Running is out !

i am a target

oftenreading said:

i am a target said:

CO278952 said:

BF25394 said:

jonbond1779 said:

Listening back to Avocado & even Lightening Bolt, the vocals so far on the 2 tracks released for Dark Matter are quite muffled in the mix.  Running is ok, quite WWS-esque but not as good.

so far Dark Matter > Running

I honestly have not found the vocals muffled at all once I saw the lyrics to each song.

I suspect the mastering of the track is contributing to the varying reactions regarding the mix. In my experience listening to it, it sounds poorly mixed with vocals too low on some speakers and totally fine on others.  Regardless of that, the drive of the song is good and I like the distorted bass and drumming. Hands down the bridge is the best part of the song, similar to how the bridge of Pilate is better than the rest of the song. 

I was shocked at the difference in the quality between Spotify and Apple Music. On Apple Music the song is much more crisp and Ed’s vocals are much more clear. 

Could you explain what accounts for the difference (in a way that will make sense for a very much non-audiophile)? I would have assumed that the digital file available on all of these different streaming services would be the same and that the differences would only come from the audio equipment used to play it. 

Apple converts the audio files to digital in a way that keeps it from losing data in the process of compressing. 

Taken from the Apple Music website:

Most audio compression techniques lose some amount of data contained in the original source file. Lossless compression is a form of compression that preserves all of the original data.

i am a target

BF25394 said:

i am a target said:

CO278952 said:

BF25394 said:

jonbond1779 said:

Listening back to Avocado & even Lightening Bolt, the vocals so far on the 2 tracks released for Dark Matter are quite muffled in the mix.  Running is ok, quite WWS-esque but not as good.

so far Dark Matter > Running

I honestly have not found the vocals muffled at all once I saw the lyrics to each song.

I suspect the mastering of the track is contributing to the varying reactions regarding the mix. In my experience listening to it, it sounds poorly mixed with vocals too low on some speakers and totally fine on others.  Regardless of that, the drive of the song is good and I like the distorted bass and drumming. Hands down the bridge is the best part of the song, similar to how the bridge of Pilate is better than the rest of the song. 

I was shocked at the difference in the quality between Spotify and Apple Music. On Apple Music the song is much more crisp and Ed’s vocals are much more clear. 

I've been listening to "Dark Matter" pretty much exclusively on a CD that I burned from the download that came with the 7-inch, and it sounds very crisp. Most of my consumption of "Running" has been on that foreign YouTube-like site that someone linked to here when the song was only live in New Zealand, and it was also really sharp.

When I listen to each back to back on Spotify and Apple Music the difference is obvious. It's still compressed as hell but you can hear everything a lot better on Apple Music.

i am a target

BF25394 said:

i am a target said:

BF25394 said:

i am a target said:

Tjm007 said:

jesselms said:

I don't post often but felt compelled after hearing running. Running feels more like a B side or at best just a filler album song. Seems an odd choice, by far the shortest song on the album 

Merkinball is the only PJ release without a filler track.

Binaural has no filler. I'll assume you argue that 'Soon Forget' is filler, but I completely disagree. I think it fits the theme of the album perfectly.

A song entirely on ukulele featuring only one member of the band is pretty much the definition of filler.

That’s an oddly specific definition of ‘filler’. 

Well, I guess I would support the definition by asking for an example of a song entirely on ukulele performed by only one member of a rock band that *isn't* filler...

 And in my opinion that song would be 'Soon Forget' because I think the song works, especially in the context of the album.

bicyclejoe

Tjm007 said:

i am a target said:

Tjm007 said:

i am a target said:

Tjm007 said:

jesselms said:

I don't post often but felt compelled after hearing running. Running feels more like a B side or at best just a filler album song. Seems an odd choice, by far the shortest song on the album 

Merkinball is the only PJ release without a filler track.

