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I see she has a lot of followers in here so let’s make a thread for her.
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How would you rank her albums?1. Fetch the Bolt Cutters (perhaps recency bias, but it is quite an accomplishment. Dense but also catchy. Dark yet cathartic. Chaotic but expertly crafted. Every song gets more engaging the more you listen.
2. The Idler Wheel… (maybe still my personal favorite. It’s her most distilled and affecting, imo it’s her peak so far as a lyricist)
3. When the Pawn… (the album that made me a fan and probably still the favorite among the majority of fans. It’s her most easily digestible and “fun” effort).
4. Extraordinary Machine (A bit all over the place sonically but still a strong collection of songs. We also got a few good “happy” or uplifting songs here, which is hard to find on any of her other outings).
5. Extraordinary Machine-Jon Brion Bootlegs (Certainly overproduced. I get why she scrapped it but still lush and imaginative).
6. Tidal (Her one album I hesitate to at least call “really good”. A handful of solid songs and a promising debut but too many torch-jazz cuts. And the ambition, sharp wit and craftsmanship aren’t quite there yet. Once again, a promising debut).
ReplyCopy URL1. When the Pawn
2. Idler Wheel
3. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
4. Extraordinary Machine
5. Tidal
First three are brilliant, but When the Pawn is flawless. Extraordinary Machine is excellent, but I personally would knock Window and Red Red Red from the track list. Tidal is a valiant first effort but the production is too plain at times for such strong songwriting.
ReplyCopy URL“Red Red Red” is one of the standout tracks on EM for me. “Window” is groovy, especially the closing breakdown. “Oh Well” and “Please Please Please” are ones I would consider most disposable.
If we’re eventually getting singles/videos I feel “Heavy Balloon”, “Under the Table” and “Cosmonauts” are the route to go. Though I understand pushing “Shameika”. Here’s my song ranking for FTBC, even though it’s bond to drastically change.
1.Heavy Balloon 2.Newspaper 3.Relay 4.For Her 5.Shameika 6.I Want You to Love Me 7.Under the Table 8.Fetch the Bolt Cutters 9.On I Go 10.Cosmonauts 11.Rack of His 12.Drumset 13.Ladies
ReplyCopy URLEM is a borderline great album. Her debut is her only effort I feel isn’t at least borderline great. Some people prefer the Jon Brion versions of the EM songs. They leaked months in advance to the official album being released. (And they are still pretty easy to find on YouTube). His take on the songs were often more ornate and string driven. Only his version of the title track and “Waltz” made it on the album. Both versions of the album are pretty good. But EM became more about the drama behind the production and about which versions of the songs you prefer, which led to the overall project becoming underrated in her catalog. I think Fiona wanted a rougher, more sturdy, more dissonant edge to her music than what Brion can provide. I also feel she wanted to take more ownership of her music. She couldn’t have liked that Brion got so much credit for “When the Pawn…”, which I feel eventually led to her self-producing ‘Fetch’.
ReplyCopy URLI remember the disgusting feeling I had around the When the Pawn release when people started crediting Jon Brion with basically writing the record for her; and that they (they meaning Fiona & Jon) had to go out of their way to talk about how the songs were all her and she was actually responsible for not just the music, but also for directing the making of it. The idea that she was this naive girl who needed men to make everything for her was almost violent in a way.
ReplyCopy URLAnyone want to indulge a FTBC song ranking? I’d go with:
1. Newspaper- There’s something so fearsome and cinematic about this. It starts off with her sounding rather concerned for someone else. But by the end she sounds insane and obsessed. The chord progressions, pacing changes and vocal shifts throughout just add more drama and make it sound like it’s closing in on you by its conclusion.
2. Shameika- I liked it when I first heard it. But it took weeks for me to fully appreciate. It almost sounds too cute for this album, like it belongs on EM or something. But it’s such a groovy, fun, stop-and-go track. And the storytelling is excellent.
3. For Her- Probably the most “out there” track. It’s genius not because of the dark story it’s telling but because the way it reveals that dark twist. The “punchline” comes and the whole song both falls apart and comes together. Then it ends in a somewhat comforting way. That’s supreme storytelling in a song.
4. Relay
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5. On I Go
6. I Want You To Love Me
7. Cosmonauts
8. Rack of His
9. Heavy Balloon
10. Drumset
11. Under the Table
12. Fetch the Bolt Cutters
13. Ladies
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