Heartland

[clara]

Oooh I got Heartland yesterday. I've been walking around with my old walkman ever since because I haven't had time to put it on my ipod. Walking in the snow when you're late while listening to The Great Elsewhere is just great. And Lewis Takes Off His Shirt. Made me want to run. And I'm very lazy so that's saying something.

Tried to play Keep The Dog Quiet, the pizzicato is quite fun to do . Although now my thumb hurts because I usually play the pizzicato the other way or if I use my thumb I don't play as long XD.
The whole album is great. I don't have any favorites really, I go through phases of favorite songs. 4 weeks ago was E is for Estranged, before that was Lewis Takes Action now it's The Great Elsewhere and What Do You Think Will Happen Now?.

Anyway, I should have posted this earlier, I'm sorry, but when I met Owen in January in Paris he told me that he was printing the sheet music for Heartland and that it was about 200 pages long.
(oops, just realised someone saw my post on the PW forum and posted it here a few pages back XD)
YAY!!

[An Amateur]

Feb 10, 2010 15:42:07 GMT -5 clara said:

The whole album is great. I don't have any favorites really, I go through phases of favorite songs. 4 weeks ago was E is for Estranged, before that was Lewis Takes Action now it's The Great Elsewhere and What Do You Think Will Happen Now?.

I'm the same way, but instead of favourite songs, I have favourite moments. Each time I'll notice a different moment of genius, and I have to skip back to listen to the song again just for that moment. First it was the tempo change in Flare Gun, then the strings in the middle of E is for Estranged (they still kill me everytime), and then that first bar where you can barely make out the piano amidst the chaos of The Great Elsewhere, to the moment just after the first chorus of Keep the Dog Quiet when the winds and strings come in strongest, then it was the percussion during the chorus of Midnight Directives, followed by the vocal falsetto when the beat stops in Tryst with Mephistopheles, and now I'm stuck on "my spurs are in her sides" in Lewis Takes off his Shirt.

I need to stop listening to this album.

[muz]

Feb 12, 2010 13:53:13 GMT -5 An Amateur said:

I need to stop listening to this album.

I've been trying to stop for weeks. It ain't happening.

[Scarychips]

You should alternate between albums. I listen to Heartland once, then I listen to Dazzle Ships once, then alternate like that. It makes me feel intensely less "obsessional".

[jules]

Feb 13, 2010 11:10:44 GMT -5 Scarychips said:

You should alternate between albums. I listen to Heartland once, then I listen to Dazzle Ships once, then alternate like that. It makes me feel intensely less "obsessional".

It's a sound strategy

[clara]

At the moment the moment I think is genius on the album is the part in Tryst with Mephistopheles when Owen sings "Your light is spent" until "Just before the hero gets a bullet in his side". It may sound obvious to some of you...I don't know.
At first I thought "Hey this song sounds like a really happy song" and then there was a change of "atmosphere".
Well, I haven't had music theory classes so it's not something I can figure out just by listening (well I can't say exactly: "Hey! This is what causes this feeling!"), but when I tried playing the song by ear on the violin I noticed that the...tonality? changes. I think the word is tonality...I don't even know how to express this in my native language so in english... So I thought that was brilliant.
Also, the change of tempo on Flare Gun yes, love it! Love when there's more percussions at 1.40 in The Great Elsewhere, that's usually what makes me want to run when I'm walking outside XD.
I figured out the strings in E is For Estranged (from 3.07 til 3.30 : what's looped), which made me very happy. Now I have to figure out how to play it nicely XD.

[Richie]

...so...my preorder arrived today.

;D

[jules]

Owen was interviewed on the latest Domino Records podcast (you get it in the UK via iTunes) and he mentions about getting some of the ideas for orchestraion for Heartland from an aborted project to score a whole bunch of old songs for OMD.

I'd love to have Owen record all his covers as his next project. Side 1 = Dazzle Ships

[dot]

Feb 23, 2010 3:40:28 GMT -5 Richie said:

...so...my preorder arrived today.

;D

Wow, that was so quick

[sarpedon]

Feb 24, 2010 11:11:45 GMT -5 jules said:

Owen was interviewed on the latest Domino Records podcast (you get it in the UK via iTunes) and he mentions about getting some of the ideas for orchestraion for Heartland from an aborted project to score a whole bunch of old songs for OMD.

I'd love to have Owen record all his covers as his next project. Side 1 = Dazzle Ships

I feel like if this is done, it would be extra special if he recorded them with just the violin, to retain the magic of the live recordings. His recordings are great, but they are so different from their live counterparts, I guess it's a matter of refinement vs. raw energy; but anyway, I think an "official release" of his covers would be fantastic.

[jules]

Feb 24, 2010 12:59:15 GMT -5 sarpedon said:

Feb 24, 2010 11:11:45 GMT -5 jules said:

Owen was interviewed on the latest Domino Records podcast (you get it in the UK via iTunes) and he mentions about getting some of the ideas for orchestraion for Heartland from an aborted project to score a whole bunch of old songs for OMD.

I'd love to have Owen record all his covers as his next project. Side 1 = Dazzle Ships

I feel like if this is done, it would be extra special if he recorded them with just the violin, to retain the magic of the live recordings. His recordings are great, but they are so different from their live counterparts, I guess it's a matter of refinement vs. raw energy; but anyway, I think an "official release" of his covers would be fantastic.

He would need keyboard for some of the covers and I'd not want to limit his ambitions..we can save that for the acoustic sessions

[emyli]

One of the things I love most about owen's music is how different the studio and live versions are. It gives you a reason to go to a show and not just stay at home and listen to the album.

[Alyssa!]

Feb 24, 2010 17:56:05 GMT -5 emyli said:

One of the things I love most about owen's music is how different the studio and live versions are. It gives you a reason to go to a show and not just stay at home and listen to the album.

I totally agree, the experience is different makes it even more worthwhile...but really, you need a reason?

[vestenet]

Yeah, my first exposure to He Poos Clouds assured my approval of Owen's work, but it really wasn't until I heard my first bootleg recording of a live show that I really started loving his music and needing to hear as much of it as humanly possible. I am an string/orchestrally-rich pop junkie to begin with (ELO, The Divine Comedy, Sufjan Stevens, etc.), but the, at the time, otherworldly quality of looped violin parts under reedy vocals solidified Final Fantasy as music that demanded internalization.

Also, I neglected to mention this sooner, but my Japanese import of Heartland arrived about two weeks ago! Since we've all already had exposure to the two remixes, there's not much else to tell (Simon Bookish's is still my favorite).

The coolest part is the insert, which contains what I assume to be an essay on Owen and Japanese translations of the lyrics. My grasp of the language is sub-intermediate at best, but I find the process of translation fascinating. I'm going to try to brush up on my 日本語, but I also plan on putting some scans up if anyone more adept in the language can glean more than I can.

[names]

It turns out this disc is absolutely note-perfect for wandering around old Dublin, drunk and on my own, for a few hours. Some bits are pretty profound, even.

I'm still lucid enough to understand how dumb it is to say this and all, but this album has already meant a tremendous amount to me, and I'm very glad and thankful for it.