So Soundgarden reunited earlier this year. Everyone (including myself) thought they announced their reunion right at midnight on January 1st, but it turns out they were apparently just announcing the launch of an official website, but whatever the case was, they DID get back together at some point. They've played a handful of shows and also released a retrospective. That's right, a RETROSPECTIVE, not a new album. Why would they make a "new" album with Black Hole Sun and Spoonman and stuff like that on it...?
Anyway, there was one sort of brand new song that was released with Telephantasm, that being Black Rain. Sort of new because it was a half-finished demo from the Badmotorfinger days in 1991 that was rediscovered, rewritten and partially re-recorded by the band this year.
First of all, as everyone knows, the music video was directed by Brendon Small of Metalocalypse and Home Movies fame. I think it's pretty awesome.
So anyway, I love this song. At first I just figured "well, it's new (to me) Soundgarden, of course I'm excited about it, I'll get over it" but this song really is great. The stuff they did in the Badmotorfinger is some of their best, in my opinion, and I think during that time they could easily get away with making riffy showoffy songs just because they could, and this is one of them. It's basically just a bunch of great heavy guitar riffs thrown together with Chris Cornell screaming, and they get away with it.
They haven't revealed just what was re-recorded, but if I had to guess, I'd definitely say that they redid the drum track because it sounds nothing like the Badmotorfinger drum sound, it's much louder and heavier. The guitars and bass could be from 1991 or 2010 and probably still sound the same, which leaves Chris Cornell's voice. I'd say the chorus ("cry on black rain") and the wailing near the end were probably recorded this year and everything else was old, but I could be way off. Either way he hits the high notes throughout the entire song so he's still got it.
Another theory I have about the song is that it was the first incarnation of the song Fell on Black Days. I remember reading an interview from when Superunknown came out where they were saying that they had tried to work the song out in various forms for a while, and he even says "black day" before the chorus, which could also easily be switched from "cry on black rain" to "fell on black days". But again, I could be way off.
Also, I must say, this band are very underrated riff writers (they were/are all prolific songwriters). Even a long forgotten song like this one is nothing but cute, cuddly, heavy riffs, one of my favorites being the odd one that first appears in the middle and then at the very very end. You know the one.
If I could hug my love, could I trade
For your wings to cover me unless I fall
Half alive I hurt the most brilliant lie
Sleepless eyes, close the light
Death's the mind wide open
You can’t stutter when you’re talking with your eyes
By cutting out your tongue you save face
Feeding on the blood running from a black day
Cry on black rain, cry on black rain
Cry on black rain
They've played it live twice so far. The first time was at a release show for the latest Guitar Hero game, the other (and by far superior) was on Conan.
You'd better believe they tear it up.
I love Soundgarden.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Echoes
Pink Floyd is probably the biggest victim of my early teenage music exploration. To clarify, when I first started getting into music, almost everything I listened to was from the radio. Led Zeppelin was, and still is, my favorite, and Pink Floyd was a close, well, not second (Soundgarden...), but probably third. I listened to their mid-70s albums over and over... and over. And unlike Zeppelin, for a while I became pretty burnt out on some of their stuff from Dark Side of the Moon through the Wall (well, minus Animals). I still love the songs I always loved, which is most of them, but the ones I don't like (Welcome to the Machine, most of the second half of the Wall) can really get on my nerves after a while.
HOWEVVEEERRRRRRRR, I still like the other eras of the band as much as I always did, maybe more, now that I've dug a lot deeper since I was 15 or so. I'm still not too familiar with the post-Wall stuff. I didn't like the Final Cut, and while I like the radio songs from the time after Roger Waters left (On the Turning Away, Learning to Fly, etc) I've never listened to the albums. The Syd Barrett stuff is great too, of course, but lately I've really been getting into the early 70s stuff, the somewhat more obscure releases post-Syd and pre-Dark Side.
As you probably figured out, this post is about Echoes, which is most likely my favorite Pink Floyd song. Maybe. If not it's up there. It's a long one, too, over 23 minutes. I decided to see if it was their longest song, but according to Wikipedia, Atom Heart Mother (which is several not-so-connected songs and some avant-garde stuff) is 24 minutes and the combined tracks of Shine on You Crazy Diamond is 26 minutes long. But I guess that doesn't really matter, I was just checking for my own good. The point is, it's a lengthy number, yet it rarely bores me.
Meddle is kind of a weird album. The first three songs are good, and pretty normal for a Pink Floyd album, what with the usual soft trippiness and whatnot. The next two songs are not quite as serious, which is kind of unexpected. Then this comes on as the last song which makes the album even more bizarre, but ends it on a great note.
I'm very glad I found this video, which not only is the full version of the song in one video, but synced with the final scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where it was supposed to be in the film, but by then they began to refuse allowing their music to be used in movies due to previous failed efforts. However, they apparently regretted not letting the song be used after watching the movie, and I can see why. This video is pretty much insane.
