Category Archives: Music

My iPod #267: Nine Black Alps – Destination Nowhere

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“Destination Nowhere” is another song from Nine Black Alps’ “Love/Hate” era. It was recorded and eventually released as another B-Side for “Bitter End”, the second and final single to be released from that album.

I went into this phase during Year 10 or so, when new music was being released on streaming websites and I would listen to the songs and try and type up the lyrics simultaneously on this website “letssingit.com”. I did that when “Locked Out from the Inside”, the band’s third album came out and I’m probably the reason you see the song’s lyrics on the Internet when you search for them on Google. Go to letssingit, if it says ‘Lyrics submitted by Jammerz.’ Don’t be surprised because ‘Jammerz’ is me. It’s a silly username, I know.

Then I saw the B-Side player on the band’s official website and saw that barely any of their lyrics were anywhere online. So I got busy with those, doing “Get Even” and “Idiot Riff #9” amongst others until eventually coming to “Destination Nowhere”. The lyrics to that song were relatively easy to type because none of the phrases fall into one another, especially during the verses where one lyric is sung, followed by a pause, and then another lyric and so on. I had to repeat a few seconds of it many times in order to make sure that the words I deciphered were right and made sense. But it was no bother, because I ended up digging the song anyway.

I think the song’s about being in an ambiguous state of mind (just because of the use of opposites: ‘too scared to fight’, ‘too young and too old’ etc etc) and finding oneself at a dead end. I could be very wrong. I probably am.

My iPod #266: They Might Be Giants – Destination Moon

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Here today is the album track “Destination Moon”, the thirteenth track on They Might Be Giants’ fifth album “John Henry“.

John Linnell sings this one, and it’s from the perspective of a patient in hospital who is very, very sick but continues to believe that he/she is fine and dreams of escaping in order to go to the moon via rocket.

If you’ve read my previous post on “AKA Driver“, another song from this album, you don’t really have to read on anymore because it will contain the same information. For those of you who haven’t, don’t stop reading this – but do listen to “Driver” if you have the chance.

I heard “Moon” around the same time as “Driver” and that was when I was listening my own customised radio station on Yahoo. That was a good site. I thought I liked it back then because I added it to this huge list of songs that I had seen on MTV and others that I generally enjoyed on my MSN Space. Remember MSN Spaces? It died years ago along with MSN itself which is a shame.

The problem that came out of that was I didn’t listen to the song for years and ended up forgetting the melody of the song altogether. That changed when I downloaded “John Henry” in 2010, then it all started coming back to me.

My iPod #265: Manic Street Preachers – A Design for Life

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Noted for being the first track the band worked on after guitarist Richey Edwards’ unexpected disappearance, “A Design for Life” was the first single released from Manic Street Preachers’ fourth album “Everything Must Go”.

I watched its video a long time ago having no idea who the band was and still left in wonder of the thing. That James Dean Bradfield is an astonishing singer. The vocals on this track are delivered with pure passion and power, and both the pre-chorus and chorus themselves are nothing short of shiver-inducing with those dramatic string arrangements. I will go on to say that it’s not my favourite MSP song. But my god you can’t say that it isn’t epic. Finding out that it was the first song the band released after a time when the band members weren’t sure if they were even going to continue makes it that bit more special too.

My iPod #264: Green Day – Desensitized

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The hours have rushed by, haven’t they?

I am now back from my venture to Liverpool for the weekend, and it is time for the first of two posts.

First up is “Desensitized”, a song by Green Day which was recorded whilst the band were working on “Nimrod“. Apparently, they didn’t feel as if it was the best to come out of those sessions. It wasn’t released on the album, but as a B-side on the “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” single. However, Australians and the Japanese are fortunate to have it on their versions of the album. It later got released on the bands B-side compilation “Shenanigans” which came out in 2002.

I’d never listened to “Shenanigans” before and one day decided….. that I should. Out of the fourteen tracks on there, I only really like four of them including this one. It isn’t amazing. You can tell why they didn’t make it onto their albums they were recorded for. “Desensitized” had the potential more than most of the others.

Mike Dirnt, the band’s bassist, completely beats the crap out of a lot of things with a baseball bat for the first twenty seconds or so. I don’t really understand why, but the sounds of various items breaking upon the bat’s impact segues into the song’s main riff – one that alternates between G and C (I believe) starting and stopping to allow Billie Joe to fill the silences with the vocals. That’s just the verses though. Listen to the song, if you like it then you’re welcome.

My iPod #263: Animal Collective – Derek

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A very early post today. I will soon be off to visit my friend at his uni for his birthday so in order to prevent myself from having to do three entries when I come back on Sunday, here is “Derek” – the last track from Animal Collective’s 2007 album “Strawberry Jam“.

I recently listened to “Strawberry Jam”, about a week ago or so. The only other album I had listened to in full was, what is probably considered to be their best, “Merriweather Post Pavilion”. That album sounded like it was recorded in another universe, and considering ‘Best Ever Albums’ had “Jam” rated as their second best I thought I might as well give it a listen. First to see how it sounded, and to figure out whether it was as good.

I can conclude that I do like “Strawberry Jam”. I’ll have to listen to it again because it normally takes me more than one to really get into any album. But “Peacebone” and “Derek” were ones that left a mark.

“Derek” did because of its time signature changes and innocent melody further accentuated with Panda Bear’s lyric where he ‘talks’ to his child about Derek, the old dog he used to own. He realises that he didn’t take care of him that well, and is not prepared to make the same mistake again now that he was a parent. He is ready to take on this great responsibility. A sudden clap begins the triumphant ending where Panda lets his child know that he/she can always count on him when the time comes along with a rampant stomping beat a bit similar to “We Will Rock You”.

A very heartwarming way to finish an album.