Monthly Archives: January 2020

#684: Cloud Nothings – Just See Fear

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The last of the Js. Told you the Js wouldn’t last that long. Though I did take a break whilst doing them. There aren’t a lot of songs I have on here beginning with K too. I’ll probably wait a bit before going straight into those though. If anyone’s reading these, thank you for doing so. I get rather small viewings on here. But I don’t do it for those. I just like to share my favourite music with people. I want to try and branch out onto other topics on here. But this is really all I know… and strongly care about. There’s still more to come.

So the last track for now comes from Cloud Nothings’ album from 2014 – Here and Nowhere Else. That album turns six in April though I remember listening to it continuously in its first few weeks of release. That and Mac DeMarco’s Salad Days. Those were good times. ‘Just See Fear’ was one of the many songs on Nowhere Else that impressed me from the get go. It was, for a while, my favourite song on the whole thing. As time has gone on my preference for others in comparison to this has increased, but whenever ‘Fear’ arrives on shuffle the endorphin rush settles in.

Like all of its fellow tracks, ‘Just See Fear’ is a powerful and intense noise rock track held together by the thunderous drumming of Jayson Gerycz and guitar work from lead vocalist from Dylan Baldi. It was in this album that the band had only one guitarist after the departure of Joe Boyer who played on previous album Attack on Memory, so Baldi takes on the role of both rhythm and lead guitarist mimicking his vocal lines as well as just generally keeping along with the tempo. His words aren’t very clear to hear. But if you’re into melody then there’s plenty of it. Things really pick in the last minute though; the guitar seems to rise in volume as Gerycz goes even crazier on the drums with these crazy rolls and cymbal crashes as Baldi goes on to scream incomprehensible syllables. It’s a climactic section that makes the release all the much better when it flies straight back into the final chorus.

There you go. I’ll be back again.

#683: Bob Dylan – Just Like a Woman

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It was around this time last year that I came to revisit this album. It’s in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die – a book I got for my 22nd birthday and am still going through to this day. I am on 1968.

I’ve had Blonde on Blonde in my iTunes library since at least 2014(?) Maybe have been earlier. And I didn’t rate ‘Just Like a Woman’ back then. Thought it was okay but I immediately forgot about it. It took the revisit last year to find that it’s one of the best songs on the album.

It’a very pretty. Set in a waltz time with a calm Hammond organ and acoustic guitars. Really what takes up much of the soundscape is Dylan’s striking harmonica and that iconic voice of his. His vocals are not pretty, as you may or may not know, but it’s all about the feeling he gives behind his delivery which he never fails in providing.

#682: Nine Black Alps – Just Friends

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‘Just Friends’ is the ninth song on Nine Black Alps’ debut album Everything Is. It was released as a single. I sort of remember the time it’s video was doing the rounds on MTV2, recalling how upbeat and light-hearted it was in comparison to ‘Unsatisfied’.

Turns out I’ve been mishearing this song’s lyrics for all this time, and as a result my initial interpretation of it has been thrown out the window. Originally I thought it was about two people breaking up and becoming ‘just friends’. It’s actually the opposite. What I thought was “now, in the long, we’re just friends” in the chorus is really “now we’re no longer just friends”. It’s about being heavily invested in a relationship and stepping up to the plate to make things work, but it’s all delivered in a very cynical, “meh, I don’t really care” attitude in the lyrics.

The track is two minutes and 15 seconds long, starting off strongly right from the start with a drum roll and its main riff, just as the cymbals from the preceding track on the album are beginning to fade out. It’s a song with high energy, great melodies throughout via the guitars and Sam Forrest’s vocal take. It’s another gem from a fantastic album that I’m grateful I actually own to this day.

#681: Jane’s Addiction – Just Because

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The video for this song used to show on Kerrang! all the time back in the day. I’d be flicking through my usual circuit of music channels (MTV2 to Kerrang to The Amp (anyone remember The Amp?) to Scuzz and then back to MTV2 – this was how it was before YouTube) and there it was. It came to a time when I convinced myself to watch the whole thing from front to back just to see why it was always in circulation.

Turned out to be worth the few minutes. ‘Just Because’ was Jane’s Addiction’s big comeback single (I didn’t know that at the time, and I’m sure few years had passed since its release when I first watched it anyway) in 2003 for their big comeback album Strays, their first LP after a initial 12-year breakup. The track is drastically different to anything the band made in the 90s. Whether fans were receptive of the change or not I’m not sure. They were capable of making some far out stuff in those times. So when the first song after a twelve year wait was this really streamlined arena-rock U2-ish rocker I have a feeling that some people were divisive on the single.

I’m all for it. I’ve never followed Jane’s Addiction that closely so my opinion might not matter too much. But that guitar riff by Dave Navarro gets the anticipation rolling every time. His playing really drives the song forward, especially with those small guitar solos in each instrumental break. Always appreciated that high note he reaches to close it all out too. Perry Farrell laps it up on the vocals and additionally so in the music video. Is it right to say that the chorus on here is a monster too?

Maybe I should listen to more Jane’s Addiction. I did listen to Ritual de lo Habitual one time. Might need to listen to it again. Otherwise all I know is this song and ‘Been Caught Stealing’. Basic, am I right?

#680: Feeder – Just a Day

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‘Just a Day’ was released as a standalone single by Feeder in the last few weeks of 2001. I would have only been six at the time but from what I’ve gathered it was the cherry on top to cap off a successful year the band had, having released their third album Echo Park earlier which was supported by popular hits such as ‘Seven Days in the Sun’ and ‘Buck Rogers’.

This song was featured on Gran Turismo 3, a game I remember getting for Christmas in 2002 and not being too impressed by it. I don’t think I understood how to play it at all and I ended up getting very frustrated with it. Something that sounds awful as an excuse because it’s just a racing game. It had great music in there though. I’ll say that’s how I got to know this track in the first place.

Years down the line I would see its video (above) here and there on TV, and it’s just a compilation of fans of Feeder performing/miming/dancing/acting to the track in their rooms on amateur camera footage. It’s a simple idea, but it’s clear that everyone involved is having the time of their lives. It is widely agreed that the two Asian guys who appear at various points throughout are the main highlight of the video.

It’s about being young, having great times with friends, waking up with a hangover in the morning and having the existential crisis that usually comes along with them. It’s also about feeling useless and not wanting to let people down via your excessive behaviour when it comes to drinking and all of that. It’s quite a downer. But with its high-energy and general catchiness – the ‘do-do-do-do’ hook is memorable – you probably wouldn’t realise.

Unfortunately, it was their last single to be released with original drummer Jon Lee who took his own life in the first few days of 2002. The band kept out of the public eye for a while to grieve and come to an understanding of what happened. They came back nearing the end of the year with Comfort in Sound, a fine effort that addressed Lee’s death among other sad subjects in its lyrics. Below is the band’s last live performance with Lee on Later with Jools Holland.