Best posts made by shawn

Hey everyone! Just a quick update on what's happening around here.

Upgraded Website

I just launched an upgraded main website in preparation of Stanley Climbfall's 20th anniversary. There's an all new blog and some SCF-related goodies with more to come as we get closer to September.

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New Logo

I've redesigned the LHF logo to match the style used during the SCF-era:

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New Forum Theme

I'm working on a new theme for the forum to match the new website and hope to have that done in the next couple weeks... if you haven't noticed, the Stanley Climbfall era was my favorite in terms of design

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More Blog Content

@robert has graciously agreed to become an author on the blog as well so between the two of us, it should have a bit more content going forward especially now that the new site is mostly finished.

-Shawn

@elmerrrrr if you listen closely to “pearls”, the mix is messed up. Sounds like they tried to cut and move the vocal track and didn’t clean it up. I definitely hear pearls now that you guys mention it though. I’ll have to post these on the site in the morning. Nice job 👍

As you all know, the 20th anniversary of Stanley Climbfall is only 8 months away (9/17). I'm working on something special for the site to commemorate it and would like to include the community in this.

If anyone has any photos from the SCF-era (live, photos with the band, etc.) that they'd like to share, please post it here or send me a message. I'd like to do more things this year to celebrate the anniversary. If more people join the community, I'd like to have some kind of contest to give away some kind of SCF merch (official or fan made). Feel free to send me your ideas!

I've come across a little over a hundred (official!) pictures from this era that I'll be using in this project and hope to have it ready in the next couple of months.

Anyone recognize this photoshoot? :wink:

@robert That's cool! I should go through his Instagram and see if he has any other background to the songs he's released. I'd love to include those notes on the site!

This Empty Northern Hemisphere is where I started with Greg. Listened to it on repeat all summer one year and it always brings me back. Not sure if you are into vinyl at all but Bandbox did a special pressing of that album with a large custom booklet with all sorts of details about the album. He's definitely one of those artists that consistently gets better with each album. The Weatherman took a bit of warming up coming from TENH though. Right now, Evening Machines is my favorite... pure gold!

@robert Great review of the album! Some good points on the Twisted Lullabies project. I forgot about that. We should get another thread going for Jason's side projects since there was several that were "known" but never came to fruition (at least under their respective names).

For some reason, I thought SSB was part of the Dear Mr. Tumnus project (I think that's what it was listed under on the original LifehouseFans site) but it makes more sense in the list you've suggested as TL songs.

I also agree, these songs are all fairly dark and I kind of enjoy that (is that dark? lol). Lifehouse songs always have an air of optimism and hopefulness which is a good thing but sometimes I need a darker song to soothe whatever mood I'm in from time to time. I tend to put on Gregory Alan Isakov or Jon Moreland in that case ("Cherokee" by JM is fantastic if you haven't heard it yet).

I never considered "Running Away" as directionless until you mentioned it. This was one of my favorite b-sides from the S/T era. Musically the song felt too "structured" and the lyrics do lack the sort of "depth" we've come to know from other LH songs. It reminds me of "All the Same" in the way the verses manage to say little at all but drag on a bit too long. I also noticed how Running Away recycles other LH song titles (maybe inadvertently) such as "Come Back Down" and "Good Enough".

@robert That's amazing! I had no idea the CD had that printed inside. I ordered it but I don't think I ever looked at it because I had the digital copy already (ordered for the collection).

WIth that in mind, I'm pretty happy with how close I came to my guesses. I felt like I was trying too hard to make songs seem older in my mind because of how much I enjoyed the music from that era.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts when you have time! I think I might do a write up for "Ode to Silence" and/or "Paper Cuts" next.

I’ve been listening to this collection more lately and I’m starting to notice things lyrically and musically that remind me of other Lifehouse songs/eras. I started writing this post as kind of an A:B comparison to try and place when these songs might have been written by LH album era but it sort of turned into a review.

Please share your thoughts/comments. Let’s talk about the songs. Any lyric in particular stick with you?

