Highs and Lows by Your Favorite Artists

[starhawk]

Surely you jest.

It's the children's choir.  It comes across as cliche to me...no insensitivity to the song's subject matter intended, but it doesn't sound original to me.

[Harenil]

You don't like Rosetta stoned? That combined with Lost Keys makes for an awesome 15 minutes in my opinion. I think it's the BEST song on 10,000 days. Intention and Viginti Tres are both pretty bad though.

[murlough23]

You don't like Rosetta stoned? That combined with Lost Keys makes for an awesome 15 minutes in my opinion. I think it's the BEST song on 10,000 days. Intention and Viginti Tres are both pretty bad though.

I hate that song. it's all about his drug trip, and making light of it in humorous fashion. I don't ever need to hear any song that says stuff like "God damn, shit the bed."

And "Lost Keys" is just a long, grating intro to that song.

[Harenil]

I suppose I'm just different, but when I listen to music such as Rosetta Stoned, I care more about the actual music than the lyrics. Certain songs I DO care about the lyrics. Obviously, when I listen to music in foreign languages, I don't so much care about what they are saying. For example, listening to Sigur Ros, the lyrics aren't important. Rosetta Stoned can be humorous when I'm in the right mood, other times, I see it as a nice long awesome piece of music.

[murlough23]

I suppose I'm just different, but when I listen to music such as Rosetta Stoned, I care more about the actual music than the lyrics.

I'm proud to be weird in that way.

Though obviously if a song is in a foreign or made-up language, then I care more about how it sounds than what's being said. (There's this beautiful, traditional Irish song that the Corrs perform in Gaelic, which sounds lovely until you realize that the translation is basically saying, "You're the hottest girl in the village and if I make enough money I can bribe your father into making you marry me" or something like that.)

NP: "Sarala", Caedmon's Call

[murlough23]

It's the children's choir.  It comes across as cliche to me...no insensitivity to the song's subject matter intended, but it doesn't sound original to me.

I would normally agree about children's choirs, but since it's in a foreign language and they're not singing something cliche, and their presence only adds to the chilling message of the song, I think it works wonderfully. They're not there to be cute - they're there to say, "These are real people who need your help; not just a convenient way to feel good about your ministry abilities and win brownie points with God."

NP: "Thou Lovely Source of True Delight", Jars of Clay

[ewok20t3]

When it finally gets going, it's a gorgeous and captivating song. It just lingers around in the less-audible range for far too long for me to want to listen to it very much.

I'd still say that "Intension", "Rosetta Stoned", and especially "Viginti Tres" are far worse. (But then it's debatable whether that last one can be considered a "song". It's five minutes long - at that length, a track either needs to be a song, or at least kick-ass instrumental, or be relegated to the B-sides bin, in my opinion.)

I didn't think 10,000 Days was a bad album at all, although it is probably my least favorite Tool album. I wish they would cut down a little on the BS tracks and put more actual songs on the albums. Maybe the BS tracks are part of their appeal for some people, I dunno.

[murlough23]

I didn't think 10,000 Days was a bad album at all, although it is probably my least favorite Tool album. I wish they would cut down a little on the BS tracks and put more actual songs on the albums. Maybe the BS tracks are part of their appeal for some people, I dunno.

I'm sure that all of their "BS" tracks have meaning; the problem is that it's such a jarring break from the music. Lateralus is the only album of theirs (out of the three I've heard; I just listened to Aenima the other day after realizing I wasn't scared of it any more) where the "BS" tracks seem to flow with the rest of the music in a halfway reasonable manner. It's funny, because Aenima gets so much good press, but except for track #2, every even-numbered track on that album is an interlude, and some of the ones on that album are more jarring and odd than the ones on 10,000 Days. I think it's a case of the sum of the parts being more than the whole - there are some really great songs on all of Tool's albums, but thus far, Lateralus is the only one I can listen to all the way through without wanting to strangle somebody.

