Tag Archives: bad

My iPod #107: Arcade Fire – Black Wave/Bad Vibrations

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Evening everybody.

Feeling good? Yeah, me too. Results day for my exams is in nine days. It’s pretty scary. I’m trying not to think about time though. Next Thursday determines the rest of my life. Or at least the year that’s to come. Let’s hope that I get good ones.

Today is the fifth song on Arcade Fire’s second album “Neon Bible”, released in 2007. To summarise – for those of you who don’t know who Arcade Fire are – they are a Canadian band which practically every critic came to love after they released their fist album “Funeral” in 2004. They rose in popularity, gained a lot of fans and have currently finished their fourth album which is due to be released in Autumn.

Neon Bible’s release was probably as hyped as “Favourite Worst Nightmare”, so everyone was waiting to see what the band would do next. My sister bought it when it came out. We listened to it on Windows Media, that’s when I first heard this song.

I say that today’s post is one song, but it’s actually two sections just merged together to make a full product. I will guide you through them as best as I can.

First section: Black Wave
Régine Chassagne, occassional lead vocalist, sings the first part. The whole song is quite chilling and very haunting. This first part has a lighter mood than “Bad Vibrations” though. It tells the story of a couple, supposedly on the run from the law, and set sail on the ocean to lead a new life. She also sings in French for some lines too, that’s cool. And mysterious.

Then everything comes to an abrupt end, and with a few strikes on a xylophone the second part then starts with a boom.

Second section: Bad Vibrations
Impending doom. That’s really all I can think of when I listen to “Bad Vibrations”. Weirdly, the phrase “Black Wave” is used in this and not in the first. The “bad vibrations” are only alluded to in the final lines, “The sound is not asleep/It’s moving under my feet”, but are also emphasised by the dark tone, Win Butler’s perishing vocals and the various “oohs and aahs” in the background. It’s pretty scary. The song slowly comes to a halt, and segues into the next song.

So there you have it. Another post is done.

Hope you like the song as much as I do. Listen to it. Comment if you want.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #66: Arctic Monkeys – The Bad Thing

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I have a feeling that I won’t have a lot to write about today. There’s not much to say about this particular song. The band don’t like it very much either, and tend to not to play it live.

Arctic Monkeys have changed…. I know this change has been occurring since they released in “Humbug”, but this is ridiculous. Have you heard their new single? It’s quite good you know. But you listen to that, and then listen to “The Bad Thing” for a comparison. You would think it was a totally different band.

After “Whatever People Say I Am…” became the fastest selling debut album in the UK in 2006 and spouted two number one singles in the process, Arctic Monkeys became one of the biggest bands in the country.

“Favourite Worst Nightmare” was one of the most awaited albums in 2007. I bought it from Woolworths after a day of school and listened to it at home.

“The Bad Thing” is considered to be one of the more forgettable songs from the album. I’ve got to admit that I can remember listening to “If You Were There, Beware” and “D Is for Dangerous” more than this one, maybe it’s because it’s near the end of the album – I don’t know, but in recent years I have come to appreciate it a lot more.

This song uses the theme of relationships that is common throughout their debut album. This time, it is sung from the point of view from a guy who is hit on by women in relationships, and although he doesn’t want to be tempted he can’t help himself. Because he’s a guy. And that’s normal.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #65: Supergrass – Bad Blood

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When I was thirteen in 2008, Supergrass was the band that I enjoyed listening to the most.

I got “In It for the Money” and their self-titled album as presents for my eleventh birthday, listened to them and didn’t think much of them. The songs just passed me by, you know? Except for “Richard III”, which was the only reason I got the former in the first place.

Using the free music-video service that was available on my TV provider (Virgin Media ftw) I watched all of their videos from “Mansize Rooster” to “St. Petersburg” and realised that the band’s music was one of the most enjoyable and exciting to listen to.

So it was no surprise that I was really excited and could not wait for the release of their then-new album “Diamond Hoo Ha”. Although I was quite disappointed in the first song that they promoted from it, the almost title-track “Diamond Hoo Ha Man“, it was “Bad Blood” that really got the heart pumping and the blood circulating.

The video played a big part in that feeling. You can watch the making of the video by clicking on this sentence. The weird camera shifting gave me a real sense of adrenaline, almost like being on a rollercoaster.

The song itself is a one of the highlights from the album. It’s a great release of energy after the first track. With quiter, chugging verses accompanied by a rip-roaring chorus, the song is one of the best from the Supergrass catalogue of the twenty-first century.

It’s a shame that this song didn’t do so well commercially, and “Diamond Hoo Ha” turned out to be the band’s final album after the members split in 2010. *sniff sniff*

Oh well, the music remains and the good times roll on.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.