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1. Ambien - ★★★★☆
   
   I’m guessing this one was written around NNF/SCF. The big acoustic sound in the intro reminds me a bit of NNF and the chorus has hints of The Beginning. Easily one of the best in this collection IMO. Ambien is a sedative used to treat insomnia which is mentioned a couple of times through this collection of demos.

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2. What You’re Looking For - ★★★★☆
   
   I love the effects (wah/reverb?) on the guitars on this track. Reminds me of the effects they used during the DLD/NNF days (even into SCF).

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3. Fool Who Sticks Around - ★★★☆☆
   
   Lyrically and musically, this reminds me a bit of the yellow record era. Not my favorite but it’s a good song.

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4. Never Going Back - ★★★★☆
   
   I can’t place this one in the Lifehouse timeline. I could see this being on a soundtrack at some point in the early/mid-2000s. Definitely a good track!

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5. Read Between the Lines - ★★☆☆☆
   
   I’m getting slight yellow record vibes on this one but lyrically, I feel like it may be an older track. It’s one of my least favorites out of them all.

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6. :crown: So Much to Lose - ★★★★★
   
   I can’t really place this to a specific Lifehouse era. I couldn’t really see it on a LH record (probably why it never was?) but could see this as another soundtrack song or maybe Paper Cuts era. Regardless, this is hands down one of my favorite solo Jason tracks of all time. Lyrically, it’s excellent. It’s heartfelt and relatable. I love the simplicity of the music with the lead coming in at various points without being overwhelming. That short interlude is really beautiful… best track in this collection!

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7. All the Same - ★★★☆☆
   
   I wish I could make out more of the lyrics (that bridge is a mystery). I’d say the lyrics on this one are the weakest in the bunch though. I gave this an extra star because of the music and vocals; it’s good - just not great.

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8. The Place That I Fit In - ★★★★★
   
   This one is good. Old school Blyss good. The Edge good. In fact, this may be from that same time period. The chorus’ chord progression is very “The Edge” and the last few notes at the very end remind me of the effects used on it as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played this at Malibu Vineyard to be honest with the subtle nod to a creator: “I know who is controlling my existence / And that's not something I'm not gonna fight”.
   
   Complete with the “la da da” interlude (à la Crown of Scars), vocals on this sound like they may have been recorded a while ago as well which adds even more nostalgia to this gem!

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9. Sleeping With the Lights On - ★★★★☆
   
   I actually like the effects on the vocals for once! It gives the song kind of a “concept” feel if that makes any sense? Another song with references to insomnia. Vocal effects aside, I can’t place this in the Lifehouse timeline. The keyboard/bass lean me towards WWA-era. I could see him doing this solo live during that tour.

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10. Remember Me - ★★★★☆
    
    This one feels really polished, even more than some of the newer non-demo releases. It also feels newer than most of the other tracks here but all the while retaining a classic JW solo vibe.

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Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

Some are more “demo” than others but these are the most polished demos I’ve probably heard from any artist with several tracks sounding like they could be masters. Lyrically, there’s a few gems and So Much to Lose & The Place That I Fit In take the cake.

What does everyone think of this collection of demos? It was fun listening and trying to figure out when the song might have been written.

Did some Googling on "casting pills" to see if that meant anything and stumbled upon this proverb from dictionary.com:

Do not waste good things on people who will not appreciate them. This proverb is adapted from a saying of Jesus from the Gospels, “Cast not pearls before swine.” Jesus appears to be warning his disciples to preach only before receptive audiences.

With that, I'm thinking:

You feel your senses back online
It's not coming from a pill
No casting pearls before the swine
As the suits drown in the swill

It "sounds" like it matches but I'm not sure I understand the context if it's correct.

Just got an email from Allswell Records saying Jason’s solo album is coming out on CD and Vinyl! :confetti_ball:

That's right! I forgot he released "The Way You Remember Me" (I think it was for charity?). Do you remember where Jason mentioned GAI as an influence? I'd love to read the article (unless it was just a post?).