NP: "Broken Heart (Ghosts of Seaside)", Falling Up

[Harenil]

Lateralus is certainly a great album (especially when listened straight through), but I have to say Aenima is the best... To each his own. Oh, and 10,000 days isn't bad. This is about highs and lows, low doesn't have to mean bad, it just means not as good as their other stuff.

[plvarona]

Don't mind the lateness.  Last week was a bit crazy for me.

"Light of the World" is so unorthdox for her, but I really love that song. I especially enjoy that there's a special appearance by Toby Mac that doesn't involve him hamming it up with a cheesy rap. (Even though I like his cheesy raps on some other people's songs.)

I have noticed "Light of the World" seems to be one of those songs that people either love or can't stand, and for me that song doesn't work, at all.

I'll say Nobody Loves Me/We Come to You.

The funny thing is those were my second choices, for both "Best" and "Worst."

Anyway, I'll say Should I Tell Them/Bless the Lord.

I almost went with "Should I Tell Them?" as a favorite.  It is artistically a better song than "To Be Honest", but I went with the latter because it has become a bit of a theme song for me.  So, just like you said under your Caedmon's Call comments, sentiment won the day here.  As for "Bless The Lord", I actually kind-of like that song, probably because I keep getting it stuck in my head.

I could have gone with Wide Eyed, Gratitude, or I Am for best song.

Those would have been good choices too.

*EDIT: Whoops, forgot about "Prayer for Beslan". Actually, most of "The Bookhouse Recordings" was rather unermarkable.

That's another song that would fall under "nice intent, questionable execution."

MuteMath: Chaos or Reset/Without It

If you pick "Chaos", those would be my picks too.

[ewok20t3]

Lateralus is certainly a great album (especially when listened straight through), but I have to say Aenima is the best... To each his own. Oh, and 10,000 days isn't bad.

I agree with all of that. Aenima is probably one of my 10 favorite albums.

[spacebrat311]

Radiohead: Morning Bell (But SOOO many close seconds) / Any non-Creep song on Pablo Honey (and even Creep is overrated)
Sufjan Stevens: They Are Night Zombies... / ... damnit. He's done less interesting songs, but bad?
Mute Math: Chaos / Control
Switchfoot: Love is the Movement or Underwater / Dare You to Move
The Mars Volta: Cassandra Gemini / Tetragrammaton (Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that it just cuts in the middle, and for the kind of band they are, that's a sonic heresy)
Jars of Clay: Liquid (Furthermore version) / Art in Me
Incubus: Light Grenades / Love Hurts
Nine Inch Nails: Survivalism / Hurt (Although this song is AMAZING once Cash gets his hands on it)
Thrice: Red Sky / The Earth Will Shake

[bloop]

Any non-Creep song on Pablo Honey (and even Creep is overrated)

Actually, I think "Blow Out" > "Creep".

Hurt (Although this song is AMAZING once Cash gets his hands on it)

Love this song - wish Trent stuck with "crown of thorns", though.  I really like "March of the Pigs".

[spacebrat311]

Crown of shit really just makes NO sense in context. Cash did well to replace it. Basically, the songwriting is awesome minus that line, but Reznor just doesn't have the vocals for it. When Cash sings it you'd think he wrote it and instead of Trent from the conviction he puts in.

[murlough23]

Actually, I think "Blow Out" > "Creep".

I concur.

[murlough23]

Sufjan Stevens: They Are Night Zombies... / ... damnit. He's done less interesting songs, but bad?

Seriously? Have you heard A Sun Came?

Mute Math: Chaos / Control

Ouch, "Control" is my favorite.

Switchfoot: Love is the Movement or Underwater / Dare You to Move

Double ouch! Is "Dare You to Move" really that bad, or just way overexposed?

Jars of Clay: Liquid (Furthermore version) / Art in Me

Triple ouch! Your favorite Jars song is one of my least favorites!

