HANDWRITTEN: your impressions, comments, and declarations of love

I have to say, I haven't really listened to Handwritten for awhile. I may listen to the odd song (45, Howl, Mae), but overall I think it's gonna go down as a low point in their history.

They need to realise that the romanticism and references to pop culture in their old songs was probably the main draw for most fans and I hope they'll bring it back on the next record.

yeah, i really hope they'll do a better record in the future with a SoS-59's-nish sound , !BUT! i'm not completely sure, because all of them are sooo happy with "handwritten" and brian said more than once it would be their very best record.. and he often emphasizes they don't look back and want to develop their sound.. so: wait and see

I have to say...I'm actually really glad that the boys pushed through and came out with something different than the rest of their catalog. We have SInk Or Swim and The '59 Sound. I love those records so, so much. But I love Handwritten too, probably because it's much different than the rest. It's new and it feels fresh and vital to me.

JackStreetcar wrote:

Labhras wrote:

JackStreetcar wrote:

I was listening to Biloxi Parish yesterday and really paying attention to the lyrics. And the bridge started to truly bother me. How on earth does that fit lyrically with the rest of the song? It makes absolutely no sense. It just doesn't. It's Brian returning to the Orphans concept of the heroes and taking stuff from them, but it doesn't fit with the rest of the song at all. Bah....

we took it all and we threw it away. the idea being that they had the same attitude towards their heroes and that was part of their bond hence "who else can say that about you baby". when they first put the bridge in the live version i though the same thing but since it was changed to "we" i reckon it fits.

No offense but that's a paper-thin connection. The third verse they cut completes the story of the song, while the bridge was clearly shoved in for whatever reason (probably to cut out names and references to Jersey).

can see your point but i think this is coloured by the fact that we heard the song in different carnations. he says "who else" about 12 times in the song so i think it's fair to say he's telling the girl she shares something with him that she doesn't with others. every other song they have is about ppl bonding over music so why not this one.


"remember all the movies we'd go and see, trying to learn how to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be and after all this time to find we're just like all the rest stranded in the park and forced to confess to..."

i think he was going for that kind of gist. i'm not saying he had that song in mind but that's the best paralell i can think of.

man after reading that post i went and listened to Backstreets 5 times. flawless.

Yeah, I see the point. I just don't like it nearly as much as the third verse, which to me completes the song. It's missing the conclusion without it, at least in my eyes. And I didn't feel this way for the longest time. I loved the third verse, was disappointed with it gone, got used to the bridge, and now I"m back where I started.

JackStreetcar wrote:

Yeah, I see the point. I just don't like it nearly as much as the third verse, which to me completes the song. It's missing the conclusion without it, at least in my eyes. And I didn't feel this way for the longest time. I loved the third verse, was disappointed with it gone, got used to the bridge, and now I"m back where I started.

Song was definitely better with the 3rd verse included. Maybe they could have included both. Its a shame they dont feel they can refer to Jersey in songs anymore isn't it really. They don't want to be pigeonholed as Springsteen wannabees which is obvious but at the end of the day its where they come from, theyre going to be influenced by it so if they feel they can no longer mention Jersey I think thats over -reacting.

On another note, has anyone really noticed the backing vocals during the chorus at the end of the song. I like that touch.

i think the original is probably my favourite too. always the version you hear first!

I know a lot of people have gotten down about this record lately (nuthin wrong with that, to each his own) so I'm gonna throw some positivity back on this thread and say I STILL love this album despite listening to it all the time. I probably get more into the other records when I'm listening casually but this one just moves me so much. It's almost dangerous to listen to when I'm driving because I get lost in it. I'm getting a bit bored of Too Much Blood at the moment but other than that I still love it.

I think that this is a very good record but we expect too much from gaslight sometimes, maybe if other band wrote this album it could be one of their best records, but with gaslight we have t59s and s.o.s so this is not their best but this is a good rock and roll album

For the first month that Handwritten was out, I never went a day without listening to it at least 2 or 3 times. I loved it and thought it was amazing. I still do. However, I'm now listening to s.o.s and Senor repeatedly again. I think I have an even better appreciation for their older stuff (if that was even possible). This is why they are still my favorite band. To me at least, the diversity of all the albums, ep's, Horrible Crowes, etc, keeps things new while reminding me just how great they are. I'm know I'm preaching to the choir a bit here, but they just haven't let me down yet.

I agree with Matkins about the diversity. They keep changing it up without completely abandoning themselves if that makes any sense. I don't want another SOS or T59S or even AS because they've been done. I want to see what else they can do. They haven't let me down yet either.

nebraska I totally agree with the "we expect too much from gaslight sometimes" thing. I think that's very true. They've set the bar high for themselves right from the first record. But for me I think this is their best in a lot of ways. Idk I can rank them all as "the best" depending on what we're focusing on (lyrics, music, professional sounding, rawness, etc.) which is why I love these guys. It's not about which ones the best (to me) it's about which one am I in the mood for right now.

I love Handwritten. I've probably listened to it more than I have any other album in this span of time. I think I explained that wrong. Basically I've listened to it since its release than any other album since its release in the same time span.

Well my mate who boxes with me down the gym is getting into the gaslight now. He loved the single handwritten and then i showed him 45...now hes buying a few albums. I can sit on my high horse in my 45 club tee now telling him "I told you so" haha

On Biloxi Parish, They should have kept the third verse as well as added the new part. That would make the song the most epic they'd ever done. Could've easily taken the time from Too Much Blood.

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

Yozzy wrote:

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

Blue Dahlia >>>>>> Desire > Too Much Blood > Mulholland Drive

Yeah Too Much Blood and Mulholland are easily my bottom two.

simo wrote:

Yeah Too Much Blood and Mulholland are easily my bottom two.

I would kindly like to disagree! I love both those tracks.

simo wrote:

Yeah Too Much Blood and Mulholland are easily my bottom two.

sap

Yozzy wrote:

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

Bang on. The only Gaslight song I ALWAYS skip . I still think of Blue Dahlia as actually being on the album since I have it as the last track on my iPod. It clearly should be anyway.

Yozzy wrote:

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

True. It's so uninspired and cheesy.

Yozzy wrote:

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

Personally wouldn't say it's the worst song at all. It's in the top half of songs from Handwritten for me. I know I seem to be in the minority but I love Desire.

Christophe wrote:

Yozzy wrote:

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

Personally wouldn't say it's the worst song at all. It's in the top half of songs from Handwritten for me. I know I seem to be in the minority but I love Desire.

I agree with you, I don't think it's a bad song.... I don't understand why everyone is jumping all over it... I enjoy the guitar riffs and think it's fun and catchy...

It's simply a fun rock song, Brian also clearly loves it, seeing as he's been playing it a lot at acoustic radio gigs....

rkirkpatrick25 wrote:

Christophe wrote:

Yozzy wrote:

Also Desire is the worst song they've ever written. I just can't stand it. If only they swapped that track for Blue Dahlia, or hey, even removed it completely. That would be nice.

Personally wouldn't say it's the worst song at all. It's in the top half of songs from Handwritten for me. I know I seem to be in the minority but I love Desire.

I agree with you, I don't think it's a bad song.... I don't understand why everyone is jumping all over it... I enjoy the guitar riffs and think it's fun and catchy...

It's simply a fun rock song, Brian also clearly loves it, seeing as he's been playing it a lot at acoustic radio gigs....

I agree completely. It is a fun rock song. It has a romantic, uplifting vibe similar to The Spirit of Jazz and Casanova, Baby. Gaslight records need songs like this as well as the what might be considered 'deeper' songs.