MASS ROMANTIC

was tempted to leave 'letter from an occupant' out, because

oh man. almost impossible to choose.

Indeed

I mean, Letter is the answer, but there are so many killer choices here. So many.

Right

Hey, good to see you earlier, call all destroyer.

was tempted to leave 'letter from an occupant' out, because the race for what's the second best song on this record after "slow descent" is so fiercely contested

xp you too! i am chattier in real life than i am on zoom but it's great to see everyone and the conversations are always entertaining.

xp (but in the end "mass romantic" is second best)

Earlier today I was searching the archives for this exact thread because Carl was doing an AMA on twitter w/r/t this record!

Ask me questions about Mass Romantic. First person to be an asshole, I’ll shut the whole thing down.

— Carl Newman (@ACNewman) November 20, 2020

I should mention that he replies via retweet quotes so you can't follow along in that thread, so just go to his account and scroll down:

https://twitter.com/ACNewman

Cool, but didn’t seem to answer many questions, although he did respond to one about Jackie, which was good. Ah okay (xp)

xp you too! i am chattier in real life than i am on zoom but it's great to see everyone and the conversations are always entertaining.

I only knew the Larry Hagman Girl Crazy Peter Pan Mary Martin for decades but recently learned about the other Band Bob Dylan Van Morrison Leonard Cohen Mary Martin.

I have a soft spot for “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism.”

same. can't imagine why

love these guys but also . . . not funny at all

Improv scene between @jonwurster as @ACNewman & Kevin Corrigan as @ShitDBejarSays, filmed 10 years ago today for the non existstent biopic “Moves: The Rise And Rise Of @TheNewPornos” @scharpling @pulomabasu @matadorrecords @tedleo @julieklausner @APMike @MrPaulYee @AlexBrookLynn pic.twitter.com/k2YO4AqQjP

— Rob Hatch-Miller (@robhatchmiller) November 20, 2020

That’s supposed to be Bejar? *sigh*

same. can't imagine why

That video reminds that earlier this evening was waxing eloquent about pre-pandemic days of walking about NYC in particular Soho randomly encountering celebrities and Kevin Corrigan was one of the many cast members of Slums of Beverly Hills I crossed paths with.

Never listened to the 2019 album but liked the one before that.

Feels wrong not to vote for a Bejar song when I’m a destroyer head... but it’s definitely letter from an occupant right

comes down to "this boy's life among the electrical lights" vs "salvation holdout central"... leaning this boy's life but it's a tough one

I know the other guys are pretty popular in whatever scene this is but I find it hard to stay interested when neko case isn’t singing

Love all these, was telling husband about how I was obsessed with TNP and Destroyer my senior year in high school and everyone thought I was crazy lol.

It's clearly Letter, tho.

I didn't listen to this until 2004, and I could immediately hear the melodic and vocal influence of Scott Miller, which (to my knowledge) no other band had yet taken up. I didn't like any of the Bejar songs then; now that I've become a fan of his, I still don't like any of these.

The Newman songs are good-to-great except for Body Says No, but the overall effect is overcaffeinated. Only the intro of Fake Headlines works as a breather from the powerpop overload; they'd get better at album sequencing with Electric Version. I guess at this point they were trying to grab the listener's attention with as much extroversion as they could manage.

I voted for Slow Descent into Alcoholism, but I hope Centre for Holy Wars gets a vote.

i like the idea that there's a ton of viable choices here cos tbf there is a ton of viable choices here and i won't even call all the cunts that don't vote for "My Slow Descent" cunts tho i might because fuck you, you cunts, but gareth david "The Slow Descent" is the kill tune despite the obviousness of my affection

FYI
New Pornographers lyrics

lots of deserved accolades for “slow descent,” “letters,” and the title track, but “body says no” arguably has the biggest hook.

also have soft spots for “holy war” and “execution day.” this was really a high watermark for indie, wasn’t it?

High point for me is neko’s wailing on the chorus of occupant

i would like to boringly accept all the wrong votes for this amazing album that aren't votes for "Slow Descent"

High point for me is neko’s wailing on the chorus of occupant

i spent a long time thinking about the supergroup shit that was bands that i didn't know about but totally made sense of the way people perceived this rekkid and elucidate people's choices but also my slow descent

into FUCK ALL Y'ALL i went

also i like the i don't know angry daftness

y'know it was all a steep downhill form here?

title track is very very real

I love Slow Descent, but the way Neko wails "WHERE HAVE ALL SENSATIONS GOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNE" slays me in every possible way.

