I'm starting a thread about the Barenaked Ladies.

[bono_212]

That band died for me when that song came out.

 

[IWasBored]

That song, plus the album cover. Then there was shopping (although it was funny live, I recall there being carts and goofy dancing and lots of Cheerios). Maybe Katie is catchy as all hell, but it's kind of lousy in its own right. The end was certainly nigh.

But war on drugs. Especially live. Couldn't quite call it the end just yet with that song happening at the same time.

Every time i post in this thread, I consider dredging up the tl;dr long winded thread, and decide against it.

 

[bono_212]

I mark it as a decided turn of events, where they were actively trying to write songs just to be quirky, instead of feeling like the songs were naturally good/funny. Not sure if that makes sense.

Though I've said before, I'm still glad that "Easy" exists, so I don't wish they'd broken up or anything, I just really hate "Another Postcard"

 

[IWasBored]

It does make sense. It's sort of how every Ed vocals rap-type song sounded like an attempt at re-creating one week after that song's success (something another postcard was guilty of), and was irritating as a result (although pinch me is great--on a side note, I use the word punch so often that my phone wouldn't let me write pinch without changing it to punch).

 

[bono_212]

Pinch Me was going to be my response to your claim if you hadn't mentioned it yourself. Great, great song. Probably the biggest reason I became a fan of the band, really. I own the CD single of that one.

EDIT: Maroon is full of great songs that do the exact opposite of what "Another Postcard" does, come to think of it. Like in "Pinch Me" where you have what is, generally, a depressing existential crisis-type song, but still has the "I just made you say underwear" line in it, to keep things from being too down.

Then you have "Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel" which, were it not for the calliope music, would be the most depressing song ever written.

 

[IWasBored]

Oh, I love maroon. Conventioneers and sell, sell, sell keep it from being an album where I skip nothing when I listen to it. But it's great. There are some specific songs off pirate ship that I hold in much higher regard than anything off maroon, and as a result I've been known to call pirate ship my favorite bnl album. But overall in terms of album quality, I'd rank some sort of maroon stunt tie as their best. I can't totally take maroon over stunt, there are literally no shitty songs on stunt. But maroon is awesome, and probably the best of the bnl shows I went to was the one on the maroon tour. I've still got that t shirt, too.

Fun fact: there are two songs I've ever heard in my entire life that had the ability to make me cry. Tonight is the night I fell asleep at the wheel is the second. That sort of makes me want to hate it, but yes, the offset of creepy circus music coupled with some of the most depressing lyrics (it's the ending really that kills me), make it so good.

 

[bono_212]

The part where he says, "And you, you're the last thing on my mind" does murder my soul into about 5 billion pieces. Some fantastic lyricism in that song. Love the circular quality connecting the beginning and end. Top 5 song of theirs for me.

 

[IWasBored]

Yeah, that's the part I was talking about. I can't make a top any number list. I can't do it without leaving off I live with it every day and this is where it ends, even though comparatively to other better songs, they hardly deserve to rank. Those two plus the old apartment (which would definitely be my #1 though) rounded out this perfect trifecta for me when I was 14, when combined lyrically hit on pretty much every bit of misery,isolation, and depression that I was feeling at the time. So there's no way I'd be able to leave them off a top 5. Call and Answer kicks i live with it every day in the face with a steel toed boot song-wise, but would risk getting lopped off a top 5 in favor of the one that is just way personally important to me.




Maybe You Should Drive is fairly underrated outside of Jane and Life, in a nutshell. The entire first half of that album is good, and I will always be a big fan of you will be waiting, a, intermittently, everything old is new again. I give it a listen every couple years to see if suddenly I've changed my mind on the latter half (minus nutshell, cos that song is great), and I never quite get it. Granted, little tiny song hardly counts for anything, but alternative girlfriend*, the great provider, the wrong man, am I the only one... very weak compared to the rest of it.



*i know it was a single, I know it got plenty of setlist time, I know it wound up on the greatest hits album, I know there was a video where I'll never get Steve's creepy mustache and stripped shirt out of my memory. Song just never clicked with me in the same way those others never did.

 

[bono_212]

:blink:
WTF Ashley from 8 years ago? Why is there nothing in #5? Why is Another Postcard on there when I literally never liked that song?

Also, this was well before I had ever heard anything from before Stunt, clearly.

