Category Archives: Music

My iPod #466: The Offspring – Gotta Get Away

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Think it’s fair to say that “Gotta Get Away” is one of The Offspring’s most tracks in the band’s discography.* Found on what is considered to be their finest album Smash from 1994, the song was chosen to be released as the third and final single almost a year after Smash had been out. It wasn’t as commercially successful as the two preceding it, but it remains a popular song amongst many an Offspring fan. It’s just got this very intimidating and tough sound that you don’t find very often in other Offspring singles. The music video further emphasises this.

The introduction brings in each member one by one, firstly with Ron Welty’s hard-hitting tom-tom drum pattern followed by Greg K’s cool bassline and finally with Noodle’s high-end scratching guitar phrases. With a strike of the crash cymbals, all three members come together as one to really get things going and eventually lead into Dexter Holland’s trademark double-tracked vocals, singing about wanting to be anyone else but himself due to symptoms of strong paranoia.

Song’s mad. Despite its pessimistic subject matter there is something brutally confident about the music’s delivery…. It’s strange. But it does its job.

*26/08/20 – Clearly there’s an adjective missing from that sentence… I’ll let you fill that in.

My iPod #465: The Beatles – Got to Get You into My Life

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“Got to Get You into My Life” is the jubilant, horn-heavy, Motown influenced ode to marijuana written by Paul McCartney, appearing as the penultimate track on the Revolver album. Why do I say it’s an ‘ode to marijuana’, you may be thinking. Well because that’s what it is. McCartney said it himself; the statement can be read in this authorised biography. Sorry to all those who’ve thought it was a typical song about yearning for love. But the real influence behind it makes the track all the more clever, slick and a bit humourous.

But when the first note plays and the blaring horns play the memorable introductory phrase it doesn’t matter what it’s about, you just know that the song is gonna be a good one. It doesn’t disappoint. Paul pulls off yet another stunningly smooth vocal take amongst the aforementioned brass instruments, leaping from the tamest of notes to the other end of the spectrum in a matter of milliseconds. It’s may be a bit worthy to note that Paul is the sole Beatle to sing on here with no harmonies from John and George, something that’s eventually mirrored by the former’s sole vocal presence on the next track. Still the two are make their presence known in the music, particularly George who from out of nowhere brings out a stellar lead guitar solo at the song’s climax, cueing the celebratory coda.

A brilliant track. It’s the last song on the album that you can get up and sing your heart out to before things get a bit philosophical and spaced out for “Tomorrow Never Knows”. Really dig it.

My iPod #464: George Harrison – Got My Mind Set on You

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So one day whilst flicking through the countless music channels on TV, I stumbled across the video for “Got My Mind Set on You” on VH1. The camera shot makes a close up on the artist singing and playing the guitar in an old chair, and the first question I asked myself was “Is that George Harrison?” He sounded like him, and though with a few wrinkles and grown out hair he looked a bit like him too. I don’t know why I questioned it so much. Actually, it’s because it was the first time I’d seen a video of his on television. I do know why. Indeed it was George Harrison who was singing the song, but it’s clearly a stunt double doing the flips and crazy dance moves during the solo.

After taking a few years out of music to pursue other interests during the early 80s, “Got My Mind Set on You” was the first single from Harrison’s album Cloud Nine released in 1987. The track is a cover and was originally written by Rudy Clark and recorded by James Ray in 1962, but George – with the help of Jeff Lynee of ELO – makes the song feel like it’s his own laying a great vocal take in the midst of massive-sounding drums, that iconic slide-guitar, and a dominant presence of saxophones.

Just a note, I listen to the extended version of the song that was released as a bonus track on the 2004 reissue of the album. The song is the same. The instrumental breaks are just a bit longer.

My iPod #463: Hot Hot Heat – Goodnight Goodnight

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“Goodnight Goodnight” was the first single released from Canadian indie rock band Hot Hot Heat’s second album and first major label release Elevator. Released in 2005, I was ten years old at the time and it had maybe been a year or two after I heard seen the band for the first time via the music video for “Bandages” when it aired early in the morning on MTV2. It was good to see the group with a new song. I don’t think I cared for it that much, however. That was to change after hearing “Island of the Honest Man” and “Middle of Nowhere”.

In summary, this upbeat and poppy tune is from the perspective of a guy who is fed up in a relationship where neither one involved seem to have any interest in each other. The girl seems to string him along and the narrator has had enough and in a sarcastic, mocking tone wishes her goodnight and walks away.

Clearly, I’m more into this track now than when I was ten. It’s simple, quite short, but straight to the point. Most of all it’s a very nice melody to sing along to, and a suitable one to play for your soon-to-be-ex when they’re least expecting a dumping.

My iPod #462: Dananananaykroyd – Good Time

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“Good Time”, the seventh track on Dananananaykroyd’s final album There Is a Way, gets the album back to the original frenetic, loud, energetic, pumped-up style set in the preceding six after a calming interlude of environmental noises after the end of “Time Capsule“.

There is a lot to take in in the three minutes and sixteen seconds this song lasts for. It speeds up, slows down for the choruses, changes time signature at one point, there is stuttering, yelping, screaming, singing in unison, it lifts you up and smacks you around. If you don’t have a physical copy of the album (cos the lyrics are in there), there is a large chance you will have no idea what is being said to you most of the time. But that’s not a bad thing. As long as you have fun, which you will no doubt, then it’s fine. Just have a good time……. listening to it.

It was its unpredictability I think that made it one of the last songs from the album that I appreciated, but after a few more listens I got it. I’m glad.