Monthly Archives: October 2020

#789: Oasis – Lyla

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Oasis’ sixth album Don’t Believe the Truth was released in 2005 and it was around that time that I really got into the habit of watching music television as soon as I woke up and went downstairs to the living room. ‘Lyla’, the first single from the record, was always playing on there. And it was supposedly a very big deal that this Oasis band was back with a new single and an album that was to drop soon. At the time I was 10 and don’t think I properly knew who Oasis were. I don’t think I remember caring that much about this song then either. In fact, I much preferred ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ which was released after. Then ‘Lyla’ was part of the soundtrack of FIFA 06, and after repeated listens I came to realise that it definitely deserved its number one spot in the charts.

So what’s it about? Well, knowing Noel Gallagher’s tendency to write a lot of nonsensical lyrics (which he admits himself) it’s probably safe to say that it’s about nothing very important. It’s about a larger than life character called Lyla, who is the sister of Sally from ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, and the narrator of the track just seems to be in awe of her. She’s the queen of everything, and everyone, and you, and yours, and mine. Despite the lack of lyrical substance, it still has a universal feel about it. Something that we can all relate to. Gallagher got that down to a tee on Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory, and ‘Lyla’ is very reminiscent of songs you would find on there. It’s probably why it did so well and became one of their most loved singles.

It’s a proper bouncer; it stays in one key for the majority of the song which provides this real drone-like quality, and Liam Gallagher sounds great on the vocal here too. Noel Gallagher’s fantastic on the backing harmony vocals, and I’ve always thought that the highlight is when he elongates the last ‘fall’ before the track goes into the ending ‘Hey Lyla’ section. That part was always repeated during the loading screens in the FIFA game so that got embedded in my head for a long time.

And that’s it. The ‘L’s’ are done. Thank you for joining me on this journey. It’s been five months which is the longest time I’ve spent on any letter with a regular schedule. I’ll take a bit of a break from here. This year’s been strange but this blog has been one of the main things keeping me intact. I don’t want to start becoming sick of it though. Need to come in fresh when it’s time for the M’s. So take care of yourselves, stay safe. I’ll see you on the other side.

#788: Kendrick Lamar – LUST.

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The release of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. in 2017 is one that stays fresh in my mind. First single ‘HUMBLE.’ had been out for a few weeks and the hype was huge. Got to number one in the States and a top 10 position in the UK. This was his first true effort since To Pimp a Butterfly so expectations were high. I was in my final year of university, pretty much the last month of it, and when the album came out I had taken some time to go home and really get to work on my dissertation during the Easter holidays. But it could wait because the new Kendrick album was out. People really thought that there was going to be a follow-up album out the week after, but that’s another story.

‘LUST.’ is the ninth track on DAMN., and I remember being slightly turned off by it. Not because of what was being said, but the strange reversed kick drum beat, the chord changes and that really British sample that randomly appears here and there… all made things just a bit disorienting. Just got a weird vibe from it. But the track is certainly one that takes a few listens to properly get into. I think the atmospherics are more or less meant to mirror the stress that the narrator is feeling. And how is Kendrick feeling on this track? Well, he’s thirsty, though not for water as he repeatedly states in the lyrics. It took me a while to understand what Kendrick was saying, and I don’t know why because it’s really obvious. He’s horny and wants to have sex with someone. At least, that’s just what’s in the choruses. The verses see him describe the things he might do after waking up in the morning; it also gives a glimpse into his feelings on the then somewhat recent election as Donald Trump became president. We also see him struggle with his general feelings of lust, not just for sex but for money, fame and all the other luxuries that come with being a famous rapper. It’s another track on here that captures that inner conflict that runs throughout the entire album.

And three years and a few months on, there’s still no sign of a new Kendrick LP. Doesn’t look like there will be one soon with everything that’s going on. DAMN. is still a good album, but I don’t think it’s dated as well as his others. ‘ELEMENT.’ is a banger though. There’s one more track on there that I’ll write about in the future.

#787: Bloc Party – Luno

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I didn’t listen to Silent Alarm in full until 2014. Why that is I’m not so sure, because I’d always liked (almost) every single that Bloc Party had released up until that point. When I eventually got around to it, bar the singles which are obvious high points from it, ‘Luno’ sounded immense right off the bat. The menacing bass and frantic drums from the start set a tempo and mood that can’t be found on another song on that record. Well, perhaps ‘Helicopter’. But even then, ‘Luno’ seems a lot darker in comparison.

