Tag Archives: my ipod

My iPod #390: Nick Drake – Free Ride

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“Pink Moon”, man. One of my favourite albums ever. Eleven songs of one man and an acoustic guitar (and a short piano overdub) producing the most moving, chilling, melodic, bare, but brilliant songs you could ever hear. Sad to know that it was his last before he passed away two years after making it. But honestly, I never knew an album made so simply could be so emotional.

“Free Ride”, to me anyway, seems like one of the most happier songs on the album. Only because of the way it’s played. There’s like a continuous C-note drone that Drake plucks on the lower strings throughout the verses which drives the song forward whilst he plays the more detailed melody on the higher ones. It’s hard to describe; there’s just something a sense of confidence in the song’s tone that I get every time I hear it, and compared to the rest of “Pink Moon” is a lot more perky in its delivery.

I’ve read somewhere say that it’s about having sexual relations with a friend; another place saying it’s Drake trying to reach out to the people that he doesn’t really get on with it, but still wanting their support and attention. I am not that bothered. I think the song itself is too good to really ponder over.

Listen to “Pink Moon”.

My iPod #389: Graham Coxon – Freakin’ Out

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I believe “Freakin’ Out” was Graham Coxon’s breakthrough solo single. The Blur guitarist had actually been releasing albums by himself for years before “Happiness in Magazine” came out whilst also fulfilling duties for the band. This time, Blur had been no more for about a year and Coxon released this storm of a track to remind people that this is what he’s all about.

I don’t think anyone really knows how good a guitar player Graham Coxon actually is. Well, he’s very good. Pretty underrated if you ask me. He can play all these intricate guitar phrases in a split-second which weave around a song’s main melody. He does that here too, but it’s all at a very fast rate.

Got no clue what the track’s about, never cared that much, all I know is that I dug it from the moment I heard it. Very heavy and loud. Especially for a guy who helped write “Parklife”. I like that song too…. but you know what I mean.

My iPod #388: Kings of Leon – Four Kicks

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It has been ten years since “Aha Shake Heartbreak”, Kings of Leons’ second album was released. And in that time we’ve seen them change from those skinny-jeaned, long haired Southern scruffs who were appreciated more in the UK than their native country to well-groomed Southern bosses who fill stadiums wherever they go. I won’t be speaking about any songs from their last three albums, so you can guess which of those two I prefer.

“Four Kicks” was the album’s second single released in 2005. I remember hearing this song for the first time very well, because it’s accompanied with a very hectic video. A lot of people proceed to beat the shit out of each other, whilst the band play the song unfazed by what is happening around them. Pretty awesome stuff. Of course, the word ‘shit’ was censored in it. But I didn’t know there was an uncensored version of that video until it came on late at night a few times. In that one you see a woman take a fire extinguisher to the face, and blood fall from a person’s chin. The word ‘shit’ was aired too. It was so cool.

So this song is a bit nostalgic for me, I guess. Known it for almost ten years, that’s crazy. Great stuff.

My iPod #387: Dr. Dre ft. Eminem – Forgot About Dre

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“Forgot About Dre”. Well, everyone knows this one. So I probably won’t go deep into it. It’s a classic, really. A guy in a film rapped a verse of it on the radio which got people talking for a bit, so there’s that too. That’s how much it means to people.

At the time the song was released as a single, Dre had just released his second album “2001”. This album came seven years after his debut. People probably talked about when his next album would come out in the years between, or generally started to actually ‘forget about Dre’. Well, Dre’s here to remind you just how much he’s influenced the game. He might be older, but you still don’t wanna mess with him. This is the OG straight outta Compton who isn’t afraid to express himself.

Oh, and Eminem chips in a verse to reinforce this message too. And this is Eminem in his prime too, so you know you’re in for a treat.

My iPod #386: Nine Black Alps – Forget My Name

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“Forget My Name” is one of my favourite songs from Nine Black Alps’ “Love/Hate” album. Though I’ve stated time and time again that it’s not my preferred album of the band’s, it does have this one. And it’s because of this track (and another one, but I won’t tell) that I think that I should really start to give it another try.

The track is about someone being fed up with people and life in general, that they wish to stop existing. Now there’s nothing about dying or committing suicide (there is that interpretation), but don’t get that idea. I think it’s more about wanting to disappear completely from the world and for it to exist like you were never born in the first place, because you feel like it’s the perfect place to be if you weren’t there at all.

“Love/Hate” was a lighter and softer approach the band had to their music after “Everything Is”, but “Forget My Name” brings a 90s indie rock feel to the album, with a sliding riff that repeats throughout (whether it be from the bass or the guitars) a snarling vocal performance topped off with a few growls near the end by Sam Forrest and a general crunchy and moody atmosphere purveyed by the group as a whole.

A small note, I also like how the song mirrors the guitar rundown introduction at the ending of the song, where instead the guitar notes slide up the neck climaxing with a few sparks of feedback. Think it’s quite cool.