What's your favorite new Features song of 2003?

im on a love is golden kick right now so i voted for it. immediatley after voting i wished i had voted for harder to ignore.

After a very shaky and unsure start, "Harder to Ignore" has become one of my favorite Features songs and it is usually the highlight of their set. Amazing song and a great example of the band's genius.

I swear! That song is so damn awesome. It's kind of psychadelic, which coincides with my listening habits as of late and explains why I like it so much right now.

I may vote for it, but Million Ways and Way It's Meant To Be are trying to remind me how much I loved those songs when they came out.

(Edited by richarddawson at 10:01 pm on Dec. 3, 2003)

I went with The Way It's Meant To Be and I'm satisfied with that decision.

1. Harder to Ignore (rocks my ass off!)

2. That's the Way it's Meant to be

I am not yet a fan of Love is Golden. I think it's sort of cheesey. I hope it grows on me, though.

What class do you teach, again?

i wish my teachers used the phrase "rocks my ass off!"

I voted "Harder to Ignore" because I can go absolutely mad with the dancing.

Man, I had to go with Love is Golden. That song is most excellent.

i had to go with "the way it's meant to be" because, for me, it was love at first listen. i cannot betray that love. "love is golden" and "harder to ignore" both come in at a tippy-toe second.

I went with "Harder to Ignore" though it was an extremely hard decision. The new songs have been wonderful this year and I can't wait to see what they'll come up with next

im really into all of those songs besides "harder to ignore." i mean its a real fun song to bounce along to but i think its sorta of weak compared to the rest of their new songs.
my vote went towards "that's the way (da da) its meant to be."

I went with "Harder to Ignore."

For some reason, I was very apprehensive about this song, because I went for months without hearing it and it was being described as the "Pants Getting Tighter" song, and I think an early description of it suggested that the song was about a girlfriend who is continually gaining weight, a problem that was becoming "Harder to Ignore." I thought that to be uncharacteristically mean-spirited for the band. When I finally heard it, I was releived to find that it wasn't about that at all, but an attraction that was becoming "Harder to Ignore."

Great song.

Will

"the way its meant to be" is my pick. it barely beats out "harder to ignore" and the newest "new song" as my favorite.

I just noticed your member description Wiyum... I don't think its right to flaunt proximity to greatness...

Your friend,

Claw Jimsonweed

I have to go with "Harder to Ignore"..."The Way It's Meant to Be" and "Chemical Head" would have to duke it out for 2nd.

Well Jimsonweed, when you've been to the mountaintop, and not some cut-rate, dollied-up hillside masquerading as such, you want people to know. You wouldn't understand, I'm afraid. You may like grandma's yard gnomes, but I've seen Rock City. Remember it.

Will

Fever returned?

It is hard to argue the sheer brilliance of THE Talon Nightshade... I mean who would have ever thought to put entire cast credits at the end of a normal music video?!?!? I know Coppola wouldn't have... doubt Spielberg could have come up with that, and I know Spike Jonez isn't creative enough to do such creative things...

I noticed that and thought it was strange, but I don't really know anything about making a music video.

Well neither do I... but the credits are a bit much.

We put credits after the music videos that we make, but I think that might be normal for student work. I dunno. Our videos have won Student Emmys for the past three years, and they never had a problem with it.

Will

Well you are also a degree away from THE Talon Nightshade, and under his spell... no?

Isn't that part of the requirements for student contests though?

(Edited by Peace Frog at 11:39 am on Dec. 5, 2003)

There's a million ways to sing the blues
And this ain't one of them

(see signature for rest of chorus...with ridiculously stupid and unoriginal pun.)

Harder to Ignore with no contest.

This has been a bad year for new Features songs.
First of all, there were only six.
Second of all, Million Ways isn't in their sets regularly anymore.
Third, if Harold and Don't Lie to Me didn't survive the test of time, then don't bother getting attached to Chemical Head or Failed Attempt. They'll be gone completely very soon.
Fourth, Matt Pelham is getting waaay too lazy with hackneyed cliches in his songs. Love Is Golden????? The Way It's Meant to Be???? I can only guess what will come next: I Love You, Baby or You're So Pretty....

