Against the Day is my favorite of his. I wouldn't call it his best. It's messy and shaggy and prone to diversions that might frustrate some. But, for me, it's Pynchon trying to square the circle of his earlier postmodern masterpieces and his post-Vineland shift of seemingly starting to care that his characters are ultimately fucked by forces outside of their control. I found it incredibly moving.
But I also thought Bleeding Edge was relatively flat and a bummer, weirdly retreading ground other authors had already covered extensively, so ymmv.
I'd say my ranking of him by favorite (again, not best) is
Against the Day
Gravity's Rainbow
Mason & Dixon*
Inherent Vice
V.
Vineland
Slow Learner
Bleeding Edge
Crying of Lot 49
*I think of the line "This is beauteous Work. Emerson was right, Jeremiah. You were flying, all the time." legit all the time. Depending on the day, this one might be my favorite.
Yeah, I big line in my own history of how I engage music is the moment I realized how much really was going on in this song and how insane it is that it works at all, let alone is a masterpiece.
With y'all as well. I'm still kind of skeptical of this because it looks as much like your typical sentimental, cheesy Prestige Picture as First Man does your aggro great man Prestige Picture, but I'd be happy if I end up liking it when I see it.
That was an issue with El Pintor, too, which I otherwise dug. They put out some b-side that would've elevated the album by giving it space to breathe, if I'm remembering correctly. Also the sequencing was off there, which feels similar here to me.
Biggest issue though is the production. It just flattens EVERYTHING.
John Lennon: #Resistance account, frequent meltdowns online
Paul McCartney: algorithm-favoring celeb account
George Harrison: locked
Ringo Starr: weird twitter famous
Totally had the same arc with Kintsugi as you, and while I think the middle section is a little weaker here than I'd like, it still felt much more varied and engaged than the prior's middle stretch. Also, way more economical, as Kintsugi became something of a slog in the middle.
Plus I give them bonus points for abandoning trying to make another "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" in the middle of it all.
He's definitely played this live before. I saw him open for James Blake in 2016, and he played this one. Remember this mostly because him building the loops was particularly striking.
Even found a video of it from 2015 (still sounds killer then). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne1YNu1ZY4o
I got pretty optimistic in the lead-up to the last one--and subsequently v disappointed--but only mostly because of how they were talking about the album. This one seems 3 for 3, though, while somehow avoiding the band's much more embarrassing tendencies.
I can't believe I'm getting my hopes up for this thing, but they sound much more lively than they have in a long time.
Where I'm at this week in music: yesterday I discovered the (unused) Animal Collective song they did for Red Dead Redemption and then went back through pretty much their entire discography and got really bummed they don't write songs like that anymore (Feels still the best tho).
the relaxed nature of it is something an Animal Collective SONG hasn't had in awhile.**
I gotta proofread these fucking things. Can't believe I get paid for such shoddy commenting.
Totally agreed. "Banshee Beat" is their best song, imo, because it managed to combine their droned out builds with the more traditional songwriting in a way they haven't really done for me since.
I'm digging this. Though it's perhaps too low-key a first song to really excite many people, the relaxed nature of it is something an Animal Collective hasn't had in awhile. The biggest problem with their last two albums was a distinct lack of space: too many ideas, sounds, and songs all on top of one another competing for attention that made things feel at once rushed, directionless, and overstuffed. I've been enjoying most of their output post Painting With, however, where they seem to be finding more sure footing and hope this continues in that direction.
I'll always be a little optimistic for them, though. Some of their albums were so important to me--and so wild and so varied in what songs could be and do--that I'll always hold out hope they have one more great one in them.
Like the production on this one a lot more than "Girlfriend," which sounded a little too much like one of these: https://www.stereogum.com/1908454/here-are-80s-versions-of-recent-ariana-grande-justin-bieber-hits/music/
I love Roy, but now every time I think of his tragic life I think of that other tragic, great American singer who once said: "Goddamn it, this is a dark fucking period."
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