Major Patreon updates: no more public newsfeed or $5 reward tier, restructured rewards, updated Reward Archives and page descriptions + more!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a good August so far. Following from last week's announcement about the restructuring of JabunAudio and my music projects to cope with pandemic related difficulties, I have some big follow-up updates about the restructuring of my Patreon page. As will be explained in more detail below, this will also affect the JabunAudio blog and my other newsfeeds too, and the following changes have been made to help streamline my workflow so that I can better manage my time and resources to continue to create and work on the JabunAudio and associated music projects you support.

The first major change will be no further public newsfeed posts on Patreon including but not limited to the monthly rewards teaser posts and stories behind the music, Bandcamp Friday and other promotions, press and radio features, and smaller updates. I will however continue to make public posts about major updates to my work/services (such as this post or updates to the Patreon Rewards Archive) as well as big announcements for my music such as album launches and releases.

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Since there will be no regular public posts on Patreon from now on, these changes will be reflected on my other newsfeeds such as on Facebook, Newgrounds and the JabunAudio blog. These feeds will no longer contain monthly Patreon teasers and stories behind the music, though a brief description of Patreon rewards will still be included for promotion/notification. Monthly updates to music projects will also be included in the JabunAudio blog only, though not always to as much detail as on Patreon. With these changes I aim to give all Patreon supporters more exclusivity to the written aspects of their rewards on top of the already often exclusive music rewards. If you'd like to continue to read the stories behind the music and more, then you can do so by becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

The next major update is the removal of the $5 tier and a restructuring of the Patreon rewards. As of August 2021 the $5 Hi-fi Early Pigeon tier will no longer be available to sign up or transfer to and all rewards in this tier have now been added to a legacy $5 Reward Archive which will no longer be updated. This archive will still be available to view and enjoy for those with access to it (for example the $10 DEMOlition Pigeons). I have also updated the $1 and $10 Reward Archives which now cover from when I started on Patreon until August 4th 2021. Read more about the Reward Archives below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

For the remaining $1 and $10 reward tiers, Patreon supporters essentially keep all the same benefits they've become familiar with with the following minor adjustments:

1) All patrons now have access to the Patreon exclusive monthly news feed which now includes any music rewards and a new section with a roundup of news and updates to current projects. $10 patrons will also have their DEMOlition Pigeon article as usual.

2) All monthly reward/update posts will now happen on the same day in the first week of the month apart from major releases. I'll aim to keep things to the first Wednesday of the month as usual.

There are still a few months of my music back catalogue left to upload for the monthly music rewards which will run out at some point next year, after which there will just be the monthly news / project updates for the $1 patrons with only new music rewards as and when they are released. The monthly $10 DEMOlition Pigeon articles will continue as usual, and I will release another major Patreon update with further details when the time comes next year.

Finally for these Patreon updates, I've taken the time to re-organise the overall Patreon page and reward tier descriptions to make things more concise and less TL;DR. I've also restructured the goals section of the Patreon page so now only 1 goal will show until it is met, after which another goal will be set. I hope that these updates will make things clearer for new visitors to my Patreon page as well as current patrons.

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

That about concludes the updates to my Patreon page and related newsfeeds and I hope that the restructuring will make for a more enjoyable experience for Patreon supporters as well as let me focus better on working on the projects you're supporting. The next set of Patreon rewards will be released on September 1st (or thereabouts) along with corresponding now monthly JabunAudio blog post and until then, I hope you have a great August to come and thank you as always for supporting JabunAudio, Better Than The Book, Jabun and my various projects however you can and especially on Patreon. All the best, take care and enjoy the music!

September Patreon rewards are out: "Our Adventure" + an acoustic instrumental BTTB demo for the $10 patrons, studio updates, BIG NEWS + more!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to September! It's been a super hectic time lately with lots of visits and time away from the computer, not a whole lot of music making, but some fun things and big news to share nonetheless! In accordance with the recent updates and changes to the way things are running at JabunAudio, this post won't be as in depth as they have been in the past, but for a more detailed rundown of all the news, you can join me on Patreon for a front row seat of all the action:

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

And speaking of Patreon, I have some more rewards to share with you this month along with some studio / equipment updates, some big life news and a round-up of this month's press features! Let's get started!