Incubus: Light Grenades / Love Hurts

I'm gonna guess you only know the one album, though "Love Hurts" definitely deserves to be down there - from just that album alone, I might put "Quicksand" and "Diamonds and Coal" below it, though.

Thrice: Red Sky / The Earth Will Shake

Aw, I love "The Earth Will Shake". I only know the one album, so I'd say "Image of the Invisible/Stand and Feel Your Worth". Seriously, that song is interminable.

[spacebrat311]

I don't know, Control sounds too much like a modern worship song, and doesn't have any of the elements that make them interesting to me.

Dare You to Move has never been a favorite of mine, even before it really got exposure. Something about its whole concept strikes me as ridiculously cheesy.

As for Jars, I looked back just now at your reasoning, and I find that understandable. The original was one of my favorites of theirs, but to be honest, I haven't really listened to it a ton since I heard the new one. The new one just strikes me as a lot more musically interesting.

I actually have everything of Incubus' since Science. I found Light Grenades to be a mildly disappointing album overall, but that song really stood out. And Love Hurts might be one of the worst lyrics I've ever heard from ANYONE. Diamonds and Coal is incredibly boring, but at least its not embarrassing. And I like Quicksand, but that might be my affinity for odd rhythms talking. And I know you're a lyric person, and its lyrics aren't amazing either.

Red Sky is my favorite new Thrice song, but it's got a LOT of competition from basically anything off of Illusion of Safety. I really like Stand and Feel Your Worth, but I understand where you're coming from on that if that makes any sense. If I wanted to be totally fair I probably would have named something off of First Impressions or Identity Crisis. But I really do hate TEWS. It just feels extremely soulless compared to other heavy songs they've done in the past. Frankly, I'm not sure that they can write good heavy stuff anymore.

[murlough23]

I don't know, Control sounds too much like a modern worship song, and doesn't have any of the elements that make them interesting to me.

Mute Math has a very worshipful element to them without writing predictable, corporate worship songs. That's just an element of who they are. You're assuming that sounding like modern worship is automatically a bad thing. It's only a bad thing when you sound, for lack of a better word, "typical".

Anyway, the drumming on that song, and the energy, and the massive hook, are just off the charts. That's my take on it. If you wanted to pick a song that had weak lyrics and perhaps was a bit guilty of catering to the "Just want to feel nice and fuzzy about God" crowd, I'd probably pick "OK" instead.

Dare You to Move has never been a favorite of mine, even before it really got exposure. Something about its whole concept strikes me as ridiculously cheesy.

Maybe I understand it differently than some people; to me the theme has always been "You're afraid to move because you might make a mistake, but if you really believe in redemption, that should be a fear that holds you back, so welcome to the human race". Part of the reason why I love it is because it was such an unorthodox opener on Learning to Breathe. I still prefer that version - Chad's drum fills are better and it's quirkier overall. They streamlined it a little too much when they re-recorded it.

As for Jars, I looked back just now at your reasoning, and I find that understandable. The original was one of my favorites of theirs, but to be honest, I haven't really listened to it a ton since I heard the new one. It just strikes me as a lot more musically interesting.

I've explained this before, but it bears repeating - if "Liquid" in its acoustic incarnation were the only version of the song, I'd find it interesting. It just lacks the power of the original. Even though the original kind of has dated production, it's so iconic of early Jars of Clay with the monks and slamming rhythms, and most importantly, the swirly guitar strumming. The new version is frustrating to sing along to if you know the old one (which always bugs me with covers/remixes/remakes/etc.) and it feels like they tried to hard to pull off a contemplative 180-degree genre-shift with it, like it was their version of "Hurt" or something.

I actually have everything of theirs since Science.

Then you know more than me.