Binaural has no filler. I'll assume you argue that 'Soon Forget' is filler, but I completely disagree. I think it fits the theme of the album perfectly.

Sleight of hand is not in my top 200 PJ songs. SF is dog food.

Probably their most underrated album though - Thin Air and Rival are absolute diamonds.

My 'dog food' songs are 'Sirens' 'Just Breathe' and 'The End' - basically any breathy Ed songs that plague every album from Avocado onward.

Add the last quarter of Gigaton to that list.

Funny, “Sirens” and “Just Breathe” are two of my favorite tracks from those albums. I think they benefit from exceptional songwriting. And I have a hard time frowning about anything on Gigaton. Those songs were a saving grace during the pandemic for me. I wish I could have seen them performed live.

i am a target

bicyclejoe said:

Tjm007 said:

i am a target said:

Tjm007 said:

i am a target said:

Tjm007 said:

jesselms said:

I don't post often but felt compelled after hearing running. Running feels more like a B side or at best just a filler album song. Seems an odd choice, by far the shortest song on the album 

Merkinball is the only PJ release without a filler track.

Binaural has no filler. I'll assume you argue that 'Soon Forget' is filler, but I completely disagree. I think it fits the theme of the album perfectly.

Sleight of hand is not in my top 200 PJ songs. SF is dog food.

Probably their most underrated album though - Thin Air and Rival are absolute diamonds.

My 'dog food' songs are 'Sirens' 'Just Breathe' and 'The End' - basically any breathy Ed songs that plague every album from Avocado onward.

Add the last quarter of Gigaton to that list.

Funny, “Sirens” and “Just Breathe” are two of my favorite tracks from those albums. I think they benefit from exceptional songwriting. And I have a hard time frowning about anything on Gigaton. Those songs were a saving grace during the pandemic for me. I wish I could have seen them performed live.

And thus is the beauty of opinions and music. I can't stand those songs in any way or the back half of Gigaton, but I think it's amazing they provide you with the solace that they do. I hope you get to hear them performed live someday.

BloodMeridian80

At first I didn’t realize I was just ‘streaming’ Running on Apple Music and then noticed a difference between DM and Running when I played them back to back. Then downloaded Running and there was a quality jump. 

oftenreading

i am a target said:

oftenreading said:

i am a target said:

CO278952 said:

BF25394 said:

jonbond1779 said:

Listening back to Avocado & even Lightening Bolt, the vocals so far on the 2 tracks released for Dark Matter are quite muffled in the mix.  Running is ok, quite WWS-esque but not as good.

so far Dark Matter > Running

I honestly have not found the vocals muffled at all once I saw the lyrics to each song.

I suspect the mastering of the track is contributing to the varying reactions regarding the mix. In my experience listening to it, it sounds poorly mixed with vocals too low on some speakers and totally fine on others.  Regardless of that, the drive of the song is good and I like the distorted bass and drumming. Hands down the bridge is the best part of the song, similar to how the bridge of Pilate is better than the rest of the song. 

I was shocked at the difference in the quality between Spotify and Apple Music. On Apple Music the song is much more crisp and Ed’s vocals are much more clear. 

Could you explain what accounts for the difference (in a way that will make sense for a very much non-audiophile)? I would have assumed that the digital file available on all of these different streaming services would be the same and that the differences would only come from the audio equipment used to play it. 

Apple converts the audio files to digital in a way that keeps it from losing data in the process of compressing. 

Taken from the Apple Music website:

Most audio compression techniques lose some amount of data contained in the original source file. Lossless compression is a form of compression that preserves all of the original data.

Thank you 

Vedd Hedd

Running sounds so much better played on better speakers than my cell phone.  In the car it was great, contributed to my speeding. 

Looking forward to hearing more detail on CD and Vinyl.  

Kwieneke

Vedd Hedd said:

Running sounds so much better played on better speakers than my cell phone.  In the car it was great, contributed to my speeding. 

