Category: rock

The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song (The Hazards Of Love, 2009)

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Though I generally like The Decemberists, I’ve found that it’s easy to pick my favorite track off of each of their past three albums – and The Rake’s Song  definitly qualifies on The Hazards Of Love.

First off, as in most good Decemberist songs, there’s a story to be told:

I had entered into a marriage
In the summer of my twenty-first year
And the bells rang for our wedding
Only now do I remember it clear
Alright, alright, alright

The song builds really well – there’s this super catchy instrumental progression that sort of accomnies the progression of the song’s plot. It starts with simple acoustic guitar, no chords even, just some strumming. Then on the first ‘alright, alright, alright’, some electric bass jumps in, along with guitar chords, and finally a hint of percussion accentuating the next verse.

No more a rake and no more a bachelor
I was wedded and it whetted my thirst
Until her womb start spilling out babies
Only then did I reckon my curse

The percussion comes in full, along with that electric bass, expertly distorted as the song gets a little more twisted:

 

First came Eziah with his crinkled little fingers
Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn
Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery
Mercifully taking her mother along

What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest

The breath of air during the murder verse is perfect, and the growing screaming in the background of the ‘alright!’ sections is another nice touch:

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Eziah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath

And at the end, there’s no moral to the story, which I like – the narrator gets away with the vicious murder of his own unwanted children. The line “her womb starting spilling out babies” is perfect for expressing his disgust with the situation.

And that’s how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
Expect you think that I should be haunted
But it never really bothers me
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

The Killers – Spaceman (Day And Age, 2008)

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I’m not a huge fan of The Killers – but this latest album has had more good tracks then bad, and this one is arguably is one of my favorites (a couple others are probably as enjoyeable, if not as quantifiably good).

So we get a nice electronic intro, which jumps into a sort of updated Killers groove at 0:15. Vocalizing is a good way to make a track fun. The drop down to simpler instrumentation works great for the first verse, keeping the percussion and a guitar or two.

It started with a low light
Next thing I knew, they ripped me from my bed
And then they took my blood type
It left a strange impression in my head

You know that I was hoping
That I could leave this star-crossed world behind
But when they cut me open
I guess I changed my mind

And you know I might have just flown too far
from the floor this time, ’cause they’re calling me by my name
And they’re zipping white light beams
Disregarding bombs and satellites

And that was the turning point
That was one lonely night

Can you hear the accoustic guitar panned left on the second part of the verse, at ‘and you know I might have just flown too far’? Could this be a Bowie reference? Maybe it’s just the title, but I’m going to guess that there’s a ‘Space Oddity‘ connection her, because it seems intentionally distinctive. Anyway, here comes the chorus, which is once again very ‘Killers’, but with sort of a new poppy twist:

The star maker says it ain’t so bad
The dream maker’s gonna make you mad
The spaceman says everybody look down
it’s all in your mind

It makes me think a little of Flaming Lips too, maybe because I went and saw Christmas on Mars recently, and I’ve seen their UFO Show, in a state where I’m prone to make strong sensory associations.

There isn’t much new going on past the first verse and chorus – the return to the verse at 1:31 is a nice comfortable fall into the previously established theme, and the lyrics continue to be ingruigin:

But now I’m back at home and
I’m looking forward to this life I live
You know it’s gonna haunt me
So hesitation to this life I give

You think you might cross over
You’re caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
You better look it over
Before you make that leap

And you know I’m fine
But I hear those voices at night sometimes
And they justify my claim
And the public don’t dwell on my transmission
‘Cause it wasn’t televised

But it was a turning point, oh what a lonely night

There’s a nice quiet break at 2:45, though, which adds a bit of mystery to the song, and the line “They say the nile used to run from east to west” evokes time-travel imagery – was he a space traveler who set off to find the earth, but arrived much later then he expected, and (like The Man Who Fell To Earth) just decided to stay, and become human?

Anyway, the vocalizing comes back at the end, which fades out to some appropriately spacey synth pads – the ride is over.

The Aquabats – Fashion Zombies (Charge, 2005)

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A little bit of ska right up front in the beginning with that snare, some bass guitar, some spacey effect synth, and then the real song at 0:11. “Whoaaa”, ha ha. Right away you know how the groove goes – the fairly simple rock percussion, the bass and lead guitars, and the the shouty-yet-in-tune vocals. The distinctive distorted high guitar line helps tie everything together.

See them creep out to nightlife
You see them walk the streets
These children of the undead look dressed for the endless Halloweens
And this horror like production,
Takes total dedication
Of black clothes and pale complexions
Rock jet black hair and monster makeup

Listen for the zombie vocal accompniment at the end of each chorus line…

And who can blame them?
They walk through asphalt cemeteries
Zombie fashions—
They must have been born that way
So can you hear me?
Can you get hip to what I’m saying?
These fashion zombies don’t walk this world alone…

The instrumentation is solid, but doesn’t do much to distract from the lyrics, which are the real treat. And once you’ve seen the music video, you can’t get the ‘fight’ or ‘performance’ scenes out of your head. The song barrels onwards, past numerous explicit ‘Thriller’ references, until the ending bar, which cuts off after the bendy sci-fi synth.

