ThePumpkins.net

@Epitome: Not bad, I'll have to check out the whole album.

@Don: For best flow, I either agree with Frankie (MCIS Disc 2) or maybe Siamese Dream. The flow on both is great.

kjrain12 wrote:
Yeah, it is best listened to as a whole anyway

The Smashing Pumpkins albums with the best flow are Adore, and Gish, those two are perfect (no Perfect joke intended).

Oceania has now replaced Temple Of Thought as best album of the year.

Album of the year used to be the surpeising Storm Corrosion followed by Lee Ranaldo's Between The Times and The Tides...but I have to put Oceania on the 1st place just for making SP return, though I think the Storm Corrosion was better on an artistic level.

Yeah, I am surprised that BC has managed to top SW this year

Then again, there is SW's live blu-ray on the way...

Glass And The Ghost Children wrote:
The thing with Gish is that some songs are weaker so that hurts the flow, and with Adore, it's so damn long that it's hard sometimes to sit through it in one sitting. (plus it has a few noticeably weaker tracks)

Any album that fits on one CD isn't too long!

epitome wrote:
If an album fits on one CD but is 1.3 hours long with weaker tracks and filler with no theme or vision, you don't think that qualifies it as too long? (Not saying this about Adore, but I've heard albums like this)

Well, if it's an album that isn't good, that can happen to an album of any length. But I see what you're saying, it could've been a better album if it was shorter without the weaker songs (not saying that about Adore either )

^I was waiting for you to be like "Nope KJ, you're full of shit, the longer the better, that's what my ex-girlfriend always told me." Glad to see you at least partially agree.

If an album is 1.2 hours long, it has to justify somehow, even if it's just by having great songs throughout the whole album (Exile on Main St., London Calling) or by shooting for a vision or theme that requires the length without resorting to shitty filler and crap tracks. (something the Wall sort of did imo) In fact, concept albums usually are pretty damn long...

I finally have Oceania! I figured I'd put my overall thoughts here instead of scattering them in the individual song threads.

- It's a really enjoyable album, and while I wouldn't put it on the same tier as the original Pumpkins' output, it's still much, much better than Zeitgeist and Teargarden. I actually want to listen to it.

- Pinwheels is my favourite song, by quite a bit. Aided in part by Nicole's backing vocals, which are wonderful everywhere they appear.

- Quasar is a fantastic opening to the album, and I like the tracks that come after a lot too. It's great to hear some awesome, crashing guitar work with those brilliant Billy solos.

- Pale Horse and The Chimera are my other real standouts.

- I'm not keen on the title track. The shifts between the three "sections" are rather abrupt, and they don't flow very well to my ear (unlike previous Pumpkins epics; Starla, For Martha, United States, Porcelina, etc.). It's almost like three separate songs put together just for the sake of having a long'un on the album. I wasn't really drawn in by the first and last sections either (I am always a sucker for the quieter, acoustic parts).

- For me, the album kinda peters out towards the end, with Glissandra and Inkless which sound kinda similar to one another, and Wildflower - while I like that the final song tries to do something different, it comes off as a bit too long, and lacks the emotional punch I like an ending to have.

- I didn't pay much attention to the drumming on my first listen, but on the second...go Mike!!!

But yes, overall, it's great. I'm really pleased with it, and will look forward to whatever the band decides to put out next (anyone else notice the "MM 001" on the side? They're teasing people who love organised collections already)! A much better mindset than I had previously been in with regard to the band!

Jaxx wrote:
I agree!

epitome wrote: Now she should take her chance kicking Billy out and take his position

I agree with almost everythin you said Jaxx. The title tracks transitions are a bit unnatural, and the album does get slightly weaker at the end. Nicole's backing vocals are kickass as well! Wildflower is growing on me but I see what you mean that it lacks emotional punch.

Listening to one or the other random track isolated shows just how good all these tracks really are.
I'm currently listening to Panopticon alone and it's even more boss without Quasar and Celestials around (not downrate those two gems, of course).

I still think Quasar is my favorite track off Oceania. There's a lot of fucking power in that song.

Dorovo wrote: i agree theres a lot of power, but i can't listen to it for the lyrics... i believe that's the popular opinion around here. it's a really great opener though.

Pug92 wrote:
I actually like the simplicity of the lyrics. I love that "don't give a fuck" attitude. And the way he chants it is kind of cool. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Dorovo wrote:
Alright, this take, don't give a fuck.

I'm with you Dorovo, I love Quasar. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it my favorite though. I think Inkless is my favorite...or maybe Pale Horse. (Violet Rays is insanely good too though)

It's magic.
Almost only one month passed and after two heavy-listening weeks I haven't given Oceania another spin - until today and now I'm listening to the whole album's tracks in a random order of my choice.
Listening to Oceania without the intended context makes most of the songs feel as timeless as something from...say...MACHINA if you keep listening to I Of The Mourning on its own.
I threw in Try, Try, Try after six Oceania songs and afterwards continued with it.
Of course my affection for Try, Try, Try is so much larger for I connect more memories and emotions with it BUT there was no difference in depth having it sandwiched between Pale Horse and Inkless.

It's definitly SP, dear friends