First of all, it's another month and time for some more Patreon rewards! This time, I'll be sharing downloads and the story behind the 2013 chiptune track "Our Adventure" (as well as detailed stories and updates from the studio this month). The $10 patrons will also receive an exclusive acoustic demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming album projects! If that sounds good to you, then become a patron to read more and dive into the action and remember that you'll get all past rewards for your tier too as soon as you sign up. Check out the Reward Archive below which includes the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies, Patreon exclusives and much more, and thanks for supporting my music and projects on Patreon!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164475/

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164473/

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

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Some studio updates to share: after a long pre-order wait, an amazing piece of guitar pedal history arrived for me in the post, one of the limited 40th anniversary BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrive pedals! The BOSS SD-1 has been a key part of my sound since my late teen years, and I've been meaning to get a 2nd one for a few years now! I also purchased a load of spare parts for my Yamaha YC-25D organ which came with some parts I don't need including a genuine spring reverb tank! I've been having fun building that into my own custom outboard reverb unit which is sounding great and is just awaiting the finishing aesthetic touches as I type this. It's been a while since I built an effect! The other parts from the purchase include some incredibly rare 1970s electronics which will be useful for keeping my own organ working for years to come (touch wood), and I plan to sell on some of the less useful stuff in the near future!

Next, a quick round-up of the press features this month! BTTB's Hopes and Dreams was featured on The Tank Tribune / Phonograph Vol. 6 playlist on Newgrounds.com! Thanks so much for the sharing the tunes folks and feel free to check out the post here:

https://thetanktribune.newgrounds.com/news/post/1202116

And although it didn't happen last month, I also noticed that my custom oscillator NOISE for the Korg NTS-1 digital synth kit has been shared amongst the community a lot since it was released in May! Check out the May 2021 features below on the JabunAudio press page and super happy to hear people are enjoying NOISE!

https://www.jabunaudio.com/press.html

Finally some HUGE life news I'd love to share with you. I don't often talk about my personal life, but on August 22nd I finally popped the question to my long time partner of over 8 years Eva, and she said YES! WOOOOT! I'm sure it's no stretch to guess that I did it with a newly written and recorded track so there will be a music update coming shortly once I have all the admin stuff sorted for it! It was written for her ears, but I hope you enjoy too! More on that soon!

And that about wraps things up for this month's post! I'll hopefully be finishing off that reverb unit very soon, as well as announcing that new track so be on the lookout for associated posts and stuff online. Until the next post, I hope you have a great September to come and thanks as always for supporting my projects in all the ways you can. Enjoy the music and take care!

Announcing a brand new Better Than The Book & Jabun single "1314" (the song I proposed with)! Releases on October 1st at 8pm BST!

Hi everyone and hope you've been having a great September so far! Today I have some MASSIVE news to share with you coinciding with the launch of a brand new single on October 1st from Better Than The Book & Jabun: "1314"!

On August 22nd 2021, the night of our 100th full moon together, I proposed to Eva with this song, a mixture of my 2 musical personalities with influences from her favourite musicians too, and she said YES! WOOOOOT! A huge thanks goes out to Eva for being my everything buddy and now fiance, all her support during the ups and downs throughout the years, and for letting me share this track with you all. It was made for her ears but I hope you enjoy it too!

Thank you also to everyone else who's been a part of my musical journey and our relationship all these years so far too: all our family and friends, everyone who's played the music and spread the word, and my closest regular supporters on Patreon with special mention to the top tier contributors Michael White and Nathan Puray! We couldn't have got this far without all your support and I'm super excited to see (and hear) what comes next! My love to you all and thanks so much!

1314 is available now to pre-order on Bandcamp and releases at 8pm BST on October 1st 2021:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/1314-single

The song will also be premiering on YouTube at the same time so come join in the celebration and be the first to hear it on Friday! Hope to see you there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAUGCsr60kg

But what does "1314" mean?! If you want to know the full story you'll have to become a supporter on Patreon, and with such a big release, there's a tonne of rewards out in celebration too! The $1 patrons now have access to the full-resolution artwork for the single, while the $10 patrons have full early access to the song downloads and artwork before the rest of the world (Mp3, WAV + artwork)! On top of that they'll be getting their usual Patreon exclusive updates and rewards when 1314 is released on Friday. If that sounds good to you then become a patron for as little as $1 and remember you'll be receiving the entire back catalogue of rewards for your tier too as soon as you sign up including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and MUCH more. Explore the REWARD ARCHIVE to see all the details:

The Reward Archive

That's it for this post, and I'll be back again on Friday when 1314 is released to celebrate with more Patreon rewards and news! Until then, I hope you have a great week, and thank you for supporting my music projects however you can! Take care and enjoy the music to come!

