“Travelled all this way just to find love” is such an interesting line. I interpret it as Hunter going off to war to be done with Ms. Leading and his old life but when he is actually in the war he realizes that he is still in love with and can only think of her. It’s ironic that the distance he travelled made him realize that he is in love. Absolute poetry.
The fact that Sue is unaware of the mic, but still talking in a conveiable manner is just golden. Love the genuinity of you guys just enjoying music, and trying to share it
"he's daydreaming while he's driving the tank." every once in a while one of you will just nail it on the head immediately. 100% what I've always believed that to mean.
And now I wait… another week.. ❤❤ This was my introductory album way back in 2009. I had Mustard Gas as my landing song on MySpace. 😂 I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and that no one else besides my closest friends knew this band existed. Truly a criminally underrated band. No spoilers here, but let’s say the things Hunter experiences in this album changed him for the rest of the Acts. He still calls back to them (literally and figuratively) all the way to the end of Act 5. I’m so stoked for you two and anyone else being newly introduced to the Dear Hunter.
Yes!! It is going to take repeated listening, but the fun in part for the listener is that whenever Hunter makes a decision in the future from this point forward, we will hear similar musical concepts and lyrical call backs from one of experiences in the first half of the acts to the decision that is made by Hunter in the future. Some motifs will be more pronounced than others, but there are fans out there who have spent hours breaking down the music to find these musical motifs. Some fans may be grasping at straws a bit, but there is no denying this was the plan of Casey as he was writing the remainder of the Acts. An example you might have missed, relisten to The Thief as it transitions to Mustard Gas (oh side note here, Most songs from here on out will have a transitional section to the next song) You will hear a french horn or a trombone play the beginning of Bitter Suite 1.
I am absolutely loving seeing how you two react to what is easily one of my favorite stories of all time. Act III stands pretty firmly at the top of my personal rankings of their entire discography, probably next to Antimai, and with Act V following right after. It has such a high concentration of some of my favorite songs of all time. The writing and the story just becomes so much more clear from this point on, and, while I think most of the songs are still excellent stand-alone, I always get that feeling of "I need to listen to this entire album again" after I hear just one of them. Plus, the depiction of World War I is so horrifically immersive, even in a sonic format, that it really sweeps you along and makes you a part of it. The Tank and Mustard Gas in particular really invoked a sense of dread in me the first time I heard them, and they continue to, even to this day. Story-wise, it contains an incredibly high percentage of my favorite instances of foreshadowing in the entire series, along with Battesimo Del Fuoco and The Inquiry of Ms. Terri. So much of what happens in this album sets the stage for Hunter's later actions in both direct, and somewhat indirect ways, and it does that despite being somewhat separate from the overall setting and main story of the Acts. Even within this album alone, what Hunter experiences in the first half sets up his actions in the second half. So tightly constructed overall. I'm really looking forward to experiencing this journey again with you guys.
Been waiting all week for this! I wish you guys went through to the end in one go on this album. Things happen so fast and the end of this Act sets the scene for the rest of the story. Looking forward to ya'll insights and thoughts in the convo!
I was so tempted too. lol I’m gonna stick to the 1/2 album a week though. I’m finding I really like digging into the songs we’ve heard so far. Some of which are sending me into interesting rabbit holes this time. I’ve spent the last 2 days learning / relearning about WWI. Fascinating. That was such a crazy brutal war. It was a threshold between how war was and how it is gonna be. This is a good pace for me to do all this and get interested and have time to dig in. I’m dying to hear the rest of the album too.
Trust me if I had more hours in the day, I would take on that challenge, but there's so much to dig into and appreciate and understand a little at a time is working good!
In reference to Sue saying that you guys have to go see them. I have seen them live 5 times. They are unbelievable. They only play one concert a year with the full orchestra though. Caseys vocals are even better live somehow.
Love these reactions. I wish more people would do reactions to TDH since they are such a unique listening experience. You really seem to appreciate what makes them special and that is not a common thing as all. My wife and I have a lot of overlapping interests but TDH isn’t one of them haha
To be clear, Sue and I are friends and neighbors. Lots of reaction channels are husband and wife so a lot of people assume we are too. Sue and I both have a love for music and love doing reactions. TDH is definitely a special band. This whole thing is blowing my mind. I should add here too that my wife has been listening along with me off air and is just as invested in this story as Sue and I are. She actually has some great thoughts about it too. I might bring her on the channel at some point, maybe when we’ve finished, to talk with us about the entirety of the story.
Sorry I’m leaving a million comments but I love how different people identify with different songs. The Thief is my least favorite song on the album (actually maybe there’s one on the second half that I like less), but your love for it really made me reevaluate it and realize how amazing it is haha
So, a notable lyric difference: on Spotify it shows the final lyric in Mustard Gas as “from the other side”, but on the physical version of the album I have (a limited edition version with postcards for each song showing the lyrics), it says “you’re on the other side” instead. However, in ANOTHER physical version I have - the limited edition Acts vinyl set - the lyric booklet says “from the other side”. So there are two different versions of that lyric that have been officially printed, with their own different implications. Just something extra to chew on! I personally prefer “you’re on the other side”, though it seems like the band may have decided more firmly on “from the other side” given the vinyl release was more recent.
I'm so happy you both have been eager to delve into this wide hole of wonder! It's definitely a benefit to have all the records available from the get go. This was my first introduction to them, and everything and before and after was (to me) a product of this release. This is such a great journey, in all and every ways! And I love your honest interactions with music ^^ Hope you have a good one! Welcome to the Lake and the River
You keep saying "production is way better", but I think it's also worthy to make a statement about "composition has matured" making "production way better". They've learned what they can and improved in all and anyway, like a young boy growing into the world of war, love and misery
The break that they took between 3 and 4 was so inspired. I love the first 3 acts but 4 is on an entire different level and it shows immediately. The back half of The Old Haunt is perfection.
On first listen I recommend seeing how the lyrics match the music and don't try to follow along with the story. Seems that is what you are doing and it is the way to absorb it all in. This first half of the Act is less story driven. I'll wait for a deeper dive with the conversation later, but I'll say one thing that might help absorb the story. The first half describes Hunter’s experiences in war, almost purely for his life experiences causing his character development. By the middle of the Acts he experiences life lessons greatly shifting his worldview on morality, while shedding him of his innocence. The 4 tracks The Tank, The Poison Woman, The Thief, and Mustard Gas IMO each represent a horror of war that Hunter will experience. The Tank - represents Destruction, The Poison Woman represents Deception, The Theif - Greed, and Mustard Gas represents Suffering. This is essentially where the innocence of the boy Hunter vanishes and has a near death experience becoming a man to think for himself. The second half is a more traditional ‘narrative’ focused on Hunter’s personal character conflicts in the overall story and sets us up for his adult life.
I’m enjoying all the rabbit holes this first half is sending me into. It’s impossible to follow the story on first listen. I can read the words and it doesn’t matter. These songs hitting you for the first time is a lot to absorb. I get so caught up in the music. It’s almost like I have to listen to it a bunch before I can start really paying attention to the story going on in the acts. I watch these back and I see myself thinking I’m catching little things here and there and then speculating about it. Sometimes I’m way off. Sometimes I’m close. I don’t hate that. I see Sue doing the same thing. It’s how our brains absorb it I guess.
