Welcome to Club XIII

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I've been around for a while. I know how things work, or don't. I had zero expectations of getting my cd of the album on release day. I went into the process knowing I needed to be patient and to have no expectations, essentially viewing it as a "support the band" exercise, not a commercial transaction. But really, this is ridiculous. Almost 2 wks since release and nada.

Me too. Pre-ordered just the CD/LP, didn't get them until one week after release day.
Saying Music Today is FUBAR at this point would be stating the obvious...

I don't know where they ordered them from but I noticed a few folks on FB received their copies well ahead of time. I've pretty much stayed away from pre-ordering because seems the vast majority of them they're late. The one I did the pre-order thing (for R.E.M.'s In Time) it was mainly because it included a poster that wasn't going to be available anywhere else but it arrived late.

[Clams]

I’ll tell you, though, the more time goes on I think We Will Never Wake You Up in the Morning, is the best song on the record. It might be one of Patterson’s best songs ever in the same territory as The Living Bubba, Ever South and a few others.

I've done some thinking of how this song fits in with Patterson's other "in memoriam" songs like Living Bubba, Grand Canyon and Come Back Little Star and I don't think it's in the same tier as those three. The reason being that those three are largely celebrations of the person's life and identity, whereas Never Wake You Up is pretty much a wrenching retelling of JTE's struggles and ultimate demise. I think that removing the celebratory aspect makes it a much sadder and more one dimensional song than the others.

[KcGhostToMost]

I’ll tell you, though, the more time goes on I think We Will Never Wake You Up in the Morning, is the best song on the record. It might be one of Patterson’s best songs ever in the same territory as The Living Bubba, Ever South and a few others.

I've done some thinking of how this song fits in with Patterson's other "in memoriam" songs like Living Bubba, Grand Canyon and Come Back Little Star and I don't think it's in the same tier as those three. The reason being that those three are largely celebrations of the person's life and identity, whereas Never Wake You Up is pretty much a wrenching retelling of JTE's struggles and ultimate demise. I think that removing the celebratory aspect makes it a much sadder and more one dimensional song than the others.

Since the first time I listened to this album I’ve felt without question We will never wake you up in the morning was the best song on this album. After too many listens to count I still feel that way. The inside look of an addicts last few hours and the desperation involved is both profoundly sad and powerful. JTE is my fav all time artist and honestly I’ve struggled with his death because his music is very important to me and always will be. I met him a few times and shared a few laughs. The fact Patterson put so much of his struggle in words is beyond amazing songwriting. It’s different from the above mentioned because of its real hard hitting nature but no lesser of a song in my opinion. A few others from the new one have grown on me like Forged in hell and heaven sent and wilder days. However as a long standing joke with my other DBT amigos is that The Driver still hasn’t clicked for me. At this point not sure what it is or that it ever will. Decent story telling but guess that’s where I’ll leave it. What’s so unique to me about this band in comparison to so many others I listen to is that fans all have very differing opinions on songs and albums overall. Most of the other bands I listen to are more concrete among fans on their favorites. To each their own.

[Zip City]

Is there a story behind the title (phrase) "We will never wake you up in the morning"? Was this a thing that Patterson said to JTE?

[Tequila Cowboy]

I’ll tell you, though, the more time goes on, I think We Will Never Wake You Up in the Morning, is the best song on the record. It might be one of Patterson’s best songs ever in the same territory as The Living Bubba, Ever South and a few others.

I've done some thinking of how this song fits in with Patterson's other "in memoriam" songs like Living Bubba, Grand Canyon and Come Back Little Star and I don't think it's in the same tier as those three. The reason being that those three are largely celebrations of the person's life and identity, whereas Never Wake You Up is pretty much a wrenching retelling of JTE's struggles and ultimate demise. I think that removing the celebratory aspect makes it a much sadder and more one dimensional song than the others.

I don't think the sadness of the song take anything away from it. Isbell’s best song is Elephant and they don't get much sadder. Also, one thing Patterson mentioned on the Craig Finn podcast was that whilt he wrote it about a specific person (obviously JTE), He thinks of it as universal, saying he lost someone shortly after writing it that it could have applied to as well. For those of us of a certain age, we've all lost friends to addiction. That, to me, is the power of the song.

[cortez the killer]

And that ear-splitting guitar solo that follows "as we drove on past the near-flaming demise" is downright wicked and reminds me a lot of the solo from "After the Scene Dies." I also love how the guitar fills up to that point sound a bit more like the slightly-restrained, dreamy meanderings of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and then it just explodes on you six minutes into the track.

