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Faceplams: I don't consider him part of that group because Patton was insane from the beginning...Originally Posted by WorzelG
Matador de Froot Loops
I don't consider him part of that group because Patton was insane from the beginning...
Now I'm 0000
I had to Google him — Deftones is one of those bands I know by name but little else — so I’m learning something already.
Yep, forgot him too.
Now I'm 0000
Is TDPDH really that good? I wasn’t impressed with the last Alice in Chains album.
Stubby Member
Is it controversial to like Phoenix? I see them taking a lot of shit from people for being too poppy and likable, but then the people who like poppy shit find Phoenix too weird.
I just saw them at the Adelaide Future Music Festival in Australia and holy shit was the crowd turnout bad. They were on what i thought was the headlining stage in an area I'm used to seeing tightly packed with thousands of people but they were playing a couple hundred at most, they even mentioned it was one of the smallest crowds they've ever played too.
Matador de Froot Loops
I ended up playing it more than King Animal...
Don't get me wrong i like King Animal too, but i think TDPDH is a bit more tight and aggressive, plus i think AIC are still on their "prime", yet Soundgarden have matured and changed their sound...
I disagree: In my opinion "Lightning Bolt" is a much more balanced album, the first half is "aggressive" yet nice and the second half "mellow" but awesome "Infallible", "Let the Records Play", "Sleeping by myself" and "Pendulum" are all great songs that prove this, i think "King Animal" is a good album too, but i liked "Lightning Bolt" the best of all the three
Last edited by henryeatscereal; 03-10-2014 at 02:16 PM.
Throbbing Member
The only time I've really seen people shitting on them is on this forum tbh, but then again I don't really know much about Phoenix and haven't really seen or heard anyone talking about them much.
Now I'm 0000
It’s hard for me to think of AIC as being in their prime without Layne Staley, but I’ll give it a listen.
Matador de Froot Loops
Listen to "Black Gives way to blue" and "TSPDH" and you'll see that the band is ready to go and haven't lost his edge... I miss Layne too, yet the band moved on without losing strength thanks to the great vocal work of William DuVall and Jerry Cantrell
Active Member
To me AIC has always been Jerry's band. Layne was a very very special singer, wrote some great songs but I think the band has done really well to move on.
While I felt BGWTB was kinda like Degradation Trip, TDPDH is classic AIC for me. It's been almost a year and I am still listening to TDPDH on a regular basis and was the best album of last year for me along side PJ's Lightning Bolt.
Matador de Froot Loops
Agreed, Jerry Cantrell has always been the brains of AIC, Layne was the face and the frontman, i think their case is similar to AC/DC: they lost their main singers but the band was able to continue because the "core" was left intact, both Layne and Bon Scott were great vocalists and gave everything they got and i respect them a f'n lot, but both of their bands can go on as long as Jerry Cantrell or Angus Young continue to play...
Active Member
My thoughts on recent albums from the old-guard:
Alice In Chains- The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here: This album was basically just a continuation of Black Gives Way to Blue. Jerry Cantrell is a great songwriter and the band is as tight as ever, so if you liked BGWTB, you'll like this. My complaint is that the band is stuck in a comfort zone and they shouldn't be afraid to take more chances. Also, William is a good singer, so I wish he sang more (solo) on future AIC albums, rather than him harmonizing everything with Jerry. B+
Soundgarden- King Animal: I was disappointed with KA at first, as I thought it was just kind of SG, "by the numbers." However, the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. It was definitely a "grower" for me. The album's cover art kind of sums up the album for me--sparse, bare-bones and a little haunting. It's probably going to be impossible to top Superunkown, but King Animal is a worthy addition to the Soundgarden canon. A-
Pearl Jam- Lighting Bolt: I will always like the first five albums the best. Those are the ones that I grew up with and the ones that mean the most to me. That said, I've liked everything that PJ has released, post 1990s. Lighting Bolt is not one of their better later-day efforts, IMHO. It's not a bad album by any means, but for whatever reason, I just didn't like it as much as I liked the excellent self-titled album and Backspacer. Lightning Bolt seemed like a glossier Vitalogy to me. It's a good album, just not one of PJ's best efforts. B/B+
Smashing Pumpkins- Oceania: Great album. I actually really liked Zeitgeist, but Oceania seems to be the album that finally proved what I always knew to be true--Billy Corgan is The Smashing Pumpkins. With this album Billy proved that he could make an album stylistically in the vein of old-school SP, while also evolving, with critical praise and a warm reception from the general public. The live CD/DVD is an amazing and worthwhile companion piece. A
Stone Temple Pilots- High Rise: I'm a huge STP fan and not that into Linkin Park, so Chester replacing Weiland was a lot to ask of me. That said, I really enjoyed this EP. The band really played it safe, but the five songs on this EP are very, very good. I'm looking forward to hearing more from STP 2.0. I just hope that now that they are established, they can evolve a little on the next release. A-
Last edited by GulDukat; 03-12-2014 at 10:30 AM.
