Tag Archives: my ipod

#792: They Might Be Giants – Madam, I Challenge You to a Duel

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Back in 2015, They Might Be Giants revived their iconic Dial-A-Song system, but delivered it in a very different way. Starting from the first week of January, the group released one new song every week. When they were done, the majority of the 52 songs were released on three albums: 2015’s Glean, Why?, and the following year’s Phone Power.

‘Madam’ was the second song in that 52-week run. It was an exciting time for a They Might Be Giants fan. I vaguely remember listening to the track on the day of its initial release thinking it was okay. It wasn’t until I gave Glean a full listen some time later that I truly appreciated it. Here’s a song in which John Flansburgh, who takes on this viewpoint of a very formal person, challenges a lady to a duel which you’re not really meant to do as a person of a high status. The band have always been good at building narrators up one way and then suddenly switching the narrative to make them look like terrible people.

This is a majorly piano-led track by the group, which is a bit rare for them. I think that’s what got to me when I originally heard it in 2015. Flansburgh sings with a breathy, kind of deep tone to his voice, which he would employ a lot of times on older albums, but I guess aging would affect your vocal range. The song just sounds good, you know? It’s like a soundtrack to a quaint ball, or something. Out of 910 songs on This Might Be a Wiki, the track is rated #488 by TMBG fans. That more or less categorises it as one of the average They songs. A bit unfair, I would say. I enjoy it a lot.

#791: Blink-182 – M+M’s

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This is a toughy. Only because I have no reason to gush over this song, I just think it’s very good. ‘M+M’s’ has been a mainstay in my music library for a long time. Some time after Christmas 2007, to be sort of exact ’cause that’s when I got Blink-182’s 2005 Greatest Hits compilation as a gift. ‘M+M’s’ is the second track on that collection. I can’t say it’s been there at major moment of my life, wasn’t the soundtrack to a specific moment in time. It’s just a damn catchy tune.

Like a lot of pop-punk tracks and Blink-182 songs in general, it’s about a boy-girl relationship. Hoppus sings about this girl he’s found that he’s got something good going with, and is determined not to mess things up. It seems that he can’t believe his luck, the way things are going for him, and the only thing now is to really seal the deal and ask her to be his girlfriend. The song contains a memorable riff by Tom DeLonge, thinking about it now he uses the same technique on some parts of ‘Dumpweed’, and the rhythm’s very tight too. Travis Barker may be the better drummer technically, but for his time in the band, original drummer Scott Raynor was a perfect fit for the song’s the band did back then.

‘M+M’s’ was Blink-182’s first ever single, released in 1995 when they were to bring out their debut album Cheshire Cat. They made a music video for it too, which you can see above. That is the censored version. The original had a scene at the end where the bandmembers and their ‘girlfriends’ have a shootout. Fake gunshot wounds and everything. That is below.

#790: Pezz (Billy Talent) – M & M

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Here it is. The return. The Music in My Ears is back with the M’s. Looking through my phone, there are a lot of fine songs to cover. Today, we start with ‘M & M’ – a track that was the first of 17 on Billy Talent’s first ever album, the one they made before they were even known as Billy Talent. For a few years, the band from Canada was called Pezz. They released an album in 1999 called Watoosh!. The group went away afterwards, changed the name and image and came back with a completely different style.

Around 2004/2005 I was really excited about Billy Talent. I was on their official website a lot of the time and trying to find where I could listen to their songs. Came across a fansite on Geocities which had a list of their rare tracks available in a very low quality and in .wmv format, and Watoosh! was on there. Only the links for ‘M & M’, ‘Fairytale’, ‘Nita’, and the cover of ‘New Orleans Is Sinking’ worked. I think that site was also where I found ‘Beach Balls’ too. If only I could remember that website’s name… As someone who discovered Billy Talent first and then found out that they made this years before, I was very surprised in the best way possible. The whole first ‘official’ Billy Talent album was perfect in my eyes as a nine-year-old. And those other songs convinced me that this was a band who couldn’t write a bad track.

