MaryJanes2ndLastDance

Interesting approach! A quick perusal of the top five, let's see. I guess it's not a big surprised that DTT is number one with its list of hits. No, you know what, let's try a different approach. Looking at the top 5 as a whole, it's interesting to me in that it pretty much covers the spectrum of TPATH's music. You've got the big breakthrough record filled with hits, the moodier follow up where they stretched themselves, another more rocking affair but different then DTT, WF which was another huge record and showed a big shift in Tom's songwriting and finally FMF, third of three big significant records for the band and one of uptempo fun pop-rock-n-roll. I think if more people had voted HC would be much higher up, I don't know about Mojo though. I think it's better than other albums but I'm not surprised that the one record where they really abandoned all their signature styles in favor of longer meandering guitar heavy pieces, or at least, an album dominated by such, would come in last. I think I remember on the old official board how people were upset with the record when it first was released, the long songs a big turn-off for a lot of listeners. Is DTT ranked here because of its quality or just that you've heard it and the big hits on there so much? I was surprised to see this record at this spot for you. Then again, FMF has been overplayed and is higher so perhaps it's nothing to do with overplayed songs at all. My guess is you rank You're Gonna/Self-titled so high not just because of the songwriting but the overall energy and sound quality of those records too. cheers

Next to TPATH's greatest hits I think the Cars is one of the best collections of a group's songs. I've not heard much beyond those songs but I think they're fantastic. The Cars are a very unique sounding band and their mix of riff, melody and synths somehow make them feel timeless. Moving In Stereo, Dangerous Type, BFG, Good Times Roll...I've heard them for years but still think they're quite good! Just What I Needed intro is wonderfully simple and simply powerful. You Might Think is a perfect pop-rock song. Anyway, I was a bit sad to learn about his death. The Cars are a unique rock band, they don't sound like anyone else from a combination of his voice and their layered catchy music. cheers

https://old.reddit.com/r/HumansBeingBros/comments/d4dnnu/xposted_veteran_lost_his_dogs_when_he_went_in_the/ [x-posted] Veteran lost his dogs when he went in the hospital and had no one to care for them. PetSmart was boarding them and he came in to make a payment toward the fee to get them back. Found out someone (and some PetSmart employees) had pitched in to pay the bill in full. (v.redd.it)

Good luck. I'm not aware of the costs but maybe if you can afford it, see if you could cut a deal with a driving service, uber or something since you'll be going back and forth all month and maybe get some kind of discount since you'd use them during the next three weeks. Good thing you're not having to go back and forth in the winter. Hope you enjoy your mighty big supper. cheers

I really love the organ riff Benmont plays on the studio track during the outro and really lets loose with it on this recording. One of the many good performances on that cd. cheers

https://livepetty.com/1999-03-13-san-francisco-ca-aud/

I like most of those quite a bit. Also, I think most of She's The One could fall into this category. Hung up and Overdue is one of his most tender songs. Walls got the attention for being the single but I think it's one of the weaker tracks on that record, forgotten song? STO is more like the forgotten album...! This was written while listening to Hung Up and Overdue. cheers

I think it has some of Tom's most powerful lyrics atop charged up blues-rock. cheers

The first time I heard it I thought it a spontaneous improv built from the high energy ending to Drivin'. I think it's even more sparse and basic than Two Men Talking yet powerful because of all the space, as if each instrument is holding back, waiting for just the right moment to express itself. cheers

Interesting. It sounds timeless, the feedback/reverb (?) of the guitars creating a heavy space that doesn't seem to belong to any particular time period. To me anyway. cheers

The way you worded this made me laugh. Maybe it's just the usage of "baloney." I would hope that after "interacting" with me online by this point, you'd not lump me in with people looking to condemn, usher in a New Theocracy, use the Handmaid's Tale as a blueprint for society etc. etc. It's why I stressed earlier, what matters is how we behave towards one another, towards animals, and nature. I've known horrific so-called Christians and kind, gentle, honorable agnostics, and atheists. If judgement is to be had, isn't it based on actions, not lip-service. It's enough just minding my own business without chasing after others trying to make them see things my way. As if I would want to do that. Let's just try to get along as a species. Back to HC's cover, could also be higher nature/lower nature in harmony, a balance between instinct and intellect. Odd. Very odd. Strange sense of deja vu came over me just now. Doesn't happen often. Anyway. I've no interest in taking your paddle from you. Or from anyone really. Paddling in all its forms can be fun But I'll stop there. cheers

