HANDWRITTEN: your impressions, comments, and declarations of love

snakester wrote:

Chesser19 wrote:

snakester wrote:

To any of you guys who actually have a physical copy of the Deluxe Edition,

Does it have the lyrics for Blue Dahlia in it? Any chance I could get a scan or a typed up version of them? There are a few in there that are questionable for me and I wanna know what the real ones are.

Are you able to make out what Brian says at this part: "what a hot and ????? summer"? That's like the only part I can't really make out.

Sounds like sultry to me. Also to the person earlier who typed up the song so I'm fairly certain.

Makes sense. That's kind of what I was thinking too but I wasn't certain. Sounds so clear to me now. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

has this been posted on here yet?

http://www.universal-music.de/the-gaslight-anthem/videos/detail/video:278899/handwritten

i just found it, so forgive me if you all have seen it already

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

Blue Dahlia, Mae, and Mulholland Drive are currently fighting in my head for the spot of my second favorite song on this album. (nothing's beating Handwritten).

You know, that's kinda funny cause those songs are fighting in my head as my favorite on the whole album. At first it was Mae, but Blue Dahlia is just so damn catchy and awesome that it could potentially be my favorite song. Maybe even one of my all time favorite Gaslight songs.

I kinda see why Blue Dahlia was left off. It's a fucking great song and completely wasted as a bonus track (maybe they could have saved it for another release), but it's not really as intense as the other songs on the record. Maybe that was their reasoning for it.

This should have been the tracklisting:

1. 45
2. Handwritten
3. Here Comes My Man
4. Mulholland Drive
5. Keepsake
6. Howl
7. Biloxi Parish
8. Too Much Blood
9. Blue Dahlia
10. Mae
11. National Anthem

But who cares, listen to whatever song you want, in whatever order. Freedom, ain't it sweet... Goddamn sweet

Having listened to the album a few times since the NPR stream's been available, its definitely grown on me.

I initially wasn't convinced about Howl but really liking that one now. Desire I still think is a throwaway but certainly not unlistenable.

Here Comes My Man and Handwritten are probably my favourites. The guitar riff at the beginning of HCMM sounds very Springsteen - is that a 12 string? Reminds me of I'll Work For Your Love off Magic.

Overall, the album reminds me of Elsie more than anything else.

I'm still kind of disappointed because its (imo) their weakest album and I was hoping for something to topple the other 3.5. It'll probably keep growing on me, especially once I've got the CD and blasted it during my drive up to the arctic in the next couple of weeks!

I doubt its going to put them in arenas any time soon although I don't mean that as a criticism - the masses don't know what's good for them when it comes to music. Hope I'm proven wrong though (for the band's sake).

long time reader, first time poster.

After the first 20 or so listens (15 to the shitty NPR feed), I didn't think this was as good as SoS, 59S or AS. And I still feel that way, although the more I listen to it, the better I like it.

I don't like Too Much Blood much, and Here Comes My Man could have been better with a bit more oompfh. I prefer the live version of Biloxi. Desire is decent but if someone claims it's filler, it's difficult to argue too strongly otherwise. But filler never sounded so good.

'45', 'Handwritten' and 'Mae' are probably the best songs on there, the first two I love a lot.


My favourite five moments, in no order:

* The way Brian says 'I just want to love someone who has the same blluuud' on Keepsake.
* The first chorus of '45' - this is the band I fell in love with
* The spoken word bit in Howl
* The hummed bit at the death of National Anthem
* 'I've found that nothing truly matters, that you cannot find for free'

Blue Dahlia is one of the best Gaslight songs ever. I will never understand this decision, no matter what the reasoning is.

Even if it's some question of it fitting on the record, that's no excuse. This is the kind of song you build an album around. Take 45, Handwritten and Blue Dahlia and construct the fucking thing around that...damn, this decision was so poor it's actually frustrating me.

ok , just received the cd this morning , so first impressions ..
1 first half of the album much stronger than the second
2 Dont get National anthem
3 Heavy heavy heavy ... heaviest Gaslight record ever

Not sure i`m overjoyed with the production and sound of this , but first impressions can change

Yeah Blue Dahlia is great. But the other two songs on the deluxe edition are bad. silver is horrible!

I really don't like Blue Dahlia. When I heard the clip of the verse on Amazon I thought it sounded amazing and wondered why it wasn't on the album. Then I heard the whole thing and just couldn't listen to it. I think the chorus is awful, like they just pasted the chorus of another song that doesn't fit. It has the potential to be one of their best songs but I really think they ruined it with the chorus (musically ..the lyrics are great). This is the first time I've ever felt this way about a Gaslight song. Maybe I have to listen to it more.

NicholasHorror wrote:

I really don't like Blue Dahlia. When I heard the clip of the verse on Amazon I thought it sounded amazing and wondered why it wasn't on the album. Then I heard the whole thing and just couldn't listen to it. I think the chorus is awful, like they just pasted the chorus of another song that doesn't fit. It has the potential to be one of their best songs but I really think they ruined it with the chorus (musically ..the lyrics are great). This is the first time I've ever felt this way about a Gaslight song. Maybe I have to listen to it more.

