#1106: Green Day – Redundant

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Green Day’s Nimrod was one of the first albums I ever thought to download to my computer. Up until about 2008/09, I was solely into getting CDs for birthdays and Christmas presents. When I did try and various individual songs from websites, I would then be reprimanded by my sister who’d wag her finger at me and tell me it was a bad thing to do. But I carried on doing it like the rebellious youth I was. In 2009, 21st Century Breakdown had just been released, a long while since American Idiot. I already owned the latter, Dookie and 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (for some reason) in physical forms – so I guess the downloading of Nimrod was just a way of completing a mission to hear the rest of Green Day’s discography. This was before all the streaming of today, it was a much more difficult task back in those times.

I was already very familiar with Nimrod’s fourth track, though. It’s ‘Redundant’, a song that was also released as the album’s third single in its era of ’97/’98. When I was a small, small boy, going back to 2005, I thought Green Day’s ‘Holiday’ was the best song in the world. I thought Green Day was so cool. So I found their website, and all of their music videos were available to watch on there. It took a lot of buffering on Windows Media Player to get those things running smoothly. But when they worked, that was it. The gateway into Green Day had opened. I say all this to say the video for ‘Redundant’ was on the site too. I’d watch it occasionally. It wasn’t one of the videos I’d repeatedly revisit compared to those for, say, ‘Stuck with Me’, ‘Minority’ or ‘Walking Contradiction’. But I did think it was a great song still. So when coming back to it in 2009 and hearing it within the actual context of Nimrod, the memory of watching its video brought the melodies and all back to me and reminded me how finely written a song it was.

Wikipedia and Genius appear to share the same thought that the song is inspired by frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong’s relationship with his wife and how things weren’t going so great within it at the time of writing. There’s no interview or any quote that backs that up, however. So, with the hope of not repeating something that might not be the case, I’ll just say the song is about a general relationship that’s lost its spark and turned into one where the day-by-day efforts feel phoned-in and forced, so much so that even saying ‘I love you’ doesn’t fill the void. Two verses, three choruses and an instrumental break is all that’s needed to express the sentiments in the track, with the three members all contributing toward a solid performance. It’s not a song of gigantic changes in dynamics or sudden changes in direction. It’s all rather mid-tempo. But I always sort of clench my fists and screw my face whenever those choruses comes in with the descending chord progression, the pummeling tom-toms and Billie Joe Armstrong’s passionate vocal. There’s just so much emotion throughout. And that’s where this song succeeds for me.

#1105: Kings of Leon – Red Morning Light

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Every once in a while I’ll write about a song on here that I have to owe to a video game for cluing me in to its existence. The majority of the time it’s been through the FIFA series, which between 2002 to about 2013 introduced me to so many artists and genres from the West to the East that really shaped my musical interests in my childhood/adolescence. FIFA 2004 was a big, big game in that regard. Heck, I have a tag dedicated to it. And today brings yet another song included in the game’s soundtrack. Before booting up the game, I know for a fact I had no idea who Kings of Leon were. But then the opening chords to ‘Red Morning Light’ started blasting out the speakers during its introduction, and that was it. A brand new song in the head of a nine-year-old kid.

Well, I don’t think it was as instant as that. I was probably marvelling more at the skill moves of Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho. But through playing the game, probably almost every weekend in 2004 (at the max, any moment I had free time), I got accustomed to hearing the track at random points when I was navigating my way through the menus. The little tag would pop up showing the song information when it started playing. “Red Morning Light” by “Kings of Leon” on the album Youth & Young Manhood. Ah, so that was the band’s name. One to remember. Like the songs from the game I’ve written about before, I eventually got to singing along to it. I at least tried. Not that I got every word correct because Caleb Followill kinda blends one word into the next and slurs and mumbles his words throughout. But the chorus was always the best part, “And I say na-na hey, hey, you’re giving all your cinnamon away-hey.” I didn’t know what it meant. Still don’t now, really. But it was good, good stuff.