‘M & M’ was inspired by the group of goth kids who used to come into the HMV store where singer Ben Kowalewicz worked back in the day and is something of an observation and a look into the minds of the kids of that subculture. It doesn’t seem to be too different from the whole emo scene of the mid-2000s. Kids still loathe their parents, they’re made fun of because of their extravagant makeup, and they have a fascination with death. Instead of the usual heavy approach that Billy Talent would be known for on their first album, Pezz take things on with, dare I say, a bit of playfulness. The group play with the tempo a bit more and add a bit of skip to their rhythms. It’s like a strange ska-punk song. And then halfway through the track takes a bit of a dramatic turn and ends in a way that you wouldn’t have guessed when it first started. That happens a lot throughout ‘Watoosh!’ I still really like that album to this day, even though the members of Billy Talent don’t acknowledge it that much.

#789: Oasis – Lyla

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Oasis’ sixth album Don’t Believe the Truth was released in 2005 and it was around that time that I really got into the habit of watching music television as soon as I woke up and went downstairs to the living room. ‘Lyla’, the first single from the record, was always playing on there. And it was supposedly a very big deal that this Oasis band was back with a new single and an album that was to drop soon. At the time I was 10 and don’t think I properly knew who Oasis were. I don’t think I remember caring that much about this song then either. In fact, I much preferred ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ which was released after. Then ‘Lyla’ was part of the soundtrack of FIFA 06, and after repeated listens I came to realise that it definitely deserved its number one spot in the charts.

So what’s it about? Well, knowing Noel Gallagher’s tendency to write a lot of nonsensical lyrics (which he admits himself) it’s probably safe to say that it’s about nothing very important. It’s about a larger than life character called Lyla, who is the sister of Sally from ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, and the narrator of the track just seems to be in awe of her. She’s the queen of everything, and everyone, and you, and yours, and mine. Despite the lack of lyrical substance, it still has a universal feel about it. Something that we can all relate to. Gallagher got that down to a tee on Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory, and ‘Lyla’ is very reminiscent of songs you would find on there. It’s probably why it did so well and became one of their most loved singles.

It’s a proper bouncer; it stays in one key for the majority of the song which provides this real drone-like quality, and Liam Gallagher sounds great on the vocal here too. Noel Gallagher’s fantastic on the backing harmony vocals, and I’ve always thought that the highlight is when he elongates the last ‘fall’ before the track goes into the ending ‘Hey Lyla’ section. That part was always repeated during the loading screens in the FIFA game so that got embedded in my head for a long time.

And that’s it. The ‘L’s’ are done. Thank you for joining me on this journey. It’s been five months which is the longest time I’ve spent on any letter with a regular schedule. I’ll take a bit of a break from here. This year’s been strange but this blog has been one of the main things keeping me intact. I don’t want to start becoming sick of it though. Need to come in fresh when it’s time for the M’s. So take care of yourselves, stay safe. I’ll see you on the other side.

#788: Kendrick Lamar – LUST.

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The release of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. in 2017 is one that stays fresh in my mind. First single ‘HUMBLE.’ had been out for a few weeks and the hype was huge. Got to number one in the States and a top 10 position in the UK. This was his first true effort since To Pimp a Butterfly so expectations were high. I was in my final year of university, pretty much the last month of it, and when the album came out I had taken some time to go home and really get to work on my dissertation during the Easter holidays. But it could wait because the new Kendrick album was out. People really thought that there was going to be a follow-up album out the week after, but that’s another story.

‘LUST.’ is the ninth track on DAMN., and I remember being slightly turned off by it. Not because of what was being said, but the strange reversed kick drum beat, the chord changes and that really British sample that randomly appears here and there… all made things just a bit disorienting. Just got a weird vibe from it. But the track is certainly one that takes a few listens to properly get into. I think the atmospherics are more or less meant to mirror the stress that the narrator is feeling. And how is Kendrick feeling on this track? Well, he’s thirsty, though not for water as he repeatedly states in the lyrics. It took me a while to understand what Kendrick was saying, and I don’t know why because it’s really obvious. He’s horny and wants to have sex with someone. At least, that’s just what’s in the choruses. The verses see him describe the things he might do after waking up in the morning; it also gives a glimpse into his feelings on the then somewhat recent election as Donald Trump became president. We also see him struggle with his general feelings of lust, not just for sex but for money, fame and all the other luxuries that come with being a famous rapper. It’s another track on here that captures that inner conflict that runs throughout the entire album.

And three years and a few months on, there’s still no sign of a new Kendrick LP. Doesn’t look like there will be one soon with everything that’s going on. DAMN. is still a good album, but I don’t think it’s dated as well as his others. ‘ELEMENT.’ is a banger though. There’s one more track on there that I’ll write about in the future.