Difference Between Houses & Homes: Lost Songs

Cursive | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 9, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Saddle Creek
• ASIN: B000A2H808
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,885 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dispenser

2. Pivotal

3. Sucker & Dry

4. Icebreakers

5. And The Bit Just Chokes Them

6. Ther's a Coldest Day in Every Year

7. A Disruption in the Normal Swing of Things

8. Nostalgia

9. The Knowledgeable Hasbeens

10. Polar

11. A Disruption in Our Lines of Influence

12. I Thought There'd Be More Than This

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A collection unlike any other., December 7, 2005

By 

Colin Moon "writer and weberjournalist" (Wyoming) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Difference Between Houses & Homes: Lost Songs (Audio CD)

Ah. B-sides, the much sought-after thorn in the sides of completists everywhere. I, myself, had got as many of these as possible, but a few stayed out of reach ('And The Bit Just Chokes Them' from 'Sucker and Dry' and 'A Disruption in Our Lines of Influence' from 'Disruption'), so, when this release was announced, I pre-ordered it right away. Along with all these classic, out-of-print 7” tracks we get two new tracks: 'Dispenser' and 'I Thought There'd Be More Than This' (a connector to 'Proposals', from 'The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song'), both older songs from Cursive's early days.

Cursive has always been one of those bands that you can either love or hate—I know, I know, that's said about a lot of bands, but here it's true, I think: you can either like dissonance or not. And Cursive has plenty of dissonance. So, if you're a big fan, buy this. If not, get the hell out of here and start with something a little more whole: 'Domestica' is their finest album to date, followed very closely with 'The Ugly Organ'.

B-side compilations are never a good place to start with any band; they're too eclectic and hard to connect with—albums are put together for a reason; the songs go together (whether by content or sound), are meant to fit together, and need each other for air. That's why 'best of' records always suck so much—good songs need other songs like them to stay alive. Here, the songs are fantastic in themselves, but only when you're listening strait through them are you even sure of what's going on.

The most interesting thing about this collection is that all of the songs were recorded before their current roster—Stephen Pederson ('Criteria', 'The White Octave') was a member back then, forming a foil with frontman Tim Kasher. Their guitars battled and cut each other, then settled down at pivotal moments. Later, Steve would leave to go to college (and form 'The White Octave'), and Tim would leave to be married. After his divorce (which was, judging from 'Domestica', quite painful), Tim returned and picked up where he left off, sans Steve, who was replaced by 'Lullaby for the Working Class' mainstay Ted Stevens. With this dynamic, they recorded the most important album to date, 'Domestica', before picking up another stray: cellist Gretta Cohn, to record an e.p., a few splits, and another full-length album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what you should buy before you listen to new cursive!, August 11, 2005

By 

B. Duffy "the comedy of error" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Difference Between Houses & Homes: Lost Songs (Audio CD)

This cd collects all the old 7 inches from Cursive and has 2 new unreleased songs. These songs are perfect if you want to find out how cursive got where they are. When the band first started they had steve pederson of the now defunct white octave and his new band Criteria. Steve Pederson and Tim Kasher are what made cursive who they are. They built the foundation. Later came Ted Stevens and Gretta Cohn.

If you like NEW CURSIVE... find out how they got to where they are with the purchase of this cd. It will help you appreciate the band alot more.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Difference Between Houses and Homes: Lost Songs and Loose Ends 1995-2001-CURSIVE, July 31, 2006

By 

The Piper (Red Banks ,Ms. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Difference Between Houses & Homes: Lost Songs (Audio CD)

Lost songs and loose ends indeed, this album is quite a collection of sporatically recorded music.This CD has the same melodious entwinement between instruments that a real Cursive fanatic has grown to love. At first I was disapointed with this album because it just didn't have the usual cursive "feel" to it; but once I started to really listen to the whole song-not just the lyrics or the instruments, but the WHOLE song-I reallly began to like this album. For a newcomer- Domestica is the best stepping stone that you can get.BUT,for an avid Cursive fan this the perfect CD.Enjoy. -Sherman.