Handwritten: How has time affected your opinions and thoughts?

I felt like I just commented on this CD, but I see that was actually in February. Time flies!

I listen to it quite regularly. Probably almost as much as Sink or Swim, which is my favorite album of anyone ever. Howl has moved up in my mind after seeing it live. I totally skip over Desire, though I like the acoustic version. "Handwritten" is one of my favorite Gaslight songs for sure.

NeverTrustAJunkie wrote:

... I totally skip over Desire, though I like the acoustic version. "Handwritten" is one of my favorite Gaslight songs for sure.

Exact same for me, Desire is probably my least favorite on the album and Handwritten is arguably my most...with the exception of Blue Dahlia that is.

NeverTrustAJunkie wrote:

"Handwritten" is one of my favorite Gaslight songs for sure.

I love this song

zerb012345 wrote:

DeathoftheCool wrote:

zerb012345 wrote:

DeathoftheCool wrote:

Jack wrote:

Handwritten probably has more backing vocals than any Gaslight album...other than Mulholland Drive, Too Much Blood, Mae, and National Anthem (and Blue Dahlia if you count it) they're all over the place.

i guess i mean like actual other words. like, "in a dream i had oh in a dream i had," or "you don't know what's good for you..."
the whoa oh's and hey's are cool, but i really like when it's actual words and stuff. if that's a trend that will continue, then bring it on!

I completely agree with you, and  to your reference...

haha i love saying Bring It On on here cuz everybody knows what's up
My #1 favorite song of all time

It was mine for a while. Right now it's fluctuating between Great Expectations and Blunderbuss by Jack White...don't hate.

Dude I love the song and the album Blunderbuss so much

I love Handwritten. 45, the title track, Mae, Blue Dahlia...so phenomenal. Is it The '59 Sound? Of course not, but no album is.

Jack wrote:

I love Handwritten. 45, the title track, Mae, Blue Dahlia...so phenomenal. Is it The '59 Sound? Of course not, but no album is.

This^ except add "or American Slang" after the 59 sound in that sentence. Those 4 tracks though...some of Gaslights absolute best in my opinion.

DeathoftheCool wrote:

zerb012345 wrote:

DeathoftheCool wrote:

zerb012345 wrote:

DeathoftheCool wrote:

Jack wrote:

Handwritten probably has more backing vocals than any Gaslight album...other than Mulholland Drive, Too Much Blood, Mae, and National Anthem (and Blue Dahlia if you count it) they're all over the place.

i guess i mean like actual other words. like, "in a dream i had oh in a dream i had," or "you don't know what's good for you..."
the whoa oh's and hey's are cool, but i really like when it's actual words and stuff. if that's a trend that will continue, then bring it on!

I completely agree with you, and  to your reference...

haha i love saying Bring It On on here cuz everybody knows what's up
My #1 favorite song of all time

It was mine for a while. Right now it's fluctuating between Great Expectations and Blunderbuss by Jack White...don't hate.

Dude I love the song and the album Blunderbuss so much

 Oh, god tell me about it. It was either that or Handwritten for best of 2012. It's one of my favorites ever... Missing Pieces is just...wow. But then again I'd say that for almost every song...

I still love it and have ever since I first heard it. It feels more personal and vulnerable and that's part of what I like so much about it: I feel like I really know Brian in some ways after this record. It's not as playful as their other albums but there's a maturity and touch of darkness to this one that intrigues me. The album came out a couple months before my wife and I got married so I'll admit there's a bit of nostalgia surrounding it but when taken for what it is it's still my second-favorite Gaslight album, right behind The '59 Sound. I'm actually surprised at how many fans dislike it; everyone I've played it for has really liked it.

Thunder Peel wrote:

I still love it and have ever since I first heard it. It feels more personal and vulnerable and that's part of what I like so much about it: I feel like I really know Brian in some ways after this record. It's not as playful as their other albums but there's a maturity and touch of darkness to this one that intrigues me. The album came out a couple months before my wife and I got married so I'll admit there's a bit of nostalgia surrounding it but when taken for what it is it's still my second-favorite Gaslight album, right behind The '59 Sound. I'm actually surprised at how many fans dislike it; everyone I've played it for has really liked it.

 
someone understands

Just re-discovered Teenage Rebellion... song hits. its like a cross between Molly ATZ and Elsie

riversedge wrote:

Just re-discovered Teenage Rebellion... song hits. its like a cross between Molly ATZ and Elsie

THIS. I never really heard anyone talking about Teenage Rebellion at any point. Definitely one of the top three songs on the album, IMO.

Overall, I have loved Handwritten from day one. The only song on the album that I ever skip is Silver. I think it is as good if not better than everything except '59 Sound. Honestly, I enjoy it nearly as much as 59 Sound. I think Handwritten has a much better flow than people give it credit for, and I think the mix of songs offers a great variety.

Mike_Millburys_Shoe wrote:

riversedge wrote:

Just re-discovered Teenage Rebellion... song hits. its like a cross between Molly ATZ and Elsie

THIS. I never really heard anyone talking about Teenage Rebellion at any point. Definitely one of the top three songs on the album, IMO.
 

Yeah, I remember when Teenager Rebellion was first discussed here. It didn't get a lot of love then, and it hasn't really come up since. I think the consensus was "It's okay...it sounds like a demo. I think I might like it if they did a full band version."

