Tag Archives: face

#618: The Who – In a Hand or a Face

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‘In a Hand or a Face’ closes out The Who by Numbers, The Who’s seventh album released back in 1975. It goes that Pete Townshend, the band’s guitarist and main songwriter, was severely depressed and suicidal during the making of the record. He quit drinking after a long period of severe alcoholism. He was having an existential crisis due to the fear of turning 30 and wondering if he was getting to old for the whole ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ thing. The album as a result has some of Townshend’s most personal, soul-seeking material on there. After nine tracks, including one written by bassist John Entwistle, ‘In a Hand’ sees Townshend at breaking point despite the triumphant confidence with which the music is delivered.

An emphatic crash cymbal and chunky guitar riff begin the song before a thunderous drum roll gets the rhythm going alongside a salutary opening guitar solo. The song is relatively simple. It’s mostly three chords. But there’s an assertive behind every note, chord, and drum fill played that makes the song sound very nonchalant and unfazed. Lyrics-wise, Townshend writes about seeing people in various situations and trying to put himself in their shoes. He asks the listener whether they’ve ever hard the same experiences and self-assesses where he’s at in comparison. His conclusion? He was “going round and round”.

A pulsating rhythm section break marks the song’s key change, and Roger Daltrey, Townshend, and Entwistle repeat its main refrain before the instruments ring out on an unresolved chord. I guess Townshend was in so much of a spiral at the time he didn’t know where he was going. With The Who, with his life…. It wasn’t a great time to be him.

#607: The Beatles – I’ve Just Seen a Face

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‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ is the twelfth track on The Beatles’ fifth album Help!. When nearing the end of the album, the listener is provided with two mainly acoustic numbers sung by Paul McCartney. ‘Yesterday’ is the second of them. But while that song mourns the loss of a relationship, ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ captures the promising outlook of one that has a great chance of being successful.

It starts off with an intricate oscillating 6/8 timed intro of guitars that rise and fall before changing into the driving standard time verse where McCartney starts his vocal. His vocal take consists of very wordy lyrics, phrases that fall into the next with some internal rhyming and syncopation that help the track maintain its propelling momentum throughout. Chorus is good too. The “Falling, yes I am falling” line is one that is delivered with so much joy – it’s hard to not to feel just a bit happier from listening to it.

It’s quick and really easy listening to the ear. That seems to be a bit of motif throughout Help!. It’s an album that’s made of a lot of songs where the structure and instrumentation are very simple and straight to the point. ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’ isn’t necessarily a major favourite of mine on there but when it starts playing it’s hard to skip.

My iPod #442: Coldplay – God Put a Smile upon Your Face

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“God Put a Smile upon Your Face” is a track from Coldplay’s 2003 album A Rush of Blood to the Head, one which built upon the sound that the group had established with their preceding debut Parachutes. The former album contains some of Coldplay’s highly rated songs from “The Scientist” to “In My Place”. But I feel “God Put a Smile” doesn’t get much love as those, or any of the other tracks in Coldplay’s vast catalogue. Releasing it as a proper single in only a few regions may have something to do with that.

Starting off with Chris Martin singing the first verse with an sinister acoustic riff to set the ball rolling, the track picks up with a cool bass groove and steady beat with little guitar licks added by Jonny Buckland for effect. There’s something about this track that I think makes it have an edge over a few others. I think it’s quite a dark song. I know that ‘dark’ isn’t an adjective that you would normally associate with a band such as Coldplay. It just has that dissonant tone about it. The music video maybe reinforces this idea.

Honestly can’t say much about it. Nothing personal; it is a good track that fits in with that killer first half of the album.

My iPod #348: Daft Punk – Face to Face

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I have returned! What better way to start the month of October than with the start of this ‘series’ thing that most followers possibly look at my blog for.

This is “Face to Face”, the penultimate track from Daft Punk’s second album Discovery. If you are watching the album’s visual counterpart “Interstella 5555“, this is the point where – spoilers – Earth finds out the band are aliens and help them get back to their home planet. That’s the first time I heard the track, and I got very positive vibes from it. Watching the film at the same time, I was happy to see that the people of Earth were so adamant on helping the blue-skinned people. It was nice to see.

From looking at the lyrics, the track is from the perspective of someone who feels foolish for throwing their toys out of the pram in a fight, instead of just talking it out face to face, and finding sense in whatever the other person was saying. It may also be about Internet dating or something. But I personally think it’s the former.

The double-tracked vocals are done by Todd Edwards, who more recent Daft Punk fans may know from “Fragments of Time” from “Random Access Memories”. However, the majority of the track has no vocals at all and instead focuses on the different samples of older songs that are used but which Daft Punk never wanted to reveal. We all know that “Evil Woman” by ELO is in there….. but I still have no clue what the female vocal is saying or where it’s from. I’m convinced that it’s saying “-long…. Mr. Furlong” and then “good evening” at some parts too.

The music itself makes me feel good. Why? The positive message, the stomping 4-4 beat, or those cut/copy samples that work so well together. A song to lie back to and feel good about what you have is what this is.