muffy
10/16/08

And I'm still barefoot...

ian
10/16/08

Whoa, first happy ending to a comment board ever!
Maybe the world IS changing for the better.

Shoost
10/16/08

Joe the Plumber

Excellent idea, I do need to further investigate
the other music of Meredine. And a live show is
the best place to truly get an honest feel for a
band. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll do it.
Maybe I can invite the Bearded Lady to join me.
And yes the horns do add nicely to the song.

Ian thanks for the comments this has been very
enlightening, did I mention that I admire our
sense of compassion. I'll check out your mp3
blog, maybe I can learn something.

Well this has been fun, but now I must actually
face reality and move on. Best to you all, look
forward to seeing you at the Meredine show.

Mike, did you enjoy this? This is what online
commenting is all about. Just need to throw a big
chunk of wood on the fire once in a while and you
get a nicely heated exchange. I mean there have
got to be more idiot ignorant jerk haters like me
out there -right? And look at the wealth of new
information we generate in one day. Prior to this
there were five comments that basically said "I'm
so excited." Now you have a link to Ian's mp3
blog, political intrigue (is it really John
McCain?), lessons on punctuation, a redirect
encouraging people to investigate the local music
scene, and a couple of brief critiques on
Meredine's new song.

Meredine - congratulations on your devoted fan
base! I hope you truly rock the house down with
your new album!

Bearded Lady
10/16/08

Sarcasm

Shoost
10/16/08

Hey there Bearded Lady, great comments and no I'm
not John McCain. Also another no, I don't hate
Fine. What is Fine anyways, need to check into
that one.

And I wasn't really bashing a local band since I
didn't know they were local. Nothing in the V1
post that says Meredine is local. Of course your
comment about there never having been a good band
within a 100 miles could be considered bashing a
local band. By the way I disagree with your
comment, because there are incredible bands within
a 100 miles of Eau Claire, in fact several in Eau
Claire.

My, my we certainly are venomous towards those
that disagree with our opinions - first I was an
ignorant jerk and now a hater. Calling me a hater
is a bit extreme since none of my comments used
the term hate.

I did listen to the lyrics - "hit that town, its
finally yours...buy that drink, return that
wink..." I guess that could be consider unique and
strong writing. (Hows my punctuation this time
Ian?)

In closing, I also never used the term stupid in
commenting about the band. No hate, no stupid, no
idiot in my comments but you certainly seem
comfortable throwing those words around. Are you
John McCain?

Joe the Plumber
10/16/08

Although I'm sure Ian has some own reasons why
this track is "strong as hell," here are some
reasons that I like it:

(1) The guitars are BIG. This song is a huge
step away from old Meridene in terms of sound.
(2) The t-bones. I'm a sucker for horns though.
(3) The crazy part towards the end. The tension
and release where the main riff comes back in is
well-executed.

Your comparison to The National would be good,
except you used it as a contrast. If you'd like
me to write down the notes that Trevor Ives is
singing, I'd be glad to; they're there. Also,
it's clear to me that this is the only Meridene
song you have ever heard, if you go to a show or
listen to more of the album when it comes out, I
think you'll find that this song is not
particularly representative of the band as a
whole. The lead singer has a naturally higher
tenor voice, one that isn't quite as on display
here.

Finally, if you want some personal observations
on the musicians in the group, I think if you
explore everything they've done around Eau Claire
in the past few years (The Gentle Guest, Fine, the
EC jazz scene, etc), you'll find that their
catalog speaks for their musicianship.

ian
10/16/08

Shoost -

I'm not usually a grammar nazi, in fact I'm
probably the worst at correcting it (ask mike, or
anyone who has to read it on a daily basis.) The
point is simply that you can't insert YOUR OWN
COMMENTS into a quote about someone else. It's
misleading.

Oh, and please don't assume that I'm not
listening to music that you deem hip enough. In
addition to V1, I help run an mp3 blog that is
routinely blasted for being too "out there."
Check it out if you want, http://peervalidated.com
I think we covered the national like 2 years ago.
You know, when they had a new album out.

