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Post by mattyjoe on Sept 20, 2008 7:26:14 GMT
Feel free to post your own thoughts on the album or comment on mine.
I really like this album because it actually kinda challenges me. I'm struggling to fully grasp what their going for, and that's actually getting me into it even more. Every time I listen to it another piece falls into place.
It's an interesting album. It seems as though a lot of the songs refer to their youth as an adult would look back on their past experiences. It deals with certain elements of life before fame (Manhattan, Seventeen, I Want You, Closer), as they were working towards fame (Be Somebody, Crawl), and how fame changed everything once they got it (Use Somebody, Sex On Fire, Revelry, Notion, Cold Desert).
Musically, it seems they're trying to give us an idea of the vibe of their hometown and what their home life is like. And it's not the party-hard kinda home life, but the hang out in the backyard at 1 am drinking beers and playing guitar kinda home life. This is the reason it's a more mellow album, as opposed to Youth And Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak, which were party albums. There's also a kind of musical sadness in the album, like going home is bittersweet. They like being home, but also find it kind of depressing and lonely, which I can relate to myself.
This album kinda builds on a theme first seen in the song Talihina Sky from Youth And Young Manhood, which deals with this same theme of home being bittersweet. It's a beautiful, comforting, and often-missed place, but at the same time it's depressing, lonely, and imprisoning. They want to leave but miss it once they're gone. And it's still an inherent part of them, a part that they'll never be rid of, that gives them inspiration. It's this theme that I really like about this album because I personally relate to it a lot.
I love this album.
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Post by ILoveTheRazzleKid on Sept 20, 2008 8:44:50 GMT
I don't think i could have summed this album up better myself, and i've only listened to it once on lastfm.com. Your point about home being bittersweet, i completely agree with. The only negative aspect to this album commenting on before fame (if we adopt this viewpoint), working towards fame and after they achieved fame is where do they go from here, analytically speaking? Although Lamacq said this album is the most balanced of the four, i would say that's only the case lyrically.. musically it appears uneven in as far as its mellow sound is concerned. But anyway, i really agree with your comments so karma for your review. Your stance on the bittersweet homelife, i think, is really perceptive.  |
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Post by saminton on Sept 20, 2008 14:28:01 GMT
Its my least favourite album so far, don't get me wrong, its decent - theres not a poor song on the entire album...
but it doesn't really have any great songs on it like (IMO) Trani, Holy Roller Novocaine, Milk, King of the Rodeo, McFearless, Knocked Up, True Love Way. Nothing that really grabs you by the balls and makes you want to repeatedly listen to.
Mildly disappointed but it will sell more than any of their other albums which is what I guess they are going for.
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Post by sofarfromhome on Sept 20, 2008 15:32:57 GMT
well in an interview caleb said he actually wanted to get away from writing deeply personal things and give storytelling a go i think thats why the style is so different. i mean closer is about a vampire, caleb was never, is not currently and im sure is not planning on ever being a vampire. the album is growing on me when i bought it i got in my car and drove around listening to it and i have to say its great
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Post by brorsalsa on Sept 20, 2008 15:51:20 GMT
thanks for sharing!! I have only listened to it one time, and i think the only song(i've not heard before) that i wanted to hear over and over again, was closer.. i REALLY like that song! I think and hope the other songs will grow on me, i'm sure they will. And i really like that they made this kind of record, and i personaly think his voice fits perfekt to this style! Also four the southern rock style of course!! A band have to change style a bit, or else it gets boring. (in my view) My other favorite band Kashmir(from denmark) they have changed style from every album, and that is why i dont get tired of listening to them. If I gets tired of... lets say yaym, then i can listen to obtn instead, because it has a different sound, if it didnt had that other sound, i would probaly not listen to, because its just the same. Just my thoughts! And thank you for explaining the tema of he album!! I'm from denmark, so its a it hard for me to get that, or spell  But thanks!! |
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Post by mattyjoe on Sept 20, 2008 16:05:54 GMT
well in an interview caleb said he actually wanted to get away from writing deeply personal things and give storytelling a go i think thats why the style is so different. i mean closer is about a vampire, caleb was never, is not currently and im sure is not planning on ever being a vampire. the album is growing on me when i bought it i got in my car and drove around listening to it and i have to say its great Okay, but remember that the "vampire" itself could be a symbol. Maybe it symbolizes their hometown, maybe an old lover, maybe the other people in their town, who knows. I don't remember seeing that he wanted to get away from writing personally, could you post that article? I actually remember him saying that he was getting even more personal. Their first three albums are not THAT personal, actually. The first two are all about their debauchery. BOTT is more personal, but still not REALLY personal. It's focused more on personal conflicts and issues. OBTN seems to be truly personal in the sense that it goes right to Caleb's inner self and how his experiences growing up in his hometown, traveling all over the world, and then returning home have shaped him. He addresses his childhood a lot on this album (Seventeen, Notion, I Want You, Be Somebody). There's nothing more personal than that. |
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Post by lauralimonada on Sept 20, 2008 16:35:35 GMT
mattyjoe,
great review, i think one of the best so far.
i've only listened to it superficially, not paying attention to the lyrics but so far i'm liking it.
