listen as the wind POLLS from across the great divide: sarah mclachlan's fumbling towards ecstasy

possession's gonna run away with this but i wanted to poll it anyway

Good album but... it’s ‘Possession’.

Possession is great, voted Hold On

i am torn between "wait," "mary," "elsewhere," "ice," and the title track

prob gonna vote for "ice" though

"Fear" reminds me of "The Captain" by The Knife, the final two tracks on this are easily the best things she ever did

Oh shit.

“Wait” is such a perfect song that is probably easy to look past but that I feel only Sarah at that particular point in time could do? There’s something so... vague yet portentous about it? Love the way she slightly varies the chorus melody throughout.

But then “Ice” is just devastating. As are “Elsewhere” and the final two tracks.

the only song i would not vote for here is "ice cream" but it's the perfect moment of levity between the album's deepest darknesses (ice/hold on and fear/fumbling)

it's a long way down indeed

Yeah “Ice Cream” is not meant to function as a track by itself, I think.

“Plenty” is a good example of something curious about this record, which is how, for all that it is Sarah painting with her darkest palettes, the songs are often incredibly tightly structured with a real pop maestro’s sense of build. Like, if Max Martin came out and said this album had been a big inspiration for him I would not be surprised?

ugh god i love this album so much, fuck

guess I'll have to listen to it another 5 times this week

at the beginning of "Elsewhere" when she sings "the cum inside me in the space where I can breathe", that really speaks to me

Good album but... it’s ‘Possession’.

― pomenitul, Thursday, December 5, 2019 7:32 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Steve!

Haven't listened to this in probably 20 years. How come I hadn't noticed how much of Possession Beth Orton copped for Stolen Car? Anyway, will probably be obvious and vote for Possession.

at the beginning of "Elsewhere" when she sings "the cum inside me in the space where I can breathe", that really speaks to me

― vision joanna newsom (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, December 5, 2019 8:09 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

qft

Remember Rabbit in the Moon's Lunasol remix of "Fear"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rRgjvna7bk

RITM also did a good mix of "Possession":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcyhDX-tIRU

Initially parsed that as RATM.

That would have been the most interesting thing RATM ever did

Multiple xposts - “Elsewhere” is definitely a queer liberation anthem tho.

okay now I want to vote "Hold On" just for the last 30 seconds alone, my god

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

it's a long way down

"fear" is the dopest shit anyone ever recorded

My favourite thing about "Plenty": the way the drums go into half-time at the beginning of the first chorus, then continue in regular time into the second chorus, as if there's been a burst of confidence... and then go into half-time when the chorus is nearly finished, as if the song's stopped in its tracks, becoming aware of what's really at stake.

I assume I voted for "Fear", but looking at the results on this thread make me feel guilty - how can "Ice" and "Wait" and the title track all have zero votes?

Oh shit.

“Wait” is such a perfect song that is probably easy to look past but that I feel only Sarah at that particular point in time could do? There’s something so... vague yet portentous about it? Love the way she slightly varies the chorus melody throughout.

But then “Ice” is just devastating. As are “Elsewhere” and the final two tracks.

― Tim F, Thursday, 5 December 2019 19:54 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Just expanding on this point, the way that sometimes the melody drops on "the dream" and sometimes rises really explicates musically the idea of it being a "precious little thing" - both precious and little (or perhaps rather chimerical, fragile, a mirage). It's masterful songwriting IMO.

The only strike against “Fear” is that I’m less in love with her head voice than I wish I was

I’m listening to the live Mirrorball album now and it’s so nice to hear an organic and adult version of “Vox”

An old friend of mine always used to slap her knee and say “pristine velvet” whenever McLachlan’s name was mentioned