10 Underrated Dismemberment Plan Songs
This will rely very heavily on the band's first two albums. Also, this is obviously my opinion. If that triggers you, not my problem. This list is not in order as well. |
1 | | The Dismemberment Plan !
Survey Says - I'll be darned if I don't say I was almost turned off from the album the first time I listened to it, but after 2-4 listens, I couldn't get it out of my head for at least 2-3 months straight. On this track and another which may or may not be in the list, they subvert normal verse and chorus expectations, featuring raucously noisy verses, and slightly less abrasive, very melodic choruses. |
2 | | The Dismemberment Plan !
Fantastic! - Granted, people give this flack for being one of their worst tracks. "Travis sounds so out of it", stuff like that. I get it. But what I like most is the slow buildup in the first minute of the song. Not many songs in their discography do that. You can hate this track if you want, but it's a favorite from their first album for me. That last 30 seconds always gives me goosebumps. |
3 | | The Dismemberment Plan Change
Automatic - What a haunting acoustic number. I could understand why people find this dull and uninteresting, but its a nice break from the slight hecticness of the earlier tracks. It actually stands out for me due to how well the overall downcast atmosphere of the track comes across for me. The way the bridge is distant and melodically dissonant really strikes me as interesting. |
4 | | The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified
That's When the Party Started - This is the first song where the Plan makes overt use of synthesizers. And it sounds awesome. I also really dig how the song descends into sonic chaos in the last minute or so. |
5 | | The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified
This is the Life - This song is almost like a prototype "Spider in the Snow". Why don't people appreciate this song enough dang it?!? That chorus stays in my head all dang day. |
6 | | The Dismemberment Plan !
I'm Going to Buy You a Gun - This is the softest song on their debut by far. A bouncy pop song in the middle of their most sonically chaotic album. It earns bonus points for being legitimately catchy and good, being so early in their career to write a song like this. I can't help but bob my head in the breakdowns between verses. |
7 | | The Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I
I Love a Magician - It is mystifying to listen to this song the first time you listen to this album, because this is probably the first album by the band you've listened to, either by reference from associates or a "Top 100 Indie Albums" list (hint, I was the later). Anyways, it hits you out of left field after more melodic songs, but it pieces the album together perfectly. It's sheer abrasiveness makes the perfect transition to "You are Invited". Nothing would be more jarring than transitioning to that song from "The Jitters". |
8 | | The Dismemberment Plan Change
Ellen & Ben - Might be a rough patch or too uninteresting for some, but I love how quirky it is. You have this semi-Talking Heads rhythm going on in the background, while Morrison is talking about an odd couple out of touch with society, and before long, each other. It's a perfect song to finish the album they broke up with the first time. |
9 | | The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified
Do the Standing Still - This might just be me but I seem to be one of the few that really, really likes this song. It's so dang funky you can't help but sway your body to it, ironically when the song refers to how people have embraced a new dance move of "not moving at all". |
10 | | The Dismemberment Plan !
Rusty - Sure, Travis Morrison doesn't sing for the first half of the song, and his lyrics seem really childish almost, but that's what I love about this song. It's melancholy and nostalgic at the same time. Morrison is crying out for the lost innocence of his youth, so much I almost want to sing along with him. |
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