Needles & Grooves AoTM /// Vol. 3 - September 2019 /// Nicole Atkins - Goodnight, Rhonda Lee

Oh my dear.....

Amazon can not get this right. And they are blaming EVERYONE except themselves (sounds like someone else we know). The manufacturors sent us the wrong items, the machines are pulling the incorrect item. Whatever.

They say they have to pull her inventory from the site for a week, try to figure this out and then get it back up on the site. I don't even know.

So, I'm ordering from Nicole's site directly. Apologies to anyone that had to deal with this!!! All you can do is laugh. 😬
 
Teeeee said:
Oh my dear.....

Amazon can not get this right. And they are blaming EVERYONE except themselves (sounds like someone else we know). The manufacturors sent us the wrong items, the machines are pulling the incorrect item. Whatever.

They say they have to pull her inventory from the site for a week, try to figure this out and then get it back up on the site. I don't even know.

So, I'm ordering from Nicole's site directly. Apologies to anyone that had to deal with this!!! All you can do is laugh to keep from crying. 😬
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:sneaky:
 
supahypeag said:
I haven’t compared costs or anything, but I’ve received the record I bought through her label. Sharing that just in case there’s a hiccup with her site or whatever.
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I'm going with her site now. I was able to use a cc. I let her know that paypal and her site may be in a disagreement. Lol.

But yeah - her site or her label seem to be best for those of us in this part of the country.
 
Teeeee said:
Amazon sent out 2 replacement copies for the orders I made. And yet again they sent Jason instead of Nicole.

SMH. This will be a fun chat with Amazon. Just let them try to tell me these incorrect Jasons have to be shipped back. Uh, no! I didn't ask for those to be sent in the first place!!
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Look, if you order from the exact same listing you will get the exact same product as the listing is tied to a UPC that is tied to a shelf location. A one time mishap can very rarely happen. It is actually far more likely for an error to happen repeatedly until it is escalated for an audit to fix the broken UPC link. It is possible to get the right product if you have more than one listing to pick from as the other listings are not necessarily tied to the same UPC (extremely unlikely).
 
I’ve finished my 3rd listen and DAMN I love this record. It incorporates retro sounds and styles (that I love), but usually twists and spins them in unconventional (and interesting) ways. It’s not a concept album, but the songs do share themes of transformation and change, sometimes welcome, sometimes not.

A Little Crazy at first seems like a conventional, if a bit old-fashioned, getting over a breakup song. After thinking about it for a while, though, I don’t know that I’ve heard anything like it before. Usually songs in this style are (1) I was stupid to love you (2) you’re going to regret leaving me (3) it sucks but I’ll move on, (4) angry. This song, though, with the slide guitar emphasizing the overwrought feelings in the song and that voice break at about 3:20 mark, suggests maybe the character-singer is a little crazy. This suggestion is without judgment or ironic humor, but rather an acknowledgement that although they are trying to keep it together, they’re not always successful.

Darkness Falls So Quiet explores another kind of transformation, a more welcome one. To me, the singer-character here is lonely in an uncaring relationship, then decides to leave, with her partner left alone.

Listen Up is a favorite of mine, with some old school R&B. It reminded me of those kinds of soul “I’m a badass and telling it like it is” jams. Except the lyrics show she’s not really asserting strength. She’s in bad shape and asking for help. And she only asks for help when she is in a bad place; she doesn’t take advice to avoid bad situations. There is a suggestion that this wasn’t the first time she’s in this spot and there’s a dark suggestion she really hasn’t learned anything. The power behind this song is a false confidence, a manipulation to get what she needs, then she’s going right back into making mistakes again.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee is from the perspective of somebody tired of dealing with a drunk friend (who, through interviews, is really her). The music is interesting, like there’s a Texas two-Step vibe, that she’s dancing with a partner in an old dive bar.

If I could is resistant to change, encouraging a static existence. But at the same time, the singer-character acknowledges that such an existence would not enable growth and healing. Ultimately, it is revealed that the singer-character recognizes that she is incapable of providing what the other person needs. The wistfulness in the music and smooth vocals disguise the extreme low self-esteem of the singer-character.

Colors feels almost like a musical theater number, a longing, love song to alcohol.

Brokedown Luck has some POWER SINGING. It’s a real showcase for Atkins’ voice. It shows the frustration and pain with ALMOST getting what she wants, but coming up short due to bad luck (with the suggestion that it might not just be bad luck, but it’s a cover of denial that she falls short due to the singer-character’s own problems).

