pinback wrote:Jesus, what a putz. Now I have to write a lot more about this, to keep Captain Crywhiny from leaving FOREVER.
Yeah, because begging me to stay over IM doesn't count as pathetic, imputant whining at all, either.
Pinback wrote:I WILL NOW RANK THE SONGS ON THE ALBUM IN ORDER OF HOW MUCH THEY SUCK, FROM MOST TO LEAST:
12: Kill Rock & Roll: This album's "Radio/Video" -- that is, relatively inoffensive, but just not much going on, and too much Daron whining.
Okay, I can see you getting bored with this song becaseu you're not a singer, but I personally liked the waaah-aah-ah-aaah-haaaaaah-s. It's fun to sing. Really. Try it some time. Also, if oyu're going to pick a song to use the term "Darren whining" on, do it for She's Like Heroin. Or hey, I know, how about fucking Prison Song. Seriously. Jesus.
Pinback wrote:Also, the chord progression in the break is nearly identical to the one in Sad Statue, which may have been intentional, but sounds lazy more than anything.
I do not hear what you are talking about. Just like I donnot hear what you are talking about when you claim incorrectly) that Radio Video copies Boom exactly. However, I will expound on it!
The opening to Kill Rock and Roll sounds almost exactly like the opening to Suggestions, of of the self-titled album.
The bass opening to Mr. Jack sounds almost exactly like the bass opening to Spiders, which in turn soundsalmost like one of the guitar openings to Hypnotize only in a different key.
The opening of Attack is almost exactly like Sad Statue.
The drum work on the opening of Attack and right after the opening of Dreaming is exactly the same. Hey, yeah, way to show diversity there, you stupids.
Pinback wrote:11. Lonely Day: For a "bring it down" song, this song is fairly hard.
I submit that Darren does not know how to "bring it down." Lost in Hollywood was great, but it's what, teh only song they've managed to pull that off with? Oh, Arials tries, but it also fails.
Pinback wrote:But I don't care for the power ballad, and I never will. Also, the grammatical problems in the chorus ("most loneliest") annoy me, even though I realize it was sung ironically.
I didn't like it. It sucks! Yeah, I'm supposed to argue with that.
Pinback wrote:10. Holy Mountains: This album's "Question!" That being, the long "centerpiece" song, with plenty of stuff in there to recommend it, but just a liiiittle too long, and a liiiittle too self-important.
Question! was long? And it was self-important? What's self-important about asking what happens when you die?
Pinback wrote: Like, "Okay, enough messing around, now let's really get DEEP!" Fuck that. Play that funky music, Armenian boy.
Agreed. But it's still a damn good song. I can stomach just about any set of shitty lyrics of the rest of hte song is put together well. Holy Mountains is another song that's just damn fun to sing.
Pinback wrote:9. She's Like Heroin: For a "funny" song, this one ranks fairly low. It's quirky, but more gimmicky than powerful, and again, too much Daron. I like the way they yell "ass!" though. That's cute.
Who said it was funny/ I don't recall that. I agree that it's quirky, but I Think that's rather cool. I like the lyrics, I like how Serj sings the melody while Darren whoops over the top, I think the lyrics on that song are more fun than any other SOAD song, and the fact that oyu ranked this below you-fig is simply inexcusable, and I demand an appology.
Pinback wrote:8. Tentative: This one sounds like it was off the first album, amusingly. I like the straight-ahead Satanic-fifth guitars, and the chords up to the chorus. The chorus doesn't do it for me, though. It sounds too much like all the other choruses from the last two albums.
See, this isn't one of my favorits either, but I balk at "it sounds too much like the other System choruses." I dont' understand it, System recycles so much of their material, yet every time you notice something that's recycled I contend that you have no fucking clue what you're talking about.
Pinback wrote:7. Soldier Side: For the record, this is brilliant. Putting the second half of the first song on the first album as the last song on the second album.
Haha, this is completely wrong. It's not "revolutionary" to break up one song into two tracks, oh yeah, and tease them with thte intro first, then give them teh rest of it an entire half of a year later! That's called being fucking lazy, and it's it's an example of everythign I hate about this album. If I want to pay for the same song twice I'll start buying tunes off of Audio Galaxy, thanks all the same.
Pinback wrote:When Lonely Day ends, and you hear that falling guitar sound again, try not getting chills.
Oh, I can. it's very easy, actually. All that happened was I went "Oh, yeah, SOldier Side's up next." Also, it completely ruined the ending of Loneyl Day--but that doesnt' matter, because it's a sucky song becasue you don't like it and it sucks so forget it, fuck it up! Move on to bigger and better things! Hey, I was willing to go with it, if the rest of Soldier Side sounded anything like the intro did. The last thirty seconds do a good job of this; the other three minutes... do not.
Pinback wrote:The meat of the tune is pretty good, with a heavy dose of Metallica, mixed with a dronic poetic meter and mandolin ringy-dings.
Jesus, what the fuck did you say? I think that's the most incomprihensible piece of drivvel you've ever written. What's Metallica-y about this, and what does "dronic poetic meter" mean?
