So Pandora brought me to tears today. I didn't realize I was feeling so emotional, until I was pulling on a sweater and brushing my hair back and listening to this song. It's a beautiful track from A Great Big World, a singer-songwriter new to my ears, with guest vocals from Christina Aguilera, at her most delicate.
That phrase "giving up" is so powerful. Can we ever really surrender anything? I love the ambiguity in this song, it could be to yourself or to a failed relationship or to a dying loved one, as the particularly moving video suggests. Turning away - for yourself or someone else - isn't a light endeavor, it is excising something from your soul, and there's bound to be that one last moment of hesitation before the you cut it out for good, where you look around to see if anyone will stop you.
"Say something, I'm giving up on you.
I'll be the one, if you want me to.
Anywhere, I would've followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
And I am feeling so small.
It was over my head
I know nothing at all.
And I will stumble and fall.
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.
Anywhere, I would've followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
And I will swallow my pride.
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.
And anywhere, I would have followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
Say something."
~Say Something
A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera, Is There Anybody Out There
Monday, December 30, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
12/24/13
So this Christmas Eve finds me home early from work with a little time to browse the Internet with speakers on, and I came across this beautiful album from Speak Low If You Speak Love, which came out today. From acoustic-led ballads to offbeat, upbeat choruses, the whole LP has a slightly emo, slightly indie, mellow pop punk vibe to it I find familiar and fresh, a hybrid of bands gone by. It also has some of the saddest, most relatable lyrics I've heard from a new artist in some time, and so I feel like I found a little Christmas gift on AbsolutePunk today as far as new songwriting is concerned. There is no overreaching here, no forcing the metaphor. It is all honesty, borne from broken relationships, like on the minute and a half long "Naive": "You abused all my favorite books/I know you never read half the ones you took/Still all the pages are torn and frayed/memorized the underlined hoping to impress me."
This just may be too recent of a discovery to work into my top 10 of 2013 list, but I hope this is the start of something good for Ryan Scott Graham and his new project, and I hope I can find this as inspiring, comfortable and beautiful in 2014 as I do today.
"I remember those nights, the lonely sound of the service drive.
I remember those times I thought that I could make you mine.
Your dark hair and your coffee eyes,
I wanted to fix you, but you didn't want to fight.
Your heart was sad, but so was mine.
Your heart was a stubborn slope that I couldn't climb.
Every night we'd say goodbye, you'd shut the door with a sigh
You kept saying we didn't have much time
It's all your fault, and I'll always blame you,
I dreamt a life for us and it could've come true,
But you packed all your things and said that 'we're through
because you ruined me and I ruined you.'
We were library lovers where no one could see,
Midnight diners always in secrecy.
Moonlit drives to your front door,
You wanted my attention but nothing more.
I couldn't break it off, I had no guts
because you were one of my few great loves.
Now you changed the locks and moved on out,
You had abandoned your love for doubt.
It's all your fault, and I'll always blame you,
I dreamt a life for us and it could've come true,
But you packed all your things and said that 'we're through
because you ruined me and I ruined you.'
I ruined you."
~Ruined
Speak Low if You Speak Love, Everything But What You Need
This just may be too recent of a discovery to work into my top 10 of 2013 list, but I hope this is the start of something good for Ryan Scott Graham and his new project, and I hope I can find this as inspiring, comfortable and beautiful in 2014 as I do today.
"I remember those nights, the lonely sound of the service drive.
I remember those times I thought that I could make you mine.
Your dark hair and your coffee eyes,
I wanted to fix you, but you didn't want to fight.
Your heart was sad, but so was mine.
Your heart was a stubborn slope that I couldn't climb.
Every night we'd say goodbye, you'd shut the door with a sigh
You kept saying we didn't have much time
It's all your fault, and I'll always blame you,
I dreamt a life for us and it could've come true,
But you packed all your things and said that 'we're through
because you ruined me and I ruined you.'
We were library lovers where no one could see,
Midnight diners always in secrecy.
Moonlit drives to your front door,
You wanted my attention but nothing more.
I couldn't break it off, I had no guts
because you were one of my few great loves.
Now you changed the locks and moved on out,
You had abandoned your love for doubt.
It's all your fault, and I'll always blame you,
I dreamt a life for us and it could've come true,
But you packed all your things and said that 'we're through
because you ruined me and I ruined you.'
I ruined you."
~Ruined
Speak Low if You Speak Love, Everything But What You Need
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
12/11/13
"If I go away
Well can I ever go back, can I ever turn back, no
No nights that I can't escape
cause I ain't living in the lack
I ain't living in the black
I know I could never make it alone."
~The Economist
Mansions, Doom Loop
I've been on a huge Mansions kick lately, mostly because of the new LP "Doom Loop." It's album you'll spot on AOTY from certain niche blogs, probably, but will probably be overlooked by most "popular" critics (mainstream or hipster), because what Mansions does is not what most do to get attention from the "right" people.
What Mansions does is write song of the most emotionally satisfying rock music I've heard in ages, and all the minimalist soloists or overdressed orchestra pop of more acclaimed artists of 2013 cannot compare. "Doom Loop" is a study in release and restraint. Mansions is proof of the following: You do not have to reinvent the wheel, you just have to spin it really well.
“I’ve got nothing left to prove. No, I’m too tired to be the nice guy."~Climbers
Mansions, Doom Loop
This is a guitar-focused band, with straightforward, strategically placed parts. Unique phrasing and huge hooks are pop-friendly, occasionally, but there's a borderline heavy, high-distortion feel that's nothing of the sort. "Doom Loop" rock music with real instruments, something so refreshing in these days of manipulation, but it's done with the sensibilities of 90s grunge and early 2000s emo, making it new and familiar all at once. Female back-up vocals are an excellent touch in this way, as are the consistently on-point bridges. Christopher Browder has a way of bringing it all out front, the heavy hooks and emotional daggers, and dialing it down just right before reaching the point of overdramatic.
I've been just as much enjoying rediscovering "Dig Up the Dead," the last LP and an equally cohesive album. This album is masterfully crafted, as far as "emo" goes, by never surrendering to gimmicks and never straying from the emotional center. The tracks are seamless, the vocal dynamics are just right. I've listened to it before, but not this in-depth, not when I'm driving around solo with the volume on 27 and a cigarette out the window. It's hard for me to decide which album I like more, but it's easy to get lost them.
"If you don't write it down, then this never happened.
Tell yourself out loud, "not overreacting."
Cause no one ever hears your voice
The way that they did when they had no choice.
Their headphones are filled with that useless noise
That swears that you're not there.
And the one thing that you need
Is the dreams back in your sleep
Where they belong
I'm where I belong, you'll see
This means everything to me
I don't want your life where everything's easy
That Midas touch will unwind
That gold has no meaning
And when you're in that awful place
Where you call up your friends and it rings for days
Well I never saw a smile that I could not fake
But now what's left to talk about?
And the one thing that I need
Is the dreams back in my sleep
Where they belong
I'm where they belong, you'll see
This means everything to me"
~Yer Voice
Mansions, Dig Up the Dead
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
12/3/13
When I first learned to express myself, it was through dance. I'd already learned to speak English, by this point, but I hadn't learned to communicate -- I was the kind of kid who certainly didn't say anything at all, if it wasn't nice to say. So learning dance was a new language, one that was all my own.
I spent a solid five years spending five days a week dancing, dropping my study when I went off to college. But I never dropped the interest. My classes, at the brand new, 10-student Western New York Ballet, focused on ballet, both classical and contemporary. By those standards, I was passable at best, occasionally placing in local competitions if I had a good day and an unusually low amount of anxiety. I had naturally good feet and extension, but my control never caught up. My thin, lithe arms failed to fit the right angles. My body never listened the way I wanted it to. For me, the real benefits came in classes, where discipline and artistry were the gods, the church basement floors and portable barres were the alters, and the prayers came in the form of the blood, sweat and tears poured into getting it better, getting it right, getting it as close to perfect as mere mortals could possibly come.
This was all around 10 years ago, and 10 years later, my former teacher is taking students to perform at Lincoln Center in front of international stars. She is one of my favorite people in the world, and I am proud to call her a close a friend, knowing she's the kind of person who would never give up on her dream, just might die without her dream.
For awhile, I thought dance was my dream. My bedroom walls were covered in posters and calendars and magazine pictures of the ballerinas I idolized. For awhile, I thought I could still make a go at a performing career, even though I'd never make it into a ballet company barely pulling off a clean triple pirouette. I thought I could cover it up with singing and acting skills and make a shot for Broadway. But by that point, I knew how many proteges were out there, I knew how cutthroat the industry could be to half-bred talents like me, and most everyone told me I was smart and would do well in college.
Nowadays, dancing alone feels equal parts freeing and awkward. It's tough for me to feel the strain in my muscles, to know my tendons would rather snap than stretch. My legs don't listen like they used to; instead of rising seemingly effortlessly to my ears, they stop short, barely reaching 90 degrees, it seems. But at the same time, everything in me is so much more aware, spatially and internally. Every inch of a stretch feels magnificent until it doesn't, then it feels like hard work well done. My feet roll through every position, much to the thrill of every bone, my eyes follow my hands the way they were trained to.
The rules are so ingrained it feels like living in a memory, revisiting a skin I shed years ago as I step and fumble to see if I can still fit. But one part feels as amazing as it ever did, the part where my mind shuts off and my heart short-circuts to tell my limbs what to do. That's the part where dancing is your insides turned out. That's the part that kept me coming back day after day, class after class, no matter how much I failed before. Just chasing that moment of stillness inside, movement outside, silent thoughts and physical energy igniting every cell. Even now, dancing alone, when there are only so many steps I remember correctly and there's a million positions I'm probably destroying, I can feel the tension and release, the suspension and fall, the freeze and frenzy in every step illuminating and expressing the very feelings I don't have anyone around to share with. No one can take that from me, no matter how many years it's been since I called myself a dancer. It's a small comfort when I see professional dancers, young or seasoned, classical or contemporary. I know just what their feeling as they hit all the right moments and I am full of envy for what they get to feel, when all I get is my words and my bedroom and faulty, flailing ponche.
It would be nice to take a class, maybe someday. I wonder if I would look silly, my now-curvy body in a leotard and pink tights. I don't know how much of the steps I could recreate. But I do know I'd feel something.
(The video above is from "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 9, which aired last summer. I remember watching it live, alone in my central Pennsylvania apartment, and crying a little. I chose to attach it because I don't think you should choreograph to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" unless you can induce chills, which choreographer Stacey Tookey most definitely does, and also because I very much enjoy Witney, the blonde female in the video. She's a ballroom dancer by trade -- and you can see it in her hands and arms sometimes, the way they don't turn slightly more out or in the way a ballerina's would -- yet she pulls of this contemporary with so much beauty, grace and pain that I think she understands exactly what you need to pull off performing to a song of this magnitude.)
Thursday, November 28, 2013
11/28/13
I have listened to this song for approximately 12 years and I did not understand the meaning until today. I watched this performance and heard not only the song, but the artist's story, connecting to it and understanding the reasons for telling it.
Here is another performance of the same song from 20 years later. Once the orchestra intro subsides, the audience applauds at the familiar melody. She is singing from a different place now. The wounds that once bled out the song's initial inspiration are no longer fresh. Yet they are memorialized here, justly and elegantly so. The words and tones are as precise as ever, supplemented with the lushness of strings, gallantry of horns and delicately placed ornamentation. Dynamics of this strength are mastered by a truly in-sync group of accomplished musicians, who are not only listening to each other but feeling the physical rise and fall of the song.
