[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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