Tag Archives: my ipod

My iPod #371: Blink-182 – First Date

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“First Date” was the second single from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Blink’s album released in 2001. Mostly written by Tom DeLonge, the track is told from the perspective of a guy…. on the way to pick a lady up for their first date. Duh.

The verses capture the narrator in a doubtful mood. What if I dance, will she think it’s lame? My hair looks stupid. I can’t eat I’m so nervous etc etc etc. But the chorus changes that, seeing the narrator in a more hopeful and optimistic manner hoping that this first date will be the start of something that will last for a very long time. Very cute, to be honest.

The video for it is probably one of the funniest the band have done. Mostly because of Tom.

I think the first time I heard the track was waaay back when I was in Year 6 or something. A friend of mine started singing it spontaneously. We were both into the same kind of music at the time which was cool. Obviously I’d never heard the song before. I asked what he was singing. He gave the answer. Life went on from there. Good times.

My iPod #370: Gorillaz – Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head

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Looking through my iPod before I started this I found that, to my embarrassment, I have accidentally missed out a song. Silly me. I thought I had the order sussed out too. I’ll get to it one day. For now, the series must continue.

“Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head” begins the “End of the World” track trilogy at the end of the “Demon Days” album with “Don’t Get Lost in Heaven” and the title track coming after. Listen to those three songs in succession. I also don’t think they have an official name together, “End of the World” just seems like the most appropriate thing to call it.

The track is essentially a story, narrated by the late and great Dennis Hopper, about the ‘Happyfolk’ who live under the great mountain called Monkey. Monkey eventually explodes, consuming the Earth in a great wave of fire after the ‘Strangefolk’ dig deep into its centre, stealing the jewels that lie within it. A menacing, repetitive bassline plays with deep humming backing vocals and clicking guitar licks setting the tracks mysterious and creepy tone during the verses. Damon Albarn (2D) comes in with a few verses too, accompanied by a sole acoustic guitar.

I read an interesting comment on there that suggested that this track was the main track of the entire album. Every track preceding has essentially been parts of the narrative that is told in this one song where everything comes together. Kinda makes sense. The happyfolk being the “Last Living Souls” and everything, and “Feel Good Inc.” being that point where the happy people seem to realise that something is going amiss but try and block it out to all they’re might. It’s very long to describe. But I can see it. Can’t remember where I saw that comment though, must have been years ago. Oh well.

My iPod #369: They Might Be Giants – Finished with Lies

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A person decides that they will never tell a lie again in They Might Be Giants track “Finished with Lies”, the reason being that if no one believes anything they say now they never will in the future. Somehow though in the last verse when the narrator is being checked on by an examiner, telepathy is used to rig the results…. so it looks like it is another one of those unreliable narrator type tracks that TMBG usually do. Seems like this narrator has problems – which is something that is said right at the end of the track that comes before it… I see what they did there.

“Finished with Lies” is a very standard rock tune. Standard band ensemble of guitars, bass and drums with a few erratic synthesizers here and there and backing vocals in the chorus. It is a very simple track, and I like that. Originally the track was going to be something of a slow march which you can listen to on YouTube; it’s an interesting version and makes the lyrics sound a lot more serious. But I do prefer the one on the album.

My iPod #368: The Shins – Fighting in a Sack

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While looking for more music to listen to I stumbled across “Chutes Too Narrow“, the second album released by indie rock band The Shins in 2003. The group had been one that I had heard of before; I watched their music videos for their singles “Phantom Limb” and “Australia” when they were due to release “Wincing the Night Away”. Though I didn’t become a fan of their stuff straight away, I did like the sound of those two songs and even if I wasn’t left awestruck or anything their melodies still popped in my head at the most random of times.

There are a lot of those cheerful, memorable melodies on each track of “Chutes Too Narrow”, and “Fighting in a Sack” was the one that I liked the most out of all of them. It’s a sprightly two-and-a-half-minute number questioning death, how we as human beings feel about this inevitability and the possibility that the topic wouldn’t be so heavy if we all enjoyed living in the moment and making most of the time we have.

Filled with little keyboard licks, a leaping vocal performance by James Mercer, a harmonica solo and a bright “woo” chant before it are included, and it never fails to make me that bit happier when listening to it.

My iPod #367: The Flaming Lips – Fight Test

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Honestly, I only listened to this once and I liked the melody enough that I thought it would be nice to hear it whenever I wanted to. Even though the vocal melody was taken from a Cat Stevens song, something that The Flaming Lips have admitted to and felt regret over. But it’s fiiiine, the song still exists so it’s all good.

“Fight Test” begins Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips first album of the 21st century and their first after their success gained with The Soft Bulletin. Appropriately introduced by a sample (“The test begins….. NOW”) the track is led by a fuzzy bassline which all the other instruments seem to revolve around and Wayne Coyne sings to you about how life is a struggle and that when a time comes we must be ready to face it head on and, well, fight.

Good stuff.