Demo VS Official Release

[Miss Fitt 2]

Anyone else have that experience of just not getting a song when the general consensus is that it's great?

Freak Accident. I just don't like it.

I think Freak Accident is a mix of awkwardness and eloquence, and perhaps that combination is so fitting to the song that it helps give it its power. A couple of the lyrics are positively cringe-worthy (e.g., "I know you love me enough to tell me when I'm acting like an ass" or "even when I'm feeling down, look in the mirror and see a clown." GROAN) But there's such a raw emotional openness - particularly that verse Phil singled out: "screwed up a few things in my life...", although you really need to extend it through to its end,"That ain't nothing worth announcing," to get its full import.

But yes, I think there are some songs that are unmistakeable masterpieces -- Closer to the Stars, Never Really Been, Without a Trace, Stranger -- but most of the songs are going to come down to what we connect to viscerally or emotionally. Good thing there seems to be something for everyone!

[CrazyLittleWoman]

In re-reading, I realized that my earlier post sounds flip and defensive. Sorry, everybody.

Twice now I've inadvertently stepped all over a song that was close to someone's heart and I've tried ever since to avoid that.

It's difficult for me to talk about the songs that are close to my heart. So much easier to talk about the songs that are fun or clever or amusing. Still it seems unfair to hold out that way.

One of the songs that I connect with emotionally is I Did My Best. During a trying family function last summer, the words to this song were running through my head. "So, I acted surprised and I told lots of lies / Yes, I did my best." (Of course, I was also thinking "How did I wind up trying to be like you?" But that's another story.) So, I smiled and lied and made it through the weekend.

And I went through a long, long period where I felt this whole song down to my bones, but especially the lines:

I was tired of being tired
I could not get no rest
So I kept sleepwalking and talking in my sleep
Yes, I did my best

There are several songs that are touchstones for me. Miss Fitt is right, too, that the aesthetic value of the song doesn't always matter, because some songs just sneak right in and take up residence in your soul without asking for permission.

[zany]

ok sorry to backtrack to the Black Star discussion but it took me some time yesterday to remember which crosby stills and nash song that black star TOTALLY reminds me of - but i figured it out: Helpless (which is actually a neil young song)

anybody know that song as well and agree (or think i'm nuts)???

it's mostly 2 parts that remind me of it but they are VERY similar (to me)- one is the first line. both start with "there is a ..." and both sound sorta the same in that first line like i expect dave to bust out with "there is a town in north ontario"
also, the 'blaaack staaar' over and over is like the "helpless" over and over for a chorus. it's not the same note or anything but it really reminds me of it anyways.

(oh and there's no 'black star' in helpless but there IS a 'yellow moon')

i found a link to Helpless for those who don't know it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx4pU7OKPj8

[AlyssaJones]

I just can't listen to I Did My Best. There's nothing wrong song itself, but for personal reasons it makes me sob every time I listen to it. It reminds me of my ex-best friend and how I tried so hard at our friendship and loved him so much, but one day he decided he didn't want anything to do with me anymore and never really explained why. So, the only thing I have left to say is "I did my best for you."

But anyway, a song that I absolutely love but I don't think many others would think was anything special is Directions. The first time I listened to it I actually cried. I guess I connect with it so much because I'm at a point where I could really use some direction, but I don't really have anyone, and when I'm upset I usually just listen to Soul Asylum cuz there's nobody to talk to.

Now what was the original topic of this thread? Oh yeah, demos you like better than the original. I don't really know because I only have 3 demos. (Directions, Oxygen, and Black Star.)

[sheryl]

I love Directions too. I'd love to get my hands on a nice clear copy of it.

Going back to what was said about Freak Accident as one of those songs that could have been written for and about you....
That's me with Closer to the Stars. The man had never met me, but he described me and my life scarily perfectly.

I really like the diversity we see here when people start talkign about the songs they love and the songs they can't stand and the songs that touch them. One band, two songwriters, and yet they've done something so huge. multitudes of listeners ,many of us so different, connecting to these songs so deeply....

I have defintely had many moments where I definitely feel the sentiment in I did my best...I love the song, I think it's beautiful, but I don't listen to it much. On bad days it depresses me, and on good days I start to giggle because for some reason I start to sing the lyrics to Bruce Springsteens "the river" over the top of it.

[CrazyLittleWoman]

I guess I connect with it so much because I'm at a point where I could really use some direction, but I don't really have anyone, and when I'm upset I usually just listen to Soul Asylum cuz there's nobody to talk to.

Soul Asylum songs make good companions when no one else around you quite understands what's going on.

[sheryl]

I guess I connect with it so much because I'm at a point where I could really use some direction, but I don't really have anyone, and when I'm upset I usually just listen to Soul Asylum cuz there's nobody to talk to.

Soul Asylum songs make good companions when no one else around you quite understands what's going on.

Yes, they really do.

[Monolith Maniac]

If you asked me right when The Silver Lining came out I'd have to go with the demo version, probably cause it's the version I was used to. I really liked the extended intro, but listening to the song now, there was a lot of repeated lyrics and "filler" in the demo which made it over a minute longer than the album version (not that it's necessarily bad, but I think the album version made it a change for the better).

Now I'd definitely have to go with the album version, but the demo is still a blast to listen to.

Right when the album was released I had put together a version so that it included my favorite parts from both versions so I could enjoy both of them at the same time.

[AlyssaJones]

there was a lot of repeated lyrics and "filler" in the demo which made it over a minute longer than the album version

That's what I like alot more about the album version. On the demo version when it gets towards the end it sounds like Dave wasn't quite sure what he was doing. I mean, I like the demo alot, it's just that the album version is alot more cleaned up.

*yawn* Well, I better get back to my geography homework. If I wanted another distraction I could take the dogs for a walk, but it's 1:00 in the morning...

[trudatman]

I have the Grave Dancers Union demos (the bootleg) but no other demos. I'm hoping somebody wants to send me the other demos (no MP3s, please!) on CDs. willing? email me at titlesong [AT] gmail [DOT] com . thanks! be well and stay smiling.