"Iron Man 2" is in theaters nationwide now. The film is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and is directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr. As with all big-budget Hollywood flicks, music plays an important role and this film features choice cuts by one of the world's biggest rock bands, AC/DC.
AC/DC released the album "Iron Man 2" earlier this year. While there are no new tracks on "Iron Man 2," the record does span 10 different classic AC/DC discs. This means you're getting some of the band's biggest hits - and deeper cuts to boot. To celebrate the movie and new album, Noisecreep decided to countdown the most popular AC/DC tracks from AOL radio.
10. "Rock 'n' Roll Train"
"Rock 'n' Roll Train" is the first single from the 2008 album "Black Ice." The single went to the top of the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock list. Like most AC/DC tunes, "Rock 'n' Roll Train" was written by the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. If you saw AC/DC on their recent and massive world tour, then you know "Rock 'n' Roll Train" played a big role in the show - complete with a massive locomotive as a stage prop.
09. "Shoot To Thrill"
"Shoot To Thrill" is featured on both the "Iron Man 2" soundtrack and "Back In Black." If you're reading this page, chances are you own "Back In Black." Considering "Back In Black" is the bestselling album ever released by a band, every track on the album is considered iconic. "Shoot To Thrill" was written by the brothers Young and singer Brian Johnson and was featured in the first "Iron Man" trailer and several other movies and television shows.
08. "T.N.T."
Turns out "T.N.T." really is dynamite when referring to AC/DC's catalog. The title track from the album "T.N.T.," the track was written by the brothers Young and late singer Bon Scott. Released as a single in 1976, "T.N.T." quickly became synonymous with AC/DC. Maybe it's all the letters? Or maybe it's just the fact that "T.N.T." has a strong riff that gets stuck in the listener's head for days and days.
07. "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
Often the anthem of the frustrated - and slightly insane - "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is a track off the 1976 album of the same name (the album wasn't released in America until 1981). Again written by the brothers Young and Scott, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is a live staple and is also featured on the 1992 double-album "AC/DC Live."
06. "Thunderstruck"
The Young brothers penned "Thunderstruck" for the 1990 album "The Razors Edge." "Thunderstruck" is also featured on the "Iron Man 2" soundtrack and is one of AC/DC's most famous songs. Several sports teams have used "Thunderstruck" to get the home crowd pumped. Unsurprisingly, "Thunderstruck" was played early in the set on many of the "Black Ice" tour stops.
05. "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)"
Fire! Long the anthem of every rock band, "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" is known the world over for both the message and the cannons. The single is from the 1981 album of the same name and was written by singer Brian Johnson and the Young brothers. A mega-successful single, "For Those About To Rock" became an instant classic. So much so that the band uses the track to close live shows, complete with cannon action. The album "For Those About To Rock We Salute You was the band's first to reach the top of the Billboard chart.
04. "Back In Black"
And then there was "Back In Black," and suddenly no band could ever reach the same level as AC/DC. The album "Back In Black," released in 1980, was written by the brothers Young and Johnson and produced by Mutt Lange. It was the first AC/DC album to feature Brian Johnson on vocals, and the entire disc is dedicated to fallen friend Bon Scott. The single "Back In Black" is a specific, upbeat tribute to Scott, with lyrics like: "Forget the hearse 'cause I'll never die/I got nine lives/Cat's eyes/Usin' every one of them and running wild." The opening guitar riff is undeniable - hear two bars and you're on your feet. "Back In Black" is also featured on the "Iron Man 2" album.
03. "You Shook Me All Night Long"
The track was a successful single, staying on the charts for a long time and helped propel sales of "Back In Black." The track features a great guitar solo that has been attempted by every kid with a rock star dream. Oh, and "You Shook Me All Night Long" has been covered by everyone ... including Celine Dion and Shania Twain.
02. "Hells Bells"
You ever hear your grandma say "Hells Bells" after something went wrong in the kitchen? Maybe AC/DC picked up the phrase from her. Regardless, the song is the opening track from "Back In Black," and the ominous tolling bells clue the listener that a mega sonic experience is about to occur. Like many other popular AC/DC tracks, "Hells Bells" is regularly used at sporting events.
01. "Highway To Hell"
"Highway To Hell" is the title track from their 1979, written by the Young brothers and Scott. The song "Highway To Hell" made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of 500 tracks that shaped the genre. The track also caused parental uproar, what with all the silly Satanist rumors floating around. The members of AC/DC might not be Satanists, but they are smart marketers: the song, coupled with Angus Young's penchant for devil horns, sure does make for a nice merchandise idea. But back to "Highway To Hell." The album will always be significant in the AC/DC catalog, because it is the last to feature Bon Scott. "Highway To Hell" remains a live staple.
Thanks for the report to Noisecreep.com.
Showing posts with label Albums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Albums. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Folie a deux
the simultaneous occurrence of symptoms of a mental disorder (as delusions) in two persons who are closely related (as siblings or man and wife)
Track Listing:
1. "Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes" – 4:17
2. "I Don't Care" – 3:34
3. "She's My Winona" – 3:51
4. "America's Suitehearts" – 3:34
5. "Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet" – 3:54
6. "The (Shipped) Gold Standard" – 3:19
7. "(Coffee's for Closers)" – 4:35
8. "What a Catch, Donnie" – 4:51
9. "27" – 3:12
10. "Tiffany Blews" – 3:44
11. "w.a.m.s." – 4:38
12. "20 Dollar Nose Bleed" – 4:17
13. "West Coast Smoker" – 2:46
My favorite track (must listen song):
Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes
She's My Winona
America's Suitehearts (great video clips)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Bullet For My Valentine: 'We Just Wanted To Write A Harder Record'
After being named “Best British Newcomer” by Kerrang and earning the Metal Hammer Golden God Award, you might think that Bullet For My Valentine would be feeling fairly confident going into its 2nd full-length release, Scream Aim Fire.
But even with all of the accolades received since 2005’s The Poison, guitarist Michael “Padge” Padget said that his band has often been the target of criticism. And talk about hitting them where it hurts – apparently some have claimed that the band is more emo than metal. For a quartet with strong metal influences, being told you’re closer to Fall Out Boy’s genre than Metallica’s is not an easy pill to swallow.
But despite all of the jabs, Padge has reason to be feeling good right about now. Aside from landing a coveted slot on the successful Taste Of Chaos Tour, Padge is also premiering 2 new custom ESP models this year. The MP-600 and the Michael Padget V are directly inspired from Dave Mustaine’s DV8 model, but they now have Padge’s own graphic interpretation. When Padge talked with Ultimate-Guitar, he said that he was blown away by being endorsed by ESP, let alone creating his own models. So how does the MP-600 and MP V sound? Well, Padge had not actually played his new ESPs at the time of the interview, but he was counting down the minutes until he could bring them onstage.
UG: You spent a good deal of time touring in support of The Poison. Did you write the bulk of material from Scream Aim Fire during that tour?
Padge: Maybe a third of the songs’ riffs and ideas and random stuff came on the road. Another third or maybe half was completed in a real studio in London. We wrote 6 track in London, so that was the majority. The rest of it was kind of written on the road from playing around, past and present.
I recall reading a quote from Matt stating that the band wanted to be more metal all the way across the board. Did you approach the album in the same way?
I think so, yeah. I think a few bodies wouldn’t agree, and those sorts of things do kind of get to you and gets under your skin slightly. You just kind of want to prove them sort of wrong and prove that we are metal in a way. We just wanted to write a harder record.
Do you get pretty fired up when you hear negative comments?
Yeah! We’ve had our fair share of really, really bad and cruel gigs. There’s no need in moaning about it, and we just kind of get on with it. It does kind of lead to thicker skin. At the end of the day, we are quite a new band and we’ve only put our 2nd full-length album. We’ve had to learn quite a bit in the last few years.
Considering that you are in a fairly new band, it’s pretty impressive that you have 2 custom ESP models already.
