Matt4319
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Post by Matt4319 on Jul 24, 2009 11:26:21 GMT -5
I have to think there were better singles on their album than this.
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pen
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Post by pen on Jul 24, 2009 11:27:39 GMT -5
Finally had the opportunity to listen to Approaching Normal and I wonder... does this band still belong in the Alternative forum? Nothing grabbed me the way multiple songs on History for Sale and Foiled did. I hate when that happens! So because nothing grabbed you on the first pass, it doesn't belong in the Alternative forum? They are easily still an Alternative band. This album is a lot more mellow than previous works with a couple of exceptions, but that's never been a qualifier for an alternative band. And at any rate, "My Never", "Kangaroo Cry", "Jump Rope", and "Blue Does" are great songs as well as "Dirt Room" and "Say It". "Weight Of The World is also great but takes some getting into and "The End" is just a twisted song. I suggest relistening and letting it soak in.
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on Jul 24, 2009 11:31:53 GMT -5
I like the album. Not sure if it will last as long as 'Foiled' did for me but there are some songs that I can definitely see sitting in some of my iPod playlists. lol! I think it's a good disc!
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Post by The Party Captain on Jul 25, 2009 21:47:10 GMT -5
I could see Jump Rope going to CHR.
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Post by The Party Captain on Jul 25, 2009 21:57:08 GMT -5
Finally had the opportunity to listen to Approaching Normal and I wonder... does this band still belong in the Alternative forum? Nothing grabbed me the way multiple songs on History for Sale and Foiled did. I hate when that happens! So because nothing grabbed you on the first pass, it doesn't belong in the Alternative forum? They are easily still an Alternative band. This album is a lot more mellow than previous works with a couple of exceptions, but that's never been a qualifier for an alternative band. And at any rate, "My Never", "Kangaroo Cry", "Jump Rope", and "Blue Does" are great songs as well as "Dirt Room" and "Say It". "Weight Of The World is also great but takes some getting into and "The End" is just a twisted song. I suggest relistening and letting it soak in. Why don't you pull that crap again and go listen to more Pop Evil? lol :) Not everyone can force themselves to like something by listening to it over and over. I still find Boom Boom Pow annoying even though I hear it everywhere. I actually agree with this guy in that Say It and Jump Rope just aren't alternative, even though Dirt Room definitely was. Say It should go to Hot AC.
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pen
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Post by pen on Jul 26, 2009 0:33:57 GMT -5
I really don't see how it's not still alternative, even if it could go for adds on Hot AC. Some of the biggest alternative bands are pretty mellow when you get down to it.
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pen
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Post by pen on Jul 26, 2009 0:35:02 GMT -5
And it's not about forcing yourself to like something. Some albums take a little bit to sink in, because they're not immediate, but may grab you on a different day or in a different mood.
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Post by The Party Captain on Jul 26, 2009 21:28:13 GMT -5
I really don't see how it's not still alternative, even if it could go for adds on Hot AC. Some of the biggest alternative bands are pretty mellow when you get down to it. You really think Jump Rope could make it as an alternative hit? I don't. When I heard Jump Rope at the movie theater, it was right after I'm Yours, and it seemed to fit right in line with a pop catalog. Having seen them live recently and heard a pretty decent amount of their stuff, it seems to me that Blue October might be becoming a band lost in translation. Should they try to duplicate the success of Foiled? I think doing that would require a (perhaps subconscious) excursion towards pop rock. Or should they simply stay true to their alternative roots? I think hugging the middle ground is reflected in Approaching Normal's sales, which last I checked had barely past 100,000.
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pen
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Post by pen on Jul 27, 2009 0:23:09 GMT -5
I didn't say "Jump Rope" could be an alternative hit, I'm just saying the band still belongs on Alternative. I don't care if they do pop singles on the side. I think they accomplish both ends.
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Post by The Party Captain on Aug 1, 2009 19:01:38 GMT -5
I didn't say "Jump Rope" could be an alternative hit, I'm just saying the band still belongs on Alternative. I don't care if they do pop singles on the side. I think they accomplish both ends. I just don't want them to take the Lifehouse route.
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pen
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Post by pen on Aug 2, 2009 0:47:26 GMT -5
Lifehouse is a great band.