I could pretty much just listen to that first note forever. I don't know why it's so perfect but it is. I always like listening to how their songs slowly build up, including this one. The first high note over and over, into the seagull guitars in the background and the high note turning into melodies (apparently it's a keyboard recorded through a Leslie speaker, giving it the weird swirly sound), then it begins. This band was so great at ambient music. The verses are kind of a precursor to later songs like Breathe, and as usual, David Gilmour's vocals sound great, and Rick Wright's too!
One of my favorite parts is THE RIFF, the one that serves as the part where a chorus would be. The part that was ripped off for Phantom of the Opera, but was done much better in this song.
Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant tide
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine.
And no-one called us to the land
And no-one knows the wheres or whys
But something stirs and something tries
And starts to climb towards the light
Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no-one calls us to move on
And no-one forces down our eyes
And no-one speaks and no-one tries
And no-one flies around the sun
Cloudless everyday you fall upon my waking eyes
inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no-one sings me lullabies
And no-one makes me close my eyes
And so I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky
I have no clue what it means but I love it. The oceanic sound of the first verse, the "airy" sound of the last one, and the fact that the music has a sound somewhere between the ocean and in the sky. I have my stupid theories as to what it could be about, but it's probably way off. It fits perfectly with the music so that's great enough for me.
So after the first two verses it goes into one of Mr. Gilmour's great guitar solos that sounds something like a mix of a pterodactyl, space, and a dentist drill. The solo builds and builds until 7 minutes in, when it goes into my other favorite part, the funky section, which is something else they did very well. The guitar solo comes back in with his usual reverby spaciness. By the 11th minute the funk descends into the creepy ambient seagull section, which may be the only song in that style of music that you should ever listen to because it does it perfectly. It sets a perfect frightening lost at sea atmosphere. Or something. lolz
Around 15 and a half minutes it goes back to the intro section, with an extra chord hanging throughout. Slowly everything builds back up, sounding sort of like One of These Days, the first song on Meddle. Eventually (around 18 minutes) the great echoed (HAHAHAHA) guitar melody comes in, yet another favorite moment, and then into the last verse, RIFF, and then the outro with the keyboard and guitar trading lines, then the weird rising whooshing sound fading into the end.
I have a weird memory attached to this song. I used to go to school at College of the Ozarks in the first few months of 2008 and worked at the restaurant at the Keeter Center. I hated working there so much. The specifics of the job itself won't be discussed here, but one day I was really having a terrible time and felt like I was worth of nothing. I couldn't do anything right and my bosses liked to point it out, and I really needed to calm down. So I went outside to my car (which was a BIG NO NO) and listened to all of Echoes to be calmed down (I was in a pretty big Pink Floyd phase at the time). My stress pretty much disappeared while the song was playing. I decided not to go back in and just waited for my next class. And that's my not so exciting story.
Sorry to go on about this one for so long, but it's really a masterpiece. Not that the other songs I wrote about weren't, but this one is much longer, harhar.
Since I'm so predictable, here is a live version, the only one I recall ever hearing, and maybe the only one anyone ever needs to hear, the Live at Pompeii version.
By the way, that echoey guitar part about 3 minutes in on the second video of the live take sounds like something from an old Sonic game. It's cool... ANYWAY...
I could go on some more, but I think I have long enough. I'll let the song speak for itself from here.
HOWEVVEEERRRRRRRR, I still like the other eras of the band as much as I always did, maybe more, now that I've dug a lot deeper since I was 15 or so. I'm still not too familiar with the post-Wall stuff. I didn't like the Final Cut, and while I like the radio songs from the time after Roger Waters left (On the Turning Away, Learning to Fly, etc) I've never listened to the albums. The Syd Barrett stuff is great too, of course, but lately I've really been getting into the early 70s stuff, the somewhat more obscure releases post-Syd and pre-Dark Side.
As you probably figured out, this post is about Echoes, which is most likely my favorite Pink Floyd song. Maybe. If not it's up there. It's a long one, too, over 23 minutes. I decided to see if it was their longest song, but according to Wikipedia, Atom Heart Mother (which is several not-so-connected songs and some avant-garde stuff) is 24 minutes and the combined tracks of Shine on You Crazy Diamond is 26 minutes long. But I guess that doesn't really matter, I was just checking for my own good. The point is, it's a lengthy number, yet it rarely bores me.
Meddle is kind of a weird album. The first three songs are good, and pretty normal for a Pink Floyd album, what with the usual soft trippiness and whatnot. The next two songs are not quite as serious, which is kind of unexpected. Then this comes on as the last song which makes the album even more bizarre, but ends it on a great note.
I'm very glad I found this video, which not only is the full version of the song in one video, but synced with the final scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where it was supposed to be in the film, but by then they began to refuse allowing their music to be used in movies due to previous failed efforts. However, they apparently regretted not letting the song be used after watching the movie, and I can see why. This video is pretty much insane.
I could pretty much just listen to that first note forever. I don't know why it's so perfect but it is. I always like listening to how their songs slowly build up, including this one. The first high note over and over, into the seagull guitars in the background and the high note turning into melodies (apparently it's a keyboard recorded through a Leslie speaker, giving it the weird swirly sound), then it begins. This band was so great at ambient music. The verses are kind of a precursor to later songs like Breathe, and as usual, David Gilmour's vocals sound great, and Rick Wright's too!