"Snow can wait
I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose
Get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart
When I think of winter
I put my hand in my father's glove
I run off
Where the drifts get deeper
Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown
I hear a voice
"Your must learn to stand up for yourself
Cause I can't always be around"
He says
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and I'm here still waiting
Here is another performance of the same song from 20 years later. Once the orchestra intro subsides, the audience applauds at the familiar melody. She is singing from a different place now. The wounds that once bled out the song's initial inspiration are no longer fresh. Yet they are memorialized here, justly and elegantly so. The words and tones are as precise as ever, supplemented with the lushness of strings, gallantry of horns and delicately placed ornamentation. Dynamics of this strength are mastered by a truly in-sync group of accomplished musicians, who are not only listening to each other but feeling the physical rise and fall of the song.
"Snow can wait
I forgot my mittens
Wipe my nose
Get my new boots on
I get a little warm in my heart
When I think of winter
I put my hand in my father's glove
I run off
Where the drifts get deeper
Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown
I hear a voice
"Your must learn to stand up for yourself
Cause I can't always be around"
He says
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Boys get discovered as winter melts
Flowers competing for the sun
Years go by and I'm here still waiting
Withering where some snowman was
Mirror mirror where's the crystal palace
But I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know, dad, the ice is getting thin
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Hair is grey
And the fires are burning
So many dreams
On the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud of me
I always wanted that myself
He says
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change
My dear"
Mirror mirror where's the crystal palace
But I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know, dad, the ice is getting thin
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses are still in bed
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change my dear
Hair is grey
And the fires are burning
So many dreams
On the shelf
You say I wanted you to be proud of me
I always wanted that myself
He says
When you gonna make up your mind
When you gonna love you as much as I do
When you gonna make up your mind
Cause things are gonna change so fast
All the white horses have gone ahead
I tell you that I'll always want you near
You say that things change
My dear"
~Winter
Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
11/26/13
I've been all over the place lately - from retro funk to poppy post-hardcore, bluegrass songwriters to rediscovered old favorites from mix CDs of days gone by. There's a few newer releases I'm incredibly stoked on and replaying continuously while driving aimlessly, getting lost in a new city. Not to mention the stage full of banjos strumming standards I've caught live the last two Wednesdays.
But this night calls for something vaguely haunting and free of association, something to get lost in. The delicate harmonies of The Staves glide over suitability scenic lyrics like they're on ice, the subtle dynamics are absolutely stunning. The studio version of this song, "Winter Trees," has drums and strings and all sorts of build-up towards the end of song when it speeds up some - the kind very much in keeping with modern folk - but I love the tension in the live acoustic version. Sometimes all that studio stuff can take away from the songwriting, like a pretty girl dressed in so many scarves and jewels you don't even notice her face.
"White winter trees
Covered in snow
I don’t mind
I don’t mind
I think of you now
Here in the cold
You won’t mind
You won’t know
But I never meant to say
Any of those things
Oh I never meant to tell you how
To be or how to think
Oh I was wrong
Heavy of heart
Weary of soul
You won’t mind
You won’t mind
I think of him now
Fathoms below
You won’t mind
You won’t know
But I never meant to say
Any of those things
Words can sound so cruel
When you speak before you think
Oh I was wrong
But you didn’t understand
That my heart was in your hands
You were so blind
Blind
I promised you that I’d never let you down
Oh but I couldn’t love you any less than now
And I promised you that I’d never let you down
Oh but I couldn’t love you any less than I do now
And I lost myself on that November night
White winter trees
Covered in snow
I don’t mind"~Winter Trees
The Staves, Dead and Born and Gone
But this night calls for something vaguely haunting and free of association, something to get lost in. The delicate harmonies of The Staves glide over suitability scenic lyrics like they're on ice, the subtle dynamics are absolutely stunning. The studio version of this song, "Winter Trees," has drums and strings and all sorts of build-up towards the end of song when it speeds up some - the kind very much in keeping with modern folk - but I love the tension in the live acoustic version. Sometimes all that studio stuff can take away from the songwriting, like a pretty girl dressed in so many scarves and jewels you don't even notice her face.
"White winter trees
Covered in snow
I don’t mind
I don’t mind
I think of you now
Here in the cold
You won’t mind
You won’t know
But I never meant to say
Any of those things
Oh I never meant to tell you how
To be or how to think
Oh I was wrong
Heavy of heart
Weary of soul
You won’t mind
You won’t mind
I think of him now
Fathoms below
You won’t mind
You won’t know
But I never meant to say
Any of those things
Words can sound so cruel
When you speak before you think
Oh I was wrong
But you didn’t understand
That my heart was in your hands
You were so blind
Blind
I promised you that I’d never let you down
Oh but I couldn’t love you any less than now
And I promised you that I’d never let you down
Oh but I couldn’t love you any less than I do now
And I lost myself on that November night
White winter trees
Covered in snow
I don’t mind"~Winter Trees
The Staves, Dead and Born and Gone
Saturday, November 16, 2013
11/16/13
The prospect of new Brand New material getting release sometime in the relatively near future has me knee-deep in their discography. We're talking front-to-back Deja listens, in-depth attention to Daisy's themes, outright speaker-blasting of The Devil and God, and wistful rewinds with Your Favorite Weapon.
What a catalog. What a band.They never get old, no matter how many times I listen. Any time I think I *might* be growing out of the music of my past, that I might not need to re-hear these songs, they come by and interrupt, reset me back to where I was. I remember how clearly I first heard those parts, I remember hearing angst in Jesse Lacey's voice unlike any singer I'd ever heard and feeling so drawn to it, so in sync.
Hard to believe it was 10 years ago I first heard this particular song, strange to understand how much I've grown since then, and a little disconcerting to recognize how much can feel the same after so much time.
Brand New For Life.
"Up the stairs,
What a catalog. What a band.They never get old, no matter how many times I listen. Any time I think I *might* be growing out of the music of my past, that I might not need to re-hear these songs, they come by and interrupt, reset me back to where I was. I remember how clearly I first heard those parts, I remember hearing angst in Jesse Lacey's voice unlike any singer I'd ever heard and feeling so drawn to it, so in sync.
Hard to believe it was 10 years ago I first heard this particular song, strange to understand how much I've grown since then, and a little disconcerting to recognize how much can feel the same after so much time.
"Up the stairs,
the station where
the act becomes
the art of growing up."
~Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fade
Brand New, Deja Entendu
~Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fade
Brand New, Deja Entendu
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
11/5/13
Change is a wonderful thing. So are new experiences. And still the shadow of the past follows you around, creeps up around you, pops in front of you in a certain light. No reason to stop treading the path you're on, but it elicits enough memory to give you perspective.
When the world looks new, it's almost like living in a dream - every corner, every street, holds the unfamiliar and potentially life-changing. Living in the moment becomes easier than ever when there's little common ground between you and your surroundings. So, your eyes see clear than ever, your perspective renewed.
When the world looks new, it's almost like living in a dream - every corner, every street, holds the unfamiliar and potentially life-changing. Living in the moment becomes easier than ever when there's little common ground between you and your surroundings. So, your eyes see clear than ever, your perspective renewed.
What I love about Death Cab for Cutie, especially "Plans," is the perspective, the way the narrative is a few steps removed from the present. This album has been with me for a long time - the band was an early high school favorite, and this album saw me through so many life transitions. Once again I find myself spinning Plans, playing and singing along, aging along with the album. It's a wonderful accompaniment for the moments you want to spend living in your head, a safe harbor to find yourself when your surroundings are entirely brand new.
"Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue
Home's face: how it ages when you're away
Spring blooms and you find the love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
Cause the chase is all you know
And she stopped running months ago
And all you see
Is where else you could be
When you're at home
Out on the street
Are so many possibilities
To not be alone
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free
'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
Out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
And all you see is where else you could be
When you're at home
There on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone"
"Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
And start new when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue
Home's face: how it ages when you're away
Spring blooms and you find the love that's true
But you don't know what now to do
Cause the chase is all you know
And she stopped running months ago
And all you see
Is where else you could be
When you're at home
Out on the street
Are so many possibilities
To not be alone
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free
'Cause all you see is where else you could be when you're at home
Out on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone
And all you see is where else you could be
When you're at home
There on the street are so many possibilities to not be alone"
~Your Heart is an Empty Room
Death Cab for Cutie, Plans
Monday, October 14, 2013
10/14/13
It's probably not healthy to sit in your bedroom and listen to the same songs on repeat all evening, not when they're ones you've already heard a million times, and know all the words intimately, repeating them as as you could recite your first address and phone number.
The loneliness that comes with your favorite songs is a comforting one, albeit an arrogant one. No one can come between you and your favorite songs, no lover past, present or future, no songwriter yet-to-be-heard can interrupt. If anything, your experiences and influences make you grow closer to that you know, allowing you to value the familiarity and comfort this one song can give you the other new finds and sounds fail to deliver.
What a classic this song is. What a sad kiss-off, what a despondent, defeated narrative. It's the kind of song I don't always play, because it's so sad, but when I want to listen to "The '59 Sound" over and over again, you can bet I'll be stilled for this three minutes and 42 seconds, replaying all the failures and faults and regrets. Anyone who doesn't when they hear this song has never had their heart broken.
"You can tell Gail, if she calls
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs
And even if that's a lie
She shoulda given me a try
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school
I would've been her fool
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls
You tell that to Gail, if she calls
And you can tell Jane, if she writes
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights
And that's total deceit
But she shoulda married me
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor
Bleeding out from all these wounds
I would've gotten her right out of that town she despised
You tell that to Janie, if she writes
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That'll cut you to ribbons sometimes
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do
You remind Anna, if she asks why
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool
And goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue
But I used to wait at the diner a million nights without her
Praying she won't cancel again tonight
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh
You remind Anna, if she asks why
Tell her it's alright
You know it's hard to tell you this
The loneliness that comes with your favorite songs is a comforting one, albeit an arrogant one. No one can come between you and your favorite songs, no lover past, present or future, no songwriter yet-to-be-heard can interrupt. If anything, your experiences and influences make you grow closer to that you know, allowing you to value the familiarity and comfort this one song can give you the other new finds and sounds fail to deliver.
What a classic this song is. What a sad kiss-off, what a despondent, defeated narrative. It's the kind of song I don't always play, because it's so sad, but when I want to listen to "The '59 Sound" over and over again, you can bet I'll be stilled for this three minutes and 42 seconds, replaying all the failures and faults and regrets. Anyone who doesn't when they hear this song has never had their heart broken.
"You can tell Gail, if she calls
That I'm famous now for all of these rock and roll songs
And even if that's a lie
She shoulda given me a try
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school
I would've been her fool
And I would've sang out your name in those old high school halls
You tell that to Gail, if she calls
And you can tell Jane, if she writes
That I'm drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights
And that's total deceit
But she shoulda married me
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor
Bleeding out from all these wounds
I would've gotten her right out of that town she despised
You tell that to Janie, if she writes
But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That'll cut you to ribbons sometimes
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it's what she says you oughta do
You remind Anna, if she asks why
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool
And goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue
But I used to wait at the diner a million nights without her
Praying she won't cancel again tonight
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh
You remind Anna, if she asks why
Tell her it's alright
You know it's hard to tell you this
Oh it's hard to tell you this
Here's looking at you, kid"
Here's looking at you, kid"
~Here's Looking at You, Kid
The Gaslight Anthem, The '59 Sound
Saturday, October 5, 2013
10/5/13
Few bands release albums as consistently poignant as The National. It took me a few weeks after its release to stumble across "Trouble Will Find Me," but once I did, it immediately became my go-to album in their catalog. The trademarks of their sound, like the subtle weight in rhythm and Matt Berninger's instantly identifiable baritone, are all developed in masterful levels, along with some harmonies and auxiliary here and there that make for a layered, updated sound. I love how this band isn't afraid to branch out with instrumentation while never allowing a new sound to become a crutch or a gimmick - this is crafting an overall sound by paying very close attention to what each little piece gives.
