Hey hey

I'm not getting how you're lukewarm on chase this light. Butch Vig is all over it and big casino is one of my faves.

It's just a hair overproduced and a lot of the songs just feel like Jimmy Eat World By Numbers to me. There are some real standouts, but it lacks the soul of their earlier work.

I can get why discovering it for the first time it would sound better in that context.

That was a very poorly structured sentence and was meant in no way to be condescending.

It's just, to go from Futures to Chase This Light...kind of a drag at the time.

I really like Damage though. Really, really, REALLY. That album gives me the feels.

I'll get to it after I get through chase this light.

This is so fun

Glad you're enjoying them. They're just one of those bands I never get sick of. And regardless of how I rank Chase This Light, it's still good music!

I mean, how many bands from their era can play a 25-song set that everyone in the crowd can enjoy? The list is pretty short.

Damage just hit me at the right moment in my life, so I may be a bit biased. It was sort of the prelude to my eventual divorce. Funny how music can come along at crucial points in your life like that.

I took my then-wife to the Damage tour and she looked bored as hell, I mean the writing was on the wall, no?

We did see a fella smoking crack in the bus station on the way back, so we'll always have that.

Watched this late last night. Loved it.

I've officially reached my Damage stage.

FG that was prob not the best show to take the wife to if you wanted to save that relationship. So dark and sad but so great.

Oh you sort of addressed that already.

I love how bouncy the title track is and then you notice the lyrics and it's like wait. What

Yeah, it really is great. I think it's the most under-appreciated album in their discography. Sure, it's short, but it packs a huge punch. I especially love You Were Good, with that hazy production and the whole "you were good and it's not your fault" message. Makes me want to bury my face in a pillow and cry until my guts hurt every time I hear it.

Guys, I think I might be emo.

That's ok!

Ok so I went through my Futures, Chase This Light, and Damage stages. Entering the Clarity stage.

it just takes some time

Clarity is their masterwork. All-time top 5 album for me personally.

Part of what I love most about this band is the vocals. They're a bit rough on Clarity.

A friend of mine told me last night he thinks of them as a one hit wonder. Which is nonsense because bleed American had four hits. But also these albums are so good. Except invented. What happened there

They're playing here next month with Incubus. ahh nostalgia

Yeah they're playing their "Chicago" show in Tinley park tonight. So glad I saw them in Milwaukee.

Also why the fuck are they opening for incubus? They're so much better.

I'd buy that for a dollar!

Eh, it's a paycheck and audience-wise, there's surely a lot of overlap between people who fondly remember The Middle and people who fondly remember Pardon Me.

I mean, shit. I know I jammed both bands endlessly throughout high school.

I've listened to that album soo much and love every inch of it, so there's no way I can look at it objectively, but I don't hear "rough" vocals. If anything, it's Jim's most passionate performance. I love it.

The one-hit wonder bit is nonsense. The Middle was their biggest, but Sweetness still gets a butt-ton of radio play and the crowd at the last show I was at went nuts for that song more than any other. I'd say as the years have gone on, it's grown to be a bigger hit.

That's of course putting aside Bleed American, Pain, Work, etc.

As far as Invented goes, I think it gets a bad rep. After the overproduced (sorry!) Chase This Light, it was a nice return to form. Plus, they got Mark Trombino back! I imagine if you're not too hot on Clarity you wouldn't be sold on Invented either, so to each their own. Still, lots of classic tracks packed into that album -- Higher Devotion, Invented, Mixtape, Anais (bonus track), Evidence, Heart is Hard To Find...

I HAVE AN UPDATE

Damage may have displaced Futures as 1a with integrity Blues.

Or maybe it's a three way tie. Def better than chase this light though.

I just sorta learned like half of damage on guitar because I just had to and I haven't pulled that thing out in... a long time.

That's...interesting. Damage is definitely a personal favorite overall, but I'd still put it somewhere in the middle of their discography.

yea but is this like the Manson Corgan shows, half half? Because JEW as 20 minutes opening act for Incubus is... very weird to me. I'd be one of the old farts that would totally go to this if it were the other way around.