When ESP approached me, I was totally blown away. We’re new to this sort of thing. For someone to say they want to put your name on a guitar, that’s just ridiculous for a young guy from Wales! I’m still totally blown away. I’ve seen it in photos, but I haven’t actually played on it yet. My guitar tech is saying tomorrow.
What kind of specifications did you ask for on your ESPs?
Because ESP had given me the endorsement, they have given me loads of guitars and I’ve been able to check out a lot of guitars. I was able to find out what I sort of like and what is comfortable to my style of playing. They had given me the DV8 Dave Mustaine, I believe. I think that was about a year and a half ago, and I just kind of jammed with that ever since. It was just really comfortable to play, fully equipped with EMGs as well. It’s a flying V, which is totally metal. I just kind of stuck with that one.
It was amazing that they approached me because they had said that Dave had left, and they wanted to offer me that sort of model. So the work was kind of done, but it was kind of wiping Dave’s graphics off it and adding my own touches to it.
Was Megadeth a big influence for you?
Yeah, I would say in the last 3 or 4 years. Especially the older stuff – the older stuff tends to be my cup of tea more than the newer stuff. But back in the day, I wouldn’t say that I was a big Megadeth fan. I was more of a Metallica fan back years ago.
You have some incredible dual guitar work on the new record, particular on “Waking The Demon.” How did you and Matt work out the parts on that track?
I believe on that one, we were searching for a really heavy track for the album. Matt sort of came up with this really hardcore, downpicking shreddy riff. It actually took me a couple weeks to get my downpicking up to speed! It was interesting because it was a challenge as well. That song was kind of born from that riff. We kind of worked on a load of harmonies, which come in late in the song. Matt adds in the lyrics once everyone is happy with the music.
Is “Waking The Demon” the primary song that you’ve had to downpick on?
It was really that one riff in particular. It is just furious downpicking.
The new record marks the 2nd time you’ve worked with producer Colin Richardson. What is it about him that has worked so well with the band?
Ultimately, it was Burn My Eyes by Machine Head that totally blew everyone in the band away years ago when they released that album. The production just sort of blew our minds. We’re all big fans of Colin’s work and we have been for years. When we actually landed a deal, he was kind of the obvious choice – our only sort of choice. He was well within our range, so that was kind of cool. He came in and he’s pretty much stuck with us ever since. He did The Poison, and he’s now done Scream Aim Fire. He’s like the 5th member of the band. He really nails it and he knows exactly what we’re after. He doesn’t mess with anything, which is great.
So he never offered advice on the actual songwriting or arrangements?
No, as far as production is concerned, there is always one of the band there monitoring it. But Colin would never do anything before asking us first. He’s more of a real producer, and he saves the effects more for vocals.
Did you try out any new guitars or amps on Scream Aim Fire?
We used a Bogner on this album, which is pretty cool. We used a Bogner on one side of the rhythm guitars, and that worked out well. We used a different guitar, too. I think the main guitar was an ESP Eclipse during The Poison, but this time around was a Gibson Les Paul Raw Power with EMGs. That was like the main tracking guitar. I did all my solos on that, too, because we couldn’t find another guitar to beat that tone.
I had no idea that you played Les Pauls.
Only in the studio!
Do you think you’ll take the Bogner on the road?
Maybe. We haven’t actually played them live, so there is always a possibility. We were lucky enough to keep the one that we used in the studio, so maybe. At the moment, I’m with Mesa. Maybe, I can’t say.
There is some really nice acoustic work on the song “Say Goodnight.” Did you and Matt share acoustic duties on the album?
No. I think Matt is really big fan of the acoustic. I’m definitely an electric guy! I let Matt get on with his creativity, so to speak. He’s really good. He’s got a great rhythm to him.
I understand that you made 2 videos for “Scream Aim Fire,” but the first one ended up being scrapped. What happened?
The original concept was to do a war video. There wasn’t a tiny budget, but it was a small budget. It wasn’t enough to reach the other war videos that have been released by other bands. My Chemical Romance released a big one, and Green Day released a big one. They spent millions of dollars doing their videos. Our budget was just so tiny that we couldn’t really compare to these other videos. We just decided to go with something a little bit more real and raw, I guess.
Do you ever get nervous when your album is about to be released?
No, I just go with the flow. We’re just going to have a little drink with the crew tonight. We’ll all get together before the tour starts. The album is released, but it’s been so long waiting for it to be released that we’re just so happy for it to be out there now.
Do you thrive being on the road?
I do, yeah. But it is tough because we’re all human and we’ve got lives back at home, families, friends. It does get hard, but once you’re away you just sort of go with the flow. You’re among friends, so you feel safe and confident anyway.
Will one of the new ESPs be the main guitar you use on the tour?
Yeah. I’ve been informed that it’s arriving tomorrow, so it’s going to make the whole tour. It’s great because we have a video shoot on Friday. I can’t wait. It looked really good in the photos at NAMM. It looked brilliant.
Do you look forward to multi-bill tours like Taste Of Chaos?
Yeah, it’s going to be amazing. We’ve probably got the best slot of the whole tour. We should be offstage technically by 8 or 9 o’clock, so expect the band to be drunk by then! We get to watch 2 bands, and it’s going to be good. It’s going to be 2 months of partying.
Expect some of the crew from Ultimate-Guitar to make an appearance at a few of the dates.
Yeah, Ultimate-Guitar.com – I use Ultimate-Guitar! I’ve got it as a bookmark in my computer!
Interview by Amy Kelly
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Stream the entire "Scream Aim Fire" album on the band's UG Profile.
But even with all of the accolades received since 2005’s The Poison, guitarist Michael “Padge” Padget said that his band has often been the target of criticism. And talk about hitting them where it hurts – apparently some have claimed that the band is more emo than metal. For a quartet with strong metal influences, being told you’re closer to Fall Out Boy’s genre than Metallica’s is not an easy pill to swallow.
But despite all of the jabs, Padge has reason to be feeling good right about now. Aside from landing a coveted slot on the successful Taste Of Chaos Tour, Padge is also premiering 2 new custom ESP models this year. The MP-600 and the Michael Padget V are directly inspired from Dave Mustaine’s DV8 model, but they now have Padge’s own graphic interpretation. When Padge talked with Ultimate-Guitar, he said that he was blown away by being endorsed by ESP, let alone creating his own models. So how does the MP-600 and MP V sound? Well, Padge had not actually played his new ESPs at the time of the interview, but he was counting down the minutes until he could bring them onstage.
UG: You spent a good deal of time touring in support of The Poison. Did you write the bulk of material from Scream Aim Fire during that tour?
Padge: Maybe a third of the songs’ riffs and ideas and random stuff came on the road. Another third or maybe half was completed in a real studio in London. We wrote 6 track in London, so that was the majority. The rest of it was kind of written on the road from playing around, past and present.
I recall reading a quote from Matt stating that the band wanted to be more metal all the way across the board. Did you approach the album in the same way?
I think so, yeah. I think a few bodies wouldn’t agree, and those sorts of things do kind of get to you and gets under your skin slightly. You just kind of want to prove them sort of wrong and prove that we are metal in a way. We just wanted to write a harder record.
Do you get pretty fired up when you hear negative comments?
Yeah! We’ve had our fair share of really, really bad and cruel gigs. There’s no need in moaning about it, and we just kind of get on with it. It does kind of lead to thicker skin. At the end of the day, we are quite a new band and we’ve only put our 2nd full-length album. We’ve had to learn quite a bit in the last few years.
Considering that you are in a fairly new band, it’s pretty impressive that you have 2 custom ESP models already.
When ESP approached me, I was totally blown away. We’re new to this sort of thing. For someone to say they want to put your name on a guitar, that’s just ridiculous for a young guy from Wales! I’m still totally blown away. I’ve seen it in photos, but I haven’t actually played on it yet. My guitar tech is saying tomorrow.