I found Light Grenades to be a mildly disappointing album overall, but that song really stood out. And Love Hurts might be one of the worst lyrics I've ever heard from ANYONE. Diamonds and Coal is incredibly boring, but at least its not embarrassing. And I like Quicksand, but that might be my affinity for odd rhythms talking. And I know you're a lyric person, and its lyrics aren't amazing either.

Brandon could have definitely tried harder with the lyrics on "Love Hurts" - but there are a few lines here and there that I like. I'm disappointed that it's slated to be a future single, though.

Still, if you know their older stuff, I think it takes a lot not to be offended/irritated by the repeat shouts of "I'll f*** me in my own way!" in the title track from Make Yourself. Brandon's got a good vocabulary; there's just no excuse for that much vulgarity.

But I really do hate TEWS. It just feels extremely soulless compared to other heavy songs they've done in the past. Frankly, I'm not sure that they can write good heavy stuff anymore.

I love the whole "prison song" sound of it and the thick heaviness, plus the way that the rhythm morhps. I'm normally not a big fan of the whole "make part of your song sound like a really cheap, distant recording" technique, but given what the song's describing, it makes total sense to me.

Wasn't this the song that was based on a C.S. Lewis quote or something?

[Aaron]

I actually have everything of Incubus' since Science. I found Light Grenades to be a mildly disappointing album overall, but that song really stood out. And Love Hurts might be one of the worst lyrics I've ever heard from ANYONE. Diamonds and Coal is incredibly boring, but at least its not embarrassing. And I like Quicksand, but that might be my affinity for odd rhythms talking. And I know you're a lyric person, and its lyrics aren't amazing either.

I have all, including Fungus Amongus, the first album.  I still love S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

[spacebrat311]

I don't know, to me sounding like modern worship is ALWAYS a bad thing, but that's a personal issue of mine.

I get the same meaning out of Dare You to Move, I just think it expresses itself kind of obnoxiously.

And as for Incubus, cussing in general isn't something that I really notice, in a good way or a bad way, but that line is one of my favorite parts of "Make Yourself."

[NinjaRob17]

And I like Quicksand, but that might be my affinity for odd rhythms talking.

And here I thought I was the only one that liked that song. 

[murlough23]

I don't know, to me sounding like modern worship is ALWAYS a bad thing, but that's a personal issue of mine.

I had that issue for a while, too. Bands like Something Like Silas (and to a smaller extent, Mute Math) helped me to get over my knee-jerk reactions to things like that. Not everybody who takes on that sort of phrasing is doing it to cash in on a trend - especially when the musical style is nothing like your typical modern worship stuff.

In general, I've gotten to the point where I don't mind a modern worship-leaning song from an artist who isn't normally a "modern worship" band or whatever. What annoys me is when artists who are clearly capable of much more diveristy in their musical style and subject matter spend so much time trying to reinvent the modern worship wheel - like Newsboys and Third Day.

Just try not to throw the baby out with the bathwater on this one.

I get the same meaning out of Dare You to Move, I just think it expresses itself kind of obnoxiously.

How so?

And as for Incubus, cussing in general isn't something that I really notice, in a good way or a bad way, but that line is one of my favorite parts of "Make Yourself."

I've become a lot less of a prude about it (for example, I can handle the use of the phrase "fucked up" in songs by Over the Rhine and U2), but it still bothers me when the verb is directed at a person. In the case of "Make Yourself", it's just a poorly written and embarassing analogy. I don't want them to screw me so I'm gonna screw myself instead? Didn't need that visual.

[murlough23]

And here I thought I was the only one that liked that song. 

It's grown on me. I like it OK as an intro track. As a stand-alone it'd be rather meaningless to me, though.

[spacebrat311]

How so?

Purely personal preference, nothing solid or thoroughly justifiable, but just the wording of the chorus feels a little bit cheesy to me.

It's grown on me. I like it OK as an intro track. As a stand-alone it'd be rather meaningless to me, though.

I can actually agree with that. The transition has always made me think of it more as a part of "Kiss to Send us Off" than as a self-contained song, so I never really judged it on that basis.

