Category Archives: Music

#856: John Linnell – Montana

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Hospitals. No one really likes them do they? You go there for reasons concerning your health, and a lot of times they’re never very good reasons. But their general settings can be a source of inspiration for many an artist. That’s a particular case for They Might Be Giants, whose songs sometimes take place in hospitals and are sometimes from the perspectives of people having conversations in them, trying to escape from them, or lying in their deathbed waiting for sweet relief. It’s no different in their solo work. Today’s song, ‘Montana’ from John Linnell’s 1999 album State Songs, falls firmly in that final group.

I can’t tell if this song is meant to be upbeat and tremendously sad. In this track, a person’s lying in their hospital bed – how they ended up there, we don’t know – but after what must have been time of just staring into space, they’re suddenly hit with a revelation. An epiphany. One that makes so much sense thinking about it that they wonder how they never saw it before. The state of Montana… is a leg. It’s a leg. And with that question answered, they’re ready to die. But they’re so happy that they’ve figured this out, that they want the realization to be shared to the other patients and for it to be known as their last words before they pass away. It’s funny, but it’s sad. I think it’s relatable in a way that their are most definitely a lot of people who have said the most random things before they move on to the next life. And I think this song captures a pleasant balance. It’s a bummer that this person’s going to die, but at least they’re content with the world and good to go.

Maybe you’ll listen to this and think the song’s standard band performance. John Linnell sings in his usual style with the standard great melody to boot. But then the chorus comes in and your jaw drops. Linnell really sings “leg” with his chest. I think that note he reaches is the most powerful one he’s sung in any of those he’s written, in solo work and with TMBG. He’s never been the powerhouse vocal style person, so when that “leg” arrives the first time, it’s like where did that even come from. As the only song of his where this fully happens – I guess you could say it happens in ‘Canajoharie’ too – it’s one that always stands out from the rest. The song, despite the somewhat maybe morbid subject matter, was released as the album’s first single alongside B-side ‘Louisiana’, which was made available on streaming and download formats just last week.

#855: Queens of the Stone Age – Monsters in the Parasol

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‘Monsters in the Parasol’ wasn’t an official single from Queens of the Stone Age’s Rated R album back around the time when it was released. But it has it’s own proper music video in which its protagonist on a mission, walking through the streets of what I guess is Los Angeles, to beat up some kids who’ve stolen a puppy and return it to its rightful owner. And to buy some new shoes while they’re at it. I’ll assume it was a promotional single of some kind. Whatever the reason a video was made for it is doesn’t really matter. What does is that it was one of the few Queens videos that would randomly show on MTV2 back in the old times of the mid-2000s. That’s how I came to know it.

The track was inspired by Josh Homme’s first experience with LSD, and its lyrics are just a description of the things he witnessed while high on the drug. There was real sister of Paul’s who Homme was attracted to, but when he saw her acid-tinted eyes she looked like an alien. The walls were closing in, things started to grow hair, and Paul’s dad seemed to be warped and bubbling. There’s nothing to look into very deeply with this one, it’s all from a personal experience. And it’s all surreal, which is to be expected when discussing the typical hallucinogen. There’s a lot of things I like about this one. It has a driving momentum; once it starts it never really slows down or loses its flow. And the track is also filled with these memorable riffs in each section, that catchy hook during the “she won’t grow parts”, those cathartic hits after the “covered in hair” mentions, and those freaky guitar hooks in both channels during the choruses. There’s a lot of creepy whispering in there too. All those little things elevate the song in my ears.

Many may not know, but the song was actually released a few years earlier under the name ‘Monster in the Parasol’ on Volume 4 of The Desert Sessions, another musical collaboration-type deal that’s mainly ran by Josh Homme. In its original form, the track’s a lot lighter. There’s not as much force on there as the album version. Homme sings like he’s trying not to wake someone up, he doesn’t sound as weirded out as he would do on the later version. With that being said, it certainly another great take of the track. Plus, you can properly hear what those whispers are saying here.

#854: Ween – Mononucleosis

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I saw someone describe Ween’s track ‘Mononucleosis’ as ‘basically’ (or was it “virtually”..) ‘the title track to The Pod. This is Ween’s second album, released in 1991. And when I saw that I thought, “Yeah, it kind of is, isn’t it?” The track mentions the album name in the lyrics. Plus, the infection itself is partially one of the reasons the record came out sounding the way it did. The main reason is probably that it was recorded on some very cheap equipment in a rented apartment. Yeah, The Pod is an enigma of an album. From my experience of listening to it over the years, you can’t deny the songs sound like absolute crap. But they have some great melodies, rhythms and hilarious moments that make it so entertaining to listen through. But anyway, yes, ‘Mononucleosis’, let’s get to that.