The whole song doesn’t evolve much throughout, but I’d argue that it doesn’t need to – it comes it fast, says what it needs to say, and then leaves – and it’s fun. That’s what really matters – isn’t that right, kids?

Chumbawamba – Scapegoat (Tubthumper, 1997)

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The nineties were probably when I first really became aware of ‘music’ as an entity – before that it was always in the background (my mom is never not listening to music, a trait which I’ve thankfully inherited) but sometime between ages 4 and my early teens I started to become able to distinguish tracks, albums, artists, and genres. A friend of mine had the Chumbawamba audio cassette tape, and we’d listen and dance to it all the time – and while everyone might consider Tubthumber’s eponymous track overplayed, the rest of the album has some really fun stuff on it. The last track, ‘Scapegoat,’ is my favorite.

The album contains a lot of sampling used in ‘intermissions’ between tracks, and this one starts off with a little orchestral ‘presenting…’ sequence, which quickly drops off into an electronic into for the real song – warped synth and classic drum machine claps transition to an easily understandable electro-rock groove. Electric guitar, a dancey percussion / bassline combo, and a trancey snare fill lead into the first verse, courtesy very ‘folky’ (as opposed to ‘electronic’ or ‘rocky’) female vocals:

Aftershave and smoke 
And the same unfunny jokes 
They say they’ll take you 
‘Anywhere 
But there’ 
Believe every half-whispered 
Half-remembered lie 
Where truth is a luxury 
They can’t afford to buy 

The accompaniment takes a break during the chorus, cutting back to a nice punchy kick, sparse guitar (which synchronizes with the bassline), and the tasty brass lines that are generally featured on most of the tracks of this album. Things are kind of orchestrally electronic for a few moments, until the break at 1:36, with just the distorted synth line and the dancey percussion, and then we get back to the verse again:

Backed into a corner 
He barricades his life 
Fastens up the shutters every night 
This island is big enough 
For every castaway 
But most of us are looking round 
For someone else to blame 

And once again, the chorus:

Scapegoat 
Looking for a scapegoat 

There’s always someone else for 
you to blame 

By now we know exactly what to expect from this song – all the elements are pretty firmly established. But just for fun, another quick breaks gives us an almost mournful brass line which sounds a lot like an earlier track called ‘The Big Issue’, especially the last little melody bit, before the trancey snare fill and cymbal crashes pulls us back into the meat of the song again. One more break at 3:52, and we’re done – all the layers play at once, and the track fades out.

Once again, keeping with the album’s practice of sampled intermissions, we get a man admitting tearfully that “Boy – you can know out a bloody good tune, but what the fuck does that matter? Now I’m going to take my boys onto the town. Thank you.”

What does the song mean? I’ve got to admit that the parts I find most appealing are the solid electro-rock areas, especially how the intro resolves into the section at 0:26. The rhythm and sounds are perfectly spot-on, clean and poppy. I like the phrasing in the chorus too, although I change the words a little in my head: “Scapegoats, looking for our scapegoats, there’s always someone else for us to blame.” Culture wars, moral panic, scapegoating, and the resulting witch-hunts are human social phenomenon that I find fascinating (plus I feel a little smug that I have the detachment required to recognize them rather then just getting swept up, or at least I think I do), and my version of the chorus makes it sound like Chumbawamba is observing the same thing.

Speed Suit – Evidence (This Party Is A Time Machine, 2008)

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My friend Dan Beyer is a member of the duo known as ‘Speed Suit‘ (Nathanial Oester is the other player). After his first show in a basement somewhere in NE Portland, Dan hooked me up with a sweet bootleg CD of the tracks they performed. The second track is easily my favorite.

So compare the beginning to ‘Map of the Problematique‘ by Muse off of their album ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ – hot, totally danceable percussion right up front, an explosive stand-in for a splash cymbal, and then nearly the same grinding electric guitar sounding synth. The expertly-clipped drum samples and winding synth line drive the whole thing forward.

