¤ milky moon ¤

That is an interesting question you bring up there... I think there are some songs (obvious example = Only Skin) which people always seem to love because of the song's sheer power and epicness, but one interesting aspect of HOOM is that there seems to be quite massive differences in opinion regarding some tracks which I suppose could be classified as "less immediately fav-material" but some people still always seem to absolutely adore (same goes for earlier stuff as well, I guess).
I think for me, for various reasons, something can just suddenly trigger or spark adoration for a song. This was the case for No Provenance, suddenly I just loved it. I guess personal experiences, opinions and references come into play in how much we identify and love each track and album every time we hear something, so any clear cut classification will be difficult to obtain I think, but would be interesting to explore, anyway!

I am also guilty of not putting my love on Autumn to begin with, and can even throw Esme and Ribbon Bows in there (though I absolutely adore Esme now). Autumn and Ribbon Bows are growing on me, but probably are on the bottom of the ladder on hoom (not that that's a bad place to be!)
I think disc three occasionally suffers a little being at the very end of a pretty long album..

Oh, and I'm glad to be here

For me, the highlights and the midlights, and the (relatively speaking) lowlights are spread pretty well across all three discs.

DISC 1
Easy
HOOM
'81
GIPC
No Prov
Baby Birch

DISC 2
On a Good Day
You & Me, Bess
In California
Jackrabbits
Go Long
Occident

DISC 3
Soft As Chalk
Esme
Autumn
Ribbon Bows
Kingfisher
Does Not Suffice


I know some have found fault with Ribbon Bows because they preferred earlier live versions, but I don't find that the case. Although disc 3 has the cataclysm of Kingfisher, and the sadness of Does Not Suffice, it also has the humour of Soft As Chalk (I roam around the tidy grounds of my dappled sanatorium) and Esme(So pale you were almost clear). When I listen to an album a lot, it's sometimes harder (for me) to appreciate the early songs - maybe it takes a while for my head to get tuned in, and my body to relax and absorb the music. Certainly, I'm liking the first song on Ys, Emily, more and more this year than ever before.

By the way - I've tried to put 6 songs in each "band", above ... but that wasn't easy. I don;t DISlike any of the 18 songs, and with the two exceptions I mentioned before, I'm always happy to hear them all.

I've made two lists, one where there's no limit to how many reds and oranges I can have (to the right), and one where I'm keeping to the strict 'six in each category' rule.
It was very painful putting GIPC in the lowlights group, I really love it a lot...
I also realised I couldn't put No Provenance over Baby Birch...

DISC ONE DISC ONE
Easy / Easy
HOOM / HOOM
‘81 / ‘81
GIPC / GIPC
No provenance / No Provenance
Baby Birch / Baby Birch

DISC TWO DISC TWO
On a Good Day / On a Good Day
You And Me, Bess/ You And Me, Bess
In California / In California
Jackrabbits / Jackrabbits
Go Long / Go Long
Occident / Occident

DISC THREE DISC THREE
Soft as Chalk / Soft as Chalk
Esme / Esme
Autumn / Autumn
Ribbon Bows / Ribbon Bows
Kingfisher / Kingfisher
Does Not Suffice / Does Not Suffice

I think, for me, disc three might have the potential of being the strongest disc lyrically. I keep thinking Autumn and Ribbon Bows are kind of mediocre (Joanna-standard) songs, but when I pay attention and listen properly they speak to me very clearly. I think some lines in Ribbon Bows are very bitterly funny and insane as well. I feel disc two is a steady decline of any previous optimism and disc three is where it all falls apart. Soft as Chalk is wonderful.

It's funny what you say about Emily, as that happens to be the track I loved first of all of the ones on Ys, but I think this is more of a coincidence seeing as since Ys is only an hour long I've never had to turn it off because of time-restraints or interruptions. But I know what you mean about warming up. I think I constantly am, to all of her songs, with some few exceptions (haven't felt too excited about Book of Right-On for a good while, for instance).

My favorites are Good Intentions Paving Company and Soft as Chalk. I also like the title track a lot!

of course, the whole album is great

Oh, if we're doing "highlights", "midlights", and "lowlights", I can do that

DISC 1
Easy
HOOM
'81
GIPC
No Prov
Baby Birch

DISC 2
On a Good Day
You & Me, Bess
In California
Jackrabbits
Go Long
Occident

DISC 3
Soft As Chalk
Esme
Autumn
Ribbon Bows
Kingfisher
Does Not Suffice

Mine would be...

DISC 1
Easy
HOOM
'81
GIPC
No Prov
Baby Birch

DISC 2
On a Good Day
You & Me, Bess
In California
Jackrabbits
Go Long
Occident

DISC 3
Soft As Chalk
Esme
Autumn
Ribbon Bows
Kingfisher
Does Not Suffice