Monthly Archives: August 2021

#886: The White Stripes – My Doorbell

Leave a reply

I can kind of remember The White Stripes bringing out Get Behind Me Satan in 2005. Kind of. ‘Blue Orchid’ was the first single. Its video was something of the big exclusive on MTV2. It was freaky looking, the track had a disgusting riff. It was like, “Yeah, The White Stripes are back. And Jesus, this track is something else.” Of course, I wasn’t really thinking along those specific lines at the time. I was 10. And because I didn’t listen to albums like that back then, once the ‘Orchid’ single was released and it charted in the UK, I didn’t hear much from The White Stripes for a few months maybe. Then the video for ‘My Doorbell’ started showing, and I was left wondering how they had made such a U-turn in sound for their next single. In fact, when I saw the video I thought it was a special song written for a children’s show or something. But no, this was also on the album.

It’s only quite recently that I got into properly got into this one, but its hook and those piano vamps have stuck with me for years. Jack White’s been thinking about his doorbell and is wondering when you’re gonna ring it. Sing that with a good melody, and people will sing it back to you at festivals. But now I’ve come to appreciate it for its general bluesy feel, and that thumping rhythm section courtesy of Meg White. The lyrics I’ve never paid much attention to – may annoy some, others may not care – but I’ve come to really like how Jack White just delivers his words. He doesn’t really enunciate his words, but sings them in such a way that they sort of make themselves clearer after repeated listens. Apparently, he said in concert that the track is about an old man waiting for death, and so when’s he asking when his doorbell is going to be rang he’s actually asking when is death gonna come knocking so I can join other friends who have passed on. Kinda sad. But quite humorous when you think about that and then watch the music video.

It appears that this’ll be the last White Stripes song in this whole series thing that I write about. I’ve known a lot of White Stripes tracks, though I’ve never been that huge of a fan. I do appreciate them quite a bit though. I wrote about another of their tracks in the past. Two of them actually, one is quite hidden. But here is a list of other White Stripes tracks that I think are crackers: ‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’, ‘I Think I Smell a Rat’, ‘Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine’, and ‘The Denial Twist’. That’s all she wrote.

#885: Eminem ft. Hailie Jade – My Dad’s Gone Crazy

Leave a reply

I didn’t get to listening to The Eminem Show in full until I was 14. ‘Course I knew who Eminem was. You couldn’t miss him in the ’00s. Except for that time where he didn’t make music for a while. But I didn’t appreciate albums so much then as I did as time went on. And when I saw the tracklist on Wikipedia, I want to say I had the same reaction to those who bought the CD when it came out in stores in 2002. “My Dad’s Gone Crazy… featuring Hailie Jade? Nah, he didn’t get Hailie on a track with him?” Well, he did. The Hailie. His daughter who he shouted out, referred to in so many of his tracks, the apple of his eye was appearing alongside her father on a song. And it wasn’t as eyeroll-inducing as I thought it would be. Eminem is his (back then) usual comical, cursing, witty self. It just so happens that his daughter’s on there too.

Inspired by an out of the blue moment where Hailie said the title phrase one time when she was in the studio with her father, the track, I think, encapsulates all of Eminem’s alter egos/rapping styles, whatever you want to call them, into this track. In three verses, Em makes some not so subtle references to 9/11 – which at that time had only happened a few months prior – raps about hurting people with chainsaws, having sex with Dr. Dre with no protection, how much his mother talked nonsense, and, generally, how he wouldn’t have to rile the public up with the things he raps about if people just left him alone. Hailie comes in at times with some adlibbing and suitable sound effects. Whenever she appears, she’s upfront in the mix just to make it clear that, yes, she is on this. That may annoy some people. I’ve become used to it myself. I’m always glad though that it was never this schmaltzy daddy-daughter song. It’s one where Em asks for Hailie as he seems to be going on a downward spiral, which is kind of hilarious.

I think the last verse on here must be one of Em’s most underrated. As the last song on the final album of that classic trilogy, all of those lines truly summarise why Eminem had an effect on all of those who were listening to his songs/albums/anything that he was coming out with up to that point. Through it all there was the one person who he was doing it for, which was his daughter, and now here she was on a song with him at the peak of his powers. It’s beautiful stuff when you think about it. It really never was the same for Em after this particular album, as has been well-documented. Looking back, there’s something a bit bittersweet about it all. It is what it is.