Hype! Got me thinking of Sugar Ray's 14:59 album (and 1408) but this is bound to be a very different thing. XD

Tommow finna be a special day!

I'm sure it will be! Just a few more hours to go :D Cheers CD!

Better Than The Book & Jabun's brand new single "1314" (the song I proposed with) has been released! Pick it up now on Bandcamp!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to October so far! Exciting times and huge news today as I launch a brand new single from Better Than The Book & Jabun: "1314"!

On August 22nd 2021, the night of our 100th full moon together, I proposed to Eva with this song, a mixture of my 2 musical personalities with influences from her favourite musicians too, and she said YES! WOOOOOT! A huge thanks goes out to Eva for being my everything buddy and now fiance, all her support during the ups and downs throughout the years, and for letting me share this track with you all. It was made for her ears but I hope you enjoy it too! 

Thank you also to everyone else who's been a part of my musical journey and our relationship all these years so far too: all our family and friends, everyone who's played the music and spread the word, and my closest regular supporters on Patreon with special mention to the top tier contributors Michael White and Nathan Puray! We couldn't have got this far without all your support and I'm super excited to see (and hear) what comes next! My love to you all and thanks so much!

1314 is available now on Bandcamp and should be out on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc... imminently if not already:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/1314-single

And you can also listen to the song here on Newgrounds as well as on YouTube and SoundCloud!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAUGCsr60kg

https://soundcloud.com/bttb_uk/1314a

But what does "1314" mean and what's the deal with the artwork?! If you want to know the full story behind the song then you'll have to become a supporter on Patreon, and with such a big release, there's a tonne of rewards out in celebration too! All patrons now have music downloads for 1314 and the full-resolution artwork, and for the $10 patrons I'm also sharing with you another ambient LIVE Jabun jam, this time from my 2021 808 Day celebrations! On top of this there'll be the usual monthly project/studio updates in which I'll be sharing with you some pictures and sounds from my newly completed homemade / recycled spring reverb unit too! If that sounds good to you then become a patron for as little as $1 and remember you'll be receiving the entire back catalogue of rewards for your tier too as soon as you sign up including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and MUCH more. Explore the REWARD ARCHIVE to see all the details:

The Reward Archive

That's it for this post! The next one will be the same time next month I guess, but until then, I hope you enjoy the new music, and thank you for supporting my projects here on Newgrounds and however else you can! Take care, all the best, and happy listening!

Potential paper airplane inspired `cover or... cranes? Folding paper symbolic of those early gifts? So many potential theories behind those numbers hmm. And man this was way better than I thought it'd be. Quality's so crisp. Sound so rich. Vocal harmonies so on point. So melodic. So energetic. So powerful and orchestral and everything.

It really does stand out. Inspiring.

Yup, the cover is a partially (un)folded crane with the creases accentuated with paint. All symbolic of those early (and still very much going) gifts indeed! Hehe, you'll hear the numbers theory over on Patreon XD Super happy you enjoyed the track too. It really was made for Eva's ears but I think it's one of my best yet, no doubt! Cheers CD!

Nice. :) Didn't realize it was an actual crane, really looks like paint on paper there. Hyped to hear the story there too. XD And what a shame it'd have been if the world was just never heard this!!! Though would of course have been pretty special too with a real exclusive for-particular-ears-only production. Anyway glad y'all put this out. I think so too.

It's both: paint used to accentuate the creases already on the paper :) Indeed! I'm super happy to be able to share it too! There are some as of yet musical presents I've done for Eva which haven't been made public though! Might keep it that way or make it a later Patreon exclusive :) We shall see! Cheers CD :D

Right, I just perceive the paint part over all it seems. :) Hmm well as long as none are on as a grand a so-amazing-they-must-be-heard-by-all level maybe a cool thing to keep 'em that way too! ;) Cheers!

Hehe, those old presents are pretty rough-and-ready but bring back great memories :) We'll see how things go I guess! Cheers to you too!

