I have difficulty not putting them in my top 3. Every album has come along at a different point in my life and resonated in a way I've never anticipated. It's nice to know other people here feel the same way.

 

I've been super busy so there's like, 10 episodes I gotta catch up on. Great stuff for just laying down and trying to relax. And thank you!

 

*fist bump*

Thanks for your comment on my write-up.

Given your story I can see how easily Damage could resonate with you. I feel like Damage is the kind of album that would be hard to rate objectively in a review because it asks from the listener to invest their own energy and emotion and experience into it. It isn't a passive listening experience if that makes sense.

 

that's funny haha i've been viewing 2016 as a great year to let music from 2015 sink in

 

I definitely think Please Say No is about an affair so it'd be a bit difficult for me to fit that into any sort of narrative, but I found myself agreeing with pretty much everything else you posted, @minty901.

 

THIS. No, Never is a top 10 JEW song for me.

 

Would most definitely be interested.

 

I finished my full-album playlist of Stay on My Side Tonight. The flow isn't perfect, obviously, given that these tracks come from multiple different sources and aren't all on the same level in the quality or mastering department. But I think the songs go together well and maintain the darker, more somber mood of SOMST.

 

^^ Where can a person hear this? I haven't heard a lot of their B-sides

 

Does your Big Cars sound like it came from quite a low bit-rate source? Drums sound a bit "splashy" in mine which is usually indicative of low bit rate. I wonder if that's the best that's available for the Trombino Sessions?

 

I deleted my copy of the Trombino sessions b/c of the low bitrate. If there was a HQ copy of Craig's tracklist, I would be all over that. What a great collection of songs.