<3 i'm slapping fives with everybody who thinks neko is the keystone

cos she is even when it's not her on the lead

"To Wild Homes" is one of the better FM-Tusk(album) tributes ever made.

my challopsy take is that I love Neko but prefer her more polished vox on the later albums

there are a lot of very good tracks on this list also gtf

also into alcoholism i went

Is it wrong to register a wee complaint about the production on this album?

i'm not a production guy but i get there's a wonkiness

uh-huh

being a dick aside this is one of my favourite randonm sooper-groop indie kids records

mah mah mah mah slow dissent

SALVATION HOLD OUT CINTRAL

I love this band (although I don't seem to have listened to anything they released after 2010, oops) but never been able to get into any of their other bands, Destroyer, Zumpano, Neko Case solo etc. nothing has grabbed me. Sum greater than parts for me I guess.

i gHear you GColonel

also i gAgree

i mean this gAlbum murders everything it's constituent parts gRecorded

except pissably gNeko

gBoys gBoys gBoys

What's with the nasal mutations? Is this now Dw i'n caru Cymraeg?

NV, w/ all due respect you seeem to have many wrong opinions about this band/music

i love "fake headlines" and i'm gonna vote for it

'CAUSE HOPE GROWS GREENER THAN GRASS STAINS

but “body says no” arguably has the biggest hook.

this hook is what really most impressed me when I first listened to it 19ish years ago and listening to it again today for the first time in years I am still amazed by it.

NV, w/ all due respect you seeem to have many wrong opinions about this band/music

alpine thank you for your repspect and respect for your kindness and i don't really know why this album is so otm cos it's not automaically a thing that i'd love

but i love the fuck out of it

which also makes me say daft things about it

"my slow descent" tho, that's a thing, that's a moment

was having a hard time choosing between tracks before i remembered "i've cried five rivers on the way here/which one will you skate away on?" and voted accordingly

I mean even the first couplet from that is incroyable: "I'm told the eventual downfall/ is just a bill from the restaurant"

SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRASALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL L

NV, w/ all due respect you seeem to have many wrong opinions about this band/music

loves, love to love love <3

SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRASALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL L

"letter from an occupant" is the academic answer.

"the body says no" was my first love, like someone else upthread. i think it was one of the more straightforward ones when i was 16 and wrapping my head around this album.

best live memory: neko's harmony on the end of "execution day." one of the moments when you have to step back and appreciate what a pure singer she is.

personal favorite and vote: "the fake headlines." "mass romantic" tells you that the band could produce a great single, but fake headlines is such a beast of a second song. i remember listening to this album cold, and all of a sudden neko is gone, this lispy guy is singing, and it's still a total banger. you're fully onboard with the record from there. it has a great lyric. i love that lyric transcription thread, i think newman is really underrated as a lyricist.

those are all beautiful answers and i agtee

SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAS
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL

i keel evety last one of you

SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRASALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL
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SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL

lol

"slow descent" has slightly edged out "letter from an occupant" today

since this is maybe the most active a New Pornos thread has been in my 10+ years on ILM, i want to take the opportunity to say something i've said elsewhere: this band is responsible for the best recorded catalog of the 21st century so far. which makes this album the first all-killer-no-filler step on that incredible journey.

thank u carl, neko, dan, old drummer, new drummer, guy with the hair, guy with the beard, carl's niece whose name i really should remember, keyboard guy who looks bored as fuck during shows, new lady singer and maybe another guy if there's another guy i'm forgetting about (but i don't think there is).

luv u Noodle Vague

<<3 same and apologies for being drunchenhausen

it's a fucking perfect albumen tho while we're on

it and Electric Version, both, imo

sorry i said you had wrong opinions about this i guess i misread you earlier? idk

“Guy with the hair” maybe the guitar player Fancey, who put out an excellent indie summer AM gold record around this same time: https://open.spotify.com/album/0tCBKBJiuNyAzyBiVV0PfJ?si=2crCKnm9RU2OzsCEZT8xug

If we link to stuff can we link to YouTube and Spotify versions? Not everyone has given in to the Spotify hegemon.

