Collected Animals

Seems so long ago but feels still feels as fresh as ever to me. This may be due to the mix I made back in the day called 'the feeling store', where I combined all the lengthy live transitions with the studio versions of the feels era songs, which is what I still mostly listened to in the past few years when I got a feels itch.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm listening to The Feeling Store right now and its great and awesome. Thank you!

Dead Drunk: yeah, this feels like the natural progression of Terrestrial Tones. aside from Magic Trick sounding like a Blasted outtake, i'd say this is Terrestrial Tones at their most coherent, if not their best. i'm still surprised they had almost-discernible vocals at play this time. and far be it from me to disparage Oboroed, but i also have to appreciate how short, sweet, and to the point the tracks are here. by far my favorite is The Sailor, which sounds like Man of Oil's granddaddy and is the closest thing to a pop song on any of these three records. it kinda makes me wish they hadn't abandoned this little side project for 15 years and counting

bullseye wrote:

Seems so long ago but feels still feels as fresh as ever to me. This may be due to the mix I made back in the day called 'the feeling store', where I combined all the lengthy live transitions with the studio versions of the feels era songs, which is what I still mostly listened to in the past few years when I got a feels itch.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm listening to The Feeling Store right now and its great and awesome. Thank you!

Haha nice, I'm glad there are still people who are enjoying it!

Oh what!? That sounds awesome. Is it on YouTube or anything?

Not to my knowledge. I'll see if I can drop you a pm in the coming days, angelic chaos.

Someone already dropped me the present. Thank you though Bullseye! Hope you have a happy holidays

I’d love to hear this too if anyone is willing to share.

Sorry all, struggling to get time to do my usual replies at this time of year. Still loving reading everyone’s thoughts and still giving the records heaps of spins.

Time for:

WEEK 5: Dec 24 – Dec 30
MPP, Person Pitch, Fall Be Kind, Down There

Perfect time of year for these for me. Especially MPP.

Hoping I’ll be able to squeeze in some time to write down thoughts and chat with you all about these amazing records. All of these are peak AC so what a fucking week!

EDIT: just put on MPP and I’m in heaven. This album is just radiant. A beautiful crystal that shimmers with intense and blinding brilliance. It means so much to me.

Mpp is so fucking wild. Sometimes, I cant even believe ac wrote the songs (My gals) but when u go back to the live performances its all them. I love the sounds it puts in my ears. Summertime clothes, daily routine, bluish, they all sound so fucking good. I know its a point of contention since originally the songs were rather sparse comparatively. But damn they got blown the fuck up. Excited to talk about em

Recently I saw someone talk about how people in 2008 were anticipating mpp would be more dry and hard hitting, and while I LOVE the album and what they did with these songs, there is a part of me that longs for this hypothetical alternate universe mpp where it hits like a hard techno album and all the Avey screams are intact. I got into AC in 2008 and remember having similar thoughts about what the album could sound like.

The fact is that making a dry alternative/soul banger is an incredible idea, but close to impossible in reality. Unless you can guarantee that people will be listening at max volume. The magic of the album would have been drowned out by those dance sensibilities in most ears

Merriweather Post Pavilion: this is it. the best Animal Collective album. of course, i'm probably biased because it was my first, but, y'know

so, life story time, it's been 8 years and just over a month since i fell in love with this album (according to last.fm, which also says my second AC album was Campfire Songs? weird choice, 16-year-old me, but not a bad one). at first, my favorite songs were Summertime Clothes and Brother Sport because, due to an affliction i like to think i've mostly overcome since then, i thought pretending the most popular song on the album wasn't my favorite was the cool thing to do. again, weird choice, 16-year-old me

of course, since then, i've come to love every minute of this thing, and if you asked me 11 times what my favorite song was, you'd probably get 11 different answers. how could i choose between moments like "if i could just leave my body for the night" or "just... aaaa sec moooore... iiiin myyyy... beeee-eeeed" or or... you get the idea

i just really can't say anything bad about this album. how could i, when it's what made me an AC fan, broadened my horizons, and, in a way, turned me into the person i am today?

