Tag Archives: how

#1364: Billy Talent – This Is How It Goes

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Christmas Day 2006 was when I received both the first Billy Talent album and Billy Talent II as gifts. I was very happy. My experience with the band’s debut album was either through listening to 30-second samples of its songs on a site called artistdirect.com – which no longer exists – or hearing one of them on the rare occasion it played on the Launch.com radio service. But now I had the whole package in my hands. I think it might have been the enhanced CD, a video player that when on to show a little EPK came onto the screen when I popped the disc into the computer. There’s still a couple songs left to write about from Billy Talent, but I’ll say now that I still consider this one of my favourite albums ever, I know almost every word on it from front to back. Lot of angst and anger, a lot of screaming, it could easily be slotted as one of those “It’s not a phase, Mom” albums. But I can put it on today and just let it roll to its end. It goes in… so hard.

‘This Is How It Goes’ is the very first song. The band introduces themselves one-by-one, Ian D’Sa on the guitar, Aaron Solowoniuk with the hi-hats – being the drummer and all – and Jon Gallant’s bass line before leaping into the killer riff that leaps all over the guitar neck, which eventually goes on to play underneath the upcoming choruses. I’m a fan of Ben Kowalewicz’s vocals. A common complaint I’d usually witness from roaming around online back in the day was how grating some people found his voice to be. And to be fair, I could probably see where they’re coming from. But I couldn’t imagine any other tone than the high-pitched, bratty kind he has while delivering the lyrics on this track. He sings, with Ian D’Sa harmonising on certain phrases, before abruptly launching into the screaming tirade that makes up the chorus, everyone in the band comes in together, increasing the intensity with the aforementioned riff playing underneath. A freakin’ juggernaut of energy, such a great way to open up a whole discography, let alone one album.

One thing I found out as soon as I got into ‘…How It Goes’ was how it was written about drummer Aaron Solowoniuk and his battle with multiple sclerosis. He’s very rarely plays the drums with the band in a live setting now and didn’t on their last two albums due to MS relapse in 2016. While the track doesn’t specifically detail Solowoniuk’s experiences, it’s written to give a general sense of how much a burden it could be to live with the illness. Frustration, self-doubt, irritation. All captured in these three-and-a-half minutes. The band had the track in the works when they originally went under the name Pezz. I want to say I read some kind of interview or article where one bandmember said that once they had got this song down, it pretty much set the direction truly wanted to take their music – more toward a darker and brooding energy rather than the lighter and maybe less focused style they had exhibited on their Watoosh! album. I say “maybe” ’cause I like that album too and don’t see it as less focused at all. But it’s fair to say Pezz became Billy Talent when the four of them came up with this song right here.

My iPod #549: John Lennon – How?

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“How?” is a track from John Lennon’s second album Imagine. Coming after the scathing attack of Paul McCartney on “How Do You Sleep?”, “How?” brings the negativity down a peg and instead replaces that mood with a feeling of worrying uncertainty. Set to a sweet instrumental of piano, keyboard, smooth drums and various strings Lennon wonders how he can be expected to live, feel, and love when he doesn’t know the future holds for him.

Inspired by the primal therapy sessions he went through with Yoko Ono, “How?” is a contemplative and introspective track containing lyrics of a sentiment that make it indistinguishable from the tracks on John’s Plastic Ono Band album. Though with the aforementioned instrumentation the track exudes a warm and calming feeling that comforts the listener, even if Lennon sings of this anxiety that we can go through some time in our lives.

Placed between “How Do You Sleep?” and fan favourite “Oh Yoko!“, “How?” tends to be an overlooked gem on the album and in Lennon’s discography as a whole. Don’t know why that is. There is something very special about it.

My iPod #548: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – How Near, How Far

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Source Tags & Codes, the third album by post-hardcore band …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, once received a perfect 10 from notable music critics Pitchfork upon its initial release in 2002. Many to this day discuss whether it deserved the score. Thinking about it a year from when I first heard it, I’m still not so sure myself. Though I can confirm that it is a glorious one. I like it quite a bit. Well worth fifty minutes of your time. You may have some preconceived ideas about the music just from the band’s name (I know I did) but you will be pleasantly surprised by the album’s quality.

The track, stemming from an idea that singer Conrad Keely had written three years before, depicts a narrator who wishes to know more about history. Entranced by ‘oil painted eyes of muses left behind’ he wants to learn about the subjects of these paintings but is ‘left dry’ that he will never be able to know the full truth, learning only what he can read in books and stories. The track contains only three verses with no distinct chorus, though the highlight for me is the instrumental break. It begins with alternating violins and guitars, before slowly building in intensity as the song’s captivating introductory riff plays and plays with Keely repeatedly singing “How near, how far/How lost they are” before seamlessly transitioning into the song’s final verse.

“How Near, How Far” quickly grew to become one of my favourites from it. It was maybe a week after listening to the full album when I was in visiting my friend in Manchester last year. I stepped outside after having partied for many hours at the university’s student union building to a sky of pink and red made by the rising of the sun. Everything from the leaves on the trees to the cars on the road had a vibrant glow. It was a sight to behold, too much to take in. I suddenly found myself humming “How Near” to myself, it just seemed like the perfect song at that moment.

My iPod #547: The Who – How Many Friends

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Afraid of turning thirty and becoming irrelevant in the music business, Pete Townshend expressed the personal issues he was going through in his songwriting. The material written resulted in The Who by Numbers, The Who’s seventh album released in 1975, which marked a return to the straightforward studio album format after their second rock opera of Quadrophenia in 1973.

“How Many Friends” is the penultimate track, and is arguably the one in which Townshend’s insecurities are laid bare. It is something of a biography, with Townshend recalling moments of being hit on by a guy, falling in a love with a lady at the cinema, and signing a contract for the first time. However, all of these times bring up the issue on whether he is just being used, leaving him questioning who he can really trust and whether he has true friends he can really depend on and will take him for the person he is. Its message struck a chord with Keith Moon, who is said to have cried and hugged Townshend after hearing the song’s demo for the first time.

Once again the band provide a brilliant performance, but what really gives the song its delicate touch is the lush piano courtesy of the late Nick Hopkins, who fills the slot as the ‘rhythm guitar’ while Townshend delivers what is essentially a four-minute solo in the left channel. It is maybe one of the songs by The Who where the rhythm section aren’t the musical highlights. Of course you can’t disregard the playing of John Entwistle and Keith Moon completely, they very much do their job greatly, but Daltrey’s majestic vocals with Hopkins’ piano and Townshend’s intense guitar work reinforce the track’s sad energy. A tear will be shed.