One of my favorite parts is THE RIFF, the one that serves as the part where a chorus would be. The part that was ripped off for Phantom of the Opera, but was done much better in this song.
Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant tide
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine.
And no-one called us to the land
And no-one knows the wheres or whys
But something stirs and something tries
And starts to climb towards the light
Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no-one calls us to move on
And no-one forces down our eyes
And no-one speaks and no-one tries
And no-one flies around the sun
Cloudless everyday you fall upon my waking eyes
inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Come streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no-one sings me lullabies
And no-one makes me close my eyes
And so I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky
I have no clue what it means but I love it. The oceanic sound of the first verse, the "airy" sound of the last one, and the fact that the music has a sound somewhere between the ocean and in the sky. I have my stupid theories as to what it could be about, but it's probably way off. It fits perfectly with the music so that's great enough for me.
So after the first two verses it goes into one of Mr. Gilmour's great guitar solos that sounds something like a mix of a pterodactyl, space, and a dentist drill. The solo builds and builds until 7 minutes in, when it goes into my other favorite part, the funky section, which is something else they did very well. The guitar solo comes back in with his usual reverby spaciness. By the 11th minute the funk descends into the creepy ambient seagull section, which may be the only song in that style of music that you should ever listen to because it does it perfectly. It sets a perfect frightening lost at sea atmosphere. Or something. lolz
Around 15 and a half minutes it goes back to the intro section, with an extra chord hanging throughout. Slowly everything builds back up, sounding sort of like One of These Days, the first song on Meddle. Eventually (around 18 minutes) the great echoed (HAHAHAHA) guitar melody comes in, yet another favorite moment, and then into the last verse, RIFF, and then the outro with the keyboard and guitar trading lines, then the weird rising whooshing sound fading into the end.
I have a weird memory attached to this song. I used to go to school at College of the Ozarks in the first few months of 2008 and worked at the restaurant at the Keeter Center. I hated working there so much. The specifics of the job itself won't be discussed here, but one day I was really having a terrible time and felt like I was worth of nothing. I couldn't do anything right and my bosses liked to point it out, and I really needed to calm down. So I went outside to my car (which was a BIG NO NO) and listened to all of Echoes to be calmed down (I was in a pretty big Pink Floyd phase at the time). My stress pretty much disappeared while the song was playing. I decided not to go back in and just waited for my next class. And that's my not so exciting story.
Sorry to go on about this one for so long, but it's really a masterpiece. Not that the other songs I wrote about weren't, but this one is much longer, harhar.
Since I'm so predictable, here is a live version, the only one I recall ever hearing, and maybe the only one anyone ever needs to hear, the Live at Pompeii version.
By the way, that echoey guitar part about 3 minutes in on the second video of the live take sounds like something from an old Sonic game. It's cool... ANYWAY...
I could go on some more, but I think I have long enough. I'll let the song speak for itself from here.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Soul to Squeeze
To be honest, I wasn't intending on making my next blog about this band, I had another one in mind, but I got caught up in one of my late night Youtube excursions and here I am now. I love this song, and I love this band (the Chili Peppers), much to the dismay of most of my musician friends. I can't really think of another band that is so controversial amongst me and my musician friends. I don't know if it's because they're so mainstream and that makes them uncool or whatever, but I don't care, they're still one of my favorites.
So, anyway, Soul to Squeeze is one of those songs I must have heard sometime in my youth and it always stuck in my brain, because when I first started getting into the Chili Peppers (which I remember being a very conscious decision before a high school jazz band performance at a basketball game... "I really want to find a new band to get into. Hmm, I like most of what I've heard from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Let's try this Blood Sugar Sex Magik!") that one didn't spring to mind. But very early on in my fandom, when I was still gathering their discography, Soul to Squeeze was always mentioned as a favorite amongst fans, so I listened to it and it instantly got to me, as if I'd heard it before (which I most likely had) and it brought me back to being a little kid.
This was recorded for the aformentioned Blood Sugar, but it ended up being rejected for the album because they didn't want it to be dragged down by too many soft songs (considering their previous four albums had NO soft songs) so it was demoted to B-side status, then John Frusciante left the band, then it was on the Coneheads soundtrack and became a hit, so they made a video (which is why John isn't in said video), etc.
Anyway, I love the way the bass and guitar parts work together. Flea and John are known for that, but this is one of the best examples of their chemistry. The bassline was probably one of his most subdued at that point but it is really melodic and still carries the song. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious dick, I think this is one of the songs that proved what a master he really is at his "craft" or whatever they say. And the guitar mostly strums the chords throughout but he always manages to still make it sound great instead of your average idiot playing through the Back in Black chords over and over. I like that organ that peeks through every so often also.
I also like how John just plays the vocal melody for the solo and yet it isn't tacky or some sort of anti-solo, like Smells Like Teen Spirit. In fact that solo and the bridge immediately afterward are my favorite parts of the song; it builds up to that point so well.