Fall Be Kind: of course, after a little while, 17-year-old me was like "i NEED more MPP" so i listened on Fall Be Kind and fell in love all over again. logic would suggest that, since MPP is my favorite AC LP, FBK would be my favorite AC EP, which is true, but to simply call it an AC EP almost feels like a disservice. it may be a collection of MPP outtakes, but it's consistent. it feels like a full experience. it stands toe to toe with some of their best albums and has some of their best songs. to this day, What Would I Want? Sky is my most scrobbled AC song, though most of that is probably due to how, um, obsessive 17-year-old me was when it came to listening to things they liked

but yeah, it's their best EP, maybe one of the best EPs of all time, and it's a perfect encapsulation of everything i love about Animal Collective. if you only have half an hour, that is

Mpp is so fucking wild. Sometimes, I cant even believe ac wrote the songs (My gals) but when u go back to the live performances its all them. I love the sounds it puts in my ears. Summertime clothes, daily routine, bluish, they all sound so fucking good. I know its a point of contention since originally the songs were rather sparse comparatively. But damn they got blown the fuck up. Excited to talk about em

Recently I saw someone talk about how people in 2008 were anticipating mpp would be more dry and hard hitting, and while I LOVE the album and what they did with these songs, there is a part of me that longs for this hypothetical alternate universe mpp where it hits like a hard techno album and all the Avey screams are intact. I got into AC in 2008 and remember having similar thoughts about what the album could sound like.

That was me Hellomark. Listening to those 07 shows definitely gave the impression that the progression from SJ was going to be more above moving from rock to trance/techno vibes. The lush production came as a surprise but I was sold from the very first listen. It was just so wild and impressive like FEEL said. The moment In The Flowers kicked in I was just overwhelmed but the majesty of it. Still love those early live shows for the intensity but MPP just sounds so incredible, even 12 years and hundreds of listens in.

any particularly intense, good quality early MPP boots you'd recommend? also

Person Pitch: more than being, in my opinion, the best solo Panda record (as well as the best AC solo record overall, though my opinion might change in the coming weeks - like i said, i've been slacking A LOT when it comes to new AC releases), this is also definitely one of my favorite plunderphonics records of all time. the way he loops 60's pop and vocal samples ad infinitum and adds effects to create the perfect atmosphere results in such a warm and inviting feeling, it's like the sound just begging you to get lost in it

the lyrics and, of course, Noah's vocals are excellent, too. even outside of the more personal stuff, there are some good life lessons here, like, you know what? coolness IS having the courage to do what's right, and i think a lot of people could stand to take a risk just for themselves and wade into the deep end of the ocean. again, it's hard to pick favorites, but Good Girl/Carrots is definitely up there for me

Person pitch and a lot of AC’s music around that time has this feeling like the individual sounds used in the songs were really meant to be in those songs. Like the union of aesthetic (sample, timbre, etc.) and songwriting were metaphysical necessities, eternal in their fate to become the best music ever. As good as they’ve remained, I think this is the key thing missing in modern AC and why their 2004-2010 era probably can’t be topped

summertime clothes live in LA 9/18/07 is my go-to for that era... it's mixed professionally but hot, so it has that crispy energy of the early versions in spades

Merriweather Post Pavilion: this is it. the best Animal Collective album. of course, i'm probably biased because it was my first, but, y'know

Either this or Feels for me. Really though, any of this classic 5 album run could justifiably be the greatest.

so, life story time, it's been 8 years and just over a month since i fell in love with this album (according to last.fm, which also says my second AC album was Campfire Songs? weird choice, 16-year-old me, but not a bad one). at first, my favorite songs were Summertime Clothes and Brother Sport because, due to an affliction i like to think i've mostly overcome since then, i thought pretending the most popular song on the album wasn't my favorite was the cool thing to do. again, weird choice, 16-year-old me

Ha! Campfire is a weird choice! Great album but yep, pretty random second explore to the band.
Those are definitely popular song choices! Are you saying My Girls is your favourite now? It definitely holds a special place for me. The moment my first child (a girl) was born the song became pretty personal.

Really, every song could justifiably be someone’s favourite. There is no weak point.

Fall Be Kind: of course, after a little while, 17-year-old me was like "i NEED more MPP" so i listened on Fall Be Kind and fell in love all over again. logic would suggest that, since MPP is my favorite AC LP, FBK would be my favorite AC EP, which is true, but to simply call it an AC EP almost feels like a disservice. it may be a collection of MPP outtakes, but it's consistent. it feels like a full experience. it stands toe to toe with some of their best albums and has some of their best songs. to this day, What Would I Want? Sky is my most scrobbled AC song, though most of that is probably due to how, um, obsessive 17-year-old me was when it came to listening to things they liked

but yeah, it's their best EP, maybe one of the best EPs of all time, and it's a perfect encapsulation of everything i love about Animal Collective. if you only have half an hour, that is

Agree that it is so consistent and such a brilliant companion to MPP. Never tire of it. Especially all of it. Yeh, all of it.

any particularly intense, good quality early MPP boots you'd recommend?

