Red Mosquito

tragabigzanda wrote:Gone is Ed's shitty take on Fast Car by Tracey Chapman, more than it is a rehash of his own songs about automobile exits.

Kevin Davis wrote:I enjoy the occasional version of "Gone" but overall I think it's one of the band's weakest originals. "RVM" and "MFC" both elevate the "in the car, gettin' the fuck out of a bad situation" theme to a tangible feeling of unburdening -- the songs are cathartic because so much of their kinetic energy comes in the form of emotional calorie-burning. "Gone" doesn't work this way for me -- even as it shifts from its dreary minor-key verse (probably the best part of the song, musically) to its inevitable major-key chorus, it never finds that sense of triumph it needs to feel convincing. "RVM" and "MFC" both feel like a guy on the freeway burning rubber; "Gone" feels like a guy driving circles around town in a Prius. It never sustains momentum and thus feels perpetually weighted down.

I won't say it doesn't have a memorable melody (I can sing it from memory, after all), but musically it just feels all over the place, a lot of musical motion without any real melodic sense. This is a touchstone of Ed's modern writing -- promising verses dissolving into unsatisfying, non-sequitur choruses that betray a sense of musical cluelessness. I don't much care for the lyrics, either ("The lights of the city/They only look good when I'm speeding" - eugh, sounds like a tagline for a "Fast and Furious" movie). My favorite version is the live debut from Atlantic City, with just Ed playing solo -- at the very least, this version emphasizes Ed's voice over the middling arrangement, and as a positive I will say that it is a song that Ed generally sings very well.

durdencommatyler wrote:

Kevin Davis wrote:I enjoy the occasional version of "Gone" but overall I think it's one of the band's weakest originals. "RVM" and "MFC" both elevate the "in the car, gettin' the fuck out of a bad situation" theme to a tangible feeling of unburdening -- the songs are cathartic because so much of their kinetic energy comes in the form of emotional calorie-burning. "Gone" doesn't work this way for me -- even as it shifts from its dreary minor-key verse (probably the best part of the song, musically) to its inevitable major-key chorus, it never finds that sense of triumph it needs to feel convincing. "RVM" and "MFC" both feel like a guy on the freeway burning rubber; "Gone" feels like a guy driving circles around town in a Prius. It never sustains momentum and thus feels perpetually weighted down.

I won't say it doesn't have a memorable melody (I can sing it from memory, after all), but musically it just feels all over the place, a lot of musical motion without any real melodic sense. This is a touchstone of Ed's modern writing -- promising verses dissolving into unsatisfying, non-sequitur choruses that betray a sense of musical cluelessness. I don't much care for the lyrics, either ("The lights of the city/They only look good when I'm speeding" - eugh, sounds like a tagline for a "Fast and Furious" movie). My favorite version is the live debut from Atlantic City, with just Ed playing solo -- at the very least, this version emphasizes Ed's voice over the middling arrangement, and as a positive I will say that it is a song that Ed generally sings very well.

Well argued, as usual sir.

But Gone isn't trying for the kinetic energy or catharsis of RVM or MFC. While they share elements of theme, they do not by any means share an objective. And I completely disagree with the last two sentences of your first paragraph. I guess, the way I see/hear it, if one is turning to Gone to burn rubber, it's no wonder one finds themselves underwhelmed. But I don't see how that's the song's fault.

durdencommatyler wrote:Listening to Ten in honor of the 26 year anniversary of the band's first ever live show. This is such a monster record. It's so goddamn good, I can't even stand it. Also, listening to the live version of Alive on the European version of Ten... fuck.

I might like Alive more right now in this moment than I ever have in the past.

Kevin Davis wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:Listening to Ten in honor of the 26 year anniversary of the band's first ever live show. This is such a monster record. It's so goddamn good, I can't even stand it. Also, listening to the live version of Alive on the European version of Ten... fuck.

I might like Alive more right now in this moment than I ever have in the past.

Is that the RKCNDY '91 version, from the music video? That one hits the spot for me too, I voted for it for Ridley's compilation.

E.H. Ruddock wrote:EV got to celebrate in the locker room with the Cubs. Ugh.

Strat wrote:

E.H. Ruddock wrote:EV got to celebrate in the locker room with the Cubs. Ugh.

Im sorry that upsets you

E.H. Ruddock wrote:

Strat wrote:

E.H. Ruddock wrote:EV got to celebrate in the locker room with the Cubs. Ugh.

Im sorry that upsets you

It didn't. It's just weird

E.H. Ruddock wrote:

Strat wrote:

E.H. Ruddock wrote:EV got to celebrate in the locker room with the Cubs. Ugh.

Im sorry that upsets you

It didn't. It's just weird

durdencommatyler wrote:Listening to Ten in honor of the 26 year anniversary of the band's first ever live show. This is such a monster record. It's so goddamn good, I can't even stand it. Also, listening to the live version of Alive on the European version of Ten... fuck.

I might like Alive more right now in this moment than I ever have in the past.

evenslow wrote:Was driving around yesterday and Alive came on the radio. Normally, I would immediately turn the channel, only b/c I've heard it a billion times by now.

But something in me decided to turn it the fuck up instead. I was struck by how heavy everything sounds, in a good way. One of the tracks on Ten where the production really does it a favor. The guitars sound like they're falling down on you from above.

And that outro - hoo boy. Absolutely what got me hooked on the band in the first place. Krusen is murdering it and McCready's solo is a perfectly sequenced hurricane .

Listening to it with fresh ears made me realize it's a tough song to pin down, genre-wise. It's got a classic rock sound to it, mostly because of the giant riff and soaring chorus. But the energy in the playing makes it sound so vital and current, even 25 years later. I guess the only band I could relate it to would be The Who, but they never really did riff-rock like this.

To this day, it's one of the classics that I don't tire of in concert b/c of that energy. Betterman and Daughter and Even Flow could all be retired, and I'd be fine with that. But Alive is still... alive after all these years. *sad trombone*

E.H. Ruddock wrote:GSMF and Johnny Guitar are the only listenable tracks on that album