Top 100 Albums of the Decade: #65 Pinback - Blue Screen Life
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#65 Pinback - Blue Screen Life
Blue Screen Life is a pop record, one that is extremely accessible and could easily mix in with your average top 40 radio crap. However, it is much more complex than meets the ear.
Each song on Blue Screen Life is a melodic-rhythmic hybrid in which the bass or keyboards carry the rhythm while simultaneously creating an underlying melody. Songs written like this are hard to come by. Similarly, the dual vocals, in which two melodies are sung, one on top of the other, are hard to come by. And, when the two lines combine, a beautiful harmony is birthed. It's really quite genius - quite a trip.
They still haven't been able to top it, but Pinback's Blue Screen Life will carry the band for the rest of their career. The harmonies, dual vocal lines, Zac Smith's signature bass tone, and Rob Crow's restrained yell are all defining elements of the band. When you hear any of those, you know it's Pinback. And, when you hear Blue Screen Life, you know that it's one of the most influential albums of the decade.
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