Author Topic: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On  (Read 2870 times)

ggw

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12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« on: September 13, 2005, 02:11:00 pm »
12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On the Albums They're On
 
 I'm a stickler for coherent tracklists and unified works. Obviously, that means that I enjoy a well-planned, well-executed, honest-to-goodness album, but I also appreciate it when artists prepare EPs or singles with a bit of forethought and an awareness of what such a release should accomplish. And I hate hitting the skip button, to the point that for a while I made CDR copies of my albums sequenced the way I envisioned them. With that in mind, here are twelve excellent songs that I always find myself skipping straight to or straight over, thereby chipping away at the cohesive album experience...
 
 
 "Oh!" from Sleater-Kinney's One Beat
 Carrie Brownstein once commented in an interview that her voice was more suited to melodic singing than screaming, but that she'll continue to do the latter until the world gets her message. "Oh!" is the best song her group's best album -- it's so good, in fact, that it's easy to forget that the songs around it are just as far ahead of S-K's typical output as it is above the rest of the record. There's no more glorious an instance of this political trio letting art take precedence over content.
 
 The second track on every Xiu Xiu album
 I'm sure every Xiu Xiu fan has made the same observation at some point: track two is always the hit, the one with the fierce melodic hook and the most pop smart structure. It's also apparently the only track that most critics listen to on the band's records -- otherwise they'd quit with the offbase Joy Division/Bright Eyes comparisons.
 
 "Axis" on One Be Lo's S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.
 While the entire album is fantastic, I almost always skip right to this track and listen to it on repeat. It might be the best hip-hop song I've heard in years, but it sure makes delving into the lesser but still worthy material on the rest of the record that much harder.
 
 "Would You Smile Again for Me" from ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's Worlds Apart
 It's a shame that the Trail chose to kick off this stinker of a record with one of the best things they've ever done. This sprawling six minute song is the only track on the album to make good on its blockbuster promise, but I refuse to let the crap that comes packaged with it have a home on my CD shelf.
 
 "Feel the Pain" from Dinosaur Jr.'s Without a Sound
 Okay, I admit that I actually enjoy this record in its entirety (I'd write a Guilty! about it if I could formulate thoughts more mature than "Dude, that guitar lick is righteous!"), but I think the rest of the record buying populace resents the fact that one of post-grunge's best singles led them to buy a CD that they were undoubtedly driven to hawk.
 
 "Words for Two" from Six Organs of Admittance's School of the Flower
 A finer understated pop song hasn't seen the light of day this year, but this one slipped under the radar because people who are into that sort of thing typically aren't into the spiritual psych jams that Ben Chasny regularly dishes out. If you're reading this, Wes Anderson, listen up: this song belongs in your next film, sandwiched between a selection from The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society and some classic John Cale.
 
 "Cat Food" from King Crimson's In the Wake of Poseidon
 Along with "The Great Deceiver", this is the closest Crimson have come to writing a marketable single. Sadly, "Cat Food" falls in the middle of one of their least compelling LPs, and the 7" version shaves off a crucial two minutes.
 
 "Soft As Snow But Warm Inside" from My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything
 A number of my friends despise this song due to its concerted attempt at "grooving" in a Zeppish fashion and its uncomfortable hubba-hubba lyrics (probably a good thing that they obfuscate voice with feedback most of the time...), and while I find it a fun digression in the band's catalogue, we all agree that there isn't an MBV album or EP that it fits into, especially as a lead-off track.
 
 "Termination Station Grey" from The Bevis Frond's Inner Marshland
 Like Bob Pollard, Nick Saloman writes scorching would-be anthems that never reach quite reach the broader pop audience they deserve. Rather than alienating listeners by overwhelming them with hook after hook until their heads spin, though, Saloman hides his more accessible songs in swamps of prattling psychedelia, leaving them to desperately motion for attention they'll never receive, like a feeble hand reaching out of a ravenous bog.
 
 "The Game" from Echo and the Bunnymen's self-titled album
 I'll come out and say it: I think that the "classic" Echo records sorta suck, especially when held against gracefully aging works from like-minded contemporaries like the Chameleons and Comsat Angels. This kick-off track from the album where they began to really reach for commercial viability is pure gold, though. Unfortunately, the rest of their "sell-out" material is even less engaging then their glory years.
 
