One Fast Move is...

sturgeongeneral · Post by **sturgeongeneral** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:37 pm

dc, you are spot on. although i have listened to the past 3 sv endeavors on numerous occasions i find myself moving away and retreating to the original 3 at present time. probably, melody of riot, search, & dust would work best for me as a 'best of' compilation. however, fast move remains in "steady rotation" as they say in minot, n. dakota. and, although i am big fan of jay's voice, it can wear me down song after song. fast move, with gibbard's vocal contributions, provides me with a balance that i find refreshingly different from a strict sv effort. a similar sentiment with gob iron and the contributions from anders. maybe, that is why i never tire of uncle tupelo. it was the yen and yang of two distinctly different vocal contributions.

btw dc, i notice that you are not posting at the same level you once did. burning out or rusting out? or, maybe just fading away.

Tupelo Son · Post by **Tupelo Son** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:32 pm

ShuckOwens wrote:
dcarter wrote:A favorite 2009 release.
+1

+2

def the best produced jay record in years.

ShuckOwens · Post by **ShuckOwens** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:13 pm

dcarter wrote:A favorite 2009 release.

+1

dcarter · Post by **dcarter** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:08 pm

I am enamored with this album. For me, it is the best thing that Jay Farrar has been involved with since Sebastopol, the last 3 SV albums have included some excellent songs but have also included some that are the opposite. Basically, I find them uneven (Gob Iron is damned good though). I wish that I could see the tour. I have always dug Gibbard's voice and it is shining on this album. Jay has written some affecting music and I hope that this bodes well for future Farrar albums. Gibbard's title track is also top notch and California Zephyr is in my head daily.

A favorite 2009 release.

countryfeedback · Post by **countryfeedback** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:54 am

Badjayhawk wrote:The very fact that my favorite song keeps changing the more I listen, the more I realize the depth of this album. On my personal list of the best releases of the decade thus far, it is climbing near the top.

Side note: Like Gibbard has said in interviews, I also read On the Road in college and it stirred (but hardly inspired) me. I get Capote's snarky dig that it's "not writing, it's typing." Actually, I liked Dharma Bums better.

I tried to reread Big Sur last week and, I confess, it is tough going. By the time he wrote it, the wheels had come off Kerouac's already tenuous grasp on cogent story telling. People who claim that his spurning conventional forms of fiction was intentional, and somehow resembles Joyce, neglect that acute fact that Kerouac was nowhere nearly as learned, brilliant or as great a writer as Joyce. But that's the point--Big Sur is a gut spilling mess of a book. Farrar and Gibbard have taken that flawed, though moving, work and elevated it into something that Kerouac himself could not. It is now a musically retelling of a narrative that rises far above its inspiration. To me, it's what Kerouac was trying to say through the fog of alcoholism and mental decline, but could not. That's more than good music. It's a cultural achievement.

Great post!

Badjayhawk · Post by **Badjayhawk** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:38 pm

The very fact that my favorite song keeps changing the more I listen, the more I realize the depth of this album. On my personal list of the best releases of the decade thus far, it is climbing near the top.

Side note: Like Gibbard has said in interviews, I also read On the Road in college and it stirred (but hardly inspired) me. I get Capote's snarky dig that it's "not writing, it's typing." Actually, I liked Dharma Bums better.

I tried to reread Big Sur last week and, I confess, it is tough going. By the time he wrote it, the wheels had come off Kerouac's already tenuous grasp on cogent story telling. People who claim that his spurning conventional forms of fiction was intentional, and somehow resembles Joyce, neglect that acute fact that Kerouac was nowhere nearly as learned, brilliant or as great a writer as Joyce. But that's the point--Big Sur is a gut spilling mess of a book. Farrar and Gibbard have taken that flawed, though moving, work and elevated it into something that Kerouac himself could not. It is now a musically retelling of a narrative that rises far above its inspiration. To me, it's what Kerouac was trying to say through the fog of alcoholism and mental decline, but could not. That's more than good music. It's a cultural achievement.

smokebomb · Post by **smokebomb** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:19 pm

Bozeman wrote:
smokebomb wrote: Didn't mean to upset you Boze. I'm a liner notes guy and I'm well aware that Jay essentially wrote the album. I was in fact talking about the singing, and the reason I was so pleasantly surprised is because it's hard to find a voice that can stack up against Jay's.

