The Sophtware Slump - One of the best second albums ever?

Geir... otm? If "they" dredge up a musical artefact dated back to approx two millennia AC, from whatever remains of civilization, let it be this instead of Kid fucking A.

I'm curious, LBI, what brought you to revive this thread? Did you recently re-listen to it or something? Kinda always fascinated by that impulse.

It's funny, I have strong nostalgic feelings for this album - listened to this album constantly back in 2001 or 2002, but ever since then, I've cooled on it quite a bit, save for a few songs.

So, so classic, along with a lot of the stuff that Grandaddy released before it

and after it!

birds come

and then they go

I'm curious, LBI, what brought you to revive this thread? Did you recently re-listen to it or something? Kinda always fascinated by that impulse.

It's funny, I have strong nostalgic feelings for this album - listened to this album constantly back in 2001 or 2002, but ever since then, I've cooled on it quite a bit, save for a few songs.

― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Wednesday, September 26, 2018 2:51 AM (eleven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I hadn't listened to it in years but suddenly 'The Crystal Lake' popped up in my mind yesterday so I gave it a spin! It still holds up great imo, it's a near perfect album/song cycle.

birds come

and then they go

otm

birds come

and then they go

― alpine static, Wednesday, 26 September 2018 06:32 (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i can't use what i can't abuse

and i can't stop when it comes to you

is there a thread for great pre-verse mumblings

fire it up sonny

moved out of my parents' place in crystal lake, IL to chicago a couple months before this album came out, believe it or not!

my bank teller's name is Krystal Lake

I should listen to this today, it's been a minute.

it's shining like a chandelier

the opening track when it kicks in is such a spine tingling moment - those synthetic strings and drums, so perfect

and this is like the southern equivalent to ok computer-kid a really, both are good in their own ways

central valley equivalent - but yeah definitely. i don't think it has quite the back bench of great songs, or the sonic variety, as ok computer. i listen to it more like an overall mood thing out of which key songs really come into focus.

oh come on it's obviously better than ok computer

i'd listen to this over okc most days

It's twinned with Van Occupanther for me. Broken robots/stonemasons staring into the wastes of modernity.

I'm with Rod Steel above. I listened to this loads in 2001, but not any more. I don't think it has aged so well. And I can't shake the feeling with Grandaddy that all their songs plod along in the same way. Off putting. Their drummer had it easy!

I mean they tapped into a vibe and concept and just kinda luxuriated there most of the time, which is as good an approach as any.

I find the 'Jed the Humanoid' songs pretty much unlistenable. They certainly proved they had nothing left in them after this came out. The album that came out a couple years ago was more of the same; it even had another 'Jed the Humanoid' song!

This was their peak, imo. And it's OK. But "greatest second album ever"?. No way.

Sorry, the OP was "One of the best second albums ever". Still no way

They certainly proved they had nothing left in them after this came out.

RONG

yeah the reunion album was a bit sleepy but the rest of the OG run has plenty of fine songs

man if only "protected from the rain" was on this thing

or "mgm grand" tho that might throw off the vibe

They certainly proved they had nothing left in them after this came out.

RONG

― imago, Wednesday, 26 September 2018 20:48 

Au contraire.

Reunion album had some great stuff too. Evermore and A Lost Machine or starters

sumday is a good album y'all are talkin out of your asses

I guess I never gave Sumday and The Fambly Cat a fair shake tbh. I can only bring to mind "Now It's On" and "Where I'm Anymore"

i can sing the entire chorus of "el caminos in the west" rn. i haven't heard that song in ten years probably

yeah this is their best record but i think my POX would only have ~3 songs from here

qualmsley, McHenry Co represent

sumday is a good album y'all are talkin out of your asses

― princess of hell (BradNelson), Wednesday, 26 September 2018 19:01 (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

imo, their clear best

sumday was in the final batch of like a dozen CDs i had left before i abandoned physical media

i'm a big fan of following up a sprawling masterpiece with a really solid straightforward pop album. sumday is a very good version of that

a solid straightforward sprawling pop masterpiece tbf

lol i forgot about the synthetic orchestra stabs in the chorus of "now it's on"

what a delightful song

those orchestra stabs are my favorite part of the song! grandaddy's main obstacle with me was that "solid" always teetered on the edge of "stolid" - that midtempo chug and dreary subject matter could make them feel very samey. i kinda longed for even like a sorta mediocre thrashy rocker like "electioneering" to pop up and thus give more definition to the songs around it, if that makes sense.

sumday is great yeah xposts

Sumday was the one that really made the music media take note. But it was samey. Not as strong as Sophtware

I guess I just assumed that anyone who liked vintage Grandaddy also checked out Jason Lyttle's solo album, Dept. of Disappearance, released in 2012. It's just as good as peak Grandaddy, imo.

anyone else check out the piano-only version of this album that lytle released recently? underscores how strong the bones of these songs are and a pretty great piano performance to boot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndnfFi8WL9M

Yeah I loved this. Ending was killer too

New version of Chartsengrafs is of course incredible

crystal lake is good i wish they would put out a greatest hits so i do not have to buy every album for just 1 song i like on it!

I'll pretend I didn't read that..

The Sophtware Slump is a masterpiece from start to finish. Think Voodoo eloquently explains why the piano version just works so well; because the bare bones are so good, too. Def a modest highlight this year.

xzanfar otm