Fall and spring are my favorite times of year. This is because of all of the great music that comes out during these times. Fall especially because most artists want to get out their albums before Christmas so they can be given out as gifts. I am waiting for a good stack of stuff to come in the mail soon and I am very excited to write about them. The first of which is my first album in the list here.
This is the long awaited third album from Abandoned Pools.
It was finally released on August 28th 2012. I just got it a few
days ago. I purposefully did not listen to any of the singles on this album. I
really wanted to be surprised and hear the whole album in one shot. I have
always liked Tommys’ style of music writing and I have been pleasantly
surprised by what he has created here. There are a few reasons that this album
was delayed though. The biggest was that he switched record labels for this
album. The group is now on Tooth and Nail Records. This is actually one of my
favorite Christian record companies. They don’t do strictly Christian records
but they seem to do a lot of them. I am happy that he is on this label and hope
that they do Tommy right since he has been jacked around by the previous two
record companies that he has been with.
There were quite a few singles released for this album, the
first of which is called In Silence. This track is very sweet and smooth. It is
in the classic Abandoned Pools sound. It is a welcome track and doesn’t
alienate the original core fans. He talks of silence and having halos. I think
it is sort of a reference to what may have happened to Romeo and Juliet after
the end of the play. It May not be those specific characters but a similar
ending.
The second single released from the album is called
Marigolds. This song has a super cool sound that is used through the melody. It
is a kind of ghostly vibrato sound that I kind of like. It is a very brash
sound but unique enough to keep my interest. This song also has the classic
Abandoned Pools sound.
The third song released from the album is called SublimeCurrency. This was originally released to be heard on the internet through
Alternative Press web site. This has become a new thing recently, To have a
song either downloadable as a promotional thing or to be able to listen to it
for free through various music promotional sites. This song was released as a
free download. It was later released officially as the third single. The song
starts out with some classic synth sounds and drums. Actual drums kick in over
the top with guitars. What I really like about this track is the 80s inspired
arena rock harmonies on the chorus. It totally reminds me of Queen or Journey.
I love it!
The second track released in this manor is called
Unrehearsed. This song reminds me of a song that would have been released in
the late 80s on the pop charts. I can’t really put my finger on it exactly but
I am sure that I would have listened to it as it is the style of music that I was
listening to at that time. I really like this song.
The last song that was released to the internet world is
called Behemoth. This track starts out with piano and adds into it the drums
that push the song along. The vocals are double tracked on this song giving it
a fuller vocal sound. This is a new technique for Tommy and I like the idea a
lot.
I would also like to mention the tracks 9 Billion and FromLong Sleep. The latter is a hard hitting track that uses some hard hitting
distorted bass and squealing dizzying sounds that work really well together.
The bass line is very hard and driving. It is a really great song. The former
is a soft sweet duet with Paris Carney. I have no Idea what she has done in the
past but she really makes something special happen on this track.
This is the first album put out from Interpol. It was
released in 2002. I found out about the album later than 2002 but for some
reason though that it was released around 2004 when I heard about it and its
singles through my local indie radio station, 89.3 The Current. I never even gave
second thoughts to the fact that their second album cam out so soon after the
first, obviously it didn’t since it was released in 2002. I bought the album on
CD and loved it. When I went on my honey moon we went to a record store in Daytona FL
and I picked up this album new on vinyl along with a few others, including the
Velvet Underground & Nico album. This album has a special place in my heart
because of that as to the other few albums that were bought on that trip.
The first single released from the album is called Obstacle1. The band had said that the song was written after they had watched a new
clip about a model’s recent death. The song is not exactly a downer but is also
not the happiest either. The way that I the song makes me feel is if this model
died and video clips of her were still on TV or played on the internet. It is
just sort of an uncomfortable feeling. I like the song though.
The next two songs were released as a double A side single.
The first of the two is called Say Hello To The Angels. This track did not get
as much air play as the second track. It is still a good song though. It is
faster paced than the first single and has a bouncy feel to it. The bass on
this track seems to stand out a bit more since it is played at eighth notes almost
through the whole song. It keeps the song fun and energetic.
The AA side to this track is called NYC. This track is
slower than the fun bouncy A side track. It is actually a depressing song, I
think, for a rainy day. I really like the song but stay away from it because it
is so depressing.
