OK, the album has been out for a few weeks and everyone has had a chance to listen to it a few dozen times. When you vote, please remember this isn't a favorite song poll (although you might feel your favorite is also the best). Consider factors such as "replay-ability", overall sound, and whatever else you want to judge it by.

The poll would only let me have 10 choices, so "Blow it Out" and "Someway Somehow" have been left out. If one of these is your choice for the best song, you're simply wrong.

Harder to Ignore and Exhibit B... but I guess those aren't on yours...

(Edited by Peace Frog at 10:31 am on Oct. 5, 2004)

How did I leave out Harder to Ignore? I guess I miscounted, its been a long week already. Anyway, It should definitely be up there. My apologies.

Your poll sucks.

so do you...

SGB

Harder to Ignore sucks.

And I love Blow It Out. Yeah, it's their most blatantly commercial song - deal with it. It still rules.

I voted for "Circus" but "Me and the Skirts" was a close second.

My vote is for "Blow it Out", joeysnob.

i voted for circus, but sgb, the way it's meant to be and harder to ignore are all pretty close behind.

idea of growing old gets most improved.

me and the skirts is my least favorite (which means it is still really great).

Watch the attitude, Junior.

I would have left off the two singles, if i had to leave any off the poll... TWIMTB and TAMWTSTB.

I voted for circus simply because it's impossible for me to get tired of it.

I just don't like it when people think a song's gotta be bad because it's a hit (or, in this case, has the potential to be). It's like Nirvana fans who say "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is one of their worst songs (and I'm not saying that Nirvana nor all of their songs are undebatably good).

And I used to think that Harder to Ignore was just bad because the live versions I had heard didn't do it justice, but this studio version doesn't do much to change my mind. It's not like I don't still love the record - the good far outweighs the bad - but I still don't understand why people like that one so much.

Also, I'm a sophomore, thank you very much!

(Edited by Jakob Dorof at 1:48 pm on Oct. 5, 2004)

The problem with Blow It Out is not that it has to be the potential to be a hit, the problem is the reason why it may be a hit. It, more so than other Features songs, appeals to the lowest common denominator.

I love Blow it out, but I still wish Karie Ann was on the album.

Yeah, and Your Smile.

I was going to vote for H2I and looked for a good two minutes for it, but not that i know it's definitely not on there, I don't really know what to do.

What do you suggest?

Tell him his poll sucks....

Your poll sucks!

That's no good reason to dislike a song. That's the same kind of snobbery that makes indie elitists annoying pricks. That whole "the music I listen to is so much cooler than the music you listen to" thing is just stupid. If it sounds good, it is good.

And if The Features have a song that has strong appeal to the "lowest common denominator," that's great - we want them to be popular, right?

exactly. 33 1/3 would've been cool, as well.

and am i the only person who likes someway somehow?... oh well.

No, sir.

I'll admit my poll sucks because of a tiny mistake I made.

But you guys have to admit the idea behind this poll was so brilliant the tiny mistake should be overlooked.

Though it may not be the best song, "Million Ways" is by far the best sounding recording on the album, and that is why I voted for it.

I was just messing with you earlier, but seriously, my reason for disliking the song is because I just don't think it's that good of a song... at least comparatively speaking. I don't think any music snobbery is involved, I just like what I like. I mean, I've had Jenny From The Block stuck in my head for a good two years now, so I'm not sure I could even qualify as a snob.

Fair enough. I still think it's pretty great though. Wouldn't have been out of place on the Mahaffey sessions...and speaking of which, I think the superiority to the Mahaffey recording of "Exorcising Demons" as opposed to the album version shows that Mahaffey didn't do as bad a job recording as many tend to think (and also how much harmonies can be essential to a Features song). At least in my opinion.

SGB was a wonderful surprise, and I think LIAB sounds great (apparently, at least according to fstop's interview, a significant number of fans tend to think it doesn't do the song justice). Idea of Growing Old is probably my favorite current-era Features song (this recording is *perfect*), and Me & The Skirts was another pleasant surprise. It's a great record.

to be honest, i was pretty disappointed when i heard the album version. the mahaffey version had me rooting for 'demons' as one of my favorite features songs, actually. the new one just feels a little out of place.

but reguardless... it's a great great great record.

Circus, ever a fan favorite, has finally captured me through its album recording. It is my favorite on the album because of that. Harder to Ignore is a close second, followed by SGB.

Yeah, I love Circus. I just like how much energy it has - especially with the screams. It's nice to hear Matt freak out that much in the studio.

My four favorite songs on the album are:

"Me & the Skirts" The walking bassline on the chorus rules. It kind of reminds me of Bob Babbitt's classic part on the Miracles' "Tears of a Clown."

