Tag Archives: be

#648: Tame Impala – It Is Not Meant to Be

2 Replies

‘It Is Not Meant to Be’ is the first track on Tame Impala’s debut album Innerspeaker, released almost ten years ago…. If I remember right, that particular was the second of the “group”‘s that I listened to following Lonerism when I was in my last year of sixth form. Compared to that album, it was apparent that there was a lot more focus on the guitars and some good riffs. A lot less synthesizer work. But it was all still some great music for this guy in 2012/13.

Probably down as one of the best introductions to an album in my music library, ‘It Is Not Meant to Be’ grabbed me right away with its thick bassline and phasing guitars that repeat on and on for a minute and 20 seconds before the vocals eventually come in. If that section were its own track I wouldn’t be too upset. It’s very hypnotizing. But then Kevin Parker arrives and tells the listener about a girl he’s had his eye on and who is way out of his league, much to his reluctant acknowledgment. And that’s something a lot of guys have been through, right? I know I have.

But it’s not just because of its relatability that I dig this track. It just sounds so good. When I listen to it, I see…. trees of green, the sun. I sense a summery feeling but its surrounded by a mystic haze. Like I’m lying in a field. And then when the chorus hits I’m lifted to a whole other level. It’s a warm, comfortable listen that carries a heavy weight but won’t do you any harm in the long run. It’s definitely a smooth way to start off a discography.

#647: Blur – It Could Be You

Leave a reply

I may have said this before but just to reinforce it again, I prefer The Great Escape to Parklife. I realise that the latter is recognised as Blur’s first classic album, it was immense for British culture during the time it was released. The former is mostly seen as Parklife‘s weaker follow-up nowadays. It also doesn’t help that none of the bandmembers don’t look on The Great Escape very fondly either. When it comes down to it, I enjoy a lot more songs from that album than I do its predecessor.

‘It Could Be You’ is a track from The Great Escape, released in 1995, and was also released as single – only in Japan – the following year. It is predominantly inspired by The National Lottery, which had recently become a thing around the time the album came out, with its title taken from the initial slogan that was used to promote the whole ordeal. Damon Albarn sings about what he could do if he were to win it, or at least sings from the perspective of someone who wishes to, alongside various phrases and observations on British society that he was prone to during those times.

Like a lot of songs on Parklife, the track is rich in melodies and general catchiness, pepped up with enthusiastic ‘doo-doo/ooh-ooh’ vocals here and there and quite the keen vocal take from Albarn. Actually, a lot of the vocals here seem almost camp in a way…. like it could be a musical number or something. Though it does help that they’re backed up by a relatively strong performance from Graham Coxon’s guitars and the rhythm section of Alex James and Dave Rowntree. Check out the fuzz bass that comes in for a brief moment during the chorus. It took me a while to realise that was even there.

#581: They Might Be Giants – I Should Be Allowed to Think

Leave a reply

Happy new year everybody! 21 days in…. I’m sorry, but I’m now officially a working man. I just haven’t had the time to get back into this. Well, there have been weekends obviously…. but I just haven’t had the inspiration and energy to write. 10am-6pm is a long day, I tell you! I’ll try and get back to the once a week thing on here. Emphasis on ‘try’. Though it will more than likely be a sporadic post here and there.

And so the first track of 2018 is one by They Might Be Giants, who coincidentally just released their 20th(!) album entitled I Like Fun on Friday. Haven’t heard the whole thing yet apart from its title track and ‘I Left My Body‘. I probably should. I leave you a link to its iTunes page where you can buy it for a reasonable price.

‘I Should Be Allowed to Think’ is on the band’s fifth album John Henry, released way back in 1994. Their longest album by a mile, almost an hour in length, it was the first where they performed as a full band with bass guitar and percussion backing John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Thinking on it, I personally see it as their way of showing that they were still able to provide their usual versatility and unique style of songwriting even without their drum machines and backing tapes of the past.

