Stay Vicious (General)

After not enjoying it the first time around I was hopeful that it might grow on me but I've given it a few more listens and I don't like it just as much as I didn't like it the first time.

The verses are what I imagine middle aged white guys listen to while drinking Pabst and smoking swishers in their barren backyards and the chorus feels like a Biloxi Parish verse or something. Vocally I feel like it's possibly their most boring song ever with Brian pretty much just talking through the chorus.

I really liked R&T and Get Hurt though, so I'm definitely not off this bandwagon. I just think this record will always start its playthrough on song #2 for me.

I agree with you nervousfeet, this song's alright... the other rock though!

Interesting, the vocals are probably my favorite part of the song. Always a fan of when Brian goes gritty.

I really love that song, it is amazing, I think this album will chart very hight, I can't wait for the release

eagles1139 wrote:

Interesting, the vocals are probably my favorite part of the song. Always a fan of when Brian goes gritty.

I love gritty too -- I was surprised to see that Too Much Blood is a polarizing song on this site because I like that song for its depth and grit. I like both SoS and American Slang but prefer SoS largely because it has more throaty growls from Brian ("And TONIGHT the coastline is quiet")

Vocally though, I like it best when he does something more like Keepsake. The chorus has so much vocal range from him from the high ("at the BOTTOM of this river") to the grungy lows ("there are these waters"). One of my favorite parts of Too Much Blood is "now I ain't no DEVIL" because it's so disgusting and gritty.

The only thing actually gritty about this song is the guitar riff, which would've made for a sweet transition or chorus (not much like The Gaslight Anthem, but "The War" by Angels and Airwaves does a pretty good job of heavy guitar transitions between fairly pretty atmospheric verses and choruses).

To me, this song just sounds like Brian talking through a tin can over a backdrop of two songs that got smashed together. If someone told you they were writing a song that was a combination of Too Much Blood in the verses and Queen of Lower Chelsea in the choruses, you'd probably be intrigued but afraid it would sound weird and lack cohesiveness. Which is exactly what I feel about this song.

I don't necessarily think it's bad, but it's not for me and I feel like it never will be. I'm perfectly fine with it being on this album (especially if it's weird in other ways too) but I'm just really glad their entire sound isn't this. R&T felt like a logical culmination of everything they'd done to this point - it was reasonably fast and gritty like SoS, with a sing-songy chorus like American Slang, with attentive production and big sound like Handwritten, and poetic lyricism like 59 Sound and Elsie. It's not their best song or anything but I was very happy to hear that it was familiar and different. I'd much rather that than the sound we're getting with Stay Vicious.

TL;DR - This is probably my least favorite TGA song.

Cowboys wrote:

I absolutely hate the drug references. This record threatens to become a junkie's diary.

Some of the best songs ever are either written about, have references to, or were written on, drugs.

Listening to, or liking, such songs is not a morally reprehensible act. Nor is it the same thing as taking or dealing drugs.

Cowboys wrote:

I absolutely hate the drug references. This record threatens to become a junkie's diary.

You must not listen to much classic rock then, huh?

It's okay, but my least favorite of the 3 so far.

I seriously dig the song. I really the the verse/chorus changes. My only complaint is that the band told us to Stay Lucky now they are telling us to Stay Vicious. Which is it?

Wow! I never thought that a band could pull off channeling Pearl Jam and The National in the same song, but it works. I agree with some of the other comments that the verse/chorus transition is a little jarring the first time you hear it, but otherwise I really dig this track. Definitely one of the boldest things Gaslight has ever done!

Interesting song, love the chorus, don't care for the grungy versus.

This album is definitely unpredictable.

I have only been able to listen to the song once so far but I am really liking it, possibly my favorite out of the three so far. Great choice to open the record.

I don't understand how Rollin & Tumblin remind people of Sink or Swim I can see how with his vocals being gruff, but I mean it sounds nothing like anything off of Sink or Swim that record is perfect every track is great on that record. Rollin & Tumblin sounds nothing like that it to me is a middle of the road song and not up to par with their other songs. The chorus and lyrics to the song are great but I don't like the long riff that the song opens with.

CapedAvenger wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

I absolutely hate the drug references. This record threatens to become a junkie's diary.

Some of the best songs ever are either written about, have references to, or were written on, drugs.

