1001 things to love about Soul Asylum

Discuss any aspect of Soul Asylum, their music, and the band's members.
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Homesick
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1001 things to love about Soul Asylum

Post by Homesick »

This is the place to tell everyone about all those things that you love about Soul Asylum but that are too specific (or too odd!) to devote an entire thread to. For example:
  • I love how their music lasts so long and how it grows into you over time. Back when I still hadn't gotten hold of The Silver Lining, I listened to Crazy Mixed Up World at Myspace and thought it was great, then Standing Water became my personal summer hit for the summer of 2006, then Lately was the greatest song ever for that entire winter, and I've only recently discovered the beauty of Oxygen. That's well over one year for a single album, and that's pretty impressive.
  • I love how Dave can describe things in subtle ways but still get his point across clearly, such as the line "And the neighbours will all be there / And no one will know what to wear" in New World, where he only ever implies it but you still know he's talking about a wedding.
  • I love the line "They may say you're crazy / Makes you so amazing" from Oxygen. Enough said; I just love it.
There! Now, fellow inmates and O'Jeezers, go ahead and let us know about all the little things that you appreciate about Soul Asylum.

mystic_spiral_3
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Post by mystic_spiral_3 »

This isn't a little thing, nor is it something the band _does_, but being a SA fan has led to many friendships in the last 10 years or so, and for those I am grateful.

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no1rockfan
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Post by no1rockfan »

mystic_spiral_3 wrote:This isn't a little thing, nor is it something the band _does_, but being a SA fan has led to many friendships in the last 10 years or so, and for those I am grateful.
I'm glad to be your friend, Sarah! You and Pat have become really cool Soul Asylum fans to know.

pathorses
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Post by pathorses »

Thanks, Gail, I've met some great people here, too!

no1rockfan wrote:
mystic_spiral_3 wrote:This isn't a little thing, nor is it something the band _does_, but being a SA fan has led to many friendships in the last 10 years or so, and for those I am grateful.
I'm glad to be your friend, Sarah! You and Pat have become really cool Soul Asylum fans to know.

mystic_spiral_3
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Post by mystic_spiral_3 »

Thanks Gail! :)

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no1rockfan
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Post by no1rockfan »

I love it when Dave hams it up on stage physically and verbally. He always seems to have some half-baked joke in his head before he gets going.

Many people loved the "Karate Elvis" moves that Dave did on this tour.

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Miss Fitt 2
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Post by Miss Fitt 2 »

I love how they never phone it in. I think they continue to be one of the best live bands on the planet. I see a lot of shows and even the "worst" Soul Asylum show I've ever seen is better than the best show by most other bands.

I love Dave's songwriting. The number of great songs is too long to list, but some songs (e.g., Closer to the Stars, Never Really Been) are truly extraordinary. And I love his ability to write perfectly evocative lines like "Standing in the sun with a popsicle, everything is possible."

I love the way they do cover songs and make them their own. Summer of Drugs is such a perfect rendition of the song that you can't imagine it being done any other way. And I love how they do songs that might seem like strange choices for a "rock band" - e.g., Rhinestone Cowboy, To Sir with Love, I Can See Clearly Now -- and make them absolutely fantastic.

I love all of Dave's signature moves -- the whipping his guitar and whirling around on Cartoon; the hip wiggle on Bittersweetheart; the guitar toss fake-out. Of course, I like the shows to have spontaneous elements as well, but part of the fun is also seeing those moments that are show staples (especially if you're there with other O'Jeezers who get as much of a kick out of them as you do).

I love that they keep pushing themselves musically. Soul Asylum's music has changed a lot over the years and I know that fans all have different opinions over which era is best, and some don't like the direction they headed in. I love the early SA stuff, but they also couldn't have done that for 20+ years. These days it's impossible to define a "typical" SA song, because there are rock songs, there are R&B songs, etc., but they're able to do a lot of stuff well and it has expanded my own taste in music. And I love the fact that Dave did something completely different with Faces and Names. A lot of musicians wouldn't have even tried that. I love the album, but I also love the fact that he made the album.

I love that they're musicians and not businessmen or marketing people. I might get frustrated that they pay so little attention to their web site or that they never have merchandise available but I like the fact that they're really all about making and playing music and they're not marketing machines or a band that's focused on selling an image.

I love the fact that noisy guitars and feedback are still part of their sound.

I love how gracious they are with their fans.

I love how generous they are. They always seem to do a large number of benefit shows.

There's more, but I guess I should stop before I reach 1001 on my own. :wink:

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Homesick
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Post by Homesick »

Thanks for those, guys!

You know, if we keep posting here, in a few months we could put together a compilation of all our "1001 things to love about Soul Asylum" and send it off to the band as a token of our appreciationâ€â€

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clammers
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Post by clammers »

Everything Miss Fitt 2 said plus Dave's "you're way too kind" comments and his three finger pointing while holding his guitar pick.[/quote]

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1001 things to love about Soul Asylum

Post by pathorses »

Well done, beautiful post!!!!!!


j_navoy@yahoo.com (j_navoy@yahoo.com) writes:
[quote] I love how they never phone it in. I think they continue to be one of the best live bands on the planet. I see a lot of shows and even the “worstâ€ÂÂ

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