And I like the vocals. Anthony is an interesting sort because he can sometimes write some really wonderful things and sometimes he will write things that make me want to strangle him. But I love what he did with this song. And while I'm at it I like the drumbeat too, and the offbeat snare hit Chad does throughout the verses. So yes, I love everything about this song, even the "Doo doo doo doo dingle zing a dong bone Ba-di ba-da ba-zumba crunga cong gone bad" thing, whatever that means.
Where I go I just don't know
I got to got to gotta take it slow.
When I find my peace of mind
I'm gonna give you some of my good time.
It's bitter baby,
And it's very sweet.
I'm on a rollercoaster,
but I'm on my feet.
Take me to the river,
Let me on your shore.
I'll be coming back baby,
I'll be coming back for more.
Doo doo doo doo dingle zing a dong bone
Ba-di ba-da ba-zumba crunga cong gone bad
I could not forget
But I will not endeavor
Simple pleasures aren't as special
But I won't regret it never.
The Chili Peppers made a "documentary" about the making of Blood Sugar and there's a section showing the recording of the rhythm guitar and vocals. I didn't post it since it's basically a couple minutes of the song that you already heard. If you're interested you can look for it though. Haha.
As I always do, though, here are a million live versions for you. This band has some songs where I could listen to a million different live takes of it and still not be bored because of the millions of stages they've gone through over the decades, and this is one of them. Even though this song came out in 1991, as far I know they didn't start playing it live until 1998, when John Frusciante rejoined.
So here are a million different videos of them playing Soul to Squeeze. You don't have to watch them. In fact I'm glad you even read this far.
This one is from one of their first shows with John back in the band. They seem kind of uncomfortable playing it but the meekness is what I like about it.
More recent, 2006 I believe.
And in comparison to the first one, this is the last time they played it with the John lineup, in 2007. Not their last show with him but one of them. The mood for this one is a downer (like most of their last shows) but they tear it up in the solo, as the kids say.
Sorry for posting so many videos of this song, but I really love it. I wish I could have gotten to see them play it live...
So, anyway, Soul to Squeeze is one of those songs I must have heard sometime in my youth and it always stuck in my brain, because when I first started getting into the Chili Peppers (which I remember being a very conscious decision before a high school jazz band performance at a basketball game... "I really want to find a new band to get into. Hmm, I like most of what I've heard from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Let's try this Blood Sugar Sex Magik!") that one didn't spring to mind. But very early on in my fandom, when I was still gathering their discography, Soul to Squeeze was always mentioned as a favorite amongst fans, so I listened to it and it instantly got to me, as if I'd heard it before (which I most likely had) and it brought me back to being a little kid.
This was recorded for the aformentioned Blood Sugar, but it ended up being rejected for the album because they didn't want it to be dragged down by too many soft songs (considering their previous four albums had NO soft songs) so it was demoted to B-side status, then John Frusciante left the band, then it was on the Coneheads soundtrack and became a hit, so they made a video (which is why John isn't in said video), etc.
Anyway, I love the way the bass and guitar parts work together. Flea and John are known for that, but this is one of the best examples of their chemistry. The bassline was probably one of his most subdued at that point but it is really melodic and still carries the song. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious dick, I think this is one of the songs that proved what a master he really is at his "craft" or whatever they say. And the guitar mostly strums the chords throughout but he always manages to still make it sound great instead of your average idiot playing through the Back in Black chords over and over. I like that organ that peeks through every so often also.
I also like how John just plays the vocal melody for the solo and yet it isn't tacky or some sort of anti-solo, like Smells Like Teen Spirit. In fact that solo and the bridge immediately afterward are my favorite parts of the song; it builds up to that point so well.
And I like the vocals. Anthony is an interesting sort because he can sometimes write some really wonderful things and sometimes he will write things that make me want to strangle him. But I love what he did with this song. And while I'm at it I like the drumbeat too, and the offbeat snare hit Chad does throughout the verses. So yes, I love everything about this song, even the "Doo doo doo doo dingle zing a dong bone Ba-di ba-da ba-zumba crunga cong gone bad" thing, whatever that means.
Where I go I just don't know
I got to got to gotta take it slow.
When I find my peace of mind
I'm gonna give you some of my good time.
It's bitter baby,
And it's very sweet.
I'm on a rollercoaster,
but I'm on my feet.
Take me to the river,
Let me on your shore.
I'll be coming back baby,
I'll be coming back for more.
Doo doo doo doo dingle zing a dong bone
Ba-di ba-da ba-zumba crunga cong gone bad
I could not forget
But I will not endeavor
Simple pleasures aren't as special
But I won't regret it never.
The Chili Peppers made a "documentary" about the making of Blood Sugar and there's a section showing the recording of the rhythm guitar and vocals. I didn't post it since it's basically a couple minutes of the song that you already heard. If you're interested you can look for it though. Haha.
As I always do, though, here are a million live versions for you. This band has some songs where I could listen to a million different live takes of it and still not be bored because of the millions of stages they've gone through over the decades, and this is one of them. Even though this song came out in 1991, as far I know they didn't start playing it live until 1998, when John Frusciante rejoined.
