Death Cab for Cutie--love songs for those who don't necessarily want to feel like that's what they're listening to.
I was slightly disappointed by the band's newest release, "Narrow Stairs." They're great musicians, but the album lacks meaning, and songs seem more written-to-get-an-album-finished than composed. The single "I Will Possess Your Heart," seems to be an exception. There's some great instrumentation, in it's full length version but compared to their old stuff,song themes seem much more easy-to-read in terms of what he's singing about. There's a lot packed in there about relationships, but most of it seems pretty regretful, or at least hopeless.
"The Ice is Getting Thinner," the last track, seems to put the nail in the "we're over" coffin. "We buried our love in a wintery grave/a lump in the snow was all that remained/but we stayed by it's side as the days turned to weeks/and the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak."
Despite the powerful moments that there on "Narrow Stairs," they seem few compared to what Death Cab did on other records. I thought their last album, "Plans" had much stronger songs as a whole.
Love of mine some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the Nos on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me
"Son fear is the heart of love"
So I never went back
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the Nos on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about
Cause we'll hold each other soon
The blackest of rooms
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the Nos on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Then I'll follow you into the dark
--Death Cab For Cutie, I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Plans
This song is like the sensitive modern young guy's "I Will Always Love You," or something equally blatant. It's poetic and simple, honest and touching. Great imagery, too--you can see that neon sign in the distance, with the illuminated no. Points for comparing heaven to a roadside motel.
It's such a loyal, declarative love--i'll follow you wherever. But it's not too idealistic. After all, it is about what happens when you die. Seems to be a reoccurring theme for Gibbard. I think what's so beautiful about this song is the everlasting hope that's intertwined with death. Live a long, satisfying life full of sights and sounds, then, like tired travelers, find somewhere to stay when it's time to rest, or at least have someone to rest with. It's a nice thought. Quietly dressed with acoustic guitar, these lyrics standout like a beacon in what is otherwise a complex (read: awesome) album of interesting sounds and song development.
Now, I don't think they should've made the same record twice, but "Narrow Stairs" feels like a step backward. "Plans" was so good.
But who knows, maybe it's themes will grow on me, when the time is right for those songs to mean something, too.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
7/31/08
In her lacy black uniform, with her tales of gypsys and angels and loving Lindsey Buckingham more than life itself, it seems, Stevie Nicks is easily one of my favorite songwriters, definitely favorite female songwriter. Her love songs are heartbreaking, her stories are fantastical, and no one needs telling that she's got passion for what she does.
I kind of adore her, actually--though i don't think i would ever personally refer to myself as a priestess. Either way, keep doing your thing, Stevie.
This song is a lesser-known example--lots of people know Landslide or Edge of Seventeen or Rhiannon and can recognize that they're great songs in their own rights. I came across this song by accident when I worked in the city it's named for.
You could be my silver spring
Blue-green colors flashing
I would be your only dream
Your shining over ocean crashing
Don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you
Baby I don't want to know
So I begin not to love you
Turn 'round, see me running
I say I loved you years ago
But tell myself you never loved me no
And don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you
Baby I don't want to know
And can you tell me was it worth it
Baby I don't want to know
Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me
Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me
I follow you down 'till the sound
Of my voice will haunt you
You'll never get away from the sound
Of the woman who loves you
--Fleetwood Mac, Silver Spring
Silver Spring was cut off the legendary Rumours--Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album, I believe, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. It's a powerful song, though, and I wonder how it would've affected the feel of Rumours.
What a meaningful line--"you'll never get away from the sound of the woman who loves you." People stay with you over the years. We fight, cry, swear to never speak to each other again, or--sometimes even more sadly--drift away in silence. But every now and then, those people can creep into your subconscious, and sometimes, they can still get under your skin.
I think, with time and moving on, those feelings can go away. But in a love affair like Nicks had with Buckingham, the moving on is relative. She captured her feelings so well in this song and many others, that her songwriting is often tragically romantic.
