Stranger than Fiction, Larger Than Life: the Finn Brothers song-by-song discussion thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Lance LaSalle, Jan 21, 2019.

  1. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    OUr votes for "Red Wine Bottle"

    1-0
    2-0
    3-3
    4-6
    5-1
    Average: 3.71
     
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  2. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Today's song is "Bodhisatva Blues", written by Liam Finn & Ed O'Brien, produced by Neil Finn & Neil Baldock; Recorded and mixed by Neil Baldock.

    Lyric.

    Neil Finn: vocals, bass, electric piano
    Ed O'Brien: Vocals, electric guitar
    Jeff Tweedy: guitar, vocals
    Johnny Marr & Liam Finn: guitar
    Elroy Finn: drums
     
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  3. drewrclv9

    drewrclv9 Forum Resident

    "Bodhisattva Blues" - I'm thankful that guitar intro is short. It's really annoying sounding. The electric piano/drums coming in is a godsend. Whoever does the "oh" vocals at the beginning sounds like Weezer vocalist Rivers Cuomo to me. Then towards the end, Neil busts out the "yelling McCartney" vocal style, which I think sounds good. One of the funnier terms to come out of this thread to me is "shouty Neil," and we certainly get some of that here, and also in tomorrow's song. I generally don't mind Neil of the shouty variety so long as it isn't truly obnoxious. Of course, it's all a matter of personal taste in vocal styles as to what constitutes as obnoxious.

    I like the rhythm and groove of the song, and other than the intro guitar part, I do like the instrumentation a lot actually. I guess my biggest issue with this song is that it sounds like it should be playing during the intro or ending credits of a movie. This isn't necessarily bad, but it makes me tune out as I listen a bit, as movie music to me really only exists to complement a scene or serve as background noise most of the time. Still, I do mostly enjoy the song for what it is, but it's not one I think is great, like many others are on this album.

    3.3/5
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2021
  4. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    B-side city as far as I'm concerned but a super-cool and enjoyable B-side, if you ask me, despite the lyrics (travel again) being kind of inscrutable. It's ultra catchy , it sticks in your head, mainly because of the tried and true blues progression-- the Rivers Cuomo comparison is probably spot on and isn't the first time WEezer has come in relation to Liam's work. Though Liam apparently doesn't sing on this.

    Shouty Neil, but doesn't bother me.

    3.5/5
     
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  5. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    Bodisattva Blues - I like the extended “0h”s that turn up in several parts and I like the first verse. And that is all that I like. I can’t stand the annoying guitar intro, which raises its head again at the end, this time with some cacophonous keyboards. And we get a very large dose of pointlessly shouty Neil.

    Oy.

    1.5/5
     
  6. StefanWq

    StefanWq Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallentuna, Sweden
    "Bodisattva Blues" sounds like a song that evolved out of a fun jamming session. I can imagine this one would have great energy at a concert, as a kind of spur-of-the-moment letting-off-some-steam song. Listening to this studio version in my earphones here at home, however, it really sounds like an unnecessary filler on a 24-track album. The guitar riff at the beginning quickly grates, the lyrics aren't that interesting and overall the song doesn't feel all that original. If making the album a double album so that Oxfam would receive more money, that's all very well, but from an artistic point of view there aren't in my opinion enough good songs to justify a double album.
    2/5
     
  7. jcr64

    jcr64 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I think I'm going to be the outlier here--I really like "Bodisattva Blues," from the intentionally grating guitar intro on. I agree that this must have grown out of a jam, as there's not a lot of substance here, but there's a clear sense of fun. The smooth group vocals contrast nicely with shouty Neil, who I think is deployed to great effect here. This track is on my cut-down playlist of The Sun Came Out.

    4/5
     
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  8. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    "Bodhisattva Blues" is another one that misses the cut for my 10-track distillation of The Sun Came Out (most of the best songs are on the second disc, I think). There's enough here to make me not want to skip this one, but the main hook for me is the electric piano and rhythm section. The guitars are mostly annoying and the vocals seem forced for some reason. I count this one as being thoroughly mediocre.