What kind of specifications did you ask for on your ESPs?
Because ESP had given me the endorsement, they have given me loads of guitars and I’ve been able to check out a lot of guitars. I was able to find out what I sort of like and what is comfortable to my style of playing. They had given me the DV8 Dave Mustaine, I believe. I think that was about a year and a half ago, and I just kind of jammed with that ever since. It was just really comfortable to play, fully equipped with EMGs as well. It’s a flying V, which is totally metal. I just kind of stuck with that one.
It was amazing that they approached me because they had said that Dave had left, and they wanted to offer me that sort of model. So the work was kind of done, but it was kind of wiping Dave’s graphics off it and adding my own touches to it.
Was Megadeth a big influence for you?
Yeah, I would say in the last 3 or 4 years. Especially the older stuff – the older stuff tends to be my cup of tea more than the newer stuff. But back in the day, I wouldn’t say that I was a big Megadeth fan. I was more of a Metallica fan back years ago.
You have some incredible dual guitar work on the new record, particular on “Waking The Demon.” How did you and Matt work out the parts on that track?
I believe on that one, we were searching for a really heavy track for the album. Matt sort of came up with this really hardcore, downpicking shreddy riff. It actually took me a couple weeks to get my downpicking up to speed! It was interesting because it was a challenge as well. That song was kind of born from that riff. We kind of worked on a load of harmonies, which come in late in the song. Matt adds in the lyrics once everyone is happy with the music.
Is “Waking The Demon” the primary song that you’ve had to downpick on?
It was really that one riff in particular. It is just furious downpicking.
The new record marks the 2nd time you’ve worked with producer Colin Richardson. What is it about him that has worked so well with the band?
Ultimately, it was Burn My Eyes by Machine Head that totally blew everyone in the band away years ago when they released that album. The production just sort of blew our minds. We’re all big fans of Colin’s work and we have been for years. When we actually landed a deal, he was kind of the obvious choice – our only sort of choice. He was well within our range, so that was kind of cool. He came in and he’s pretty much stuck with us ever since. He did The Poison, and he’s now done Scream Aim Fire. He’s like the 5th member of the band. He really nails it and he knows exactly what we’re after. He doesn’t mess with anything, which is great.
So he never offered advice on the actual songwriting or arrangements?
No, as far as production is concerned, there is always one of the band there monitoring it. But Colin would never do anything before asking us first. He’s more of a real producer, and he saves the effects more for vocals.
Did you try out any new guitars or amps on Scream Aim Fire?
We used a Bogner on this album, which is pretty cool. We used a Bogner on one side of the rhythm guitars, and that worked out well. We used a different guitar, too. I think the main guitar was an ESP Eclipse during The Poison, but this time around was a Gibson Les Paul Raw Power with EMGs. That was like the main tracking guitar. I did all my solos on that, too, because we couldn’t find another guitar to beat that tone.
I had no idea that you played Les Pauls.
Only in the studio!
Do you think you’ll take the Bogner on the road?
Maybe. We haven’t actually played them live, so there is always a possibility. We were lucky enough to keep the one that we used in the studio, so maybe. At the moment, I’m with Mesa. Maybe, I can’t say.
There is some really nice acoustic work on the song “Say Goodnight.” Did you and Matt share acoustic duties on the album?
No. I think Matt is really big fan of the acoustic. I’m definitely an electric guy! I let Matt get on with his creativity, so to speak. He’s really good. He’s got a great rhythm to him.
I understand that you made 2 videos for “Scream Aim Fire,” but the first one ended up being scrapped. What happened?
The original concept was to do a war video. There wasn’t a tiny budget, but it was a small budget. It wasn’t enough to reach the other war videos that have been released by other bands. My Chemical Romance released a big one, and Green Day released a big one. They spent millions of dollars doing their videos. Our budget was just so tiny that we couldn’t really compare to these other videos. We just decided to go with something a little bit more real and raw, I guess.
Do you ever get nervous when your album is about to be released?
No, I just go with the flow. We’re just going to have a little drink with the crew tonight. We’ll all get together before the tour starts. The album is released, but it’s been so long waiting for it to be released that we’re just so happy for it to be out there now.
Do you thrive being on the road?
I do, yeah. But it is tough because we’re all human and we’ve got lives back at home, families, friends. It does get hard, but once you’re away you just sort of go with the flow. You’re among friends, so you feel safe and confident anyway.
Will one of the new ESPs be the main guitar you use on the tour?
Yeah. I’ve been informed that it’s arriving tomorrow, so it’s going to make the whole tour. It’s great because we have a video shoot on Friday. I can’t wait. It looked really good in the photos at NAMM. It looked brilliant.
Do you look forward to multi-bill tours like Taste Of Chaos?
Yeah, it’s going to be amazing. We’ve probably got the best slot of the whole tour. We should be offstage technically by 8 or 9 o’clock, so expect the band to be drunk by then! We get to watch 2 bands, and it’s going to be good. It’s going to be 2 months of partying.
Expect some of the crew from Ultimate-Guitar to make an appearance at a few of the dates.
Yeah, Ultimate-Guitar.com – I use Ultimate-Guitar! I’ve got it as a bookmark in my computer!
Interview by Amy Kelly
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2008
Stream the entire "Scream Aim Fire" album on the band's UG Profile.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
10 Of The Best Cover Songs Of All Time
It’s a dangerous prospect, the cover song. You have the benefit of working with a proven piece of music, but choose an authentic take and you risk your version being taken as pointless, take liberties and you risk it being looked at as sacrilege. Either way, you’re working both with and against the baggage of a song’s former life.
All that makes it particularly compelling when an artist grabs an unexpected tune—one made known by a drastically different act—and makes it his or her own. The following may not be the most obvious cover choices, but they score major points for reinterpretations that rival the originals.
“Hurt,” by Johnny Cash (via Nine Inch Nails)
In its original incarnation, “Hurt” was an industrial-rock masterstroke. The dark delivery of Nine Inch Nails head Trent Reznor made it unsettling and compelling, as it whiplashed from gloom to aggression. In Johnny Cash’s cover of the song on 2002’s American IV: The Man Comes Around, country’s legendary Man in Black summoned demons of his own. Fiercely different from Reznor’s, Johnny Cash’s version is more cautionary preacher-man than Trent’s injured, seething loner. Cash didn’t just inhabit Reznor’s hurt; through a deep, weary warble, Cash laid bare his own, the words coming through with even more genuine conviction—an accomplishment indeed.
Watch video here.
“Wild Horses,” by the Sundays (via the Rolling Stones)
English pop crew the Sundays’ strengths were soft ones—their shoegaze-soupy textures, singer Harriet Wheeler’s gentle, breathy vocal. The Rolling Stones, on the other hand, rose on bluesy grit and electric sexual energy. But the Sundays’ approach to the Stones’ “Wild Horses”—smoothing Keith Richards’ guitars into a dreamy haze, softening Mick Jagger’s swagger into a lullaby coo—proved them imminently capable. Included on the Fear soundtrack in 1996, four years after the Sundays released the song on their album Blind, their take on “Wild Horses” turned some young listeners onto the Stones for the first time.
Watch video here.
“Rock’n’Roll Singer,” by Mark Kozelek (via AC/DC)
For Red House Painters voice Mark Kozelek, reimagining rock and roll songs as deep and pensive serenades has become habit. But the most radical—and the most oddly affecting—have been his AC/DC covers, which resemble the originals only in the lyrics. Kozelek’s finest one of those, “Rock’n’Roll Singer,” released on an EP of the same name, is a beauty, Angus Young’s taut guitar stabs traded for plaintive acoustic strums, Bon Scott’s reedy bark morphed into Kozelek’s deep, moody croon.
