Needles & Grooves

I mean yea for me, thats an album that I heard and fell in love with immediately. For others it may be more, and its probably not for a lot of people.

I think once is the answer (I'm not a fan)

I first tried it in 2013 and absolutely hated it. Then the next year I decided to give it a shot again and fell in love immediately. Dont know what changed

Yeah, I don't think it is a bad album but definitely not for everyone.

I think everyone has those albums they keep listening to wanting desperately for it to hit. Bridgers’ “Punisher” is mine, listened about a dozen times and yeah.... still nothing. Someday, maybe.

Tried back in the 90s when Magnet couldn't shut up about them. Never clicked then. Thats life, move on.

Is it the music or the vocals that you're not feeling?

I think I bought and returned the CD 2-3 times over before it finally clicked. I read a piece a year or so ago, probably from Pitchfork, Stereogum or AV Club, where they talked about people that grow out of the album over time. That hasn't happened with me yet.

I think a lot depends on your relationship with dissonance, the history (musical and maybe lyrical) it draws on, and just where you are in your music life. Also, of course, not everything is for everyone. I fell in love with it right away, but I first encountered the title song on a mixtape a friend made.

Once seems wrong. I can appreciate an album after hearing it once, but I need to sit with and fully digest an album in order to have it change my life or whatever

Tricky question re "understand why it is so highly regarded." Once was all I needed to fall in love with this album, so then reading positive reviews or articles about it only confirmed what I felt. But if you don't have a positive reaction to it after a few listens then you won't be inclined to agree with all the praise, so it might take a while to appreciate, or maybe you just won't.

It reminds me of trying to convince people of the genius of Mew when they just can't get past a singer who embraces falsetto as part of his vocal repertoire. There really is no amount of convincing I can do against this, even if they appreciate the crazy time signature changes, chords, and whatnot in the music itself.

The limit does not exist.

@blenoxsmith I purposely phrased it that way because it is hailed as a masterpiece, and it seems that many people on the boards agree. I understand it’s all subjective, and I don’t have to agree. I guess my question is *why*? What makes it so special?

@Ginormousthumbs it’s all of it. I don’t think it’s bad, rather it’s just ok.

It depends. Are you listening to it digitally or in record form. I tried it a few times digitally and it wasn’t until I played the record till it sunk in for me. I love it now.

@feesrevenge on CD and digitally at work

Don’t think I ever bothered. If I heard any it’s been forgotten.

As many times as you need. I think it's the sort of album - as are a lot - that you have to listen to a few times and just try to meet halfway. To me, I suppose it's an album that stretches my sympathy. A lot of the lyrics almost seem to have more meaning to me than logical content. He manages to bring out these emotions that I feel sometimes, absolute heartfelt things that aren't or could never be. Spiritual things.

But his delivery is part of that though I like weird voices. And musically, it feels like it couldn't be otherwise, somehow. Every choice, distorted-to-the-point-of-atonal guitars abutted with singing saws and funereal horns, were chosen for feel, out of another world. Yeah, I don't think this is an album best "gotten" while doing other things, or expecting to have it click. Best just put it on and let it be around.