I love Charlottesville, Vienna and Melkweg. All top shelf!

Person pitch and a lot of AC’s music around that time has this feeling like the individual sounds used in the songs were really meant to be in those songs. Like the union of aesthetic (sample, timbre, etc.) and songwriting were metaphysical necessities, eternal in their fate to become the best music ever. As good as they’ve remained, I think this is the key thing missing in modern AC and why their 2004-2010 era probably can’t be topped

Definitely see that in PP and MPP. There is something so natural and effortless yet so rich and majestic in those albums. Every sample just so perfectly placed. Fucking bliss.

Still hoping to do so chunky af write ups for this week’s albums but in the meantime here are some short reviews/write ups on the absolutely untouchable PP and MPP:

PP:

Person Pitch is just so splendid, heart-warming and smile inducing. The delicious wash of loops, sound effects and sweet vocal harmonies are absolute joy for my ears. It yet again proved that Panda/Animal Collective can surprise at every turn but still deliver utterly exciting and original albums that satisfy both the experimental listeners and the pop fiends.

The whole thing sounds like it's taking place at a local swimming pool across the road... you can hear it, but you can't quite make out anything clearly... there are kids splashing around, and parents conversing over the barbeque. Joy, wonder, and discovery all freebird from its pores. And you can't help but smile knowing the fun that's being had. And then the lyrics give this whole other level of connection and empowerment. It is phenomenal.

MPP:

So much history (I followed the live boots from 2007 right through to release), so many memories (my first listen was walking around a small village in Japan in the snow at about midnight), so many emotions (songs like My Girls, Daily Routine and Also Frightened reflected my anticipatory thoughts on settling down/parenthood perfectly and In the Flowers and Bluish mirrored my falling for my wife {right down to the curly hair}) and the sounds... the sounds are whole new story. Incredible.

The greatest album of all time for me. Certainly on a personal/emotional level. The band's eccentric experimental pop is elevated to divine levels by the lush sonics and sweet beats. The lyrics, as stated, are particularly personal and evocative for me. I adore the way they managed to maintain the kind of primal energy of the early days whilst still creating something so elegant and masterful. I feel like this is their moment of self-actualisation. A true peak experience.

there are very few albums i feel completely confident giving a 10/10, but mpp is one of those albums. i'm still discovering new things in the mix, finding new layers to pay attention to and enjoy, and it's been almost a decade and a half now of regular-to-semi-regular listening. it was so amazing to be there when it dropped too; after (in my opinion) three masterpieces in a row, for them to have out-masterpieced them all, i almost can't believe it now but it made perfect sense back then that the band my friend and i had seen in a tiny venue just a few years prior were about to blow the fuck up and start playing arenas and shit. and for how poppy mpp is, it's still experimental as fuck, so it never felt like a sell-out. a once-in-a-lifetime kind of album (well, maybe twice-in-a-lifetime once time skiffs drops)

speaking of AC solo records i haven't heard before

Down There: yeah, it's pretty good. i can definitely see myself liking it more after another listen or two, and on first listen, my favorite track is Laughing Hieroglyphic. i love the cold, sparse, and somewhat uneasy sound this album has, which, at some points, almost makes it sound like a stripped-back precursor to ChZ and PW. it works really well for these songs and really drives the point home that this is one of the saddest and loneliest points in Dave's life, that this is his swampy, bummed-out breakup album. i'm sorry it didn't work out, Dave

down there has some incredible vibes... i always get lost in the middle section of the album, after oliver twist, in a good way. so swampy and ethereal. i'm definitely glad he went in a happier direction with cows on hourglass pond, but it's nice to have down there as the heartfelt sonic document of darkness that it is

rattling off some thoughts on this era

•pandas background vocals on bluish make me happy everytime. such a little thing but god it's so nice!
• i think i can is such a great jam, the vocal layering in the outro is insane. pandas self assuring lyrics feel kinda parallel to brosport where he's assuring his brother.
• graze pan flutes is a GOAT moment
• down there does rule, ditto to what everyone else said!!! Heather in the hospital my choice for sleeper hit track. melody is real nice on my ears + transition into lucky 1 is classic
• the take pills 7inch cover art was my phones lock screen for years! person pitch era art rules so much, thank you Agnes Montgomery

Recently I saw someone talk about how people in 2008 were anticipating mpp would be more dry and hard hitting, and while I LOVE the album and what they did with these songs, there is a part of me that longs for this hypothetical alternate universe mpp where it hits like a hard techno album and all the Avey screams are intact. I got into AC in 2008 and remember having similar thoughts about what the album could sound like.