Fair enough. cheers

Regardless of me not believing in it, I think you missed the point where I said I'm also fine with the theory of evolution though I'd point to God as the first cause, that is, sent evolution into motion. I'm also fairly familiar with the arguments in favor of science and such that you bring up, like I also said, I've had many a discussion on the nature of Reality, God, meaning of life, etc. etc. As for science, I am using a computer. And I'm not here to proselytize, and you did ask after all. But we're a long way from knowing much of anything, why do people dream, why the Big Bang, why SOMETHING INSTEAD OF NOTHING, just for starters. cheers

Hmmm...I feel like I missed something. Or maybe something missed me? Something in the air perhaps? Me thinks Shelter doth censor himself for fear cutting wit could slice. I could be wrong. Regardless, it's fine man, to quote one of Tom's deep cuts "people believe what they want to believe". You realize you're dealing with someone who has openly denied evolution, criticized Tom's set list choices on a hardcore TPATH forum, finds optimism in Straight into Darkness and (gasp) defends It Ain't Nothin' To Me as one of the band's best compositions musically and lyrically...! Minority Opinion's Last Dance... cheers

Yeah, it definitely was an experiment, returning to Lynne as collaborator after so many years and Tom taking on the bulk of the instruments. I'm glad he decided this would be his last solo effort though. cheers

Yeah, I know! I can't fault you for how and why you feel but I was still struck by it. Cause he's already got a monkey suit! I don't think there's a right answer here, I just like hearing peoples's different thoughts. Sometimes it's kind of hard to tell online without vocal inflection, facial tics and such. Apt maybe but I think that's a big problem with TPATH album covers; I get it. I know what Tom looks like, I know what the band looks like. Frankly, I don't give a damn. Not even a single torpedo. Did the record company think we'd just forget what they'd look like or something? Would be confused if we saw their name on the album but not them: "Hey...is this the real Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or those imposters? Doppelgangers?" Not only do I like the covers to ITGWO, HC and HE as is, but especially in comparison to the rest of their covers. What the hell is going on with Mojo? Why is the cover to LAD all in red? Etc. Though I do like the photo on HP. I liked it. I just was mainly struck by the harsh, humanity fucked up the planet vibe of your first take; and while you jest about it a bit, again, I get why you'd offer something so cynical; just seeing it like that felt particularly harsh. But I think I get where you're coming from on the record and maybe we'll see how others took it, since, per Drew's suggestion, this topic is also about "a bunch of other stuff" and God, rocketships and evolution certainly factor in. cheers

The simple answer is I believe God created the world and am a Christian. The more complicated and multifaceted answer that sometimes feels like pseudo-intellectual or intellectual justifications of deeply held belief and feelings, which are not quantifiable: I'm fine with evolution as a product of God's design, what you'd call Intelligent Design that set in motion the process of evolution but...I have read documents debunking or at least poking holes in Darwin, this was years back before I had the internet and the book's title I'm not sure of. Disinformation series? One could of course search for debunking or counterarguments to Darwin online, whether or not they are valid I couldn't say. While we exist in a seemingly physical reality there's a variety of information pointing towards something beyond the purely physical, a smorgasbord of: the whole observer changes the nature of reality, quantum mechanics, which I'm not sure how much of any I understand, Plato's allegory of the cave interpreted as a more literal tale than metaphorical, the latter being valid of course but obscuring the paradoxically literal yet metaphysical meaning, even supposedly a declassified government document (don't know the validity of it, could be a hoax) basically asserting that reality is some kind of hologram (?) or creation that can be manipulated by moving outside the dimensional bounds or accessing that energy to bring forth change in the material world; the reality is a simulation and so on. What all of that gobbledy-gook points to, in a simple sentence is: Reality isn't what it seems. Or, there's more going on than we know in reality. That's aside from personal experiences, again, not quantifiable pointing to a deeper meaning beyond the purely physical, refuting the idea that there is no meaning other than what humans construct, evolution, big bang and such. As conversations, debates, arguments it's fine but in my experience ends with a bit of a better understanding of the other person but without really changing anyone's mind. I've been friends with atheists, agnostics, cynics, but to me, what seems to matter is how one conducts oneself in life, I think it's more important than getting tangled up in intellectual knots, not that it can't be fun or interesting, just that at the end of the day, what matters is am I living up to my potential, did I give that homeless man a dollar or look the other way, am I being lazy or productive, kind or selfish, petty or Tom Petty, I think you get the point. ciao

