Friday, March 9, 2012

Vol. 3 Episode 9

I was a little late getting to this episode so there are only for albums talked about this time. It is all still good music though.


This is the second 7” that Bleached has released. It is, or I should say was, released by Art Fag Records. It may be able to be found at record stores, physical and internet, but the record company does not have it in stock any more. I found my copy at InSound. The copy I got came on purple vinyl. I think that the colored version of the record is the second pressing. Since this did not come directly from the record company it was not packaged as nicely as the last 7” from the group that I wrote about in the previous post. I have actually come to dislike InSound for their shipping practices. They have a habit of saying that a package has shipped but it is still sitting in their building waiting for shipment. They also don’t list that a record is on backorder on the page for the album or even send an email to let you know. You have to check your order in your account to find out if there is a problem or not. Anyway, there are only two songs on this 7” record, like the first and third records that the group has put out. The first song is called Think of You. This song totally reminds me of a punk song that I use to play when I was with my punk influenced band in high school. The bass line sounds just like what I use to play, from the music to the tone of the cheap bass that I played back then. I don’t have that cheap bass any more but it makes me wish that I still had that bass guitar because it is a cool sound. The second track from this is called You Take time. This track is really a fun track. It is simple but artistic making it a great song. Both tracks are a marked improvement over their first 7” record called Francis.

This is the second release from The Clash. It was released in 1978. It is the first release in the US from The Clash because the first album was not released in the US until after the second. There were only two singles released from this album. The first single is called Tommy Gun. Joe Strummer said that he got the idea for the song when he was thinking about terrorists, and how they probably enjoy reading about their killings as much as movie stars like seeing their films reviewed. While Topper Headon mimics the sound of gangster movie shootings with quick snare hits and the guitars are full of distortion and feedback, Strummer's sarcastic lyrics condemn rather than condone violence. The second single is called English Civil War. The song is derived from an American Civil War song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", written by Irish-born Massachusetts Unionist Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, which is in turn derived from the Irish anti-war song "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye". It was popular among both sides of the conflict. Having learned the song at school, Joe Strummer suggested that the band should update it. Those on the left wing saw the rise during the mid-1970s of far right groups such as the British National Front as alarming and dangerous omens for Britain's future. The song is about this state of politics in the country and warns against all things uniformed and sinister. Shortly after the song had its first live performance at a Rock Against Racism concert, Strummer said in an interview to the music newspaper Record Mirror, "War is just around the corner. Johnny hasn't got far to march. That's why he is coming by bus or underground.” I don’t really like the song. The music reminds me too much of singing the same dang songs over and over as a kid. I hated The Ants Go Marching. This is the same music that is used for this song. I would much rather hear the last song on this album called All The Young Punks. It is so much more creative and what you would expect from a punk group.

This is the first release from DJ Shadow. It was released in 1996. It is an effort by Shadow to make music entirely out of samples. The samples were used not only from various genres but also from movie clips and interviews. The album as been sited in the Guinness World Records as the first album to be created out of 100% samples. There were a few singles released from this album. The first is called What Does Your Soul Look Like. This track uses a great bass line with simple piano over the top. It is a very mellow track with soaring saxophone over the top in the lead part. It is really a beautiful track. The second single released from the album is called Midnight In A Perfect World. This track has big beat drums with an electromechanical keyboard over them. There is also some very nice soaring female vocals that float over the top of it all. There are other samples of male vocalists that are used as stabs in the songs but don’t over shadow the rest of the song. The last single released from this album is called Stem. The track is actually three parts mixed into one making the track nearly nine and a half minutes long. The first part of the song is called Stem. The second part of the song is called Long Stem. The last part is called Transmission 2. The first part of the song is spaced out speed drums and slow drums with a picked guitar and bells played over the top with violins in the back ground. It is still very beautiful music that is produced. The second part of the song uses the bells again but changes the guitar to some kind of synth sound. The vocals are a sample from a male speaking. I can only assume that it is from an interview the way that they guy is talking. There are very sparse drums in this part with soaring long notes that are used before going into the last part. This last part goes back into the use of an electromechanical piano with regular piano over the top of that. It is another beautiful piece that floats along and then changes at the very last couple of second into a distorted radio broadcast. I was not introduced to this album by any of these singles though. I was introduced to this album through the song Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt. This song was played on my local alternative radio station in 1996. The vocals were from an interview of a drummer. The song slowly builds from piano, drums and female vocals. This is all relaxing music for me. It brings me to a very calm place. I could listen to this album over and over. It is just perfect. I said to my self a long time ago that I would not buy electronic and sampled albums on vinyl but listening to this album again has made me want to hear the smooth sounds of this album on a turntable. What an experience that would be.

This is the first release from the group The Gaslight Anthem. It was originally released in 2007. I don’t think that there were any official singles released from this album. The songs on the album have great hints of the hits that are to come from the band but the album as a whole is not quite there. The first track called Boomboxes And Dictionarys is probably the best that the album has to offer. The other track that I would recommend that people who are interested in this group listen to is called.1930. This track is one of the faster tracks that the group have put out. There is something special about this track even though the sound is a little bit harder than the usual music that they put out. The other song that I would offer up to anyone who has an interest in this group is called The Navesink Banks. This track is super simple but beautiful. It features an acoustic guitar with electric guitar flourishes and the classic Jersey vocals that the group is famous for. I could listen to this track repeatedly it is so nice to hear. I bought this album because I wanted to hear more from them. I wanted to know more about their history. I was lucky to find a copy of the album on purple and white swirl. It has been labeled as blue white swirl but it looks more purple to me. I think that this is the last colored pressing that was put out. There was a solid blue pressing that was put out for their European tour but I did not really care to own more than one copy of this album considering the way that I feel about the album anyway.

That's all for now...

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