The last minute or so of the song is especially potent. This performance sends shivers down my spine every time, the way she and Lindsey are just staring at each other. I remember seeing the Rumours cassette tape in my mother's collection as a kid, and i can still so clearly remember staring at the cover, thinking how royal and beautiful and mysterious these musicians looked. It's easy for me to love Fleetwood Mac for having such a great balance of reality and fantasy, storytelling and personal documenting.
The story of Silver Spring, in Stevie's own words
I kind of adore her, actually--though i don't think i would ever personally refer to myself as a priestess. Either way, keep doing your thing, Stevie.
This song is a lesser-known example--lots of people know Landslide or Edge of Seventeen or Rhiannon and can recognize that they're great songs in their own rights. I came across this song by accident when I worked in the city it's named for.
You could be my silver spring
Blue-green colors flashing
I would be your only dream
Your shining over ocean crashing
Don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you
Baby I don't want to know
So I begin not to love you
Turn 'round, see me running
I say I loved you years ago
But tell myself you never loved me no
And don't say that she's pretty
And did you say that she loved you
Baby I don't want to know
And can you tell me was it worth it
Baby I don't want to know
Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me
Time cast a spell on you
But you won't forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me
I follow you down 'till the sound
Of my voice will haunt you
You'll never get away from the sound
Of the woman who loves you
--Fleetwood Mac, Silver Spring
Silver Spring was cut off the legendary Rumours--Fleetwood Mac's best-selling album, I believe, which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. It's a powerful song, though, and I wonder how it would've affected the feel of Rumours.
What a meaningful line--"you'll never get away from the sound of the woman who loves you." People stay with you over the years. We fight, cry, swear to never speak to each other again, or--sometimes even more sadly--drift away in silence. But every now and then, those people can creep into your subconscious, and sometimes, they can still get under your skin.
I think, with time and moving on, those feelings can go away. But in a love affair like Nicks had with Buckingham, the moving on is relative. She captured her feelings so well in this song and many others, that her songwriting is often tragically romantic.
The last minute or so of the song is especially potent. This performance sends shivers down my spine every time, the way she and Lindsey are just staring at each other. I remember seeing the Rumours cassette tape in my mother's collection as a kid, and i can still so clearly remember staring at the cover, thinking how royal and beautiful and mysterious these musicians looked. It's easy for me to love Fleetwood Mac for having such a great balance of reality and fantasy, storytelling and personal documenting.
The story of Silver Spring, in Stevie's own words
7/30/08
Elliott's Smith song collection has got a whole lot of heartbreak to pine along to. Folk style storytelling with John Keats-like kind of emotions--he was a fantastic songwriter.
You don't deserve to be lonely
But those drugs you got won't make you feel better
Pretty soon you'll find it's the only
Little part of your life you're keeping together
I'm nice to you
I could make it through
That you're already somebody's baby
I could make you smile
If you stayed a while
But how long will you stay with me, baby?
-Elliott Smith, Twilight
From a Basement on a Hill
There's a string break that occurs almost exactly midway in the song that makes something that was so simple seem so much more epic. It's so satisfying, and the same phrase repeats so much it's almost hypnotic. Hypnotized is how i want to feel when i'm listening to a singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar musician like Smith. i want it to be sad and dreamy and beautiful. Joshua Radin, The Spill Canvas-i think they're pretty good at it too, for their respective genres, but they lack the dusty-trail sound that Smith's got in his guitar playing.
He's got that drug chic dripping all over his lyrics, making it a tripped-up, tragic love song for the doomed-from-the-start-everyone's-down-chips kind of romance. He's got in his breathy high notes, too, and in the pop-structure chords, that hypnotic thing. Oh the 90s. You had some great stuff.
i read this book from the 33 1/3 series that reminded me "My Heart Will Go On" beat "Miss Misery" for the Oscar for Best Original Song. Caused the author of a book to write a whole book about why people care about Celine Dion, if somehow a song like that mattered more to the Academy than a sing-along-to-the-sad-story kind of song like Miss Misery.