November 2021 Patreon rewards: "Postcards" + another exclusive WIP instrumental demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming projects for the $10 Patrons as well as new Cyberdevil and World Beyond Collaborations to share and some project/news updates!​

Hi everyone and hope you've had a great October since the last post!

It's the beginning of November which means it's time for some more Patreon rewards, and since the last reward was a huge one with a brand new track, I thought I'd go with something a little smaller this time, a short track from 2016 called "Postcards" which also happens to be the final original (and non-commissioned) piece of the Nick Standing discography! For the $10+ Patrons, you also have another exclusive work in progress instrumental Better Than The Book demo to look forward to (a fun track called "Mood Swings")! If that sounds good to you then join me on Patreon to read more and download the rewards below as well as check out all of this month's project updates. Remember you'll be recieving all past rewards for you tier too when you sign up so check out the archives to see everything you can catch up on and hope to see you there!

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57269952

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57269955​

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

You can also listen to Postcards here on Newgrounds:

Onto other news, it's been a very exciting time for collaborative projects this month! As has become tradition, my good friend @Cyberdevil has been continuing with his yearly INKtober rap challenge where for each day of October he writes and records a new verse and posts it up here on Newgrounds! I was feeling super inspired earlier this month so quickly put together an early Limp Bizkit inspired beat for him to have fun with! It's admittedly an... "aquired taste" of dissonance but I had a lot of fun with it and sounds like Cyberdevil did too! Check out and download the full version of the track below:

And as an extra reward this month, my Patreon supporters have the raw instrumental beat I sent to CD for the project in their reward downloads too!

With 31 raps in total over the month, it's been quite the journey this year and I've really enjoyed following CD along with it each day! I highly recommend checking out the rest of them over when you can! Enjoy!

https://cyberdevil.newgrounds.com/audio/

If that wasn't exciting enough for collaborations, a mash-up cover / tribute I recorded cello for World Beyond on earlier this year is being released today too, a tribute to the video game Frostpunk! In Vlad's words:

"""

Frostpunk Medley is finally here:

youtu.be/Xo9pMCpAjhY

We have been working on this for quite a while - our tribute to the original soundtrack of the game Frostpunk. Ever since we listened to this deeply moving and emotional masterpiece inspired by the struggle of people with all their sorrows and hopes we knew we had to make it happen - and today feels like the right moment. Based on two amazing musical themes Frostpunk Theme and One the Edge Theme by Piotr Musial, featuring violin by Maritza Vilibic and cello by Nicholas Standing, this is our epic Frostpunk Medley:

fanlink.to/FrostpunkMedley

"""

That's it for this month's updates! With Postcards now up on Patreon, that's all the original (non-commissioned) Nick Standing discography out now, so next time, I'll be starting to share my back-catalogue of cover songs given as gifts to people (and there's quite the lot of them)! Until then, I hope you have a great November to come and thanks as always for supporting my music however you can! All the best, take care, and enjoy the music!

For a moment there I thought you were sending out actual postcards!!! :D That would've been pretty awesome too... maybe something you could try for the higher tiers sometime? Seasonal greetings? Not among the promised perks but...

Anyway thanks for the generous plug, and again for the constant following. Was a blast to work with that instrumental, and indeed as Fred might've said: results may vary. Maybe the future may turn up a version with more... sonance?

For anyone who might stumble in on this later on btw there's a playlist too for this year's Inktober stuff: https://www.newgrounds.com/playlists/view/0034d4af37df28c532406714e49f13ee 

That Frostpunk Medley was something else too! And WB's really on a whole other level with these visuals... inspiring work. One of those rare occasions where 'epic' really does seem to adequately surmise said audial endeavor! And make me pretty curious about said game it was inspired by...

Lotsa incentives to get on that Patreon here lately! Enjoying plenty and all the best!

Hehe, not just yet, thought that could be pretty cool :) Wonder how that international postage would be sending out physical things (though probably not too much if it's just a literal postcard)? XD

No worries and it was a blast to have some fun with it! Hmmm... I think the opposite of dissonace is consonance, but it's not a word I use often? XD Btw, Limp Bizkit just released their first album in 10 years ealier this week in case you missed it! Very much looking forward to your thoughts over in the emails :D

^^^ You heard it here folks! Useful stuff!