[murlough23]

I can actually agree with that. The transition has always made me think of it more as a part of "Kiss to Send us Off" than as a self-contained song, so I never really judged it on that basis.

The way they chose where to segue to the next track bugs me. It seems like "A Kiss to Send Us Off" should start at its intro guitar riff, not with 14 seconds of melting strings that carry over from "Quicksand" (or however long it is).

But yeah, "Quicksand" is better with that segue. It's jarring if you put the album on random.

[danny316]

...I'll stick to commercially released material, for the sake of fairness. Some of these might be off-base due to limited knowledge of the artist in question. I'm excluding

artists I only have one album from, too. I skipped anybody I felt like I couldn't pick for (does Fiona Apple have a single "best" song?)

The Arcade Fire: Rebellion (Lies) / {Antichrist Television Blues} (yawn)
Audio Adrenaline: Good Life / My God
Barenaked Ladies: Falling for the First Time (or Be My Yoko Ono) / Go Home?
The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations / Surfing USA
The Beatles: A Day in the Life / Sie Liebt Dich (or Honey Pie, if you want a song in English)
dc Talk: Dive / Children Can Live (Without It)
The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 / The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Jars of Clay: Trouble Is / It Is Well With My Soul (or if you want an original, Scarlet)
Jennifer Knapp: His Grace Is Sufficient / When Nothing Satisfies (or maybe the live butchering of His Grace is Sufficient that came out last year)
Lifehouse: Spin / Undone
Matchbox 20: Disease / any non-single on their first album
Mortal: Rescinding / S.F.N.
Over the Rhine: Faithfully Dangerous / Blackbird (butchered! if you want an original, Il Est Don Mon Poche)
Pink Floyd: Money / Animals
Radiohead: How to Disappear Completely / You
Relient K: Pressing On / What Have You Been Doing Lately?
Sixpence None the Richer: Paralyzed (although I have a hard time picking a "best" here) / Tonight
Switchfoot: Dirty Second Hands / Spirit
U2: Love is Blindness / Jimi Hendrix's guitar solo (or for something they didn't steal, Rattle and Hum's "Still Haven't Found")

This is a bit more difficult than the other lists...

Barenaked Ladies: One Week/She's on Time

If that was any other band, you couldn't get away with picking that sort of novelty track. "When You Dream"? "Falling For the First Time"? "Who Needs Sleep"? "Be My Yoko Ono"?

"Pinch Me"? C'mon, they have quite a few songs better than "One Week", even if the others aren't as fun (You did say best and worst, not most and least favorite).

dc Talk: Supernatural/Let's Roll

I can agree on "Supernatural" - easily one of their best. I'm not sure that "Let's Roll" Was actually worse than most of Nu Thang, but heck, it's all embarassing enough in retrospect. There's really only a handful of dc Talk tracks that aren't on Jesus Freak or Supernatural and still hold up.

Jennifer Knapp: Diamond in the Rough/He's My Lord

Cheating on both counts! Both were fairly straightforward covers.

Mute Math: Control/Break the Same (which is still a pretty good song)

Why bother picking on them if they haven't had a low point yet?

Newsboys: Lost the Plot/I Got Your Number

Agreed entirely.

Sixpence None the Richer: Kiss Me/Love Letters in the Sand (tough call; "There She Goes" comes close.)

Whaaa?!? I'm guessing you're grading "Love Letters" on the lyrics (which they didn't write) instead of the arrangement (which they did a decent job with).


While I'm here, I've been meaning to ask you (Murlough): could you pub your remix of "Faithful to Me"?

Oh, and even though I'm not qualified to comment on the Who, I'll agree with Wildcat's best pick there. That song is awesome.

(yes, I really do make lists while lurking and save them to copy/paste later, mwahahahaha)

[murlough23]

Audio Adrenaline: Good Life / My God

I haven't heard all of Audio A's self-titled, but I do find it hard to imagine that anything else on it could be worse than "My God", so this was probably a wise decision.

