Gigaton: Official album thread

[Ms Harmless]

I don't think it helps (the feeling of outlier) that the song's low-end / bass is mysteriously missing, which kind of makes the brain subconsciously think it doesn't fit

[joostone]

I don't think it helps (the feeling of outlier) that the song's low-end / bass is mysteriously missing, which kind of makes the brain subconsciously think it doesn't fit

Yeah, that's the reason. They mixed it like an early 80s Judas Priest song orso. Check a live version to hear some bass...

[stip]

i actually agree with Stip. I love the song but it does feel like an artistical* outlier.

*Is that even a word?

It is now!

[stip]

I don't think it helps (the feeling of outlier) that the song's low-end / bass is mysteriously missing, which kind of makes the brain subconsciously think it doesn't fit

Probably doesn't help. A song like Get Right or Big Wave, which have only the most tangential connection to the thematic thru-lines of their records, don't feel as disconnected and that may be a big reason why

[Ms Harmless]

agreed, there's a real sonic coherence to Riot Act that kind of just makes everything "work" somehow

[Ms Harmless]

Does anyone have a defense of why Take the Long Way belongs on the record (beyond just liking the song)?

OK, so, although to me it does connect to wider themes across the album -- particularly around social division and reconciliation -- I think TTLW mainly belongs with songs about personal relationships, like SBWM (about a rift in a toxic / broken relationship), DOTC (partly about the rigidness of binary gender roles, how we are separated from each other and "stuck in our boxes": "I know that girls... / I know that boys...", but what else is there? how do we break out?), and 7 O'Clock (with its Tarot "Hanged Man" imagery, about being forced to self-reflect and see our situation in a new way / "flipped" perspective)

TTLW, for me, kind of "completes" that train of thought: "You (a loved one? a partner?) got me through these feelings / That separate me from you" (you made me consider things with new eyes and get me out of my own thinking that seperates us and makes us enemies), "I put myself through a beating / I need you to pull me through" (sometimes my own rigid -- gendered? -- ways of thinking are my own worst enemy; you're my key out of these), "I'll break through these feelings / I'll break through the ceiling" (I will do the impossible and escape my self-absorbed patterns of separation -- interesting use of "the ceiling", often a feminist metaphor)

"I always take the long way / that leads me back to you" (the best road towards reconciliation with you is the long road, that's the one I'm taking, not the easy shortcuts but the ways that change me and make me love you more)

a really interesting line to me is "the hammer will fall on purpose": it feels like it's saying "this time, I won't be passive and let "fate" and accident judge and dictate our relationship; I'm going to be deliberate / purposeful about it; I'm going to take that "long way" towards the truth of things

[Ms Harmless]

other songs on the album, I think, talk about much wider societal rifts and reconciliations amongst people

[liebzz]

Sonically, it both contrasts well with, and also pushes the momentum of the album after Never Destination and nicely finishes the 4 song build from Alright through Take the Long Way that comprises side 2 of 3.

[evenslow]

[YouTube][/YouTube]

Stones - Voodoo Lounge

This is the fairest comparison point so far: a group with multiple creative contributors (but not a democratic act), 50+ and primarily regarded as a legacy touring act when they hit the studio.

It’s a little harder to compare this band with people like Bruce or Bowie, who have or had the absolute power to dictate their timelines and projects because they are essentially solo artists with powerful backing bands.

Being able to pick up the phone and say “I’ve decided that I want to make a record right fucking now, while I’ve still got the spark happening, and I want it to sound like 60’s pop with timpani and bells,” and have no real compromises to make on any of that seems….like a situation with fewer prerequisites to success.

I wrote this when DOTC came out...

i know i keep harping on this, but the comparison for this band right now is the Stones with Voodoo Lounge. the first single off of that was Love Is Strong, a fine but forgettable song, basically their paint-by-Stones Lightning Bolt.

PJ somehow pulls DOTC out of their ass. a truly superb track that indicates new life after almost 30 years. in short, .

[stip]

Does anyone have a defense of why Take the Long Way belongs on the record (beyond just liking the song)?