Ah thanks so much, and indeed WB's REALLY just constantantly outdoing himself with every project recently (visually and sonically)! Happy you enjoyed it! I'm not too familiar with the game Frostpunk itself, but the music was fun :D

Hopefully, and even more so in the coming months too as it's exclusive downloads for the forseeable future with this last batch of the back catalog! Great to hear you're enjoying it and all the best to you too! Thanks for checking in!

Yeaah might get expensive for bigger things. Postcards shouldn't get stuck in customs either though right? No extra fees just for regular cards for you guys either hopefully?

Ah interesting. The antonym according to Google was harmony, but consonance seems applicable in all applicable areas, not just the audial. Sonance more so witticism but good thing I put that in, learned something new here. :)

Daaaang I definitely had missed that!!! Used to check in on them pretty often but after so long of never seeing any new material I seem to have lost that habit... I remember you mentioning they were about to soon though, at least I think it was you...

Impending listen very momentarily probably!

Inspiring dude. :) I'd say I oughta give it a play but probably won't have time for that anytime soon, cool to know about though!

Nice! Looking forward to that too!

I don't think so? I guess depends on where exactly they're going?

My understanding of musical harmony is that's it's the general relationship between pitches (whether consonant or dissonant, as you can have dissonant harmonies), though most traditional harmony is mostly consonant. Mostly XD

Indeed it was me, and enjoy!!!

And various nods at the other sentiments! Busy busy and enjoy that new Limp Bizkit!

Hmm I wonder how customs work in North Korea... for the majority of world countries I'd hope at least postcards are an exception that passes through all potential roadblocks!

Woah. XD Alright I'm definitely learning new things here now... seems harmony's an incorrect antonym in the audial sense then for dissonance. Consonance it is...

Thank ya. :) Have listened through now but I guess best to get into thorough analysis in some other thread... overall not really blow away by the album, but still happy with it, I think I might like it better the more I listen. Felt a little too simple for starters but on the other hand it does seem like they're having fun, and I like the occasional grunge; experimental elements they seem to be trying out... some pretty catchy riffs and melodies occasionally too. Maybe more so the lyrics that come across a little bland and... intentionless, comparing to some of what they've done in the past...

Ganbatte and all. :)

Oof, I didn't even think of that... I guess at least with postcards any security people can see and read what's actually on the card too (privacy not really an option) so the can conviscate anything that doesn't meet their standards / politiical motivations?! Potential dark rabbithole this line of thinking...

As far as my understanding goes XD

Too true with a seperate anaylis! Looking forward to your full thoughts in an email or something then. For me it's definitely been a grower but I really enjoyed the opening and after a 10 year wait and a tonne of pressure to do what might have been impossible topping their previous stuff, I think they did a much better thing and just had fun instead. It certainly sounds like they're doubling down on not caring what people think but in the best possible way. It's not a great "album" more like a collection of fun bonus tracks to me (was surprisingly short too), but they sound like they're having fun and it made me smile+ there are some great bangers on it IMO :) Interesting, I think there are some albums which have clearly had way more effort put in, are probably much better musically and production-wise, but I just didn't really enjoy. Harmless senseless fun I think was just what I needed at the moment XD

Cheers!

Yeah that'd make sense. :) Maybe run it through scanners and what-not in search for embedded materials too hmm... curious about what kind of security routines they may have in place for the simpler stuff now, maybe there are loopholes...

Ah don't mean to be delving into any kind of darkness here. XD I just find such things fascinating...

An educated understanding. :)

Yeah the opening was one of those appreciably experimental and catchy bits for sure! Reminded a little of their Lil Wayne collab some years back IMO. Sounds like a fair assessment. :) Supposedly Fred scrapped a ton of material in many attempts in making this perfect, but it's great they put something out regardless, no matter potential lack of quality or length. I felt it was a bit short too. Regarding those great bangers I think Barnacle's my favorite so far by far!

Mmm I agree it's nice with a focus more on fun and feeling than impeccable production, I just wish he was as angry at the world and all as he seemed to be in the beginning. XD Some cathartic lyricism and energy back in the day, whereas now I don't relate so much or get that same energy. Alas, people change, but peace of mind's the ultimate goal after all huh.

Anyway, I haven't listened enough times yet to give a solid assessment. XD It's not bad. A little different though. Till then!

Cheers!

That makes sense and no worries :) It certainly is interesting!