 "Closed Call" from Engine Down's Demure
 When I interviewed ED offshoot Denali a couple of years ago, the band openly admitted that they wanted to be rock stars. Their best shot at it would've been this song, which features Denali vocalist Maura Davis, as it's far more likeable than even Denali's poppiest tracks. It's also the overlooked highlight of an often nebulous ED album that tends to get ejected before track nine comes up.
 
 "Sucked Out" from Superdrag's Regretfully Yours
 Band cuts debut album, label tells 'em they'd better high tail it back to the studio and hand in a stronger lead single. Band complies, and lays down a bouncy pop song that's as good as it is completely different from every other song they've written (or ever will write). "Sucked Out" is a classic, no doubt, but it seriously hinders the continuity of the album's downer fuzzsaw pop.
 
 -- Phillip Buchan - Splendidezine

Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2005, 02:14:00 pm »
You win an MNA if you know more than two of the songs mentioned.

ggw

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2005, 02:16:00 pm »
What's an MNA?

SPARX

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2005, 02:16:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
  12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On the Albums They're On
 
 
 "Termination Station Grey" from The Bevis Frond's Inner Marshland
 Like Bob Pollard, Nick Saloman writes scorching would-be anthems that never reach quite reach the broader pop audience they deserve. Rather than alienating listeners by overwhelming them with hook after hook until their heads spin, though, Saloman hides his more accessible songs in swamps of prattling psychedelia, leaving them to desperately motion for attention they'll never receive, like a feeble hand reaching out of a ravenous bog.
 
 [/URL]
Great song, fantastic album!

vansmack

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2005, 02:17:00 pm »
Wow.  Writers are really struggling to find new and interesting things to write about.
27>34

Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2005, 02:19:00 pm »
Music Nerd Award.
 
 You also win an MNA if you were able to read the entire article word for word.
 
 
Quote
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
  What's an MNA?

Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2005, 02:22:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
  The second track on every Xiu Xiu album
 "Would You Smile Again for Me" from ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's Worlds Apart
 "Feel the Pain" from Dinosaur Jr.'s Without a Sound
 
 "Soft As Snow But Warm Inside" from My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything
 "Closed Call" from Engine Down's Demure
 
Good choices.
 
 Interesting concept for a column.

amnesiac

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2005, 02:26:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by Xavier Bush, Power Forward:
  You win an MNA if you know more than two of the songs mentioned.
I know three. But doesn't almost everyone know the Dino Jr. and Superdrag song?
 
   
Quote
"Would You Smile Again for Me" from ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's Worlds Apart
   
And it's  "Will You Smile Again?"....Bonus points!

Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2005, 02:31:00 pm »
I probably own 700+ albums and have never heard any of those on that list. How uncool am I?

walkonby

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2005, 02:34:00 pm »
shoot the fucker for what was said about dinosaur jr.

Guiny

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #10 on: September 13, 2005, 02:34:00 pm »
I've only heard the Dinosaur Jr. song.....Good one.

ggw

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2005, 02:35:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by Xavier Bush, Power Forward:
  How uncool am I?
That's a rhetorical question, right?

Bags

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2005, 01:17:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by Wayne, BadSushi Fellatio AFICIONADO:
 Interesting concept for a column.
It really is, in my opinion.  I think I've mentioned this before, but a friend once pointed out that you will rarely, rarely find an album that doesn't have one bad song on it (or one song that just doesn't belong there).  I thought he had to be nuts, but once that question was in my head, I found it to be so true.  Nearly every album has one song you'll tend to skip over...
 
 Hey, this is exactly the kind of shit we music nerds love to think about!!  Not exactly the point of the column, but the column's based on a great premise.

Shadrach

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2005, 01:23:00 pm »
I only know two songs on this list. The Trail of Dead song is really great, but it's true the rest of the album falls short.

Bags

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Re: 12 Songs That Shouldn't Be On The Albums They're On
« Reply #14 on: September 14, 2005, 01:27:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by Xavier Bush, Power Forward:
  You win an MNA if you know more than two of the songs mentioned.
I know three...but what's funny, is the other albums (and even some of the other bands) I've never heard of at all.