Rate Atum: Act II, track by track

[reprise85]

I don't remember anything from Act 1 except Steps in Time and Hooray!.

With that said, I listened to this once while working yesterday and I am now thoroughly stoned and ready to give a real-time review.

1. Avalanche: the intro chorus feels okay after the very boring first 90 seconds. And then the synth and drums. I mean it's not terrible I guess? Fuck it, I'm going to look at the lyrics, too. Wait, that was a mistake. Okay, I like the chorus and the set them on fire parts have a decent melody. I hate everything else. 3/10.

2. Empires: I have heard a live version of this before. The melody, which is usually the bad part for Corgan lately, is not that bad. But the song doesn't do anything with it as far as lyrics or interesting riffs. It just feels lazy somehow. Like a better Astral Planes or some shit. I am struggling through the rest of this just for you guys. Nope, nothing in the last minute makes it good. 3/10

3. Neophyte: fuck that starting refrain, jesus. oh no, that's the chorus? shit. is this 2 out of 3 songs that start lyrically with the chorus? maybe, arguably, all 3. i'm not going to go back to check that though def don't care enough. but anyway, that's not so common for Corgan, is it? Again I feel like the vocal melodies are not terrible like usual. The tend to feel rushed and they don't here. But I made the mistake of looking at the lyrics. So far it feels like these songs could have been good. Like, Corgan used to make ideas like this into much better songs, I guess. 3/10 again i suppose

4. Moss: Man this smells like alt right bullshit BUT i'm going to keep going.

my stoned ass got lost somewhere in here

4. Moss take 2: why is someone meowing. is that supposed to be an easter egg? what. i have no idea what is fucking going on here. not in a good way. oh a guitar solo. that is not billy corgan or james iha, i'm afraid. wait i just realized this also starts with the chorus wtf i hate this 1/10

5. Night Waves: this one suffers from bad melodies. I'm assuming this one has not started with the chorus. oh, that's the chorus. or. some large bridge without a chorus. i don't know. it doesnt' really work but i appreciate that they tried something different. 2/10

6. Space Age: background vocals getting grating at this point. this is the best song so far though. oh that was a drum fill. cool. where have those been. this feels like it could be a much better song. old corg would have made it something better. 5/10

7. Every Morning: 6 minutes, eh? idk i'm pausing for now life is too short to listen atum in one listen i got shit to do like the fuckin dishes

[houseofglass11]

You made the right call stopping.

[enthusaroo]

Originally Posted by BurtSampson

I genuinely can't imagine someone enjoying this bullshit. There are no melodies, nothing creative, just word salad over bleeping Casios. The subreddit is spinning themselves in knots to defend this album and it's hilarious

this.

[enthusaroo]

Originally Posted by reprise85

2. Empires: Like a better Astral Planes or some shit.

this too.

[Ram27]

1. Cherub Rock -- 9.5/10 -- anthemic. perfect. amazing build, guitar tone. i love hearing the ring of the snare during the buzz roll. all the instruments sound perfectly blended as the whole band comes in and hits the main riff. drums sound powerful. JC riding the hihat like it's heroin. i don't see why that's necessarily d'arcy doubling corgan, corgan at this time had that smooth cherubic voice as well.

2. Quiet -- 8/10 -- first sp song i learned on drums. that roll JC does going into the chorus absolutely rules. butch vig is a genius, everything sounds perfect. there's an interview he did where he talks about how just straight up recording drums and guitars will never sound dated, because that's a natural sound [versus samples which pinpoint you in a time]

3. Today -- 8/10 -- first sp song i learned on guitar. i love the QAOS version where it's heavy all the time. the james noodling is perfect. the hit after the intro rules. thunderous guitar. corgan cannot sing like this anymore.

4. Hummer -- 20/10 -- best song in the fucking world. the octave riff sounds so smooth and creamy. the main hit and corgan's lead, impeccable. the whole song is the perfect demonstration of how incredible SP were at playing with dynamics, having songs with so many parts and vibes and having it all fit together.

5. Rocket -- 20/10 -- best song in the fucking world. i love playing this riff with a big muff. the ending is incredible. favorite lyrics on the record. i miss everything i'll never be.

6. Disarm -- 7/10 -- never really hit for me, but i appreciate the arrangement and placement for diversity after 5 heavy songs. i love the angery MTV version. i love james' lead live on this. the production feels dry and languid. the orchestral stuff was done better on tonight.

7. Soma -- 9/10 -- the hit fucking rules. james' lead after 'so let the sadness come again' is fucking peak SP. fucking incredible.

8. Geek USA -- 9/10 -- such a fucking blast to play on drums. the dreamy section in the middle is perfection -- so perfectly SP. words can't define what i feel inside who needs them. i give in to my disease.

9. Mayonaise -- 10/10 -- you need to listen to this while sad in high school to really click with it. the distortion entrance is unreal. james is a genius. the fucking VIBES and FEELS the guitar tone and lyrics and vocal performance deliver is impeccable and unmatched. out of love and out of feeling sooo baaad. no more promise no more sorrow.