Lyrically, this might be their most depressed yet, which is saying something. Start to finish the album seems, to me, to catalog an acceptance of despair, a plateau of hopelessness ("I don't need any help to be breakable, believe me"), and a complex relationship with regret. On "Demons," the past and regret are comfort zones, on "This Is The Last Time," they are burdens. I love the references to scenes and places, objects like flowers and fainting chairs are as much scene-setting as they are metaphorical. The word "melodrama" comes to mind, but in a self-aware way - past National records are a little more aggressive, angry and destructive in their sadness and "Trouble" is far more measured, like a heavy sigh.
Despite the subject matter being as introspective and melancholy as it is, I find listening to the album incredibly fulfilling, in the way that a good record in solitude makes you feel less alone, makes you feel connected. This is an Album of the Year contender as far as I can tell, in part for its ability to rise above any labels or trends that previously dogged The National to prove their place as a serious, deserving player in modern music. They don't have a bad album. But "Trouble Will Find Me" stands out among their catalog and among 2013 releases as one of the best, in my opinion, for expertly showing how powerful songwriting doesn't need fireworks and gimmicks or formulas, it just needs an artistic patience, and an expressive heart, however busted it up it might be.
"Graceless
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm graceless
Don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine when I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
Lyrically, this might be their most depressed yet, which is saying something. Start to finish the album seems, to me, to catalog an acceptance of despair, a plateau of hopelessness ("I don't need any help to be breakable, believe me"), and a complex relationship with regret. On "Demons," the past and regret are comfort zones, on "This Is The Last Time," they are burdens. I love the references to scenes and places, objects like flowers and fainting chairs are as much scene-setting as they are metaphorical. The word "melodrama" comes to mind, but in a self-aware way - past National records are a little more aggressive, angry and destructive in their sadness and "Trouble" is far more measured, like a heavy sigh.
Despite the subject matter being as introspective and melancholy as it is, I find listening to the album incredibly fulfilling, in the way that a good record in solitude makes you feel less alone, makes you feel connected. This is an Album of the Year contender as far as I can tell, in part for its ability to rise above any labels or trends that previously dogged The National to prove their place as a serious, deserving player in modern music. They don't have a bad album. But "Trouble Will Find Me" stands out among their catalog and among 2013 releases as one of the best, in my opinion, for expertly showing how powerful songwriting doesn't need fireworks and gimmicks or formulas, it just needs an artistic patience, and an expressive heart, however busted it up it might be.
"Graceless
Is there a powder to erase this?
Is it dissolvable and tasteless?
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I'm graceless
Don't have the sunny side to face this
I am invisible and weightless
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine when I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
Graceless, I figured out how to be faithless
But it will be a sheme to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless...
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rock and through
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it will brighten the place
Don't let them die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows,
There's a science to walking through windows without you."
But it will be a sheme to waste this
You can't imagine how I hate this
Graceless...
I'm trying, but I've gone
Through the glass again
Just come and find me
God loves everybody, don't remind me
I took the medicine and I went missing
Just let me hear your voice, just let me listen
All of my thoughts of you
Bullets through rock and through
Come apart at the seams
Now I know what dying means
I am not my rosy self
Left my roses on my shelf
Take the wild ones, they're my favorites
It's the side effects that save us
Grace
Put the flowers you find in a vase
If you're dead in the mind it will brighten the place
Don't let them die on the vine, it's a waste
Grace
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows.
There's a science to walking through windows,
There's a science to walking through windows without you."
~Graceless
The National, Trouble Will Find Me
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
10/1/13
The other day I was driving westward around 7:15 p.m., one hand on the wheel and the other on the iPod shuffle, pressing next every four or five seconds partly out of anxiety, partly out of getting fed up with the same old thing. I stopped on "23" to light a cigarette, then turned it up the volume and took it in.
The sun disappeared, slowly, throughout the song, behind the hills in front of me, at first all bright and blinding, then a coral-red glowing orb, then a peachy tint across the base of the horizon. It was a beautiful sunset - I don't head west often, so I don't this much - and this song was a perfect soundtrack to witness such a sight. Wistful and familiar, hopeful and just a little tormented. This song once sold me on "Futures" as an album and that Jimmy Eat World could make incredible music that wasn't "Clarity" and still meaningful. I kept it on the whole time, and listened to the album from start to finish, followed by "Invented" and "Damage."
That guitar riff is instantly identifiable, classic and clean and full. I love the atmosphere of the beautifully mixed in background chords, rising and falling and fading out just before the first verse kicks in. Same for the spacey, hazy,delayed tones at the end, it's pure feel and restraint in the production and in the playing. I love singing this, too, because I think it's one of Jim's best recorded performances as far as JEW ballads go - like his voice before the final guitar solo, where he brings it up at the end of the last line - he is very good with the subtle changes, changing a note or two here and there to give it just a little more depth to repeated lines.
"I felt for sure last night
"Amazing still it seems
I'll be 23
I won't always love what I'll never have
I won't always live in my regrets
You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here, I'm now, I'm ready,
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine
You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here, I'm now, I'm ready,
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine..."
~23
Jimmy Eat World, Futures
The sun disappeared, slowly, throughout the song, behind the hills in front of me, at first all bright and blinding, then a coral-red glowing orb, then a peachy tint across the base of the horizon. It was a beautiful sunset - I don't head west often, so I don't this much - and this song was a perfect soundtrack to witness such a sight. Wistful and familiar, hopeful and just a little tormented. This song once sold me on "Futures" as an album and that Jimmy Eat World could make incredible music that wasn't "Clarity" and still meaningful. I kept it on the whole time, and listened to the album from start to finish, followed by "Invented" and "Damage."
That guitar riff is instantly identifiable, classic and clean and full. I love the atmosphere of the beautifully mixed in background chords, rising and falling and fading out just before the first verse kicks in. Same for the spacey, hazy,delayed tones at the end, it's pure feel and restraint in the production and in the playing. I love singing this, too, because I think it's one of Jim's best recorded performances as far as JEW ballads go - like his voice before the final guitar solo, where he brings it up at the end of the last line - he is very good with the subtle changes, changing a note or two here and there to give it just a little more depth to repeated lines.
"I felt for sure last night
That once we said goodbye
No one else will know these lonely dreams
No one else will know that part of me
I'm still driving away
And I'm sorry every day
I won't always love these selfish things
I won't always live
Not stopping..."
So much about this song is so sad, and yet, it's incredibly wide-eyed and accepting. It's straightforward and short - sometimes, we think good songs must be incredibly deep and metaphorical, but this is a song that proves the most simple route is often the straightest, that the most direct phrasing can be the most effective. Especially when cloaked in so much dreamy production, the words could get lost if they were too busy.
"It was my turn to decide
I knew this was our time
No one else will have me like you do
No one else will have me, only you"
I remember hearing these words so fully, so clearly, back in high school. I was in a car the first time I heard it, too. Back then, 23 seemed ages away, I couldn't even imagine what my life would look like but I knew it would be nothing like what it was. I'd be older, I'd be smarter, I'd have it all figured out. I'd have direction, and the consolation wisdom of experiences. Now, 23 is a memory, just as tangible and forgettable as being 16 was.
No one else will know these lonely dreams
No one else will know that part of me
I'm still driving away
And I'm sorry every day
I won't always love these selfish things
I won't always live
Not stopping..."
So much about this song is so sad, and yet, it's incredibly wide-eyed and accepting. It's straightforward and short - sometimes, we think good songs must be incredibly deep and metaphorical, but this is a song that proves the most simple route is often the straightest, that the most direct phrasing can be the most effective. Especially when cloaked in so much dreamy production, the words could get lost if they were too busy.
"It was my turn to decide
I knew this was our time
No one else will have me like you do
No one else will have me, only you"
I remember hearing these words so fully, so clearly, back in high school. I was in a car the first time I heard it, too. Back then, 23 seemed ages away, I couldn't even imagine what my life would look like but I knew it would be nothing like what it was. I'd be older, I'd be smarter, I'd have it all figured out. I'd have direction, and the consolation wisdom of experiences. Now, 23 is a memory, just as tangible and forgettable as being 16 was.
Not sure if I'm all that different, but I know I've grown some. I know in many ways, that's for the better. But I also know old habits die hard. Still I love listening to this song today, as much if not more than I did back then. I think the more I hear it, the more I understand it - sometimes what we identify with in music or art is premature, and it is not until later in our life's experiences that we can fully comprehend its meaning. It still resonates, maybe in a deeper, different way, one that weighs a little more heavy on the chest than just a sad pretty song by a band I listen to all the time.
When I was 16, I didn't know what it meant to make decisions you consciously know will change your life. I didn't understand the gravity of loving someone, or how difficult it can be to make them understand, or how easy it is to find someone else who does. I didn't know what it was like to drive west, and not look back.
"Amazing still it seems
I'll be 23
I won't always love what I'll never have
I won't always live in my regrets
You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here, I'm now, I'm ready,
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine
You'll sit alone forever
If you wait for the right time
What are you hoping for?
I'm here, I'm now, I'm ready,
Holding on tight
Don't give away the end
The one thing that stays mine..."
~23
Jimmy Eat World, Futures
Friday, September 20, 2013
9/20/13
I have a piano back in my life! It's a full-size Casio, no weighted keys but plenty of settings for weird sounds and modulation - beats, too, which are great for acoustic and timing practice.
I've come to appreciate a good keys melody over the years, and I think the best are simple ones. Obviously musicianship, style are going to make for the best, and the virtuoso jazz type will always own piano playing in my mind, but a good line backing up a lyric-focused vocal do wonders for setting.
This tune, "Daydreaming" by Dark Dark Dark. has a lot of what I like in a piano-fueled song. A little bit of minor key, a little bit of jazzy technique, and a heartfelt message, one of wandering and wondering. There's a little Tori in there, somewhere, maybe it's just the piano, but it might also be the just-off vocals, the tendency to switch registers. I very much enjoy the overall setting though - and the band is from Minneapolis, a fact I discover just days away from one of my best friend's move to the Twin Cities.
"Think of a place I would go,
I'm daydreamin',
Where the sycamore grow,
I'm daydreamin',
And oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Where the air was so clear,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Anywhere but here.
Oh now look to the east,
Great mountains remember me,
Oh I wound around you for miles,
I sat down right there and stretched my bones.
And oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
You would see, too.
Oh the unspeakable things,
It's land I can see for miles,
With only the wind whispering,
Land I can see for miles,
With only the wind whispering,
Oh land I can see for miles,
With only the wind whispering,
Oh I'd run as fast as I can
Land I can see for miles
Oh I'm searching,
With only the wind whispering,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
You would see, too.
Oh the unspeakable things,
Oh the unspeakable things,
Oh the unspeakable things,
Oh the unspeakable things."
~Daydreaming
Dark Dark Dark, Wild Go
I've come to appreciate a good keys melody over the years, and I think the best are simple ones. Obviously musicianship, style are going to make for the best, and the virtuoso jazz type will always own piano playing in my mind, but a good line backing up a lyric-focused vocal do wonders for setting.
This tune, "Daydreaming" by Dark Dark Dark. has a lot of what I like in a piano-fueled song. A little bit of minor key, a little bit of jazzy technique, and a heartfelt message, one of wandering and wondering. There's a little Tori in there, somewhere, maybe it's just the piano, but it might also be the just-off vocals, the tendency to switch registers. I very much enjoy the overall setting though - and the band is from Minneapolis, a fact I discover just days away from one of my best friend's move to the Twin Cities.
"Think of a place I would go,
I'm daydreamin',
Where the sycamore grow,
I'm daydreamin',
And oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Where the air was so clear,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Anywhere but here.
Oh now look to the east,
Great mountains remember me,
Oh I wound around you for miles,
I sat down right there and stretched my bones.
And oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
You would see, too.