But Smith sounds a bit different to those who got into him after his death i think. He's a learning tool for us, and while current fans may have really valued his musicianship, those listening closely might take his messages different than his fans did then. It might go for anyone whose art survives them if that's what they were well known for when they were alive--does it resonate differently to the person depending on when they became fans?
I'm inclined to say yes. John Lennon's fans when he was doing all his solo work for example, compared to those who listen to what he's saying now--taken in totally different contexts. To them, he was talking about their plights, and now, we can relate them to ours. People here are still singin' "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" but it's about different issues, with even more history piled on top of what those songs stand for.
The fact we're still singing them? That's a whole other show.
Twilight, from YouTube.
Sidenote: i still don't know how i feel about people putting covers of themselves singing on YouTube. Are you trying to get discovered? Looking for advice to gauge your talent? i don't know, and i don't think there's a wrong answer but, something about it is interesting. There's fucking tons of them.
You don't deserve to be lonely
But those drugs you got won't make you feel better
Pretty soon you'll find it's the only
Little part of your life you're keeping together
I'm nice to you
I could make it through
That you're already somebody's baby
I could make you smile
If you stayed a while
But how long will you stay with me, baby?
-Elliott Smith, Twilight
From a Basement on a Hill
There's a string break that occurs almost exactly midway in the song that makes something that was so simple seem so much more epic. It's so satisfying, and the same phrase repeats so much it's almost hypnotic. Hypnotized is how i want to feel when i'm listening to a singer/songwriter/acoustic guitar musician like Smith. i want it to be sad and dreamy and beautiful. Joshua Radin, The Spill Canvas-i think they're pretty good at it too, for their respective genres, but they lack the dusty-trail sound that Smith's got in his guitar playing.
He's got that drug chic dripping all over his lyrics, making it a tripped-up, tragic love song for the doomed-from-the-start-everyone's-down-chips kind of romance. He's got in his breathy high notes, too, and in the pop-structure chords, that hypnotic thing. Oh the 90s. You had some great stuff.
i read this book from the 33 1/3 series that reminded me "My Heart Will Go On" beat "Miss Misery" for the Oscar for Best Original Song. Caused the author of a book to write a whole book about why people care about Celine Dion, if somehow a song like that mattered more to the Academy than a sing-along-to-the-sad-story kind of song like Miss Misery.
But Smith sounds a bit different to those who got into him after his death i think. He's a learning tool for us, and while current fans may have really valued his musicianship, those listening closely might take his messages different than his fans did then. It might go for anyone whose art survives them if that's what they were well known for when they were alive--does it resonate differently to the person depending on when they became fans?
I'm inclined to say yes. John Lennon's fans when he was doing all his solo work for example, compared to those who listen to what he's saying now--taken in totally different contexts. To them, he was talking about their plights, and now, we can relate them to ours. People here are still singin' "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" but it's about different issues, with even more history piled on top of what those songs stand for.
The fact we're still singing them? That's a whole other show.
Twilight, from YouTube.
Sidenote: i still don't know how i feel about people putting covers of themselves singing on YouTube. Are you trying to get discovered? Looking for advice to gauge your talent? i don't know, and i don't think there's a wrong answer but, something about it is interesting. There's fucking tons of them.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
7/30/08
While looking up synonyms for "song" in Microsoft Word, the helpful little tool gave me two nouns: "cry" and "noise."
What a fantastically emo combination--though true in a poetic sense, I suppose. I bet that paper clip listens to Coldplay.
What a fantastically emo combination--though true in a poetic sense, I suppose. I bet that paper clip listens to Coldplay.
7/29/08
Tonight, i searched my iTunes for "love song," just to see what was there.