So here are a million different videos of them playing Soul to Squeeze. You don't have to watch them. In fact I'm glad you even read this far.
This one is from one of their first shows with John back in the band. They seem kind of uncomfortable playing it but the meekness is what I like about it.
More recent, 2006 I believe.
And in comparison to the first one, this is the last time they played it with the John lineup, in 2007. Not their last show with him but one of them. The mood for this one is a downer (like most of their last shows) but they tear it up in the solo, as the kids say.
Sorry for posting so many videos of this song, but I really love it. I wish I could have gotten to see them play it live...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Rotten Apple
Admittedly I hadn't listened to Alice in Chains for a long time until today. Well, I had, on the radio and at random while choosing records to play, but I hadn't entered a phase for a while. Earlier I was playing guitar to various songs and I ended up at Alice in Chains eventually, one of those songs being Rotten Apple.
Facelift, Dirt and the self-titled album are all great, but the fact that they were able to make an album like Jar of Flies along with all the heavy stuff is why they're one of my favorite bands. I'd probably have to say that Rotten Apple is my favorite song from Jar of Flies, but the entire album is so consistent and near-perfect, despite how short it is (which kind of helps it in a weird bittersweet way).
I think their greatest asset (and secret weapon) was subtelty. Sure, they ROCK and they're loud and everything but even their heaviest songs usually have something else going on that you don't quite notice, something that adds to the atmosphere. I think this song is incredibly heavy, though I don't necessarily mean loud. It's more like a heavy on your soul or something hippie-ish like that. Doesn't that guitar almost sound like David Gilmour? And not just because of the talkbox, though I do have to point out that Jerry Cantrell is the man for using it in the most non-cheesy way ever, and actually making it sound "beautiful" and whatnot, as opposed to gimmicky.
Also there are only three basslines in the entire seven minute song and they're all amazing. I believe this is one of the first songs the band wrote with Mike Inez, and as BA as Mike Starr was, this is a great first impression for Mike 2.
Everyone likes to believe that every Alice in Chains song is about drugs, whether Layne Staley wrote the words or not. I'm pretty sure he wrote them for this song (he seemed to become the "main" lyricist around this time) but I don't know if it's about drugs or not. He seems to also have several songs about God (God Am, Get Born Again) and I definitely see some obvious Biblical imagery throughout. You know, eat of the apple, uh oh! Now innocence is over, etc. Maybe it's relating it to heroin LULZ! I won't dwell too much on the meaning because too many people desecrate their songs by blindly relating them to drugs. But the lyrics ARE good in this one. Layne Staley had a way of saying a lot by NOT saying a lot, you know?
Innocence is over
Ignorance is spoken
Confidence is broken
Sustenance is stolen
Arrogance is potent
What I see is unreal
I've written my own part
Eat of the apple, so young
I'm crawling back to start
I repent tomorrow
I suspend my sorrow
What I see is unreal
I've written my own part
Eat of the apple, so young
I'm crawling back to start
A romance is fallen
Recommend you borrow
And that's it (besides a bunch of "hey ah nah nah"s), over seven minutes. But that's all it needs. This is one of those songs where the minimalism makes it what it is.
This is a video of the one known time Alice in Chains (with Layne) played Rotten Apple. The words get kind of mixed up and it looks like they were fairly unsure with the song, which may be why they didn't play it much (also they didn't play very many shows post-1994 anyway). When I was waiting in line to see the reformed band in Columbia, we could hear them doing a soundcheck and they jammed on this song for a few minutes. Everyone in line stopped their conversations to listen, it was really cool. They've also played it a couple times this year, and there are videos but the quality isn't that great (the audio I mean, not the performance).
Facelift, Dirt and the self-titled album are all great, but the fact that they were able to make an album like Jar of Flies along with all the heavy stuff is why they're one of my favorite bands. I'd probably have to say that Rotten Apple is my favorite song from Jar of Flies, but the entire album is so consistent and near-perfect, despite how short it is (which kind of helps it in a weird bittersweet way).
I think their greatest asset (and secret weapon) was subtelty. Sure, they ROCK and they're loud and everything but even their heaviest songs usually have something else going on that you don't quite notice, something that adds to the atmosphere. I think this song is incredibly heavy, though I don't necessarily mean loud. It's more like a heavy on your soul or something hippie-ish like that. Doesn't that guitar almost sound like David Gilmour? And not just because of the talkbox, though I do have to point out that Jerry Cantrell is the man for using it in the most non-cheesy way ever, and actually making it sound "beautiful" and whatnot, as opposed to gimmicky.
Also there are only three basslines in the entire seven minute song and they're all amazing. I believe this is one of the first songs the band wrote with Mike Inez, and as BA as Mike Starr was, this is a great first impression for Mike 2.
