Clarity vs. Deja Entendu: Deja Vu! (Part I)

In my busy working-life haste, I made a promise to myself one night before I went to sleep: if I woke up in the morning to work out, I would reward myself by listening to the album Deja Entendu, by those loveable post-punk prog-emosters, Brand New. Oh, the promises I make to myself when I spend all day swimming in numbers! Turns out, my mathematical mind made a discovery far more compelling than listening to a screamo guy while running on the treadmill/hoping nobody sees me playing the air-drums -- THIS ALBUM IS STRUCTURALLY EXACTLY THE SAME AS JIMMY EAT WORLD'S MASTERPIECE, CLARITY!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe what I had discovered, but it's true. This discovery naturally brings up a valid question -- what is better, the clunky old masterpiece, or the newer, shinier 2.0 version of the masterpiece with more wing-dings but less depth? Below is a track-by-track comparison, with a victor in each song/category (with the first being from Deja and the second being from Clarity.)

1. "Tautou" vs. "Tables for Glasses"

Both are atmospheric set-up songs. "I'm sinking like a stone in the sea" vs. "This is just for me." Here, we are introduced to a brief preview of the lyrical gems that we are about to encounter. Jimmy Eat World is more heartfelt and epic in scope, but Brand New is more bitter.

EDGE: Jimmy Eat World.

2. "Sic Transit Gloria" vs. "Lucky Denver Mint"

Both albums introduce their respective musical theses (or is it thesii? thesises?) in their respective second tracks. Brand new introduces slinky bass and drum lines and interchanging frantic singing followed by scream-o chorus, while James introduces the whacked out fuzz drum loops, multi-tracked vocals, and heartfelt bridges. Let's face it, "Lucky Denver Mint" is great, but Brand New doesn't pussyfoot around like JEW does with the second most important track on the albums.

EDGE: Brand New.

3. "I Will Play My Game..." vs. "Your New Aesthetic"

Why do BOTH bands feel the need to whine about how hard it is to be a band on the third tracks? Annoying.

EDGE: Neither one, you whiny bastards. You both have major label record deals.

4. "Okay, I Believe You..." vs. "Believe in What You Want/A Sunday"

Here is where both bands bring it down a notch and show their serious sides. Brand New presents a song that sounds exactly like the one before it, while Jimmy Eat World presents two heartwrenching numbers about heartache and heart disease and stuff.

EDGE: James Consumes the Planet

5. "The Quiet Things..." vs. "Crush"

Hoo-ahh! Here comes teh rawk zonez. And not only the rock, the angsty rock. Brand New has a nifty scream-a-second back and forth thing going on with the stereo sound. Buuuut, Jimmy Eat World has better lyrics, about repression. I think Duncan Sheik knows a thing or two about that! (Oh man, I am so into references, I reference Blogulator posts that haven't even HAPPENED yet!)

EDGE: Jimmy, by a thread of my emo sweater.

This entry was posted by Unknown, on Friday, February 09, 2007. You can leave your response.