Dear Tim Harrington,
I don't know if you remember, but when you played at the Great American Music Hall the night before Thanksgiving last year, there was a tall guy with glasses and a moustache. Well, specifically that tall guy with glasses was me. Do you remember giving me a high five after you touched your ass? I certainly do, and I'll never forget it. Your penetrating eyes shot straight to my soul. You played some new songs that I hadn't heard live before, such as "The Sweat Descends," and the fucking jam "Yawn, Yawn, Yawn." You played these songs, but why did you not mention that they would be released on a singles compilation called Inches?
Tim, I feel somewhat betrayed that you didn't inform me of this back in November. It was some time after that I heard you were releasing a compilation covering all of your 7" releases from the past eight years, resulting in 18 ass shaking tracks. Tim, you didn't tell me this! Why? I was most likely simply another face in the crowd to you, but that night meant something to me. On the opening track, "Meet Me in the Dollar Bin," a significantly more drone based song than what I'm used to after listening to Go Forth and Emor (but still jamming, don't get me wrong Tim!) you sing that the "Lighting's bad but I can still see the crowd." I must say, it feels as though you were speaking to me.
Before I go any further I am going to shamefully admit that many of your lyrics go over my head, so I am going to ask you a question. Are the words more of an aesthetic vehicle for your songs? Are they just there so you can have the clever wordplay? I know there is a much more important aspect to your lyrics that I am completely missing, please write back and tell me. Thanks!
Now wait, how can I forget your comrades? Specifically Seth Jabour's guitar on the first few tracks keeps the pace moving at a great clip with its dynamism. It's like something those jerks in all those totally lame dance punk bands try to copy. Actually it's not just Seth, the band as a whole is one that keeps me moving and tapping my foot. The tight rhythm is pretty apparent throughout the career, especially in the anthemic "Our Coastal Hymn." The band is very tight on album, which translated very well in your live show, I must say, especially given your spontaneity on stage.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the album is the evolution you and your band went through. From listening to "Hold on to Your Genre," to your much earlier "Blackouts on Tuesday," it shows how far you and your friends have come as a band. Wait, Tim! I'm not saying those are bad by any stretch of the imagination, quite the opposite. Those earlier tracks show you and your band's strength with a more raw production - a much heavier and dirty guitar sound before your more recent producer Phil Ek came along and cleaned everything up.
Ok, one last thing (sorry to keep you, I know you're busy selling recyclables under the Brooklyn bridge), but I have to say that I'm kind of disappointed with the DVD. Sure it has a few entertaining videos, a bunch of pictures that are ok, and some pretty interesting commentary by you guys and David Cross. But when I first read that it would be included with the DVD, I immediately thought "Great, a lot of live stuff!" Instead the DVD's live material is only three tracks with kind of shoddy camera work. What's the deal? It doesn't really capture your performance very well, which is kind of depressing. I'm over it though!
Please write back Tim, or tour again soon. Until then I'll be enjoying the album.
Regards,
Ryan
