Tag Archives: my ipod

#609: Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind

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It’s been a a few day since the last post. Well, almost two weeks. Sorry about that. I went on holiday to Berlin for a few days and spent the last week just getting myself together. Also, I knew that this song was coming up next and it’s quite a big one. I wasn’t sure how to approach writing about it. Still not too sure now so I’m stalling for time through this paragraph. Though as you can tell from the video above, the track is ‘Idiot Wind’ by Bob Dylan. For a very long time his songs weren’t available on YouTube so I’m very lucky that I can do this now.

Blood on the Tracks is the album on which ‘Idiot Wind’ can be found. Recorded in September and December of 1974 and released in January 1975, it is said to have been influenced by the personal turmoil Dylan was going through at the time – particularly the dissolution of marriage from his then-wife Sara Dylan. Dylan maintained that none of the songs were confessional in any way. Still, it is widely recognised as one of his best efforts and the archetypal “break-up” album.

‘Idiot Wind’ is the arguable emotional centerpiece of the whole album. (I’ve always thought that the album name was taken from lyrics in this song, that’s neither here nor there.) Within it is one of Dylan’s wildest vocal performances – shouting, wailing, groans, they’re all there. So vivid, I can picture him spitting all over the microphone with the way he delivers some words. He’ll drag out a syllable to make it rhyme with one that’s come before, he’ll stuff a whole line of words into a few seconds in time to the rhythm before leaping to a soaring yell. It’s very dynamic, and definitely the most engaging vocal take out of all the Dylan songs I’ve come to like. Every line is evocative and visually descriptive in their own ways though compared to his surreal and cryptic lyricism of the 60s, his words here (and throughout the album) are honest and sincere which makes this track all the more brutal to take.

Dylan’s voice really carries the song’s momentum, but it is also aided by this loud Hammond organ (also played by Bob) that pops in and out of the track at various points. You can hear it in your left ear. There’s something about that organ that makes everything seem so much more poignant when listening to the lyrics and music. Without that organ, it would be another acoustic-based performance on the album. That instrument takes it to another level.

The track is one of frustration, anger, and regret spread out for almost eight minutes in eight striking verses and its cathartic, biting chorus. It all seems to capture Bob at this sort of breaking point which makes for a real enthralling listen. It’s not so much a song as it is a journey. A bit melodramatic, that statement, but that’s just how I feel.

Below is another version of the song that was made during the album sessions. Whereas the official version emphasises the song’s anger, this version emphasises its sadness.

#608: Feeder – Idaho

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Here’s my thing with Feeder…. I think a lot of their singles are absolutely brilliant. You can just listen to their Singles compilation from 2006 to hear for yourself. But I’ve never been able to get into their albums. Does anyone else feel this way? I’m probably just not a major Feeder fan. Though whenever they released a new single along with its video and showed it on MTV2, 8 times out of 10 the results were usually very good.

‘Idaho’ was the third single from the band’s 2012 album Generation Freakshow. Speaking for myself, it was the first new Feeder video I had seen on TV for a while so when it came on it was a bit of a surprise. Grant Nicholas’ voice now had a bit of weight to it that made it sound deeper than what I was normally used to. Most likely due to aging. The drums are booming, guitars enhanced with a crunching presence. These were some good sounds I was hearing. The video itself (as you can see above) concerns a bull-riding competition while Nicholas and bass player Taka Hirose sit at a table and watch. It’s not the most interesting thing. But, at 17 years old, I could appreciate the song.

The track sees its narrator hung up on a woman. Perhaps they were in a relationship or something. It seems as though things have ended between them… maybe she died… it’s not clear. All in all, the narrator can’t stop thinking about her and they fly to Idaho in the hope of some peace of mind. It’s another great melancholic Feeder single.

#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.

#606: They Might Be Giants – I’ve Got a Match

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Lincoln is the second album by They Might Be Giants, released in 1988 – two years following their debut. Comparing the two, I’ve always felt that Lincoln is a lot warmer in tone than its predecessor. The band’s first album contains a majority of tracks with massive drums slathered in reverb and, I guess some would say, dated production in general. It’s my personal favourite of theirs. But there’s none of that on Lincoln. Instrumentals are virtually stripped back allowing to really let the band’s lyricism and melodies shine through. There are also a lot of sincere songs concerning romantic relationships on Lincoln which tend to detail the downfalls and break-ups that can occur. ‘I’ve Got a Match’ is one of them.

Whenever They Might Be Giants write about relationships they tend to skip the melodrama that comes with a lot of standard love songs. No over-exaggerated lyrical clichés or musical elements. Sung by John Linnell, ‘I’ve Got a Match’ details a relationship that begs to wonder how it even started – one that totally lacks in sympathy, trust and commitment. Its verses consist of overbearing demands and backhanded insults before building into a chorus that denounces love as ‘smelly’ and states the futility of the couple’s romance.

Musically, the song is characterised by a quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic. The first verse its just Linnell’s lone vocal, John Flansburgh’s soft guitar chords on the right, a synth-harp (I’ll guess) on the left and the rhythm section. Then just as Linnell finishes the last line, the track suddenly bursts into a soaring chorus with the introduction of an accordion, vocal harmonies and a pulsating drum rhythm. Linnell also belts out the highest note of the whole track during this time too. It’s a very cathartic release that comes after the agitated vibe of the verses.

It’s a real gem. I almost feel like it could have a been a single in its day. The group have rarely ever played it live because the two Johns supposedly got too burned out on it. Perhaps they spent a lot of time trying to perfect it in the studio? It came out rather well if that’s the case.

#605: The Beatles – I’ve Got a Feeling

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‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ is the eighth song on The Beatles’ final album Let It Be, opening the second half of the record if you own it on vinyl. I think everyone knows the story behind the making of it. If not, I’ll try and lay down some knowledge for you.

The Beatles spent five months working on what became their self-titled double album in 1968. It was released in November of that year. They took a short break and the four members did whatever they wanted in that time. As soon as January 1969 arrived they were back in the studio, mostly because of Paul McCartney’s eagerness to start work again. John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr didn’t particularly want to be there and the group had a miserable time in the first few days. The month went on, internal relationships sort of got better (thanks to the inclusion of keyboardist Billy Preston in their sessions and a change in studio), just enough that they were able to record an album’s worth of songs and play what was to be their final live performance on the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters. During that concert, ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ was played twice and the first take of it is the version you hear on the album.

The rooftop concert is the obvious highlight of the Let It Be film; it’s practically the only time that you see the four members really enjoying themselves when playing together. There are a ton of recordings you can find on YouTube of the band going through ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ in the studio and the magic just isn’t there. But it’s on the roof where the song comes alive. Paul McCartney melodically roars throughout the entire track and George Harrison’s spiking lead guitar on the right hand side helps to really move the track along. It’s also the last track in which McCartney and Lennon equally share their lead vocal. Lennon had worked on his own song called ‘Everybody Had a Hard Year’ in the latter stages of 1968 and through some wise decision-making it was incorporated into McCartney’s song.

To whoever may be reading this you should definitely try and watch the Let It Be documentary. Not particularly for any action that happens because there’s not a lot of it, but it hits when the concert segment gets going and the group start performing. These were four people who weren’t genuinely happy throughout most of the film for the past hour. But for the 20 minutes that portion of the film lasts for, they put their all into their performance. It’s a real joy to see.

By the end of January, they didn’t have much faith in what they had recorded and decided to start work on what would become Abbey Road instead. Let It Be could have been a lost album. It’s good that it wasn’t. We wouldn’t have this great song otherwise.