Everyone likes to believe that every Alice in Chains song is about drugs, whether Layne Staley wrote the words or not. I'm pretty sure he wrote them for this song (he seemed to become the "main" lyricist around this time) but I don't know if it's about drugs or not. He seems to also have several songs about God (God Am, Get Born Again) and I definitely see some obvious Biblical imagery throughout. You know, eat of the apple, uh oh! Now innocence is over, etc. Maybe it's relating it to heroin LULZ! I won't dwell too much on the meaning because too many people desecrate their songs by blindly relating them to drugs. But the lyrics ARE good in this one. Layne Staley had a way of saying a lot by NOT saying a lot, you know?
Innocence is over
Ignorance is spoken
Confidence is broken
Sustenance is stolen
Arrogance is potent
What I see is unreal
I've written my own part
Eat of the apple, so young
I'm crawling back to start
I repent tomorrow
I suspend my sorrow
What I see is unreal
I've written my own part
Eat of the apple, so young
I'm crawling back to start
A romance is fallen
Recommend you borrow
And that's it (besides a bunch of "hey ah nah nah"s), over seven minutes. But that's all it needs. This is one of those songs where the minimalism makes it what it is.
This is a video of the one known time Alice in Chains (with Layne) played Rotten Apple. The words get kind of mixed up and it looks like they were fairly unsure with the song, which may be why they didn't play it much (also they didn't play very many shows post-1994 anyway). When I was waiting in line to see the reformed band in Columbia, we could hear them doing a soundcheck and they jammed on this song for a few minutes. Everyone in line stopped their conversations to listen, it was really cool. They've also played it a couple times this year, and there are videos but the quality isn't that great (the audio I mean, not the performance).
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Weapon and the Wound
Usually by the time I get around to discovering a band, I'm too late. They either broke up years earlier (Led Zeppelin, the Beatles), break up shortly after I discover them (Soundgarden), should have broken up years earlier (the Rolling Stones... sorry), someone important in the band has already died or dies soon after (Layne Staley, Peter Steele), and so on. I'm particularly into the "crazy genius" types of musicians, but Syd Barrett had been a recluse for decades when I got into him (and died shortly after of course), and John Frusciante had successfully re-entered the world several years earlier.
So my fandom of Days of the New and Travis Meeks is sort of unique. The hits and mainstream success came and went 12 years ago, but I'm convinced that his creative peak hasn't arrived yet. The man is like 30 years old, not 60, even though it sounds like he's already lived enough for any 60 year old. When I saw him in Fayetteville it actually felt like I was witnessing someone's creativity still going strong, not just some guy playing songs people liked ten years ago (even though he did play the hits). It felt like I was part of something, instead of wishing I had been part of something that ended years ago.
Anyway, to get to the point, the fact that nobody listens to his music other than the hits is a real tragedy. I made the same mistake until the beginning of this year. I'd always liked the first Days of the New album but hadn't let the second and third soak in as much. I consider them all pretty much equal in quality, but my personal preference would probably have to be the second, partly because of this song:
Weapon and the Wound is one of those rare songs that gets me every single time I listen to it. Everything about the song is great. The rest of the second album has more of a world music sound, which is present here, but combined with the more traditional structure and rock beat, it makes a masterpiece. I think so, at least.
In fact, I'd say the song's relative simplicity is what makes it. Everything is in its right place: that clarinet line throughout, the strings that come in later, and the vocals, which, if you listen to the lyrics, can be fairly depressing, despite the more uplifting sound of the music, which I fall for every time. Sigh.
And the chorus is perfect. I really don't even know what to say about it, in this case it just speaks for itself. The lyrics are especially straightforward for a Days of the New song, but it works so well.
"Running after you
I don't know where you are
And I can't seem to get you
I want you to know me"
I have no clue how this wasn't a hit with a chorus like that. There's even a kind of Beatles sound throughout, particularly at the end with that string melody.
Also did I mention he was like 19 or 20 when this song came out?!
They cut out a few minutes in the beginning and end to make it Youtube worthy, but the main song is all here.
There is quite a bit of controversy about what is going on with Travis Meeks nowadays. He's been working on a fourth album for the last few years but nothing has come out yet, and some people just can't take it anymore! Personally I would love a fourth Days of the New album, but I too would be frustrated if only a few dozen people were coming to my shows. It would be nice if the guy could get a break for once. How many other people have given the world as much music as he has from just the first three albums?
We'll see. Hopefully something great comes out of all of this.
So my fandom of Days of the New and Travis Meeks is sort of unique. The hits and mainstream success came and went 12 years ago, but I'm convinced that his creative peak hasn't arrived yet. The man is like 30 years old, not 60, even though it sounds like he's already lived enough for any 60 year old. When I saw him in Fayetteville it actually felt like I was witnessing someone's creativity still going strong, not just some guy playing songs people liked ten years ago (even though he did play the hits). It felt like I was part of something, instead of wishing I had been part of something that ended years ago.
Anyway, to get to the point, the fact that nobody listens to his music other than the hits is a real tragedy. I made the same mistake until the beginning of this year. I'd always liked the first Days of the New album but hadn't let the second and third soak in as much. I consider them all pretty much equal in quality, but my personal preference would probably have to be the second, partly because of this song:
Weapon and the Wound is one of those rare songs that gets me every single time I listen to it. Everything about the song is great. The rest of the second album has more of a world music sound, which is present here, but combined with the more traditional structure and rock beat, it makes a masterpiece. I think so, at least.