Oh the unspeakable things,
It's land I can see for miles,
With only the wind whispering,
Land I can see for miles,
With only the wind whispering,
Oh land I can see for miles,
With only the wind whispering,
Oh I'd run as fast as I can
Land I can see for miles
Oh I'm searching,
With only the wind whispering,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
Oh if you knew what it meant to me,
You would see, too.
Oh the unspeakable things,
Oh the unspeakable things,
Oh the unspeakable things,
Oh the unspeakable things."
~Daydreaming
Dark Dark Dark, Wild Go
Thursday, September 19, 2013
9/19/13
Lately it seems all I can listen to post-hardcore, The Starting Line or The 1975, but today was dominated by the Turnpike Troubadours. I discovered them when I was listening to a Shovels and Rope Pandora station on a whim this week, but it worked out great because I was researching toll roads at the time.
Turns out they're a pretty amazing bluegrass band, though I've learned that's not necessarily the right term. Wikipedia says they're "American Red Dirt" which is a new term to me, though I think I can get behind it. What a great way to describe something. Sometimes we all feel like American red dirt, amirite?
Seriously though, the straight-talkin' lovesick lyrics, copious fiddle and swinging four-four time truly makes you want to whirl around a dirty bar, or barn, in cowboy boots 'til the cows come home. Lyrically, there's plenty of narrative and scene-setting - the meter, rhymes and references are all quite poetic. Borderline campy, some might say, but I don't think you have to entirely suspend reality to relate to the scenes of broken hearts in small towns. No wonder their third LP, "Goodbye Normal Street" popped off last year - it's gotten me into their whole catalog, courtesy a YouTube playlist. I absolutely love the singer's voice, the key choices and the harmonies. I'm thinking it's time I get myself to a real roots-y concert sometime soon, because bands like this with many players, much soul and a dirty-party twinge to their down-home twang always put on a good show.
"Well I could go downtown and drink till dawn,
I could sing those sad old country songs,
oh but daylight finds me bored and blue,
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well the neon signs light up the block,
its a livin' breathin' honkytonk,
and your hair's wet with the morning dew,
the whole damn town's in love with you
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well all the cowboys in this bar,
oh and all those fools who play guitar,
well they're well aware that we are through,
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well the music pours out in the street,
just clean and cool as a cotton sheet,
well them long and lonley fiddle blues,
the whole damn town's in love with you
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well your worn out favorite pair of jeans,
oh I remember everything,
they were things i'd grown accustom to,
the whole damn town's in love with you
yeah the whole damn town's in love with you
the whole damn town's in love with you."
Turns out they're a pretty amazing bluegrass band, though I've learned that's not necessarily the right term. Wikipedia says they're "American Red Dirt" which is a new term to me, though I think I can get behind it. What a great way to describe something. Sometimes we all feel like American red dirt, amirite?
Seriously though, the straight-talkin' lovesick lyrics, copious fiddle and swinging four-four time truly makes you want to whirl around a dirty bar, or barn, in cowboy boots 'til the cows come home. Lyrically, there's plenty of narrative and scene-setting - the meter, rhymes and references are all quite poetic. Borderline campy, some might say, but I don't think you have to entirely suspend reality to relate to the scenes of broken hearts in small towns. No wonder their third LP, "Goodbye Normal Street" popped off last year - it's gotten me into their whole catalog, courtesy a YouTube playlist. I absolutely love the singer's voice, the key choices and the harmonies. I'm thinking it's time I get myself to a real roots-y concert sometime soon, because bands like this with many players, much soul and a dirty-party twinge to their down-home twang always put on a good show.
"Well I could go downtown and drink till dawn,
I could sing those sad old country songs,
oh but daylight finds me bored and blue,
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well the neon signs light up the block,
its a livin' breathin' honkytonk,
and your hair's wet with the morning dew,
the whole damn town's in love with you
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well all the cowboys in this bar,
oh and all those fools who play guitar,
well they're well aware that we are through,
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well the music pours out in the street,
just clean and cool as a cotton sheet,
well them long and lonley fiddle blues,
the whole damn town's in love with you
the whole damn town's in love with you
Well your worn out favorite pair of jeans,
oh I remember everything,
they were things i'd grown accustom to,
the whole damn town's in love with you
yeah the whole damn town's in love with you
the whole damn town's in love with you."
~Whole Damn Town
Turnpike Troubadors, Diamonds and Gasoline
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
9/11/13
And if you never eat, you'll never grow
You've got a pretty kinda dirty face
And when you're leaving your home she's begging you, "Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay."
I'll give you one more time
We'll give you one more fight
Said one more line
There'll be a riot, cause I know you.."
~Robbers
The 1975, The 1975
Verbally, it's casual, often conversational, but sonic-ly speaking, it's very decorated. There are wedding bells, there are sax solos, and they're all complimenting and highlighting some real intense, reaching vocals. In reviews of The 1975 I think you'll hear a lot of comparisons to R&B of the 90s, and electro pop of recent years, and there is a definite fusion going on, but it's far more authentic than what you might otherwise think would be gimmicky.
In the quiet moments, you here some real musicianship, and Matt Healy on piano is a treat I hope they use often in their live show. I think these were songs written out of what was fun to play, fun to write, fun to hear, from the point of view of rabble-rousers as fascinated and confused as most creative types are in their late teens/early 20s/entire lives. I'm immensely impressed - and from what I've seen of live footage, the live band might sound a little more raw and maybe even a little better than this record, coated in shiny ProTools glory, can reflect.
"Well I stay tuned, listen to the news and try to fall asleep at night.
Because I'm living in a house with just three walls,
So I'm always getting recognized.
There's a change in pressure
We're never gonna lie to you.
Change in pressure
My broken veins say that if my heart stops beating
Change in pressure
We'll bleed the same way
Change in pressure,
Definitely the soundtrack of this fall, and whatever it brings.
"Well I stay tuned, listen to the news and try to fall asleep at night.
Because I'm living in a house with just three walls,
So I'm always getting recognized.
There's a change in pressure
We're never gonna lie to you.
Change in pressure
My broken veins say that if my heart stops beating
Change in pressure
We'll bleed the same way
Change in pressure,
Oh, my broken veins say..."
~Pressure
The 1975, The 1975
9/11/13
"Mending" by The New Frontiers is still the most humbling, comforting album on days like today - days that are anniversaries of the worst days.
Today I heard a few "where were you" stories, from people who were journalists at the time. Their stories were much different than my own. I didn't tell my own, but my age makes it obvious - I was in school when our principal came on the PA, and when our algebra teacher rushed into the hallway to talk to other teachers. I watched the towers fall via television screen in the chorus room, then a little while later, off a projector screen in the auditorium, large like a movie screen.
I remember crying for the people who died, realizing that nothing would be the same for them or their families, unable to comprehend death at this level. My Spanish teacher hugged me in the hallway outside Cafeteria A and said it was OK, she cried too. I think I realized that nothing would be the same for me, either, or anyone who saw this happen - and truly, it never was or will be. But I also remember that feeling of togetherness, and the crisis friendships that form when boundaries fall. Weren't we all helpless, hopeless scared Americans? No letters next to the politician's name mattered that day. Yet here we are a dozen years later...if there's one thing that I hope people remember when they're told to Never Forget, it's remembering that moment when you knew, instantly, how human we are all.
"This is the house where you were born
Today I heard a few "where were you" stories, from people who were journalists at the time. Their stories were much different than my own. I didn't tell my own, but my age makes it obvious - I was in school when our principal came on the PA, and when our algebra teacher rushed into the hallway to talk to other teachers. I watched the towers fall via television screen in the chorus room, then a little while later, off a projector screen in the auditorium, large like a movie screen.
I remember crying for the people who died, realizing that nothing would be the same for them or their families, unable to comprehend death at this level. My Spanish teacher hugged me in the hallway outside Cafeteria A and said it was OK, she cried too. I think I realized that nothing would be the same for me, either, or anyone who saw this happen - and truly, it never was or will be. But I also remember that feeling of togetherness, and the crisis friendships that form when boundaries fall. Weren't we all helpless, hopeless scared Americans? No letters next to the politician's name mattered that day. Yet here we are a dozen years later...if there's one thing that I hope people remember when they're told to Never Forget, it's remembering that moment when you knew, instantly, how human we are all.
"This is the house where you were born
These rooms seem smaller than before
I turned 22 when were you found
Shattered and broken on the ground
They will rob you blind
They will take your peace of mind
And you'll want to run away from here
I know you can't escape from all of your fears
I made my peace with the world and all that it brings
I'm holding my own
We saw a spark within your eyes
Your face reflected in the light
We are all angels in the sky
We are all mirrors in disguise
We will lift you up
We will place you on your feet
We will pick you up
We will never let you go
I know you can't escape from all of your fears
I made my peace with the world and all that it bringsI'm holding my own"
~Mirrors
The New Frontiers, Mending
I turned 22 when were you found
Shattered and broken on the ground
They will rob you blind
They will take your peace of mind
And you'll want to run away from here
I know you can't escape from all of your fears
I made my peace with the world and all that it brings
I'm holding my own
We saw a spark within your eyes
Your face reflected in the light
We are all angels in the sky
We are all mirrors in disguise
We will lift you up
We will place you on your feet
We will pick you up
We will never let you go
I know you can't escape from all of your fears
I made my peace with the world and all that it bringsI'm holding my own"
~Mirrors
The New Frontiers, Mending
Monday, September 9, 2013
9/9/13
Yellowcard's Ocean Avenue Acoustic may just be one of my favorite reissues I've ever heard. These songs sound so beautiful and the stripped down, less punky more patient treatment reveals the meaning that all us fans heard back in the day when this record was a soundtrack to summer nights with friends, fall afternoons alone, hallway head phone listens and so much after.
Truly love how they kept structures the same, as the songs were not rewritten. But the violin solos ring a little more mournful over acoustic - the setting on "Empty Apartment" is gorgeous - and the meaningful moments are spotlit with all this new space, like the "Believe" intro and the entirety of the title track. It's also mixed and produced extremely well in terms of clarity. These songs could be played in front of me right now and the guitar would sound just as clear, drums just as crisp. And I can hear harmonies I don't recall, though that may be more my own distance from the original.
It's not easy to revisit songs (as I noted recently about the goddess herself Tori Amos) and I love that Yellowcard, a band that was a pivotal listening point for many music fans today, was able to do so without sacrificing their integrity or musicianship.
"There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight
That you're here tonight
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away"
~Ocean Avenue
Yellowcard, Ocean Avenue Acoustic
Truly love how they kept structures the same, as the songs were not rewritten. But the violin solos ring a little more mournful over acoustic - the setting on "Empty Apartment" is gorgeous - and the meaningful moments are spotlit with all this new space, like the "Believe" intro and the entirety of the title track. It's also mixed and produced extremely well in terms of clarity. These songs could be played in front of me right now and the guitar would sound just as clear, drums just as crisp. And I can hear harmonies I don't recall, though that may be more my own distance from the original.
It's not easy to revisit songs (as I noted recently about the goddess herself Tori Amos) and I love that Yellowcard, a band that was a pivotal listening point for many music fans today, was able to do so without sacrificing their integrity or musicianship.
"There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight
That you're here tonight
If I could find you now things would get better
We could leave this town and run forever
I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me and take me away"
~Ocean Avenue
Yellowcard, Ocean Avenue Acoustic
Monday, September 2, 2013
9/2/13
Don't know if I have the right words for this one - Tori Amos music, this song in general, but this past weekend I heard "Gold Dust," a recent album where she re-did a bunch of songs, set with orchestra parts. It was beautiful. I went to YouTube and while I didn't find the exact version of "Cloud on my Tongue," a longtime favorite song, I found a live version.