#884: The Wombats – My Circuitboard City

Leave a reply

In the spring of ’09, The Wombats released ‘My Circuitboard City’ as a standalone single. The track itself wouldn’t have been out of place on their debut album, which was their most recent one at the time. I assume that it was not included, A) Because they didn’t feel the same way as me, or B) The song just wasn’t fully completed at the time. It’s about going out in the town, making a fool of yourself and feeling like a loser afterwards. Something I’m sure everyone can relate to. I’ve definitely had those moments. I think it’s fair to say that its relatability plays a part in why I like it. But when I was 14 and hadn’t gone through those experiences yet, the music and melody covered the majority.

It wouldn’t have fit on that first album just because of the topic it covers. There are a lot of musical traits common throughout that record that pop up on here too. Catchy refrains that are repeated endlessly, ‘doo-doo’ melodies and vocal harmonies, that youthful tone to Matthew Murphy’s vocals. All the works. But because it wasn’t included on any album, and I don’t think the Wombats have a ‘greatest hits’ compilation or anything like that, it’s probably a tune that a lot of people either don’t know about, or thought they had a dream that it existed and went on to forget about it. But hopefully this post works as a reminder that this song is out there, and has been around for 12 years now. Whoever may be reading this, go out there and spread the word.

And with that, I’ve now covered every Wombats song that I personally enjoy in this long, long series. For now at least. Another one could arrive way in the future. Though I must admit, I like that first album a lot and didn’t follow them that much from their second onwards. But tell me if I’m missing out on anything. If you’re a Wombats person, revisit those tracks I’ve written about by clicking on these individual words. Thanks again for your time.

#883: Ween – Mutilated Lips

Leave a reply

Many would consider ‘Mutilated Lips’ to be a clear highlight from The Mollusk. For the longest time though, I didn’t. When I heard the album the first time in 2014, it was obvious that it was a record like no other. The tracks were strange, the cover surreal… The Mollusk is a weird package, but the music was phenomenal. For the longest time, ‘Lips’ stuck out to me as the ‘weird’ song that was made for the point of being weird. The backward reverb before each line, the alternate tuning, the high-pitched voice during the ever-going sentence that makes up the song’s chorus. It all just gave an impression to me of “Yep, this is the weird one.”

So I didn’t care for it for a few years. I had my choice cuts from the album set in stone. But then I watched the band’s 2003 Live in Chicago DVD on YouTube where they performed the song, and it sort of clicked from that. There’s a skinny, potentially strung out Gene Ween on the acoustic guitar, eyes bulging out of his skull, changing the pitch of his voice automatically whenever the song requires it… he’s just owns his performance. And here the song is performed in a different key which I think suited it much better. But those aforementioned things that put me off the track up to that point, I suddenly rated quite highly. Except that backwards echo thing, that doesn’t happen in the live take. But hearing that performance made me listen to the album version with open ears. It’s been an favourite in my music library ever since.

As arguably the strangest song on the album, you’d think it wouldn’t be the track that record labels would want the people to hear when they find out a new Ween album was arriving. Well, Elektra Records did, and selected the track to be the first single released from The Mollusk, much to Gene and Dean Ween’s confusion. I maybe would have chosen the album’s title track, but I’m not a label rep, so what would I know? Below is that Live in Chicago performance, just so you don’t have to open another tab and search for it yourself.

#882: They Might Be Giants – Museum of Idiots

Leave a reply

Another gem from They Might Be Giants’ The Spine. I wrote about another track from that album earlier in this ‘M’ section. While I think I came to some sort of conclusion as to what ‘Memo to Human Resources’ was about, to this day I’m still a bit flummoxed when it comes to ‘Museum of Idiots’. I do remember an interpretation saying that it was from the point of view of a tree in a forest, but I was left even more confused after reading that than before. The track is the first on the second half of The Spine, beginning a run of tracks until the album’s end that may just be one of my favourites in the band’s whole catalogue.

In comparison to ‘Memo’, written by John Flansburgh, ‘Museum’ is another of John Linnell’s offerings – a composition in waltz time marked by moments of quiet keyboards juxtaposed with a blaring wall of horns. If there’s a guitar present here, it’s definitely buried in the mix. And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s a joyous and uplifting feeling I get from those triumphant brass instruments here, like there’s this big parade going through town or something. Linnell arranged all of the horn part Though the lyrics seem to be from the perspective of someone or something that’s a bit of a dimwit. Or an idiot, if you didn’t already get that from the song’s title.

Actually, come to think of it. This song might just be another example of a sad but funny moment in They’s discography. This person holds out hope that their “Honey” will need them at some point, and they’ll be ready waiting for them whenever that happens. But the likelihood of it is very low. Maybe the museum contains all those heartbroken people who would do anything for the person who won’t reciprocate those feelings, and because they can’t get over them they’re left feeling like idiots. I don’t know, it hurts to think about these things. But I ask you to at least listen to this one before making some sort of decision for yourself.