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My iPod #432: The Beatles – Glass Onion

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My introduction to “Glass Onion” wasn’t via listening to The Beatles self-titled album (or The White Album) from 1968, but through The Beatles’ official mash-up album “LOVE“. Mind you the version on that album only contains John Lennon singing “Oh yeah”, “Nothing is real”, and the last verse before the creepy string outro mixed with a lot of elements from other Beatles songs. But I still thought it was alright. It made me want to listen to the whole track. So I did.

“Glass Onion” is a track written by John Lennon in which he makes several references to other Beatles songs in order to freak out the conspiracists and general strange people who thought there was more to The Beatles than the four members were actually letting on. The song references range from “There’s a Place” from their 1963 debut to “https://www.youtube.com/embed/v2i1WhHXyBY“>The Fool on the Hill” from 1967’s “Magical Mystery Tour” – the latter getting its own musical nod when Paul plays the recorder near the end of the song. Ringo Starr actually plays on this track too; he does not appear on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” or “Dear Prudence” has he had temporarily left the band when times were rough. So whether the track starting off with the jarring drum fill was meant to signal his entrance or just a coincidence is up for questioning. The vocals and rhythm section come to an abrupt end and give way to the aforementioned scaling strings section that brings the song to an ominous end, fading out (and sounds like it begins to slow down weirdly in the last few seconds) before the clanging pianos of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” begin.

And so there you have it. Probably the most meta track The Beatles ever made. And one of their most darker sounding ones too.

My iPod #431: The Darkness – Givin’ Up

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“Givin’ Up” is the sixth track from The Darkness’ first album “Permission to Land“. Despite its cheery, upbeat, 70s karaoke night feel to it, the song is about lead singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins’ (former?) heroin addiction. The drug abuse continued until he was forced to quit the band years later in 2006. He makes the effects of the drug clear in the pre-chorus: “Well, I’ve ruined nearly all of my veins/Sticking that fucking shit into my arms” and there is definitely something tragic about the whole thing. Hawkins wants to stop the addiction but when it comes to the stuff entering his stuff he gives up giving a fuck about it and carries on doing it anyway. Quite sad. But you can’t tell just because of how damn happy the track sounds.

When I was sitting on my mum’s bed listening to “Permission to Land” on my Playstation 2 at the young age of eight, none of this came to mind when I was singing along to it. Did I know what ‘shit’ he was referring to when looking through the liner notes? Of course not. All I knew was that the song sounded good. Still does today. Even if age as made me realise how very serious the song actually is.

Another notable thing that I didn’t really realise until listening to the album years later, this track flows perfectly into “Stuck in a Rut”. Both have the same tempo, and the snare drum which starts that song seems the two tracks together very well. Production at its finest right there.

My iPod #430: George Harrison – Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)

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The first time I heard “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)”, or at least bits and pieces of it, was in the song “I’m Just Sitting Here”. That track is from the mash-up album “Everyday Chemistry” which was created by some person who tried to pass it off as an actual album that somehow made it to Earth from a parallel universe where The Beatles didn’t split up. No joke. But the actual product isn’t bad. “I’m Just Sitting Here” is a mix of “Watching the Wheels” by John Lennon with the slide guitars and George Harrison vocal, “Ooooooh my lord” and another Ringo tune. It starts at 29:40 in the link above.

But just those little parts made me want to hear the whole track. Decision well made. “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” starts off what was Harrison’s fourth album (or second if you don’t count the experimental ones before it) with a sole acoustic guitar which then makes way for Harrison’s trademark slide guitar work. After a verse or two of George’s pleas for the Lord to give him love/peace on Earth, the track fully gets under way when the backing piano, and rhythm section come in together adding a bustling groove to the music.

A good song with a positive message, pleasant and lovely track to listen to, made for some easy listening.

My iPod #429: D12 – Git Up

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“Git Up” is a song by Detroit rap group D12. Although it wasn’t a single it did receive its own music video, a portion of which was visible nearing the end of the music video for “How Come” before being drawn out to its full length. “Git Up” begins D12’s second album and what is still their ‘most recent’ one after more than ten years “D12 World“. Back in 2004 this was the group’s first album after a long awaited three years from “Devil’s Night“, and they needed a track to announce their return. “Git Up” is this track.

The track is four minutes of tongue-twisting lyrical onslaughts by Eminem, Swifty and Kuniva, with Bizarre taking a role has the hype man as the track nears its end. Eminem does take up about half of the duration. But his ability to spit out the verse and then lead straight into the chorus without seemingly taking a breath for a second makes it one of his best performances on record yet. In the lyrics a lot of guns and various arms are mentioned. Just what the three members what to do with them is clear. But whatever is stated in the verses don’t really mean anything. The thing that mattered the most was that D12 was back with a new album, and the group are intent on making you ‘motherfuckers listen’.

I’ll be fine if D12 never made an album again. I know they are still together. But if they were to I don’t think it could ever be the same. You know why.

My iPod #428: Maxïmo Park – Girls Who Play Guitars

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“Girls Who Play Guitars” is the opening song on “Our Earthly Pleasures“, Maxïmo Park’s second album, released in 2007. Despite its title, the track does not specifically mention female guitarists at any point. It is actually about a relationship of a man and a lady who are very good friends; the former wants something more, but the latter prefers to go out, get drunk and the ‘friends with benefits’ business.

I’ve always enjoyed this song. Like many of the songs I’ve written about before (and the many that are to come) it’s one of those where its music video was played continuously on MTV2 that I could never really forget the melody. But just like all the other Maxïmo Park singles, this didn’t let me down either. Overall it is a very exciting track to listen to.