Looking forward to hearing more detail on CD and Vinyl.  

i was someone who complained about the mix (just on my phone). heard it in the car and it sounds way better, Im a fan of it now 

Vedd Hedd

Kwieneke said:

Vedd Hedd said:

Running sounds so much better played on better speakers than my cell phone.  In the car it was great, contributed to my speeding. 

Looking forward to hearing more detail on CD and Vinyl.  

i was someone who complained about the mix (just on my phone). heard it in the car and it sounds way better, Im a fan of it now 

yeah, listening on my phone, from you tube....it definitely sounded muddled or fuzzy.  I really cant wait to hear this in Atmos.  The layering should be good. 

I was a fan before, just because I like these fast ones.  But it sounds so much better on better speakers. 

THEBIBLEISTEN

Vedd Hedd said:

Running sounds so much better played on better speakers than my cell phone.  In the car it was great, contributed to my speeding. 

Looking forward to hearing more detail on CD and Vinyl.  

Same. I actually got pulled over 

mace1229

bootlegger10 said:

OfThePearl said:

I can only think of one PJ song Ever, that didn't sound better live, than on the record. So I just have to go to as many shows as I can. Fortunately its been many.

I haven't been too excited about what I've heard so far (this album), but I'm Very excited about the upcoming shows. I'm always open to and hopeful for new music, but its hard to match my love for the favorites I already have.

Can think of few that sound better on the record off the top of my head, but there aren't many.  

1)  I Got Id
2)  Brain of J
3) Getaway
4)  Pilate

I Got Id is probably the biggest gap between album and live sound. It's one of my top 10 favorite studio songs, but just doesn't translate live. I've always wondered if it's because Neil was on the album and how it would have been different if Mike recorded it. Maybe not at all, I don't know. 

Ledbetterman10

mace1229 said:

bootlegger10 said:

OfThePearl said:

I can only think of one PJ song Ever, that didn't sound better live, than on the record. So I just have to go to as many shows as I can. Fortunately its been many.

I haven't been too excited about what I've heard so far (this album), but I'm Very excited about the upcoming shows. I'm always open to and hopeful for new music, but its hard to match my love for the favorites I already have.

Can think of few that sound better on the record off the top of my head, but there aren't many.  

1)  I Got Id
2)  Brain of J
3) Getaway
4)  Pilate

I Got Id is probably the biggest gap between album and live sound. It's one of my top 10 favorite studio songs, but just doesn't translate live. I've always wondered if it's because Neil was on the album and how it would have been different if Mike recorded it. Maybe not at all, I don't know. 

That's funny because I'm the complete opposite. I don't like the Merkinball version of I Got Shit at all. But I think live versions like Melbourne '98 and Pittsburgh '00 rule. 

I'll throw Tremor Christ out as a song that's better on the record that live. 

OfThePearl

BF25394 said:

OfThePearl said:

I can only think of one PJ song Ever, that didn't sound better live, than on the record. So I just have to go to as many shows as I can. Fortunately its been many.

I haven't been too excited about what I've heard so far (this album), but I'm Very excited about the upcoming shows. I'm always open to and hopeful for new music, but its hard to match my love for the favorites I already have.

Is it "Getaway"? Because that song never landed live, and it seemed pretty obvious that the band felt that way about it, and that it was why they rarely played it.

Its Sleight of Hand. It can sound a little "thin" live to me. And the timing doesn't always mesh comfortably to my ear live. (Need a little more rehearsal after a long absence from playing it?) But when its "on", its a wonderful thing. Definitely a top tier song for me, regardless.

Force Of Nature

Ledbetterman10 said:

mace1229 said:

bootlegger10 said:

OfThePearl said:

I can only think of one PJ song Ever, that didn't sound better live, than on the record. So I just have to go to as many shows as I can. Fortunately its been many.

I haven't been too excited about what I've heard so far (this album), but I'm Very excited about the upcoming shows. I'm always open to and hopeful for new music, but its hard to match my love for the favorites I already have.