Listening to, or liking, such songs is not a morally reprehensible act. Nor is it the same thing as taking or dealing drugs.

You're right. I don't thinks it's immoral or anything. I just don't like it. A few records ago, the songs were saying: “Let's get out of here and take on the world.” “Meet me by the river's edge”, for example. I'm just a little scared the new record will have lost that spirit of romantic hopefulness. To me, that would be regression, and it would mean the band has lost the message that made me fell in love with their songs. That would be a bummer...

Cowboys wrote:

CapedAvenger wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

I absolutely hate the drug references. This record threatens to become a junkie's diary.

Some of the best songs ever are either written about, have references to, or were written on, drugs.

Listening to, or liking, such songs is not a morally reprehensible act. Nor is it the same thing as taking or dealing drugs.

You're right. I don't thinks it's immoral or anything. I just don't like it. A few records ago, the songs were saying: “Let's get out of here and take on the world.” “Meet me by the river's edge”, for example. I'm just a little scared the new record will have lost that spirit of romantic hopefulness. To me, that would be regression, and it would mean the band has lost the message that made me fell in love with their songs. That would be a bummer...

A few records ago, yes. That romantic hopefulness is what made a lot of us fall in love with the band but the entire build up to this new record has been about them doing something different. Brian has warned us over and over again in interviews that this might put off some people so I'm honestly a little surprised that anyone could have been expecting the romantic hopefulness.

pepperedham wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

A few records ago, the songs were saying: “Let's get out of here and take on the world.” “Meet me by the river's edge”, for example. I'm just a little scared the new record will have lost that spirit of romantic hopefulness. To me, that would be regression, and it would mean the band has lost the message that made me fell in love with their songs. That would be a bummer...

A few records ago, yes. That romantic hopefulness is what made a lot of us fall in love with the band but the entire build up to this new record has been about them doing something different. Brian has warned us over and over again in interviews that this might put off some people so I'm honestly a little surprised that anyone could have been expecting the romantic hopefulness.

I'm with you both on this one, to a point. What made me connect with TGA was that romantic hopefulness and a spirit of redemption. I can probably live with romance having turned sour on this record, but I don't think I can live without hope of redemption.

steady now steady now wrote:

pepperedham wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

A few records ago, the songs were saying: “Let's get out of here and take on the world.” “Meet me by the river's edge”, for example. I'm just a little scared the new record will have lost that spirit of romantic hopefulness. To me, that would be regression, and it would mean the band has lost the message that made me fell in love with their songs. That would be a bummer...

A few records ago, yes. That romantic hopefulness is what made a lot of us fall in love with the band but the entire build up to this new record has been about them doing something different. Brian has warned us over and over again in interviews that this might put off some people so I'm honestly a little surprised that anyone could have been expecting the romantic hopefulness.

I'm with you both on this one, to a point.  What made me connect with TGA was that romantic hopefulness and a spirit of redemption.  I can probably live with romance having turned sour on this record, but I don't think I can live without hope of redemption.

Exactly!! I think there would have been a lot of room for change while keeping this sense of hope and redemption alive. So far, every record was a big change, but that spirit connected them all. The beatings were always there, but there was always the way out. From the three new songs I'm only getting the beatings, not the way out. Hopefully, that will change with the other songs on the record. I think, the purpose of music is to keep the hope alive in us when times get tough. If music has lost that ability, I just can't connect to it.

Cowboys wrote:

steady now steady now wrote:

pepperedham wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

A few records ago, the songs were saying: “Let's get out of here and take on the world.” “Meet me by the river's edge”, for example. I'm just a little scared the new record will have lost that spirit of romantic hopefulness. To me, that would be regression, and it would mean the band has lost the message that made me fell in love with their songs. That would be a bummer...

A few records ago, yes. That romantic hopefulness is what made a lot of us fall in love with the band but the entire build up to this new record has been about them doing something different. Brian has warned us over and over again in interviews that this might put off some people so I'm honestly a little surprised that anyone could have been expecting the romantic hopefulness.

I'm with you both on this one, to a point.  What made me connect with TGA was that romantic hopefulness and a spirit of redemption.  I can probably live with romance having turned sour on this record, but I don't think I can live without hope of redemption.

