Built to Spill: 'Perfect' vs. 'Keep it Like a Secret'

it's been years since i played either one i think, but remember beeing very let down by 'keep it like a secret' back when. there was simply nothing on it that grabbed my attention, whereas 'perfect from now on' had had a great impact on me as it was *the* album that first got me into indie rock back in '97.

What saxomophone said.

Perfect From Now On is one of those rare(ish) albums that is more than the sum of its parts... it's not just a collection of great songs, there's a kind of transcendant thematic cohesion (dude).

I never really got into TNWWL. Always seemed a little immature - lyrically, vocally, structurally. I think they'd definitely matured as songwriters by Perfect. Mind you Perfect is the one I heard first, and if one's a late adopter it's always harder to go back and evaluate the earlier stuff.

"I never really got into TNWWL. Always seemed a little immature "

and thats what makes it a more simple and fun to listen to,(sometimes, depends on mood),compared to the seriousness of "perfect".

also,"car" and "stab" might be their best songs ever.

am i the only one who think that "secret"'s production is kinda annoying?

i kinda like it, however simplistic and like sophomore-year-of-college it may sound

<i>am i the only one who think that "secret"'s production is kinda annoying?</i>
No you are not. I prefer Perfect...

Call me a knucklehead, but I usually go for the live album above all else -- my favorite version of Car, my favorite versions of any of the songs off Keep It Like A Secret. It's possible I'm wrong on this one, but I think the 20 minutes of Cortez the Killer are all worthwhile.

They're all great, except for the horrible Ancient Melodies. Now that's a bad record.

The new one is excellent, too. Holds up much better than expected.

ooooh i need to get!!!!

Ancient Melodies is bad? is that a known thing? i've never heard.

perfect>>>secret.

Both are great, perfect from now on is the best.

Secret.

Ancient Melodies is bad? is that a known thing? i've never heard.

In Built To Spill circles, Ancient Melodies Of The Future can't even be spoken out loud. You can only whisper it's name for fear of getting some sort of hex.

New one's great, however.

In Built To Spill circles

hahahaha

'ancient melodies' isn't bad. it's just a bit boring, and obviously worse than anything else they've done

i have a friend who through some kind of misfortune or bad planning always stumbles onto the artist's worst record first. she picked up 'ancient melodies' as an intro to built to spill and was totally sold on it. on that basis, i gave it another listen, and well, it has a few great songs.

At least Ancient Melodies has "Strange" (with Sam Coomes on rocksichord).

In America
every puddle
gasoline rainbow

From "Nowhere Nothing Fuckup", Ultimate Alternative Wavers, which is definitely not their best by a longshot, but man that is a good line. I like Nothing Wrong With Love best.

Okay, I need some feedback here: am I just in a hopelessly romantic mood right now, or is "As long as it's talking with you / Talk of the weather will do" an absolutely perfect lyric?

whereas 'perfect from now on' had had a great impact on me as it was *the* album that first got me into indie rock back in '97.

Upon listening to Perfect From Now On, most of indie rock is really disappointing.

xpost: Yes, that could be Cole Porter or something.

they played 'nowhere nothing...' the other night when i saw them! very pleasant surprise.

and bernard yeah, that's a great line from a song that's a fitting closer to an under-appreciated record

and yeah, kingkong, 'perfect...' really does set the benchmark for majestic guitar-based indie rock.

so this band is offically my soundtrack for the beginning of 2008.

welcome 2008.

I'm kind of amazed that there isn't more outright anti-BtS contrarianism on this thread.

well in that case, let me be the first to say it: i fucking hate this band.

do u have a favorite band? who is it? curious

Low

no offense or anything to BtS, i just don't like that sorta indie-guitar rock.

tks

"you thought of everything
but some things can't be thought"

always makes me smile :)

"Both are great but Keep Like A Secret starts higher and peters out more near the end. Perfect is more consistent overall so I'll probably give it the nod" is very OTM

plus 'perfect' is phenomenal at the end

I must give major props to "Velvet Waltz" off of Perfect From Now On, still my favorite BTS song.

I still like Keep it Like a Secret just as much, with There's Nothing Wrong With Love. I want to like the live album, but it reminds me too much of the one time I saw BTS live, which was sort of like a sped up version of watching an old man lose the ability to grip his hammer, and then die.

"Both are great but Keep Like A Secret starts higher and peters out more near the end. Perfect is more consistent overall so I'll probably give it the nod" is very OTM

-- stevie, Tuesday, March 25, 2008 11:37 AM (4 days ago) Bookmark Link

By OTM, do you mean "Opposite of The Money"? The last three songs on KILAS are impeccable.

keep it like a secret always feels perfect.

purrrrrrrfect.

the guitar bridge in the middle of Sidewalk is great

Else is painful to listen to

a frightening prelude to You Were Right.

whoas. Broken Chairs is a ridiculous closer. the vocals just hang in the air.

wtf ;D

Long time since I listened to Keep it Like a secret, not so long for Perfect from Now On. For me Perfect is Perfect because each song is like aa epic story without being prog- it is coherent and massive- works as a whole gigantic album. Keep it like a secret is more varied and feels far more inconsistent.I was extremely disappointed at the time. I guess I had Built to Spill pigeoned as a group who wrote monumental tracks which felt both pop-like and also quite symphonic. There is daylight between these two records for me and i am interested in why so many people seem to love "Keep it." there no right or wrong answer of course but this one just seems so obvious. have all you Keep it people listened well to perfect from now on
. Also all those people who love Keep It Like a secret- did you like this before you heard Perfect from Now on? For me it was the other way round and like a favourite pet maybe it is hard to give up your first love.

I heard Keep It Like A Secret long before Perfect From Now On and it's by far my favorite Built to Spill record. I have all the other ones but honestly listen to to this one 95% of the time and all the others 5%.

I really should listen to Perfect more.

Thats what I'm trying to say. My theory is that all the Fans of Keep it like a Secret were first to this record and second to Perfect from Now on. Maybe it depends on which one you listened to first.

well Keep It is the first and only that i've heard. i can't remember if i got Perfect or something else after, but it doesn't matter cuz this girl stole it.

what should i get now???

Perfect From Now On!

their best, "There's Nothing Wrong With Love"

I've always said There's Nothing Wrong with Love was my fave, but I'm starting to wonder if Secret aged better.

perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect. perfect.

voted "there's nothing wrong with love"

They played Perfect in its entirety last month here in Brussels, and right after "Untrustable" (I mean RIGHT after, they didn't even stop for the applause) they played "In Your Mind" from Ancient Melodies. I always thought it was the best song from that album, but it was a bit weird to hear it so closely connected to Perfect.

During the encore we got "Car", which was a nice treat as well :)

BTW, my vote goes to Perfect.

Doug has been in a sort of strange - maybe transitional, it seems now - zone recently, playing backyards and tiny venues in Portland and elsewhere in the Northwest. It's cool that he has switched up the lineup to include two women, though I generally would rather see BTS as a quartet.

I saw a pretty great trio show back in the 90s (and also a terrible one!). He's definitely a cool player, I like the idea of him doing a little more heavy lifting. Glad he's still at it!