OK, so, although to me it does connect to wider themes across the album -- particularly around social division and reconciliation -- I think TTLW mainly belongs with songs about personal relationships, like SBWM (about a rift in a toxic / broken relationship), DOTC (partly about the rigidness of binary gender roles, how we are separated from each other and "stuck in our boxes": "I know that girls... / I know that boys...", but what else is there? how do we break out?), and 7 O'Clock (with its Tarot "Hanged Man" imagery, about being forced to self-reflect and see our situation in a new way / "flipped" perspective)

TTLW, for me, kind of "completes" that train of thought: "You (a loved one? a partner?) got me through these feelings / That separate me from you" (you made me consider things with new eyes and get me out of my own thinking that seperates us and makes us enemies), "I put myself through a beating / I need you to pull me through" (sometimes my own rigid -- gendered? -- ways of thinking are my own worst enemy; you're my key out of these), "I'll break through these feelings / I'll break through the ceiling" (I will do the impossible and escape my self-absorbed patterns of separation -- interesting use of "the ceiling", often a feminist metaphor)

"I always take the long way / that leads me back to you" (the best road towards reconciliation with you is the long road, that's the one I'm taking, not the easy shortcuts but the ways that change me and make me love you more)

a really interesting line to me is "the hammer will fall on purpose": it feels like it's saying "this time, I won't be passive and let "fate" and accident judge and dictate our relationship; I'm going to be deliberate / purposeful about it; I'm going to take that "long way" towards the truth of things

thats an interesting take - I hadnt thought about the gender dynamics in Gigaton since it came out. I read TTLW a bit differently - more inherently toxic or unintentionally abusive - a person taking their partner for granted and expecting them to always be there for them/give them the emotional support they need without reciprocating

[stip]

did not know that meaning behind the hangman tarot

[Ms Harmless]

Does anyone have a defense of why Take the Long Way belongs on the record (beyond just liking the song)?

OK, so, although to me it does connect to wider themes across the album -- particularly around social division and reconciliation -- I think TTLW mainly belongs with songs about personal relationships, like SBWM (about a rift in a toxic / broken relationship), DOTC (partly about the rigidness of binary gender roles, how we are separated from each other and "stuck in our boxes": "I know that girls... / I know that boys...", but what else is there? how do we break out?), and 7 O'Clock (with its Tarot "Hanged Man" imagery, about being forced to self-reflect and see our situation in a new way / "flipped" perspective)

TTLW, for me, kind of "completes" that train of thought: "You (a loved one? a partner?) got me through these feelings / That separate me from you" (you made me consider things with new eyes and get me out of my own thinking that seperates us and makes us enemies), "I put myself through a beating / I need you to pull me through" (sometimes my own rigid -- gendered? -- ways of thinking are my own worst enemy; you're my key out of these), "I'll break through these feelings / I'll break through the ceiling" (I will do the impossible and escape my self-absorbed patterns of separation -- interesting use of "the ceiling", often a feminist metaphor)

"I always take the long way / that leads me back to you" (the best road towards reconciliation with you is the long road, that's the one I'm taking, not the easy shortcuts but the ways that change me and make me love you more)

a really interesting line to me is "the hammer will fall on purpose": it feels like it's saying "this time, I won't be passive and let "fate" and accident judge and dictate our relationship; I'm going to be deliberate / purposeful about it; I'm going to take that "long way" towards the truth of things

thats an interesting take - I hadnt thought about the gender dynamics in Gigaton since it came out. I read TTLW a bit differently - more inherently toxic or unintentionally abusive - a person taking their partner for granted and expecting them to always be there for them/give them the emotional support they need without reciprocating

I definitely think there's something "save me from myself" about it that I find uncomfortable, but I assume that's just Matt being a dude

[smallest_oceans]

I dig the placement on the album of TTLW before the final four as well.

I wonder how Gigaton will compare to other band's late career researgence (like voodoo longue above).

RHCP's unlimited love is, I think, a similarly great late career album. Though the highs on Gigaton are better.

the new RHCP may be more commerically popular than gigaton, however.

[Leatherhead]

I dig the placement on the album of TTLW before the final four as well.

I wonder how Gigaton will compare to other band's late career researgence (like voodoo longue above).

RHCP's unlimited love is, I think, a similarly great late career album. Though the highs on Gigaton are better.

the new RHCP may be more commerically popular than gigaton, however.

RHCP is quite a bit more mainstream popular than PJ. Look at the Spotify listens.

[Birds in Hell]

Unlimited Love is a much stronger record than Gigaton.

[VinylGuy]

wait i thought you hated Unlimited Love

[Birds in Hell]

No, no, I came around.

[Birds in Hell]

Even on my earlier reading, however - a handful of good songs mixed in with some forgettable stuff - I would easily give the edge to Unlimited Love, mind you.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[VinylGuy]

they are both so different from eachother i dont get why the comparison really.

Im super happy i have both. They are very strong releases and the best album from each band in a while. For RHCP since Californication i would say, for PJ since Avocado maybe.