As for Meridene, I'm not sure where you get the
monotonous voice thing, but I guess to each his
own. I think this new album (at least from the
tracks I've heard) is going to bring down the
house once it comes out, and not in the crappy
queen latifah way either.

MikePaulus
10/16/08

"some dialogue instead of the broad stroke of
cheerleading that seems to prevail in most V1
comments"

As the guy who has monitored every comment on
VolumeOne.org for over three years, I have to
agree. People around here are WAY too nice.
Where's the local ranters?

Bearded Lady
10/16/08

Shoost, are you John McCain? You make these
remarks but have nothing to base them on. The
drums? The Singing? The Lyrics? Here is why you
are an idiot:

1. The drums: Dave Power is arguably one of the
best drummers in the Chippewa Valley. I suppose
you didn't like 'Fine' either? Credentials aside,
I thought the drums sounded great on the track.

2. Trevor Ives is a lot of things, but monotone
is not one of them. Sure, this track isn't the
typical crazy-range-great-pitch that we hear from
Meridene, but I guess it is what you could
call...variation?

3. Did you even listen to the words? Read the
reviews on this band, and most will tell you that
the song writing is unique and strong, and that's
why people like them. It's what they're most
highly credited for.

I have to thank you for your "look at me I'm
going to bash a local band on the V1 website"
attitude. It's cute. And I guess you're right.
What does the Chippewa Valley know about music
anyway? There has never been a single good band
within 100 miles of this place. I think you and I
would get along. We should hang out sometime.
We'll got to a Museum and talk about how stupid
everything is. Hater.

dave
10/16/08

huh...

Shoost
10/16/08

Ian, great grammar slam on a punctuation mistake
writer boy! Sorry I didn't realize that V1
comments were reserved for only positive
reinforcement of V1s personal new favorites. My
mistake - is everyone that disagrees with you a
ignorant jerk? Oh my, was that more bad
punctuation.
Seriously though, if you really think the song is
strong as hell please tell me why. Was it the
lyrics? How do feel about the drum mix in
relationship to the rhythm? In singing, even in
rap, the vocalist usually tries to vary the pitch
of their voice to create tonality throughout the
song, do you prefer the monotone unvaried tone of
his voice in the song?
Might I suggest listening to The National, where
Matt Berninger's singing follows through on
creating tone throughout a song although it sounds
as if he is simply talking. Or how about the
original monotone guy Leonard Cohen's music can
you compare him to Meridene's lead singer?
Perhaps I was a little to abrupt with my
comments, but c'mon your response was pretty lame
too. Give us some personal observations on the
musicianship of this group or go ahead and throw
another jab my way. Either way at least we started
some dialogue instead of the broad stroke of
cheerleading that seems to prevail in most V1
comments.

Trev4
10/16/08

well shoost, I'm sure the guys from The Hold
Steady get that all the time.

ian
10/16/08

Wow Shoost, way to win the "ignorant jerk comment
of the day" award. Nice quotations, but maybe you
should learn that when the quotation is over, you
end it with another parenthesis, not after you've
inserted some (rather lame) editorializing.

That being said, I think this track is strong as
hell. I can't wait for that "high horse" song or
whatever it's called.

Shoost
10/15/08

Really c'mon! You actually like this song?! The
guy isn't even singing, he's talking. There's no
vocal to this tune, and the repetitive guitar is
almost as bad as the lyrics. No wonder this is a
"so close to completely new band - keep trying
guys." Maybe an actual lead singer would help.

jp
10/14/08

sounds great fellas! cant wait til the album comes
out.

ahof
10/14/08

I've been waiting for so long, and it is finally
here!

this is one of the most exciting moments of this
year so far.

frankentits
10/14/08

:) i'm so excited

muffy
10/14/08

This song rocked my socks off. Literally. I'm
barefoot.

nickm
10/14/08

This is a great track! Looking forward to the
whole album and future gigs. Nice job guys.