Monthly Archives: December 2013

My iPod #191: The Clash – Clash City Rockers

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British punk rock at its very finest. Not much should have to be said about The Clash. I will assume you already know what it is, who the members are/were, the importance of their music. If you don’t I can’t elaborate enough on how much you are missing.

“Clash City Rockers” is… obviously a track by The Clash. It came out as a single in 1978, but was not originally released on an album. The United States sorted that out by putting it as the opening track on the country’s version of the band’s debut album.

The first and numerous following times I heard it was when it played randomly whilst I was playing the DS version of “Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground”. That’s a good game. Very addictive. Got that for my 13th birthday. The DS version actually got better ratings then the previous gen consoles so don’t judge me.

I always think of the track as the band’s ‘theme tune’. Even though they grew out of the ‘simple’ punk and went on to explore further sounds and influences, it just captures the whole essence of what the band is.

My iPod #190: Arcade Fire – City with No Children

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“City with No Children” came at a point in my life where I had no idea what my future held in store for me. I’ll tell you more, I just have to state the basic information first.

Ahem… The song is on Arcade Fire’s third album “The Suburbs” from 2010, and was released as a single too.

So as I was saying earlier, “City” came at a time when I was… quite depressed actually. I hadn’t done so well in my AS levels but did well enough to get back into the second year of sixth form. Every day I went into school wanting to be somewhere else. It was not fun anymore. My friends were the only thing that made the sixth and three quarter hours bearable. I was always thinking towards the future because of uni and everything else. Times were bad.

I’d known the song was on “The Suburbs” and I downloaded the album right when it came out three years ago, but it was in September last year when I decided to listen to the album the whole way through again. The track was the one that caught me on that second listen, just because it was so calming and relaxing. It took me away from everything, you know? You know.

To a lesser extent, the song felt great as the seasons changed from autumn to winter. It seemed to fit the atmosphere perfectly.

My iPod #189: They Might Be Giants – Circular Karate Chop

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“Nanobots” is They Might Be Giants’ sixteenth studio album which the band released earlier this year in March. I was already hyped for its release due to being a massive TMBG fan, and due to the fact that the four songs that the band had revealed before its release date assured me that good things were to come.

The band then went on to stream the whole album their SoundCloud account a week before the album was officially released. How swell. My excitement could not be contained. I went onto that site as soon as I heard.

“Circular Karate Chop” is the second song penned by John Flansburgh to appear on the album after “Black Ops”. It is a real rocker in contrast to the latter, which goes for a more… ‘experimental’ approach. By ‘real rocker’, I mean it contains electric guitars, hard-hitting drums and keyboards which remind me of something I have heard in a cartoon before. Maybe Scooby-Doo, I can’t remember.

It is probably my favourite Flansburgh song off the album. Just a cool pop rock track. Sounds similar to something from the “Factory Showroom” album.

My iPod #188: Test Icicles – Circle. Square. Triangle

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One of the best dance-punk band to come from the UK, and before I appreciated their material they had already split up.

I was ten years old when “Circle. Square. Triangle” first appeared on MTV2, and was repeated quite frequently too. I could not stand it. The lead singer’s weird and annoying American accent that was put on when he sang, screaming all the time…. I thought it was terrible.

Then my sister borrowed their album “For Screening Purposes Only” from her friend later in the year. Didn’t listen to it. Why would I have done? I didn’t like them. Why would I have like any of their other songs?

Shows you how much of a shit I was at that age. This song is great, I was dumb. You know when I realised how good Test Icicles were? When I was FIFTEEN. I listened to that album in full, and it took me five years. The band hadn’t been together for four years at the time. Damn.

I miss Test Icicles, even though I was a hater initially. This track is catchy, addictive and groovy as anything. My ten year old self was very foolish.

My iPod #187: System of a Down – Cigaro

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…….. Where could I possibly start? How could I?

This song rocks; its subject matter is humorous as fuck. I don’t understand what is going on.

Still, “Cigaro” is definitely a highlight from “Mezmerize” for me. System of a Down can really produce some crazy material, and this track is up there as being one of the most… ‘special’ pieces that the band has produced.

I got “Mezmerize” for Christmas in 2009 and heard the song when I put the disc into my computer, so there’s not much I can tell you on how it has affected my life or so. It’s just a song that makes me laugh every time I hear it. You need to hear it.