You might say that it was a good surprise. I loved listening to this, even out of terrible laptop speakers it was gorgeous and dynamic (and yes, the laptop speakers are extremely terrible and I try to never listen to music on them, but sometimes it's the only thing around). Truly she is the kind of artist where if you don't get her, you don't get her and you won't see what's so marvelous about her songwriting. What she does with lyrics is one thing - one that is very hard to decode but overflors with feel and imagery - but what she does with counterpoint and layering and tempo - just musically - is another. Before the first chorus, those violin trills, and the build under the "circles" part? Absolute chills, and I could not imagine a more beautiful way to re-hear one of my all-time favorite songs.
And good lord Tori Amos is talented, just a master of what she does, the complete owner of her sound and her work and her art. The idea of coming back to a song many years after the album was made and re-setting it with a freakin' Belgian symphony behind you? And having it be this beautiful? You can't pull that off. I can't pull that off that. Eighty percent of artists whose name you know and music you buy easily could not pull it off, They'd succumb to early burn out or never getting the opportunity because they just didn't know how to do what they do this well.
Lots of people can be artists every now again, it is an entirely different type of human who manages to embody it, live it, be fueled by it.
"Thought I was over the bridge now."
~Cloud on my Tongue
Tori Amos, Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgiumw/ the Metropole Orkest
You might say that it was a good surprise. I loved listening to this, even out of terrible laptop speakers it was gorgeous and dynamic (and yes, the laptop speakers are extremely terrible and I try to never listen to music on them, but sometimes it's the only thing around). Truly she is the kind of artist where if you don't get her, you don't get her and you won't see what's so marvelous about her songwriting. What she does with lyrics is one thing - one that is very hard to decode but overflors with feel and imagery - but what she does with counterpoint and layering and tempo - just musically - is another. Before the first chorus, those violin trills, and the build under the "circles" part? Absolute chills, and I could not imagine a more beautiful way to re-hear one of my all-time favorite songs.
And good lord Tori Amos is talented, just a master of what she does, the complete owner of her sound and her work and her art. The idea of coming back to a song many years after the album was made and re-setting it with a freakin' Belgian symphony behind you? And having it be this beautiful? You can't pull that off. I can't pull that off that. Eighty percent of artists whose name you know and music you buy easily could not pull it off, They'd succumb to early burn out or never getting the opportunity because they just didn't know how to do what they do this well.
Lots of people can be artists every now again, it is an entirely different type of human who manages to embody it, live it, be fueled by it.
"Thought I was over the bridge now."
~Cloud on my Tongue
Tori Amos, Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgiumw/ the Metropole Orkest
Friday, August 30, 2013
8/30/13
I am sorry to say I haven't heard the latest LP from The Dangerous Summer yet. I've read about it, I've heard a couple singles, and I don't know if I've just been distracted by other groups newer to my ears, but what I heard just hadn't really *clicked* with me yet. After I heard "Catholic Girls" and "Sins" I didn't really feel a need to hear them again, but at the same time, I really love AJ Perdomo's work and the band's overall sound.
So today, the "Sins" video was released, and I gave it a watch and a listen, and I think the pieces finally clicked. What I thought was a disjointed structure is actually a rather disguised weaving of verses and choruses - you'll catch this at the very end. His vocals take on the shrillness and urgency we've heard before, but it's more aggressive this time, and the lead guitars resonate over velvet-heavy drums and rhythm parts, adding a lightness.
The whole song almost feels like a bunch of tension without a release, and I think that's why it was uncomfortable for me at first, but I realized then that's what the song is about. The execution mirrors the story. Looking forward to hearing the full record when I can get my hands on it.
"Was I wrong?
Didn't have you for myself
Even if you're still abroad
We will fuck with consequence
'Cause our lives will still be ours
I wanna carry you and
Take your fallout and
See when I follow through
Yea, hold me harder and
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love
To belong
To the wind won't take us from
The fire we hold inside
Won't you rest your tired eyes
'Cause a lifetime will be hard
And when I stare at you
I feel my arms open
The tide is pulling through
To take our walls down and
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love...
The current's strong
There's a void where we both sleep
I'll take you out of there
I'll take you anywhere for good
It won't be long
We will find a place by the beach
And days will cascade
Then days will start again for good
I turn my back on the rope tied to my ceiling
To reason I won't go there anymore
So I thought for once that death might bring me healing.
The Atlantic washed over in Cape Town, in London.
So today, the "Sins" video was released, and I gave it a watch and a listen, and I think the pieces finally clicked. What I thought was a disjointed structure is actually a rather disguised weaving of verses and choruses - you'll catch this at the very end. His vocals take on the shrillness and urgency we've heard before, but it's more aggressive this time, and the lead guitars resonate over velvet-heavy drums and rhythm parts, adding a lightness.
The whole song almost feels like a bunch of tension without a release, and I think that's why it was uncomfortable for me at first, but I realized then that's what the song is about. The execution mirrors the story. Looking forward to hearing the full record when I can get my hands on it.
"Was I wrong?
Didn't have you for myself
Even if you're still abroad
We will fuck with consequence
'Cause our lives will still be ours
I wanna carry you and
Take your fallout and
See when I follow through
Yea, hold me harder and
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love
To belong
To the wind won't take us from
The fire we hold inside
Won't you rest your tired eyes
'Cause a lifetime will be hard
And when I stare at you
I feel my arms open
The tide is pulling through
To take our walls down and
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love
I'm living away from our love...
The current's strong
There's a void where we both sleep
I'll take you out of there
I'll take you anywhere for good
It won't be long
We will find a place by the beach
And days will cascade
Then days will start again for good
I turn my back on the rope tied to my ceiling
To reason I won't go there anymore
So I thought for once that death might bring me healing.
The Atlantic washed over in Cape Town, in London.
'Til we wash away your sins, and the lives that we once lived."
~Sins
~Sins
The Dangerous Summer, Golden Record
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
8/27/13
Acoustic poetry with a little piano kicked in. It's just a couple scenes and rhymes, and very simple melody, but the sadness in this song is chest-filling, eye-swelling, overwhelming. Love.
That's no way to live
all tangled up like balls of string.
And we woke at dawn
and watched the sun glide over the hill.
That's no way to live
all tangled up like balls of string.
And we woke at dawn
and watched the sun glide over the hill.
I just said the first
three words that popped into my head.
Let me off the bus;
I'm tired and sore and should probably change clothes.
And the circuits are blown,
my woman is cold,
our children are stoned and worthless.
All waiting for you to tell them the truth.
The truth is a line, that you'll never use.
And her dignity
shown so bright like a light on a hill.
And she burned for me,
and no other man came near the flame.
And back country songs the defeaning twang of the rich-white-kid blues
You can own the stage,
but the lights and glares will not make you real.
three words that popped into my head.
Let me off the bus;
I'm tired and sore and should probably change clothes.
And the circuits are blown,
my woman is cold,
our children are stoned and worthless.
All waiting for you to tell them the truth.
The truth is a line, that you'll never use.
And her dignity
shown so bright like a light on a hill.
And she burned for me,
and no other man came near the flame.
And back country songs the defeaning twang of the rich-white-kid blues
You can own the stage,
but the lights and glares will not make you real.
She whispers to me, I was meant to be free.
This life that we've built is deadly.
She crawls from my bed, with a comb cross her head.
She crawls to the train and drives herself home
This life that we've built is deadly.
She crawls from my bed, with a comb cross her head.
She crawls to the train and drives herself home
~A Light on the Hill
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, The Dust of Retreat
Friday, August 23, 2013
8/23/2013
Everything's become subjective.
And we're always changing our perspective of what's right.
And I'm caught between the color schemes of black and white.
And I know that it's not right
It's not right
Because it seems that all the places worth staying have been claimed.
And all of the claims, they have been staked.
So who am I to grade you?
And who am I to write?
Seek, try and all you'll find is
Seek, try and all you'll find is
They say when it rains, that it pours.
When a window it closes, it opens up a door.
And I'm caught between the color schemes of black and white.
And I know that it's not right
It's not right
Because it seems that all the places worth staying have been claimed.
And all of the claims, they have been staked.
So who am I to grade you?
And who am I to write?
Seek, try and all you'll find is
Seek, try and all you'll find is
The answer comes in time.
That's just the story of my life.
That's just the story of my life.
I don't want anything from anyone anymore.
I don't want anything from anyone anymore.
Because it seems that all the places worth staying have been claimed.
And all of the claims, they have been staked.
So who am I to grade you?
And who am I to write?
Seek, try and all you'll find is
Seek, try and all you'll find is....
That's just the story of my life.
I don't want anything from anyone anymore."
~The Answer Comes in Time,
Transit, Listen & Forgive
Pretty much sums it up.
Not much else to say on this one other than Transit is great, this song is cemented in my head, and I love it when pop punk bands pull off multiple vocal parts like this.
Joe Boynton has more than a hint of fighter in his Boston-bred pipes. In true emo-bred, pop punk form, this song manages to encapsulate defeat without being too sad to listen to. The wordplay is excellent and the metaphors are unpretentious (stay/stakes/claimed). The melody, suspended pre-chorus breaks and gang vocal ending are punk enough to turn a line like "I don't want anything from anyone anymore" from a potentially whiny emo refrain into a kiss-off to the world.
Wherever a band like Transit fits in scenes and trends doesn't matter when they've got frustration on their side. Once you learn how to translate that frustration into your art, it's going to show, and for the better.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
8/7/13
I had a friend listen to me today.
We started talking before I realized I needed someone to listen to me and hear what I had to say about something I hadn't intended on speaking about. Before I knew it, she helped me understand what I knew was the answer to the questions I was struggling with all along, the kind of answers I was too afraid to confront myself.
Self-sabotage is not always an intentional thing, but when you catch yourself doing it, or when someone else helps you notice, you can avoid a world of destruction, or at the very least, trotting down a hurt-trimmed path. I think that's what this song is about, I think it's very clear. What a classic.
OLP may not have sent many shockwaves with their most recent work (did you know they released an album in 2012? Because until about five minutes ago, I did not), but man, was some of their earlier stuff on the money. "Gravity" was likely the most commercially successful in 2002, what with the singles and the critical praise ("Made of Steel" completely crumbles me), but "Clumsy" always spoke to me a little more as an entire album. I loved how it was aggressive but not too angry, self-aware and smart but unpretentious. Especially when I got into their discography, early 2000s amid an emo-tinged alt rock scene, something about OLP felt far grungier and spacier; it's in the distortion and the swung tempos and their ability to take it down a notch without losing depth, and the just-this-side-of-insane overlay on the vocals. Raine Maida almost always sounds like he just about to lose it - and he occasionally does, in the form of yelling - and I love how he makes you hear that edge so much you can practically feel yourself balancing on it.
"throw away the radio suitcase
that keeps you awake
hide the telephone,
the telephone in case,
you realize that sometimes
you're not okay
you level off but its not all right now
you need to understand
there's nothing strange about this
you need to know your friends.
I'll be waving my hand watching you drown,
watching you scream,
quiet or loud.
maybe you should sleep,
maybe you just need a friend.
as clumsy as you've been,
there's no one laughing,
you will be safe in here.
Throw away this very old shoelace
that tripped you again
try and shrug it off
it's only skin now.
you need to understand
there's nothing fake about this
you need to let me in
I'm watching you
I'll be waving my hand watching you drown
watching you scream
no one's around.
and maybe you should sleep
and maybe you just need a friend.
as clumsy as you've been,
there's no one laughing,
you will be safe in here."
~Clumsy,
Our Lady Peace, Clumsy
Thursday, August 1, 2013
8/1/13
This, along with most songs Andy Hull has ever written, is one of those albums I used to gorge myself on. So I don't listen to it that much anymore, save certain tracks that are iPod staples. But this one came up on Pandora today and I just appreciated it in a brand new way.