Exactly!! I think there would have been a lot of room for change while keeping this sense of hope and redemption alive. So far, every record was a big change, but that spirit connected them all. The beatings were always there, but there was always the way out. From the three new songs I'm only getting the beatings, not the way out. Hopefully, that will change with the other songs on the record. I think, the purpose of music is to keep the hope alive in us when times get tough. If music has lost that ability, I just can't connect to it.

The beatings never end. One of the songs Brian turned me on to explains it best "For every slow day in the sun, there's two storms in between". If he's just writing about the tough part in his music right now, that's okay...

We're all going to be alright.

If you can connect to the beatings when there's a silver lining, you'll be able to connect when there isn't that lining. Don't worry though, music is just one way to express those feelings... Sometimes we've got to find our own way out

23Punk wrote:

I don't understand how Rollin & Tumblin remind people of Sink or Swim I can see how with his vocals being gruff, but I mean it sounds nothing like anything off of Sink or Swim that record is perfect every track is great on that record. Rollin & Tumblin sounds nothing like that it to me is a middle of the road song and not up to par with their other songs. The chorus and lyrics to the song are great but I don't like the long riff that the song opens with.

There's a Rollin' and Tumblin thread. This is for Stay Vicious.

But because I can't help myself...


Vocals are gruff on Rollin' and Tumblin'?

The guitar rhythm in the intro/verses reminds me of Sink or Swim. The vocals sound more Handwritten.

anyone else thinks it sounds a bit like zappa?

rkirkpatrick25 wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

steady now steady now wrote:

pepperedham wrote:

Cowboys wrote:

A few records ago, the songs were saying: “Let's get out of here and take on the world.” “Meet me by the river's edge”, for example. I'm just a little scared the new record will have lost that spirit of romantic hopefulness. To me, that would be regression, and it would mean the band has lost the message that made me fell in love with their songs. That would be a bummer...

A few records ago, yes. That romantic hopefulness is what made a lot of us fall in love with the band but the entire build up to this new record has been about them doing something different. Brian has warned us over and over again in interviews that this might put off some people so I'm honestly a little surprised that anyone could have been expecting the romantic hopefulness.

I'm with you both on this one, to a point.  What made me connect with TGA was that romantic hopefulness and a spirit of redemption.  I can probably live with romance having turned sour on this record, but I don't think I can live without hope of redemption.

Exactly!! I think there would have been a lot of room for change while keeping this sense of hope and redemption alive. So far, every record was a big change, but that spirit connected them all. The beatings were always there, but there was always the way out. From the three new songs I'm only getting the beatings, not the way out. Hopefully, that will change with the other songs on the record. I think, the purpose of music is to keep the hope alive in us when times get tough. If music has lost that ability, I just can't connect to it.

The beatings never end. One of the songs Brian turned me on to explains it best "For every slow day in the sun, there's two storms in between". If he's just writing about the tough part in his music right now, that's okay...

We're all going to be alright.

If you can connect to the beatings when there's a silver lining, you'll be able to connect when there isn't that lining. Don't worry though, music is just one way to express those feelings... Sometimes we've got to find our own way out

You just made me realize the progression of the band's themes, from hopefulness and romance to bitterness and darkness in this record, is exactly what has hooked me from the start and still does. Sorry, but I feel the exact opposite that you do, the fact that Brian is writing about how nothing is what you expect only makes me love his work more, because that is exactly how I feel right now...

I really want to see some hope in some of the songs as I too am going through a really difficult time in my life right now and can completely relate to the songs that have been released so far. I like the music but I hope it is not all about looking back and heartbreak. I need some romance back in my life more than ever right now.

While the transition in the song may seem jarring, it works perfectly with the lyrics IMO. Like the verses are about a person that's depressed and introverted and self-destructive...Gives me the image of a guy doing drugs in a dark room...and then the song changes with the line "As you step out into the city..." and it's almost like the music is reflecting that feeling of being so self-contained and then suddenly stepping out into the world and realizing how big and weird it is. That's my take at least.

Still, I think the chorus is maybe too light sounding to mix well with the heavy verses.

I like the lyrics and I like the chorus, but I really hate the guitar tone in the chorus. To me, it sounds like they are trying to squeeze the sound of a Marshall through a kazoo. I don't dislike how he sings it or the riff or anything of that sort, it's just the tone that is driving me insane with the song. I want so badly to like it, but the tone is too distracting.