Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Zephyr makes a lot of great points. and this is an amazing album for sure. i just cant listen to it. it really makes me cringe and it bothers me so much that its so unbelieveably loud an distorted that i cant focus on anything else. its a damn shame. maybe its me being silly about it but i have tried multiple times. i cant eq properly and when it comes on shuffle i about jump out of my car. it makes clarks records sound like beethoven.

that being said, there are some incredible songs on here. for me, see the leaves is stellar but watching the planets is def my fav. i will keep trying but i doubt i will ever fall in love with this record like i know i should. i wish they would release an alternate mix for those of us who dont like silver shards of piercing noise all over the place

The Ego's Last Stand is totally banging.

epic christmas sweater by wayne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LzW9O40OLw&feature=player_embedded#

Just got my colored vinyl in the mail yesterday and free mini poster. Stoked!

  On 12/10/2009 at 7:50 PM, Superstix said:

Just got my colored vinyl in the mail yesterday and free mini poster. Stoked!

please report sound quality on vinyl asap!!!!

I'd be curious to know the sonic differences between the vinyl and CD/mp3 versions.

I actually wouldn't have known this one was any louder than At War with the Mystics if it weren't mentioned here since I never listen to more than one album at a time. Any time I've listened to Embryonic I've just kept the volume relatively low in anticipation and have never had any problems with sounds being too shrill or whatever. The vocals do sound really squashed in the centre, but I think that's appropriate. Flaming Lips have always used loudness to creative effect, and they always somehow manage to make it sound dynamic despite being totally brickwalled. It's like loud part followed by REALLY LOUD part... and yet visually on the wav form they appear to be the same loudness. Go figure.

There are times when I'm listening to Clark where the impact of certain parts are lost due to beats/bass getting squashed where it should have more punch, or where you can actually hear the compression working to pull the volume down since it has nowhere else to go. That sort of thing kind of irks me. Or when you hear digitally clipping everywhere to the point where it's half music, half speakers crackling (see: Rick Rubin).

That sucks that the loudness/EQ on this one is to the point where it ruins the album for you Jules. I wonder if it just doesn't agree with your sound system. Have you tried it on different players?

I will be giving the vinyl a first listen on my studio monitors TONIGHT. Will post my first impression asap (if I remember and/or am still conscious.)

p.s. I too think the MP3 versions can be a little grating at times. High hopes for the wax.

Please post impressions, I saw this at the shop and almost bought it... will def if the wax sounds better

OK guys... I listened to the vinyl last night - all 4 sides.

My first impression is that overall, it's a great experience and I recommend getting the vinyl. It sounds a little warmer, rounder, but best of all... the stereo effect was incredibly dynamic. I know these are typical benefits of vinyl over other formats, but wow, I really noticed a difference. At times I felt like FL were in my living room performing for me, and I could sense how far away each member of the band was. Highlights: Convinced of the Hex... Gemini Syringes... Powerless.... Ego's Last Stand... Sagittarius Silver Announcement... Silver Trembling Hands... Watching the Planets... Blissful!!! Cosmic!!! Man, what a great record.

It would have been cool if they had made Silver Trembling Hands the closer and had that last soundburst at the end repeat on loop until you lift the needle.

The only bummer was that most of the grating moments... were still pretty grating. Even after immediately turning down the volume on "Aquarious Sabotage", it still sounded like it was f*cking up my speakers (expensive studio monitors, so I know they aren't the problem). This may be desirable to some, but not to me. But I noticed some other grating MP3 moments weren't as bad.

Overall the vinyl made me love the album more, so I am very satisfied. Plus it looks cool. (See spoiler below.)

  On 12/10/2009 at 10:46 PM, Zephyr_Nova said:

 

 

That sucks that the loudness/EQ on this one is to the point where it ruins the album for you Jules. I wonder if it just doesn't agree with your sound system. Have you tried it on different players?

yea, most of my listening gets done in the car. (bose system with a sub) and at work (harmen karden soundsticks) i cant really play it loud at work too much but when i do, the highs are just way too much for me. i know inside my head im making out to be worse than it is but i just cant get past it.

You know, I don't think I've listened to this album on anything other than my discman so far. I should give it a spin on my studio monitors and see if it brings the same pain on my ears that others are complaining about. Or maybe my ers are just too tolerant at this point. I tend to like it when things are pushed to an extreme, or when bands intentionally use really grating tones... sort of reminds me of really old shitty rock recordings that are great in part because they sound so nasty. It's partly a nostalgia thing, partly just me wanting to hear sounds that aren't so safe and listener friendly. It's always interesting when you hear that juxtaposed against something really lush and otherwise polished. Also, I've probably undergone a fair bit of hearing loss, so maybe that's enabling me to enjoy this album more.

  On 12/11/2009 at 10:14 PM, Zephyr_Nova said:

You know, I don't think I've listened to this album on anything other than my discman so far. I should give it a spin on my studio monitors and see if it brings the same pain on my ears that others are complaining about. Or maybe my ers are just too tolerant at this point. I tend to like it when things are pushed to an extreme, or when bands intentionally use really grating tones... sort of reminds me of really old shitty rock recordings that are great in part because they sound so nasty. It's partly a nostalgia thing, partly just me wanting to hear sounds that aren't so safe and listener friendly. It's always interesting when you hear that juxtaposed against something really lush and otherwise polished. Also, I've probably undergone a fair bit of hearing loss, so maybe that's enabling me to enjoy this album more.

thats just it. this seems so over polished to me its horrific. as if they made this masterful painting only to scan it in at 20 dpi and then make a 6 foot poster out of it.