The Starting Line Band • Page 35

No

 

Plenty of people have nostalgic connections or other special attachments to albums that make them their "favorite" but are capable of realizing it's not the band's best.

 

I've never felt that way.

 

For me, SILYMI really stands out above the other pop-punk records that came out around that time. Even though it has some typical angsty lyrics, it seems more hopeful and easy-going than TAYF or YFW. I think it's rare to find a pop-punk album from that time that doesn't contain any glaring misogyny. To me, SILYMI has aged better than it's peers and it's a record I wouldn't mind playing for my kids when I have them haha. Truly a classic

 

I don’t like it very much

 

What was the first STL album you listened to? Direction?

 

You ever heard them live back in the day? Ken threw out a fair amount of misogynistic remarks about his ex's. Granted, he was barely into his twenties at the time and I believe he's addressed it since.

Best pop punk record of all time though. Arm wrestle me.

 

I used to be able to count them all. It was up to 15-16 at one point. I do wish I went to see them when they've been back in the NYC area over the last few years. I forget why now but something came up and I couldn't make either show even though I had tickets :/

 

SILYMI is a relic of its time. There’s a few songs I still enjoy like Given The Chance and Leaving but there’s a lot of cringe for me too.

It’s also very far from the band’s best material. BOATS and Direction are far superior in literally every way.

 

For those curious where all the stories of Geffen and BOATS come from, I brought this back from 2006: Matt Watts of The Starting Line

 

Except how they sound

 

I got irrationally angry last week when I found out SILYMI isn’t on Spotify in Canada

 

Wait are you trying to say the production on SILYMI is better than BOATS/Direction? Lol

 

My 16 year old self was in love with SILYM and my 30-something self appreciates that 16 year old self. SILYM does not hold up, I would never take someone who isn't a scene kid in some way and put it on in the car not expecting them to be like uh turn this off please meanwhile BOATS or Direction I'd easily do that. I absolutely agree with it being enjoyable due to nostalgia.

Take this To Your Grave, Sticks and Stones, Bleed American, Stay What You Are all top SILYM for me in the realm of best pop punk album.

 

Implying that TTTYG has aged better than SILYMI is certainly a take

also Bleed American is in an entirely different category than all of those albums

 

Hard to argue with your top pop punk albums. I do think SILYMI is on par with those though, and has aged just as well.

 

No.

 

Why is Bleed American in a different category? Literally released a year apart. I feel like everyone who listened to SILYM in that time period also listened to Bleed American, which just happened to become absolutely huge. Clarity was not.

I don't think TTYG or SILYM aged particularly well, but I mean I'm still blasting them in my car when I'm feeling it. I just said it's a better pop-punk album from that time period. Obviously it's an opinion, if you like SILYM better well, I love the album of course so I'm good with that.

 

Well, because Bleed American isn’t really a pop punk album and the other four albums in the conversation are. The timeline proximity in which they were released feels irrelevant..

Re: TTTYG & SILYMI — that’s fine, makes no difference to me which album you would show people or whatever lol. Both are riddled with early 00’s pop punk stereotypes. My point is that insisting one of them doesn’t hold up while heralding the one littered with remarkably toxic lyricism as “best pop punk” is a wild take to have in 2020

 

no one ever mentions E. Von Dahl Killed The Locals, but for the most part that one has held up strong for me.

 

TTYG and SILYMI slay. That’s all.

 

Holding up I was referencing sound wise, not accountability/misogyny lyrical element part of it. Bleed American's absolutely pop punk IMO, so that take confuses me.

 

Bleed American is very clearly in an entire league of its own and separate from that scene tho imo, even if it shares elements of/greatly inspired that sound

 

Also that was Jimmy Eat World’s fourth album and they had been a band for nearly a decade at that point

 

Played at Warped multiple years, played with NFG, Blink, Good Charlotte...etc. They went on tour with Weezer.

Bleed American completely blew up, but I completely disagree that they weren't inherently part of the same pop punk scene even if they were at a different stage of their careers than TSL.

Agree to disagree I suppose.