daniel_v

Thanks for the review and pics!! After reading it I'm even more glad I got tickets to this tour. Random thoughts: -Honestly, I'm sad to hear they're playing the revisited I Miss New Wave (it just pales in comparison to the original, imo) but am glad they're at least doing a hybrid version of BTK. Nothing against the new one (since it is pretty creative) but without those epic orchestra keys and sectional movements the revisited version it just didn't have the same effect. I'm guessing the live version will pack a little more punch which will be great to hear. -Pretty interested to hear the full band version of RFH now, regardless of whether I like it better than the original. -Glad they've thrown something new in the mix from the new album. The few clips we heard sounded great, Quick question: were the BM versions played exactly as they were from the album, or are there slight variations?

Came across this today. Very well spoken, introspective and humble interview from Dave in 2016 regarding how he got into the business, how he got into producing, how to write good songs, and most surprisingly, some retrospective admission on his time with MGB. If you forward to the 11:50 mark he actually confirms what Matt has always said was frustrating as far as band members trying to get their part in the songs and that he (Dave) had too much ego at the time due to his own obsession with creativity and songs being a part of one's self. He then goes on to say that he shoved certain things down the band's throat and that certain songs on Beautiful Midnight would have been better (in his mind, now) if he "had just left well enough alone". I'm not done it yet, but thought other fans of the band in the MGB days might appreciate watching and listening to it for both the MGB content and the fact that Dave is just an incredibly interesting guy to listen to. Edit- Anton, if you want to embed the video go for it. I'm dumb so I can't remember how, lol.

Do you mind me asking for clarification if that was your biggest beef with the band when it came to the studio? I know you've mentioned over the years that you always wished some of the other members were willing to serve the song rather than themselves, but I was always interested what you specifically meant by that. Was it only that you didn't like, as you just stated, how certain members wanted their part to be the most prominent in the mix, or was it also that you didn't like how busy certain parts were (I seem to remember you once stating you felt the drums in Truffle Pigs were too busy) when what you were going for was a more simple sonic landscape at times? Or was it all that and other things as well?

I agree that it's always best to let songs marinate a bit before commenting. First impressions and long term impressions are usually different. I was skipping over Load Me Up as well, but given how stressful the last few days have been for me I've found myself listening to it more and more, and it's actually quite calming/relaxing. Very peaceful. Like someone else said, if you look at the songs as their own entities, rather than covers of the originals, I think you can appreciate them more, and this version of LMU really is a good song if taken as it's own thing. Even though the country element Stu did with the slide guitar work threw me off at first, it really does add a lot to the song, especially the lead guitar work he does at the end. It's also one song where I really do appreciate the lower tone Matt used as it completely fits the mood of the song. It's funny that people would bring up Buckley too, because he was another one of those artists who's songs I didn't like as much at first, but had a way of getting better with time. These versions of Let's Get it On and Suburbia I instantly liked, but LMU took a few days for sure, and yet might end up being one of my favorites off the album in the long term. I think I'm getting there with BTK and IMNW, but it may take a little while longer to fully appreciate them (ironically I would imagine because they're the closest sounding to the originals). Like I said earlier, there are parts of both songs that are fantastic and innovative (the bass replacing the lead guitar in the verses of BTK for example- something he did with Suburbia too), but even after admitting I should try and look at them as their own songs, I'll admit I'll find it hard not to compare them to the originals just because they were so epic. Matt's falsetto and the instrumental climax in IMNW, and the intensity of the vocals/ progression of each section (aided by the keys) in BTK are so embedded in my mind it feels like something is missing with these two (again, probably because they're the closest sounding to the originals). Like the demos for Chaotic Neutral and the actual record songs for that album though, I'm sure I'll continue to like these the more and more I listen to them. I initially thought something had been lost with the album version of Cold Water, because I had listened to the demo version too many times (think Matt called it demoitis, lol), but after a while I really came to appreciate it. Now, I prefer the album version over the demo. As a matter of a fact I think it's one of the greatest things Matt and Warne have done together.

Took me a looooong fricken time to find the original thread, lol. Taggart's Take- Matthew Good Not sure if the links the people posted are still active but it's the best bet I can offer. EDIT- damn, sorry man. The links are inactive.