"Don't let them see you cry
When the dam breaks down and the city is covered in water
Cause I believe we fly
When the moon takes shape and I doze off, on your shoulders
I trust that you see it too
So breathe while you're alive
Let the big band play as you tap leather with your fingers
And I tried to write in style
But the words just come and I write them as soon as I see them
And I trust that you write them too
And I trust that you love me too"
~Don't Let Them See You Cry
Manchester Orchestra, I'm Like a Virgin Losing A Child
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
7/31/13
"A heart on the run keeps a hand on the gun you can't trust anyone
I was so sure what I needed was more tried to shoot out the sun
Days when we raged, we flew off the page such damage was done
But I made it through, cause somebody knew I was meant for someone
Girl, leave your boots by the bed we ain't leaving this room
Till someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good
Put your faith to the test when I tore off your dress in Richmond all high
But I sobered up and I swore off that stuff forever, this time
And the old lovers sing 'I thought it'd be me who helped him get home'
But home was a dream, one I'd never seen till you came along
Girl, hang your dress up to dry we ain't leaving this room
Till Percy Priest breaks open wide and the river runs through
And carries this house on the stones like a piece of driftwood
Cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good
Girl, leave your boots by the bed we ain't leaving this room
Till someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good
Cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good."
~Cover Me Up
Jason Isbell, Southeastern
All I want to do is listen to this record and feel the tears wet my eyes, never falling.
In an age when any kid in a plaid shirt with a banjo (and an iPhone to prove it to the watching world at large) thinks he's an Americana star waiting to be discovered, it is truly a gift to fans of the genre everywhere when a real talent like Jason Isbell breaks through like did. Already there's plenty of stories about how this album was borne of his sobriety, and of how his days with the Drive-By Truckers are memories blurred by alcoholism. Now that "Southeastern" is done and given to the world, though, another story is just beginning. Because I think this can be an album that re-inspires folk and country to be better. I think this raises the bar.
Start to finish, every song tells a story. Emotions are laid plain on the table and neither dressed up nor down. Where in pop country you'd hear cliches, with Isbell you hear tales. His use of details is incredibly natural; the rooms and the landscapes he sees are sketched with phrases then painted in with acoustics and fiddle strings. Melodically, these songs were made for singing, and occasional harmonies and keys add some soul.
Some of the most poignant lines are the smallest lines, like a subtle afterthought ("What good does knowing do/with no one to show it to?"). There is love and there is loss, there are heavy hearts and there is hope. And yes, there is some slide guitar.
Isbell is definitely in the Americana/alt country category for me (think Whiskeytown), however if you don't like folk or country, I do think you'd probably have to get past that to really appreciate these songs. But for songwriting geeks or any one with a penchant for a sad story, they will find what they're looking for. I'm sure there are exclusive listeners of pop punk and metal who I share favorite bands wtih who would totally write me off for appreciating this. But I don't get that exclusivity, not when you're looking to music to give you the stories and feelings to find yourself in, or appreciate the crafted expression that goes into writing something someone else may find worthwhile.
Jason Isbell is a storyteller, the truest kind American music can ever hope to find.
Lately I've been doing my best to leave my mistakes and regrets back where they belong. Major things, minor things, from hurting the ones I loved to spilling a drink on a host's table and never really apologizing to missing an opportunity that I just wish I'd taken. Sometimes forgetting doesn't work so well, other times, I see how far I've come. Listening to "Southeastern," I keep coming back to why it's so important to keep moving forward, because you never what light lies on the other side of the dark.
"Take my hand, baby, we're over land
I know flying over water makes you cry
Where's that liquor cart, maybe we shouldn't start
But I can't for the life of me say why did we leave our love behind?"
~Flying Over Water,
Jason Isbell, Southeastern
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
7/23/13
"I can hear my train comin'...it's a lonesome and distant cry.."
Had this stuck in my head all day, sat down to try to learn it. Thirty minutes later and a tab or two later, I had the main chords figured out but absolutely no technical ability to pull of the playing, the picking or the chord changes. Mostly because I am no guitar player but also because Dallas Green is a man of incredible skill and talent. He plays the way some people write, dynamics and rhythm so perfect and fluid because they are innate. It's nothing that can be taught - refined, maybe, but some are just born with it.
And his words. Simple and telling, effortless rhymes. If this song doesn't make your blood run a little slower, make your thoughts a little darker, and somehow still you for a second, I'm not sure if you understand powerful songwriting the same way I do. Because damn. He gets the feeling so right on, he doesn't even need to say it.
"I can hear my train comin'
It's a lonesome and distant cry
I can hear my train comin'
Now I'm runnin' for my life
What makes a man walk away from his mind?
I think I know
I think I might know
I can feel the wind blowin'
It's sending shivers down my spine
I can feel the wind blowin'
It shakes the trees and the power lines
What makes a man spend his whole life in disguise?
I think I know
I think I might know
I think I might know
I think I might know, oh oh
I can see the sun settin'
It's casting shadows on the sea
I can see the sun, it's setting
It's getting colder, starting to freeze
What makes a man want to break a heart with ease?
I think I know
I think I might know
I think I might know
I think I might know, oh oh
Well I can hear my train comin'
Looks like time is not on my side
Well I can hear my train comin'
I'm still runnin' for my life
What makes a man pray, when he's about to die?
I think I know
I think I might know"
~What Makes a Man
City and Colour, Bring Me Your Love
Had this stuck in my head all day, sat down to try to learn it. Thirty minutes later and a tab or two later, I had the main chords figured out but absolutely no technical ability to pull of the playing, the picking or the chord changes. Mostly because I am no guitar player but also because Dallas Green is a man of incredible skill and talent. He plays the way some people write, dynamics and rhythm so perfect and fluid because they are innate. It's nothing that can be taught - refined, maybe, but some are just born with it.
And his words. Simple and telling, effortless rhymes. If this song doesn't make your blood run a little slower, make your thoughts a little darker, and somehow still you for a second, I'm not sure if you understand powerful songwriting the same way I do. Because damn. He gets the feeling so right on, he doesn't even need to say it.
"I can hear my train comin'
It's a lonesome and distant cry
I can hear my train comin'
Now I'm runnin' for my life
What makes a man walk away from his mind?
I think I know
I think I might know
I can feel the wind blowin'
It's sending shivers down my spine
I can feel the wind blowin'
It shakes the trees and the power lines
What makes a man spend his whole life in disguise?
I think I know
I think I might know
I think I might know
I think I might know, oh oh
I can see the sun settin'
It's casting shadows on the sea
I can see the sun, it's setting
It's getting colder, starting to freeze
What makes a man want to break a heart with ease?
I think I know
I think I might know
I think I might know
I think I might know, oh oh
Well I can hear my train comin'
Looks like time is not on my side
Well I can hear my train comin'
I'm still runnin' for my life
What makes a man pray, when he's about to die?
I think I know
I think I might know"
~What Makes a Man
City and Colour, Bring Me Your Love
Sunday, July 21, 2013
7/21/13
Several years before it was so fashionable to have multi-member folksy pop bands, Margot and the Nuclear So-and-Sos were doing their thing and doing it oh so well. A vastly underappreciated band on many levels, Richard Edwards is a fantastic songwriter capable of poignant, original metaphors and beautiful melodic layers, accented by lap steel and horns. Love this song, for its dynamics and drama.
"I gotta go, and you're talking in code
Saying I know where you've been and I know where you go
I've been tired from the moment I woke
I stopped listening the moment you spoke
and said I'm long gone
yeah, I'm long gone
And I'm sleeping alone
in a house I don't own
cause if you're touring your mind
you'll get lost every time
you'll sing me sad songs to keep me awake
in that bedroom where we hid away
Baby, I'm long gone.
Yeah, I'm long gone.
And your voice cracks like a piano
you keep moving,
but where are you going?
Baby, we're long gone
Yeah, we're long gone"
~Talking in Code,
Margot and the Nuclear So-and-Sos, The Dust of Retreat
Friday, July 12, 2013
7/12/13
Something about this song just screams summertime. Maybe it's the surfer-toned distortion - are those Telecasters? Maybe the mention of young love. Maybe it's the drumroll before the four-times-through chorus, which is a great tactic for hitting home a great melody and turning a few short lines into a full-fledged song.
"I said, 'darlin', why so blue?'
She told me, 'I've been missin' you.'
We's a-leaving
She said, stay
She kissed my lips and quickly ran away
Lost some buttons to my overcoat
Pull your knife away from my throat
She said, 'smoke your cigarette, I hope you choke'
Kissed my lips and quickly ran away
I shake, I shake
I can never see
How good a young love could really be.
I know, I know
It's not that bad
Take a look at what we had
Walked you home from the park
I held your hand, it was after dark
Hold me closer, she'll always stay
She kissed my lips and quickly ran away
Lost some buttons to my overcoat
Pull your knife away from my throat
She said, 'smoke your cigarette, I hope you choke'
Kissed my lips and quickly ran away
You shake, you shake
I could never see
How good young love could really be
I know, I know
It's not that bad
Take a look at what we had"
~Buttons
The Weeks, Comeback Cadillac
"I said, 'darlin', why so blue?'
She told me, 'I've been missin' you.'
We's a-leaving
She said, stay
She kissed my lips and quickly ran away
Lost some buttons to my overcoat
Pull your knife away from my throat
She said, 'smoke your cigarette, I hope you choke'
Kissed my lips and quickly ran away
I shake, I shake
I can never see
How good a young love could really be.
I know, I know
It's not that bad
Take a look at what we had
Walked you home from the park
I held your hand, it was after dark
Hold me closer, she'll always stay
She kissed my lips and quickly ran away
Lost some buttons to my overcoat
Pull your knife away from my throat
She said, 'smoke your cigarette, I hope you choke'
Kissed my lips and quickly ran away
You shake, you shake
I could never see
How good young love could really be
I know, I know
It's not that bad
Take a look at what we had"
~Buttons
The Weeks, Comeback Cadillac
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
7/10/13
"You would write it
Then rewrite it
Then erase it
But I heard you had something to say to me
A stronger spine is all you need
So pick up the guts from on the floor
Experienced advice to help you with the choice of words so poor
Well I call it retaliation by definition
You should've known by now
What this resentments all about
I've posted every kind of clue around this town
And everyone seems to see them but you"~Discretion and Depressing People
Into It. Over It., Proper
I've been on a huge Into It. Over It. kick lately - mostly because I crafted the closest-to-perfect Pandora station I've ever done in their name, with the likes of Look Mexico, The Wonder Years, The Weakerthans, Fireworks and a lot of sweet bands I've never heard of filling out the playlist.
If you've never heard "Proper," it's a fascinating, addicting, rabbit-hole of an album. The band overall is really original and authentic, and I think that makes them hard to classify but endlessly fun to listen to. It's not pop-punk, is it? and it's definitely not hardcore. Post-punk? No. Alt rock? Very Death Cab at times, but also has a lot in common with the progressive indie scene and seems rather well-known among pop-punk crowds. I think we can just call it music and leave it at that.
I just love the variation, I love the feel. Guitar parts alternative between rich, slow electric parts with dreamy crescendos and more pop-punk chord-jamming, then there's mellow acoustic on a couple ballad tracks. Evan Weiss is an inventive lyricist; I love what he does with timing and his penchant for full sentences, and a noticable lack of rhyming that occasionally resolves itself in some poignant, pointed way. There's sometimes a spoken-word feel, like a journal being read aloud, and then you'll get some really obvious melody. And I love the in-line rhyming he so often uses, it flows really well. In songs like this, "Midnight: Carroll Street" you end the song with a bring-it-home, key-spruced climax powerful enough to sounds good loud but not aggressive enough to lose something heartfelt and warm. A winning album, for its intimacy and its quirks, in my book.
"Somewhere between caffeine and nicotine
You will find me unentertained and worn out
Pressed to the steps beside my house
It's somewhere between upset and sick it seems
To still find me the finest quality of pure anxiety
I'm searching for the solace to call you out,
To call you at all.