Wow, someone really is a war frog.

I think this has been one of the best years for Features songs, especially with the current frequency that they are springing up. "Million Ways" is just as much in the regular set as "Situation" and "Exhibit A." Third, I think that "Chemical Head" and "Failed Attempt" are better songs that "Don't Lie To Me." There is a chance that they will stick around. "Love is Golden" isn't going anywhere anytime soon and I think that they lyrics are better than most Features songs (the "Nothing is stranger than love is/love is golden" transistion is amazing).

Of course I'm just providing the other side of the argument. I can't tell if you're just stirring things up or not, heh...

Whoops. I was wrong on that one. I stand by the rest. I just never remembered it being played at any of the recent sets.

Doubtful. The Features write far more songs that are thrown away and forgotten than they write keepers. "Dark Room" is a great example of a song where it was written, and from performance #1 it was obvious that a great song had been written which would a keeper and a favorite. The only song with no real lyrics that ever survived was "Oh My Love."

Since it debuted, I've thought about this song a lot. At first, I thought it needed something better to which love could be compared, something other than gold. It's such an obvious and terrible comparison. Then I realized that any word completing, "Love is _______" would just be another hackneyed cliche. There's some OK stuff elsewhere in it, but I'm no fan of this song.

Nope.

Points taken. Plus, anyone who knows how to multiple quote like that wins any argument with me.

Magic!

I'll be bold and say it - I think the song dubbed "Chemical Head" is pretty bland and basically worthless. Part of it is the fact I can't understand hardly anything he's singing and by song's end he is barely singing the falsetto part. And there just doesn't seem to be much to the song. To be honest I'm not 100% thrilled with the latest output of songs. I think they're cut from the same cloth, too closely. I do agree that "Love is Golden" is very cheesy for a title but the song has grown on me a tad.

Now one of the newst songs debuted in Murfreesboro last night, I'll call it the "First Capo Song" (yes, the Features have introduced the capo into their lineup) is a nice departure for them. A song in a completely different rhythm than their jurky "punk" numbers as of late. The chord structure is nice, more string "picking" and open chords as opposed to the typical power chords Pelham plays. In other words it simply is nice to hear this new one to break up the similarities in the new songs.

Wow, that was bold for a mod.

I'm not really a music structure person, so I nave no clue as to what the capo is. I'm assuming this is a good thing though.

Heh, well, let's hope I'm still around here after somebody from the band reads it!

(Covering My Ass Mode ON:) I love (nearly) all the songs this band writes and eventually those that I don't like so much grow on me. Sometimes I really think it's amazing the volume of songs they churn out and how often it is that we, the audience, get to hear new stuff. I bet there's not a handful of other bands out there that are worth their price of admission that expose this much new material to their audiences as our Features do.

Why is it that someone has to love every note a band plays in order to be a fan of said band?? I wish more people would stand up and say, "I love the Features, but I don't think that's a good song." I can't figure out if the majority of the posters on this board are afraid to say something, are too in love with some other element to notice that some of the songs aren't great, or if there is a genuine love for every single thing that the band plays.

My suspicion is number 2, but no one will ever admit it.

(Edited by YaDaDaDa at 2:44 pm on Dec. 6, 2003)

I hear ya. People kept yelling out, "Psycho Killer". I think the Features could easily tag on Pyscho to "Million Ways to Sing the Blues". Very similar bass lines and chords. Just what I was thinking last night. Loved the show though. Still hate Wall Street, even more than I did before.

(Edited by foldsfan at 4:29 pm on Dec. 6, 2003)

I love Harder 2 ignore, it's the best live song, Love is golden is growing on me. As far as chemical head is concerned, I love the beat, I love that it's all about Parrish, but I can't understand the lyrics. Chemical head is my booty shaking song too!