What? Wow. That is one harsh interpretation! Y'know, I sometimes thought that was an alien planet and they were on their way back to Earth. If one believes in the Theory of Evolution (I don't which may surprise some, it certainly has surprised some friends in real life) perhaps the album cover is a metaphor for man's higher and lower natures being united and thus, able to utilize technology to journey into space, to different worlds. Poetic perhaps? Reaching too far maybe? A balance between the intellect and the body? One could also view it as you did here, ecologically but in this case, man and animal in harmony and thus able to access different worlds. First you get your act together buddy and live in harmony with each other and nature then you get to go off-world! Whew, all right then. I rank this cover up there with ITGWO, for a band with average to below average or even downright mediocre covers or just uninspired boring ones, this and ITGWO really stand out. Actually, I think it an interesting juxtaposition. I may be wrong but I think I"m in the minority on this cover as well; but I think it just looks darn good. There's a friendliness to it and a warmth both in the style of drawing/painting and the use of colors. When I first bought the album I thought it would have more of a Runnin' Down A Dream feeling based on the title, or at least, more energy to it, as a driving album but like you said, it's more of an inner journey record. To me Runnin' is a day time pedal-to-the-metal song, whereas this album is more of a late night barely anyone else on the road, time to be introspective record, perhaps the song Night Driver is a clue, eh? Whether a bit tongue-in-cheek, or serious or both, your points on the nature of the physical travel in the songs is an interesting one; if there's some deeper meaning to be found maybe someone else will suss it out as I"ve no clue. I think the strangest TPATH cover is Let Me Up, which is both garish, clever and unpleasant to look at all at once. I guess I've gotten used to it over the years but is just ugly. Highway Companion promises an interesting, perhaps even surreal journey maybe...but after one hears the music, maybe more of a friendly trip, more in line with the acoustic blend and easy on the ears feeling in terms of music. cheers

Good luck!

Switch to Maxwell House & Rhino Skin instead.

Lost Without You. ----I nearly put this as its own topic because I'm wondering what anyone else makes of it. I like it quite a bit, the spareness of much of the song, the simple way the instruments lightly chime in and out. A quick search says it was performed four times; I've only ever heard the version from the '93 Homecoming (ahh!) show. Seems it was always paired with Drivin' Down To Georgia, which I think is interesting. Almost like they needed to ride on the mellow leftover energy after the explosive ending of Drivin'. ----It's another example of how much Tom and the band were able to do with very little musically. Or, it seems that way but there's more going on, the solo is quite melodic and a bit longer than their more typical songs. The ending of the tune reminds me of the live versions of Breakdown where he'd go nuts. ---I don't think they returned to this more loose, nearly freeform style till Mojo, though none of those songs seem as open as this one, probably because we've yet to hear a studio version if such exists. ---I like it. I think it's powerful, emotional and interesting musically, despite not having a lot of different parts, it feels significant yet goes by quickly. ---Does anyone on here have an opinion on this song? I like it quite a bit. cheers

Gracias! That is one humdinger of an album cover. hum·ding·er /ˌhəmˈdiNGɡər/ a remarkable or outstanding person or thing of its kind.

I think the album would need three more faster/heavier numbers to balance it out, otherwise just go all in on a mellow record, cut Saving Grace, add Around the Roses. cheers

With a slight change of drums and maybe production overall I think it would've worked quite well! Could've put it after Forgotten Man (what a combo) or before U Get Me High! I can kinda here the Greenbaum there. cheers

I never listened to either of these before and checked them out on youtube today. Home----That's a surprisingly good rock song, if there had been a few more of these, then I think it could've fit on the album, otherwise it stands out to much to me, much like Saving Grace. Just on its own I think it's a really fine rock song. The weakest element is some of Lynne's production, this song would've been something performed by them with a more powerful percussive element. Some of the slidework (?) in the song or certain guitar sounds like something from FMF, the riff though reminds me of something from their early days, so it's an interesting mix, aside from those moments, it sounds fresh and new. Around the Roses---I liked it, just a nice gentle tune. Too bad this one didn't make the album since it fits in with most of it. Listening to it again I had to return to this and say it's actually pretty darn good. Maybe even a great TP song. This Old Town (demo)---I liked it too. Would even adding Home have improved my opinion on HC? Nah, but it's a darn good Tom Petty song. Around The Roses is pretty good too. ciao