Q: If I meet somebody and immediately cyber-stalk or snoop their digital footprint, and discover through a privacy leak that they have a blog, and I read that blog, and then when I see that person I go out of my own way to strike up adjacent conversations about the subject matter of the blog post without specifically mentioning that I found and read that person's blog, and I attempt to lecture them based on things that were said in the post that I may not even have the full context of, am I the asshole? A: Yes, absolutely, 100%. In that scenario, that person is completely in the wrong, and their behavior is textbook manipulative, creepy, and overbearing. If someone does that, they are violating multiple layers of basic human decency and conversational consent. Let's look at exactly why that behavior makes someone the absolute asshole: 1. It is Deeply Dishonest Healthy, normal human relationships are built on equal footing. If you dig up someone's private space through a lea...
In anticipation of A Beautiful Place To Drown, releasing March
6, we are ranking all of Silverstein's prior albums. Keep in mind that this ranking is a matter of personal opinion. Feel free to provide your own rankings in
the comments below.
#9 - Short Songs (2012)
A
clever album full of songs that are mostly under one minute in length.
The first half contains a handful of Silverstein originals, while the
second half contains a selection of short cover songs. It's ranking is
largely because the short length of the album makes it feel a bit like
an EP.
Favorite Songs: "Brookfield" / "It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite (NOFX)"
#8 - When Broken Is Easily Fixed (2003)
Silverstein
is a band that grew on me over the course of a few albums. I still
remember picking up a free copy of a sampler CD at a local Bionic
Records which contained the songs "Smashed Into Pieces" and "Bleeds No
More." The songs resonated immediately. This was my first experience
with screamo music, and it spoke directly to the depressed teenage soul
within. However, these were far and away the better two songs of the
album. This was Silverstein's debut, and they showed a metric shit-ton
of promise. But it would take at least another album for the band to
flesh out their sound.
Favorite Songs: "Smashed Into Pieces" / "Bleeds No More" / "Giving Up"
#7 - Arrivals and Departures (2007)
Silverstein's
third release is possibly the band's poppiest, lacking the cohesive
sound that most of the other albums posses. It does have some good tunes
on it though. Including one of Silverstein's few love songs that
doesn't end in heartbreak; "Still Dreaming"
Favorite Songs: "Still Dreaming: / "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" / "If You Could See Into My Soul"
#6 - Rescue (2011)
The
first album after the band left Victory Records. Sometimes I wonder if
the album title, and lead single "Sacrifice" might be references to the
band's former label, which has left a sour taste in the mouths of some
of the bands that used to be on the label's roster. Most notably,
Streetlight Manifesto, who had a public legal dispute that was later
resolved (we think?). The album has
some stand out singles, but like Arrivals and Departures, lacks an overall cohesive album sound. According to vocalist Shane Told, who recently did an album ranking of his own,
both albums were produced as more of a collection of songs rather than
the typical full-album approach that the songwriter prefers.
Favorite Songs: "Replace You" / "Forget Your Heart"