“Independent Women Part I,” by Elbow (via Destiny’s Child)
Britrock band Elbow’s music is dark and haunting, resembling a mix of Peter Gabriel’s pop sensibility and Talk Talk’s patient melodic pacing. So it wasn’t necessarily the most natural thing, them covering Destiny’s Child’s R&B-pop nugget “Independent Women Part I” for BBC Radio 1. The result is natural and fun and creative and a bunch of other good things, a plinking xylophone running the melody while frontman Guy Garvey gently and sweetly deadpans the lyrics.
“Wonderwall,” by Ryan Adams (via Oasis)
Oasis’ massive Britpop smash “Wonderwall” is one of those unsinkable ballads, managing to maintain intimacy while delivering full arena bombast. Americana treasure Ryan Adams is at his best sticking with intimacy—something he’s done often enough—and his reinvention of “Wonderwall” into a gently fingerpicked folk tune on 2004 release Love Is Hell is one of his most exceptional recordings. Adams’ approach is more hand-penned love letter than Oasis’ skywritten profession, and it hits just as hard (if not harder) than the original. Now a live favorite of Adams’ fans, he can’t go a single show without an insistent fan loudly demanding he play the Oasis tune.
Watch video here.
“It’s My Life,” by No Doubt (via Talk Talk)
Talk Talk’s experimental period, at its finest on 1991’s Laughing Stock, is the style most fans consider to be representative of the band’s strengths. And those expanses of long, slowly unfolding melodies are certainly a far stretch from radio-pop crew No Doubt’s digestible offerings. But “It’s My Life,” from Talk Talk’s pop period, was finely interpreted by No Doubt—the cover, included on The Singles 1992-2003, kept the propulsive energy of the original tune, amping up the anthemic melody without sacrificing any of the original character.
Watch video here.
“Jolene,” by the White Stripes (via Dolly Parton)
We know that Nashville transplant Jack White is a fan of country music, but there hadn’t been much indication of that in his band’s dirty, howling blues-rock. And there certainly are no traces of the tender strings and strums or the sweet, cleanly arcing vocal of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” in the White Stripes’ cover of it. The Stripes’ version lets Jack White pair his passionate, breaking voice with a dirty, fuzzy guitar. It’s completely different, and completely great.
Watch video here.
“Mad World,” by Gary Jules (via Tears for Fears)
Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” has its touches of inherent sadness, inescapable with those minor melodies, but it’s downright dance-y at points too, as a digital backbeat urges it forward. Los Angeles singer/songwriter Gary Jules had a major hit with his version of it, and for good reason. Included on the Donnie Darko soundtrack, Jules’ take turned the song into a piano dirge that’s as gorgeous as it is lyrically heart-crushing.
Watch video here.
“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” by the Postal Service (via Phil Collins)
While Phil Collins’ solo career has proven him a master melody-maker, he’s not often thought of as one of the cooler guys on the charts. His track “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” for instance, holds unshakable melodies, but is plenty over-glossed and doesn’t stand up today as well as it did the ’80s. That is until Death Cab for Cutie voice Ben Gibbard and Postal Service partner Jimmy Tamborello got their hands on the song, reinventing it as a laptop-pop exercise with a smartly crudded-up intro that gets fleshed into an angular dance number with cool digital clicks, whirrs, and melodic touches.
Watch video here.
“Easy,” by Faith No More (via the Commodores)
It’d be hard to find two guys more different than Faith No More’s Mike Patton, a guy as bizarre as he is creative, and smooth-and-earnest Commodores voice-turned-easy listening juggernaut Lionel Richie. But Patton cemented just how capable he is of a honeyed soul croon with his art-metal band’s gloriously accurate cover of “Easy,” included on 1993’s Songs to Make Love To EP.
Watch video here.
Thanks for the info to Nicole Keiper's article at Gibson.com.
All that makes it particularly compelling when an artist grabs an unexpected tune—one made known by a drastically different act—and makes it his or her own. The following may not be the most obvious cover choices, but they score major points for reinterpretations that rival the originals.
“Hurt,” by Johnny Cash (via Nine Inch Nails)
In its original incarnation, “Hurt” was an industrial-rock masterstroke. The dark delivery of Nine Inch Nails head Trent Reznor made it unsettling and compelling, as it whiplashed from gloom to aggression. In Johnny Cash’s cover of the song on 2002’s American IV: The Man Comes Around, country’s legendary Man in Black summoned demons of his own. Fiercely different from Reznor’s, Johnny Cash’s version is more cautionary preacher-man than Trent’s injured, seething loner. Cash didn’t just inhabit Reznor’s hurt; through a deep, weary warble, Cash laid bare his own, the words coming through with even more genuine conviction—an accomplishment indeed.
Watch video here.
“Wild Horses,” by the Sundays (via the Rolling Stones)
English pop crew the Sundays’ strengths were soft ones—their shoegaze-soupy textures, singer Harriet Wheeler’s gentle, breathy vocal. The Rolling Stones, on the other hand, rose on bluesy grit and electric sexual energy. But the Sundays’ approach to the Stones’ “Wild Horses”—smoothing Keith Richards’ guitars into a dreamy haze, softening Mick Jagger’s swagger into a lullaby coo—proved them imminently capable. Included on the Fear soundtrack in 1996, four years after the Sundays released the song on their album Blind, their take on “Wild Horses” turned some young listeners onto the Stones for the first time.
Watch video here.
“Rock’n’Roll Singer,” by Mark Kozelek (via AC/DC)
For Red House Painters voice Mark Kozelek, reimagining rock and roll songs as deep and pensive serenades has become habit. But the most radical—and the most oddly affecting—have been his AC/DC covers, which resemble the originals only in the lyrics. Kozelek’s finest one of those, “Rock’n’Roll Singer,” released on an EP of the same name, is a beauty, Angus Young’s taut guitar stabs traded for plaintive acoustic strums, Bon Scott’s reedy bark morphed into Kozelek’s deep, moody croon.
“Independent Women Part I,” by Elbow (via Destiny’s Child)
Britrock band Elbow’s music is dark and haunting, resembling a mix of Peter Gabriel’s pop sensibility and Talk Talk’s patient melodic pacing. So it wasn’t necessarily the most natural thing, them covering Destiny’s Child’s R&B-pop nugget “Independent Women Part I” for BBC Radio 1. The result is natural and fun and creative and a bunch of other good things, a plinking xylophone running the melody while frontman Guy Garvey gently and sweetly deadpans the lyrics.
“Wonderwall,” by Ryan Adams (via Oasis)
Oasis’ massive Britpop smash “Wonderwall” is one of those unsinkable ballads, managing to maintain intimacy while delivering full arena bombast. Americana treasure Ryan Adams is at his best sticking with intimacy—something he’s done often enough—and his reinvention of “Wonderwall” into a gently fingerpicked folk tune on 2004 release Love Is Hell is one of his most exceptional recordings. Adams’ approach is more hand-penned love letter than Oasis’ skywritten profession, and it hits just as hard (if not harder) than the original. Now a live favorite of Adams’ fans, he can’t go a single show without an insistent fan loudly demanding he play the Oasis tune.
Watch video here.
“It’s My Life,” by No Doubt (via Talk Talk)
Talk Talk’s experimental period, at its finest on 1991’s Laughing Stock, is the style most fans consider to be representative of the band’s strengths. And those expanses of long, slowly unfolding melodies are certainly a far stretch from radio-pop crew No Doubt’s digestible offerings. But “It’s My Life,” from Talk Talk’s pop period, was finely interpreted by No Doubt—the cover, included on The Singles 1992-2003, kept the propulsive energy of the original tune, amping up the anthemic melody without sacrificing any of the original character.
Watch video here.
“Jolene,” by the White Stripes (via Dolly Parton)
We know that Nashville transplant Jack White is a fan of country music, but there hadn’t been much indication of that in his band’s dirty, howling blues-rock. And there certainly are no traces of the tender strings and strums or the sweet, cleanly arcing vocal of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” in the White Stripes’ cover of it. The Stripes’ version lets Jack White pair his passionate, breaking voice with a dirty, fuzzy guitar. It’s completely different, and completely great.
