Tag Archives: inside

#1078: They Might Be Giants – Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head

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Man, look at those fresh-faced Johns in that music video. I reckon I was about 12 years old when I saw the clip for TMBG’s ‘Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head’ for the first time and thus heard the song too. Would have been 2007, and YouTube was up and running at this point. Not the big deal it is today. Was a lot more humble and much more innocent back then. At 12, the Giants had been around in my life for probably three and a bit years at that point. And it was hard to find music videos by them online without really having to look for some websites. Now all of them were on this “new” site, and ‘Puppet Head’ was a well-liked song according to the band’s wiki. Became an instant hit in my book and another to add to that list of tunes I already knew that really made TMBG stand out compared to any other band/musician/artist I usually listened to.

I distinctly remember stopping and starting the video numerous times, just to keep replaying the image of the two Johns jumping in time to the track’s opening drum pattern. It’s quite hypnotizing in its own way. Plus, it’s quite the visual to start things off with. Once I realised that this was the duo’s first ever music video, it made sense that the first scene had to lure viewers in somehow. In fact there are many dance moves here (which were a signature in those early TMBG videos) that I kept on rewatching. Just made the two guys all the more endearing. But you want to know about the song, that’s why you’re here. Well, John Linnell originally wrote it – lyrics and music – but was unhappy with how his verses turned out. He gave it to bandmate John Flansburgh who “filled in all the blanks”, resulting in one of the best TMBG outcomes, a collaboration between the two band members in comparison to the usual where one or the other will write the entire song.

From what I can gather from the lyrics, I think it’s simply about a person who doesn’t like their job, wants more out of life. Maybe a little loving to help soothe the pain. And all of this could happen if someone would only put their hand inside the titular puppet head. The talk about zombies and this puppet head puts things into a bit of a surreal area, but I think that’s just a way of making the understanding a little harder to achieve. Well, I think they did that quite successfully. But like a lot of other TMBG songs, it’s a bunch of fun to sing along to. The track was released as the second song on the band’s first album from 1986, but with a different mix from that in the music video. The snare hits are drenched in reverb, someone suggested to make the song a little sharper in its key, and the tone overall is a little brighter. It does fit in alongside the other 18 tracks on that record. When I sing it out of the blue, my pitch usually goes to that of the video’s. But honestly, this is one of those rare occasions where I like two separate released mixes of a song at about the same level.

#764: Blur – Look Inside America

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Damon Albarn spent a good chunk of the 90s making music specially tailored to the British public. After having a not-so-great tour in the United States and seeing that the music from that country, especially grunge, dominated the UK charts he had a vision to remind people how great, and sometimes bad, it was to be from England with the ultimate aim of being part of the biggest band in their homeland. That vision came true to some degree, but the band found they had taken things too far with their 1995 album The Great Escape. They had also fallen hugely out of favour with the general British audience who had grown to prefer Oasis instead.

Their self-titled album that followed in 1997 was remarkably different, inspired by indie rock bands like Pavement and Sebadoh that guitarist Graham Coxon had been listening to. The music Blur was making in these sessions was a lot more aggresive and Albarn’s lyrics were more earnest and sincere. Noting the gratifying effect that this new American influence was having on the band, Albarn wrote ‘Look Inside America’ which is essentially an apology to the country and a song about learning not to care so much about things. In the track, Albarn sings about the better experiences he has while being in America. A good show was had the previous night, the band got an ad on the rock station KROQ, and he got a happier ending to Woody Allen’s Annie Hall by rewinding the videotape. He seems to have found pleasures in the smallest details and his lyrics, mixed with the uplifting music, result in what is probably the most optimistic track on the whole album.

Ironically, the song sounds the most similar to the material they were making on their Britpop trilogy. Only this time, the strings during the verses play more as a backdrop to Albarn’s vocal and Coxon’s guitar. The groove during the guitar solos nearing the end remind me to ‘Mr Robinson’s Quango’. I think it’s all in done in a tongue-in-cheek way though. Just a personal highlight for me is Alex James’ bass throughout the track, that’s very melodic in itself.

My iPod #395: Linkin Park – From the Inside

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“From the Inside” is from Linkin Park’s second album “Meteora”. It’s my favourite track on that album, too. It was released as its fourth single in 2004, physically in Australia and the USA whilst it was download only in the UK. It’s a track of the band’s that isn’t really overplayed so I never feel as if I can ever really get tired of it, say like “What I’ve Done” or “In the End” or something. This is an actual track I can really get into when that siren-like keyboard melody begins.

“From the Inside” adapts that quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic that is typically used in grunge music. Chester Bennington softly sings alternating with Mike Shinoda’s raps in the verses, before Bennington lets loose and the trademark Meteora wall of guitars enter for the chorus. Bennington screams a lot during the bridge too, which excites any Linkin Park fan.

Not much else I can say about it. It’s a very heavy tune about being betrayed and not knowing who you can trust anymore, with a waltz time signature. Cool stuff.

My iPod #222: John Lennon – Crippled Inside

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“Crippled Inside” from “Imagine” is a “corny Country-Westerner” as described by Lennon himself (about 1:05 minute in) when discussing the tracks he had ready to be placed in the tracklisting, before proceeding to sing it briefly.

I listened to “Imagine” (the album, not the song) for the first time when it was (what would have been) his 70th birthday in 2010. If there was a time to start listening to his solo material, it was definitely then. And after the calming, piano driven ‘anthem’ comes this bouncy track.

It’s about putting on a false appearance and pretending to be happy when in fact you actually feel worthless. Some take it to be an insult song to Paul McCartney; they weren’t getting along so well at this time. Figure it out for yourselves.