"hard techno album and all the Avey screams are intact" could easily apply to Strawberry Jam, in retrospect I'm glad they went with much wetter/more reverb-heavy production for MPP so they didn't repeat themselves. the Water Curses EP is almost like a perfect middle ground between the two

I'm still a week behind due to covid but wanted to get in some thoughts about Strawberry Jam before it's too late. listening to these songs for the first time in awhile, I find the dichotomy between wet and dry production really striking. the relentless percussion, beats and rhythms are almost bone-dry while some of the more colorful samples sound really wet and floppy, I think the juxtaposition makes everything stand out so much more than it otherwise would, almost makes it seem like the wet bits are like living organs you can make out between the bones of a skeleton. Avey's vocals are also so dry it comes across as painful, like having a sore throat or losing your voice

the steel drum on peacebone is a great example of all this, but also Chores with that really repetitive rhythm section almost getting stuck like a CD skipping but then the watery synth sample comes in and sort of fills in the gaps and provides the lubricant for getting the song unstuck. I've always found that song to be so genius, you hardly notice the watery synth under all of the chaos of the first half but then the entire song slows way the fuck down and dissolves into just that part and it sounds so beautiful. the structure of the track fits so perfectly with the lyrics too, about slowing down to truly appreciate something mundane like "a walk in the light drizzle" - the intense heat of the song's machinery suddenly falls away and reveals something so peaceful and refreshing as PB is suddenly free when "no-one's watching". I've always found PB's solo live version of the track to be just as fascinating, focusing on just that slow-motion part

Captain:

100% agree. Considering how much I adore the 4 albums prior, it still blows me away just how good MPP is. Fingers crossed that you’re right about Skiffs!

Madame:

Incredible to think about how much joy and wonder you have sitting there ready to discover. I’m jealous of your relative AC virginity. So much incredible music. Glad you enjoyed your first listen to Down There.

LeadHat:

I Think I Can is just masterful. Still leaves my jaw on the floor every time. Graze flutes we’re such an immediate and defining part of the very first MPP jams. Still love the flashback every time I play FBK.

Agnes’ PP art is my favourite of any AC related stuff. Some of the only AC art I’d put on my wall.

Scrambled:

Awesome to see someone who appreciates Chores! Absolute album highlight and a real anomalous Panda track. One of a kind brilliance. Love your thoughts on the wet/dry thing too.


DOWN THERE:
I often think of PP, MPP and DT as the siblings of a family. I imagine DT as the black sheep of this family. PP is the laid back older brother who just makes everything look easy. He succeeds without even trying. MPP is the second child who has worked their guts out to outdo the first. They’re the most successful and the most impressive but they’ve really put in the work to get there. DT is the forgotten child. The ‘accident’. The black sheep of the family. Wayward, troubled and less approachable. However, once you get to know them they offer their own version of success. Less flashy and more weighed down by life’s challenges but equally fascinating and rewarding.

Probably the best instance of the cover and album title absolutely perfectly fitting the music within. This is swampy, muddy, dark music.. Where PP was like listening to the kids at the pool over the road, DT is like a tour through a marshland at night. You can almost see the alligators lurking around the boat. I love the way Dave took what he had learned from Noah and the last couple of years and twisted into something really personal and insular. It’s one of the their most unique albums.

Was inspired by this thread to put on MPP on during a Christmas day solo drive and listen to it really loud. Great time. My biggest takeaway this time is that the mixing is kind of a small miracle. Especially considering what they'd do with CHZ it feels like MPP could have ended up being a complete disaster but they made it work .

almost makes it seem like the wet bits are like living organs you can make out between the bones of a skeleton.

Yes. All music should sound like this lol

oh, i've got joy and wonder alright, i get to experience ODDSAC for the first time next week! i still don't know if my first time should be with or without the visuals...

oh, i've got joy and wonder alright, i get to experience ODDSAC for the first time next week! i still don't know if my first time should be with or without the visuals...