Watch video here.
“Mad World,” by Gary Jules (via Tears for Fears)
Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” has its touches of inherent sadness, inescapable with those minor melodies, but it’s downright dance-y at points too, as a digital backbeat urges it forward. Los Angeles singer/songwriter Gary Jules had a major hit with his version of it, and for good reason. Included on the Donnie Darko soundtrack, Jules’ take turned the song into a piano dirge that’s as gorgeous as it is lyrically heart-crushing.
Watch video here.
“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” by the Postal Service (via Phil Collins)
While Phil Collins’ solo career has proven him a master melody-maker, he’s not often thought of as one of the cooler guys on the charts. His track “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” for instance, holds unshakable melodies, but is plenty over-glossed and doesn’t stand up today as well as it did the ’80s. That is until Death Cab for Cutie voice Ben Gibbard and Postal Service partner Jimmy Tamborello got their hands on the song, reinventing it as a laptop-pop exercise with a smartly crudded-up intro that gets fleshed into an angular dance number with cool digital clicks, whirrs, and melodic touches.
Watch video here.
“Easy,” by Faith No More (via the Commodores)
It’d be hard to find two guys more different than Faith No More’s Mike Patton, a guy as bizarre as he is creative, and smooth-and-earnest Commodores voice-turned-easy listening juggernaut Lionel Richie. But Patton cemented just how capable he is of a honeyed soul croon with his art-metal band’s gloriously accurate cover of “Easy,” included on 1993’s Songs to Make Love To EP.
Watch video here.
Thanks for the info to Nicole Keiper's article at Gibson.com.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Nevermind
Kurt Cobain wasn't some amazing guitarist, he wasn't an incredible wailer. He was just an ordinary dude from a shit whole Washington city like myself.
When Cobain wrote shit he wrote what he truly felt, which already makes him better than 80 percent of bands. He wasn't trying to become a famous rich rock star, although he certainly enjoyed it for a while. He wrote his damned emotions.
He wasn't a great guitarist, although he was a solid rythm guy considering he sang like a f---ing psycho while playing. He's a sloppy guitarist he uses alot of effects. He puts effects to good use too, getting a certain sound for each song that matches the sentiment in the lyrics. He wasn slightly more than a three chord bitch, and he wrote some of the coolest chord progressions ever. Listen to In bloom. That song sounds amazing guitar wise, simple but badass.
Nirvana came along and blew all the fake shit out of music, hell even James Hetfield praises Cobain. If Nirvana hadn't come along, music would be alot shittier today than it is. Face it, most people can't choose music for themselves, they have to eat up whatever shit the radio throws to them. Nirvana came along and gave all of us who hated those people something to listen to. Sure, Nirvana was blown out of proportion. No band should get that kind of attention, but still, many bands have been alot worse and gotten more praise.
I wouldn't say this is their best album, it's a really raw, intense album, where In Utero is just pissed off and kind of eerie. Nevermind has cool chord progressions, with a dirty distortion heavy sound, thumping bass that just goes perfectly with everything, and over the top drumming. On Nevermind, Nirvana goes all out and rocks as hard as they can. It's pure intensity, very powerful. The amount of emotion and energy in each song, along with the masterful lyrics, and true meaning in each song, really makes this album nearly perfect.
They rock their fucking asses off in this one, and they are completely honest about it. This album just gives off a vibe of 'fuck you, like us or don't'. This is an album and kicks your ass and doesn't apologize. It is as powerful as an album get's, in my opinion.
There's Teen Spirit, everyone know's that one, which is a very interesting song, and it really embodied something, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Lithium is pure emotion, it kicks your ass. What makes Nirvana so good is that they play their shit as if they don't care what you think, forget how famous they got and how much money they made, forget everything about them, and listen to this album, you can't fake this kind of power. This album is genuine, from the repressed anger of Teen Spirit, to the tortured pain and regret in Lithium, to the apathetic emotion of On A Plain, to the whistful narrative power of In Bloom, this album is something else.
Too many people write Nirvana off, I can't stress how important it is to keep an open mind with this album. Try to forget everything about that era, and listen to this. It will kick your ass.
My interpretations of the album...
Teen Spirit - Repressed anger unleashed, disgust for the "establishment." Apathetic feelings towars the good that remains in society. 10 Powerful song. You can really feel the anger in this one, here Cobain is just mad, and he lets you know it. A real masterpiece, although it was overdone, Nirvana was about much more than this sentiment, and Cobain wanted to get that out, and did with In Utero. The palm muting in the signature chord riff, really brings out the anger here. The solo is perfect with that watery sort of stoned distortion, it all builds up to that simple but effective solo with the "nur nah," plucking of the b and high E strings on the first fret, and the white noise of the higher b and E string sounds, followed by the signature chord progression. This song is pure emotion. The simple 1111 1111 4444 4444 bass line is simple but works to perfection, and the drum work also matches perfectly. Masterpiece.
In Bloom - Narrative of the band wagon bitch created by the MTV society. 8 This song is eerie. When you consider it was written before Nirvana was anything, it's creepy how it describes many people who became band wagon fan's of Teen Spirit, and abused the power and sentiment, pretending to understand, but just following the leader. This song is kind of off balance, the sentiment changes from the beginning to end, kind of like a spacey mind. The bass line is perfect. Great song. Fuzzy fuzz distortion, and the verse, beautiful. 'But he, don't know what it means, don't know what it means when I say'.
Come As You Are - Apathetic anthem. This is like an ode to your girlfriend, after all sorts of emotions and pain and fear, you finally just decide, come as you are. 10 When all the pain disappears and is replaced with apathy, and the fear of what lies ahead becomes the gratefulness of what's happening in the present. The treble-ee, chorus-ee, plucky sounds of the beginning riff and the signature white noise sound, and then the dirty distortion happy chorus. Beautiful. Nice bass line. The drums steal the show here if not for the guitar work, the drumming is genius, very intelligent. As par for the course on this album, the sentiment changes rapidly and is very apathetic in that 'I don't give a shit' way. Very beautiful. Masterwork.
Breed - When you're really frustrated and stressed out over a situation with your chick, and you decide to fix it all by just saying OK. 9 1/2 This song is Certainly not apathetic. The polar opposite of Come As You Are, it would of made sense for this to come before Come on the cd, but it doesn't. Breed is about the feeling you have, when in a relationship, when it seems to be going all wrong, and you are stressed and angry in general over the helplessness of making wrong moves everytime you open your mouth, and just can't find a way to say 'I love you'. You just go, you know what, whatever happens, it's ok, and I want to be with you during whatever shit happens. Something like that. Great song.
Lithium - This song is one of the best songs of all time, and it can't be interpretated in just one way. Relationship wise, it's when a relationship is just about failed, and the stress remains, but the anger of Breed subsides, and you just need to say, I love you. It isn't easy, and the relationship is probably already dead, but the feelings stay. You know somehow the other one feels the same, but you just can't reconcile. And finally, apathy takes over, and you just need to say the same thing in Breed but without any anger, with the apathy of Come but later on in a relationship when it's going to end. Inside, you know it's over, but it can't really be over right, which is what the chorus is saying. I love you but I'm not gonna crack, saying, I love you, but I can't give in anymore. If it ends, let it be, I can't fight it anymore. Somber indeed. 10 I also think of it as a way of narrarating the hopeless feeling you're bound to get living in Seattle, where it's raining, and cloudy, and then the sun comes out and shines on everything, and a cold warmth consumes you, which is the feeling you get from living in Seattle, I lived there. It's a little nihilistic, a little apathetic, a little angry, and a little sad. It's about reaching a point in life where you accept life, and the anger over things going wrong leaves, and you start to think, 'OK, life may be tough, but it really isn't that bad, look at the silver lining'. When you realize things aren't nearly as bad as they feel, and you start to accept life. Cool bass, very fuzzy nasty dirty distortion, simple guitar work. Beautiful song. Thank you Kurt, this one really means something.