    2.8/5

    (I had honestly never heard the adjective "shouty" in all of my 53 years until participating in this thread!)
     
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  9. StefanWq

    StefanWq Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallentuna, Sweden
    Out of curiosity, which 10 tracks are included on your distillation of the album?
     
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  10. HitAndRun

    HitAndRun Forum Resident

    Bodhisattva Blues

    This is an interesting song. The guitar intro is a bit annoying I will agree. But, the song develops and the longer it goes on the better it gets. It's interesting and original - in parts better than others. Neil sings it well and it's interesting hearing him sing a song like this. It does take a bit for it to get going. But, there are some interesting and enjoyable bits of the perhaps cluttered production.

    3/5
     
  11. KangaMom

    KangaMom Queen of the Quokkas

    Bodhisattva Blues - Well that guitar intro is excruciating isn't it? It hurts my ears - but the rest of the song is ok, probably because as @Lance LaSalle has already mentioned the pretty steady blues progression. Normally I'm ok with "shouty" Neil but I'm not convinced it works here. In fact, in a jam situation I would much rather hear Tim cut loose with a vocal than Neil.

    It's an ok song - but again the guitar thing is kinda killing me

    3/5
     
  12. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    Was going to post that when we do the album wrap-up, but I'm not sure if Lance is planning a day to discuss the album or not, so here it is:

    • Johnny Marr/Neil Finn - "Too Blue"
    • Jeff Tweedy - "You Never Know"
    • Liam Finn/Neil Finn - "Learn To Crawl"
    • Don McGlashan - "Girl, Make Your Own Mind Up"
    • Neil Finn - "All Comedians Suffer"
    • Glenn Richards - "Duxton Blues"
    • KT Tunstall - "Hazel Black"
    • Tim Finn - "Riding The Wave"
    • John Stirratt - "Over & Done"
    • Don McGlashan - "Long Time Gone"
    With "All Comedians Suffer" and "Long Time Gone" being the two best songs on the album.
     
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  13. jimbutsu

    jimbutsu WATCH YÖUR STEPPE

    Nothing really to say about this one - it's got a very "Paul McCartney when he's not trying very hard" feel to it.

    3/5
     
  14. jcr64

    jcr64 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Interesting. My 12-song playlist has a lot of overlap with your list, but some significant differences too
    :
    Too Blue
    You Never Know
    Little by Little
    Learn to Crawl
    Black Silk Ribbon
    Red Wine Bottle
    Bodisattva Blues
    All Comedians Suffer
    Duxton Blues
    Hazel Black
    Riding the Wave
    Long Time Gone
     
  15. drewrclv9

    drewrclv9 Forum Resident

    This is exactly my playlist, minus "Riding the Wave" (which I may have to re-evaluate & add when we go over it), and plus "Girl, Make Your Own Mind Up", "Run in the Dust", and "Reptile".
     
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  16. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I will hold it up on the same day as I hold up the live concert movie, since many of you are more into this album than I am. I tend to just split it up and use it as bonus tracks to contemporaneous Wilco or Finn releases. I also like reading these alternate track-lists!
     
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  17. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Our votes for "Bodhisattva Blues":

    1-0
    2-2
    3-5
    4-2
    5-0
    Average: 2.9
     
  18. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    Today's song is "All Comedians Suffer", written by Neil Finn and produced by Neil Finn & Jim Scott; engineered and mixed by Jim Scott.

    Lyric.

    This song was released only on the limited edition double-CD and vinyl and the (unlimited) double digital release.

    Neil Finn: vocals, electric guitar
    Liam Finn: electric guitar, bass guitar, vocals
    Jeff Tweedy: electric guitar
    Pat Sansone: acoustic guitar
    Glenn Kotche: drums
     
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  19. drewrclv9

    drewrclv9 Forum Resident

    "All Comedians Suffer" - Brilliant. Simultaneously one of my favorite Neil verses and choruses in one song. The chorus has a "late 90's/early 2000's Neil" kind of sound, which is a period of his I love; specifically thinking of the song he wrote for Mark Lizotte, "Burning Water". Musically, I love the dueling electric guitar in the chorus. This is almost two songs in one, with the conventional first 2 minutes, and the fittingly wild last 2 minutes, where Neil gets so passionate that he ends up sounding like Bono on a song from The Joshua Tree. Perfectly justified, of course, considering the songs' theme.