I don't know if it is intentional or not but on the second "as we drove on past the near-flaming demise" the guitar explodes and sounds like a semi truck's horn. When I first heard it with headphones and just stoned enough it startled me.

This song took a few spins to click for me. Not always a fan of talk songs. But it did click and it is now one of my favorites. A perfect opener. So much going on in the back you find more with each listen.

Those fuckin' noises that trickle in and out.... they sound like swap creatures or massive insects. Love the the tape effect Barbe slaps on the end of the track with that guitar cutting in and out and then fading into "Maria's Awful Disclosure."

Used to go out driving, sometimes late into the night
Trying to make sense of the pieces of my life
Still young enough to not know how the puzzle fits together
"Nothing to fall back on but a knife"
The bombed-out-looking factories on the east side of town
Blasting "Here Comes a Regular" on 10
An epiphany, a moment of clarity
Driving all alone at 4AM

Love this verse and how Patterson has crafted his own song for some of us to blast at 10 as we drive around our sides of town. I'm forty-nine and still trying to make sense of the pieces of my life. Having "The Driver" to blast as I drive around provides me some moments of clarity.

[cortez the killer]

The album starts to wind down with the return of a character we’ve seen before in Billy Ringo in the Dark.

It might be me but I hear some of Patterson's guitar work in Santa Fe when I hear Billy Ringo

Listening now and hear it, too. Some great atmospherics.

[dime in the gutter]

cooley slide (i think??) everywhere on this record. weirder/better than pedal steel. standing stroker version of the redneck synth.

neff who?

he continues to amaze and baffle me with his freaky deaky creativity and sonics when playing.

[Zip City]

Backwards tracked guitar solos is definitely a new thing

[Tequila Cowboy]

Backwards tracked guitar solos is definitely a new thing

I think that's Jay

[Mundane Mayhem]

Backwards tracked guitar solos is definitely a new thing

I love the multiple interpretations that are possible here. A manifestation of Maria's garbled thoughts. A callback to previous "satanic panic" episodes regarding alleged backmasking in music.

Artsy shit.

[Iowan]

“Shake & Pine” has wormed its way into my brain in a big way. Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

There’s a vibe that reminds me of the best of Heat Lightning here. It hits me in the same way “Better Off Without” and “Disappear” did. Autumnal. Weary, but powerful.

[cortez the killer]

cooley slide (i think??) everywhere on this record. weirder/better than pedal steel. standing stroker version of the redneck synth.

Things get all Eastern on the "Maria's Awful Disclosure" outro.

[cortez the killer]

“Shake & Pine” has wormed its way into my brain in a big way. Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

There’s a vibe that reminds me of the best of Heat Lightning here. It hits me in the same way “Better Off Without” and “Disappear” did. Autumnal. Weary, but powerful.

Big time! I'd add "I Do Believe" to the list of hooky, melodic Patterson songs. Nice, effective change-up for him.

[Clams]

[Iowan]

“Shake & Pine” has wormed its way into my brain in a big way. Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

There’s a vibe that reminds me of the best of Heat Lightning here. It hits me in the same way “Better Off Without” and “Disappear” did. Autumnal. Weary, but powerful.

Big time! I'd add "I Do Believe" to the list of hooky, melodic Patterson songs. Nice, effective change-up for him.

Absolutely. That has to be the only DBT song that can be described as “breezy”.

[Tequila Cowboy]

“Shake & Pine” has wormed its way into my brain in a big way. Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

There’s a vibe that reminds me of the best of Heat Lightning here. It hits me in the same way “Better Off Without” and “Disappear” did. Autumnal. Weary, but powerful.

Big time! I'd add "I Do Believe" to the list of hooky, melodic Patterson songs. Nice, effective change-up for him.

Absolutely. That has to be the only DBT song that can be described as “breezy”.

It was used in a great scene in Justified where Boyd Crowder was lying on his bed listening to it.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I once posted "I Do Believe" in a Power Pop group on FB. While it checked out with me, I wasn't sure if it would pass muster with the self-appointed "Power Pop Police" but it passed with flying colors much to my surprise.

[cortez the killer]

Defund the Power Pop Police!

[Iowan]

It’s been 10 years since Heat Lightning, and in a way it feels like Patterson is kind of revisiting that material and putting a bow on his young adulthood.