So, to keep things short, ‘Red Morning Light’ was the first song by Kings of Leon that I’d ever heard, and it’s thanks to FIFA 2004. When I finally received the game as a gift, 2004 had been a thing for four months. I got it as a birthday gift, you see, even though I really wanted it the Christmas that had gone. The band had gained their big following over here in the UK, and they were probably well on their way to working on their second album. As a result, the Aha Shake Heartbreak era of the band is the one that properly introduced me to their music. The video for ‘The Bucket’ came on TV one day, and it was like, “Oh, Kings of Leon, it’s those guys.” Then they never really disappeared from that point onward. I’ve been able to listen to Manhood, and it’s not my favourite album of the band’s, I have to admit. Not that it’s bad. There are at least two of the band’s that I think are better. But for the band it all began there and with ‘Red Morning Light’ as the opening track, so I have to give it props just for that.

#1104: The Strokes – Red Light

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Just the other day I was writing about another song from this album. Ah, well. These sorts of things are expected to happen on this blog. I pretty much explained my thoughts on The Strokes’ First Impressions of Earth in the ‘Razorblade’ post, so it leaves me with little to go with when it comes to writing this first paragraph. From what I know as a faraway Strokes fan, I believe the making of this album and the touring schedule for it was a time of growing tension between the band members – the outcome being that First Impressions would be the band’s “most recent” effort for a few years as they embarked on a hiatus. All of the members went on their solo tips. And those years really had us wondering. Would the Strokes ever get back together? Well, we all know they did when Angles came around in 2011. They almost had us, though.

‘Red Light’ is the last song on First Impressions…, bringing the band’s longest album to a close with a track about, I think, falling in love (true love, at that) and all the feelings that come along with it. Obviously when you hear the phrase ‘red light’, you can either think of the traffic signal or the red-light district. I’m sure that its usage was very much tongue-in-cheek in part by Casablancas. But I’m also sure that generally the track is very sincere in its tone. Casablancas had recently got married in the beginning of 2005, and lines like “Two could be complete without the rest of the world” and the sorta cheesy “All the girls could never make me love them the way I love you” could only reflect what he could have been feeling at the time. As well as that, ‘Red Light’ seems to also be a bit of a commentary on how life is sort of boring because everything that’s had to be invented now exists and the world seems to revolve in an eternal state of indifference. His own tired attitude to being the frontman of a rock band who’s constantly gaped at seems to take its toll too. Some contrasting frames of mind going on in this tune for sure.

All this being said, I do find myself singing along to the guitar lines during the verses, or that climbing/descending bassline that occurs at points throughout the track, rather than the words themselves. They’re all written by Casablancas. How he thinks all of these things up, I don’t know. But those melodies in those are just as infectious as that of the lead vocal line. Always like a track with a good finger-clicking, swinging tempo too. The first time I ever heard ‘Red Light’ was back in 2005 when MTV2 was showing a performance of The Strokes live in the channel’s studios, an exclusive in the lead up to the release of First Impressions…. They played ‘Red Light’, and the kid who was 1 years old (this is me) thought there was something cool about the song at the time. It’s never lost its touch. But that’s just how The Strokes roll, isn’t it? Always liked how it all ends on a dull thud rather than this big finish too. So understated but somehow also very emphatic.

#1103: Animal Collective – Recycling

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It was 19th February 2016, and it was finally here. Animal Collective’s new album Painting With. I’ve gotta tell you, I was very exciting for that record’s arrival. Having caught up on the majority of the group’s discography through 2013/14, Painting With was the first record of theirs that I was waiting for as a proper fan of their music. ‘FloriDada’ was revealed as its first single in November of the previous year, around the same time that Ween announced they were getting back together (that’s a whole other topic.) I joined the AnCo subreddit to witness the hype and clamouring among fans. Before I could blink, February arrived. I was working at a music magazine, so I could get away with having Spotify open all the time on the desktop. At some point, I went on there, pressed play, let the whole album play out, an by the end… I thought it was okay.