Are you talking about the first Fancey album from 2004?

Yes 04

Whole album is great but this poll should have two fucking options:

Letter Bridge--->Chorus
Letter Outro--->Chorus

Either of these smoke everything else, no fools left standing.

Honorable mention (since no one else has?): In To Wild Homes, Neko handing the lower "to wild homes" off to the higher male (AC?) "to wild homes" then joining back in together.

The actually correct answer is "Letter from an Occupant" but I'm gonna throw a vote to "Jackie"

it’s amazing how all these songs exist in my head as a jumble of nonsense syllables. plenty of evocative imagery but as far as i glean any meaning from them, it might as well be in farsi

or maybe it’s more a language that i vaguely remember like hebrew or spanish where i excitedly latch onto the few phrases i actually understand

I voted "Mystery Hours" for the line about a "sticky glavin," which I am disappointed to learn is not only not the lyric, but is not even easily mistakable for the lyric.

ended up voting for the obvious one, but was tempted to toss a vote to Mary Martin Show

Want to point out that even before I knew of the anniversary this past week, I'd blasted "Mary Martin Show" because a workshop participant's manuscript mentioned Mary Martin. Weird!

i'm going to vote for "Centre for Holy Wars" because i know "Letter" and the title track are gonna finish 1-2, and rightfully so

i am legitimately interested to see how much "Letter" wins by.

weird, I've been annoying the neighbours with SALVATION HOLD OUT CENTRAL for a week as I noodle around on the piano.

EXACTLY WHERE WE ARRRE
in the center for HOOOLY WAAR

HOPE IT NEVER COMES DOWN AGAIN
LOATING IN THE AAA
FUH- AAA
AAA
AAA
AIR

aw hell
that didn't work at all

Lol apologies for drunky over enthusiasm last night everybody

"Slow Descent" over "Letter"

needed to relisten to this start to finish for the first time in years to make an informed choice and I gotta say it hasn’t help narrow my decision at all

it’s amazing how all these songs exist in my head as a jumble of nonsense syllables. plenty of evocative imagery but as far as i glean any meaning from them, it might as well be in farsi

Me too. Maybe for that reason, I find that I have a hard time remembering which of these songs is which. I like them all, but they kind of blur together into one song in my mind. (Except Slow Descent, and maybe Fake Headlines as well.)

Ha, did the same thing, will, and then just voted for one of the ones I was going to vote for anyway

xp yeah I find myself mixing and matching verses and choruses in my head. they all work pretty well next to each other.

I kind of stopped learning song titles and listening closely to lyrics for a few decades but recently those activities have made a comeback.

I still remember all these lyrics after not listening to this record for 15+ years. Clearly was very influenced by the way these lyrics work, same with Destroyer, whom I am also binging on right now.

James Redd, I also don't know the names of any songs, it's a practice I've totally let go. I can identify artists and sing along with lyrics when tracks have them.

i'm doing some recipe testing for a friend who is working on a cookbook, and tonight's project involved testing a stronger-than-i-would-make rum and bourbon punch (there is a legitimate reason why, but explaining it would give away the premise of the book). so tonight's dinner prep was a full run through mass romantic plus this punch recipe and man, it was a pretty good time. i like almost all of the NPs albums but they never did a pure front to back dopamine rush like this again.

“front to back dopamine rush” otm, few albums by any artists are aimed as directly at the pleasure center of the brain

Yeah I just listened to it twice in a row, after skipping around the past few days. It's an incredible record, almost wish I could change my vote to 'Fake Headlines.'

