Now that the longest streak of new albums by favorite artists of mine is over, I have completed a progress report for the artists in question. It should be noted that I'm a pretty easy grader.
Beck
Last Album: Beck was sad, and so was Sea Change. Some of the songs are gorgeous, but the album as a whole is a bit of a drone
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I don't think there are as many great songs on Guero. I like "Girl" and "Hell Yes," but those are the highest highs, and they aren't nearly as strong as songs from his other albums. Whereas if you compare the strongest songs off Songs for Silverman and Rocking the Suburbs, I think you'd find them comparable.
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No. Way. "Landed" and "You to Thank" are more or less in that league. But it gets way dodgier after that. While I like "Bastard," "Jesusland," and "Give Judy My Notice," they are nowhere near "Annie Waits," "Zak & Sara," "Not the Same," "Still Fighting It," or "The Luckiest"... think about it; if "Bastard" was on Suburbs, would it be one of the top five songs on that record? Top ten?
Beck is always moving, stylistically, so I can't judge him on purely mixtape-worthy individual songs. And Ben Folds had to deal with following a great record, while Beck didn't; unlucky, yes, but not unfair.
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That's my whole point. I would add "Jesusland," too, because that song is really pretty (and better than "Not the Same," IMHO).
Yet "Girl" and "Hell Yes" off Guero can't really hang with my favorite Beck songs the way the new Ben Folds ones can. Even thinking stylistically, and not thinking of "purely mixtape-worthy individual songs," Guero isn't that much of a departure from other albums (sounds like Odelay and Mellow Gold), isn't a crazy fun exploration of a certain style (like Midnight Vultures), and doesn't really feel like he's trying out something new (like Sea Change). To me, at least.
And Ben Folds had to deal with following a great record, while Beck didn't; unlucky, yes, but not unfair.
How is that not unfair? If that's all it takes to change your mind about albums, then I think you should compare it to the EPs, and bump him up to an A.
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Guero has elements of Mellow Gold and Odelay, but also Mutations and Sea Change, but it's not really "in the same style" as any of those. To the degree that it's not flat-out wonderful, it's a little disappointing, and I say as much above. But I think you listened to it like three times and gave up on it.
I'm saying I shouldn't cut Ben Folds slack just because *a little* of his current album is as good as his past work; that's basically like saying that I should call this new album really good because Ben Folds is one of my favorites in general.
I like "Landed" more than any song on Guero, yes, but it's not just about scoring each song and then taking an average, for me. I don't think it's so shocking that I'd like one slightly more than another.
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