I really really love all of the new songs. "Chemical Heads" 'ooh ooh ooh' part gets me every time. "Failed Attempt"'s guitar riff and keyboard melody is amazing. I mean, I could be brainwashed by my love for this band, but these are songs that I listen to in my car and sing (sorta) along with.

I would rather hear these new songs live than, say, "33 1/3."

Blasphemy!

You should hear all of the above!

Will

you're right, yadadada. i guess there's no use in hiding it anymore. i don't really like "the way it's meant to be," i just think matt pelham's hair is pretty.

but i really really do genuinely love the new songs. if i didn't, i'd say so. i don't really like "demons." see? i can say when i don't like songs. and i see what you were saying about the cliches in the songwriting. but i don't think it's a bad thing. cliches are memorable phrases. they make for catchy hooks. "the way it's meant to be," "if you're happy and you know it," and the mother of them all "action speaks louder than words." all good songs to me. but then again, what do i know?

I have decided that although I love "Harder to Ignore" so much, I should have chosen "The Way it's Meant to Be". I think I love it a tad more.

"Chemical Head" is amazingly good. It's already one of my favorite Features songs.

unposted

(Edited by sinasugarsick at 7:27 pm on Dec. 7, 2003)

The more that I hear this song, the less that I like it. I like "Love Is Golden" a lot. I'm not sure about the new songs from this weekend's show. I wasn't all about "Moses Toses" (?) or whatever it was. The rest I don't remember that well. The stuff that they played earlier in the year is still the shit, in my opinion.

Since it's on topic, here's the songs (prerequisite: played at least twice in the past year) that I openly dislike, for whatever reason:
Armani Suede
Blow It Out
Chemical Head (yet to be titled)
Exhibit A
Exorcising Demons
Harold
Idea of Growing Old
Leave It All Behind
Situation Gone Bad
Someway, Somehow
Two By Two

I agree with that list except Exhibit A, Exorcising Demons, and Leave It All Behind. I like those three.

Hmm. Armani Suede, Demons, Harold, Growing Old, Leave it All Behind, and Two by Two are all on my shortlist of songs that I totally dig.

Diff'rent Strokes I s'pose. Situation Gone Bad never really stuck with me though.

There are Features songs I don't love. They've gotten rid of most of them, along with many of my favorites. Alas.

Will

And this is why you and I can no longer be friends.

I disagree with your dislike of Armani Suede and Leave It All Behind...haven't heard most of the others yet, though.

I honestly think that Blow It Out is the only song I dislike. I'm not crazy about a couple others, but I pretty much love them all.

Does anyone else think Excorsing Demons sounds like 60s British spy movie theme music?

The only songs I can honestly say that I dislike are the early ones that everybody else loves...such as "Your Smile", "Extension Chord", "Don't Lie to Me", and the like.

(Edited by Sexy Sadie at 10:29 am on Dec. 9, 2003)

Don't Lie to Me isn't nearly as old as the other ones you mentioned. In fact it is younger than such standards as See You Through, ...Demons, Dark Room, et cetera. They debuted it on my birthday a few years back I do believe. This is the fourth year in a row that they've had a show either on my birthday, or within a day of it. Unfortunately, this one is in Athens, and I'll be too old to go.

how so?

Well, I guess I didn't realize it was not quite as old as those others I mentioned. I still don't like it.

You are correct. I think "Don't Lie to Me" was born in early 2001.

The 40-Watt club doesn't have very good wheelchair access.

i see.

Yeah, I was mistaken in thinking it debuted in Jan. I checked Will's site and it was debuted in March. I got my Lauren bootleg tapes confused.

I should clarify that I don't necessarily think any of these songs suck. They are really good songs, but I believe that I was just thinking of songs that I don't like to hear at shows. But, yeah, they're very well-constructed songs with really good lyrics.

I've decided that I do like to hear 33 1/3 at shows now.