At 0:36 we get a short little ‘one two three four’ moment where the highhat counts us into the first verse: breathy vocals, the same punchy drums, and a great echoey synth on the off-beat.

show me some evidence, don’t give me lies
when left in the darkness we’re led by our hearts
and our hearts are so easily carried away

this isn’t a carousel ride this is life
so if youre feeling lucky and brave take the reigns

The coupling of the syncopated vocals with the kick at 0:50 doesn’t give us any time to catch our breath – it’s almost impossible to relax, because the song just keeps moving forward. The breathy sigh and vamps into the chorus at 1:10 is another bit of Muse-like sensability, while the break at 1:24 keeps things pretty solidly focused on the dancey percussion.

hey
is passion just a weakness
when were acting out on impulse

Another verse at 1:43, this time with an extra distorted synth lead atop the rest of the instruments, and a neat little bendy break at 1:58, which we didn’t get the first time around. I don’t even know what the lyrics are at this point, and I’m not really sure that it matters – enough words sneak through to give you a sort of general good feeling about things. Everything drops down for another great break at 2:14 – and back into the chorus again, and that Muse-esque bassline.

so take back the heresy unless you’ve got spite
meet me at dusk and we’ll settle this
lets bury the hatchet youre using as if its an axe

Short and sweet, things cut right off at 3:00. After talking to Dan and Nate, both Justice and Muse gave some  cues when they were hashing out the instrumentation for these tracks. If you’re into it, feel free to download and listen to the other Speed Suit tracks- I uploaded a .zip of the show for your listening pleasure. And if you’re interested in the group, check out Speed Suit on Myspace.

update july ’09 – check out Speed Suit’s website on thehinge.net for some sweet new tracks!

Horse The Band – Bunnies (R. Borlax, 2003)

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The epic beginning… the synth chords… and then the devolution into screamo madness. Luckily it’s not all bad – occasional breaks make it bearable, which is good, because those synths are hot! And the lyrics are interesting, the delivery is good, the guitars fit in nicely, the percussion is exactly what the doctor ordered… it’s just all too much sometimes. Anyway, the music video fits in nicely both with the oldskool synth sound and Horse The Band’s signature ‘nintendo-core’ sound. What’s the song about? Maybe we care a bit more then Cutsman:

And a beef will rise… again!
broken machine in his hand!

Ten words:
snapping - bunnies - twitching - gurgling – forget – the – bombs – in – your – eyes

Roaring with whispers to the tiny bunnies
SMASH/SPLAT those fucking bunnies.

Send them information in a sensationalist manner, THEY CORRUPT!
Heads snapping and misspelling eyes twitching in response to the sound of the words.

Red world-like words
zooming, boiling
Moons in the shallow sky.

Roaring with whispers to the tiny bunnies
SPLAT/SQUISH those fucking bunnies.

Twitching, bleeding, screaming,
bring the hammer down.
Screaming bunnies bleeding
bloody bunnies smeared across the ground.

Drool spilling down his chin
unto his beard
as he screams red words at
A blank and pointless sky
of mothers.
Red words popping and crackling black.

Ten words:
Snapping – bunnies – twitching – gurgling – forget – the – bombs – IN – YOUR – EYES!

Forget the bombs in your eyes,
Speak the words to crack open the sky.

What’s going on? “forget the bombs in your eyes” is an excellent line, and the breakdown at “drool spilling down his chin” is good too, bringing up the ‘red words’ again, the ‘red world-like words’. The “Send them information in a sensationalist manner, they corrupt! Heads snapping and misspelling eyes twitching in response to the sound of the words.” line seems like the important part. It sounds like people with knee-jerk reactions – paranoid people, people who watch the news and keep their kid inside or out of chat rooms, people who post totally ignorant comments on any news article or piece of online media they run across.

Anyway, you’ve got to admit this song is a wild ride. Due to my general lack of appreciation of the genre, Horse The Band rarely comes up with tracks that I really enjoy, but this one is definite a winner. The music video is cool as well, of course.

Shiny Toy Guns – When Did This Storm Begin? (Season of Poison, 2008)

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The nearly minute-long intro for this track sort of makes sense to me – it’s like a bridge from the previous album ‘We Are Pilots’ to this next one. The staccato bass line is joined by occasional bursts of vocal samples and spacey synth sound effects until a short burst of kicks at 1:09 heralds the arrival of the Muse-esque male vocals: ”Call my name, answer me where I stand.”

In the background of this plea, trance pads warm up, until – boom! angry female vocals at 1:34!

Here’s a story of the way I wasn’t meant to be raised,
bright yellow sun that fades away to black and blue every place
There’s a bottle in the shape of your love for me

A little more reasonably, she continues: “Now the clouds are racing higher, blinding arrows away. There’s in darkness off the streets that my electricitay,” before getting angry again:

Gold ( or God?) shatters the sky,
this is the first day of the rest of our lives,
’cause no one really lives or dies.

You can’t help getting caught up in the epic 3/3/2 drum line, the heavy pads and guitar, and the reverbed vocals – the next few minutes go by quickly, droning requests to “call my name, where I stand” are interrupted only once more by the angry girl from before:

Every night you drink the money left to pay all the bills.
No room for us, but there’s another fucking bottle of pills.
Here’s your trophy on my face, it’s just an eye anyway..

