Friday, August 10, 2012

Vol. 3 Episode 30


I have here for you all a couple of classics and a couple of little known albums. All are very good albums though. I have a bunch of small items coming in the mail this month and a big box set from Incubus too. I am excited to share these items as they come in.

On with the show...

This is the third album from Coldplay. It was released in 2005. This album has many influences from the early days of electronic music including Kraftwerk, David Bowie and Brian Eno. The album contains twelve tracks and an additional hidden track, Til Kingdom Come. It is omitted from the track listing on the album sleeve, but listed as "+" on the disc label and inside the album booklet. It was originally planned for American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash to record it with Martin, but Cash died before he was able to do so. This was not an album that I listened to regularly but it was very hard to get away from the singles as they were played everywhere. There were six singles released from this album and they were all very big hits.

The first single from the album is called Speed of Sound. The song was inspired by Kate Bush and was written after the group had been listening to some of her music. The song is very easy to listen to with its slow build to the chorus and backing synth sounds. It really is a good song as much as I want to not like it.

The second single from the album is called Fix You. This song is near perfection and heightened by heavy emotional sounds. The lyrics are so heart felt and can be interpreted in many ways. When this song came out the church that I was going to used the song to reference all the people that needed help around the world, ranging from people in Africa to the people that needed help after hurricane Katrina. I couldn’t help but cry with the graphics that were shown of people needing help and this song playing with that video. It is one of the best songs that I have heard because of what I have seen while the song was playing. It is not because it is the best song period though.

The next single released from this album is called Talk. It has direct references to the Kraftwerk song Computer Love. The song seems to be about doing things that you haven’t done before and saving memories that are related to those things. There is also talk about meeting new people that speak different languages than you do but understanding that they are saying positive things to or about you. These things that they are saying don’t make any sense but you know that they appreciate you for who you are and what you have done. The music is sweet and warm behind the vocals making the song easy to listen to.

The fourth single from the album is called The Hardest Part. This song is a tribute to R.E.M. When asked why the song paid a tribute to R.E.M.'s lead singer, Michael Stipe, Chris Martin said: "I've lost all respect for fame, but I haven't lost all respect for respect. So the one great thing about being famous is that I get to meet people who I respect. Our relationship is akin to a dog and its master. I'll always look up to him." The song is supposed to slightly resemble the R.E.M. song Losing My Religion. The song is a slower song that I usually like and kind of drags on for me.

The next single form the album is called What If. This was not a favorite of mine. It is very slow moving and references the negatives of life and relationships. I do my best to avoid this song as it is so depressing.

The last single from this album is called White Shadows. Brain Eno actually played keyboards on this song with the band. This song was not a world wide single but released as a radio only single during their tour through Mexico. It is a good song with a good beat. I enjoy the song anyway.

This is the third and last album from Lush. It was released in 1996. With this album they abandoned the shoe gaze style in favor of the brit-pop style. There are still little bits of the shoe gaze style infused in the music still. This is really a perfect album for me because I loved the brit-pop sound and in the last four or so years have fell in love with the shoe gaze style of music.

There were four singles released from this album, the first of which is called Single Girl. This single was released as a two CD and 7” formats. Each disc had different tracks. I love the female vocals with this group. They are so feminine and soft but say so much with her musicality and tonality. I love it!

The second single from the album is called Ladykillers. This single also had two CD and 7” formats. This single is the reason that I bought the album. I remember hearing this track on the radio. It did not get much air play but there was something special about the track and it always stuck with me. I picked up the album last fall years after its release, actually a decade plus since its release. Now that I have picked it up I have found that it is a very enjoyable album that nobody seems to appreciate. I suppose that since they switched genres on this album fans seem alienated and it has become something that fans of the shoe gaze genre can not appreciate.

The third single from the album is called 500 (Shake Baby Shake). This is a slower song that falls more in the Shoe Gaze genre than brit-pop. It is a nice song that is easy to listen to. I don’t usually like the slow singles that are released but this one I can get into.

The last single released from the album is called Last Night. This was a promo only single probably released to radio stations and fans. This song is even slower than the previous single. The song doesn’t really do anything but somehow seems to keep me interested. I think that it may be the simplicity of the song that keeps me. The song only progresses between two or three chords through out the song. I guess that I have always been interested in writing a song that is that simple but usually get lost in it like I so while listening to a song like this.

This album is an interesting amalgam of the two genres, shoe gaze and brit-pop. If you have an interest in these two genres then this is a big two thumbs up to listen to.

This is a six track EP that was released after the album Just A Souvenir. It was released in 2009. The artwork is similar to Just A Souvenir as well. This is probably because it was released after the album. The tracks are more up beat than its predecessor and were aimed more for the dance floor. The tracks have a more 90s techno feel than anything current and use samples from Rhythm Section and The Prodigy. There was no actual single released from this EP.

The first song from the EP is called Zounds Perspex. This song and style is common for Squarepusher but comes off to me as a little bit off at times. I like the song but it is for sure not his best work.

The second track called Paradise Garage is in a similar vein as the previous song but the bass guitar is so much fun. The tone that is used sounds rubbery and bouncy. The organ that is used is nice but I am not sure that it fits the song so well. The drumming on these songs is just spot on. It at the very least makes you want to get up and move around.

Arterial Fantasy is the penultimate track on the EP. It is mainly a drum and bass track. It is a very fast track that reminds me of some of Squarepushers’ best work. It is a great techno track done Squarepusher style.

The last track on the EP is called Illegal Dustbin. It starts off slow and slowly builds from drum and bass styling then kicks it in gear to a house track with hard hitting bass drum and transforms into something that reminds me of a harder Basement Jaxx track with lots of noise at the end. This is my favorite track from the EP.

I would only recommend this EP if you are interested in 90s techno or want to find out what else is out there.

 
This is the third album from The Doobie Brothers. It was released in 1973. There was a lot of pressure on the band to come up with a follow up to their second album, Toulouse Street. In order to get this done the band pulled on some of their older songs and reworked them along with taking some jams that they had played in concert and formed them into songs for this album.

There were only two singles that were released from the album. The first was China Grove. The song is based on a real town in Texas with the same name. The connection is obvious given its real-life proximity to San Antonio, which is referenced in the lyrics. However, the rest of the song is largely a fictional account portraying China Grove as Texas' version of Chinatown. Notable is the mention of samurai, who in fact are Japanese, not Chinese. The track was originally titled "Parliament" after the band's tradition of naming demos after whatever brand of cigarette Tom Johnston was smoking at the time. According to Johnston, "...I really owe Billy Payne for the words because he played this wacky (bridge) that started the thinking process with this wacky sheriff, samurai swords, and all that."

The second single released from the album is called Long Train Runnin. The tune evolved from an untitled and mostly ad-libbed jam that the Doobies developed onstage years before it was finally recorded. Its working title, according to Johnston, was "Rosie Pig Moseley" and later "Osborn". "I didn't want to cut it," Johnston later confessed. "...I just considered it a bar song without a lot of merit. Teddy [Templeman], on the other hand, thought it had some." Templeman convinced Johnston to write words to the song.
Johnston performed the signature harmonica solo as well as the lead vocal and the distinctive, rhythmic guitar strumming that propels the song. In an interview with Songfacts Johnston revealed that he "wrote the words sitting in the bathroom at Amigo Studios" in Burbank, California.

There was a third minor hit in the song With Out You. This song followed the jam track style and was played at concerts regularly. It is a good jam and is easy to listen to.

The album is very good but you can tell that it was rushed by the way that the songs sound.

That is all I have for now...

No comments:

Post a Comment