Pinback wrote:But when it comes around and hits the reprise from the intro, again, try not getting chills. Impossible.
The reprise was very cool, I'll admit. But what it did for me was make me go "...Oh yeah! Hey check it out, it's Soldier Side! Crazy."
Pinback wrote:6. Hypnotize: When I first heard this on the SOAD website, I was disappointed, because I only heard the first minute, which is good only in retrospect once you hear the rest of the song.
Ah--waht is this, now? I remember you saying you were "nonplust" about it in IM. If you're worried about a song not sounding great try loading up a website and letting it sit there for more than a minute and *then* judge how much you like it. God. Yeah, the first 30 seconds of Chop Suey are too wild and crazy for me, this song is lame.
Pinback wrote:Then it shifts into world-beat funkitude halfway in, and you're hooked. Then you like the first half better, because you realize it's all prologue. Plus, very classical-sounding chord progressions in the leadup to the break.
I liked Hypnotize a lot, yes. My favorit part is the guitar solo and drum part at the break. I'm looking at playing it for my drum audition tomorrow, hopefully I can play the second "I'm just sit-tin' in my car and wai-ting for my girl" without the need of two bass petals.
Pinback wrote:5. Attack: Unmistakeably System, and starts out too much like Sad Statue, but Jesus Christ. Skip the coffee and just blast this.
I like Attack a lot more now than my initial impressions of it woudl suggest, yes. My main issue is that it is basically the exact type of song that everyone says that is all System does. There's nothing happening there that they haven't done before somwhere else and, like I said, teh drums sound bad on that part and Serj is too close to his microphone. iT's just not very well done.
Pinback wrote:4. Stealing Society: All over the place. Let's see, there's the first half, with the weird chord progressions. Then there's the first part of the second half, which is Daron yapping. Then there's the second part of the second half, with all the foul language, and then the third part of the second half, which is them huge guitars, and which is actually part of the first half, but just transplanted into the... whew. Whatever, it's all good, and all hard as nails, and all rockin'.
Stealing Society bored me like Attack bored me. Only Attack had better lyrics. Wow, they repeated the beginning like they did at thenend. Did I fall asleep last month and wake up in 1957 or something and this has all a sudden become a new thing in music? I liked the second third rather a lot, but the rest is just meh, not a lot going on there. THe guitars are fast in teh second half of the first third, but we already know the dude can play fast and I really, really doubt you'll ever see him play it like that live.
Pinback wrote:3. U-Fig: Another song only System could have done. All irony, all experiments (light mandolin interludes between deafening, mind-crushing metal), all sharp light/heavy transitions, all vocal goofiness.
Yeah, and no one apparently told you that all these experiments fail. IMHO, it's the worst song on the album. I want to like the time changes, as changing times so many times in one song is cool as nails, but it doesn't work and for hte most part just jarrs you. The time changes in BYOB were awesome. These are just random.
Pinback wrote:2. Dreaming: Now, stay with me here. The non-chorus parts of this song toe veeeeery close to the line of "unlistenable noise". Crunchy overdubbed speed guitars with Daron & Serj wailing overtop of one another, drums going crazy in the background, all this. I would never recommend introducing someone to the band with this song, as they'd likely run out of the room and never speak to you again. But, see, like, it's supposed to be symbolic of having a nightmare -- jumbled up, scary, anxious thoughts that just keep hitting you from all sides. And that's what it sounds like. Except it also rocks very very very hard at the same time, and the chorus brings you back to one of those harmonic, melodic hooks that SOAD fans use to justify to their friends, "see, they actually have musical talent"! And unforgettable musical trainwreck that you don't want to see, but from which you cannot look away.
Actually, I don't think that you're at all far from the mark on this. I was all set up to hate Dreaming, and then it went into the chorus, and I started really, really digging it, and then it went back into the metal bit. The chorus is awesome, and the break is awesome. The metal part rocks quite hard. Putting them together is... interesting. I would be more impressed with it, though, if hearing the actual, you know, lyrics durring teh speedmetal part was something that could actually be done with the human ear. Bottled water? What the fuck?
Pinback wrote:1. Vicinity of Obscenity: The ultimate SOAD song. I giggled like a horny cheerleader in the team's locker room listening to it. Hilarious, inconceivably creative, impossible to understand, impenetrable, alternates between maybe the hardest metal SOAD has ever played, and the softest, goofiest interlude they've had the stones to try to get away with. Pure astonishing energy from beginning to ear-splitting end.
I've warmed up considerably to Vicinity of obscenity since I first heard it, which I think is kind of what SOAD expects from peopel who listen to that song. I woudl agree, now, that it is the best album on that song, and I like the entire thing--except for that one part at almost the end, after the second interlewd where it's just noise. That bit just annoys me. Other than that though its' a great, great song. I have this sneaking suspicion that it's really, really dirty, too, which is why I absolutely adore singing it around the annoying fucking Baptists that try to get me to show up at their lame-ass social meetngreets. I just wish I knew what the hell it meant so I could stop feeling like such a culturally backwards dweeb.
Pinback wrote:There. And Lysander's still a fucking idiot.
Feh, so is your mom.