Now the clouds are racing higher, blinding arrows away.
There’s in darkness off the streets that my elec-tricity

This will go no further, I swear it dies today.
Your nights will stay forever if you dare once more touch me.

The ‘plot’ is fairly familiar – a girl with an abusive alcoholic of a lover/father finally getting the balls to stand up for herself. But the lyrics go so well with the vocal style, and the whole thing works incredibly well as an introduction to Shiny Toy Gun’s new musical direction on their new album. The track ends with a school bell, but it’s only there to set up the next song. Unfortunately the majority of the other tracks don’t live up to the expectations that this one suggests, with the exception of ‘Ghost Town’, and possibly ‘Ricochet’, both of which are in the same vein.

Dean Gray – Dr Who On Holiday (American Edit, 2005)

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How can you go wrong with a track that opens juxtaposing quotes from George Bush and the Daleks?

Either you’re with those who love freedom or you’re with those who hate innocent life
All inferior creatures are to be considered the enemy of the Daleks and destroyed
Either you’re with us, or you’re with the enemy
We obey no one, we are the superior beings

This song is a mashup of ‘Doctorin the Tardis‘ by the KLF, and ‘Holiday‘ by Green Day (links included to highlight the interesting similarities between their respective music videos), and it’s a near-perfect fit – the rolling percussion from the KLF track is too catchy to ignore, and its sparse guitar interlocks nicely with Green Day’s own instrumentation.

Unfortunately, it kind of loses momentum around 3:15 – what once was arguably the coolest part of the Green Day song (“Sieg Heil to the president Gasman … Kill all the fags that don’t agree”) is relegated to being the least complexly mashed up phrase of the Dran Gray track, which is pretty disapointing. The guitar in the background is what’s killing it, I think, it’s repetitive, and panned way left so it’s impossible to ignore.

Dean Gray’s American Edit is pretty good overall as a mashup album, much better then Dangermouse’s The Grey Album. You can’t buy it, since that would be illegal, but it doesn’t take much creative searching (I found this one in like 5 seconds) to get yourself a copy. Enjoy!

The New Pornographers – All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth (Challengers, 2007)

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This songs starts out fast and never slows down – the driving percussion, heavy with sizzle and loose handclaps, couples with the piano and occasional flute lines to make it almost impossible to stop bobbing your head to the beat.

And that’s just the first part – after a couple of verses, the flute falls downards at 1:08, and some toms kick in for the chorus:

All of the things that go to make heaven and earth are here.
All of the things that go to make heaven and earth.
Put your new weight in gold and see what its worth.
All of the things that go to make heaven and earth are here.
All of the things that go to make heaven and this.
Success was survival and, kid, it still is.

The play between the female and male vocalists makes this part incredibly catchy, and dramatic – the words ‘heaven and earth’, and ‘success was survival’ contribute too.

Also, it’s got a great line in the last verse:

Crashing into horizons, on the brink of…success! Hurrah!
Success which was survival gone too far.

Just in that line, you get a deffinte feel for a story – all they were trying to do is survive, and they somehow ended up with success, not just in survival, but in life.

My all-time favorite album by The New Pornographers is “Twin Cinema” (2005), but “Challengers” (2007), featuring this song, is a close second.

MGMT – Electric Feel (Oracular Spectacular, 2007)

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The haunting upper synth line at the beginning of this track is what it’s all about – and it’s woven amongst the no-nonsense drums and bassline, a declarative establishing first few bars, easily sliding into the first verse:

All along the western front
People line up to receive
She got the power in her hand
To shock you like you won’t believe

It’s epic sounding, and has enough funk/disco to make you think of disco balls, fog machines, flashing floor tiles, and brooding bass players. The apex of the song at 3:15, “Do what you feel now, electric feel now!” is almost a relief, as if you’ve been waiting all that time for a storm, and the rain has finally broken – just in time for the song to fade out.

The lyrics are about a girl, obviously, one so good that she’s like electricity. It’s not ground-breaking, but the words fit perfectly:

All along the eastern shore
Put your circuits in the sea
This is what the world is for
Making electricity
You can feel it in your mind
Oh, you can do it all the time
Plug it in and change the world
You are my electric girl

The mention of the western front and the eastern short, the ocean, the amazon, all of it makes the song seem somehow bigger and more encompassing, as if everyone were dancing in a blissfull trance, turned on by the electric feel.

edit: I just realized that the distinctive open synthline and chorus are in 6/8 time, while the verses and rest of the song are 4/4. Crazy! It’s the percussion in the intro that tipped me off – the stereotypical drum pattern would be ‘kick – snare – kick – snare’ in a 4/4 measure, but instead we get ‘kick – snare – kick kick – snare snare’, which fits perfectly into 6/8. I wonder if that’s part of the appeal?