In fact, I'd say the song's relative simplicity is what makes it. Everything is in its right place: that clarinet line throughout, the strings that come in later, and the vocals, which, if you listen to the lyrics, can be fairly depressing, despite the more uplifting sound of the music, which I fall for every time. Sigh.
And the chorus is perfect. I really don't even know what to say about it, in this case it just speaks for itself. The lyrics are especially straightforward for a Days of the New song, but it works so well.
"Running after you
I don't know where you are
And I can't seem to get you
I want you to know me"
I have no clue how this wasn't a hit with a chorus like that. There's even a kind of Beatles sound throughout, particularly at the end with that string melody.
Also did I mention he was like 19 or 20 when this song came out?!
They cut out a few minutes in the beginning and end to make it Youtube worthy, but the main song is all here.
There is quite a bit of controversy about what is going on with Travis Meeks nowadays. He's been working on a fourth album for the last few years but nothing has come out yet, and some people just can't take it anymore! Personally I would love a fourth Days of the New album, but I too would be frustrated if only a few dozen people were coming to my shows. It would be nice if the guy could get a break for once. How many other people have given the world as much music as he has from just the first three albums?
We'll see. Hopefully something great comes out of all of this.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Snowblind
There are several different songs with this name, and they're all about cocaine... but I'm going to talk about the Black Sabbath song, fo yo info.
It's hard to have a favorite Sabbath song because they were so consistent throughout the Ozzy and Dio years (I am mostly unfamiliar with their work after Dio left, but I couldn't really get into the majority of it... that may change someday), but this song is high on the list. The whole Vol. 4 album is really great, minus FX. Sigh.
First off, the riffs. But that doesn't really need to be mentioned. Tony Iommi is the man, and I don't know how he has managed to think of SO many good riffs. This song has a different atmosphere to it than the rest of their stuff though... it's like the tone of the cymbals and the arpeggiated sections almost sound like icicles piercing your skull and freezing your brain. Also I really like Ozzy's vocal stylings around this time. He wasn't just following the riff but hadn't ascended into extreme helium voice Ozzy yet.
Also did I mention how much I love the strings at the end? It just adds to what I mentioned earlier about the icicles freezing the brain. I don't know whether all this was intended or just coincidence but it really makes the song come together and sound so convincing.
This video is a live performance from 1975. It's kind of funny to watch as Ozzy has some half-hippie, half-disco outfit, Geezer is fully glammed out, Bill Ward might be naked, and Tony Iommi looks the same as he has his entire life. Usually Ozzy would yell "COCAINE" after every verse but not here. It looks like it was filmed for TV though, so who knows.
There are a couple covers that I'll share as well:
System of a Down covered the song. I kind of like what they did with the main riff, but I can't stand the vocals in the verses, this coming from one of those rare people who takes the middle ground when it comes to SOAD (I don't love or hate them). The vocals in the verses just makes it sound ridiculous and not menacing at all. The bridges are done well though.
John Frusciante also covered the song a few times when he was touring in like 2001. There is actual video footage of him playing it, but the audio quality isn't as good and it cuts out part of the way through. Besides, this is a good performance anyway, and I like the guy at the end yelling "WELCOME TO HAWAII" complete with voice cracks, and John asking what that means, hah. Also apparently the link I posted was just uploaded today. Coincidence?! Yeah, totally better than the System of a Down version. Sorry...
It's hard to have a favorite Sabbath song because they were so consistent throughout the Ozzy and Dio years (I am mostly unfamiliar with their work after Dio left, but I couldn't really get into the majority of it... that may change someday), but this song is high on the list. The whole Vol. 4 album is really great, minus FX. Sigh.
First off, the riffs. But that doesn't really need to be mentioned. Tony Iommi is the man, and I don't know how he has managed to think of SO many good riffs. This song has a different atmosphere to it than the rest of their stuff though... it's like the tone of the cymbals and the arpeggiated sections almost sound like icicles piercing your skull and freezing your brain. Also I really like Ozzy's vocal stylings around this time. He wasn't just following the riff but hadn't ascended into extreme helium voice Ozzy yet.
Also did I mention how much I love the strings at the end? It just adds to what I mentioned earlier about the icicles freezing the brain. I don't know whether all this was intended or just coincidence but it really makes the song come together and sound so convincing.
This video is a live performance from 1975. It's kind of funny to watch as Ozzy has some half-hippie, half-disco outfit, Geezer is fully glammed out, Bill Ward might be naked, and Tony Iommi looks the same as he has his entire life. Usually Ozzy would yell "COCAINE" after every verse but not here. It looks like it was filmed for TV though, so who knows.
There are a couple covers that I'll share as well:
System of a Down covered the song. I kind of like what they did with the main riff, but I can't stand the vocals in the verses, this coming from one of those rare people who takes the middle ground when it comes to SOAD (I don't love or hate them). The vocals in the verses just makes it sound ridiculous and not menacing at all. The bridges are done well though.