The last single from this album is called PDA. This was the
song that introduced me to the group. I fell in love with the way that this
song sounded. It is part of what started me on the indie music track that I am
now on. It has a great drum beat that starts off the track and continues
through the song. The bass line is so much fun. It is not bouncy but is very
creative. The guitar parts are simple but fit perfectly over the bass and
drums. It is a great rock song really.
This is a great album, better in my opinion than the much
hailed Arcade Fire album called Funeral.
This is the first full album from the Pixies. It was
released in 1988. This is a hugely influential album for many of the
grunge/alternative artists of the early to mid 90s, including Billy Corgan and
Kurt Cobain. I knew of the few singles that were released from this album from
some friends in high school after the album was released. I also had a friend
try to turn me on to the group but that is not where I was at the time. It was
not until the album was repressed a third time in the late 00s that I got into
the group. I really like the music on the album but the lyrics are quite
questionable. On the other hand they are things that need to be brought to the
attention of the general public and what better way than to ease it in than
with music.
The first single released from the album is called Gigantic.
This song has lead vocals sung by the bassist, Kim Deal. The bass line is
played through the whole song and doesn’t deviate much at all. During the verse
just the bass is played and for the chorus the guitar is added. I remember
hearing this song on the radio. I thought that it was cool and it reminded me
of the old Japanese cartoon Gigantor.
The song Where Is My Mind? Was never released as a single
but I have heard it on the radio many times. It has become a fan favorite I
guess you could say. The song could have very easily been a single from the
album though. The song was inspired by a trip to the carabean that the lead
singer of the band, Frank Black/Black Francis, took during is time at University of Massachusetts Amherst. He said this
about the scuba trip, “this very small fish trying to chase me. I don't know
why — I don't know too much about fish behavior." It is kind of a cute
line.
An interesting not to be heard on the song Cactus. Between
the second verse and chorus of "Cactus," the band and the studio
members can be heard spelling out "Pixies." John Murphy, then-husband
of bassist Kim Deal, later commented on the interlude: "You can hear them
spelling 'Pixies' in the break, which T. Rex did in one of their songs, The
Groover, 'T-R-E-X,' and they were copying it. I was against it, I was like, 'No
way I'm not doing it,' because that's so trite. And I'm the only one that
didn't do it. Steve Albini went along with it and liked it. So I'm the only one
that never got on the records.
David Bowie recorded a version of Cactus song for his Heathen
album in 2002. This version features D-A-V-I-D spelled in the break. Bowie performed the song
live on his 2002 Heathen Tour concerts and the A Reality Tour. A
2003 live version is found on the A Reality Tour DVD.
This is the seventh 7” single released from Man or
Astro-Man? It was released in 1994. There are four songs on this single. It was
released in a set of four colors. The colors are translucent orange, a swirly
silver and two colors of black. If you held the black ones up to the light you
had one of two colors, either a dark orange/red or a dark grey tone. I think
that I have the dark orange/red color. The cover graphic is based on a 1960s
tin toy that was made by Ohio Art, the same company that created the
Etch-A-Sketch.
The first track on the record is Philip K. Dick in the PetSection of a Wal-Mart. It is a funny title. I am not sure that Philip K. Dick
was around to see a Wal-Mart but I like the silly idea. There are no lyrics to
the song but the ideas that float around in my head simply because of the title
of the track are more than enough.
The second track on the 7” Is called The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
This is a cover of the theme song for the TV show. I did not know that I knew
the song until the first time that I heard it played by the Astro-Men. I don’t
remember anything about the TV show itself but the song is classic surf tunes.
The next song on the record is called Transmission FromVenus 94’. It is a re-recording of a song they recorded for a compilation for
Roger Corman tribute compilation in 1993. It was such a good song that they
decided to re-record it and re-released the song outside of the compilation. It
was also included on both of the Australian compilations and Project infinity.
The last song on this single is called Time Bomb. This track
has a very fast drum beat and is a very short song. It is reminiscent of some
of Dick Dales famous surf songs in that respect.
This is a great view of their early work. If you are not
sure about the group this would be a cheap way to check out what they sound
like as it is a common 7” record that found pretty easily.
That is all I have for now...
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