So somewhere between midnight and Carroll Street
I will find you a colder shoulder than I'm used to
Bending receivers just to hear the truth
I'm demanding some answers
I'm keeping up with double standards
I am between the words you're telling me
With a fine toothed comb
I'm drawing lines in hindsight
Until the stories start to line up right
These details bent and broke us down
The finest rivalry of our anxiety
Searching for the courage to hear you out
To hear you at all
Somewhere between single life and sympathy
You will find me
You will find me
You will find me
To still find me the finest quality of pure anxiety
I'm searching for the solace to call you out,
To call you at all.
So somewhere between midnight and Carroll Street
I will find you a colder shoulder than I'm used to
Bending receivers just to hear the truth
I'm demanding some answers
I'm keeping up with double standards
I am between the words you're telling me
With a fine toothed comb
I'm drawing lines in hindsight
Until the stories start to line up right
These details bent and broke us down
The finest rivalry of our anxiety
Searching for the courage to hear you out
To hear you at all
Somewhere between single life and sympathy
You will find me
You will find me
You will find me
Sunday, July 7, 2013
7/713
Beautiful day to listen to some Whiskeytown, hot and rainy and a little lazy. Maybe it's the frequency I've been picking up my guitar, maybe it's nostalgia nipping at my heels, or maybe it's just the warm, hazy promise distinct to American summers. But lately the sound of Carolina-bred folk coated in strings and harmonies makes the perfect soundtrack for winding down the weekend. Clears the head, clears the heart and all too easy to sing to.
"Put the houses in a row
On the streets we used to know
And all the things out in the yard
Beckoning there to and fro
And if the money isn't right
Can I be yours tonight?
I've an easy heart.
And from the windows of your house
Reflects back on yourself.
And it gets you wonderin'
If it means anything
And if the money isn't right
Can I be yours tonight?
I've had a pretty hard life,
I've had a pretty hard life for such an easy heart.
You move away when you're young
They take away where you're from
And all the things out in the trees
Fall away into the breeze
And if the money isn't right
Can I be yours tonight?
I've had a pretty hard life,
I've had a pretty hard life for such an easy heart"
"Put the houses in a row
On the streets we used to know
And all the things out in the yard
Beckoning there to and fro
And if the money isn't right
Can I be yours tonight?
I've an easy heart.
And from the windows of your house
Reflects back on yourself.
And it gets you wonderin'
If it means anything
And if the money isn't right
Can I be yours tonight?
I've had a pretty hard life,
I've had a pretty hard life for such an easy heart.
You move away when you're young
They take away where you're from
And all the things out in the trees
Fall away into the breeze
And if the money isn't right
Can I be yours tonight?
I've had a pretty hard life,
I've had a pretty hard life for such an easy heart"
~Easy Heart
Whiskeytown, Pneumonia
Sunday, June 23, 2013
6/23/13
A little Lucinda Williams as I continue a lazy Sunday morning...much to do today, much to accomplish that doesn't involving ruminating, and yet, coffee and YouTube surfing is much more satisfying than checking off any to-do lists.
Lucinda is the real deal - she just sings, there is no style to match, no manufactured pitch-matching going on. She simply sings, natural rasp, vibrato and dynamics coloring the tone instead of post-production effects. She doesn't try to be overtly pretty or sexy or anything other than who she is, she curses and snarls as much as she wistfully narrates. No wonder she's been so successful for so long, her performance and her songwriting are a perfectly match for the listener looking for honest American folk-rock of the modern age. No pretense, all feel, just straight up alt country blues from the heart.
"Are you all right?
All of a sudden you went away
Are you all right?
I hope you come back around someday.
Are you all right?
I haven't seen you in a real long time.
Are you all right?
Could you give me some kind of sign?
Are you all right?
I looked around me and you were gone.
Are you all right?
I feel like there must be something wrong.
Are you all right?
Cause it seems like you disappeared.
Are you all right?
Cause I've been feeling a little scared.
Are you all right?
Are you sleeping through the night?
Do you have someone to hold you tight?
Do you have someone to hang out with?
Do you have someone to hug & kiss you?
Hug & kiss you, hug & kiss you
Are you all right?"
~Are You Alright?
Lucinda Williams, West
Lucinda is the real deal - she just sings, there is no style to match, no manufactured pitch-matching going on. She simply sings, natural rasp, vibrato and dynamics coloring the tone instead of post-production effects. She doesn't try to be overtly pretty or sexy or anything other than who she is, she curses and snarls as much as she wistfully narrates. No wonder she's been so successful for so long, her performance and her songwriting are a perfectly match for the listener looking for honest American folk-rock of the modern age. No pretense, all feel, just straight up alt country blues from the heart.
"Are you all right?
All of a sudden you went away
Are you all right?
I hope you come back around someday.
Are you all right?
I haven't seen you in a real long time.
Are you all right?
Could you give me some kind of sign?
Are you all right?
I looked around me and you were gone.
Are you all right?
I feel like there must be something wrong.
Are you all right?
Cause it seems like you disappeared.
Are you all right?
Cause I've been feeling a little scared.
Are you all right?
Are you sleeping through the night?
Do you have someone to hold you tight?
Do you have someone to hang out with?
Do you have someone to hug & kiss you?
Hug & kiss you, hug & kiss you
Are you all right?"
~Are You Alright?
Lucinda Williams, West
Thursday, June 20, 2013
6/20/13
I woke up to a great text today. My sister: "I forgot what a good album everything starts where it ends is!"
She's right! It really is fabulous. Lovedrug has evolved a lot, and while their fan base has grown I think some of the early adopters still prefer the earlier work. Though I absolutely loved "Wild Blood" and think it's a fantastic rock record, "Everything Starts Where it Ends" has a more daring, unaffected sound. It's a lot more unafraid to fail - in a lot of ways bands are that way when they first start out - and I think that makes it that much edgier. Years later "Wild Blood" was much more polished, with a clear narrative and spot-on precision lyrically and melodically...and I love it for its wholeness and for how fucking good those songs sounded live, but "Everything Starts" was truly a game-changer of a sophomore record. I mean, that's how you do it, in do-or-die fashion, with tons of instruments and dark lyrics and haunting melodies that are also so fucking good live you're getting attention from rock listeners from all over the spectrum.
These days, Michael Shepard is goin' solo, according to a Pledge Music campaign, and I'm very much excited to see what he does. His gift for melody and hooks is so apparent, and has only grown with time, so I can't wait to hear what he does with a clean slate. No doubt it's going to be masterful, extremely well-produced and lyrically, incredibly sharp.
In the meantime, though, what a good time to rediscover the earlier days Lovedrug. I put it on a mental shelf, for awhile, a result of getting overplayed and over-associated, as can be the case with favorites. But on this night, where insomnia and loneliness are unfortunately getting the better of me, something familiar sounds just right. The title track to this day is one of my all-time favorite songs, because it is beautiful and symphonic and weird and heart-stoppingly momentous. Those last two minutes? Chilling. Every time I hear it, it's like the first time all over again.
Then there's this track, which I think I understand tonight more than I might've in years gone by. As the go-to ballad of the album, it was one I may of skipped over every now and again. But tonight, I wanted something slow, sad, and just a little bit gallant - and inspired my sister's text, I knew exactly what I wanted to hear.
"Would you believe me if I told you
That I'm surfacing for just one thieving moment
To steal your heart?
Would you believe me if I told you
That fairy tales come true
When I'm with you?
I'll free the one who falls in love again
Come on and hold you like candy on a Friday after
Making love all year
And now we're swimming down where
Iron doors are open
And there is too much fear to breathe
A girl, a boy, a hell
Like thieves we are...
All in love
With stolen hearts,
and we all fall down,
and fall apart for love.
Dance, alright
But I'm giving it one last fight
I fancy not your night
I'm not your girl, your whore, your hell
But thieves, we are...
All in love
With stolen hearts,
and we all fall down
and fall apart for love."
~Thieving
Lovedrug, Everything Starts Where it Ends
She's right! It really is fabulous. Lovedrug has evolved a lot, and while their fan base has grown I think some of the early adopters still prefer the earlier work. Though I absolutely loved "Wild Blood" and think it's a fantastic rock record, "Everything Starts Where it Ends" has a more daring, unaffected sound. It's a lot more unafraid to fail - in a lot of ways bands are that way when they first start out - and I think that makes it that much edgier. Years later "Wild Blood" was much more polished, with a clear narrative and spot-on precision lyrically and melodically...and I love it for its wholeness and for how fucking good those songs sounded live, but "Everything Starts" was truly a game-changer of a sophomore record. I mean, that's how you do it, in do-or-die fashion, with tons of instruments and dark lyrics and haunting melodies that are also so fucking good live you're getting attention from rock listeners from all over the spectrum.
These days, Michael Shepard is goin' solo, according to a Pledge Music campaign, and I'm very much excited to see what he does. His gift for melody and hooks is so apparent, and has only grown with time, so I can't wait to hear what he does with a clean slate. No doubt it's going to be masterful, extremely well-produced and lyrically, incredibly sharp.
In the meantime, though, what a good time to rediscover the earlier days Lovedrug. I put it on a mental shelf, for awhile, a result of getting overplayed and over-associated, as can be the case with favorites. But on this night, where insomnia and loneliness are unfortunately getting the better of me, something familiar sounds just right. The title track to this day is one of my all-time favorite songs, because it is beautiful and symphonic and weird and heart-stoppingly momentous. Those last two minutes? Chilling. Every time I hear it, it's like the first time all over again.
Then there's this track, which I think I understand tonight more than I might've in years gone by. As the go-to ballad of the album, it was one I may of skipped over every now and again. But tonight, I wanted something slow, sad, and just a little bit gallant - and inspired my sister's text, I knew exactly what I wanted to hear.
"Would you believe me if I told you
That I'm surfacing for just one thieving moment
To steal your heart?
Would you believe me if I told you
That fairy tales come true
When I'm with you?
I'll free the one who falls in love again
Come on and hold you like candy on a Friday after
Making love all year
And now we're swimming down where
Iron doors are open
And there is too much fear to breathe
A girl, a boy, a hell
Like thieves we are...
All in love
With stolen hearts,
and we all fall down,
and fall apart for love.
Dance, alright
But I'm giving it one last fight
I fancy not your night
I'm not your girl, your whore, your hell
But thieves, we are...
All in love
With stolen hearts,
and we all fall down
and fall apart for love."
~Thieving
Lovedrug, Everything Starts Where it Ends
Thursday, June 13, 2013
6/13/13
I'll never forget this one time I was supposed to see Taking Back Sunday play an acoustic gig at a record store back home, but that morning my car's transmission blew up on the underground floor of a municipal parking garage, striking an undercover cop car, leaving me stranded for eight hours while trying to find a tow truck that could fit under the clearance, and winding up costing me my entire savings and a 19 percent APR on a new used vehicle.
Funny how that's one of my happier TBS memories. Joking. Sort of. Anyway, love this recent performance of "Bike Scene." What a classic this album is/will be:
"I'll leave the lights down low
so she knows I mean business,
And maybe we could talk this over,
Cause I could be your best bet,
Let alone your worst ex, And let alone your worst...
I wanna hate you so bad
But I can't, but I can't stop this anymore than you can
So honestly, how could you say those things
when you know they don't mean anything
And you know very well
that I can't keep my hands to myself,
hands to myself...
I wanna hate you so bad But I can't
But I can't stop this
anymore than you can
This is all wrong and it shows
There's certain things I promised not to let you know, You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the edge of my seat,
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the..
You've got this silly way
of keeping me on the edge of my seat
But you're only counting the clock against the train
And I'm miserable, oh
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the edge of my seat,
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the...