    Then there's the lyrical content. I believe I read somewhere that this song's about Paul (could be wrong), but it could well be used to describe comedic minds in general. Reading through all the lyrics for the first time now, I seemed to have sort of "tuned out" or never fully heard clearly some of the later lines in the song, specifically "and you laugh, as he pulls his gun." Man, what a weight that adds to the song. Really sad and too true for many comedians, unfortunately. I have a new appreciation for the "unraveling" sound the song progresses into after reading through the lyrics.

    I've traditionally always loved this song for it's first 2 minutes. Now, though, having really sat down and analyzed all of it's content for the first time, I have a newfound appreciation for the existence of the wild, "off the rails" ending, which I used to find kind of unnecessary. Really just a masterful piece of music all around.

    5/5
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2021
  20. robcar

    robcar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    "All Comedians Suffer" is such a great song. I believe that the lyrics were inspired by Paul Hester. Here we have another wonderful Neil marriage of verse and chorus, with a fantastic bridge to go along with it. I love the guitars here courtesy of Neil and Jeff Tweedy. The stacked father/son vocals on the verses are also brilliantly done and instantly create a tense, unstable atmosphere. This is reinforced by the truly manic vocal by Neil on the bridge. This is an edgy, brilliant song that was just perfectly realized during these sessions. I definitely rate this as one of the essential Neil Finn songs of the last 15 years. For me, it's THE highlight of this album. It's artistic yet gorgeously melodic at the same time.

    5/5
     
  21. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    All Comedians Suffer - Having read the two posts before mine, yes, I can appreciate the artistry and meaning in the lyrics, and how the song gets increasingly manic and desperate-sounding as it goes on. But this song just does absolutely nothing for me. It’s harsh, angular, and grating (which may be the intent), and verges on unlistenable for me.

    1.75/5
     
  22. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    I'm in between. There's something about it that feels like it was a masterpiece, but for me it just doesn't connect nearly as well as I think it should. I mean, there's a lot of masterful things going on, not least that time change between verse and chorus, I mean, it's like the whole song goes into slow motion in this really cool way. I like the images of the lyric and overall, I love the song...but to me it just doesn't affect me in the way my favorite songs do. I like it while it's playing and when I think about this album this is the song that I think of first; but for me it's one of Neil's lesser "great" songs.

    3.7/5
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2021
  23. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Bod Blues: like others, I find the song to be enjoyable enough but that guitar riff really does kill it. Even so, once we get past it, the rest is good fun. 3/5.

    All Comedians Suffer: I like this less. Clearly, Neil is experimenting with melodic form, and I like how the awkward, edgy verse gives way to a smoother chorus. It's a shame because the chorus is really good - I'd love to hear it wedded to a more enjoyable verse. But the verse really isn't something I'd choose to listen to. 2/5. I wonder whether there's an edit I could execute that might help...
     
  24. ToneM

    ToneM Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham, UK
    All Comedians Suffer

    I also find the verse a little irritating in its stop/startiness, and it's a relief when it opens out into the far more appealing expansive chorus. I quite enjoy the first half, up until the rawk solo kicks in, giving way to Screamy Neil (I don't mind Shouty Neil, but here he's turning it up to 11).

    There are some very nice parts of the song that recall classic Neil, but overall it's a patchwork that doesn't function as a whole or emotionally resonate with me.

    3/5
     
  25. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus Thread Starter

    You can probably file this along with songs like "In My Command" or "Hole In the Ice" (or the original Mullanes version of "Now We're Getting Somewhere" or the Deluxe Woodface rehearsal version of "Fall At Your Feet"...etc) of rather harsh verses juxtoposed with thise dreamy melodic choruses. I'm afraid I like those (IMC and HOTI) better than this though, for a number of reasons.
     

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