"Blow It Out" When this song was new, I didn't care for it so much. I thought it sounded too much like Weezer. But as time has gone on, I have really come to love it. That main part is still a little too Weezer-ish to me, but that chrous is downright unstoppable. I mean, seriously, it's one of the catchiest choruses I've ever heard. Right up there with "Leave It All Behind." I don't care if it sounds too commercial, and I don't care if it's "not representative of the Features' sound." A good song is a good song.

"A Million Ways to Sing the Blues" Notice that I am using the grammatically correct alternate title. But really, they could've called this one "Drink a glass wind" and I wouldn't care. I hate to use vaguely jamband lingo, but the groove in this song is pure Features perfection. I'm talking about the 1,2,3,4...count in, and then that music right there is what I'm talking about. All of their parts just mesh so well together right there, and that groove drives the whole song, and it's just fantastic.

"Someway, Somehow" The Lawnwrangler and I have always loved this one. We think it sounds like a late 60s Motown track, like a Temptations track or something. Anyway, it's all there - interesting and memorable music, a killer melody on the chorus, and a great vocal performance by Pelham.

If I had to pick only one, I'd probably go with "Someway, Somehow," but since that wasn't on the poll, I picked "A Million Ways to Sing the Blues."

Oh what the hell, why don't I go ahead and just review the rest of the album. I've already talked about my favorites. There really aren't any songs that I don't like. I was expecting to dislike "The Idea of Growing Old" since I've never really liked it live. But I think the recording of this song is really special. What really makes it is whatever gadget that Parrish used on that song - is it a Mellotron? A Chamberlain? An Octagon? Whatever it is, it just sounds so lush and perfect for the song. I actually like the song in this context.

"Exhibit A," "The Way It's Meant to Be," "Leave It All Behind," "Situation Gone Bad," and "Harder 2 Ignore" are all bangin, all great recordings of great songs. What an unbelievable debut album to have these songs as the "second tier"!

I've seen mixed reaction here to the inclusion of the "old" songs. My reaction also is mixed. "Circus" I can understand. It is, perhaps, THE quintessential Features song. Can you believe that, until a couple of years ago, it had been all but retired? Seriously, it was a rarity. It was like "Stagecoach" is now. But over time, its popularity snowballed and it became a staple again. So I'm happy to see it on the Features full-length debut. Its story is much like that of the Features themselves - risen from the ashes, flying higher than ever.

Forgive me, though, for being very uninspired by "Exorcising Demons." Maybe I've just heard it too many times. I remember that at the first Features/Sneaky Eaters/Lifeboy show in 1999, they debuted "Demons." And I thought it was incredible. But I think I have LITERALLY heard it at every Features show since. So it's hard for me, as a long-time listener, to listen to this song with anything remotely like fresh ears. I've heard this song 263,000 times already, so I'd rather have had something fresher and newer on the album in its place. But if that's my only complaint, I think the Features did a damn good job.

I think what Rollum said in one of those interviews was so true - the Features could put out a whole other album of new material right now that would be just as good, if not better. They have so many solid songs that it would've been hard for the selection of songs not to have been great on this album. The production was just what it needed to be - barely noticeable. All I hear when I listen to this record is the Features - not the hand of some producer.

And I'd just like to close by saying that words cannot describe the happiness and pride I felt when I listened to this record for the first time. I am not ashamed to say that, somewhere around "Me & the Skirts," I shed a tear.

that was the best freakin' review i have read. but i expect that from jc. thanks.

Yay, an obscure reference that I actually get. By the way, I just my truck.

Ok, on the indie thing- I totally agree with Jakob about the fucking "indier-than-thou" pricks who try to see who's favorite band's more obscure or who's favorite song is the least popular. It's almost like they purposely try to disagree with everyone else just to be different and more "indie." It pisses me off. Good music is good music, whether it's popular or not, goddammit!! Ok, off that soapbox.

As for my favorite song, it's a toss up between "Me & the Skirts," Exhibit A," and "Circus." I love all those songs that I like to call "the minor shuffle." They're all in a minor key, and the feel is what's called a "shuffle," or a "fast swing." But I voted for Me & the Skirts because I just picked the first one of those three that came to mind.

(Edited by fstop at 5:39 pm on Oct. 11, 2004)

I like Exhibit A a lot and I think it's a great first track. Circus is a close second for me.

Up until today, I thought your remark about "Exhibit B" was a lame attempt at humor. It should definitely be on the list.

Joey, Joey Joey... you should know by now lame humor and Peace Frog do not go well together... tsk. tsk.

Circus...hands down. I get chills when it starts.

gosh all the songs on exhibit a are just totally amazing. i had to vote for leave it all behind though. circus and blow it out are just as good though. what am i saying, every single freaking song is equally freaking amazing.

welcome to the board, cazza.

why thankyou carliqula