I love living here (even when I don’t) reminds me so much of what it felt like to me when I was drunk. Wildly fluctuating emotions, a desire to be alone but amongst people, a dislike of where I was but loving the comfort of being in a familiar place. The lyrics are complex, ambivalent, and contradictory. The music is uplifting, depressing, angry, and relaxed. It’s the song I keep going back to because I feel like I get a different take on it every time.

Sleepwalking. GODDAMN. I LOVE this song! It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. The lyrics are depressing, with the line “sleepwalking around the world I used to dream in.” I can relate to that feeling. She doesn’t indicate that she’s NOT feeling that way anymore, she just hopes she feels better soon. But the music is so...like a 60s love song, contrasting beautifully, actually inspiring and pushing for that hopefulness!! Gah, I love this song.

A night of serious drinking reminds me of Lou Reed’s delivery. And it feels like there are ambiguities and contradictions. I THINK it’s about the singer-character returning again and again to the same old romantic/hookup that never works out, but they get drunk and do it again anyway.

A dream without Pain ends the record on a high note. She’s aspiring for something better. But it’s not a song of triumph but rather one of longing and uncertainty. She woke up from a nightmare, to a dream, not reality.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve gotten out of it so far. I look forward to hearing other takes and thoughts on the album!
 
debianlinux said:
Look, if you order from the exact same listing you will get the exact same product as the listing is tied to a UPC that is tied to a shelf location. A one time mishap can very rarely happen. It is actually far more likely for an error to happen repeatedly until it is escalated for an audit to fix the broken UPC link. It is possible to get the right product if you have more than one listing to pick from as the other listings are not necessarily tied to the same UPC (extremely unlikely).
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I suggested as much to them. Just silliness all around.

I feel better about buying from her site directly. So it turns out for the best. :)
 
supahypeag said:
I’ve finished my 3rd listen and DAMN I love this record. It incorporates retro sounds and styles (that I love), but usually twists and spins them in unconventional (and interesting) ways. It’s not a concept album, but the songs do share themes of transformation and change, sometimes welcome, sometimes not.

A Little Crazy at first seems like a conventional, if a bit old-fashioned, getting over a breakup song. After thinking about it for a while, though, I don’t know that I’ve heard anything like it before. Usually songs in this style are (1) I was stupid to love you (2) you’re going to regret leaving me (3) it sucks but I’ll move on, (4) angry. This song, though, with the slide guitar emphasizing the overwrought feelings in the song and that voice break at about 3:20 mark, suggests maybe the character-singer is a little crazy. This suggestion is without judgment or ironic humor, but rather an acknowledgement that although they are trying to keep it together, they’re not always successful.

Darkness Falls So Quiet explores another kind of transformation, a more welcome one. To me, the singer-character here is lonely in an uncaring relationship, then decides to leave, with her partner left alone.

Listen Up is a favorite of mine, with some old school R&B. It reminded me of those kinds of soul “I’m a badass and telling it like it is” jams. Except the lyrics show she’s not really asserting strength. She’s in bad shape and asking for help. And she only asks for help when she is in a bad place; she doesn’t take advice to avoid bad situations. There is a suggestion that this wasn’t the first time she’s in this spot and there’s a dark suggestion she really hasn’t learned anything. The power behind this song is a false confidence, a manipulation to get what she needs, then she’s going right back into making mistakes again.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee is from the perspective of somebody tired of dealing with a drunk friend (who, through interviews, is really her). The music is interesting, like there’s a Texas two-Step vibe, that she’s dancing with a partner in an old dive bar.

If I could is resistant to change, encouraging a static existence. But at the same time, the singer-character acknowledges that such an existence would not enable growth and healing. Ultimately, it is revealed that the singer-character recognizes that she is incapable of providing what the other person needs. The wistfulness in the music and smooth vocals disguise the extreme low self-esteem of the singer-character.

Colors feels almost like a musical theater number, a longing, love song to alcohol.

Brokedown Luck has some POWER SINGING. It’s a real showcase for Atkins’ voice. It shows the frustration and pain with ALMOST getting what she wants, but coming up short due to bad luck (with the suggestion that it might not just be bad luck, but it’s a cover of denial that she falls short due to the singer-character’s own problems).

I love living here (even when I don’t) reminds me so much of what it felt like to me when I was drunk. Wildly fluctuating emotions, a desire to be alone but amongst people, a dislike of where I was but loving the comfort of being in a familiar place. The lyrics are complex, ambivalent, and contradictory. The music is uplifting, depressing, angry, and relaxed. It’s the song I keep going back to because I feel like I get a different take on it every time.