With!! With for sure!! It's a visual album and aside from being in 360p (WHYYY?) it's such a fun watch. Has some of their best songs they've ever written period too. Mr fingers and What Happened comes to mind.

Was inspired by this thread to put on MPP on during a Christmas day solo drive and listen to it really loud. Great time. My biggest takeaway this time is that the mixing is kind of a small miracle. Especially considering what they'd do with CHZ it feels like MPP could have ended up being a complete disaster but they made it work .

Yes! I remember a similar experience a few years back. Driving solo from Sydney to Canberra (about 3.5 hours) and blasting this right in the middle of it. Sounds amazing on a good car stereo. That bass! I turned it up as loud as I could and just belted out every moment.

Just put the album on again now. As I said, struggling to get the time for a big song by song write up at this time of year but I just need to reiterate again that this album means the absolute world to me and I’m standing in my kitchen getting emotional rn.

madameghostly wrote:

oh, i've got joy and wonder alright, i get to experience ODDSAC for the first time next week! i still don't know if my first time should be with or without the visuals...

With!! With for sure!! It's a visual album and aside from being in 360p (WHYYY?) it's such a fun watch. Has some of their best songs they've ever written period too. Mr fingers and What Happened comes to mind.

Screen and Kindle Song are smangers as well. Even the ambient bits are amazing. ODDSAC is amazing!

working and tantrum barb too!

So much gold on ODDSAC that I don’t get to listen to often enough. Next week is going to be a killer.
Really wish I’d had more time this week to deeply dig into my love for these albums. Christmas eh.

sick with covid now so i should have more time to listen and stuff. the last few weeks had been so busy, and i messed up and accidentally went from SJ/WC to MPP without listening to Person Pitch lol. Also forgot to listen to Down There before Tomboy, but I'll just add DT to my next week listening. Anyways, Tomboy is a record that continues to grow on me.

Very unique and cavernous sounding. Panda really went all out for that one. I still feel like some songs overstay their welcome (Friendship Bracelet, Drone, the title track, and Alsatian Darn), but pretty much everything else is wonderful

Getting into this super late. Not much I feel like I can add to the conversation about MPP, PP, or FBK, but I think there are some underappreciated aspects to each one.

MPP: Lion In a Coma and No More Runnin are super underrated. Lion in a coma is this odd-time signatured little freak thing, with this bouncy springy african sound. I don't know why it's considered a weaker track on MPP, I even used to think the same, but to me it's just as great as anything else. It's got a rollin bounce similar to Summertime Clothes. The jungle atmosphere with panda's ghostly wails in the distance in the "This wilderness up in my head" sections, "Please don't leave me, things that feel good" always reminds me of Blue Jay Way from The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, "Please don't be long, please don't you be very long". And then the way the song quiets down into the bridge with avey's whispered vocals until it explodes again is peak AC songwriting I think.

No More Runnin didn't hit me until very recently. It's very clearly the albums lullaby. I think this songs greatness really shines in its bridge section. The vocals suddenly become the grooviest part of the song and have this pocket feel that really highlights how AC doesn't just know how to write vocal melodies and harmonies, but also how to craft rhythms. It's a very jazzy call and response thing, part of why I think they decided to play this song in the skiffs tours

Bleed is the closest I think the Fall Be Kind EP gets to the feeling of literal falling, but slowly, through water, theres light and air on the other side, gravity be damned. The vocals and lyrics add to this very free-associative feeling you get on albums like Remain In Light or Kid A

I Think I Can might just be one of the most awe-inspiring songs ever. A word that rings through my head in the early portions of this song is "cascade". It's just a stupidly creative song that I can barely wrap my head around. Everything in Fall Be Kind is so "swirly".

I'm Not and Search for Delicious are great reprieves from the colossal epics that surround them. I'm Not has that gregorian chant sample that is so otherworldly sounding, while having these crooning vocals weaving throughout.

I'm going to talk about the first half of the original search for delicious first (Laugh for A world filled with fantasy) If only this would have made it onto the album proper, the duo of 10+ minute dub epics would have been a trilogy. "run-a-run-a-run-a-run-a wanna runaway" just sounds so straight out of the smile sessions it's kind of absurd. And that rollicking sample beat behind it is just so soothing and fun, it sounds like it's literally begging to be put on the record but for whatever reason didn't make it. When the scott walker sample comes in with and the beat starts behind it along with pandas vocals, I swear we are hearing a very VERY early version of what would become the song "Alsatian Darn", one of my favorites from tomboy. And then we have the Search for Delicious section, this extremely moody piece that has falsetto vocals similar to I'm not, It's like waking up to the afterglow of an LSD trip on the beach.