It appears that the subject of a family dynamic of angsty rebellious teenager vs. confronting worrying parents is taken on this song from what I’ve seen. I was always busy singing along to it to really think on what it’s about. Plus, it’s quite hard to decipher anyway because of the changes of narrative voice. Thinking of it now, the teenager – who is the ‘Luno’ character – is tired of her parents and does whatever she wants. Typical teenager stuff. She comes back from a night out with a bloody nose and gets confronted by her parents, who then have those ‘where did we go wrong?’ moments and wish that things could back to when times were happier. It’s a song of anxiety, desperation and frustration, and those feelings are very much exuded from the ominous synthesizers, Okereke’s wails and the overall furious force of the song.

A lot of headbanging’s been done through the years to Matt Tong’s drumming performance on this one. There’s not one point on here where he plays a straight 4-4 rhythm without switching things up with a sudden strike on the high-hat or thunderous fills that build the track’s intensity. Even if you don’t admire the melody that much – I don’t see why you wouldn’t – you have to be in awe of the frenetic rhythms.

#786: The Used – Lunacy Fringe

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‘Lunacy Fringe’ is a track that has always stuck out to me from The Used’s 2004 album In Love and Death. Instead of the standard rock-band performance with all guitars blazing and pummeling drums, ‘Fringe’ is instead carried by what sounds like a string quartet. There are theses buzzing violins that set the tone from the start; I’m sure that a bass guitar is swapped out for a double bass on here; and, although you can hear some electric guitar vamps throughout, there are a lot more licks carried out on the acoustic guitar. The change in style makes the song sound like it’s really coming out from the darkness. Except for the major-key choruses which sound like the sun’s come out.

Bert McCracken’s vocals sounded like an almighty force to me when I was 13 and hearing this album for the first time. I would try and sing along but, obviously, couldn’t. 12 years later and the results are still the same. I still like his vocals now. He can shout, whisper and then yell all in a matter of seconds. He’ll let his voice crack right at the end of a lyric… you can tell he really gets into it when he’s behind the microphone in the studio. His style definitely hit me a lot more in my adolescent years but, however emo it may be or whatever, I still think it’s a brilliant track. So atmospheric with its production choices too.

I’ve always sang along to it but because of its title and the descriptive lyrics, I’ve never come to the conclusion on what it’s about. Though looking at them now, I think I’ve just figured it out. Hear me out. It’s about a narrator who hasn’t had sex in a long time (“So far gone/Running on empty/Do you know how long I’ve waited?”), finds someone who wants to do the dirty (“Do you want to take me on?” and does (“Look up from below“) and falls hopelessly in love with this girl so hard that he could kill himself if things went wrong. Is that fair? Makes sense to me. It all seems so clear now.

#785: Radiohead – Lull

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Originally released as a B-side on the ‘Karma Police’ single back in 1997, ‘Lull’ was remastered and re-released alongside the other OK Computer era tracks on the album’s 20th anniversary edition in 2017. That was the first time I’d ever heard the song and, for a while, it was a favourite that I would repeatedly listen to. With its short length and simple structure – only consisting of two verses and two choruses before finishing – you can probably tell why it was left off the album, but it certainly makes it stand out from many other Radiohead tracks.

Immediately, the song starts off with a shimmering arpeggiated guitar chord created and played by guitarist Ed O’Brien. This riff is practically what the whole song is based on, and as those opening seconds continue a sudden xylophone comes in the mix on the right before a harmonising Thom Yorke joins in. The track describes a narrator who seems to freak out or overreact at the smallest of things compared to another who ‘wakes and smiles’ and ‘stops the crowd’, I’m guessing with a sense of calmness and ease. The narrator seems to put his irritable state down to the stress and tension and his ability to get distracted by things that shouldn’t really matter in the chorus, and states that he’s in a lull to separate himself from everything. The rhythm section comes in after the first chorus, and the track’s then given this nice groove to really set things off. There are parts where Yorke sings in his lower register, which is always a warm welcome in any Radiohead song.

I think I read somewhere that the band had given thought to making an album full of shorter 2/3 minute songs; if that were to have happened, ‘Lull’ was a sign of what would be expected. I don’t know whether that’s true. It’s certainly an interesting idea. It’s a song that no one knows a lot about. The band have never performed it live. But I reckon it’s a bit of a hidden gem in their discography.