10. Spaceboy -- 6/10 -- didn't need to be here but fine. i love the lyrics and james' parts live. i wanna go home.

11. Silverfuck -- 9/10 -- such a monster riff, so fun to jam. love the sample intro and the studio chatter after. JC rips some killer fills.

12. Sweet Sweet -- 8/10 -- perfect breezy vibe piece after silverfuck. love the guitar tone. even this little throwaway has so much soul in it. they all want you to change.

13. Luna -- 9.5/10 -- beautiful. love how it ends on that chord that reoccurs in cherub rock. wish they did it live more, that fillmore version w darcy singing is so magical.

[ninsp]

Originally Posted by absof

Are people giving 10/10 rating this album in isolation to itself, or it’s actually one of the best songs you’ve ever heard?

I think it's pretty obvious that they just have their nose so far up Corgan's ass they need to come out for air.

ATUM is pure garbage. Not an objective opinion, it's garbage.

[brothahi4L]

people celebrate atum 2 on reddit. for me i have zero desire to listen to eat on repeat.

2 acts done, 22 songs like on cyr. so it is a sequel to cyr.....

no jimmy, no james, no depth, just stupid, embarrassing vocals and melodies... fuck katie and co...get rid of them, stop - go on as wpc solo......let iha play.....

never ever thought that we are 24 songs in and i like 3 of them a bit...


fuck this dad-rock lamers

[enthusaroo]

I know it's gonna sound stupid and perhaps cheesy...

but one of the main reasons why people are "celebrating atum on reddit" is because censorship on reddit by moderators is such an extremely bad problem in social media.. 2023 is fucked up

I miss the older Internet.. which is why sometimes I take a moment to appreciate independent discussion forums, yeah like Netphoria.. where at least you're ALLOWED to have different options

reddit fucking killed most independent discussion forums.. and it's part of the reason why Internet sucks so much in 2023.. (the main reason over-advertising tho).. sure it's nice finding the occasional correct answer for something on reddit.. but overall reddit is a massive censoring, shadow-banning monopoly and society and social media and society overall is worse for it.

[NovaFritz]

Aggregating all tracks, I give it 33 out of a possible 110.

MACHINA MYSTERY SOLVED!

[LaBelle]

Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol.3: no jimmy, no james, no depth

[Ram27]

Originally Posted by enthusaroo

I know it's gonna sound stupid and perhaps cheesy...

but one of the main reasons why people are "celebrating atum on reddit" is because censorship on reddit by moderators is such an extremely bad problem in social media.. 2023 is fucked up

I miss the older Internet.. which is why sometimes I take a moment to appreciate independent discussion forums, yeah like Netphoria.. where at least you're ALLOWED to have different options

reddit fucking killed most independent discussion forums.. and it's part of the reason why Internet sucks so much in 2023.. (the main reason over-advertising tho).. sure it's nice finding the occasional correct answer for something on reddit.. but overall reddit is a massive censoring, shadow-banning monopoly and society and social media and society overall is worse for it.

100% agree, it's so fucked how much you have to tiptoe around everywhere these days. all the shitty 'modern' sites fucking scan everything you say and ban you if you say a bad thing [like not just slurs, but like 'cOnDoniNg viOlEnCe']

[SomaPhreak]

Avalanche - 2/10
Empires - 7/10 (-2 for those Katie vocals)
Neophye - 1/10
Moss - 4/10 (-2 for those Katie vocals and that "heart" towards the end)
Night Waves - 4/10
Space Age - 2/10
Every Morning - 9/10 (-1 for the intro)
To the Grays - 4/10
Beguiled - 8/10
The Culling - 5/10
Springtime - 5/10

[Shadaloo]

Avalanche - 7/10
Empires - 5/10
Neophyte - 2/10
Moss - 4/10
Night Waves - 1/10
Space Age - 4/10
Every Morning - 7/10
To the Grays - 5/10
Beguiled - 6/10
The Culling - 6/10
Springtime - 8/10

[reprise85]

Originally Posted by Ram27

1. Cherub Rock -- 9.5/10 -- anthemic. perfect. amazing build, guitar tone. i love hearing the ring of the snare during the buzz roll. all the instruments sound perfectly blended as the whole band comes in and hits the main riff. drums sound powerful. JC riding the hihat like it's heroin. i don't see why that's necessarily d'arcy doubling corgan, corgan at this time had that smooth cherubic voice as well.

2. Quiet -- 8/10 -- first sp song i learned on drums. that roll JC does going into the chorus absolutely rules. butch vig is a genius, everything sounds perfect. there's an interview he did where he talks about how just straight up recording drums and guitars will never sound dated, because that's a natural sound [versus samples which pinpoint you in a time]

3. Today -- 8/10 -- first sp song i learned on guitar. i love the QAOS version where it's heavy all the time. the james noodling is perfect. the hit after the intro rules. thunderous guitar. corgan cannot sing like this anymore.

4. Hummer -- 20/10 -- best song in the fucking world. the octave riff sounds so smooth and creamy. the main hit and corgan's lead, impeccable. the whole song is the perfect demonstration of how incredible SP were at playing with dynamics, having songs with so many parts and vibes and having it all fit together.