Sleepwalking. GODDAMN. I LOVE this song! It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. The lyrics are depressing, with the line “sleepwalking around the world I used to dream in.” I can relate to that feeling. She doesn’t indicate that she’s NOT feeling that way anymore, she just hopes she feels better soon. But the music is so...like a 60s love song, contrasting beautifully, actually inspiring and pushing for that hopefulness!! Gah, I love this song.

A night of serious drinking reminds me of Lou Reed’s delivery. And it feels like there are ambiguities and contradictions. I THINK it’s about the singer-character returning again and again to the same old romantic/hookup that never works out, but they get drunk and do it again anyway.

A dream without Pain ends the record on a high note. She’s aspiring for something better. But it’s not a song of triumph but rather one of longing and uncertainty. She woke up from a nightmare, to a dream, not reality.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve gotten out of it so far. I look forward to hearing other takes and thoughts on the album!
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YAS!!! Amazing.

I almost told people to skip A Little Crazy at first. But decided to just let you all dive into the album as a whole. I find it to be an odd opener that sometimes makes me not want to continue with the rest of the album. It is one of the songs that took the most time to grow on me. I think you are picking up on some of my hesitations with the song. Listen Up is such a damn jam. Check out the video - I think it'll validate your thoughts on the meaning. Colors is just so full of imagery, it kills me. I didn't "hear" that imagery for several listens but once I did, that song became that much better to me.

I'm so happy you like this album! One of the things I love the most about the album is how her vocals are clearly what is controlling everything. I have said it before, but I feel like Darkness Falls So Quiet - if it weren't for Nicole's singing, the rest of the band would just accelerate the tempo more and more and more until it all fell apart. But here's Nicole - her confident voice, setting the beat, telling everyone to just hitch themselves onto her, she's got this, let's go boys!

Thank you so much for your amazing engagement in this (and all of the AOTM) thread(s).
 
Look what just showed up at my office! :love:

t0eYsCe.jpg


Thanks @Teeeee !!
 
I haven’t commented much but I started following this thread a little and have listened to this album on my commute all week. It’s interesting to hear some of talk about “A Little Crazy”. That song grabbed me immediately and has been stuck in my head for days. “Listen Up” reminded me a little of Lake Street Dive, who I like quite a bit as well. Overall this one was a winner!!

I have an outstanding order from Amazon so god knows what will arrive at my door but I look forward to eventually spinning this one on vinyl!
 
Jdp941 said:
I haven’t commented much but I started following this thread a little and have listened to this album on my commute all week. It’s interesting to hear some of talk about “A Little Crazy”. That song grabbed me immediately and has been stuck in my head for days. “Listen Up” reminded me a little of Lake Street Dive, who I like quite a bit as well. Overall this one was a winner!!

I have an outstanding order from Amazon so god knows what will arrive at my door but I look forward to eventually spinning this one on vinyl!
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I think she joined LSD onstage at this past Newport folk fest.

A little crazy is a gorgeous song. i love it now. It just took me a bit to get there. I'm happy to hear this was providing entertainment during your commute. Thank you for listening and your thoughts!!!
 
Teeeee said:
I almost told people to skip A Little Crazy at first. But decided to just let you all dive into the album as a whole. I find it to be an odd opener that sometimes makes me not want to continue with the rest of the album. It is one of the songs that took the most time to grow on me.
Click to expand...
Jdp941 said:
I haven’t commented much but I started following this thread a little and have listened to this album on my commute all week. It’s interesting to hear some of talk about “A Little Crazy”. That song grabbed me immediately and has been stuck in my head for days. “Listen Up” reminded me a little of Lake Street Dive, who I like quite a bit as well. Overall this one was a winner!!
Click to expand...

I had to let A Little Crazy grow on me too, it didn't grab me right away. And when I recommended this album to some friends, I told them to make sure they get passed the first track and listen to some other songs too haha I actually recommended starting with Listen Up and told them it reminded me of Lake Street Dive as well. Glad I'm not the only one who felt that way. The jams definitely caught my ear right away (Listen Up, Sleepwalking, Brokedown Luck and Darkness Falls So Quiet), but now that I've listened to it more, really I think all of the songs are great. Definitely a great pick @Teeeee!
 
Since Amazon is dubious at best at this and can’t be bothered to ship the third copy (I imagine they got enough complaints to actually investigate)... I went ahead and ordered from her site. Hopefully I get it in time to join the conversation next week.
 
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