Motion City Soundtrack Band • Page 135

MDL and EIIKM were my intro to the band, so they hold a very special place in my heart. Sunny Day is one of my favorite B-sides of theirs, but they're all incredible.

 

I went through their discography of studio albums, but I did it backwards for some reason and it was a lot of fun and pretty interesting.

I ended up enjoying the run of Go and My Dinosaur Life the most. I definitely think that Commit This To Memory is one of the best pop-punk albums with just how unique and immaculate it is. It's got this production quality that really lets each song feel polished, but still messy enough. My Dinosaur Life is great, but if anything might be a little overproduced in some ways. "Skin and Bones" was just stellar to listen to at this point in time. Just fucking great.

I think Go hit a lot harder now that I'm older and I've had a lot of personal and family health issues going on for years now. "Circuits And Wires" might be one of my favorite songs from them. The lyrics are damn wonderful and it's got such a perfect energy to it. "Timelines" absolutely should have just been a radio hit. It's so catchy and it's message is pretty universal while still feeling like we're getting to know Justin more. "Happy Anniversary" continues to evoke a lot of sadness out of me and makes me think about the many people I've lost in my life.

I never used to like "Floating Down The River" but it's grown on me and these lyrics really standout to me:

"I am attempting to change after years of destruction.
Don't be alarmed, I'm still stupid, awkward, anxious, and a terrible bore.
But I'm excited these days, it's the strangest sensation.
I only wish I were younger, so I would have more time to explore."

I hate the kind of headspace I'm in right now because it was very hard to enjoy the music, it's hard for me to enjoy any music right now, but I did notice that it was especially difficult during Commit This to Memory and I Am The Movie. I do not at all think these are bad albums, I think they are still fantastic, but I think I've spent so much time with them and this mental health problem I'm dealing with just makes it real hard to connect with.

I enjoyed Even If It Kills Me, always a solid album, nothing much to say about it. "Last Night" is by far my favorite song of theirs. It's outstanding in every way.

I did throw on Back To The Beat EP after just because I've only listened to it like twice before and it was really fun to see their early stuff again. So punky in some songs. So great to hear Josh singing again in there haha.

Watching Justin's change in writing lyrics is pretty interesting. Their earlier stuff feels a lot like stories or anecdotes from his life and later it seems to feel more like discussing the feelings themselves and it makes it probably easier for people to connect with on a general level, but I like it a lot less. It's far to conventional for me. It's not all songs mind you, it's just something I noticed more in their last two albums, especially Panic Stations than their earlier works.

Man, just always loving Tony's drumming. He has some awesome stuff in their discography and it just makes everything pop a lot more.

All in all it was a good experience, I just wish I had done it when I could really feel it to the best of my ability.

Panic Stations still remains really hollow.

 

Floating Down The River is an underrated album closer imo

 

I'm listening to Go again now, and damn, this album hits harder now than it ever has. I was 19 when it came out and I'm 30 now and it had some catchy melodies back then, but I fuck with it way more now. The lyrics especially hit harder on tracks like "Timelines" and "Everyone Will Die". Some day this album will get the love and attention it deserves in a live setting. At least I hope it will!

 

i saw em live on the go tour in 2012, that's the most songs i heard, they opened up with floating down the river which was definitely an interesting choice at the time. solid show! got to meet them all at merch after the show. i remember asking them why they didn't play capital H and they said, had we had played that you would be asking why didn't we play (insert song here) , they got me good! hahhaha

Motion City Soundtrack Concert Setlist at House of Blues, Chicago on October 12, 2012 | setlist.fm

also not sure why this ended up off the record, classic mcs synth line and lyrics, awesome song and one of my favorite b-sides from them!

 

Love that track too!!

 

I'm so glad to hear the pain has gone down a lot. I can't imagine what it must feel like to gain all that weight on top of having spine surgery and having shooting pains up and down your leg and having to use a cane, etc

 

I have the same injury but thankfully surgery helped a lot. Lack of exercise and weight is the next biggest thing. I do not miss the sciatica. Thanks skateboarding!

 

Can confirm it is very easy to put on weight after a spinal surgery (I had a spinal fusion in 2011 after losing 50 pounds and definitely ballooned back up after having to live on the couch for a few months).

 

Justin posted about this album a little bit ago, said it's his favorite album of the year, so I gave it a listen. Pretty interesting and really cool, punk/spoken word, only 22 minutes... I wouldn't really says it sounds like MCS at all, but with Justin pimping it out, feels like this is the only place to put it

 

I saw them tonight on the AAR/NFG tour. They are doing a stripped down/acoustic set which was actually really great. Justin had great stage presence despite using a cane and they absolutely killed it. Very cool to see them do a set like that in such a big setting.

 

Any reason for the acoustic set? I’ve seen videos from other shows on the tour and they were normal sets.

 

Their bus broke down so they took a different mode of transportation to get there, and they just brought there acoustic instruments from what I saw on the socials

 

Stoked to see Justin's recovery looks like it's going well. Not too long ago picking up a bowling ball would have been impossible I think.

 

I've always loved this song. By far my favourite song post-MDL.

Mostly for those lyrics. It felt like the end of a traumatic journey that we all followed him on for years. And it felt really hopeful, but that tinge of regret is classically MCS to me. I remember those lyrics stopping me in my tracks and making me feel really emotional, and as someone who has come through years of MH-related self destruction, I really relate now.

I'm gonna have to revisit this album tomorrow now. Maybe do my own discography run.

 

The older I get, the more Go moves up in my rankings. That is a beautiful, misunderstood album that just hits harder with time. I always want to put it on around this time of year.

 

I don't know if it's because I'm old, a father now, or because I once had sciatic issues, but watching that bowling video with Justin made me so anxious. Haha. I was just thinking, "Oh, Justin. Be careful!!!" the entire time.

 

I must have not given Go my full attention when it came out. Really enjoying it. I think all 3 of the bonus tracks are better than some tracks on the original track listing.

Really enjoying Bottom Feeder especially.

 

I just can't ever understand that take about the bonus tracks but I'm glad people like them

 

Yeah the bonus tracks on Go are fantastic. I listen to them more than some of the album tracks.

 

I spun Go on vinyl yesterday and definitely missed having the bonus tracks. Think they easily could've been included on the album and it wouldn't have suffered for it.

 

I think Give Up, Give In is the only one of those I love and don't think any would really fit on the record very well.

 

Ditto