Bonus: Bonfire of the Vanities. What a cool freaking song man. This song very clearly seems to repurpose the beginning sample from "Derek" (Though I'm not quite sure which came first, but I'd guess derek). And then a perfectly placed Erik Satie sample that gives these menacing overtones to the track, something throughout the person pitch era that I think is overlooked, there is a lot of darkness to be found. It's also interesting how the sample (not sure of the source) "Like an ordinary man" sounds like it could still be Noah's voice, which I'd be willing to bet is something he realized given how it's integrated.

Slippi you’ve lost the plot!

Slothrope - Lion in a Coma is brilliant! I love how unique it’s vibe is. No More Runnin is just beautiful. Not sure if this one is underrated or not but I think it is an absolute highlight. The harmonies might be their best ever.

Agree that Laughed For A World… would have been amazing on PP. Bonfire too for that matter. That said, maybe PP is so perfect partly because of the careful selection of tracks.

Time to officially welcome:

WEEK 6: Dec 31 – Jan 6
Oddsac, CHz, Honeycomb/Gotham, Tomboy, Keep, Transverse Temporal Gyrus

Bonus: Bonfire of the Vanities. What a cool freaking song man. This song very clearly seems to repurpose the beginning sample from "Derek" (Though I'm not quite sure which came first, but I'd guess derek). And then a perfectly placed Erik Satie sample that gives these menacing overtones to the track, something throughout the person pitch era that I think is overlooked, there is a lot of darkness to be found. It's also interesting how the sample (not sure of the source) "Like an ordinary man" sounds like it could still be Noah's voice, which I'd be willing to bet is something he realized given how it's integrated.

agreed, bonfire is unlike anything noah has made before or since. to me this sounds like noah doing 90s hip hop (dilla used 404s right? pardon my ignorance), but not just because of the production; the vocals have so much attitude and swagger.

half remembering things here but I think the reason bonfire didn't make PP was that noah felt the samples weren't differentiated enough from their source. maybe that was laughed, maybe both. not sure

half remembering things here but I think the reason bonfire didn't make PP was that noah felt the samples weren't differentiated enough from their source. maybe that was laughed, maybe both. not sure

it was definitely the scott walker sample from laughed

roopn wrote:

half remembering things here but I think the reason bonfire didn't make PP was that noah felt the samples weren't differentiated enough from their source. maybe that was laughed, maybe both. not sure

it was definitely the scott walker sample from laughed

Thanks, makes sense

A few weeks late so sorry to mix up the timeline here but I found a copy of Dead Drunk yesterday and am listening to maybe the first time? or at least the first time in nearly a decade. The disc I got says recorded in 2005 and to me this album kind of feels like the lost bridge between Feels and SJ. Coming off the prettiness of Feels its cool to hear Avey playing all of these harsh and grotesque Black Dice type sounds and plant the seeds for that vibe that would come out on Strawberry Jam. In foxtrot's posts on this album he mentioned how cool it is to have things like this in their wider discography and I totally agree. Going from AC album to AC album it can often feel like they're jumping around dramatically but when you trace the lines through all of the solo and side project records you can start to connect the dots and see where it all comes together as one piece of the bigger picture.

Alright back to your regular programming here.

just have to say this journey has been more than sufficient in biding my time waiting for Skiffs

how is it New Years Eve? not that i want to stop time because i'm still impatient for TS, but i'm lamenting the fact i'm two weeks behind on this listening schedule and kinda -- weirdly -- want time to stop for a bit so i can catch up and give these albums their due???

shout out to this thread in general... I got over my thing of not wanting to listen to early stuff for various reasons and been digging all of it...

got spirit/danse double-cd for car and it mostly sounds amazing... I wanna get Ark on cd too... MPP era feels familiar in a way pre-SJ stuff hasn't for a while so its been sick af digging back in and just chilling with these stone cold classics I hadn't heard in forever

ODDSAC is MPP era's secret masterpiece. Those songs are insane.. dont really fit into a single era... like wild SJ/MPP overlap studio-only madness.