The ironic and literal making of a band.

24th July 2012

Photo reblogged from Bryne Yancey with 20 notes

bryneyancey: In case you missed it: My review of the Gaslight Anthem’s new album Handwritten is up over at Punknews.org. Click the cover art to read it. I’m vehemently against writing anecdotal record reviews, so I’ll place some more personal thoughts about the album and the surrounding zeitgeist here. —Typing out an extended review that says little more than “LOL SEGER” isn’t doing the record (or any record) justice. If you dislike an album, fine, but bring up valid points on where you think its failings lie. —I’ve also read vague comparisons of this record to Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls and other awful ’90s rock bands. I don’t hear it at all. Give me some specific examples or I’ll just assume you’re all trolls. —I truly believe this record will be huge. As nice and as hardworking as the Gaslight guys are, I hope I’m right. —This was the first Gaslight Anthem album I immediately loved. Everything else they’ve released, from Sink or Swim all the way to American Slang, took weeks—if not months—for me to get into and truly appreciate. I have no idea why it’s happened that way. —Never let a band’s rising popularity taint your feelings on the band itself. It’s OK to be upset when a band you once loved “sells out” or shifts its sound in what you think is an attempt at hitting it big. It’s not OK to judge a band’s music and work ethic on the expanding Venn diagram of their fanbase. Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy, and be happy a good band is being recognized. Keep it in your heart that you were one of the first people to discover this band or any band, because I can assure you no one else gives a shit.

bryneyancey:

In case you missed it: My review of the Gaslight Anthem’s new album Handwritten is up over at Punknews.org. Click the cover art to read it.

I’m vehemently against writing anecdotal record reviews, so I’ll place some more personal thoughts about the album and the surrounding zeitgeist here.

—Typing out an extended review that says little more than “LOL SEGER” isn’t doing the record (or any record) justice. If you dislike an album, fine, but bring up valid points on where you think its failings lie.

—I’ve also read vague comparisons of this record to Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls and other awful ’90s rock bands. I don’t hear it at all. Give me some specific examples or I’ll just assume you’re all trolls.

—I truly believe this record will be huge. As nice and as hardworking as the Gaslight guys are, I hope I’m right.

—This was the first Gaslight Anthem album I immediately loved. Everything else they’ve released, from Sink or Swim all the way to American Slang, took weeks—if not months—for me to get into and truly appreciate. I have no idea why it’s happened that way.

—Never let a band’s rising popularity taint your feelings on the band itself. It’s OK to be upset when a band you once loved “sells out” or shifts its sound in what you think is an attempt at hitting it big. It’s not OK to judge a band’s music and work ethic on the expanding Venn diagram of their fanbase. Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy, and be happy a good band is being recognized.

Keep it in your heart that you were one of the first people to discover this band or any band, because I can assure you no one else gives a shit.

  1. out-of-spite reblogged this from jimthepunkrockfan and added:
    This. I’m so irritated that I keep seeing bands people “loved” and that “changed their lives” one week are suddenly sell...
  2. wewantaband reblogged this from bryneyancey
  3. jimthepunkrockfan reblogged this from bryneyancey
  4. bryneyancey posted this