My top ten BNL or maybe top five we'll see how this goes, just cause I love them so (also haven't heard the Christmas album )

10) Another Postcard
9) Brian Wilson
8) One Week
7) It's All Been Done
6) The Humor of the Situation
5)
4) Pinch Me
3) Falling for the First Time
2) Too Little Too Late
1) Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel

yeah I know 1 is a crazy choice

Updated list:

1) Brian Wilson
2) Falling for the First Time
3) Too Little Too Late
4) Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep At the Wheel
5) The Old Apartment
6) Pinch Me
7) If I had $1000000
8) Call & Answer
9) Easy
10) One Week

(Btw, being able to quote something I posted EIGHT years ago is scary)

 

[IWasBored]

I wonder if I tried to make a list. I re-read my initial post and was pleased that it didn't embarrass me. But if I'm going around saying there's no way I could make a top whatever list now, it's silly if I thought I could just fine in the past.

Why was there no 5 originally? I've still never heard the Christmas or kids albums, btw. I probably never will (last.fm probably has me having heard it yesterday, because I forgot to shut off spotify last night while I was at work, and it ran though a lot of stuff when we went on a call).

 

[IWasBored]

Nope, I didn't. Although I did at one time apparently have a much higher opinion of alternative girlfriend and am I the only one than I currently do (and was quite convinced that my current opinion was the one I've always held, apparently that's not true).

How the fuck is this thread 8 years old. That's nuts. Other equally ridiculous time spans: 7 years since I last saw the band live, and then the fact that it's been a handful of years since Page has been out of the band and I'm still cranky about it. Don't even get me started on my first show being half my lifetime ago.

 

[bono_212]

I have no idea why I didn't put something in 5. It's one of the stranger things I've ever seen.

 

[IWasBored]

The Old Apartment
What a Good Boy
One Week
Shoe Box (ep version with the guitar intro)
It's All Been Done
Call and Answer
Pinch Me
I Live with it Everyday
This is Where it Ends
You Will Be Waiting
Falling for the First Time
Too Little Too Late
If I Had $1,000,000
War on Drugs
Straw Hat
Never is Enough
Life, in a Nutshell
Off the Hook
Helicopters
Grade 9



I guess that would be a top 20, although the top 3 are really the only ones in order. I have no idea how to put the rest of the, in order. And I left out light up my room, thanks that was fun, when I fall, tonight is the night I fell asleep at the wheel (although if we take this one out, re order it a bit, it would make a killer setlist. In that case, toss Brian Wilson in as a closer) and some fantastic. Fuck!

 

[bono_212]

.

Yeah, looks like there's a nice mix of hits in there to create a setlist out of

 

[IWasBored]

Haha, yeah, like all of them? I am awful at making lists. Just dreadful.

 

[bono_212]

My list is all singles, I have no idea what some of the songs on yours are because I am a "fan"

 

[IWasBored]

I'm pretty sure I earn the title of douchebag fan by specifying the ep version of shoe box, but that intro makes a difference (it's pretty much the only difference). Otherwise I did stick to album tracks (outside of honorable mentioning thanks that was fun, which I'm thinking was just one of the "lets con the people who already own all the albums into buying the greatest hits collection by inclusing a couple extra songs those completists will have to have!" tracks, but I'm not actually sure).


There is no way tonight is the night I fell asleep at the wheel was a single. But I didn't even know (or at least remember) call and answer was a single.

 

[bono_212]

Oh whoops, you're right about tonight is the night.

 

[IWasBored]

Well shit, there was even a video for call and answer. Not only that, but I've seen this before. Oops.

Reminds me, I wonder if I can coerce the current version of QuickTime to play the video content on pirate ship and rock spectacle. Cos who doesn't want to see Tyler Stewart static electrically shocking himself on door knobs and stuff.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Greetings all - welcome to the bi-annual BNL album release week

It appears 'Silverball' has somehow not leaked anywhere and is due out tomorrow. 4 songs have been posted by BNL on youtube and they hold some promise.

First single 'Say What You Want' is OK. Nothing spectacular and the Rooster Teeth produced video is a bit of a snore. 'Matter Of Time' and 'Silverball' are better (wouldn't sound out of place on 'Maroon' or 'Grinning Streak') while 'Duct Tape Heart' is a nice surprise.

I'm expecting the album to hold few surprises - but I don't mind. I still miss Steve Page but am getting used to BNL4.

 

[DaveC]

I get "Jane" stuck in my head every time I go through the intersection of Jane & St. Clair, which is about once a month (when I go to visit my cousin and his wife who live a block from there). It gets very annoying because I only know about three lines from that song.