Polly - This is as simple as Nirvana gets. Based on Kurt reading about some girl that was abducted and tortured or something. It's a simple narrarative basically, I can't really say. I just enjoy this one, I don't see any real meaning, you could find some, but generally, the meaning is about how cruel people can be and how disgusting it is. Nothing more. 7 Acoustic, pretty guitar work. Basic bass. Simple, pretty little acoustic ballad. It's nothing truly special, although it is very enjoyable, it's not anything like the power and meaning of Lithium. Interesting they put it in the very middle of 12 songs. Feels almost like a B-side.
Territorial Pissings - Here is where we get a little less intelligent and nihlistic, and just get pissed. Badass song. About the stupidity of machismo and how crazy it is that us dudes get so fucking arrogant and shit, just because we're men. 8 Badass song. I'm more like the type of guy they're making fun of here, but that's ok, I can take a joke. That's basically what this is, it's not overly emotional, it's just a fun, tough, rock song. It's an ass kicker, no true emotion other that the emotion of rocking out, this one is just a song for fun.
Drain You - Pick up perfectly after the feeling of Pissings, this is a real song, in the lieu of Lithium. There's real meaning here, but it retains the sense of fun found in Pissings. A perfect mix of fun, emotion, and meaning, so it will please all kinds of music fans. Very juvenile. I've read it's about sexual relationships, I certainly wouldn't be surprised, it feels like it's coming from a quirky, humorous, friendly angle while having some meaning, and a little emotion. Fun song. 8 Certainly about relationships, I think it feels like it's talking about the adolescent stupidity of teenage relationships, and how crazy they can be. Youthful, ya know. Fun song. The beginning strumming is just beautiful, and as always in this album, sets the mood for the rest of the song, on that guitar tone alone. As usual, the guitar sentiment is dumbed down so everyone can enjoy, while being interesting and fresh enough for even the most insanely guitar obsessed guitar nerds around. Nothing technically dazzling, of course, just abuse of a guitar with violent strumming, and weird feedbacks and fuzzy dirty unnatural yet completely natural distortions. Of course, wonderful chord progression as usual. Great drum work, matches the mood, simple bass.
Lounge Act - Picks up from Drain You, but gets more mature, and get's a focus on a sentiment and emotion for the first time since Lithium. It's still fun, but it's a serious song, and it's less frills guitar wise, it's simple and dumbed down, completely straightforward. Same old violent sloppy apathetic nihlistic arrogant strumming patterns, pretty heavy distortion, but not a feedback fest. Basic, but enjoyable and compatible bass line. Very good drum work, matches very nicely. About losing your girl to another guy, a friend of yours, and the competitive anger over this, and wanting your chick back, but not coming completely clean about it. Could mean that, except being confrontational about it. Or maybe it's just gibberish. 9 Fun song.
Stay Away - More complex song, not serious in the slightest, just a basic human emotion, of wanting someone to stay the fuck away, and making a song about it and jamming. 9 Brilliant, this is Nirvana for you. The apathy, and anger, and youthful excitedness, the carelessness, the lack of polish or direction, all while being 'clean' in that it's intelligently done, and genuine. Great.
On A Plain - This picks up Perfectly, only this time, we have a song of the emotional and sentimental strength of Lithium again. Pure beauty. About overwhelming emotion, crippling emotion, and dealing with that emotion. Dealing with pain and emotion you can't even comprehend, and being totally ok with it. Confusion, anger, fear, hopelessness, and then happiness. Trying to deal with that happiness when you think you shouldn't be happy, and trying to figure out why you're so fucking crazy. Being totally ok with all of this, and figuring all of this out completely alone, no chick, no friends, just you in a dark room with yourself and your thoughts. 11 Best song ever. The guitar is hauntingly beautiful, distortion but not ridiculous amounts. Same simple chords done over and over, beautiful. Great drumming, matches well. Bass as well. "Love myself, better than you, I know it's wrong, so what should I do". Masterpiece.
Something In The Way - Beautiful ending song, same value to ending an album as Release on Pearl Jam's Ten. A soft, powerfully gripping ballad of something that overwhelms you. In this case, something that blocks you from completing something, or doing something you need to do. Thing's that stop you from doing something you really want to do, but don't want to cause others grief by doing. Self reflection. 10 Masterpiece. Great song. Beautiful.
Music isn't who makes it, it's what it means to us. It can be written by the biggest stoner/metalfreak/rapfag/whatever imaginable but if it mean's something to you and you find meaning and relevance in the lyrics, then it's music. Many bands can make songs that sound catchy and you listen to, but only a few can makes songs that are truly music. Say It Ain't So by Weezer, On A Plain by Nirvana, Release by Pearl Jam, The Unforgiven by Metallica, Under The Bridge by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Santeria by Sublime, Sober by Tool, Good For You by Third Eye Blind, Creep by Radiohead, Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots, Just Like Heaven and Close To Me by The Cure, What You Are by Audioslave, Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix, NYC by Interpol, Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, For All The Cows by Foo Fighters, Perfection Through Silence by Finch, Seattle by Fastball, Glycerine And Comedown by Bush, Idiot Wind or anything by Bob Dylan, and Sunshine by Alice In Chains, some songs that bands have made that are truly music.
So, whatever you may think about Nirvana or "grunge," give this album a chance, then try Bleach and In Utero.
Just make sure you forget all the stereotypes and give this one a real chance.
from: ultimate-guitar.com
When Cobain wrote shit he wrote what he truly felt, which already makes him better than 80 percent of bands. He wasn't trying to become a famous rich rock star, although he certainly enjoyed it for a while. He wrote his damned emotions.
He wasn't a great guitarist, although he was a solid rythm guy considering he sang like a f---ing psycho while playing. He's a sloppy guitarist he uses alot of effects. He puts effects to good use too, getting a certain sound for each song that matches the sentiment in the lyrics. He wasn slightly more than a three chord bitch, and he wrote some of the coolest chord progressions ever. Listen to In bloom. That song sounds amazing guitar wise, simple but badass.
Nirvana came along and blew all the fake shit out of music, hell even James Hetfield praises Cobain. If Nirvana hadn't come along, music would be alot shittier today than it is. Face it, most people can't choose music for themselves, they have to eat up whatever shit the radio throws to them. Nirvana came along and gave all of us who hated those people something to listen to. Sure, Nirvana was blown out of proportion. No band should get that kind of attention, but still, many bands have been alot worse and gotten more praise.
I wouldn't say this is their best album, it's a really raw, intense album, where In Utero is just pissed off and kind of eerie. Nevermind has cool chord progressions, with a dirty distortion heavy sound, thumping bass that just goes perfectly with everything, and over the top drumming. On Nevermind, Nirvana goes all out and rocks as hard as they can. It's pure intensity, very powerful. The amount of emotion and energy in each song, along with the masterful lyrics, and true meaning in each song, really makes this album nearly perfect.
They rock their fucking asses off in this one, and they are completely honest about it. This album just gives off a vibe of 'fuck you, like us or don't'. This is an album and kicks your ass and doesn't apologize. It is as powerful as an album get's, in my opinion.
There's Teen Spirit, everyone know's that one, which is a very interesting song, and it really embodied something, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Lithium is pure emotion, it kicks your ass. What makes Nirvana so good is that they play their shit as if they don't care what you think, forget how famous they got and how much money they made, forget everything about them, and listen to this album, you can't fake this kind of power. This album is genuine, from the repressed anger of Teen Spirit, to the tortured pain and regret in Lithium, to the apathetic emotion of On A Plain, to the whistful narrative power of In Bloom, this album is something else.
Too many people write Nirvana off, I can't stress how important it is to keep an open mind with this album. Try to forget everything about that era, and listen to this. It will kick your ass.
My interpretations of the album...