Are there any tracks we think won't get any votes, or which will get the fewest? Breakin' the Law?

bottom three will be Breakin' the Law (zero votes), Execution Day (zero) and Mystery Hours (one)

Good calls.

voted for body cause IIII NEEDED HER TO

it’s amazing how all these songs exist in my head as a jumble of nonsense syllables. plenty of evocative imagery but as far as i glean any meaning from them, it might as well be in farsi

Me too -- this for me has never been a band where I think hard about the lyrics or even generally know what they are, it's about the syllables and the sounds. I would be mildly disappointed if I ever found out any of the songs were about anything.

torn between ensuring “mass romantic” charts and not splitting the “slow descent” vote. let’s try this on and see how it fits

THIS BOY’S LIFE
AMONG THE ELECTRICALLLL LIGHTS
THIS BOY’S LIFE
AMONG THE ELECTRICALLLL LIGHTS

hmm yeah may be “slow descent”

Regarding the lyrics, it might be helpful to note that an experimental school of poetry was very influential in Vancouver at the time, and oftentimes the lyrics have some resonances with that more literary movement.

yeah the lyrics & phrasing have often been a stumbling block for me with them - newmans writing often feels like a complete avalanche of syllables. I'm trying to keep up and parse the crazy imagery, meanwhile the band is mashing away at max intensity... when it hits it HITS, but other times wish i could do a fan remix where I could just mute every other line or something, just to put some space in there

i'm doing some recipe testing for a friend who is working on a cookbook, and tonight's project involved testing a stronger-than-i-would-make rum and bourbon punch

weirdly, last night i was also taste-testing rum drinks out of a weird recipe book while cranking this album!

and when you see the bruises on my legs from kicking pills yeah
then you see how recklessly the pages are filled!!!!!

MAKE HEADLINES
BELIEVE THEM
COME BACK

VISUALIZE SUCCESS

but don't believe your eyes
what's a version of the world
without the will to despise it

i like newman's lyrics a lot but i always thought he had the unenviable job of being on the same records as dan bejar

all right more hot takes: the first four new pornos records are basically all as good as each other, but electric version > mass romantic

opening verse of "chump change" is like the peak of music and lyrics 4 me

all right more hot takes: the first four new pornos records are basically all as good as each other, but electric version > mass romantic

the first four new pornos records are basically all as good as each other, but electric version > mass romantic

I agree w this take and love that it includes Challengers

i like-to-love all of bejar's songs on mass romantic but he suddenly becomes the best member of the band on electric version and i think this is what sends it over for me

i love every line on "ballad of a comeback kid" as if it were my own child

if we polled Bejar’s NP songs Myriad Harbor might take it for me

i think most of us would go for myriad harbor, it's kind of perfect

IT CAME OUT MAGICAL, OUT FROM BLOWN SPEAKERS
IT CAME OUT MAGICAL, OUT FROM BLOWN SPEAKERS

"from blown speakers" is maybe my favorite newman song ever

"Slow Descent"'s verses are A+ but the chorus/refrain fall flat (as illuminated in drunkposts above). Feel like AC could have spent a little more time on that one.

genuinely adore how much this band sucks at album covers

Lol, not quite Beautiful South level but yeah.

blown speakers is my fave by a wide margin, so good

sadly otm re album covers as well, really the worst

always kinda wish the New Pornos had done a remake of Superconductor's "There Goes Helen"

When I caught Superconductor live and they had 8 or 9 guitars iirc. I wonder if there's vids on the 'tube.

guitarists*

i think most of us would go for myriad harbor, it's kind of perfect

bottom three will be Breakin' the Law (zero votes), Execution Day (zero) and Mystery Hours (one)

i nearly voted for 'mystery hours', i love its OTT-ness

well now I wish I voted for execution day

As I suggested above, Game Theory's Big Shot Chronicles and Lolita Nation were a big melodic/harmonic influence on Newman, but Scott Miller could write similarly complex lyrics that were a lot more lucid than Newman was at this stage.

The New Pornographers' cover of "Breakin' The Law" is pretty underrated ITT. Not sure if many people ever heard the original:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G_oTSGod60

"Mystery Hours" definitely my least-favorite. Not sure with what I'll go end up going with. "Letter" is still in the running, even for a notorious underdog booster like myself.

Kind of want to give The Mary Martin Show a vote - by the time it comes on I should be exhausted by this album but it's such a blast before the comedown of Breakin the Law.

