5 keepers
keeper avg .385
With a straightforward concept about "dead-end, small-town life" "As Good as Dead" was a welcome counter, and (at least once) a direct response to, the more abstract, despairing nihilism of Local H's Seattle-based contemporaries. Although it was preceded by "Ham Fisted" in 1995, this album, their major label debut, was their introduction to most of the world and is still their best-selling by far. It's easy to see why with memorable singles like "Eddie Vedder"****, like good R.E.M. with an overdriven growl, and their most popular single "Bound for the Floor"****, a song about complacency with a unique pedal-tone riff. The following track "Lovey Dovey"**** is at least as hummable as its name suggests, falling between Weezer and Motley Crue, or somehow predicting exactly how Weezer's entire Green Album (2001) would sound.
Most of the album has a much harder edge than these hits. After the heavily tremolo-ed introduction "Manifest Density Pt. 1" comes the stomping crowd favorite "High-Fiving MF"****, which is exactly as meathead as its subject matter, with lots of indie rock/Sonic Youth noise. "Fritz's Corner" (the "that includes you" song) is simple but punchy, also destined to be a live favorite. Songwriter Scott Lucas frequently defaults to embracing the grunge zeitgeist of the day, usually in the form of Nirvana; see "I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are" ("Breed"),"Nothing Special"**** ("Nevermind" in general), and "Back in the Day" ("Bleach" era), although the drone-y ballad "No Problem" possibly influenced Foo Fighters a couple years later ("Walking After You"). The dirge-y drone of Alice In Chains surely influenced "Freeze-Dried (F)lies", and maybe he borrowed the groove-y boogaloo and soft-loud dynamic from Poster Children "Where We Live" (1991) to make "O.K." The album closes bookended with the repetitive coda "Manifest Density Pt. 2," a headbanging version of the first track.
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