5. Rocket -- 20/10 -- best song in the fucking world. i love playing this riff with a big muff. the ending is incredible. favorite lyrics on the record. i miss everything i'll never be.

6. Disarm -- 7/10 -- never really hit for me, but i appreciate the arrangement and placement for diversity after 5 heavy songs. i love the angery MTV version. i love james' lead live on this. the production feels dry and languid. the orchestral stuff was done better on tonight.

7. Soma -- 9/10 -- the hit fucking rules. james' lead after 'so let the sadness come again' is fucking peak SP. fucking incredible.

8. Geek USA -- 9/10 -- such a fucking blast to play on drums. the dreamy section in the middle is perfection -- so perfectly SP. words can't define what i feel inside who needs them. i give in to my disease.

9. Mayonaise -- 10/10 -- you need to listen to this while sad in high school to really click with it. the distortion entrance is unreal. james is a genius. the fucking VIBES and FEELS the guitar tone and lyrics and vocal performance deliver is impeccable and unmatched. out of love and out of feeling sooo baaad. no more promise no more sorrow.

10. Spaceboy -- 6/10 -- didn't need to be here but fine. i love the lyrics and james' parts live. i wanna go home.

11. Silverfuck -- 9/10 -- such a monster riff, so fun to jam. love the sample intro and the studio chatter after. JC rips some killer fills.

12. Sweet Sweet -- 8/10 -- perfect breezy vibe piece after silverfuck. love the guitar tone. even this little throwaway has so much soul in it. they all want you to change.

13. Luna -- 9.5/10 -- beautiful. love how it ends on that chord that reoccurs in cherub rock. wish they did it live more, that fillmore version w darcy singing is so magical.

Cherub Rock 8/10

Quiet 8/10

Today 7.5/10

Hummer 10/10

Rocket 9/10

Disarm 8.5/10

Soma 9.5/10

Geek USA 9.5/10

Mayonaise 10/10

Spaceboy 6.5/10

Silverfuck 9.5/10

Sweet, Sweet 7/10

Luna 9/10


Avg: 8.62

Even tho Spaceboy and SS are the lowest of the bunch, they're still great songs. On the fence about Silverfuck being a 9 or 9.5

[TuralyonW3]

boring and unlistenable as a whole

[paranoid]

I don’t understand the hate for neophyte. It’s a good song.

[houseofglass11]

The repetition of the “it ain’t right” gets really old. One song I don’t get the hate for is Space Age. It’s a vibe. Interesting chord progression, compelling melody, yeah I dig that one.

[Ram27]

i don't remember how 90% of the songs go

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by Ram27

i don't remember how 90% of the songs go

Billy hasn’t written a memorable song in a very long time

[ilikeplanets]

I'll do the Siamese Dream ranking, too. I won't go into detail because we all know every note of every song and I've discussed my connection to particular tracks or minor dislikes of them multiple times.

Cherub Rock- 10
Quiet - 10
Today - 8.5
Hummer - 10
Rocket - 10
Disarm - 9
Soma - 10
Geek - 9.5
Mayo - 10
Spaceboy - 8
Silverfuck - 8.5
Sweet sweet - 9
Luna - 9 5

Total of 9.3 but it's greater than the sum of its parts and as a whole I give it a 10! If my favorite album isn't a 10 for me, that makes no sense!

[dustrocck]

Originally Posted by Ram27

i don't remember how 90% of the songs go

Listening to Lyric on MSOTS 20th anniversary, which I thought was pretty great 20 years ago, and man, does it blow everything he's done since out of the water.

Talk about diminishing returns.

[enthusaroo]

Originally Posted by dustrocck

Listening to Lyric on MSOTS 20th anniversary, which I thought was pretty great 20 years ago, and man, does it blow everything he's done since out of the water.

Talk about diminishing returns.

same

[enthusaroo]

Cherub Rock 9.5/10

Quiet 10/10

Today 9.5/10

Hummer 10/10

Rocket 9/10

Disarm 9.5/10

Soma 9.5/10

Geek USA 9.5/10

Mayonaise 10/10

Spaceboy 9.5/10

Silverfuck 9.5/10

Sweet, Sweet 9/10

Luna 9.5/10

[Butt Pope]

Here is No Why: 8.5

[Butt Pope]

Stumbleine: 9

[Butt Pope]

Tarantula: 6

[Butt Pope]

Run to Me: .5

[BlissedandGone2]

i cant remember any of these songs because billy cant write a melody anymore

[ilikeplanets]

Stumbleine above Here Is No Why? Disagree but that's one I haven't heard before

[houseofglass11]

One does not simply give Quiet 10/10 and then give Soma and Geek 9.5

Cherub Rock - 8/10
Quiet - 8/10
Today - 8/10
Hummer - 10/10
Rocket - 9/10
Disarm - 8/10
Soma - 10/10
Geek - 10/10
Mayo - 10/10
Spaceboy - 7.5/10
Silverfuck - 9.5/10
Sweet - 7.5/10
Luna - 10/10