The results, excluding the Santana album called "love songs." No offense dude, but i only got so much time on my hands and that's a long album:
Copeland: Love is a Fast Song
The Cure: Lovesong
Etta James: At Last (from "Etta James: Love Songs")
John Mayer: Love Song for No One
Justin Timberlake: (Another Song) All Over Again (from "FutureSex/LoveSound")
The Little Ones: Lovers Who Uncover (from Sing Song EP)
Peggy Lee: Fever (from: "Peggy Lee: Love Songs")
Sara Bareilles: Love Song
The Stills: Still in Love Song
Tori Amos: Love Song (The Cure cover)
So, while that's a taste of the 5000+ song collection we're dealing with here, it's got a pretty big wingspan in terms of eras, styles, genres. It's 20th century music confetti, since most of it can be in that awesomely vague pop music umbrella.
The best in this bunch? The Cure, Tori, Sara Bareilles, Etta James, and Peggy Lee.
The Tori Amos cover of The Cure's "Lovesong" just may be one of those rare cover gems that works better than original. It's so much scarier--solo piano vs.80s rock lineup adds this romantic veil to it. i used to hear the Tori version all the time in ballet class in high school, so it's got some memories (mostly ones that make my muscle memory sore). Very "red-roses-on-top-of-a-shiny-black-grand-piano." Plus, Tori drips emotion in every note, it's pretty much what she does. Sounds like love to me.
Although, in Robert Smith's corner, there is something kind of weird and vintage about The Cure at this point in time. It was their best selling single, i think, and Disintegration IS an awesome record. Plus--he wrote these damn words first. (Note: Yes, there is a 311 cover that's pretty sweet as well, but i don't have it, and don't care for it as much as these two). i love Robert Smith doin his thing, because i trust how much me meant writing those words down.
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm whole again
He didn't beat around with metaphors and imagery or whatever--he just said it.
"Fever.." ahh this is a good one. One of my favorite songs to sing, actually, and a sexy fucking one at that. Peggy Lee was a jazz goddess, all blonde and sultry, something so classic about that. Women back then looked gorgeous, too--curves from head to toe. None of this Size -2 bullshit, none of this pinstraight hair on rib-thin bodies. The storytelling in this song is charming--Romeo & Juliet reference? check. Element reference? check. Just a great tune, so recyclable too. Heard a electronic cover of this on Nip/Tuck during some kinky sex scene and it was downright hot.
Best line in this tune: "What a lovely way to burn." Bonus points for the snapping.
Sara Bareilles...ah yes. Gotta give this song props for becoming so popular--Bareilles knows what's catchy, and her other stuff isn't dreadfully pop either if you like female/singer-songwriters. Every fucking girl at Syracuse University had this on their iPod, it seemed. It's a great mix of vulnerable yet confident, which is what a lot of young girls seem to be. All my friends loved it, everyone sings along if it comes on in Steve Madden or Express or whatever, and i'm sure it'll be the trailer theme for this fall's romantic comedy if it's not already. Despite the triumphant "i'm not gonna write you a love song" line, i wonder why that's what she titled this tune.
Bonus points because: if you Google "love song," her lyrics come up first.
At last. What a velvety smooth sound this song has, symphonic and pretty. Released in 1961, but this song just sounds timeless to me. You can know jackshit about what makes a quality musician and be touched by this song, and that's why it's so damn powerful, in my eyes. She's got such power and control, but so natural that it sounds like she's falling in love with singing it. i wish i could say how many weddings this has been played at over the years. i wonder how many people have heard this, and smiled to themselves, because they know exactly what she means. My lonely days are over. Now if that's not the feeling everyone is all match.com-ing or even just waiting for, i don't know what it is.
i feel like i'm judging these. Well--just for kicks then--the best song in this particular bunch? It's either The Cure's Love Song or Etta James' "At Last." Depending how you feel, i guess--madly in love, or eternally in love?