John Frusciante also covered the song a few times when he was touring in like 2001. There is actual video footage of him playing it, but the audio quality isn't as good and it cuts out part of the way through. Besides, this is a good performance anyway, and I like the guy at the end yelling "WELCOME TO HAWAII" complete with voice cracks, and John asking what that means, hah. Also apparently the link I posted was just uploaded today. Coincidence?! Yeah, totally better than the System of a Down version. Sorry...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Ten Years Gone
Hey all. This is another blog because of course I'm too important for just one. This one is basically just so I can post videos of songs I like, and rant for ages about how much I like them. Basically just putting all my thoughts into some digital garbage disposal for nobody to read.
The first song is one of my favorites by my favorite band, that band being Led Zeppelin. Ten Years Gone is virtually unknown to the "casual" fan: I've only heard it on the radio once, and it was a (very) deep cut. But it's one of their best... I'd say my second favorite on Physical Graffiti. Just like many other Zeppelin songs, this one alone is enough proof that Jimmy Page is a genius, as a guitarist, songwriter/arranger, and a producer.
Ten Years Gone Guitar Tracks (sorry, they didn't allow embedding for this video)
This video is the audio of the recording process for the multiple guitar tracks for the middle section of the song. As much as I love the final studio version, I find myself listening to the first two minutes of this track (which is an acoustic demo track for the section) quite often. The guitar has such a pleasant, almost comforting sound to it, and the lo-fi nature of the recording just adds to the "nostalgic" feel to it. The next minute is the electric rhythm guitar, and after that it cuts back to the original spot repeatedly, and every time he adds a different melody to it, which, combined, comprise the section from 3:45 to 4:08.
Even though Jimmy Page is obviously the star of this song, I also really like Robert Plant's vocals, mainly because of what he doesn't do. I like his wailing, but I also like how he doesn't do that here. He also has a great softer voice, which is displayed here. And the lyrics are some of my favorites of his, about one of his girlfriends giving him the choice of either her or his music, and naturally he went with music. They're intelligent and lovely, and not as dense and wordy as his later Zeppelin lyrics. And not "baby baby baby" either. Ahem. Basically it's like the bridge between their simpler folk songs (Going to California, Tangerine) and their unashamedly epic songs.
They didn't play it live much, most likely because of how impossible it is to play ten or so guitar tracks at once. They played it throughout 1977, and at a couple shows in 1979, which, unfortunately, weren't their best years, but regardless, there are some good performances.
The above video is from Seattle, 1977. It's usually considered one of their worst shows, but this song is a relatively smoother song than the majority of the show. For some reason Robert Plant completely loses his voice halfway through (and that harmonizer that he used at the end is just god awful, I hate it in this song and every other song he used it in) and Jimmy Page is somewhat sticky fingered throughout, but it's still a good'un.
The first song is one of my favorites by my favorite band, that band being Led Zeppelin. Ten Years Gone is virtually unknown to the "casual" fan: I've only heard it on the radio once, and it was a (very) deep cut. But it's one of their best... I'd say my second favorite on Physical Graffiti. Just like many other Zeppelin songs, this one alone is enough proof that Jimmy Page is a genius, as a guitarist, songwriter/arranger, and a producer.
Ten Years Gone Guitar Tracks (sorry, they didn't allow embedding for this video)
This video is the audio of the recording process for the multiple guitar tracks for the middle section of the song. As much as I love the final studio version, I find myself listening to the first two minutes of this track (which is an acoustic demo track for the section) quite often. The guitar has such a pleasant, almost comforting sound to it, and the lo-fi nature of the recording just adds to the "nostalgic" feel to it. The next minute is the electric rhythm guitar, and after that it cuts back to the original spot repeatedly, and every time he adds a different melody to it, which, combined, comprise the section from 3:45 to 4:08.
Even though Jimmy Page is obviously the star of this song, I also really like Robert Plant's vocals, mainly because of what he doesn't do. I like his wailing, but I also like how he doesn't do that here. He also has a great softer voice, which is displayed here. And the lyrics are some of my favorites of his, about one of his girlfriends giving him the choice of either her or his music, and naturally he went with music. They're intelligent and lovely, and not as dense and wordy as his later Zeppelin lyrics. And not "baby baby baby" either. Ahem. Basically it's like the bridge between their simpler folk songs (Going to California, Tangerine) and their unashamedly epic songs.
They didn't play it live much, most likely because of how impossible it is to play ten or so guitar tracks at once. They played it throughout 1977, and at a couple shows in 1979, which, unfortunately, weren't their best years, but regardless, there are some good performances.
The above video is from Seattle, 1977. It's usually considered one of their worst shows, but this song is a relatively smoother song than the majority of the show. For some reason Robert Plant completely loses his voice halfway through (and that harmonizer that he used at the end is just god awful, I hate it in this song and every other song he used it in) and Jimmy Page is somewhat sticky fingered throughout, but it's still a good'un.
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