Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
This is the fourth album from Elbow. It was released in 2008. It is their most successful album to date. There are three singles from this album. The first is Grounds For Divorce. The lyrics for the song were written when the lead singer was going through an unhappy relationship. There is a fun simple chant that would be great at live concerts. The next single is called One Day Like This. After this album won the Brit Awards this song was used for many sports and TV shows in the UK. The last single from this album was The Bones Of You. There is something very special about this song for me. It is simple and complex at the same time. The use of acoustic guitars, distorted bass and rim shot driven drums is so unique and unusual for me. The lyrics also hit home for me. The singer talks about having someone so close but so far away at the same time. It was during this time that my now wife was on deployment with the army in the Middle East while I was back here in the US. It was not that hard on me then but when I think back on it now it brings tears to my eyes and I get choked up. They use a really cool sounding distorted bass guitar used through the whole album. This is part of the attraction to this album for me. The use of the acoustic guitar primarily is also different for my tastes. There is an electric guitar used but it is used so sparingly that it pops out when it is used. It is just nice to have the electric guitar used so seldom on an album. The lead singers’ voice is warm and soft. Yet another thing that is different from most music that I really like. All of these things combine to make an extraordinary album. This is for sure an album that everyone should hear at least once to make a fair decision as to whether it is for them. I loved it so much that I bought it on CD and Vinyl!
Gorillaz – Gorillaz
This is the Gorillaz first album. It was released in 2001. I am a big fan of the band Blur. The lead singer from Blur, Damon Albarn, went on, after Blur broke up, to form Gorillaz. Damon has a big fascination with music ideas that are not rock based but trying to make them fit into a rock mold. It is a great idea and usually works. There are four singles that came off this album. The first and most famous is the song Clint Eastwood. The song uses the chorus, “I’ve got sunshine in a bag.” This is a line taken from the movie The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. This is a movie that stars Clint Eastwood the actor, although, the actor is never mentioned in the song. The video is probably the way that most people in the US heard/saw the song. It is very creative, showcasing each member of the band. Incase you did not know the band are all cartoon characters. The core of the band are Damon Albarn, who I have already mentioned, (music) and Jamie Hewlett (Cartoon Artist). The next single is 19-2000. The version of this song that was released for the single was actually a remix of the song called 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix). This version of the song is a bit more up tempo than the version that is on the self titled album. This version of the song is included on the remix album called G-Sides. It also appears on the extended version of the self titled album. The video for this song features the group driving in their Meyers Manx Dune Buggy on highways that appear to be very rollercoasterish in style. It is s very fun video indeed. The third single is called Rock The House. This song uses various samples from jazz and hip-hop with a cool horn sample that keeps the song on the up and up. The band was not exactly happy with the song but it was still released as a single. The last single is called Tomorrow Comes Today. This song was featured on the EP that was also titled Gorillaz. It is generally a good song but nothing really stands out except the drums for me. I really liked the album when it came out. I heard the first single and loved it. I had to have the album. After I heard the whole of the album I had to have more. I bought both the G-Sides album and the collaboration album between Gorillaz and Spacemonkeyz. The latter was not as good. The former was a blast and a lot of fun to listen to.
Three Days Grace – Three Days Grace
This is their first album. It was released in 2003. They are a three piece hard rock band from Canada. This album has three singles from it. The first is called I Hate Everything About You. The title of the song is very descriptive for what the song is about. The video for the song depicts three different mini stories. The first is about a boy who finds his girl cheating on him. The second is about a girl who breaks up with her boyfriend. The third is a story about a boy who is beaten by his drunken father. At the end of the video we see each of them on a hill, the first boy throwing a framed picture of his girl at the hill, the girl throwing her love notes at the hill and the abused boy throwing a bottle of his fathers’ alcohol at the hill. All three of the children are doing this in complete anger. The next single is called Just Like You. The lead singer had this to say about the song, "It's about being told how to live your life. When we were growing up, we saw it sort of first hand. A lot of our friends were pushed into doing jobs their parents were telling them to do. It's about being pushed around and told how to live your life and standing up for yourself." The third and last single from this album is called Home. For me this song is about being a child and wanting to be living on your own. It may be about living in an abusive family and the child or even one of the spouses just doesn’t want to be apart of the family any more because the lives of the family members living together does not make a positive living environment. I don’t personally think that my life with my parents while in school was bad but it wasn’t that great either. I really like this album because of the guitar sound that is used. If you have ever been shocked by AC current, and who hasn’t, then you know the sound of the guitars that are used. If you could translate the feeling of AC current into sound you would have what the sound of the guitars in this album sound like. I actually used the first two singles to help me get over the divorce that I went through. I had to force myself to get over my first true love. I did not want the divorce, she did. Because of this, I had to teach myself to stop loving her. I did this in part by using these two songs. I did also use other songs but these were two of them that helped me get over her.
R.E.M. – Monster
This is the ninth album from R.E.M. It was released in 1994. The sound of the album was a different direction for the band, especially if you consider the previous two albums. They created this album with a tongue in cheek idea of a rock album. There are five singles from this album. The first is called What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? The reference to the title was to a unprovoked beating of Dan Rather by two people. One of the assailants attacked because he thought that the media had taken control of him. They were both heard to be repeating the fraise, “what's the frequency, Kenneth?” The next single is called Bang And Blame. This was a hit song when it was released. For me, I did not think it was that great of a song. Everyone can’t be happy with every song. The verse section of the song is maybe a bit to slow for me. The music for the song is very good. The echo on the verse part of the song is a lot of fun but the lyrics drag the song down for me. The third single from this album is called Strange Currencies. This song was almost left off the album because of the similarities to the song Everybody Hurts from the album Automatic For The People. The band decided that the lyrics were too good to leave off the album and reworked the rhythm to make the song different enough to include it on Monster. Stype had this to say about the song, “when somebody actually thinks that, through words, they're going to be able to convince somebody that they are their one and only.” The next single is called Crush With Eyeliner. The song has a great over the top guitar riff that uses a delay guitar effect perfectly. Just the guitar sounds on this song are enough to make anybody happy. The video is pretty funny. It features a group of Japanese kids mimicking the lyrics to the song with instruments and all. I guess you could call it extravagant karaoke. It is really great, you should look it up on you tube!
That is all I have for now...
No comments:
Post a Comment