Teen Spirit - Repressed anger unleashed, disgust for the "establishment." Apathetic feelings towars the good that remains in society. 10 Powerful song. You can really feel the anger in this one, here Cobain is just mad, and he lets you know it. A real masterpiece, although it was overdone, Nirvana was about much more than this sentiment, and Cobain wanted to get that out, and did with In Utero. The palm muting in the signature chord riff, really brings out the anger here. The solo is perfect with that watery sort of stoned distortion, it all builds up to that simple but effective solo with the "nur nah," plucking of the b and high E strings on the first fret, and the white noise of the higher b and E string sounds, followed by the signature chord progression. This song is pure emotion. The simple 1111 1111 4444 4444 bass line is simple but works to perfection, and the drum work also matches perfectly. Masterpiece.
In Bloom - Narrative of the band wagon bitch created by the MTV society. 8 This song is eerie. When you consider it was written before Nirvana was anything, it's creepy how it describes many people who became band wagon fan's of Teen Spirit, and abused the power and sentiment, pretending to understand, but just following the leader. This song is kind of off balance, the sentiment changes from the beginning to end, kind of like a spacey mind. The bass line is perfect. Great song. Fuzzy fuzz distortion, and the verse, beautiful. 'But he, don't know what it means, don't know what it means when I say'.
Come As You Are - Apathetic anthem. This is like an ode to your girlfriend, after all sorts of emotions and pain and fear, you finally just decide, come as you are. 10 When all the pain disappears and is replaced with apathy, and the fear of what lies ahead becomes the gratefulness of what's happening in the present. The treble-ee, chorus-ee, plucky sounds of the beginning riff and the signature white noise sound, and then the dirty distortion happy chorus. Beautiful. Nice bass line. The drums steal the show here if not for the guitar work, the drumming is genius, very intelligent. As par for the course on this album, the sentiment changes rapidly and is very apathetic in that 'I don't give a shit' way. Very beautiful. Masterwork.
Breed - When you're really frustrated and stressed out over a situation with your chick, and you decide to fix it all by just saying OK. 9 1/2 This song is Certainly not apathetic. The polar opposite of Come As You Are, it would of made sense for this to come before Come on the cd, but it doesn't. Breed is about the feeling you have, when in a relationship, when it seems to be going all wrong, and you are stressed and angry in general over the helplessness of making wrong moves everytime you open your mouth, and just can't find a way to say 'I love you'. You just go, you know what, whatever happens, it's ok, and I want to be with you during whatever shit happens. Something like that. Great song.
Lithium - This song is one of the best songs of all time, and it can't be interpretated in just one way. Relationship wise, it's when a relationship is just about failed, and the stress remains, but the anger of Breed subsides, and you just need to say, I love you. It isn't easy, and the relationship is probably already dead, but the feelings stay. You know somehow the other one feels the same, but you just can't reconcile. And finally, apathy takes over, and you just need to say the same thing in Breed but without any anger, with the apathy of Come but later on in a relationship when it's going to end. Inside, you know it's over, but it can't really be over right, which is what the chorus is saying. I love you but I'm not gonna crack, saying, I love you, but I can't give in anymore. If it ends, let it be, I can't fight it anymore. Somber indeed. 10 I also think of it as a way of narrarating the hopeless feeling you're bound to get living in Seattle, where it's raining, and cloudy, and then the sun comes out and shines on everything, and a cold warmth consumes you, which is the feeling you get from living in Seattle, I lived there. It's a little nihilistic, a little apathetic, a little angry, and a little sad. It's about reaching a point in life where you accept life, and the anger over things going wrong leaves, and you start to think, 'OK, life may be tough, but it really isn't that bad, look at the silver lining'. When you realize things aren't nearly as bad as they feel, and you start to accept life. Cool bass, very fuzzy nasty dirty distortion, simple guitar work. Beautiful song. Thank you Kurt, this one really means something.
Polly - This is as simple as Nirvana gets. Based on Kurt reading about some girl that was abducted and tortured or something. It's a simple narrarative basically, I can't really say. I just enjoy this one, I don't see any real meaning, you could find some, but generally, the meaning is about how cruel people can be and how disgusting it is. Nothing more. 7 Acoustic, pretty guitar work. Basic bass. Simple, pretty little acoustic ballad. It's nothing truly special, although it is very enjoyable, it's not anything like the power and meaning of Lithium. Interesting they put it in the very middle of 12 songs. Feels almost like a B-side.
Territorial Pissings - Here is where we get a little less intelligent and nihlistic, and just get pissed. Badass song. About the stupidity of machismo and how crazy it is that us dudes get so fucking arrogant and shit, just because we're men. 8 Badass song. I'm more like the type of guy they're making fun of here, but that's ok, I can take a joke. That's basically what this is, it's not overly emotional, it's just a fun, tough, rock song. It's an ass kicker, no true emotion other that the emotion of rocking out, this one is just a song for fun.
Drain You - Pick up perfectly after the feeling of Pissings, this is a real song, in the lieu of Lithium. There's real meaning here, but it retains the sense of fun found in Pissings. A perfect mix of fun, emotion, and meaning, so it will please all kinds of music fans. Very juvenile. I've read it's about sexual relationships, I certainly wouldn't be surprised, it feels like it's coming from a quirky, humorous, friendly angle while having some meaning, and a little emotion. Fun song. 8 Certainly about relationships, I think it feels like it's talking about the adolescent stupidity of teenage relationships, and how crazy they can be. Youthful, ya know. Fun song. The beginning strumming is just beautiful, and as always in this album, sets the mood for the rest of the song, on that guitar tone alone. As usual, the guitar sentiment is dumbed down so everyone can enjoy, while being interesting and fresh enough for even the most insanely guitar obsessed guitar nerds around. Nothing technically dazzling, of course, just abuse of a guitar with violent strumming, and weird feedbacks and fuzzy dirty unnatural yet completely natural distortions. Of course, wonderful chord progression as usual. Great drum work, matches the mood, simple bass.
Lounge Act - Picks up from Drain You, but gets more mature, and get's a focus on a sentiment and emotion for the first time since Lithium. It's still fun, but it's a serious song, and it's less frills guitar wise, it's simple and dumbed down, completely straightforward. Same old violent sloppy apathetic nihlistic arrogant strumming patterns, pretty heavy distortion, but not a feedback fest. Basic, but enjoyable and compatible bass line. Very good drum work, matches very nicely. About losing your girl to another guy, a friend of yours, and the competitive anger over this, and wanting your chick back, but not coming completely clean about it. Could mean that, except being confrontational about it. Or maybe it's just gibberish. 9 Fun song.
Stay Away - More complex song, not serious in the slightest, just a basic human emotion, of wanting someone to stay the fuck away, and making a song about it and jamming. 9 Brilliant, this is Nirvana for you. The apathy, and anger, and youthful excitedness, the carelessness, the lack of polish or direction, all while being 'clean' in that it's intelligently done, and genuine. Great.
On A Plain - This picks up Perfectly, only this time, we have a song of the emotional and sentimental strength of Lithium again. Pure beauty. About overwhelming emotion, crippling emotion, and dealing with that emotion. Dealing with pain and emotion you can't even comprehend, and being totally ok with it. Confusion, anger, fear, hopelessness, and then happiness. Trying to deal with that happiness when you think you shouldn't be happy, and trying to figure out why you're so fucking crazy. Being totally ok with all of this, and figuring all of this out completely alone, no chick, no friends, just you in a dark room with yourself and your thoughts. 11 Best song ever. The guitar is hauntingly beautiful, distortion but not ridiculous amounts. Same simple chords done over and over, beautiful. Great drumming, matches well. Bass as well. "Love myself, better than you, I know it's wrong, so what should I do". Masterpiece.
Something In The Way - Beautiful ending song, same value to ending an album as Release on Pearl Jam's Ten. A soft, powerfully gripping ballad of something that overwhelms you. In this case, something that blocks you from completing something, or doing something you need to do. Thing's that stop you from doing something you really want to do, but don't want to cause others grief by doing. Self reflection. 10 Masterpiece. Great song. Beautiful.