Mystery Hours is underrated but i voted for wild homes

all right more hot takes: the first four new pornos records are basically all as good as each other, but electric version > mass romantic

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, November 23, 2020

I agree w this take and love that it includes Challengers

― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Monday, November 23, 2020

+1 on both takes and on the inclusion of Challengers. even spicier take: Challengers is their strongest LP front-to-back.

idk if we're really even doing artist polls any more but NPs both deserves one and poses a toughie. like NPs+Newman solo kinda makes sense but throwing in Neko and Destroyer would be a mess

I'm finding this very difficult because this album feels - and I don't think this is a problem, just a quality - sort of undifferentiated to me, like all the songs are good in the same way and for the same reasons. Trying to pick one track out from the group is like staring at a picture that has a ton of color but all the color is at the same level of saturation. At a certain point, your eyes just can't focus anymore.

I found myself going through the songs minute by minute, trying to decide which cool bit was cooler than every other cool bit (like, do I want to vote for "To Wild Homes" because of the cool Fleetwood Mac-y Toooo-oooooo wiii-iiillld homes at the end, or do I prefer the chorus of "Letter from an Occupant?") Then I tried stepping back, letting my eyes go out of focus, and seeing what stood out from the background, and ended up with "The Fake Headlines."

But I still might vote for "Mass Romantic" because that feels somehow like voting for the album as a whole. Idk.

i jammed out to 'slow descent' earlier today because that song always sounded to me like a very fast descent into alcoholism, hence the joke and pleasure of the song, and i always related to it. that finishes my report on the new pornographers.

+1 on both takes and on the inclusion of Challengers. even spicier take: Challengers is their strongest LP front-to-back.

I would also say none of their albums are (quite) front-to-back killers.

None of their albums is perfect, but most of them are really, really good, is that what your after? Because that’s what I’ve come to think.

I'd say Electric Version, Twin Cinema and Newman's The Slow Wonder have no weak songs.

mass romantic is something like 10 killer songs in a row until it slows down at the end

Re: challengers, “my rights vs yours” is like the ur-new pornos song

I love both Electric Version and Twin Cinema but, as pointed out earlier, couldn't name every song on them so wouldn't be able to tell you if there was a weak one or not.

vc otm about "My Right Vs. Yours."

Electric Version has more songs that stand out in my mind. I really like "The Laws Have Changed."

That’s a good one. I was pretty into Whiteout Conditions when it came out. Seem to remember liking something on Brill Bruisers, couldn’t tell you anything specific, don’t think I even remember ever listening to Together, tried a few tracks on In the Morse Code of Brake Lights the other night but nothing stuck yet.

"War on the East Coast" is the last New Pornos song that struck me as essential

“you’ll need a new backseat driver” was an awesome neko-led song on their album from last year.

fits halfway between “my rights” and “bleeding heart show” (not as strong as either, but in a similar zip code)

Slow Wonder is a goddamn masterpiece and it doesn’t get nearly enough respect.

Listening now

I feel confident in saying that "The Laws have Changed" is the "Letter from an Occupant" of Electric Version.

i def. remember getting more attached to ev than mr.

just to throw another opinion on the fire, i'll take get guilty over the slow wonder in the newman solo record derby

Get Guilty is a solid album, more in the New Pornographers vein than Slow Wonder, but it has fewer great songs. Shut Down the Streets is his most pastoral record, and also fine.

Does anyone know where I might find a video of the NP's performing "Fake Headlines" live? I have some theories about a few things that happen in the song that I need to x-ref with some live footage.

somewhere in another NPs thread on ILM, i lamented / wondered about the dearth of footage of the band playing live in its early days.

i believe someone suggested that might be because of Neko's longtime "no cameras" rule at shows ... which seemed like as good a guess as any.

Also, many people I know who saw them in the early days said they were awful live? (Don't jump on me, these were all friends who were equally obsessed as I was at the time)

I had this experience as well

I remember being upset about missing their first show in Philly after Electric Version came out, and all my friends who went were like 'you didn't miss much.'

It's a minority position, but I know I'm not the only one who doesn't much care for Dan Bejar ("Jackie Dressed in Cobras" and "War on the East Coast" excepted).

Minority position but have heard this before, not going to quibble.

They were fine when I saw them 2 years ago (got the set list!) but never seen them in the early days.

No doubt over the decades they have improved.

hideous, I'm also not a fan of bejar's compositions (or his voice)

I remember being upset about missing their first show in Philly after Electric Version came out, and all my friends who went were like 'you didn't miss much.'