What I Liked -The production work is fantastic. Warne is getting better and better the older he gets. All the instruments are crsip, clear, and yet not too overly polished. With the original Beautiful Midnight (and even AOB) there were certain of sections where different instruments would drown out others, but in these songs there's a very nice equilibrium where I can hear all the instrumental parts easily. I really appreciate that. Likewise, all the keyboards and background noises are perfectly placed and actually quite haunting. Hopefully Matt continues with him for the next album. -I love a lot of the reworked instrumental parts for the songs and the different progressions Matt wrote (Stu’s lead at the end of LGIO and especially the chorus for LGIO were really surprising and cool). Also, even though I still prefer the originals, there are some beautiful guitar parts on Born to Kill and I Miss New Wave. -Let's Get It On deserves it's own mention. I still love the original, but I might actually feel like this one tops the original. -Lastly, Matt really nailed the whole 80’s new wave vibe he was going for with I Miss New Wave, Suburbia, and Let’s Get It On. Very cool to hear these songs re-imagined in such a way. What I Didn’t Like Quite As Much -Anyone else a little…concerned about Matt’s vocals? I don’t think they’re bad by any means, but after listening to this I can’t help but wonder if his smoking is starting to take a toll (that or he was sick when recording. I know the poor guy has stated he has an auto-immune disorder which leaves him susceptible to getting sick far more than normal). Ether way, while there’s nothing wrong with not screaming or tuning songs down a half step to go easier on ones voice and stay in tune as one gets a bit older, there are parts in different songs (such as the ending to Suburbia or the lack of falsetto in I Miss New Wave) where it seems like Matt doesn’t even attempt to reach those higher octaves. There seemed to be some higher pitched backing vocals during Born to Kill which were maybe muted down a little too much imo (I would assume of course because backing vocals always are) but I’m not sure if those are his or Blake’s. Either way it would have been nice if there was a little more focus on the high end rather than the low throughout the album. -The climax for I Miss New Wave is pretty big let down for me. I like Blake as a drummer, and he does some nice work on this album (such as on Born to Kill) but he was way too contained between the 3:02 to 3:26 mark of the song, imo. His hi-hats were almost completely closed the entire time, there are no heavy fills (or fills at all for that matter), and only one symbol crash that I can hear. Not sure if that was his choice or Matt’s to have it played that way but it feels like that part of the song could have benefited from more intensity on the drums. -Not sure what to make of Load Me Up yet. Gonna give it some more listens before I make a call on it for myself. Didn't like it at first but it's slowly getting easier to listen to. Reminds me a little bit of Ryan Adams, though I'm not sure if in the case of this song that's a good or bad thing. Might have appreciated something with a little less country guitar in it. Overall All that said, if Matt does read this, I hope the criticisms for the album don't seem like they outweigh the positive parts of it. As a fan, and Matt having been my favourite artist since I was 14, I honestly really do appreciate getting to hear new stuff and interpretations. Like I said, I love the New Wave vibe and am definitely looking forwards to the new album even more now :)

Has it been mentioned yet who will be playing bass for this tour since Bones has gone back to work with Midnight Oil?

Meant to post this here originally but accidentally posted it in The Lounge. Thought it was a nice tribute from one artist to another. http://cbcmusic.tumblr.com/post/122839309168/from-our-100-best-canadian-bands-ever-list

Lol, I appreciate the attempt at a save. I know there was no negative attitude in Gomo's comment, I'm just personally embarrassed I didn't catch that as, having been listening to Matt/MGB since 2000, I'm very much aware of the year the album came out, but for some reason just assumed 20 years without doing the math in my head. It's all good :)

hahahahahaha Whoops, that's embarrassing.

I could never quite make that out either, but it sounded like "I fucked it up" and then something inaudible, and then "let me go".

Matt's website has been updated. Are we about to hear the 20 year, revised, anniversery album for Beautiful Midnight?

Just recently got my VHS player working again and came across a couple great comedy interviews Matt did with Much Music back in the day that I haven't seen on YouTube. Gonna post some more throughout the week. This is the first one. Sorry I can't embed it as I'm posting this through my phone.

Does anyone know what this was? Not too many people seemed to be aware it was happening and Matt was playing with an entirely different band. https://www.instagram.com/p/BDtmSwXJBgs/?taken-by=matthewgoodgram&hl=en A secret show where local musicians support big name acts? I tried googling the event but nothing comes up.

I believe one of the shows was posted on youtube in its entirety (is that a word?) Some very nice translations and he even played a few he hadn't played for a while (Omissions was played with a strumming/picking technique throughout which was pretty cool and interesting to watch as opposed to just the straight strumming he did last year). If you go here you can see the full videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/schumif1champ/videos

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I'm not sure what I think of the concept. I get the idea of appreciating something more when you only have access to it for a little bit, especially in today's day and age where things are very much at everyone's finger tips all the time, but at the same time, leaving something for less than a day is a little extreme and counter intuitive. If they made it so you could only get the videos once you downloaded the app I might be a little more inclined to bother downloading the app in the first place.

Amazing video. Thanks a lot! Crazy to think she helped record the video for Alabama Motel Room over 20 years ago. Them doing the cover for this 20 years later and preforming it live is awesome to see and hear. The instrumental itself (the climax point near the end) isn't quite as good as the Winnipeg version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg3znLgCXOM) imo, but it's still incredible none the less. I'm super f-ing glad they ramped it up for the live performances (thanks Matt!). The album version was good, but just doesn't reach or match the intensity of the live work done here. The drumming, Stu's lead guitar licks, and especially Matt's rhythm guitar section that was included, all add so much to the song. It has such a great build to it and is one of the few songs from the album I think is as good or better without the piano (even though I still wish Anthony was with them and even though it would probably sound even better with piano added in too, lol) What exactly are, or were, these Periscope videos? And more to the point, why in the Hell would they only leave them up for less than 16 hours... Kind of an asshole thing to do on Periscope's part, unless they're just fixing them or something.