Even though I agree it had a demo-ish vibe, I think that's only because it was released by a band that's plugged in, as a b-side nonetheless, and could have easily rocked with a full-band arrangement (where as the other acoustic songs fit better as acoustic songs).

That being said, I liked it regardless. I think releasing a toned down version was a bold move, but I'd like to see that happen a little more. The Hold You Up EP was sweeeeeet.

I like Handwritten but it is undoubtedly my least favorite Gaslight album. Funny, because when it was released my reaction was full-on fanboy "omg this is their best album ever". Conversely, when American Slang was released I didn't know how I felt about it and only liked a handful of songs, and now it's potentially my favorite of their albums. I think this is because Handwritten lacks substance and American Slang is very nuanced; Handwritten is big and loud and catchy but there's not much to really dig into lyrically or thematically compared to AS.

It's also the only Gaslight album where's theres a song I flatout dislike. "Desire". My least favorite song on their first three albums are all songs that I genuinely still love.

eagles1139 wrote:

I like Handwritten but it is undoubtedly my least favorite Gaslight album. Funny, because when it was released my reaction was full-on fanboy "omg this is their best album ever". Conversely, when American Slang was released I didn't know how I felt about it and only liked a handful of songs, and now it's potentially my favorite of their albums. I think this is because Handwritten lacks substance and American Slang is very nuanced; Handwritten is big and loud and catchy but there's not much to really dig into lyrically or thematically compared to AS.

It's also the only Gaslight album where's theres a song I flatout dislike. "Desire". My least favorite song on their first three albums are all songs that I genuinely still love.

Totally agree. I wasn't a huge fan of "American Slang" at first, but it's really grown on me. Musically it's probably their most varied and interesting album ("Diamond St Choir" and "Queen of Lower Chelsea" especially) and is full of great lyrics. I was also super enthusiastic about "Handwritten" when it came out, but it hasn't aged very well.  There's still some songs that I think are among their best (like "Howl," "Biloxi Parish," "45", "National Anthem"), but overall I agree that the lyrics are pretty weak by their standards. I get that Brian was trying to get away from the "jukebox Romeo" storyteller type of writing from the first couple albums and do something more personal (kinda like the Horrible Crowes but in a more rocknroll setting), but a lot of the writing just feels generic. Way too many "whoas" and cliched lines ("desire/on fire...whoah whoah!") That song is also easily my least favorite by them, even though it's super catchy. "Too Much Blood" is also pretty clunky, but it's saved by that killer riff and Brian's hair-raising vocals. That said, I still think "Handwritten" is a pretty solid record, just not their best effort. I'm glad "Get Hurt" will be a move in a different direction. Both songs so far have really strong lyrics and it seems like the album will be musically varied so that's reassuring.

The titletrack is my favourite Gaslight song, my favourite video and is now the one I choose if anybody tells me to introduce the band.

magnificentdreamer wrote:

Musically it's probably their most varied and interesting album ("Diamond St Choir" and "Queen of Lower Chelsea" especially)

Nailed it. I actually just started a thread discussing different/weird Gaslight stuff. The very short synopsis of my very long post is: I feel like a lot of American Slang is different and/or weird, and I don't think Brian realizes that he's already done the weird/different album he keeps talking about trying to make.

He always mentions that one Pearl Jam record where people are like "huh?" but then 5 years later everybody loves it. I think that album is American Slang, but he doesn't know it yet because not enough time has passed.

Revisiting American Slang a lot, I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but I just can't see how the lyrics on Handwritten are anywhere near that level. Like take Orphans:

"Now my lights they never go down,
They waltz the moon and the stars for me now
So you can find some local libertine to take your daughters out on the town.
And I can feel it in my aging bones, how the sound of the rain mixes up
into the fountains where I drank my hero's blood.
So I left you to find my very own hatful of rain."

Even on Handwritten's best songs Fallon doesn't touch that type of poetry.

If anyone thinks American Slang and Handwritten are on the same scale lyrically...they're just kidding themselves.

I think the closest would be a song that wasn't actually on the album:

I had a dream about you once and I could barely see your form
And I met you between the wax and the needle in the words of my favorite song
Your black hair was like a raven with your tan skin on the beach
Your backdrop were the auroras and my sidekick was all this grief

Adore Handwritten, constantly on the iPod.

I still love the album, its not better than 59 Sound, but I liked it better than American Slang and Sink or Swim. Great Album but it was time for them to move onto another sound.

It's my least favorite of their albums, but I still play it a ton. I've made my own tracklist for it, though. Swapped out "Too Much Blood" and "Desire" and for "Blue Dahlia", then moved the order of some of the songs around. I don't think "Too Much Blood" or "Desire" are bad, but the album just flows much better for me without them.

It is my favorite album. ill edit with more later.

In terms of favorites, it's right behind '59 Sound for me, I absolutely love it. There area couple weak spots, but the "singles" to me are possibly some of their strongest songs in the whole catalog, which on the whole makes it a great album to hear stuff from live. Love 45, Handwritten, Mulholland, Howl, Biloxi, Mae, and Blue Dahlia so much.

My least favorite of theirs. Desire and National Anthem are probably my personal bottom 2 Gaslight songs...Mae is easily a top 5 all-time favorite though.