#109

Most things are Lars Ulrich’s fault.

7 Likes
#110

I recently listened to Sleater Kinney’s No Cities to Love after a couple years off was surprised by how grating the production felt. I don’t know quite how to explain it, but it’s like the guitars are overwhelmingly sugary or tangy? Kind of gives the feeling of having to stare at a really bright light when you have a headache.

1 Like
#111

I think Silversun Pickups have a lot of good songs post-Carnavas, but they’re hampered by the super-clean, sterilized production. The issue starts creeping in on Swoon but becomes much more prominent afterwards. Better Nature actually has a lot of good and interesting songs but they’re stifled by the glossiness and playing to a click.

#112

On that note, almost any rock song being played to a click.

1 Like
#113

Agree with this. The original version has no balls and the Iggy remix just sounds ridiculously loud/distorted (not in a good way).

#114

I’m in this boat too.

#115

I get that with At The Drive-In, I love individual songs but trying to listen to a full album (especially Relationship) just gives me a headache. It’s too full on and insistent at all times, it doesn’t give my ears any time to … breathe? Some truly mixed metaphors there hah

3 Likes
#116

I find them quite ugly and overbearing.

#117

Yeah, that is not how I want strings to sound.

I’m happier with something like on this:

#118

The story goes that Tommy Ramones ears were fucked from years of being in the Ramones so he mastered the whole thing on headphones.

1 Like
#119

But the whole point is that it starts all uncomfortable, tight and jarring (with the pizzicato strings), then in the second verse you get the lush bowed strings with the beautiful counterpoint melody. The second chorus has a fuller sound when they’re bowed, but still staccato, and more of the bottom end is added with the cellos and double basses. The end is discordant chaos. It’s amazing.

Each to their own, but it’s definitely not bad.

5 Likes
#120

Yeah, i have heard this story and it does sound like part of the mix is missing or something. What i don’t understand is how everybody listened to the finished mix and said “yeah, that sounds great”.

1 Like
#121

Anyway, Jonny loves him some Shostakovich (to the point where I thought the There Will be Blood score was Shostakovich before I found out who it was).

Hence his use of strings:

#122

Yeah I have no idea what they were thinking. The start of bastards of young sounds like it’s coming through laptop speakers from 2008. Baffling

3 Likes
#123

You’re right, it is johnny pretentiously imposing his string composition onto a song and ruining it.

1 Like
#124

I get that with D-Unit and that particular album, I wanted to like it a helluva lot more than I did. Love the sound of Deep Trip and a couple of singles around that era but Negative FR just sounds too uptight and claustrophobic, which was probably their aim to be honest.

Never heard Yerself Is Steam on cd, only got the vinyl. May have to give it a go.

Overthrown by OH SEES. Just sounds bad to my ears and I love that band.

#125

a few of the Manics tunes from Gold Against the Soul were just ruined by the production - the live versions of Roses in the Hospital and La Tristesse, in particular, were on a whole other level

actually i don’t know if it’s solely the production, they’re kind of played differently.

1 Like
#126

It kills live though! (NFR)

#127

Damn right! Seen them a few times now, just awesome. Their live in San Fran album is ace.

1 Like
#128

There’s some decent tunes on ‘GATS’ ruined by crap arrangements. would put ‘from despair to where’ in that bracket too.

1 Like