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Post by My Life Is A Stereo on Aug 2, 2009 2:48:49 GMT -5
I hope he didn't mean just because Lifehouse has went more Hot AC that its a bad thing. I actually think they are one of the strongest overall all audience bands around.
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Post by onefrayedrepublic on Aug 2, 2009 4:34:41 GMT -5
You'd be wrong. This album was a horrible letdown.
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Ragin
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Post by Ragin on Aug 2, 2009 5:56:58 GMT -5
I didn't say "Jump Rope" could be an alternative hit, I'm just saying the band still belongs on Alternative. I don't care if they do pop singles on the side. I think they accomplish both ends. I just don't want them to take the Lifehouse route. Why in the heck not? Lifehouse's music has gotten even stronger, and they are reaching even more diverse audiences than ever.
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Cody
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Post by Cody on Aug 2, 2009 9:24:08 GMT -5
Lifehouse's music is strong, but considering they started with Hanging By A Moment, they havent gotten stronger. Your opinion may differ but fact is they have never compared to the success and popularity of HBAM and PROBABLY never will again.
That aside, Lifehouse is still a very solid band
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Nicholas2.0
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Post by Nicholas2.0 on Aug 2, 2009 16:46:08 GMT -5
Why in the heck not? Lifehouse's music has gotten even stronger, and they are reaching even more diverse audiences than ever. That aside, Lifehouse is still a very solid band I think you're, in fact, agreeing with what he meant, as opposed to how you interpreted him.
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Cody
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Post by Cody on Aug 2, 2009 17:13:05 GMT -5
yeah Im agreeing, I said that though to make it clear that I wasnt trashing Lifehouse
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Post by The Party Captain on Aug 2, 2009 22:58:52 GMT -5
I hope he didn't mean just because Lifehouse has went more Hot AC that its a bad thing. I actually think they are one of the strongest overall all audience bands around. Exactly. Lifehouse sacrificed the edge they had on No Name Face and Stanley Climbfall and found resurgence under the pop spectrum. Who We Are was enjoyable, but largely forgettable IMO, except for the title track. I just don't really think Blue October could be a pop band. I just don't think the ever-tortured Justin Furstenwuld has it in him. Also, he doesn't really have the sex appeal of Jason Wade.
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pen
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Post by pen on Aug 3, 2009 0:25:20 GMT -5
To be fair, I still think Lifehouse has some edge to them. For example, "The Joke".
But no, Blue October's frontman is too fractured to totally go all the way pop. See "Weight Of The World" and "The End" for details.
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Ragin
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Post by Ragin on Aug 4, 2009 9:51:23 GMT -5
Blue October are just too twisted to go pop, I agree. Quite frankly their breakthrough hit in lots of ways didn't make sense as a pop hit. But going with more songs like that would be just fine by me.
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Ragin
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Post by Ragin on Aug 4, 2009 9:54:47 GMT -5
Lifehouse's music is strong, but considering they started with Hanging By A Moment, they havent gotten stronger. Your opinion may differ but fact is they have never compared to the success and popularity of HBAM and PROBABLY never will again. That aside, Lifehouse is still a very solid band Here is what I mean though. Hanging By a Moment was a HUGE hit on an album with not a lot else getting much radio play. Stanley Climbfall was light, and the single You and Me overshadowed everything else after that. Their last album had 4 singles that got very strong radio play and the various songs are getting huge exposure on TV shows, movies and the like. My point is, that no, maybe they haven't matched the one-off single success of HBAM, but they have graduated from a one-hit or two-hit band, to a band with respect and with a larger amount of material. Their whole album is worth having now. To me, that is their material getting stronger.
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Post by fran182 on Aug 4, 2009 10:08:34 GMT -5
This is doing fine on Alternative. Top 30 is a good result. Right now, it's top 40 on Hot AC. I wasn't expecting this song to do anything on there. Most of the songs in Approaching Normal sound like potential Hot AC hits but "Say It" isn't one of them. After "Say It" is done, I'd go with "My Never" to CHR and Hot AC and with "Should Be Loved" to Alternative.