I totally see some similarities to GAI in a couple of the tracks on here and I'm really pumped now for "Windows". I was going to wait until tomorrow but you've convinced me to listen to the preview and I am thoroughly impressed. This sounds like it has the potential to be my favorite off the album; possibly my favorite solo track he's released. I'll find out in a few hours!

@snowfist Good way to put it. The music itself wasn't bad but the lyrics read more like generic filler... similar to a few tracks on S&M.

@robert No worries! I've been checking in from time to time but everyone gets busy. That's the nice part of this community and a large part of why I wanted to preserve it. We don't all get on and post every day but we all do end up coming back when we can.

I've just finished listening to this all once through and I'm really impressed! This is unquestionably my favorite ØZWALD release as a whole.

I'm working on transcribing the lyrics so if anyone is interested in helping, please do. Thanks @robert for the publishing info! I included that in the track notes for each track (except for Smithereens).

EDIT I moved all the lyrics to the main site: https://lifehousefans.net/discog/ozwald/future-wars/

I've really enjoyed the soundtrack to Halt and Catch Fire and artists such as Noah Gundersen and Holly Humberstone have incorporated some of this sound into their music. I never knew it was called synthwave.. that's good to know! When I get into my programming mode these types of tunes keep me laser focused.

Just followed him, that’s cool! I see he’s put out some music recently. I’ll have to check that out as well.

Do you remember why he left the band? Or even Serg? I’ve forgotten some of those details over the years.

@cayte03 That’s awesome! What is he up to these days? He had such a genuine and humble attitude that I really admired. Never got to meet him unfortunately.

@robert Some times I need to learn to put my bias aside and listen to the album at face value and check my expectations at the door lol I was just listening to Winzlo Vol. 1 this morning and actually made it through this time. I was put off by the sound originally but out of the six songs, I really enjoyed "Voyage of the Underling" as it's own thing, outside the shadow of the Lifehouse catalog.

Going through each EP/album Jason has put out over the last few years in order to review them, I've really started shifting my attitude/opinion of some of these releases and started to really enjoy them. If you're interested, maybe you can kick off the next release we review/discuss... could make it a weekly/bi-weekly thing (time permitting) with the amount of releases we've gotten over the last few years.

@robert Yep, you nailed it. 137 pictures to be exact. I was able to extract each frame of the video at the end. Quite a lot of photos, some clearly fillers though.

I agree; as far as artwork/colors/branding go, SCF was my favorite era (I wish they kept the slanted H in the logo). I'm super excited to make something of it.

@robert Well, not to sound too critical but For Polly Anna is no Georgianna lol I still laugh a little when I listen to the live version where he explains what the song is about.

Still holding out hope for Climb, What Happens Next, Take the Weight, The Edge, etc. :hand_with_index_and_middle_fingers_crossed: (mostly Climb and TTW!)

As far as BMI work IDs, if he writes a song in 2005 but doesn't register it until 2010 it wouldn't be accurate but it's something at least! I think of this because of his Demos Vol. 1 record which I really hope for a Vol 2! "What You're Looking For" has a strong DLD-era vibe I really can't get enough of it!

@robert This is a great idea! Kind of like a community wiki without the wiki :laughing:

I have a dedicated "Notes" section for each track but can easily add something for albums as well to keep a collection of this information. I know we have a lot of knowledge in the 30,000+ posts over on the Lifehouse B-Side's forum that I would love to incorporate into the site as well.

Good catch on the Paper Cuts and HWLD EP. I wonder why he changed the track ordering.. do you notice if the tracks flow better in either place?

@snowfist I found myself with Dragonflies stuck in my head one day. I had no idea at the time it was Dragonflies but when I realized it was, I knew I would love the song if I could make out the lyrics. Hopefully they'll release that acoustic version Jason mentioned back over the summer some day.

Yep, definitely got the "Everything" vibe as well with that explosive ending. I got chills the first time I heard that track which doesn't happen very often. Definitely a permanent favorite!