Collected Animals

They honestly didn't seem to change a ton in the way they played/performed. People's issue with studio CHZ seems to be the production/mixing. Which I kinda get... hearing the way these Skiffs singles sound puts it into even more relief how CHZ sounds perfectly kind of like... all the sounds are kinda squashed together. Sometimes I actually like the effect a lot, like for most of it.

Things get a little overly dense for me maybe on Mercury, but for the most part, I like how their structurally weird but instrumentally LESS-weird (than usual) take on pop rock is put thru this squished, compacted and compressed FM radio filter. Idk.

dio wrote:

opposite field wrote:

Monkey Riches is their arena rock song

shit, I still think the later leg of CHZ touring was their arena rock parody phase. 2013 had insane set lists not necessarily in a good way to me. Peacebone, My Girls, Brothersport, and Purple Bottle all potentially showing up, often with the big NTB/Monkey Riches twofer. Interesting look for the band, but gimme PW + Jeremy tour vibes or most recent 4-man Dave-on-Bass set-up over it anyway (and its the first live version of them I saw!)

lol for sure. That's the only tour I've seen the full band on and I had some mixed experiences. Even now I look at setlists and I'm like these SHOULD be sick but they just don't land completely.

I should listen to Live at 9:30 again but my memory of it is a less listenable live AC than usual despite the insane full-of-hits set

Tropic wrote:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9WVVWSdlSk&ab_channel=Pitchfork[/youtube]

i mean... i guess i can see how someone would think the studio version sounds improved compared to this, but my mind hasn't exactly been blown, and my opinion on the studio version being a perfectly good translation of how they played it live hasn't really been swayed

i dunno, i guess i had to be there

Demoitis doesn't work moving backwards

demotitis spreads like a ripple effect outward in time and space in all directions upon point of impact

i wish they played bluish on the chz tour more

when CHz was coming out i wasn't listening to boots so i had no idea what to expect, TS is probably the first time i'll get to experience demoitis for the full band now that i think about it.

anyway, i listened to the first show in 2011 where they debuted the CHz songs. monkey riches does sound different. the rhythm of it feels relentless, like i'm caught in a wave being carried out to sea or something. studio version doesn't give me that feeling as much.

all in all though i don't see a huge downgrade from live to studio for the album.

Hard to go lower than zero

it’s probably the least spiritual song Avey’s ever written

Why am I still looking for a golden age?
You tell me that I ought to have a golden wage
Every time I look up at that blurry sun
All I think about are spirits floating up
Everybody ought to get that special glance
Why does dawn leave everybody home with chance?

????

Avey was looking into the future and had to put his dread to song

^ Fkn actually. Also "Everytime i look up at that blurry sun all i think about are spirits floating up" is one of my favorite avey lines

Monkey Riches is good imo but it was the song that suffered the most from the cluttered production Centipede Hz has. I think it would land a lot better if it was produced more like the songs on Painting With (although obviously it would clash stylistically lol)

Centipede Hz was the most I ever listened to boots before an AC album but luckily I didn't end up with demoitis for most of the songs besides Monkey Riches and Mercury Man (I still miss the original lyrics)

Cooper wrote:

it’s probably the least spiritual song Avey’s ever written

Why am I still looking for a golden age?
You tell me that I ought to have a golden wage
Every time I look up at that blurry sun
All I think about are spirits floating up
Everybody ought to get that special glance
Why does dawn leave everybody home with chance?

????

I wasnt inferring his intention lol. It’s his least successfully spiritual song. I’m speaking of spirituality in objective/aesthetic terms not like personal religion

Mercury man in the 2011 p4k boot sounds like black dice