Don't even know how to respond to this because I'm basically on the opposite side of the spectrum. Then again I'm one of the few who doesn't love Mae.

i get what he means. when the chorus kicks in, it's a car crash of a change in tone. if you can get past that, it's a brilliant song

And Mae is one of my favorite Gaslight songs haha. I just listened to part of it again. It just doesn't sound right to me, like it's slowly growing on me but the chorus just doesn't sound good to me :/

sportshack wrote:

i get what he means. when the chorus kicks in, it's a car crash of a change in tone. if you can get past that, it's a brilliant song

Yeah exactly. Maybe I'll get used to it over time. Other than that I think it's great.

sportshack wrote:

i get what he means. when the chorus kicks in, it's a car crash of a change in tone. if you can get past that, it's a brilliant song

It's a key change. I think it's great that the guys are doing stuff they never would have before. It would've been easy for them to just do the chorus in the same key but the way it is makes the song sound much more unique in addition to giving it that euphoric lift that happens when the chorus kicks in.

I try to respect the guys' wishes as much as possible when it comes to track list and such, but I have to agree with the person earlier who said Blue Dahlia is so strong it's the kind of song that you build an album around. Although that's one of the things I love about Gaslight - I usually feel that way about every track on the album. As of now, my version of Handwritten has Blue Dahlia dropped in at track 10 between Desire and Mae cuz that seems right to me with how BD builds to an epic crescendo and then Mae -> National Anthem close it out how the guys' wanted it to.

To be honest though, after as many times as I have listened to the whole thing now, Desire has really slid to the bottom of my list in that it just doesn't seem essential to the album to me. It's not a bad song, it just doesn't hit me like the other ones do right now. I could see myself perhaps swapping Desire out for Blue Dahlia in the future, but as of now my version of Handwritten has 12 tracks.

I wonder why they didn't include Blue Dahlia in the regular album as it is such a strong song? They already had two covers and Teenage Rebellion as bonus tracks I agree that it would have fitted well between Desire and Mae.

At first I thought Blue Dahlia was okay, but now I've hopped on the bandwagon. In a few more listens it may just become my favourite Gaslight tune. The record label really fucked up by not putting this on the album, it would have propelled these guys into stardom if it go to be released as a single.

Still blown away by how much Brian sounds like Cornell on Too Much Blood (some moments in the verses). It's not just the "howls" or "snarls" or "growls" that everyone keeps pointing out, but the way he sings "say the same thing" is pretty much identical to the way Cornell would sing that melody.

I'm going to make a dangerous suggestion, and I don't want anyone to eat me if I do, but I feel like I'm just pointing out the obvious: Blue Dahlia was not included on the main album in order to generate sales of the deluxe versions.

Well there's one article where they're talking about recording and they were like we had 12 songs but "there was one that just didn't seem to have the same power as the other ones so we left it off"...difficult to see how they could think that about Blue Dahlia but it's possible.

The bridge of Blue Dahlia is one of the most beautiful pieces of music and lyrics I've ever heard.

It's amazing to me how much my faves can change with a few listens too. Right now they're Mullholland, Howl, Blue Dahlia, and Mae.

I suppose I'm to the point now where I can write a little bit of a review up.

45 - 9/10
The first song I, and probably most of you guys ever heard from this album. It's still a rocking good time, and it's not wearing out yet for me either. Which makes me feel much better about the longevity of this album as I've listened to 45 hundreds of times. Brilliant lyrics, if not a little simple coming from Fallon.
Favorite line: "turn the key and engine over, let her go. Let somebody else lay at her feet"

Handwritten - 10
This song represents everything I love about TGA. Deep lyrics, an unbelievably catchy chorus, and an epic bridge and outro. And with Alex Rs much more confident guitar work and Brian's much more emotional voice, I think this is gonna be one that'll stick around for a long time.
Favorite line: "and to ease the loss of youth, and how many years I've missed you/pages plead forgiveness, every word handwritten."

Here Comes My Man - 9
I heard the leak from their site, and I'm still not getting sick of it. The smooth as butter twelve string. The character writing from Fallon (which he doesn't do often but when he does it's a treat). The backing vocals in the bridge. The vintage sound. It just all combines together to create an awesome song.
Favorite line: "how much time do you think that we have? If I wanted to I could start over again/let the good night decide who she wants me to find, and never let you drop another tear in my eye"

Mullholland Drive - 10
Holy shit, where do I start? This song is WAY too relatable for me. If I'm listening intently or singing along, I'm legit reduced to tears by the time he's singing "with the radio on, through the mists of Mullholland". The emotion he puts into the Mullholland line is just incredible. Alex once again shows he's got skills on the guitar, especially the solo near the end, and this is one of the first songs that made me realize that Alex L is more than your everyday punk bassist.
Favorite line: "who came to wipe your tears away, who came to bring back your dignity baby? Who came to drive you around this town, like I used to drive you all around, with the radio on, through the mist on Mullholland?"

