- This topic has 66 replies, 28 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
@jade88, I did the Jagjagwar preorder bundle. The record they shipped me was a limited edition purple marble vinyl. I had no clue there was going to be such a thing. I’m not complaining.
Pitchfork gives IBOS a 7.9. not bad.
@cooldad–Nice review, well written, interesting.
Re. loneliness being a consistent theme in Dinosaur Jr’s lyrics, while this is maybe true, if the songs were just about loneliness or moping about feeling alone I probably wouldn’t listen to them.
Loneliness/being alone is on the table, but it’s also just an aspect of being an individual, and the music itself pushes through any loneliness.
There’s a huge gulf of supralinguistic strangeness in Dinosaur Jr’s music and you have to play it loud to get that strangeness. You note in your review that the album sounds “commercial;” does it still sound commercial if you play it LOUD?
love this album so much. my favorite of the 3 ‘reunion’ records. I wish I had the complete lyrics to “Rude” tho – I kind of wonder if it’s directed at J: “You are yours and we don’t share a goal/and nothing I could say would gain control…. it’s better for my health if I don’t intrude”
Maybe not.
@nosaj56 I liked it from the beginning, but I like it even more after the 15th listen like you said. I even like Farm more now that I’ve gone back to revisit it. But yeah, IBOS is a really good album, I’m lovin’ it!
This album has songs I either love or am quite ambivalent about. The one’s I am not so hot about are not just because they are the more mellow ones (Ocean in the Way is one of my favorites from Farm). They just don’t seem unique after a few listens.
This can always change though with more listens. I hope more songs migrate up in my lists 😉
Loves:
Don’t Pretend You Dindn’t Know
Watch the Corners
Rude
I know it Oh so Well
Pierce the Morning Rain
RecognitionAmbivalent:
Almost Fare
Stick a Toe In
What was that
See It On Your Side@hybridge, Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
I agree with your comments regarding loneliness and individuality. It is the music and the loudness of it all, combined with the sometimes introspective lyrics, that give Dinosaur Jr. their unique character. It’s not all emo moping by any stretch and that’s good.
And I didn’t mean “commercial” as a criticism. Maybe I should have said “accessible,” but I’ve always found that J has a good pop sensibility. Again, the way that can come through all the noise and distortion, even when it’s playing loud, is one of the things I’ve always loved about the band.
Thanks again for checking out the review.
I wasn’t sure about it from listening to some of the tracks online, but after a couple of listens it seemed definitely better than Beyond but not as good as Farm. Now, after a few more listens, I think it might top Farm. There’s more variety, both from song to song and within the songs themselves. But even when a song is as simple as “Almost Fare,” J always slays me with his ability to find just the right two notes around which to base an entire song. I could listen to that little doodle forever. The only track I don’t like is “Stick A Toe In” — too mopey. But “What Was That” more than makes up for it; the way the guitar keeps piling up, layer after layer, is just beautiful. It’s like the best of late-’90s Dino with a tighter, more lively rhythm section.
I don’t know what Lou was complaining about regarding the level of bass in the mix. There’s more bass presence on this record than on any Dino record since Bug. Then again, we all know how Lou loves to moan about things, Dog bless him…….
TUBBY,TUBBY….TUBBY..Can you hear me? Someone needs to go and check on him…and get him to a doctor right away….unless it’s too late. 🙂
Dude, It’s like J went upstairs to his recording room in the ol’ attic and looked under the couch cushions and behind the door and pulled out a bunch of old material that had been rejected from the past few projects (Farm,Beyond and the solo stuff) and threw it all together with some drumming that seriously, has fills and rolls that have all the interest and integrity of a “drum machine” (not because of the drummer but because the drum sounds SOUND over processed or something) and the lyrics…..kind of remind me of old people that tell you the same story over and over again….”It was during the war and my shoes had holes all the way through the bottom. It was getting late and we needed to go and collect sticks for our fire” Wait up Granny, let me get another cup of coffee so I don’t miss the part where you and Grandpa meet while you were out collecting sticks and he was carrying a little loaf of bread in a bag”. Did I buy it…yup….do I like it…Well, I’m a fan so…but really TUBBY better than Farm!
You know it’s weird when you are listening to a Dinosaur Jr album and you are saying in your head…”Gosh, I hope that Lou song is next” (because it’s interesting)
Hey…I’m practicing being a fire sign…is it working?
I’m just (kind of) kidding. King Richard T shocked me…that’s all.Sounds like we’re listening to two different albums! I love the big ROCK sound of Farm, but I’d argue that there’s more J-on-autopilot writing on Farm than on the new one. To my ears, side two of I Bet On Sky is as strong a side as the band has ever cut. And I discover new things in the mix on the new album every time through — the guitar layering is really sharp. It’s a loose beast of a record in the way that Green Mind was, but a bit tighter in conception and execution. And Murph actually swings on this record! J must’ve been hovering over him like a hawk the whole time…….but it paid off.
@cooldad–I’m interested in the responses people have to this album and the reasons they give for liking/not liking it. I thought your review was great, just had some differences around a couple things you wrote. Thanks for your reply. I don’t know if the songs are more “accessible” or just slightly less aggressive. I tend to prefer yincredible over yangtastic (i.e. don’t need the music to be a perpetual hard-on), so I’m fine with the varied sounds and moods on this album.
I like the pitching metaphor. A lot of people complain about the similarity between songs on this album and earlier releases. Isn’t this true of all music? Calling the songs rehashes doesn’t seem right; they’re quoting themselves, sampling their own subconscious. Folk process and all.
Some negative reviews were expressed before the album was released, which suggests people based their impressions on the mp3s, which is a little like drinking a milkshake through a coffee stirrer. David Lynch once said something about people watching his movies on their phones haven’t really seen his movies; same thing with shortened formats like mp3s, not very satisfying and nowhere near enough sound/signal to go by.
I think it’s awesome that people have shifting opinions on I Bet on Sky, that folks have said it’s grown on them. To me that’s a strength, of both the album and the listener. With music, the unfolding of the songs is part of the pleasure. I’m generally not interested in movies or music that I understand fully the first time around.Play/watch the hell out of it is my motto.
For me, the album passes several tests:
Does listening to the album at sunset while driving over the Richmond-San Rafael bridge as the sun drops behind Mt Tamalpais make crossing a bridge a mystical experience? Check.
Do some of the songs make me want to break shit? Yes.
Does playing with the fader while listening to the cd in the car make tedious traffic fun? Sure.
Do I want to listen to a 10 minute loop of J’s insistent single note solo in What Was That? Yes I do. True story.
Do the luscious layers of sound initiate autonomous sensory meridian response sequence? You know they do.
Is the tone of the guitars and bass perfect overall, and does the guitar still sound like ripping cloth here and there? Indeed.
Does watching a cop stride over to harass transients at a bus stop as Watch the Corners’ opening Uh-Oh riffs chug away make the cinematic quality of the album clearer? Yes.
Etc.
“Let the despairing race of men know that there is in Nature no sign of decay–but universal uninterrupted vigor.”–HDT
I get the feeling that this album is a bit polarizing among fans, maybe more so than the other 2 reunion discs. It is to me. I am overall a bit disappointed, but I place Farm at #4 of their all-time. Those are high expectations to meet or exceed. I think it is a good album, plenty to like about it, but I will agree with a certain degree of recycling going on. My complaint is how many lyrics J writes beginning with the question “can I… (fill in the blank)”. Now, even though “See It On Your Side” sounds like Turnip Farm, I think it’s a great tune and a fantastic ending to the record. The lyrics in that song are definitely more interesting and show that J can write better lyrics to go along with incredible music.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.