― healthy cocaine off perfect butts (the table is the table), Tuesday, November 24, 2020 7:22 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i saw them in cambridge in this exact timeframe, they were great.

Interesting. Maybe just a bad show.

completely forgot until just now that i saw them play in prospect park with stars opening (maybe 2005-6?). the only thing i remember about it is that neko wasn’t there. and that stars were kind of boring.

As noted upthread, I saw Superconductor in 93 or 94? And they were awesome!

I saw Zumpano shortly after and I absolutely hated them haha.

My local record store (Aquarius) hyped The New Pornographers up from the very beginning (one of the employees was an ex-Vancouverite and former bandmate of Neko's + friend of Carl & Dan's) so their first show here (2002?) was a Big Deal and they were very good.

Then again at an Amoeba instore circa Twin Cinema and they were okay, tho in-stores are probably not the best gauge of a band's live presence tbqh.

Then finally at Battery Park in NYC (with Dr. Morbius) around the time of Challengers and they were very good.

Donna, are you sure it wasn't Battery Park?

albert, it was def prospect - just found the village voice review of the show, it was june 2005: https://www.villagevoice.com/2005/06/27/new-pornographers-stars-625-prospect-park-summer-stage/

DB wasn't there either, i guess, and the woman who sang neko's parts was carl's niece

Dang, they played a lot of NYC parks in that time period, here's the show we went to (avec Neko sans Dan) in 2007:

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/new-pornographe-9/

Trying to remember where I saw them, Maxwell’s?

xxp

I think I saw them around the same timeframe, sans Neko and Bejar. I really only remember Kurt Dahle channeling Keith Moon.

i don't recall much about that electric version tour show except for carl playing the intro riff to "barracuda" for some reason and that they did like 3 encores, to the point where carl had to tell us that they were pretty much out of songs.

dahle had really perfected his keith moon impression by the time they were touring for twin cinema. no problems with the new guy but dahle was awesome.

it's not even a fair comparison. dahle is a monster. the new guy is fine

not really "early" but I saw them in 2007 right after challengers came out and they were great, it's one of my favorite shows I've seen. the whole gang was there but bejar kind of wandered on and off stage a bit

this was I think the first band that I got into thanks to napster as I'd read about mass romantic on some year end lists and wanted to check them out.

i listened to this for the first time in a while newman's 'tooooooooo wiiiillllllld homes' part at the end of that song is probably my favorite bit

I saw them in DC on the Electric Version tour and they sucked. But Bejar and Neko weren't there.

As to AC Newman solo give me "The Town Halo" but you can discard the rest.

Trying to remember where I saw them, Maxwell’s?

i lied upthread, the best newman song is "star bodies"

I'm taking another stab at the two recent albums - besides the lack of Bejar, I mainly just don't like the arrangements or mixing. crowded and fussy.

catching up:

I saw them in '03 and they were excellent.

Count me among those not that into Bejar. He has some good ones - even great ones - on these albums but he is the third best songwriter in this band. (Not saying he's not good. He is! But Newman and Neko are top-shelf.)

Rather than get better over the years, as someone suggested, my last two NPs shows were carried by the catalog, sadly, as I think the band has sort of settled into a fairly unexciting live act. Neko's always fun and Calder is magnetic for some reason, but everyone else looks like they're going through the motions. Fortunately, the songs are so good it doesn't matter much.

"Carried by the Catalog" sounds like a New Pornographers song title.

Lol y'all knocking Bejar's songwriting are out of your minds.

Like maybe if you're talking his tunes for NP, it would be acceptable but wrong, but saying Newman is a better songwriter is just nuts IMHO.

I saw New Pornographers on the Brill Bruisers tour and they played almost entirely songs from the first 3 albums. Maybe a song or two each from the others.

Reductionist snark: Bejar's fine if that's what you're looking for. I like pop tunes.

He wins for better beard, though.

Bejar’s NP songs are awesome AND they get along just fine without him. I’ve said this in another thread but I think Whiteout Conditions ranks among their best. And the one from last year is pretty good too.

probably time for me to dig into the post-Challengers era records.