You've got me right where you want me
Let's never talk, let's never talk, let's never,
let's never talk about this again because I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me "
~Bike Scene
Taking Back Sunday, Tell All Your Friends
Funny how that's one of my happier TBS memories. Joking. Sort of. Anyway, love this recent performance of "Bike Scene." What a classic this album is/will be:
"I'll leave the lights down low
so she knows I mean business,
And maybe we could talk this over,
Cause I could be your best bet,
Let alone your worst ex, And let alone your worst...
I wanna hate you so bad
But I can't, but I can't stop this anymore than you can
So honestly, how could you say those things
when you know they don't mean anything
And you know very well
that I can't keep my hands to myself,
hands to myself...
I wanna hate you so bad But I can't
But I can't stop this
anymore than you can
This is all wrong and it shows
There's certain things I promised not to let you know, You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the edge of my seat,
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the..
You've got this silly way
of keeping me on the edge of my seat
But you're only counting the clock against the train
And I'm miserable, oh
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the edge of my seat,
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the...
You've got me right where you want me
Let's never talk, let's never talk, let's never,
let's never talk about this again because I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me "
~Bike Scene
Taking Back Sunday, Tell All Your Friends
Monday, June 10, 2013
6/10/13
I liked this song even more when Wikipedia told me it was inspired by the John Updike novels. Lots of longing, not too much distraction, simple counterpoint and simple ascension. Regret, but not defeat.
I first heard this while watching performances from the dance company I used to be in at this year's semi-finals at Youth American Grand Prix, the biggest youth ballet competition in the country. I was far from ever good enough for YAGP and so I was very proud (and admittedly a little jealous) of the girls performing on stage, some of whom I've known since they were very young. But mostly I was inspired. Dancers get to show how they feel, every day, existing in the most beautiful way possible. They tell stories, using only themselves, no intermediary. I am glad I did that in my life for a time. It taught me a lot, and while I don't find myself dancing on stage these days, I still chase the feeling, I still crave creative expression, I still run...and I don't know what I'll ever find but I think I'm getting closer and in the meantime, I'm always learning, always failing and improving and trying to outpace the memories...
"Every sentiment hangs around
No longer than a minute or two
I find I keep falling for love,
But I can’t seem to follow it through.
So run, little rabbit, run...
Run, little rabbit, run...
I leave one good hand on the wheel,
Been counting mile markers for days.
Everything falls further behind,
I can disappear in several ways.
So run, little rabbit, run...
Run, little rabbit, run...
Sleep through the morning,
Don’t wake me up.
Sleep through the morning,
One little man to one mighty sun
Try to break away from yourself,
Throw your broken bones in a heap,
All the blood and guts are exposed,
Your spirit has been begging to leave...
So run, little rabbit, run...
Run, little rabbit, run."
~Rabbit
Matt Duke, Kingdom Underground
Thursday, June 6, 2013
6/6/13
I don't know why I'm surprised, but I'm pretty blown away with how much I enjoy this album. Jimmy Eat World, as any longtime fan will tell you, has no two albums alike, but you never really know what to expect, so I keep expectations minimal and have a blank slate...so what a surprise and comfort to find "Damage" as heartfelt and honest and heartwrenching yet also mature it makes me feel old and new at the same time.
Jim Adkins called this an "adult break-up" album in an interview somewhere, and I definitely get that vibe. There's a lot of regret and nostalgia here, but only small doses self-pity (something you learn is a waste of your time as you grow older). I'm really digging the whole record - the only thing I'd of loved to see is an epic closer a la "Goodbye Sky Harbor" or "Invented" and "Mixtape."
"Please Say No" is my favorite track so far, already have played it to death. With a mix of acoustic and electric leads, soft background harmonies, a climatic ending full of auxiliary and dreamy sounds, and the mostly perfectly measured rhymes, it's classic Jimmy Eat World but hardly stale, because the feeling is too fresh and the growth too evident. I plan on buying the album and playing the hell out of it all summer long.
"If all you're really hoping for is peace of mind,
Don't come to me with questions, you'll just waste you time..
Exactly what your'e looking for is what you'll find
And all I see around me is a losing fight.
Please say no, please say no
Please say no, please say no
No, no, no, no...
Say anything you will
Except how you'd have me still
Say anything but no
And I'll go, I'll go, I'll go."
~Please Say No
Jimmy Eat World, Damage
Jim Adkins called this an "adult break-up" album in an interview somewhere, and I definitely get that vibe. There's a lot of regret and nostalgia here, but only small doses self-pity (something you learn is a waste of your time as you grow older). I'm really digging the whole record - the only thing I'd of loved to see is an epic closer a la "Goodbye Sky Harbor" or "Invented" and "Mixtape."
"Please Say No" is my favorite track so far, already have played it to death. With a mix of acoustic and electric leads, soft background harmonies, a climatic ending full of auxiliary and dreamy sounds, and the mostly perfectly measured rhymes, it's classic Jimmy Eat World but hardly stale, because the feeling is too fresh and the growth too evident. I plan on buying the album and playing the hell out of it all summer long.
"If all you're really hoping for is peace of mind,
Don't come to me with questions, you'll just waste you time..
Exactly what your'e looking for is what you'll find
And all I see around me is a losing fight.
Please say no, please say no
Please say no, please say no
No, no, no, no...
Say anything you will
Except how you'd have me still
Say anything but no
And I'll go, I'll go, I'll go."
~Please Say No
Jimmy Eat World, Damage
Thursday, May 30, 2013
5/30/13
I'm such a sucker for a good country song. Like seriously, and I don't care what that does to my pop-punk, rock-n-roll credibility. If it's not from the heart, it's not for these ears, and sometimes nothing's got more heart than a good country tune.
Enter Kacey Musgraves, who is winning over radio waves and critics and iTunes and girls like me, or however you measure music success these days. She's the one behind this beautiful song, "Merry Go' Round," this sad-town tale of the broken young girl. The first time I heard it, on a static-strewn radio station coming back from Lancaster, I knew I had to hear it again.
I could see why someone would put Musgraves in that slightly gimmicky category of a lot of other new female country singers, the kind who make no apologies for their cavalcade of redneck references and get them brandished on merch and tweeted by tweens. In most scenarios and songs, that's not my cup of tea. But with Musgraves, especially on "Merry Go' Round," I hear the sadness in her voice more than I hear any act. I can feel the dust on the roads and the chipped paint on the trailer siding, and I can't help but sing along to the quite brilliantly crafted chorus. Exploring the rest of her songs, I find them incredibly honest and far more introspective than you'd expect, and the references aren't there for decoration so much as they're reflecting her reality.
(Also: Kacey plays not just guitar but banjo, as I saw in this performance. And to the many who've picked up the four-stringed step-child of string instruments because of bands like Mumford and Sons, it was definitely a backwoods redneck country thing first, so reconcile that with progressive ways.)
"We think the first time's good enough.
So, we hold on to high school love.
Sayin' we won't end up like our parents.
Tiny little boxes in a row.
Ain't what you want, it's what you know.
Just happy in the shoes you're wearin'.
Same checks we're always cashin' to buy a little more distraction.
'Cause mama's hooked on Mary Kay.
Brother's hooked on Mary Jane.
Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down.
Mary, Mary, quite contrary.
We get bored, so, we get married.
Just like dust, we settle in this town.
On this broken merry go 'round and 'round and 'round we go
Where it stops nobody knows and it ain't slowin' down.
This merry go 'round."
Enter Kacey Musgraves, who is winning over radio waves and critics and iTunes and girls like me, or however you measure music success these days. She's the one behind this beautiful song, "Merry Go' Round," this sad-town tale of the broken young girl. The first time I heard it, on a static-strewn radio station coming back from Lancaster, I knew I had to hear it again.
I could see why someone would put Musgraves in that slightly gimmicky category of a lot of other new female country singers, the kind who make no apologies for their cavalcade of redneck references and get them brandished on merch and tweeted by tweens. In most scenarios and songs, that's not my cup of tea. But with Musgraves, especially on "Merry Go' Round," I hear the sadness in her voice more than I hear any act. I can feel the dust on the roads and the chipped paint on the trailer siding, and I can't help but sing along to the quite brilliantly crafted chorus. Exploring the rest of her songs, I find them incredibly honest and far more introspective than you'd expect, and the references aren't there for decoration so much as they're reflecting her reality.
(Also: Kacey plays not just guitar but banjo, as I saw in this performance. And to the many who've picked up the four-stringed step-child of string instruments because of bands like Mumford and Sons, it was definitely a backwoods redneck country thing first, so reconcile that with progressive ways.)
"We think the first time's good enough.
So, we hold on to high school love.
Sayin' we won't end up like our parents.
Tiny little boxes in a row.
Ain't what you want, it's what you know.
Just happy in the shoes you're wearin'.
Same checks we're always cashin' to buy a little more distraction.
'Cause mama's hooked on Mary Kay.
Brother's hooked on Mary Jane.
Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down.
Mary, Mary, quite contrary.
We get bored, so, we get married.
Just like dust, we settle in this town.
On this broken merry go 'round and 'round and 'round we go
Where it stops nobody knows and it ain't slowin' down.
This merry go 'round."
~Merry Go' Round
Kacey Musgroves, Same Trailer, Different Park
UPDATE: Sooooo I just learned Kacey co-wrote "Undermine," the song from the TV series "Nashville" that I was totally obsessed with and completely fell in love with...here is Kacey performing it. I like her even more now; again, honest, and introspective and cuts straight to the heart of the emotion. "Undermine" is a rather inspirational song that doesn't sacrifice hurt or humanity to show strength. Truly beautiful and fun to sing.
"Sometimes good intentions don't come across so well
Got me analyzing everything that ain't worth thinking about
Just 'cause I ain't lived through the same hand that was dealt to you
Doesn't make me any less, or make any more of you
I wouldn't trade my best day
So you could validate all your fears
And if I've only got one shot
Won't waste it on a shadowbox, I'll stand right here
It's all talk, talk, talk, talkin' in the wind
It always slows you down when you start listening
And it's a whole lot harder to shine
Than undermine.
First mile is always harder
When you're leaving what you know
Won’t blame you if you stay here
Waving to me as I go
Always wished the best for you
Thought that you would see me through my wildest dreams
Yeah, the ones you thought I’d never meet
Still, you would trade your best day
Just to have your way
All these years
And if you only had one shot
Maybe all this talk
Would disappear
It's all talk, talk, talk, talkin' in the wind
It always slows you down when you start listening
And it's a whole lot harder to shine
Than undermine."
~Undermine
Kacey Musgraves, as performed in February 2013
Kacey Musgroves, Same Trailer, Different Park
UPDATE: Sooooo I just learned Kacey co-wrote "Undermine," the song from the TV series "Nashville" that I was totally obsessed with and completely fell in love with...here is Kacey performing it. I like her even more now; again, honest, and introspective and cuts straight to the heart of the emotion. "Undermine" is a rather inspirational song that doesn't sacrifice hurt or humanity to show strength. Truly beautiful and fun to sing.
"Sometimes good intentions don't come across so well
Got me analyzing everything that ain't worth thinking about
Just 'cause I ain't lived through the same hand that was dealt to you
Doesn't make me any less, or make any more of you
I wouldn't trade my best day
So you could validate all your fears
And if I've only got one shot
Won't waste it on a shadowbox, I'll stand right here
It's all talk, talk, talk, talkin' in the wind
It always slows you down when you start listening
And it's a whole lot harder to shine
Than undermine.
First mile is always harder
When you're leaving what you know
Won’t blame you if you stay here
Waving to me as I go
Always wished the best for you
Thought that you would see me through my wildest dreams
Yeah, the ones you thought I’d never meet
Still, you would trade your best day
Just to have your way
All these years
And if you only had one shot
Maybe all this talk
Would disappear
It's all talk, talk, talk, talkin' in the wind
It always slows you down when you start listening
And it's a whole lot harder to shine
Than undermine."
~Undermine
Kacey Musgraves, as performed in February 2013
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