Was doing some thinking..each Hip album seems to have a certain structure...for example, each album seems to have a powerful catchy ballad, a fast heavy rocker, one song that kind of defines the album, and one that just doesn't really fit in with the album.
(My opinions, obviously everyone will not agree):
IBE album
rocker: Heart of the Melt
ballad: New Orlean is Beat
defining: Vaccination Scar
doesn't fit: Heaven ??
IVL album
rocker: Silver Jet or All Tore Up
ballad: Beautiful Thing
defining: Good Life
doesn't fit: Are you Ready ?
M@W album
rocker: Freak Turbulence
ballad: Lake Fever (not quite a ballad, but kind of fits into the category?)
defining: M@W
doesn't fit: Tiger ?
PP album
rocker: Fireworks
ballad: Bobcaygeon
defining: Poets
doesn't fit: Emperor Penguin (man, do I love this song!)
TATH album
rocker: 700ft Ceiling
ballad: ABAC
defining: Gift Shop or ABAC again
doesn't fit: Butts Wigglin
D4N album
rocker: Fire In the Hole
ballad: Scared
defining: Nautical (easily)
doesn't fit: Titanic ??
FC album
rocker: Werewithal
ballad: Wheat Kings
defining: Courage or 100th Meridian??
doesn't fit: Eldorado
RA album
rocker: Twist My Arm ?
ballad: Long Time Running and Fiddler's Green (Hard to pick)
defining: Little Bones
doesn't fit: Unplucked Gems
UTH album
rocker: Blow
ballad: 38 Years Old
defining: NOIS
doesn't fit: Boots or Hearts
EP
rocker: Werewolf ??
ballad: Last American Exit
defining: Small Town Bringdown
doesn't fit: All Canadian Surf Club
OK, I know there are a few that are in the gray area...
Any other opinions?
I see what you are getting at, and thats the beauty of every album... and really that isn't a format so much as a creativity process. It's the diversity that I love. If anybody needs a full CD of alt-rock I suggest Collective Soul; oh, ballads is your thing? Hey, Vanessa Carlton just released a new CD...
I agree with most of your appointments, but really the whole scale that you've created can't really fit for every album because every album is entirely different. I find that every song on Day For Night is too dark to be considered a ballad and I find that every song fits smoothly. Likewise, NOIB isn't really a ballad... its too damn catchy; too much lead guitar. Aren't ballads supposed to be boring and repetitive, folky and simple? I pray that no Hip song ever be considered a ballad.
While every album does have a (or two or three) defining song(s) based on radio play, we all have our own intrepretation of what is the defining moment on each CD. And as for rockers... well... all of Up To Here, Road Apples, Fully Completely, Day For Night, Phantom Power and In Between Evolution are rockers...
While I feel that almost every song fits where it should in its prospective place on the album, the ones that don't seem quite right from TATH to IBE are: Apartment Song/Coconut Cream, Thompson Girl, The Completists, Beautiful Thing/Leave, and New Orleans is Beat...
Thompson Girl doesnt fit on PP? Oh my.
I think the Music @ Work ballad would be "Stay" or TO#4
Although i believe that tiger the lion doesnt fit on M@W, i would agree that it doesnt fit
if a track didn't fit on an album i don't think it would be there...the hip have done an exceptional job of pickin' the keepers for their albums. i can't think of any song of theirs that doesn't fit, except for maybe Evelyn, but that was centuries ago. anywho, just for shit's and giggles:
IBE album
rocker: Heart of the Melt or Heaven
ballad: One Night In Copenhagen
defining: VS or Makeshift
doesn't fit: INOIB
IVL album
rocker: Silver Jet or All Tore Up
ballad: The Dire Wolf
defining: The Dark Canuck
doesn't fit: N/A
M@W album
rocker: Freak Turbulence
ballad: Lake Fever or The Bear
defining: M@W
doesn't fit: N/A
PP album
rocker: Vapour Trails or Save The Planet
ballad: Bobcaygeon
defining: Poets or Something On
doesn't fit: N/A
TATH album
rocker: Coconut Cream
ballad: ABAC
defining: Giftshop
doesn't fit: Put It Off (brilliant, but it's just quite different from the others)
D4N album
rocker: Fire In the Hole or Inevitability Of Death
ballad: Scared or i think a case could be made for Nautical even though it's rockin'
defining: Greasy Jungle or Grace Too
doesn't fit: N/A
FC album
rocker: Trunk or 50mc
ballad: Pidgeon Camera
defining: Fully Completely or 100th Meridian
doesn't fit: Eldorado
RA album
rocker: On The Verge
ballad: Long Time Running or Fiddler's Green
defining: Little Bones
doesn't fit: N/A
UTH album
rocker: NOIS
ballad: 38 Years Old
defining: Blow At High Dough
doesn't fit: Every Time You Go
EP
rocker: Werewolf
ballad: Last American Exit
defining: Highway Girl
doesn't fit: Evelyn
Evelyn is a killer song, I think im the one of on this forum that actually likes evelyn
never said i didn't like it...i just don't think it lives up to the rest of the tunes on the album.
All albums will have some kind of defining song. All albums will have a song that some don't like, which could be characterized as "not fitting." So this leaves you with a "structure" consisting of a rocker and a ballad, which ain't much of a structure. I think you're trying to shoehorn things into a consistent structure that doesn't exist.
Some albums are harder-edged overall (DFN) and others have more quieter tunes.
Pet peeve time: let's please stop misusing the word "ballad" left and right. Strictly speaking, a ballad is either a narrative lyric (e.g. 38 Years Old), or it is a sentimental/romantic song (Bobcaygeon, perhaps). The mere fact that a song is played on an acoustic (Scared) or is not a flat-out rocker don't make it no ballad! :rambo:
One other Hip category that's missing here is the Epic. There's usually one big, usually fairly dark, story-song on each album (which often turn out to be my favorite from that particular album):
IBE: Gus
IVL: Dark Canuck
MAW: Tiger the Lion
PP: Escape
TATH: Daddy
DFN: Nautical
FC: Locked
RA: Fight? Not as strong a contender on this one.
UTH: New Orleans
EP: Highway Girl
i definitely agree about each hip album has an epic tune on it
i don''t think their are any hip songs i would describe as "epic", quite frankly i don't think there are any long enough lol!