cassadaga poll

[Mypocketsmellikepot]

So, how does everyone feel about it? I personally can't stand it to tell you the truth. Some of the lyrics are sooooo laughably bad. Like for example "I've been fucked...so what?" I laughed so hard when I heard that...

It's just way too overproduced. I think he holed himself up in a room and read all the 'I'm wide awake' reviews and listened to Neil Young non-stop and then headed to the studio with his mindset on creating another folk masterpiece.

I like 'Four Winds' though...

[:::::::::::::::::::::::::]

I love Hot Knives. I have mixed feelings for Cassadaga, but for the most part it's a yay. I mostly just cant stand Make a Plan to Love Me.

[Mypocketsmellikepot]

make a plannnnnnnn to loooove meeeee

make a plannnnnnnnn to looove meeeee

make a plannnnnnnnnnnn to lovvveee me sometimmme sooooooooooooooon!



that one?

[breadandfruit]

I vote yay. I love "Four Winds" too. A lot. And a couple other tracks. Love.

Some of the tracks I enjoy but sound like b-sides to me. Like "I Must Belong Somewhere." It's pleasant enough but repetitive like True Blue.

And some of the lyrics are not so good. :(

And then, yeah, "Make a Plan to Love Me" is in a class of its own.

[Mister Grieves]

The closest to perfection that Oberst and company have gotten.

[girl-size]

I also don't like it that much; I find it overproduced, too. When I first heard the acoustic version of I Must Belong Somewhere I was overwhelmed and fell in love with the song immediately. But the version on the album is somehow boring. Make A Plan To Love Me could be a nice lovesong but the strings and all that stuff just make it horrible. I like Classic Cars, Four Winds, Cleanse Song and Coat Check Dream Song but on the whole I never really got into the album.

[BrightEyedMuse]

I gotta say it took me quite a few listens and seing him live 2 times during this tour to like the album. But now I absolutely love it, I think it's brilliant and his lyrics never cease to amaze me!! =)

[dorareever]

It's good enough. I like the production. I don't see it as overproduced, but then I do not see anything as overproduced. I like lo-fi, but I like big wall-of-sound stuff as well. I actually like the production more than the one of IWAIM, but the songs were better on that one.
The only problem is that it doesn't flow that well, I read somewhere that they didn't stick to a concept this time, and just went with the flow. I would have liked them to stick to a concept, a style, whatever. Cassadaga is too..."shuffable".

Make a Plan to Love me is fantastic live. It's soo cheesy and 1940's-ish. Still better than Pinata though. That one was cheesy and...just cheesy. Plan sounds almost ironic and retro. I like it. The strings and the harmonies...lovely. If it was just acoustic guitar then the lyrics would sound really bad, but with that kind of saccharine arrangement everything fits.

There isn't a single track I don't like, but it's not a *very* good album per se.

I find coat check to be too weird and a bit boring (what the fuck is that song about???) and lime tree is a bit overratted, but it's an ok record.

[Mypocketsmellikepot]

So what do you guys think he'll do next? Can anyone actually see him recording another album that's NOT folky?

It's sad, but I can't see him ever writting an album like 'fevers and mirrors' again. Not because he can't, but simply because he probably dosen't want too!

Which is cool, because artists shouldn't just stay stuck in the same place. I guess I'm just being selfish..

[Mister Grieves]

So what do you guys think he'll do next? Can anyone actually see him recording another album that's NOT folky?

It's sad, but I can't see him ever writting an album like 'fevers and mirrors' again. Not because he can't, but simply because he probably dosen't want too!

Which is cool, because artists shouldn't just stay stuck in the same place. I guess I'm just being selfish..

I think the next record will be full of overblown melodrama. Well, I mean, more so than usual regarding Oberst. The record will either be a real rock album, or full of orchestral tinkerings and such. Or maybe a mix. He's done three country albums now, so I see him moving on.

I guess I'm the only person who sees Cassadaga as Oberst's Blonde on Blonde?

It's funny cause everyone I know says this is his best, one of the best ever; just full of classic songs. I agree. It's so mature and interesting.

[(liquorforblood)]

I'm probably a double yea!

I still really like the album. It will be interesting to see if he goes another direction with the next one.

cheers liquorforblood

[Dead Pilot]

I dont mind the album as a whole, but i think the weak songs are REALLY weak.

My fav's are still Make a PLan and Coat Check Dream song. I know Im alone on this, right?
I actually found the ep to be better. Ie I think Cartoon Blues is Conors best song he's done in ages. And Tourist Trap deals with his new found fame really well.


Weakest song: Classic Cars. Worst song ever.

[Fab]

I'm going to be honest, I still haven't even bought it! I've heard it at people's houses and in shops and I really couldn't stand it so haven't been able to bring myself to get it yet. I probably will eventually mind, or maybe just download it.

[blacklacelily]

I like the album. I don't think I'm quite in love with it though. Like others said, my biggest problem is that it doesn't seem to flow. I'm really into the idea of the album as a whole being a work of art (that sounded incredibly pretentious, I know, but hopefully it makes some sense?), so the lack of a concept/direction with Cassadaga was disappointing to me. I found it to be a bit too scattered. But overall I think it's great that they're still growing and trying new things (as all artists should) and I too find the maturity of Cassadaga interesting.

The production doesn't bother me too much. Lifted is my favorite BE album
so maybe I'm just used to the "layered" sound, who knows. The only time it really bothers me is on Middleman, which comes off as over-the-top (and kind of hollow lyrically) to me. I felt the same way at first about Coat Check Dream Song but it's grown on me a lot and I've come to really like its lyrics. There aren't any songs I can't stand, but there are a few that I generally skip, which I usually won't do with a BE album. For me the best songs are Four Winds, Classic Cars and I Must Belong Somewhere (I slightly preferred the acoustic version, but I think it's too close to make a big difference). I also agree with whoever said Make A Plan To Love Me is much better live, but it's one of the tracks I tend to skip on the album.

I said on a different thread that I'd love to see them do an album of songs like the new song that they've been playing live (the "tear gas riot song"). The more I hear it the more it reminds me of Desaparecidos. I think blending their earlier sound with their current subject matter could be very interesting.

[stee_doc]

i likes it!


what do i do with my spectrometre though?>

[stee_doc]

As a non bright eyes fan i think this is a great album. I like the way the additional instruments have been produced to fit in with the roomy, anti-lush be style

As a collaboration the instrumentation and orchestration I think work great - even if it's not coming from -one voice- The last track sounds great.

[stee_doc]

kill or be killed is such a great opener - lavish production and i love the construction of it with the voice overs and stuff

[:::::::::::::::::::::::::]

Tis my favorite Bright Eyes opener.

Even live. Sends chills down your spine when they do it live.

[stee_doc]

yes, and track 2 is great - those folky violins in the first bars are a superb seg from the slow diminuendo of track 1

[breadandfruit]

Okay so you know Middleman? You know how it has that jesus christ amazing violin in it? Or, it sounds like a violin - some kind of violiny instrument? Well, so why is there no violin or indeed any Anton-Patzner-esque string-and-bow instrument credited for that song in the liner notes? Am I missing something? They didn't forget to credit him did they??