i really honestly don't think that the kings changed their sound so radically away from the YAYM and ASH because they wanted to sell more albums. they were already selling albums, tons of them.
i think it's because the music of OBTN represents where they are as people, in their personal lives, falling in love, being scared, having bittersweet thoughts about home.
thanks for your review, karma
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Post by sofarfromhome on Sept 20, 2008 20:08:22 GMT
who
smited me
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Post by sofarfromhome on Sept 20, 2008 20:12:03 GMT
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Post by clarksville on Sept 20, 2008 21:51:35 GMT
Feel free to post your own thoughts on the album or comment on mine. I really like this album because it actually kinda challenges me. I'm struggling to fully grasp what their going for, and that's actually getting me into it even more. Every time I listen to it another piece falls into place. It's an interesting album. It seems as though a lot of the songs refer to their youth as an adult would look back on their past experiences. It deals with certain elements of life before fame (Manhattan, Seventeen, I Want You, Closer), as they were working towards fame (Be Somebody, Crawl), and how fame changed everything once they got it (Use Somebody, Sex On Fire, Revelry, Notion, Cold Desert). Musically, it seems they're trying to give us an idea of the vibe of their hometown and what their home life is like. And it's not the party-hard kinda home life, but the hang out in the backyard at 1 am drinking beers and playing guitar kinda home life. This is the reason it's a more mellow album, as opposed to Youth And Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak, which were party albums. There's also a kind of musical sadness in the album, like going home is bittersweet. They like being home, but also find it kind of depressing and lonely, which I can relate to myself. This album kinda builds on a theme first seen in the song Talihina Sky from Youth And Young Manhood, which deals with this same theme of home being bittersweet. It's a beautiful, comforting, and often-missed place, but at the same time it's depressing, lonely, and imprisoning. They want to leave but miss it once they're gone. And it's still an inherent part of them, a part that they'll never be rid of, that gives them inspiration. It's this theme that I really like about this album because I personally relate to it a lot. I love this album. Great post. Of all the things I've read or heard so far, this gives me the most hope, because a lot of things have made me feel kind of unhopeful lately. But that puts me right back in the slot. thanks. KKKKKKKKarma. |
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Post by sofarfromhome on Sept 20, 2008 22:25:59 GMT
nothing to say mattyjoe?
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Post by mattyjoe on Sept 21, 2008 2:53:07 GMT
^^ Oh yeah I saw that today. I know he's saying that but it doesn't necessarily mean exactly that. It's possible he's using what he calls "stories" as symbolic glimpses at his own life. I'm telling you honestly, I don't see where he's coming from with the "storytelling" thing. These lyrics seem to apply more to him than almost any he's done before. Just like the Pearl Jam song "Alive" is a story, it's symbolically a part of Eddie Vedder's life. That's kinda how I'm viewing this album. And, no, I didn't smite you. I'm not a dick. |
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Post by sofarfromhome on Sept 21, 2008 3:22:23 GMT
i disagree i think the album is not as personal as the previous ones. doesnt mean it aint as good. i loosen my tie i loosen my tie can hardly be compared to the intricate puzzling lyrics of the other albums that could have loads of meanings.
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Post by ILoveTheRazzleKid on Sept 21, 2008 20:06:51 GMT
whoaa, chill!! it's not a competition about 'who is right', everyone is entitled to their opinion.  And i can see mattyjoe's point- besides, didn't caleb once say in an interview that 'sex on fire' was personal because he wrote it as he was/is experience the best sex he's ever had, and wasn't 'use somebody' created during a sound-check when the whole band had fallen out the night before, and how that they felt depressed, hungover and lonely that soundcheck and that's where the words came from? |
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Post by localh67 on Sept 21, 2008 23:15:13 GMT
I thought they wrote use somebody while they were in a mcdonalds drive thru waiting to order.?
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Post by ILoveTheRazzleKid on Sept 21, 2008 23:26:53 GMT
shrug.. they probably say different things all the time. i just read in an interview (maybe it was Spin i can't remember) and saw two tv interviews where they spoke about caleb just striking the chords and singing use somebody in a soundcheck.
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Post by clarksville on Sept 22, 2008 21:59:31 GMT
Yeah, I've heard it now, I put my individual thoughts on the other thread but my overall feeling about the album is that it was... quite storybook and experimental somehow, and from the original post on this thread, the word bittersweet stands out too. It seems to be a standing outdoors, night time, maybe on the top of a building, sort of album. Look how far we came? Hell. how in the hell did we get here? And what have we left behind? And I was afraid it was going to be artificial in some way but i found it really very honest and genuine. And I thought it was even perhaps more unguarded than previous albums, like there's more real feelings on display. Vulnerability. Thoughtful moments. I am not disappointed one little bit. There's weird stuff going on in it and it's only just below the surface. Why does everyone have to be so keen to point the finger and say this is all going to be calculating, or deliberate play towards some stadium or big sales end? Anyone with an ear and half a brain should be able to hear the sound of people on a genuine musical journey in this. This has the sound of integrity. it was what I was hoping to hear and fearing not to hear but... i done heard it. |
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