Matador de Froot Loops
^Of all of them i haven't heard "High Rise", just like you i'm not into Linkin Park, yet i thought the single was decent...
I agree with most of your opinions but the ones about "Lightning Bolt" and "Oceania", in my opinion "LB" is miles ahead of "Backspacer", sometimes i like it a bit more than "PJ" (avocado), yet the album is not better than "Riot Act" or "Binaural".
As for "Oceania", mmmmmm... that album is a different beast... for some reason the album bores me a lot, don't get me wrong i think it has great songs like "The Celestials" and "Quasar" but that's about it... the lyrics are terrible (i guess they only make sense on Corgan's head...) and the album is "pretty" and "listeneable" but lacks of the strength and edge of the Pumpkins of "Siamese Dream" and "Mellon Collie" i think it plays to safe and end ups being pretty forgettable, i know some albums are supposed to be "growers", but i really tried with this one... i found out it did nothing for me and moved on...
Last edited by henryeatscereal; 03-12-2014 at 10:07 AM.
Active Member
Corgan's lyrics are sometimes...IDK...questionable?
I'll give Lighting Bolt another chance--might be a grower for me as well.
Matador de Froot Loops
Sometimes they are, still he has written gems like "Bullet with a Butterfly wings" ...that's why i couldn't take seriously: "God, Right on!, Krishna, right on!"
Active Member
Tony Bennett >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Frank Sinatra
tempus est umbra in mente
I don't feel strongly about Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennet in general... but My Way is maybe the most egocentric masturbatory song ever written, so I'll agree. Fuck that fucking song.
In other news, I cannot believe that people actually liked Oceania.
desperately chilled
i gave it a fair shake with an open mind when it came out. i enjoyed it, nothing tremendously great, but quite a bit better than zeitgeist and the standalone teargarden tracks. i also liked american gothic by the same standard. neither release is tremendous, but show some promise that he can write a good song again. then again, how long can you coast on promise without delivering with something amazing? i've yet to hear anything as vital as machina, which while by far my least favorite of the original run, is still loads better than anything post-reformation.
long story short, it's decent, but i still expect better.
Active Member
American Gothic was great too. The Teargarden songs have potential, but sound underdeveloped and need to be fleshed-out. Overall, I probably prefer Oceania over Gish, Adore and Machina.
desperately chilled
wow, that's certainly controversial.
i've been into the band since siamese dream came out (cherub rock grabbed my 11 year old ears immediately), but adore has always been my favorite, as it appealed to my developing tastes and interest in darkwave music at the time- i latched on and welcomed that change immediately. these days, i gravitate towards machina/machina II, which while spotty, have that sort of manic chaos that i enjoy, yet still retains a little bit of the goth-y image from adore. when those songs are great, they are truly great, even if you have to skip around those records a little more.
Active Member
I'm really looking forward to hearing the Machina reissue with both I and II resequenced in proper order.
tempus est umbra in mente
you liked Oceania better than Adore!?!?! Well, to each his/her own. To me, Adore might be my favorite SP album.
Matador de Froot Loops
I was thinking about that the other day... will Corgan ever release Machina I and II as a double album in CD/Vinyl or any physical format? would like to see that...
Also: I liked Machina I... a lot!
Active Member
Yup. I know that Adore is a fan favorite, but I'd take Oceania over it. I prefer Zeitgeist over Adore too.
Active Member
Last I read that was going to happen this year.
Now I'm 0000
The songwriting and the musicianship are fine, no argument there. But unlike modern AC/DC, this version of Alice in Chains doesn’t have an identifiable frontman — the new guy can’t (or won’t) step out in front of the guitars and the harmonies. Most of the time it’s like the lead vocals were left off the album by mistake and all you’ve got are the backing tracks.
What’s truly maddening is that Jerry Cantrell could carry those songs all by himself if he’d just allow it — his solo album Degradation Trip is the proof.
Meanwhile, I have no such reservations about King Animal. Soundgarden’s sound has evolved somewhat, but it remains true to itself. (No opinion on the Pearl Jam until I’ve heard it, obviously.)
Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden pretty much were the 90s as far as I was concerned (NIN just wasn’t on my radar back then). So I have … strong opinions.
Active Member
Never been a huge Tool fan. I know a lot of NIN fans like them, but they've never really done anything for me.
Active Member
Machina is actually my favorite Pumpkins record, and the only reissue that I'd care enough about to actually pick up. That album is crazy underrated.
Active Member
I love Machina. Heavy Metal Machine is possibly my favourite Pumpkins song.
Add Violins
The only thing is that the sound on Machina 1 and 2 is extremely different. Machina 1 is a heavily produced studio album, where as Machina 2 is really raw and almost lo-fi, like listening to the band in their rehearsal space or something. So I feel like rolling them into a single album would sound weird, unless they give them totally brand new mixes that make it all sound consistent.
Throbbing Member
I've always loved Machina II, but have only recently come around on Machina I and Adore. Both are great. My most controversial SP related opinion is probably not really liking Gish much. The pre-Gish material is so much more awesome, IMO.
Case in point:
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