Tag Archives: in

My iPod #405: Enter Shikari – Gap in the Fence

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Next Monday post-hardcore group Enter Shikari release what will be the band’s fourth album “The Mindsweep“. Can I say that I am hyped about this? Not really. My interest in their music has faded as the years pass; had I not searched the group up on Google earlier this week, I would definitely not have known that a new album was coming soon. It also may be due to the dub-step stuff they began to incorporate into their music. It’s a shame. I used like to like them quite a lot. But I believe “Common Dreads” was their last album that I was excited for, and learnt to appreciate after listening to it a few times.

“Gap in the Fence”, about subservience and taking things at face value (in Rou Reynolds’ words, not mine), is a track that builds and becomes bigger as it goes on. Initially beginning as one of the slower and quieter ones on the album, Reynolds sings on his lonesome with an acoustic guitar; soft percussion and pretty vocal harmonies occur soon after. It is halfway through when the music somehow then evolves into this glistening house/trance beat where Rou makes it clear that he needs ‘to get out of here’. Many, many times. But it all results in a climactic finish consisting of loud guitars, a mix of shouting and singing, and a final word that stretches out for a few seconds before coming to an emphatic stop. “GRANNTEEEEEEEEEEEEEED-UH.” I feel Reynolds’ anger just listening to it,

It then segues into the next track “Havoc B”, but that’s besides the point.

“Gap in the Fence” is a sick one. Very nice.

In this video – at 6:50 or so – the band talk about the song. You might want to watch the whole thing if you want to know the background behind each individual track on “Common Dreads”.

My iPod #404: Supergrass – G-Song

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*yawn* It’s been a while. How’s everyone doing?

Hope you all enjoyed your festivities over the holiday season. Feels quite strange starting this up again, seeing as I haven’t done one thing on this site since late November. I apologise. I need breaks too. But here I am again, and here I should be (almost) every day to give you the songs on my iPod beginning with the letter ‘G’.

So what better way to start it, than with a track entitled “G-Song” – the fifth track on “In It for the Money“, the second album by Supergrass. I always wondered why it was named as so.  The title has nothing to do with the song’s subject matter; the phrase doesn’t appear in the lyrics. But it came to me not so long ago. The song’s written in the key of G Major. Duh.

The only reason I can think of enjoying “G-Song” is having listened to it repetitively alongside the other eleven tracks that accompany it on “In It for the Money”. After “Late in the Day” ends I always expect “G-Song”‘s sudden introduction to kick in, with its chugging guitars and solid bass. The instrumentation is something that really gets to me when listening to this track. It’s got a real *oomph* to it. Can’t find a better way to describe it. Especially the phrase that plays during the “There may be troubles…” refrain. Groovy as anything.

Like many of the other tracks on the album, it also contains a bridge which sounds like it could have been used to a completely different song altogether. Yet somehow, the guys manage to bring it back right into the song’s already established riff. That is good stuff, right there.

In terms of lyrics, I have a feeling that this track is one of those where the band worked on the music beforehand before coming up with the words to suit it. Gaz Coombes sings about feeling strange whilst walking on his way home or something….. I really don’t know. But that’s not a bad thing. What matters is, this track is pretty good. Recommended listen.

On an unrelated note, “I Should Coco” turns twenty this year. Anyone on getting a Supergrass campaign started to get all their nineties albums re-released and remastered? Very politely ask Gaz Coombes and Mick Quinn.

Annnnnnnddddd……

The White Stripes – Fell in Love with a Girl

Hello again. If you read the final post from the F’s, you’ll remember me writing that I had actually skipped one track out by mistake. This was the track. How I skipped it, I’ll never know.

“Fell in Love with a Girl”. Classic. Not much to say. Bass-less, simple five chord track with an amazing video which makes you wonder what you’ve been doing with Lego your whole life.

I remember seeing the start of this video when I was younger, and being disappointed when it turned out that it wasn’t “Walkie Talkie Man” by Steriogram. That video was directed by Michel Gondry too. As a result, I would always change it without really listening to the song. Big mistake. The White Stripes’ video and song are much better.

