Purchased experiences don't count and how Generation X ruined my constitution

There's something certifiably wrong with The Dears' recording output.

Their music sounds so much better when played live its as if the two formats contain completely separate bands. Songs which absolutely floor one with magnificience in life sound on compact disc or empeethree as pleasant as an open mouth kiss from an extraordinarily attractive member of the opposite sex, only they've got horrible dragon mouth rot. You know you should be enjoying it, on some level, and yet your senses are telling you to just fucking stop because that is gross.

On record, their guitars sound limp, their drums irritate, and Murray Lighburn's unspeakably golden vocal chords leave, to pound this metaphor into the ground, a bad taste in my mouth.

But Jesus tap dancing Moses, you wouldn't think so from their live work.

I can't understand where the disconnect is. The Dears' sound isn't too far afield of any number of bands who succeed on record. Okkervil River, TV on the Radio, My Morning Jacket, Murder By Death (of whom I was distinctly reminded of at the show), Cursive, Broken Social Scene, all of them pack similar ambitions to Lightburn and Co.'s into a solid format and sound great. No Cities Left and Gang of Losers are good albums; unlike these others, they're not great. Why does this happen?

I can't make heads or tales of it and I'm not going to try. Needless to say the show last night floored me, and was much more than good enough to make me forget the death's doorstep feeling of being awake for thirty four hours with a bad case of the flu. Every note was glorious, the band was class right down to their fingernails, and Murray was one of the most genuinely gracious and obviously serious-about-his-art frontmen ever. The set was a perfect mash of No Cities Left and Gang Of Losers material. I was infinitely more familiar with the former, but I enjoyed both despite being in that peculiar show-state of really liking a band and yet not being able to affect the fluidity of motion/appreciation that other patrons do.

I'm like, I love this band! But no, I don't know this song! Please don't judge me harshly!

I'm so enamoured of Opera that if I don't have at least four tabs open
I feel like a poser.