Like many other of the group’s songs, it’s told from a viewpoint which you can look at in two ways… You can listen to the narrator and take their points at face value… or they’re lying and something else is up. Knowing They Might Be Giants, it’s usually the latter. This narrator in particular feels injustice from seeing these rubbish bands advertised anywhere, and sees this as reason to say whatever they want and have their ideas heard by anybody – no matter how stupid they may be. They feel as if there’s this big conspiracy against them, when really they’re probably just thinking about it a bit too much.

This is a great song, another mainly penned by John Linnell though Flansburgh sings in the bridge. I do find myself humming along to its bass line when hearing it, particularly the second half of the chorus. Fair play to Tony Maimone, who plays the bass a fair few of the songs on John Henry. It’s a standard rock song I would say, although it’s not really because it’s They Might Be Giants. There’s always something a bit different when it comes to them. In a good way.

‘I Should Be Allowed’ was recorded on the band’s home equipment and could be listened to on the phone through their Dial-a-Song service before the song was officially released. Thanks to the Internet, that demo version can be heard all the time. It is below.

My iPod #425: Manic Street Preachers – The Girl Who Wanted to Be God

Leave a reply

“The Girl Who Wanted to Be God” is a track from Manic Street Preachers’ album “Everything Must Go“, released in 1996. This album was their first after the disappearance of lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards (which happened twenty years ago yesterday, if you didn’t know) though some tracks on it included lyrics that Edwards had left over – today’s track is one of them, though Nicky Wire did contribute lyrics too. I’ve personally never looked into the lyrics much though the title is also the name of a poem by the late Sylvia Plath, whose work Edwards was known to study. Take from that what you will.

Admittedly the part of the track that got me straight away were the sensational strings that give the track this elating feeling of freedom. After seconds of a choppy guitar and a meddling rhythm section that start the track off, the strings suddenly appear to play the chorus melody and I’m launched into the air and find myself soaring through the sky, faster than the speed of sound. And then James Dean Bradfield reinforces that feeling by belting out the title phrase which makes up the song’s chorus. The verses are good; they have a good melody to them. But that chorus…. some days it will pop in my head, and I can be repeating it for minutes on end.

If I were lucky enough to be a member of Manic Street Preachers in 1996, I would definitely have wanted this to be a single. Could you imagine thousands of people singing back that chorus to you at concerts? Man. Better than “Kevin Carter“, I think. Though however glorious the strings and wailing guitar may be, it still reminds me of music that should be in the background of a flight advert or the theme music to a soap opera. I really don’t know why, I just get that vibe from it.

My iPod #77: Kings of Leon – Be Somebody

Leave a reply

Ah. The only one I really like from “Only by the Night”.

I am, admittedly, a Kings of Leon fan who prefers their music prior to “Only by the Night”. Sure, “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” were major successes for them – and that’s great. I just like it when they weren’t aiming for this big, stadium filling sound that they seem to have been going for since the album’s release in 2008. Ever since they cut their hair, which I first noticed in the video for “Charmer”, things just started going downhill for me. I’m just saying. Don’t hate me.

“Be Somebody” is the highlight from the album for me. That’s only because the two songs I’ve mentioned above are repeated endlessly on the TV or radio. I can’t get no satisfaction when I hearing them sung by contestants on the X Factor, or Britain’s Got Talent, or other inane Saturday night ITV programmes that are on.

It sounds like a song that could have been on “Because of the Times”, I don’t get a sense of “Ooh, look at us we’re this huge band now and you should listen to us” vibe that I get from other songs on the album. It’s a haunting song, emphasised by the descending riff in the verses and the shrieking guitar in the breaks between the verses until you are suddenly lifted by an uplifting sounding chorus, where Caleb reaches the top of his lungs singing how he’s going to be somebody.

To summarise, for me it’s the only good song on the album. I’ll stick to their tunes from when their hair was long.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

P.S. Congratulations to Andy Murray, who became the first Briton to win Wimbledon in 77 years. He’s still Scottish.