Barenaked Ladies: Falling for the First Time (or Be My Yoko Ono) / Go Home?

I actually really like "Go Home", except for the unnecessary "Fuck yeah!" at the end.

The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 / The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song

Hey, no picking on my favorite Lips song.

Jars of Clay: Trouble Is / It Is Well With My Soul (or if you want an original, Scarlet)

Man, you're really hitting where it hurts now. "Scarlet" is a very personal one for me.

Jennifer Knapp: His Grace Is Sufficient / When Nothing Satisfies (or maybe the live butchering of His Grace is Sufficient that came out last year)

Dang, dude. I can't imagine much that is more heavenly than the combination of Jennifer Knapp, Margaret Becker, and Chris Thile.

Matchbox 20: Disease / any non-single on their first album

I'd say "Bright Lights" for my favorite Matchbox song, but "Disease" is up there, and yeah, their first album was pretty bad, singles notwithstanding.

Relient K: Pressing On / What Have You Been Doing Lately?

"What Have You Been Doing Lately?" is a tad judgmental, but it amuses me.

U2: Love is Blindness / Jimi Hendrix's guitar solo (or for something they didn't steal, Rattle and Hum's "Still Haven't Found")

I generally wouldn't label a 15-second sample of another artist's work as a band's worst material. The live version of "Still Haven't Found" would have worked really well if they had kept the music closer to the original, just with the Gospel choir added in.

If that was any other band, you couldn't get away with picking that sort of novelty track. "When You Dream"? "Falling For the First Time"? "Who Needs Sleep"? "Be My Yoko Ono"?

"Pinch Me"? C'mon, they have quite a few songs better than "One Week", even if the others aren't as fun (You did say best and worst, not most and least favorite).

They have songs with more to say and/or that are more musically complex than "One Week"... I love a great number of their songs for many different reasons. That's the most insanely fun one of the bunch, though, and it's not just a mindless hit single. I think it's kind of a witty stream-of-consciousness thing - a guy's having some messed-up fights with his girlfriend and he'd so much rather think about all of the random pop culture trivia than actually have a conversation and work things out with her. Classic guy mentality there.

I can agree on "Supernatural" - easily one of their best. I'm not sure that "Let's Roll" Was actually worse than most of Nu Thang, but heck, it's all embarassing enough in retrospect. There's really only a handful of dc Talk tracks that aren't on Jesus Freak or Supernatural and still hold up.

I haven't heard dc Talk's first two albums in their entirety, but I'm sure they're pretty bad. "Let's Roll" is just even more inexcusable because of its release date (they should have known better by 2002) and subject matter (9/11 deserved to have much better songs written about it that could actually be taken seriously - dc Talk just capitalized on a catchphrase there).

Cheating on both counts! Both were fairly straightforward covers.

Shawn Colvin's version of "Diamond" didn't have the mandolin, which was a beautiful addition. And choosing a cover doesn't mean that I think Jennifer didn't write some awesome original songs. (Let's see... I'll go with "Romans".) And who says I can't label a banal straightforward cover as an artist's worst? You want a worst original song? Alright, then, "All Consuming Fire". (Though I'm probably forgetting some Wishing Well tracks from the back half, and B-sides from The Collection.)

Why bother picking on them if they haven't had a low point yet?

To point out their highest of the high points, and to indicate that "Break the Same" bugs me with its repetition even though the core of the song is still good.

Whaaa?!? I'm guessing you're grading "Love Letters" on the lyrics (which they didn't write) instead of the arrangement (which they did a decent job with).

I hate the way that it's sung; I don't care if it sounds like the original or not, but it annoys me. I could have also said "There She Goes", though that's more due to resentment than anything else. If you want a worst original song, "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Sister, Mother" are pretty boring, and "An Apology" is really out of place. Happy now?