[Introspective] "You choose," etc.
various99 _
actuali at hotmail.com
Fri Feb 22 23:47:39 PST 2008
<<You choose as the best closing track? I think it is
probably the worst.>>
I admit that mine is not a popular position. But, just because "You choose" does not give you what you want, does not not mean that it is not PSB's best closing track. It is simply too easy to dismiss the song because it is not a grandstand. But such dismissal can often result from mere laziness. Case in point:
My favourite tracks on Behaviour (when forced to choose) are "Being boring" and "My October Symphony." However, the rest of Behaviour is pretty much of the same quality (that's why it's their best album). Sometimes, I used to skip past "To face the truth." But when I am forced to, ahem, face the song, I have to admit that it is probably the cleanest, most well-executed track on the whole album. It is almost a perfect example of what it means to be a pop song. And this is where PSB can especially shine: their quality and genius lie not merely in their "grand" tracks, but in the very grandness (i.e. quality) of their songwriting and execution. take a listen. You'll see what I mean.
So I see "You choose" in that way. It may not be grand, or amazing, or triumphant, or anthemic, or even heartwarming. But it is the warmest, sweetest, and most utterly approachable closing track they've ever put down. And that, I find, is plenty amazing.
-Ali
From: johan at ostergaard.org
To: introspective at lists.jameslick.com
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:37:26 +0100
Subject: Re: [Introspective] Very tracks (Please 2)
I would also exchange two tracks, but certainly not
'One in a million'. Very is probably the album I've heard most times ever, and
interestingly I used to think that 'One in a million' was among the weakest
tracks on the album, but somewhere around the 200th listen I changed my mind. I
think it has a great energy, fine lyrics and my favourite part is
where Neil says 'Feel free to leave...etc.". It also took me a long time to
discover the 'Oh baby baby' part in the chorus which is also one of my favourite
things about the song.
I certainly don't think it's unsuited to come
before Go West - in fact I often skip that song and go straight to
Postscript.
Instead, I feel that Liberation,Young Offender and One
and one make five could well have been replaced with Decadence, Too Many People
and Shameless, though the album is brillant the way it is, really, and to have
fantastic songs like 'Too Many People' and 'Shameless' on the b-sides only makes
it better. Combined with great remixes and videos, this truly was a fantastic
time for the boys and their fans. The pinnacle, of course, also marked the
beginning of a sadly steady decline in consistency, though even now they can
still come up with utter brillance. Too bad the gems have to be surrounded by
quite a bit of redundancy, especially on the last two
albums.
You choose as the best closing track? I think it is
probably the worst. Postscript is the ultimate album closer, of course, but
Jealousy and King's Cross also do that job incredibly
well.
I agree, of course, that 'I didn't get where I am
today' shouldn't have been a b-side, but I don't think it would have fit into
Release. Always, on the other hand, would certainly have improved the album,
though it would take more major surgery to remove the stain left by, say, 'The
Night I fell in love'.
Johan
From: introspective-bounces at lists.jameslick.com
[mailto:introspective-bounces at lists.jameslick.com] On Behalf Of various99
_
Sent: 18. februar 2008 07:51
To:
introspective
Subject: [Introspective] Very tracks (Please
2)
This week's Very poll is interesting to me because, unlike the
previous albums polled, I've always wanted to replace two tracks on it -- not
just one. In reality, of course, I find the album suitable as is, but I
always toyed with the idea of replacing "One and one make five" with "Too many
people," and replacing "One in a million" with "Shameless."
If
forced to choose, I guess I'd have to replace "One in a million," because it's a
bit anticlimactic coming before "go West," and because it just sounds much too
poppy to me (this is what Erasure would sound like if produced by
Stock-Aitken-Waterman). It almost makes the other songs on Very sound like
hard-core album tracks.
While "Very" may not be the best PSB album (and
with PSB, almost any album could be though of it as their best (save for
Nightlife)), I think it was certainly their most memorable, because it defined
them in a new way for the first time since their "Actually" period. When
Very was out, it just felt like "Please 2" to me, because it felt like a totally
new beginning, yet somehow it reminded me of the flavor of Please.
Now
that I'm counting, "Fundamental" seems to me like "Actually 2." I guess
one could make a case that "Release" was, somewhat, a "Behaviour 2." And
"Nightlife" seemed, to me, a poor attempt at recreating the energy of
Very, owing to much less cohesive material.
"I didn't get where I am
today" should have been on "Release." "Always" should have been on there,
too. I love all the "Release" b-sides.
"Here" didn't seem like a proper
album track, to me. I thought of it as a toss-off from "Closer to
Heaven." But over the years I've warmed up to it, and quite look
forward to it when the album's playing.
Although I hate to admit it, "You
choose" is quite possibly the best closing track of any PSB album. I'm not
kidding.
-Ali
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