Keepsake - 10
One of the first times Brian has gotten extremely personal not relating to past loves, and it doesn't disappoint. The harmonica in the background is haunting, the lead guitar just sounds sad at some parts, and the sheer emotion that's coming out of his voice is just amazing, especially in the chorus.
Favorite line: "I just want to love someone who has the same blood" or "in my hard hard heart there are these waters where I put you down to lay while I learn to live with it"

Too Much Blood - 6
I just can't seem to get into it, and I've given it more than a fair shot. I seem to lose interest at the 4 minute mark. I think if they made it a little shorter, I would have really liked it. It's a shame too because when I read the lyrics they're awesome.
Favorite line: "if I just tell the truth are there only lies left for you if I put too much love on this page?"

Howl - 9
Short but oh so sweet. 2 minutes of mind blowing straight up punk, with the deep lyrics Brian is known for. If you're not paying attention to the lyrics, you might not even notice the song is a sad one. The only reason it lost the point is it might be a little too short.
Favorite line: probably "and I waited on your call and made my plans to share my name/and I love the country movement in the way your dress would wave/from your hips on down like electric through the/Sound... Of cars... Rushing in the rain on the boulevard... In the city by the sea... That has always haunted me... And belonged to me somehow... Bless your waters and your doubts... Bless your waters... Bless your doubts" (yep that's a little more than a line, sorry :/

Biloxi Parish - 10
The live version didn't disappoint, and the studio version cranks it up even more. You've got more excellent guitar work from Alex R, the vocal effects on the chorus are epic sounding, and the solo near the end is killer. I kind of miss the third verse, but removing it opens up the song to more interpretations, and we all know Brian has said he likes people to figure out what the song means to them.
Favorite line: "who else can say that about you baby? Who else can say that about you now? And who else can take all your blood and your curses? Nobody I've seen you hanging around."

Desire - 9
Some people are calling this filler, and I don't see it. The whoas at the beginning are awesome, and if you're a guy this song is instantly relatable. The chorus has me slapping the side of my car and moving around, and altogether it's just a solid song. There's nothing that really makes it stick out compared to some of the other songs on this album, but if we're gonna start complaining because the guitar work isn't as epic as songs like Mulholland we might as well throw out our copies of all their old CDs.
Favorite line: "what makes a man do the things that a man does to be the very thing he perceives would capture your heart?"

Mae - 10
Holy fucking emotion. I've never heard this level of emotion in Brian's voice before, especially when you get to the bridge. The lead riff is simple, but works perfectly to bring you out of the chorus and keep the emotion working. This is another one where the bass work sticks out as more than just a punk song too. This has me REALLY excited about the fact were getting another horrible crowes album too.
Favorite line: I legitimately can't pick one. The whole song needs to be experienced. If you held a gun to my head it would probably be "you can lean into me if you ain't been in love for a while"

National Anthem - 5 and 9
Now you're probably wondering why there's two scores up there, so I'll get that out of the way first. As a Brian Fallon and some random studio musician song, it's a 9 bordering on 10. As a Gaslight Anthem song, it's a 5. This was one of the things that scared me about the label. Rather than having this backed with Benny's chains (I think the chains were Benny, it's been a while since I've looked at the 59 sound liner) or Alex R on synth (which he's proven more than capable with in THC), we have Brian paired up with some random doofus who plays violin. As a bonus track I would have loved this song. As a Fallon solo song, I would have loved this song, which is where the 9 comes from. But when there's a just as good, if not better song languishing as a bonus track, this just doesn't seem fair to the band.
Favorite line: "and though if I saw you id pretend not to know, the place where you were in my heart is now closed"

Blue Dahlia - 10
GHTEGYEJURGJHHHH. HOW THE HELL IS THIS A BONUS TRACK. COME ON. Sure, the key change is a little polarizing but this is probably right up there with She Loves You as one of the best gaslight anthem songs I've ever heard. This is another one where if I'm in the wrong spot the lyrics can make me cry, and what Brian starts doing with his voice in the second half of the song lets me know he hasnt totally killed it yet. Then you've got more amazing lead from Alex (love the harmonic in the second verse) and the key change in the chorus sounds like you're going into and coming out of a dream. Great imagery, great guitar, great lyrics. What is there not to like?
Favorite line: "mama always said I'd need a girl like you but me I never believed/cause I've been so lonely I can't imagine that kind of sympathy"

The covers? I really dig You Got Lucky and can't stand sliver, but I'm not a nirvana fan. Also, please be nice with the typos, I typed this up on an iPhone.

A lot of times I have heard Gaslight songs described with the question: "How can such sad songs sound so fun?"

I think that Howl is the song that fits that description more than any they've ever done. It's actually dangerous to listen to this song in public because I'm scared I might start screaming along with the chorus and pounding my fists. But the lyrics are some of the saddest on the album.