Can think of few that sound better on the record off the top of my head, but there aren't many.  

1)  I Got Id
2)  Brain of J
3) Getaway
4)  Pilate

I Got Id is probably the biggest gap between album and live sound. It's one of my top 10 favorite studio songs, but just doesn't translate live. I've always wondered if it's because Neil was on the album and how it would have been different if Mike recorded it. Maybe not at all, I don't know. 

That's funny because I'm the complete opposite. I don't like the Merkinball version of I Got Shit at all. But I think live versions like Melbourne '98 and Pittsburgh '00 rule. 

I'll throw Tremor Christ out as a song that's better on the record that live. 

Same, don’t like listening to studio version but love the live version of I Got Shit.

PJ_Soul

CarryTheZero said:

Vedd Hedd said:

To me, it seemed to be all about the bullshit you hear from people, ot maybe media, or political figures.

Running from all the shit your pushing.
In a tunnel, the tunnel is getting funneled, like sewage or plumbing cause we left the water running.

This is my take on it as well. 

Same here. I assumed it's more political than personal.

Ten Backspaced Riot Actors

mace1229 said:

bootlegger10 said:

OfThePearl said:

I can only think of one PJ song Ever, that didn't sound better live, than on the record. So I just have to go to as many shows as I can. Fortunately its been many.

I haven't been too excited about what I've heard so far (this album), but I'm Very excited about the upcoming shows. I'm always open to and hopeful for new music, but its hard to match my love for the favorites I already have.

Can think of few that sound better on the record off the top of my head, but there aren't many.  

1)  I Got Id
2)  Brain of J
3) Getaway
4)  Pilate

I Got Id is probably the biggest gap between album and live sound. It's one of my top 10 favorite studio songs, but just doesn't translate live. I've always wondered if it's because Neil was on the album and how it would have been different if Mike recorded it. Maybe not at all, I don't know. 

Mike and Neil have much different styles.  If Mike would have recorded the “lead” part it would have sounded like they play it live.  Neil just crushes the studio version.  He has a great sense of melody and can do more with less notes than some other guitarists.  

BF25394

OfThePearl said:

BF25394 said:

OfThePearl said:

I can only think of one PJ song Ever, that didn't sound better live, than on the record. So I just have to go to as many shows as I can. Fortunately its been many.

I haven't been too excited about what I've heard so far (this album), but I'm Very excited about the upcoming shows. I'm always open to and hopeful for new music, but its hard to match my love for the favorites I already have.

Is it "Getaway"? Because that song never landed live, and it seemed pretty obvious that the band felt that way about it, and that it was why they rarely played it.

Its Sleight of Hand. It can sound a little "thin" live to me. And the timing doesn't always mesh comfortably to my ear live. (Need a little more rehearsal after a long absence from playing it?) But when its "on", its a wonderful thing. Definitely a top tier song for me, regardless.

I think a song like that or "Tremor Christ" can be hard to pull off live because they have weird tempos. In the studio, they get a bunch of takes and only need one good one where the tempo is maintained from start to finish.

This is not the same thing, but I wonder if the Toadies were able to consistently play "Possum Kingdom" live because it seems like it would take massive powers of concentration not to slip up on the riff that alternates every couple of bars.

on2legs

FYI… if you have Tidal they will be including FLAC and Atmos with the regular plans as of April 10.  You will no longer need to pay extra for it. 

Spunkie

PJ_Soul said:

CarryTheZero said:

Vedd Hedd said:

To me, it seemed to be all about the bullshit you hear from people, ot maybe media, or political figures.

Running from all the shit your pushing.
In a tunnel, the tunnel is getting funneled, like sewage or plumbing cause we left the water running.

This is my take on it as well. 

Same here. I assumed it's more political than personal.

+1 
Although the aborted take off sure fits how PJ hid from the spotlight back in the day.