Decide for yourself:
Etta
(excuse the video, i have no idea what they are showing, i just checked to make sure it's the original recording)
The Cure
(original video, note the tragic romance creepiness exuded by Smith..i love how he looks ashamed of what he's saying, it's kind of endearing)
The results, excluding the Santana album called "love songs." No offense dude, but i only got so much time on my hands and that's a long album:
Copeland: Love is a Fast Song
The Cure: Lovesong
Etta James: At Last (from "Etta James: Love Songs")
John Mayer: Love Song for No One
Justin Timberlake: (Another Song) All Over Again (from "FutureSex/LoveSound")
The Little Ones: Lovers Who Uncover (from Sing Song EP)
Peggy Lee: Fever (from: "Peggy Lee: Love Songs")
Sara Bareilles: Love Song
The Stills: Still in Love Song
Tori Amos: Love Song (The Cure cover)
So, while that's a taste of the 5000+ song collection we're dealing with here, it's got a pretty big wingspan in terms of eras, styles, genres. It's 20th century music confetti, since most of it can be in that awesomely vague pop music umbrella.
The best in this bunch? The Cure, Tori, Sara Bareilles, Etta James, and Peggy Lee.
The Tori Amos cover of The Cure's "Lovesong" just may be one of those rare cover gems that works better than original. It's so much scarier--solo piano vs.80s rock lineup adds this romantic veil to it. i used to hear the Tori version all the time in ballet class in high school, so it's got some memories (mostly ones that make my muscle memory sore). Very "red-roses-on-top-of-a-shiny-black-grand-piano." Plus, Tori drips emotion in every note, it's pretty much what she does. Sounds like love to me.
Although, in Robert Smith's corner, there is something kind of weird and vintage about The Cure at this point in time. It was their best selling single, i think, and Disintegration IS an awesome record. Plus--he wrote these damn words first. (Note: Yes, there is a 311 cover that's pretty sweet as well, but i don't have it, and don't care for it as much as these two). i love Robert Smith doin his thing, because i trust how much me meant writing those words down.
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm whole again
He didn't beat around with metaphors and imagery or whatever--he just said it.
"Fever.." ahh this is a good one. One of my favorite songs to sing, actually, and a sexy fucking one at that. Peggy Lee was a jazz goddess, all blonde and sultry, something so classic about that. Women back then looked gorgeous, too--curves from head to toe. None of this Size -2 bullshit, none of this pinstraight hair on rib-thin bodies. The storytelling in this song is charming--Romeo & Juliet reference? check. Element reference? check. Just a great tune, so recyclable too. Heard a electronic cover of this on Nip/Tuck during some kinky sex scene and it was downright hot.
Best line in this tune: "What a lovely way to burn." Bonus points for the snapping.
Sara Bareilles...ah yes. Gotta give this song props for becoming so popular--Bareilles knows what's catchy, and her other stuff isn't dreadfully pop either if you like female/singer-songwriters. Every fucking girl at Syracuse University had this on their iPod, it seemed. It's a great mix of vulnerable yet confident, which is what a lot of young girls seem to be. All my friends loved it, everyone sings along if it comes on in Steve Madden or Express or whatever, and i'm sure it'll be the trailer theme for this fall's romantic comedy if it's not already. Despite the triumphant "i'm not gonna write you a love song" line, i wonder why that's what she titled this tune.
Bonus points because: if you Google "love song," her lyrics come up first.
At last. What a velvety smooth sound this song has, symphonic and pretty. Released in 1961, but this song just sounds timeless to me. You can know jackshit about what makes a quality musician and be touched by this song, and that's why it's so damn powerful, in my eyes. She's got such power and control, but so natural that it sounds like she's falling in love with singing it. i wish i could say how many weddings this has been played at over the years. i wonder how many people have heard this, and smiled to themselves, because they know exactly what she means. My lonely days are over. Now if that's not the feeling everyone is all match.com-ing or even just waiting for, i don't know what it is.
i feel like i'm judging these. Well--just for kicks then--the best song in this particular bunch? It's either The Cure's Love Song or Etta James' "At Last." Depending how you feel, i guess--madly in love, or eternally in love?
Decide for yourself:
Etta
(excuse the video, i have no idea what they are showing, i just checked to make sure it's the original recording)
The Cure
(original video, note the tragic romance creepiness exuded by Smith..i love how he looks ashamed of what he's saying, it's kind of endearing)
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