Ah yes, I remember that one! I think DJ Lethal might have been taking a break from the band then? I heard that too re Fred and the surplus material. Wes was saying there was 30+ tracks of instrumental work they had?! I'm wornding whether the'll be collecting some more of that to put out in the near future? I'm happy with even just the fun batch that "still sucks" though XD

Agreed re the length, of the album as a whole and of some tracks too. So many don't even clock 3 or even 2 minutes, not that that's nessesary, but did give a more bonus-track -collection feel! Intriguing too; Barnacle was one of my less favoured ones, but has grown on me. Feels very Nirvana / grungy, but definitely not what I'd expect from LB (as much as I like Nirvana XD). I know what you mean about the less angry Durst, for better or worse. Feels more tongue in cheek which is nice IMO. Definitely a different flavour that's for sure! Have fun with the re:listens!

Riiight that might be around the time he had his particular problems... ah that's a lot! Didn't remember hearing any numbers. Do hope they do if the material's still there... Cypress Hill used to just include instrumental bits amidst the vocal tracks occasionally - seemed like DJ Muggs almost had too much material - and those were always fun extras.

Length-wise a bit like an Inktober session hmm. :) Oh! Interesting. Indeed Barnacle had a very different vibe, but I love grunge so maybe that's why, it felt a bit more intense too. For sure for sure; will do!

That's something I love about LB: all the extra little in-betweeny tracks or tagged on the end of big track mini-tracks that are on the albums (grooves, etc...). Lots of those on Significant Other and a few on Results May Vary maybe too? Always fun :)

Hehe, true that, though less tracks for sure (maybe about the same if they used all 30 of those ideas XD). Grunge is fun agreed, just wasn't expecting it at all :) Definitely intense!

Oh they did have those too?! I'm forgetting my LB trivia it seems! Maybe they actually inspired Cypress Hill then... was thinking back to their ten-minute-something nearly-only-instrumental at the end of Three Dollar Bill Y'all as I wrote that but couldn't recall any shorter bits, but now that you mention it...

Haha yeah that could've been on par! XD Must say the more I listen to this the more the first track in particular really reels me in, such unique guitar in that one... feels almost like the first few tracks are traditional/intentionally nostalgic LB material, and then you move onto new styles entirely for a while, each one slightly different, then go full circle at the end... before that very Flipsyde-like Goodbye. It's wholesome...

I really need to listen to Three Dollar Bill Y'all again. It's the only album in the discography I don't know super well!

Sounds like a good summary there! Agreed with the sentiments :) Wholesome indeed too!

oh, yeah it's a good one. I grew up more so on Significant Other and Chocolate Starfish, got the first one a bit late, but someone it's become the one I seem to remember the most of now... oughta listen back to all of 'em again too. :)

Indeed!

Me too (that and Results May Vary). All amazing! Had another listen to 3 Dollar Bill Y'all and it's much rawer than I remember! Great listen :) I see what you mean about that exended mostly instrumental final track now too! Durst definitely seems to have more angst in these older ones (though I love his soulful calmer stuff too).

Ah yes, Results May Vary was great too, in a different way, though I guess I considered myself 'grown up' around the time it came out. XD Probably wasn't really hmm. He does doesn't he! First album was such a different beast, though I love the atmosphere in the second, and the third was my favorite for a long time at the time. Just so... edgy. Cool. Ideal for my particular age group at said time most probably. :P Might be the most elaborate of all too though.

Looking back they've actually changed a lot over the years, yet you don't really notice so much...

Yup, definitely a different vibe RMV (especially as Wes wasn't on that one). "Grown up" indeed XD I was listening to Significant Other again yesterday and I forgot how funky/jazzy it was! More polished than the first but not as "metal" as the 3rd. Chocolate Starfish is one hell of an album though, I can see why it was the fastest selling of ALL TIME when it was released! Too true too, I think they've really evolved and experimented in a great way without losing the core Bizkitness of their sound (with RMV being probably the most different).

indeed. :) Really like the alien aesthetic of the second one too, favorite one design-wise... used to just play Re-Arranged over and over there for a while... did you ever listen to their New Old Songs remix album by any chance? A lot of new takes on Significant Other tracks in particular.

Oooh I didn't know it sold that well! Though for sure they were at their peak of popularity. Good times...

Totally agree.