Gene and Dean Ween, the two guys and main brains behind the Ween name, both came down with mono during the making of The Pod, but on separate occasions. When Dean had it, Gene wrote this song which is pretty much him describing the whole situation and detailing his feelings upon seeing his good friend suffer from the infection. Each verse on here is underlined by a blunt expression of “Oh, dude”, which I think is sometimes all you can say when you’re feeling sympathy and sadness for someone who’s suffering in some way. I also think I read a description somewhere that said that this song sounds how having mono feels. While I can’t relate to that, I can probably understand. The track really drags, guitar notes ring out and drone with a very groggy tone, Gener sounds like he’s singing at the bottom of a well with all the reverb that accompanies his vocal. It’s a track about a very unfortunate situation, yet when I first heard it in about 2015 I couldn’t stop repeating it, I was enjoying it so much.

I believe this is the first song from The Pod that I’ve come to talk about on here. More are to come. But because I couldn’t write about it due to time and whatnot, I’ll point you in the direction of ‘Captain Fantasy’. Another personal favourite of mine. If you like what you’re hearing, kudos to you, not a lot of people would. You might as well dive in to The Pod and the 77 minutes of music it has to offer. You probably won’t be able to listen to music the same way after.

#853: Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench

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All right, so I was about 10 when I heard Foo Fighters’ ‘Monkey Wrench’ for the first time. Saw its video on MTV2. And for a while, I thought it was the greatest song ever. Very energetic, fast, the aforementioned video was a bit funny and had an edge to it. All those characteristics had an impression on younger self. Though that self didn’t grow up to be the greatest Foo Fighters fan, I’ve realised that they usually knock it out of the park when it comes to their singles. And it’s understandable why this was chosen to be the first one when promoting their album The Colour and the Shape back in 1997.

The song is about the crumbling and total end of a relationship from the point of Dave Grohl, who had at the time gone through a divorce. He’s quite mad and maybe, just maybe, seems to be quite fed up with the whole experience. The track is essentially telling his ex-wife that now he’s ‘free’ he won’t be able to be that person that she could just use and throw away like some kind of tool. Or ‘monkey wrench’ in this case. Until I started listening to this track with headphones, I never realized just how heavy this song is. I guess One by One is usually seen as the heavy Foo Fighters album, but some sections in ‘Wrench’, particularly those ‘one in ten’ parts and especially the bridge where Dave Grohl screams a syllable at a time without taking a breath, probably match up to anything that’s on that record. I think it’s up there as one of Foo Fighters’ best songs, honestly.

I think I appreciate it more than perhaps I did in the past. If Dave Grohl went back to making faster, heavier, punk-influenced stuff like this, I would probably look forward to a new Foo Fighters album. I think the possibilities of a change in style happening are slim though. The band are really going for that classic American rock style nowadays. But the old music still goes on and on.

#852: The Kinks – Monica

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On an album that displays themes of nostalgia, sentimentality – basically the ‘good old days’, I think it’s fair to say that ‘Monica’ stick out on the tracklisting of The Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society. New listeners will ask why. Then they’ll see the lyrics and realise. This is a track about the local prostitute. The term isn’t explicitly stated during the track itself, but when you hear phrases like “Monica stands at midnight” and “Money can’t buy sweet love from Monica”, you start to put two and two together.

The song’s delivered in this kind of offbeat calypso style, with what sounds like layers of acoustic guitars in the background and I guess bongos in the mix, and Ray Davies plays up the vocals a bit by putting an exaggerated inflection in his voice. Davies’ performance is probably the best thing about the whole track. The way he sings “I-I shall die, I-I shall die” in time with the crashing drums, and then backs that up with a wailing “Oh Monicaaaa, my love”. It’s good stuff. There’s something quite dramatic about his singing, but not so much that they sound too forced or over the top. There’s a subtlety in the drama, which works best a lot of the time.

Yeah, it’s a nice and short one. That’s also another thing about Village Green. All of its songs, bar one, are under three minutes and yet there’s just hook after hook and melodies abound in each packet. Coming nears its end, ‘Monica’ may seem like a bit of an inconsequential offering. But hell, this has always been one of my favourites on there. Even if the narrator’s in love with a lady of the night.