Painting With didn’t leave too much of a big impression, I’m sorry to say. Not to say I was disappointed in it, though. The majority of the songs just didn’t latch onto me that securely. Well, except for two big exceptions. Those being ‘Bagels in Kiev’ and ‘Recycling’, today’s topic of conversation, the track that closes the album out altogether. That track takes a while to get going. A lot of synthesizer work goes on until a stomping rhythm sets in and Panda Bear and Avey Tare trade vocals in the polarizing hocketing technique that is present throughout the album. The hocketing was something I recall fans having hot debates about in those first few days after the release. A lot just weren’t feeling it from the getgo. On some tracks, it does feel a bit egregious. ‘Summing the Wretch’, in my opinion, the worst offender. On ‘Recycling’, the hocketing makes Panda Bear and Avey Tare’s respective vocals somewhat interchangeable. Though the former is the lead vocalist here, you can easily sing the latter’s vocal part and notice that it, in its own way, could also act as the main melody too. Props to hocketing in this instance.

So, what’s ‘Recycling’ about? In Panda Bear’s words, it’s about “being a creative person and about making things that are shared with others.” And I can see it. It addresses the different questions that bands/artists ask others/themselves and decisions they make when creating their work. Fancy instruments aren’t needed to make something original. Sometimes it’s best to address your problems with your peers rather than bottle them inside and feel resentment. Smoke some weed, it’ll help you relax. Soak up the unpredictability and embrace it instead of resisting and pushing it away. All some little nuggets of wisdom to pass on, which bring a sense of closure to the album that’s unravelled before your ears. The song’s instrumental rides out for the last 50 seconds, a lot of rhythmic interplay goes on between various keyboard melodies, and it ends with an almost spooky blooping synth that echoes into silence. Sure, Painting With isn’t my favourite Animal Collective project. But I appreciate it for providing ‘Recycling’, it was an instant favourite of mine from that first listen. This thing’s almost 10 years old, lord save us all.

#1102: The Automatic – Recover

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I did say this song would get its own post a few weeks ago. And here it is. This is ‘Recover’ by The Automatic, the first song I ever heard by the band. I woke up in the morning, switched the TV on and headed straight to MTV2 to see what was going on. This song was what was going on. It was the exact video above that was being shown. I might have even watched it right from the beginning to its end. When it comes to these things, the video’s usually halfway through or nearing its end. I can’t really remember vividly, this would have happened in 2005 or something. I’m quite sure that’s how I came about it, though. It left a good impression on me. It made me think, “Hmm. I’ll look out for this ‘The Automatic’ again.” And then, ‘Raoul’ followed and so on, I explained it all in the post for that track.

‘Recover’ would end up being the fourth track on the band’s debut album Not Accepted Anywhere. In guitarist Rob Hawkins words, the song’s about “being a waster and trying to motivate yourself into doing something better than sit in front of the television.” Hangovers, situations of being shown pictures of a night you can’t remember and speaking a whole load of garbage until you suddenly forget what you were even talking about are alluded to and referenced. This narrator clearly likes their alcohol/drug usage, but suffers from the after effects of the indulgence. They know they should change, but when the next night out’s on the horizon, they’re back to it all over again. The chorus was the section that stuck out to me on that initial watch/listen (as it usually is for every song in existence), with the echoing delivery of “(Get) Get! (Up) Up!” before the vocalists sing “Recover” in unison. It’s a nice little hook. Also really enjoy the bridge where guitarist Hawkins and keyboardist Alex Pennie alternate their lines with the former in the left channel and the latter in the right, before harmonising on the final one and joining together with lead vocalist and bassist James Frost for the final choruses.

So, yeah, that’s ‘Recover’. That’s also the last you’ll be seeing of The Automatic on here, which I guess is a shame. If you enjoy this track quite a bit, it had three music videos made for it. The one above was the second. Its first version (below) was rarely shown anywhere, and the third (also below) was made when the decision was made to re-record and re-release the song after the success of their big, big hit ‘Monster’ in 2006. I never liked that re-recorded version. God bless the quality on those videos too. As for The Automatic, they went on to release two more albums. ‘Steve McQueen’ from 2008’s This Is a Fix was a huge favourite of mine when it initially arrived. Fell out of love with it, eventually. Then by the time 2010’s Tear the Signs Down came around, times were changing and the interest in a lot of those mid-2000s UK indie bands was waning. The band disappeared and never came back. They’re a reminder of those sweet and innocent years of Year 6 and those adolescent times, though. So I’ll thank them for that.