Bejar's fine if that's what you're looking for. I like pop tunes.

yes but the thing is he provides the band with many of their best pop tunes

probably time for me to dig into the post-Challengers era records.

― A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Chooglin (will), Wednesday, November 25, 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Whiteout Conditions>>>>Brill Bruisers>>In the Morse Code>>>Together

Have barely heard the last two but tend to agree.

I generally have more tolerance for Bejar on the later albums; when I listen to Mass Romantic or Electric Version I gotta get used to that dude braying at me.

I will say his voice has mellowed significantly.

another nude descends the staircase to get fucked

NB: Destroyer in Chapel Hill last March was my last pre-COVID show.

In the Morse Code was the first/only NP record that did absolutely nothing for me.

That's how I felt about Together, aside from its title track. I think I liked Morse Code because I still felt the glow of the one that came before it. And I do really like "Higher Beams"

together is the only one that i think of as a complete miss. maybe i'm making this up but i think newman was maybe not in an amazing place mentally when they were doing that one?

Yeah I revisited Together a couple of days ago and nothing really stuck out - I like every other record though. Morse Code isn't as strong as the two albums before it but it's still very good.

Bejar's "If You Can't See My Mirrors" is my fave on that one.

"crash years" is my fav neko-led song ever

oh also "sweet talk sweet talk" is such a banger come on

Just listening to Challengers and Bejar’s “Entering White Cecilia” jumped out at me. I can see why people might find his, um, tics (or “ticks,” as Xgau wrote) annoying, but to me he just has a knack for highlighting his hooks.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

oh also "sweet talk sweet talk" is such a banger come on

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, November 25, 2020 6:03 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i like this song a lot but i think the arrangement is lacking and it has this really weird abrupt ending.

hm yeah fair

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Feel like this is the wrongest fakest falsest new porno result

Tbh surprised Jackie beat out the title track and Fake Headlines.

I've also listened to this album about 40 times in the past week lol

obsessed w challengers now thank u thread

nothing but respect for my jackie-heads

this pretty much went chalk, huh

Noodle Vague going to show up and start berating us soon

"We End Up Together" is my favorite NP track post-Challengers

The New Pornographers' cover of "Breakin' The Law" is pretty underrated ITT.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, November 23, 2020 9:42 AM (three days ago)

I’d like a mash up of the title track verses w/ the Occupant chorus.

otoh i just read this thread and i love this band, these songs, all the other songs, this thread, all y'all, and the chance to listen to these songs again. hmm.

thank you all for participating

not even a big bejar fan but true to form 'execution day' has lived in my head for at least a decade

I was about to comment on how perfect the song order is ("Breakin' The Law" is a great ending and feels like a victory lap), and I just noticed on Discogs that depending on which vinyl version you may have, "Letter from an Occupant" and "To Wild Homes" swap places (last song on Side A, first song on Side B). I've only listened to the CD (like a million times), where "Letter" is first...I'll have to try swapping those two.

"Letter" first (Matador): https://www.discogs.com/The-New-Pornographers-Mass-Romantic/release/688996
"To Wild Homes" first (Matador): https://www.discogs.com/The-New-Pornographers-Mass-Romantic/release/3915032
It looks like the Mint Records vinyl releases have "To Wild Homes" first.

Thanks for this excellent POLL, mookieproof

Hm, what's going on with the different versions of "Hey, Snow White"?

Y'alll ready for some challops??!?!?!?!!?11

"Breakin' The Law" - 0 is the best song on this album

This drummer packs a wallop, sings good bg vox too.

“Mary Martin Show” deserved better seeing the turnout.

We should keep this polling on to “Electric Version”

I love that this conversation exists and wish there were more bands containing multiple songwriters of equal skill with distinctive-but-complimentary qualities

wish there were more bands containing multiple songwriters of equal skill with distinctive-but-complimentary qualities

Sloan?

^^^^^^^^^^

I mean, I love Sloan, but couldn't guess the authorship from song-to-song with much (or any) accuracy

Agree with that. I bet hardcore fans could, though.

Uncle Tupelo comes to mind. And the DBTs.

Is Rolling Blackouts this way? Or do they write everything together and just trade off lead vocals?

sloan to me are more solid workhorses than "holy shit that song" type songwriters. which is not a dis!