Music isn't who makes it, it's what it means to us. It can be written by the biggest stoner/metalfreak/rapfag/whatever imaginable but if it mean's something to you and you find meaning and relevance in the lyrics, then it's music. Many bands can make songs that sound catchy and you listen to, but only a few can makes songs that are truly music. Say It Ain't So by Weezer, On A Plain by Nirvana, Release by Pearl Jam, The Unforgiven by Metallica, Under The Bridge by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Santeria by Sublime, Sober by Tool, Good For You by Third Eye Blind, Creep by Radiohead, Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots, Just Like Heaven and Close To Me by The Cure, What You Are by Audioslave, Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix, NYC by Interpol, Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, For All The Cows by Foo Fighters, Perfection Through Silence by Finch, Seattle by Fastball, Glycerine And Comedown by Bush, Idiot Wind or anything by Bob Dylan, and Sunshine by Alice In Chains, some songs that bands have made that are truly music.
So, whatever you may think about Nirvana or "grunge," give this album a chance, then try Bleach and In Utero.
Just make sure you forget all the stereotypes and give this one a real chance.
from: ultimate-guitar.com
Friday, January 25, 2008
All Excess Review
Release Date: July 17, 2007
Prior to the release later this year of the band's next explosive album, the DVD All Excess brings fans up-to-date with a visual and aural history of the group. This is only the beginning for A7X.
Featured review by: razorblade666, on october 25, 2007
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sound: What a great way for A7X to psych everyone up about the new album. If you didn't know, All Excess is a DVD chronicling the early days of the band and eventually leading up to what they are today. There are interviews with each memeber on a number of topics. The bonus features are amazing. This DVD is a must have for any true A7X fan. // 10
Content: The DVD shows what the band went through. How times got rough and they didn't have money or food. They tell you a lot of great stories about them before they were "famous". I can not get enough of this DVD. They have live performances, music videos, and behing the scenes stuff. There are a lot of hilarious parts throughout the whole DVD. One part in particular, there just driving around Cali showing you were they hung out back in the day and they tell some amazing stories. I'm not gonna say anymore because you have to buy the DVD, if you want to know. // 10
Production Quality: The quality of the production was amazing. It was well put together from my point of view. The menus are easy to navigate. The quality of the entire movie is probably the best yet to come. I can truly say that they worked hard on this and they acheieved the best quality. // 10
Impression: My overall impression of this DVD, is that it couldn't have been better. Who doesn't wanna know what happend to there favorite band before they were big. The maind story is the most impressive thing. All the hardships they had to go through. Amazing. I wouldn't have asked for anything better. // 10
Reviewed by: humanchipmunk, on july 24, 2007
2 of 6 people found this review helpful
Sound: As an Avenged Sevenfold fan who has been with them since before Waking The Fallen, a DVD has been long anticipated. Expecting to see the concert I attended a year ago at Soma in San Diego they filmed to later show on MTV2, I was somewhat saddened to hear it was strictly a documentary. // 5
Content: It certainly is not a live concert DVD, but more of an homage to the many places the band has gotten hammered, plastered, shit faced, etc. The first half shows the coming together of the band and where they grew up and went to school. They also made sure to mention the many bars, fights, and arrests that also occurred in their growing up. However, the second half was slightly more interesting with their discussing the coming together of City of Evil and the very brief shots in the studio showing the orchestra that played on a couple tracks. As a musician I would have much rather seen footage of them in the studio recording tracks or just jamming rather then seeing them in bars drunk off their asses. To be honest the special features were more interesting than the documentary as a whole. // 3
Production Quality: The quality of the DVD as a whole is quite good. The live concert shots, though far too few, are professionally done with multiple angles as opposed to a stationary camera that doesn't pick up everything well. There were shots of each individual band member interview style talking about certain things which weren't spectacular but well put together. // 8
Impression: My overall impression as someone that appreciates the music more than anything was the DVD was disappointing. They briefly talk about at the end how much they admire Metallica, however Metallica has a few live concert DVDs, and even on "Some Kind Of Monster" there is a lot of footage of them in the studio. Perhaps somewhere down the line A7X will follow in the footsteps of their heroes, but as for now I don't think the DVD was worth the money or the time spent watching it. Sadly if it was stolen I would just let it go. // 3
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Sawdust Review
Release Date: Nov 13, 2007Label: American RecordingsGenres: New Wave/Post-Punk Revival, Alternative Pop/RockNumber Of Tracks: 17Sawdust being a compilation of other albums, with only 4 completely new songs, is tough to compare to the other albums.
Sound:
8
Lyrics:
6.5
Impression:
7.5
Overall rating:
7.3
Users rating:
8.2
Comments:
30
overall: 5
Reviewed by: iamaguitarfish, on january 09, 20080 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: It will not come as a surprise to fans of the band that Sawdust is a mix of synth rock, guitar riffs and catchy vocal tunes. This album's sound provides no surprises or changes to the last two albums but then again with CDs selling millions of copys why change your sound? The only difference which I can see is that this album is (and this really is the only way to describe it) more boring than the last, the tunes are not quite as catchy and you can't really dance to it. // 6
Lyrics: Brandon Flowers' vocals are as competent as ever but unfortunatly his songwriting is not, many of the songs are cover versions so obviously I cannot comment on their lyrics but I must say that the cover versions' lyrics are much more impressive than the self written songs which do not have the excelence of the past two albums. Overall the lyrics are not very impressive. // 4
Impression: Well if you were wanting another Hot Fuss you will be sorley disapointed, this album is, as the astute among you have noticed, a collection of b-sides. However from any other band these songs would be acceptable as album tracks if not singles in their own rights. Despite the fact that the songs in this album are perfectly acceptable, from the killers they seem a bit of an anticlimax as many fans were expecting the CD to rival it's predecesors. If you liked the past albums by the killers and are thinking of buying this one don't bother get something new and exciting instead. I suggest the klaxons. // 5
overall: 9.7
Reviewed by: Greg Man, on november 14, 20070 of 5 people found this review helpful
Sound: From their indulging synthesizers, to their catchy acoustic riffs, to their classic power chord buffets, Sawdust is truly one of the greatest mish-mashes of B-side rarities I've ever heard. If you are so fortunate to fall into that small category of indie lovers, get ready for the ride of your musical life. The sound is incredibly captivating, you'll listen to every song and love it. Though most of the songs have already been on previous albums and singles, the presentation of this album is really something. Even though I've only listened to Sawdust a handful of times so far, I'd say this sound is truly unique and special. This is indie rock at it's best. // 10
Lyrics: If you are a fan of The Killers, you'll know they don't always come out and say what they mean. They speak in riddles and metaphors. I for one love it. Brandon Flowers is an incredibly talented and odd singer. His voice is captivating, he's not your generic singer, you really want to listen to the lyrics and not just his voice. Though Brandon doesn't always for the high notes, it was never really The Killers style anyways. Brandon's voice and the sound of Sawdust go hand-in-hand, I couldn't imagine any other voice to carry the music of The Killers. // 9
Impression: Sawdust being a compilation of other albums, with only 4 completely new songs, is tough to compare to the other albums. But the overall presentation of the album is magnificant. I've heard most of the songs before, yet they seem new through Sawdust. With more synthesizers than Sam's Town, The Killers have seemed to dig back to their roots, but with more experience. One of my favourite songs has to be Tranquilize, which is also the single released a month before the album. Listening to this song longer than the others, I feel more attached to it's strange and compelling lyrics and sound. Another song I really like is the new version of Sam's Town, which is composed almost only of a beautiful grand piano and Brandon Flowers. I love this entire album and you should too. I am appauled that these are considered "B-sides" since some of them are their best work. If this album was lost or stolen, I would definately go buy a new copy. This is The Killers at their greatest, please do yourself the favor of listening to this album. // 10
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