*original post edited out since I can't seem to find a delete option on the mobile site here

That is awesome to hear. While I still love the song, I was felt the album version kind of failed at the end because, given the build, it didn't quite make it to a proper climax at the end. Really looking forwards to hearing it now :)

On the subject of touring, if anyone is interested there's a good little article here that gives a specific breakdown of said costs that are associated with it. http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2014/11/25/band-just-finished-28-day-tour-made-much/

And again I owe you a thanks! Haha If I ever have anything interesting to share I will, lol.

Ian (their front man and primary writer) is coming out with a solo CD at the end of the month. Been waiting a long time for this (ever since I heard his Myspace Demos back around 2008). He has an incredible blues/folk sense of mood that he incorporates into his stuff. If anyone's is interested they can hear the first single on his website or just download it off iTunes: http://www.ianfletcherthornley.com/

Thanks :) Very well written. While I don't have a problem with the flow, especially since a lot of MGB albums were of the same vein (see AOB for the best example), I do understand how some people might be thrown off at first by the variations in song landscape and progression. The only thing I would say, regarding All You Sons and Daughters, is to let it marinate longer than a week. I thought the exact same thing you did when I heard the studio version the first time. Some of the arrangements in the progression of the different demos seemed so much more lush and fluid (especially the lead guitar along with the bells), but if you actually do give it some time, it grows on you, incredibly. There is so much soul in that song and ultimately if you compare the demos to it, side by side, I found myself appreciating that the sounds were fleshed out and so much more clear in the studio version. I certainly wouldn't have minded him using some of the lead guitar bits and bells he originally included, but at the same time I don't believe simple is always less. Sometimes it makes something a little more raw. I don't know, it would be interesting to hear Matt's take on the changes in that song. Did he make them because he thought a simpler song would go better with radio, or did he make them because he thought the song was served better by a simpler instrumentation and progression?

I would have loved to have checked this out. Unfortunately I was attending a wedding that day. If you want to upload it I'd definitely download it.

The Bad I think they were referring to the lo-fi quality of the demo giving it a more raw feel. Just a subjective opinion; I happen to agree with it though. While the studio version is amazing, the extra guitar and its twang sound that was added in, while beautiful, sort of takes something away from the simplicity having just the piano being the driving force of the song. I find myself dealing with the same thing on No Liars. I still the love the song, and the verses are a huge improvement over the demo version (love the lead that Sammy does after the first verse) but I honestly think the chorus in the demo had a lot more soul and focus with the lead guitar that was written as opposed to the studio version, despite the studio version being more polished. Likewise, while I understand monetary constraints coming into play when it comes to recording a song like We Have Done This Before (and Matt not wanting to redo songs he has done before), I'm still bummed it and Night Orders never made the record. Those were fantastic songs and I really don't agree with Matt's criticism that sonically Night Orders didn't progress anywhere. The only other thing that bothers me about the album is Matt's use of the drums. For someone who is such a huge fan of Explosions in the Sky I'm always surprised he doesn't make more use of the drums as a way to climax on songs. For example, Cloudbusting has a great build, but never really reaches that peak it's running to. If he had gotten Blake to go heavier at the end (especially with the symbol crashes) it (and a few other songs such as Tiger by the Tail and Army of Lions) might have had even more of an impact than it does as a finalized version (despite the fact that it's still a great song). The Good I'm not complaining about getting to hear the demos though. I love that Matt gives us the chance to hear what the progressions are like and if he hadn't we wouldn't have gotten to hear We Have Done This Before...", or "Night Orders". Likewise, this way, we have the option of just listening to the demo versions if we like them better than the studio ones. Very cool. And overall, I find myself really appreciating the album the more I listen to it. The songs all seem to get better with each play and those are usually the types of albums that are the most solid and long lasting. I was in the same position with Our Lady Peace's "Curve"- didn't think much of it at first, but the more I listened to it the more I found a lot more depth and craft to the songs than I initially gave it credit for. Best example of that here would be All You Sons and Daughters. I thought the song was very mundane the first time I listened to it, but the more I do listen, the more depth and appreciation I find for the simplicity of the song. And even without the bells, the production brings it to a whole other level than the demo versions. Moment is another example of a song where I like it far more than the demo thanks to the work Warne did on it. I hated the demo version. I enjoyed the lyrics, but couldn't for the life of me figure why so many people thought a song with such a boring chord progression was so great. Sure, it's an uplifting song, but it's not like it was the first one Matt's ever wrote. But again, what Warne and Bones brought to the song seems to have bought it to another level and I can listen to it and appreciate what I think other people heard in the demo. Same thing goes for Tiger by the Tail. Didn't think much of the demo version, but I really love the studio version. As a matter of fact, the production on the entire record (with the exception of them over doing it on Cold Water) was fantastic. I heard another person mention they thought the placement of Army of Lions between Cold Water and Los Almos was a bad move and while I can understand why it would seem strange to some, I actually like it on a conceptual level. It's like the last battle before the end where there's only loss (Los Almos is probably one of the most haunting songs he's ever written too). No idea if that was Matt's intent in putting it there, but I still like to look at it that way.