Agreed on The Void. Awesome tune that cries out for the Jay drone.

Also, I respectfully disagree with you and submit One Fast Move is a great tune.
I would love to hear Jay sing all his songs on a 'B' side just from curiousity.

Agreed. Would be sweet.

ShuckOwens · Post by **ShuckOwens** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:09 pm

Bozeman · Post by **Bozeman** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:48 pm

And for what's it's worth, Sea Engines is the best song on the album. Absolutely perfect song.

Bozeman · Post by **Bozeman** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:39 pm

smokebomb wrote: Didn't mean to upset you Boze. I'm a liner notes guy and I'm well aware that Jay essentially wrote the album. I was in fact talking about the singing, and the reason I was so pleasantly surprised is because it's hard to find a voice that can stack up against Jay's.

Agreed on The Void. Awesome tune that cries out for the Jay drone.

Also, I respectfully disagree with you and submit One Fast Move is a great tune.

Ah my mistake, sorry for the misunderstanding. Yeah Gibbard's voice is fine, though I would love to hear Jay sing all his songs on a 'B' side just from curiousity. Plus it makes me wonder if Jay will ever play the songs he wrote but Gibbard sang. Would love to hear him break out California Zephyr next time he plays in San Francisco.

And yeah I get why people like One Fast Move, but the song just doesn't work for me. It's not anti-Gibbard bias, I listened to it before looking at who wrote what and that one was on my skip list from the get-go.

camaroheadus · Post by **camaroheadus** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:31 pm

it still hasn't left the cd player in my truck. listen every morning on the way to work and every afternoon on the way home. i found the lyrics a bit forced in places at first, but now i find something new during each spin. just a great project.

countryfeedback · Post by **countryfeedback** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:03 am

I think every one of Gibbard's songs are standout tracks...I do agree that The Void sounds like Jay should be singing lead though.

I am getting really close to declaring this the best album of the decade, outside of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Tokyo Fan · Post by **Tokyo Fan** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:36 am

megaballs1 wrote:.....

And, fwiw, I think One Fast Move is a first class bit of song writing by Ben G

I agree. I've woken up in the morning with this tune already running through my head.

megaballs1 · Post by **megaballs1** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:35 am

Tokyo Fan wrote:I just noticed the tour page has a another Jay-Ben and Co. show listed for January in Ann Arbor. (old news?)

I think its new news and a clear signal that Jay, Ben, Mark and company hit the road again starting in January.

Walbourne said he's in thru December a while back and Jay's dropped hints in interviews...

Wonder where they'll go?

Portland and Washington state seems a lock.

And, fwiw, I think One Fast Move is a first class bit of song writing by Ben G

smokebomb · Post by **smokebomb** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:49 am

Bozeman wrote:
smokebomb wrote:Given it several listens now. It's a beautiful album and some of Jay's finest writin' and singin'.

So, so pleasantly surprised with Gibbard's performance. I was very much expecting to love Jay's tunes and being disappointed by the rest. Dead wrong once again. Gibbard brings it and his tunes hold their own against Jay's. Not to say it's a competition, just saying it's a brilliant cohesive album.

Up next, Gob Iron redux. Good shit.
Arrrgh, "Gibbards" tunes hold up to Farrar's because they ARE Farrar's. Unless you are just talking about the actual singing, which doesn't appear to be the case. Farrar wrote all of it (lyrics by Keroauc of course) except for one. The title track (my least favorite) was written solely by Gibbard, the rest is Farrar. The only other writing credits for Gibbard were on Willamine and The Void, which he shares with Farrar. The few reviews of the album seem to confuse the singer with the songwriter, and it pisses me off.

The way I see it, this is a Farrar album, with a guest appearance and mild assist by Gibbard. Generally I agree with the singing choices on the album, but I really wish Farrar sang The Void instead.

Didn't mean to upset you Boze. I'm a liner notes guy and I'm well aware that Jay essentially wrote the album. I was in fact talking about the singing, and the reason I was so pleasantly surprised is because it's hard to find a voice that can stack up against Jay's.

Agreed on The Void. Awesome tune that cries out for the Jay drone.

Also, I respectfully disagree with you and submit One Fast Move is a great tune.