Monthly Archives: November 2014

My iPod #393: The Zombies – Friends of Mine

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“Friends of Mine” is a track from The Zombies’ album “Odessey and Oracle”. Unlike every other love song where the narrator tells a listener how happy and lucky they are to be in a relationship themselves, “Friends of Mine” flips the idea around, instead detailing how much joy they feel seeing so many of their friends in love. That is a subject you would rarely come across nowadays in music. Even in real life, you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere with without people seeing you as the ‘third wheel’ of the group. What’s the world coming to?

A pacy track filled with bright guitars, jubilant backing vocal harmonies and general catchy melodies “Friends of Mine” is a song that will get your spirits up when times are bad. Especially if you’re a person who cares a lot about their mates.

My iPod #392: Babyshambles – French Dog Blues

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“French Dog Blues” can be found on Babyshambles’ second album “Shotter’s Nation”, released back in 2007. Although I thought it was a single later released from it, it apparently wasn’t. Weird considering it has its own music video. But whatever.

For all this time I’ve never really wondered what the track was about; I solely liked it because of its sound and random lyricism. Though I’ve just read that Doherty said it is about the dog on the cover of the band’s first album “Down in Albion”. That’s made me even more perplexed because I would never have thought that that little picture was an illustration of a dog. All this time I thought it was a flag or something.

Not much I can say about it. I do enjoy it a lot though, and that’s all that matters.

My iPod #391: T-Pain ft. Chris Brown – Freeze

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I’m not a big fan of T-Pain. I definitely don’t like Chris Brown, as an artist or a person, I think he’s a prick. But this song is too much; it brings back a lot of memories.

I had a friend back in secondary school days who was very weird. He would make weird noises, wasn’t very serious about his work, could do some of the most extraordinary things in a blink of an eye. He would bring in his phone and sing along to the tracks he had, but in the most silliest ways that you could only crack up when he did it. This probably happened the most when I was in Year 9, where during that time “Freeze” was released.

“Freeze” is about T-Pain being attracted to a lady who is able to dance just as well as him when it’s time to cut a rug and bust shapes on the dancefloor. He seems to get off on seeing this person try to dance as well as he can. Chris Brown comes in with his verse which basically has the same idea to it.

This track makes me feel good, man. Makes we wanna dance just listening to it.

My iPod #390: Nick Drake – Free Ride

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“Pink Moon”, man. One of my favourite albums ever. Eleven songs of one man and an acoustic guitar (and a short piano overdub) producing the most moving, chilling, melodic, bare, but brilliant songs you could ever hear. Sad to know that it was his last before he passed away two years after making it. But honestly, I never knew an album made so simply could be so emotional.

“Free Ride”, to me anyway, seems like one of the most happier songs on the album. Only because of the way it’s played. There’s like a continuous C-note drone that Drake plucks on the lower strings throughout the verses which drives the song forward whilst he plays the more detailed melody on the higher ones. It’s hard to describe; there’s just something a sense of confidence in the song’s tone that I get every time I hear it, and compared to the rest of “Pink Moon” is a lot more perky in its delivery.

I’ve read somewhere say that it’s about having sexual relations with a friend; another place saying it’s Drake trying to reach out to the people that he doesn’t really get on with it, but still wanting their support and attention. I am not that bothered. I think the song itself is too good to really ponder over.

Listen to “Pink Moon”.

My iPod #389: Graham Coxon – Freakin’ Out

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I believe “Freakin’ Out” was Graham Coxon’s breakthrough solo single. The Blur guitarist had actually been releasing albums by himself for years before “Happiness in Magazine” came out whilst also fulfilling duties for the band. This time, Blur had been no more for about a year and Coxon released this storm of a track to remind people that this is what he’s all about.

I don’t think anyone really knows how good a guitar player Graham Coxon actually is. Well, he’s very good. Pretty underrated if you ask me. He can play all these intricate guitar phrases in a split-second which weave around a song’s main melody. He does that here too, but it’s all at a very fast rate.

Got no clue what the track’s about, never cared that much, all I know is that I dug it from the moment I heard it. Very heavy and loud. Especially for a guy who helped write “Parklife”. I like that song too…. but you know what I mean.