His writing on both this and that are heavily focused on the AHC years, or at least examining the characters of that time in his life and where they are now. Much like how Heat Lightning went back and forth between his first marriage/divorce and examining his happier more domestic present day.

It’s early in Club XIII’s life, but I’ll probably always link the two.

[Clams]

Defund the Power Pop Police!

APPAB!

[beantownbubba]

Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

One of the mysteries of this album to me is that there aren't a whole lot of traditional hooks but damn there are a lot of ear worms coming from a lot of different songs. I've got parts of one or another of these songs in my head almost all day long.

[glennrwordman]

“Shake & Pine” has wormed its way into my brain in a big way. Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

There’s a vibe that reminds me of the best of Heat Lightning here. It hits me in the same way “Better Off Without” and “Disappear” did. Autumnal. Weary, but powerful.

I mentioned--I think--in my review that they really are an example of how you can have TRULY memorable "hooks" without necessarily beating people over the head with a repetitive chorus. Both writers are truly skilled at wrenching as much melody out of their verses/stanzas as they can, so that a refrain becomes almost unnecessary.

[beantownbubba]

“Shake & Pine” has wormed its way into my brain in a big way. Patterson isn’t always a big melody guy, but there’s a very sneaky hook here.

There’s a vibe that reminds me of the best of Heat Lightning here. It hits me in the same way “Better Off Without” and “Disappear” did. Autumnal. Weary, but powerful.

I mentioned--I think--in my review that they really are an example of how you can have TRULY memorable "hooks" without necessarily beating people over the head with a repetitive chorus. Both writers are truly skilled at wrenching as much melody out of their verses/stanzas as they can, so that a refrain becomes almost unnecessary.

Yes.

[Zip City]

I'm finding myself wanting to like "Maria's Awful Disclosures" a lot more than I do. It's weirdly non-melodic (a-melodic?) and the singing sometimes feels like it goes to a different song than Cooley is singing. Maybe it will grow on me.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Defund the Power Pop Police!

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Elizabeth Nelson put her piece up on twitter. Someone replied quoting the DJ John Peel's description of The Fall.

"Always different, always the same."

Which is indeed a pretty good description of DBT too.

It also describes Chris Knight, which is not a knock against him. I'm a longtime fan.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I'm finding myself wanting to like "Maria's Awful Disclosures" a lot more than I do. It's weirdly non-melodic (a-melodic?) and the singing sometimes feels like it goes to a different song than Cooley is singing. Maybe it will grow on me.

I've tried to interpret this post for the last day or so. Either I'm not hearing what you do, or I don't understand what you mean. One of the things I find the most fascinating with Cooley’s songs is that he often zigs when you’d expect him to zag. I think this song has one of Cooley’s most interesting melodies. The sing-song up and down runs contrary to what you would call a natural melody line but I would not call that lack of melody. I also love, in typical Cooley fashion, that he fits words in lines that shouldn't fit yet he makes them anyway. All that said, I like the song a lot. It's not top tier Cooley like Every Single Storied Flameout is, but it's pretty great in it's own right and like Ramon Casiano, it is a weird history lesson at the same time.

[KcGhostToMost]

Weird history lesson for sure. I agree that there is something off with the vocals and instrumental together but also agree that Cooley makes it work. Minus the history aspect I think its awkwardness is more in line with Slow Ride Argument for me sonically.

[Zip City]

I'm finding myself wanting to like "Maria's Awful Disclosures" a lot more than I do. It's weirdly non-melodic (a-melodic?) and the singing sometimes feels like it goes to a different song than Cooley is singing. Maybe it will grow on me.

I've tried to interpret this post for the last day or so. Either I'm not hearing what you do, or I don't understand what you mean. One of the things I find the most fascinating with Cooley’s songs is that he often zigs when you’d expect him to zag. I think this song has one of Cooley’s most interesting melodies. The sing-song up and down runs contrary to what you would call a natural melody line but I would not call that lack of melody. I also love, in typical Cooley fashion, that he fits words in lines that shouldn't fit yet he makes them anyway. All that said, I like the song a lot. It's not top tier Cooley like Every Single Storied Flameout is, but it's pretty great in it's own right and like Ramon Casiano, it is a weird history lesson at the same time.

I meant just what I said. The verses and the bridge have almost no melody. The earworm is the "Maria's Awful Disclosures" line.

The song is good, but might be my least favorite on the record (which is almost never true of Cooley songs)