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Slinky
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Post by Slinky on Aug 5, 2009 2:47:57 GMT -5
To be fair, I still think Lifehouse has some edge to them. For example, "The Joke". Thank you for citing my favorite Lifehouse song. If the band were not already typecast as Hot AC, that song would have been strong enough to do something on Alt. The End is deliciously twisted. If by some amazing luck, Jump Rope became a CHR hit, I'd want to see the looks on Pop fans' faces when they bought the album and heard that. You know, if people still bought albums. I agree with the post above this that Should Be Loved is the next Alternative single. That's grown on me quite a bit since I bought the album. Originally I thought maybe Kangaroo Cry, but that's sounding more and more like just an album track to me.
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Post by Slinky on Aug 5, 2009 2:57:22 GMT -5
You'd be wrong. This album was a horrible letdown. On the one hand, Say It was definitely the best chance for a hit single out of the album. It has more immediate impact than any song other than Jump Rope, which can't be an Alt. single (at least not yet) because it's a bit too poppy. Outside of those two, and Should Be Loved, this is not a radio-friendly album. But just because an album doesn't have a bunch of radio-ready singles doesn't automatically make it a letdown. The work as a whole stands pretty well with the rest of their catalog. It's the kind of sick, frantic, but still sentimental affair Blue October fans have come to expect. Foiled was more innovative, but this is still a very solid effort. It's interesting that when Blue October actually released a catchy, radio-friendly song (Calling You), it bombed, twice. The fans seem to like a bit of anguish and alienation in this band's songs (see the more successful Hate Me and Into The Ocean).
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Matt4319
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Post by Matt4319 on Aug 5, 2009 8:04:33 GMT -5
This is doing fine on Alternative. Top 30 is a good result. At first I was like "What are you talking about? The song barely hit the top 50"... and then I looked at the chart and saw it actually was in the top 30. :o Either that's the quietest rise I've ever seen for a song, or I need to start paying attention to songs other than "Breaking".
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lockebox
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Post by lockebox on Aug 5, 2009 8:56:49 GMT -5
This is doing fine on Alternative. Top 30 is a good result. At first I was like "What are you talking about? The song barely hit the top 50"... and then I looked at the chart and saw it actually was in the top 30. :o Either that's the quietest rise I've ever seen for a song, or I need to start paying attention to songs other than "Breaking". Haha. Is probably the latter ;) I actually don't see top 30 as a good result. Their last follow up single "Into the Ocean" went top 20. I think they were looking for a similiar result. "Say It" is far more suited fro radio, but who knows could go higher yet.
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Post by Rose "Payola" Nylund on Aug 5, 2009 14:04:17 GMT -5
In listening to this album again, as it grows on me more and more, I think it's a shame that it won't likely be a hit because there's nothing really immediate that would work at radio at all. Lots of Hot AC-friendly songs but will likely not do well there. I think this album might end up passing 'Foiled' as well. 'Been Down' is my favourite on the CD.
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Post by The Party Captain on Aug 5, 2009 19:28:01 GMT -5
You'd be wrong. This album was a horrible letdown. It's interesting that when Blue October actually released a catchy, radio-friendly song (Calling You), it bombed, twice. The fans seem to like a bit of anguish and alienation in this band's songs (see the more successful Hate Me and Into The Ocean). I dunno if Calling You really "bombed." I know it bubbled under the Hot 100 for a while. I think people may have been a bit tired of hearing them. She's My Ride Home bombed. And on its first run back in 2003, maybe it just isn't capable of being a breakthrough hit, but a subtle hit later on. Right now, Blue October is known mostly for Hate Me, and somewhat Dirt Room/Into the Ocean. I actually didn't really notice Blue October until I heard Calling You, as I thought Hate Me was a Dave Matthews Band song (Don't know why I did).
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Rich P.
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Post by Rich P. on Aug 24, 2009 8:25:00 GMT -5
Justin, I'm sorry for saying that Approaching Normal is not an Alternative album, but you didn't have to cancel Blue October's show in my hometown (Montclair, New Jersey)! Sure, I'll probably be there at Terminal 5 in New York, but I've been waiting since the Wellmont Theatre opened last year for a concert that I wanted to see to be booked there and now it's cancelled.
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