Was never a huge White Stripes fan. But this track is great. Have to say. RIP.

I bet no one remembers who Steriogram is.

My iPod #368: The Shins – Fighting in a Sack

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While looking for more music to listen to I stumbled across “Chutes Too Narrow“, the second album released by indie rock band The Shins in 2003. The group had been one that I had heard of before; I watched their music videos for their singles “Phantom Limb” and “Australia” when they were due to release “Wincing the Night Away”. Though I didn’t become a fan of their stuff straight away, I did like the sound of those two songs and even if I wasn’t left awestruck or anything their melodies still popped in my head at the most random of times.

There are a lot of those cheerful, memorable melodies on each track of “Chutes Too Narrow”, and “Fighting in a Sack” was the one that I liked the most out of all of them. It’s a sprightly two-and-a-half-minute number questioning death, how we as human beings feel about this inevitability and the possibility that the topic wouldn’t be so heavy if we all enjoyed living in the moment and making most of the time we have.

Filled with little keyboard licks, a leaping vocal performance by James Mercer, a harmonica solo and a bright “woo” chant before it are included, and it never fails to make me that bit happier when listening to it.

My iPod #355: Cloud Nothings – Fall In

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After hearing Cloud Nothings for the first time via their most recent album released earlier this year, I was interested in what other stuff the band did. Originally Cloud Nothings was a one man band made of main member Dylan Baldi performing power-pop, happy-go-lucky songs. But I didn’t listen to those. Instead I went straight to “Attack on Memory“, the first album where he expressed his anger and raw feelings into his music, this time with three other people, in order to make us and himself forget about that past.

That’s the album “Fall In” is on. Lyrically, I am not sure what I can say about it. Sure, there are lyrics in it but whether there is real meaning behind them is debatable. Baldi has stated that he doesn’t care for lyrics, and normally writes them the day before recording, which more or less means that the music is the important thing to take note on in this case.

Musically, it’s very fast. And loud. Cloud Nothings has a superb drummer if you didn’t know. Seems to hit them harder and at a more furious pace than any other band I’ve heard of late. It’s the same on this track too. Would think the guy has an extra limb or something. The music during the choruses confuses me a bit too. I can’t count along to it. It sounds like the vocals and guitars are going at a completely different time to the drums. It’s all in 4/4 though, listen to the drums closely enough and you’ll be able to get it soon enough.

Sorry for the late post too, caught got up in some reading.

My iPod #339: Radiohead – Everything in Its Right Place

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“Everything in Its Right Place” is the opening track on Radiohead’s “Kid A” album, one where the band completely diverted away from their heavy guitar-driven music to warmer, electronic material. Fans waited for three years after “OK Computer”, full of anticipation with what Radiohead could deliver. Apparently, “Kid A” polarized many. Either people loved it ‘cos of the new musical direction, or hated because of the same reason. Whether the band made the change to make people not like it as much, I’m not sure. The members, especially Thom Yorke, were burnt out from the success that “OK Computer” gained. “Kid A” made them a lot more successful anyway.

I was five when the album was released, and so have no recollection of anything Radiohead did. Who were Radiohead? I didn’t know; I was in Year 1. But I eventually got round to listening to “Kid A” (and “Amnesiac” for the hell of it) in 2012. Why did it take me so long? Well…. I think I used to label those years as the period where Radiohead went a bit weird. The first song I remember liking from them was on “Hail to the Thief”, and their singles I usually saw on the TV were “Creep – OK Computer” era. It wasn’t until I actually researched that both albums were very much appreciated, that I thought I would listen to them.

And so “Everything in Its Right Place” started playing, and it was then that I realised I might have been missing out on something. Everything about it is just so peaceful, calm and tranquil even though the lyrics are from the perspective of a person going through some problems of their own. Got a steady 4/4 beat playing against a 10/4 time signature, unconventional yet wouldn’t sound out of place in any dance/house party. And the song’s only made up of four phrases which are repeated in many different and memorable ways, that when you think one will be repeated again the track begins to fade out. And then it’s gone.

I’ve seen comments from people saying that Radiohead should start playing guitars again but they did do this song, cut them some slack.