Tag Archives: my ipod

My iPod #351: Pezz (Billy Talent) – Fairytale

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For those of you who don’t know, Billy Talent used to be known as Pezz and produced a complete style of music under the moniker. Instead of the heavy, hard punk, post-hardcore rock they are recognised for their music went down a completely different route taking influences from ska, indie rock and a bit of hip-hop too.

Under that name they released one album labelled “Watoosh!” (a name which I can only think is the onomatopoeia of the noise a whip makes when used) in 1999. “Fairytale” is the second track on this album, and was one of the first four songs I heard when I found about Billy Talent’s past (albeit in very low quality). The other three being “M&M”, “Nita” and the Tragically Hip cover of “New Orleans Is Sinking”. Was the music different? Of course it was. But in a good way. In fact, at that point I was amazed that even when they weren’t Billy Talent, I still liked every song that they made. This was at a time when the first album was the only thing the band had to show.

I really liked “Fairytale” when I heard it for the first time. It was less angry and more brighter than Billy Talent material. Ian was still a maniac on guitar, Jon and Aaron still owned the rhythm and Ben had a bouncy rapid-fire vocal delivery that you would rarely hear today. Overall, it’s a very positive and energetic track about wanting to be in a relationship, but only being able to dream about it or something. Which probably sums up the title. Billy Talent used to be of those bands where the song titles never appeared in the song, you see.

My iPod #350: Linkin Park – Faint

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As the epic “Easier to Run” on “Meteora” fades out to silence “Faint”‘s one note ‘violin’ fades in from out of nowhere, the dramatic ‘strings’ introduction begins and just when you thought you would be able to take a breather, this track starts.

We all know “Faint”. It’s one of those standard Linkin Park songs that everyone knows the words to. Mike Shinoda raps in the verses, Chester Bennington doesn’t sing as much in this. This is his shouting/yelling/screaming song of “Meteora”. He does it again in “From the Inside”, but this is the track where all of that takes place.

It’s fast. It’s loud. Pretty much takes your breath away the first time you hear it. It probably wouldn’t be wrong to say that Bennington could barely breathe after recording the vocal for this.

To tell you straight, I can’t remember the first time I heard it. I have no nostalgia or sentimentality linked with this track whatsoever. It actually might have been on the speakers in a shop somewhere when I was forced to go out with my family when I was younger. I have never really cared about what it means too. It’s not my favourite on the album either. But it’s damn good. And it’s from their best album. Yes, I said that.

 

My iPod #349: Franz Ferdinand – Fade Together

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Nearing the end of Franz Ferdinand’s second album comes “Fade Together”, a forlorn piano-led track about the end of a relationship. You regularly get the ’emotional’ track near the end of any album, and this song is definitely one of those.

A single-tracked Alex Kapranos in the verses sighs into the microphone about plans to ‘get away’ with somebody which all seemed so real, until something of a flash-forward in time in the next verse reveals that those dreams are long gone. Now Kapranos only wishes to get over this person, no matter how hard it actually is to do so. In hope of ending this feeling he, along with himself as the haunting double-tracked vocal comes in for the chorus, calls out to all to ‘fade together/forever’.

A very good album track. One where the time signature is quite weird during the verses (goes from 3/4 to 5/4 and then switches back to 3/4), and includes great use of a piano, which has its own little solo for the last 30 seconds when the singing finishes and the bass and acoustic guitars disappear and you may also hear the sounds of bird tweeting throughout, adding to the track’s lonely atmosphere.

It’s all a bit of a downer. But at least the next track ends the album on more of a confident note.

My iPod #348: Daft Punk – Face to Face

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I have returned! What better way to start the month of October than with the start of this ‘series’ thing that most followers possibly look at my blog for.

This is “Face to Face”, the penultimate track from Daft Punk’s second album Discovery. If you are watching the album’s visual counterpart “Interstella 5555“, this is the point where – spoilers – Earth finds out the band are aliens and help them get back to their home planet. That’s the first time I heard the track, and I got very positive vibes from it. Watching the film at the same time, I was happy to see that the people of Earth were so adamant on helping the blue-skinned people. It was nice to see.

From looking at the lyrics, the track is from the perspective of someone who feels foolish for throwing their toys out of the pram in a fight, instead of just talking it out face to face, and finding sense in whatever the other person was saying. It may also be about Internet dating or something. But I personally think it’s the former.

The double-tracked vocals are done by Todd Edwards, who more recent Daft Punk fans may know from “Fragments of Time” from “Random Access Memories”. However, the majority of the track has no vocals at all and instead focuses on the different samples of older songs that are used but which Daft Punk never wanted to reveal. We all know that “Evil Woman” by ELO is in there….. but I still have no clue what the female vocal is saying or where it’s from. I’m convinced that it’s saying “-long…. Mr. Furlong” and then “good evening” at some parts too.

The music itself makes me feel good. Why? The positive message, the stomping 4-4 beat, or those cut/copy samples that work so well together. A song to lie back to and feel good about what you have is what this is.

My iPod #347: Green Day – Extraordinary Girl

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Well, well, well. It has come to this. After a month and a few weeks, I have reached the end of the ‘E’ section of My iPod. It has been good fun. I hope I have encouraged you to listen to some of the songs I hear on a regular basis, even if I don’t use any technical language or various adjectives in any of my posts. I write with feeling, you know, so who needs those things?

And so to end it is “Extraordinary Girl”, a track from Green Day’s album “American Idiot” which will have existed on this planet for ten years this coming September. It’s not their best one, but I would say that it is definitely the band’s last great album. “21st Century Breakdown” was ehhhhh…. (some songs from it are cool, but as a whole it’s not brilliant) and the “Uno,Dos,Tre!” trilogy….. not a big fan, I’ll leave it at that.

So anyone who owns “American Idiot” will know that it’s a rock opera and there’s a whole story narrated throughout the tracks. Anyone who doesn’t can look it up for themselves because I can’t be bothered to go through it all now :D.

What I will tell you is that “Extraordinary Girl” comes at the point where the main character has found love in “Whatsername”, the female character in the story, and the track takes on an omniscient narration on how both characters are feeling at this point. It is not going too well, and (spoilers) by the next track the relationship is over. Very sad. I think you have to listen to the album to feel the emotion, ’cause I know I sound like I don’t care at all.

That’s the song story-wise. Musically, it’s very nice to listen to. It begins with some sort of Middle Eastern sounding tribal percussion which quietly gets the ball rolling for 40 seconds until Tré smacks the snare drum and the track properly starts. Billie Joe throws in some alveolar trills here and there, and that along with the high guitar riff that plays during the introduction and breaks makes the song sound a bit Spanish sometimes. With relaxing, simple chord progressions and a steady pace to it “Extraordinary Girl” is a track to chill out to after “She’s a Rebel” and also something to get you eased up before the roller-coaster “Letterbomb”. Real sweet one.

AND THAT’S IT. The E’s are finished. Probably won’t be hearing from me for a while. I will try and think of something to put on here. You know I hate to leave you, but I’ll be back again.