Category Archives: Music

My iPod #498: Nine Black Alps – Headlights

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“Unsatisfied” has barely faded to silence before the crashing cymbals, drum rolls and minor chord guitar vamps begin the frantic “Headlights”, the fifth song on Nine Black Alps’ debut Everything Is.

The track is another one of Nine Black Alps where the lyrics are focused on a person who the narrator always sees or notices and how people react around them. In this case, this character is one who thinks too highly of themselves and thinks they are indestrictible; the narrator knows that he/she isn’t all that but can’t help but notice the dim-witted people who would want do the most tedious of things “stare into static” to gain a piece of this person’s confidence. The narrator has to put their body on the line for…. something that isn’t really revealed or explicitly stated which reinforces the worrying undertone set in the song’s music.

As for the music. Well it’s typical Nine Black Alps stuff. Full throttle guitars and rhythm to the wall and feedback which closes the track off after being buried in the mix for the last chorus.

Very fond of this one.

My iPod #497: Stevie Wonder – He’s Misstra Know-It-All

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“He’s Misstra Know-It-All” closes Stevie Wonder’s seminal album Innvervisions. Preceded by tracks concerning racial tension, drug abuse and love ballads, the song is essentially a description of a man who gains people’s trust only to let them down, is a straight-up liar, only cares about subjects where there is money involved – whether he gains it or loses it, it doesn’t matter – and overall is someone that many people should avoid. The track is said to be about then President of the USA, Richard Nixon.

Despite the scathing lyrics describing this awful human being (I assume the femininisation of Mister to Miss-tra only emphasises Wonder’s disregard for this person), the song’s music itself is some of the calmest on the album. It is a wonderful five and a half minutes of piano, smooth chugging drums and Wonder’s voice along with some backing vocals that you have to nod your head back and forth to in appreciation. That is before the change up at around three minutes where Mr. Wonder begins to deliver his take with a greater passion (signified by an emphatic “BUM-BUUUHNA-BUUUHNA” ad-lib, hand-claps enter the mix, the rhythm sections play around with the rhythm here and there, and a stronger feel to the song’s groove and mood is brought about.

A real classic. Too good.

My iPod #496: The BPA ft. Iggy Pop – He’s Frank (Slight Return)

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The BPA (aka The Brighton Port Authority) was a little short-lived side project carried out by DJ Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim). The only album to date released under it entitled I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat came out in 2009, and features a wealth of appearances from guests vocalists ranging from Talking Heads man David Byrne and grime MC Dizzee Rascal, to relatively unknowns like Cagedbaby and Olly Hite.

Starting the album off is a cover of the song “He’s Frank” by British post-punk band The Monochrome Set and singing it is no other than the ever charismatic Iggy Pop. He performs quite the subdued vocal take here bar a scream and a few wordless improvisations during the instrumental break, but in context of the whole album and the listening experience it is a decent way to get things rolling. Very enjoyable, at least to me anyway.

The music video features a frightening life-size puppet of Mr. Pop, which then proceeds to physically assault the puppeteers controlling it. It’s strange. But it’s there if you want to see it.

My iPod #495: Fleet Foxes – He Doesn’t Know Why

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“He Doesn’t Know Why” was the second single released from by indie-folk band Fleet Foxes from their self-titled debut album in 2008.

A mid-tempo track with a general soothing atmosphere, choral church-like vocals and varied instrumentation, it is written from the point of a person whose brother has returned from who-knows-where, looking a very different person from what he was once before. The narrator is clearly concerned with the brother’s well-being and feels that the family will do anything to help him return to his ‘original mind’, but regretfully acknowledges that there is nothing much that he can do to change things.

There’s not much else I can say for this track. That pun wasn’t intended. Fleet Foxes aren’t one of my favourite bands, but they make good music. I can’t deny that. “He Doesn’t Know Why” is a prime example of their brilliant work.

My iPod #494: The Offspring – Have You Ever

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Is it right to say that The Offspring’s fifth album Americana is underrated? Granted it is one of the band’s most commercially successful pieces of work, but I feel that it wasn’t represented that well by the singles released from it. Especially “Pretty Fly” and “Why Don’t You Get a Job?“. A majority of people will only listen to the band for those two songs and never delve further into their material, missing out on what is – to put it crudely – some good shit.

After an introductory nine second skit, “Have You Ever” really begins the album with stabbing palm-muted power chords and crashing cymbals before a drum roll sets the track’s frantic tempo and singer Dexter Holland wails the first desperate lyrics: “Falling, I’m falling”.

The track is about feeling misunderstood, knowing that sometimes we have no control of our own lives, and generally feeling out of place at certain moments. The constant existential questioning is reinforced by the frenetic backdrop of guitars and drums until about halfway through when the whole song changes, the narrator becomes more confident, sees how this corrupt world really works and pledges to do something about it.