Tag Archives: my ipod

My iPod #326: Blur – End of a Century

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Have you ever gone on casually going about on your daily routine knowing that something big and life changing was on the horizon, but you’re just that person too wrapped up in your own life or what’s happening on the television to realise it? Well, I think that’s what Damon Albarn was thinking about when he was writing the lyrics to “End of a Century”, the third track and last single from the 1994 album “Parklife“.

If I was a little older in 1999 – maybe ten or eleven (around those ages) – I would probably be able to tell you how much people were going crazy for the start of the new millennium. I can’t because I was about four and I can barely remember living in the nineties anyway. The only thing I remember vaguely around the start of 2000 was the “Millennium Bug” where all the electricity was supposed to go out and there would be no more power. Even now, I have no idea what it was about.

While there was obviously a large majority of the world who did care that the world was entering a new era, you can’t say that there weren’t some people existing then who didn’t. Thought it was ‘nothing special’. Saw it just like any other day, and were more interested in carrying on with their lives.

So listen to this track, because it’s coming from a guy who was very much aware of what was going on at that time. Well, six years before anyway.

My iPod #325: The Strokes – The End Has No End

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“The End Has No End” is a track by The Strokes that can be found on the band’s album “Room on Fire“, their second album released in 2003.

Although it was released as the final single from that album and The Strokes had been around for about two/three years by that time, this was actually the first Strokes song I ever heard. I distinctly remember watching its video on MTV2, right around the time that it had probably been released or something.

The song’s music video features appearances from hot ladies Mila Kunis and Eva Mendes, though surprisingly they didn’t do anything much for me as much as Julian Casablancas’ voice did. That sounds very wrong, I know. But his general lower register singing voice as well as the repetitive melody of the chorus got stuck in my head for a while. That was until I forgot it some time later. It was until I was lying in my bed looking outside one of the windows of my house when “The Ennnnd Has Noooooooo Ennnnnnd” silently started playing in my head, and I just carried on singing it over and over again.

I like this track a lot. It’s probably one of my favourite Strokes songs just because it was the first one I heard by them. Was very lucky to be watching MTV2 all those years ago.

My iPod #324: The Beatles – The End

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It all came down to this in 1969. This was The Beatles’ last song ever. Well, it was meant to be. “Let It Be” was released a few months later after “Abbey Road“, and even on the latter album itself “The End” is followed up by “Her Majesty“. But even then, the track was recorded with the full understanding between the four guys that this would be the last thing they would do together. How did they decide to it? In one of the most epic ways possible. And all in two minutes too.

If you have “Abbey Road”, you know that the second half of it is the famous medley where all the songs run into each other. So not only are you treated to that, a musical movement beautifully put together with orchestra and guitars everywhere, but this is the climax of it all. The big finale. With a drum solo by Ringo Starr (the first and only one he ever did with the group) symbolising his recognition 0f being the steady, solid drummer and the rotating guitar solos by Paul, George and John which seem to go on and on and on until a piano plays, the four members sing ‘that’ line and the finishes on a rising chord progression.

Now you may read that and think “Well, that doesn’t sound that good. What’s all that about?” And I know I can’t do it enough justice in writing. You do have to hear it to be convinced. Actually listen to ‘The Abbey Road Medley”. Search it up on YouTube. You will not be disappointed.

My iPod #323: Gorillaz ft. Little Dragon – Empire Ants

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“Plastic Beach” was a big deal in 2010. It was Gorillaz’s comeback after a five year disappearance after “Demon Days”, and the commotion for its arrival began once the first single “Stylo” featuring the late Bobby Womack and Mos Def in January of that year. You got the sense that something big was coming. It eventually did in March with sixteen tracks (and a few others if you ordered on iTunes or live in Japan) and a great amount of guests varying from Snoop Dogg to Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash. “Plastic Beach” was good. It still is. Probably my favourite album of the group.

“Empire Ants” comes from that album and features the vocals of Yukimi Nagano, singer from the Swedish electronic band Little Dragon. Now before I actually heard “Plastic Beach” in full, I decided to go online to YouTube and search it for a reason that I can’t think of thinking about it now. But when I did, there was this guy who had heard it (the channel was GD Entertainment or something like that; the channel’s gone now) reviewed each track and noted “Empire Ants” as being one of the album’s highlights.

Why was that? Just because it does one of those things where it sends the listener in one direction for about half of its duration before taking a sudden turn and going down a different route…. like “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac or “2+2=5” by Radiohead. For the first half, Damon Albarn sings about the joy of the taking pleasure in the sun’s arrival amongst a wave of calming noises and acoustic guitar. Very beautiful. It’s the perfect type of music to listen on a beach, gazing at the sea as the sun sets. Then a disturbing, almost distorted synthesizer signifies the abrupt change where the funky beat kicks in and Nagano takes over on the singing. At this point the red sky as drastically turned black, the stars are shooting across the sky and the tidal waves are coming in. The whole song is sick, but that second half is too much.

My iPod #322: Sex Pistols – EMI

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What’s up.

A social gathering prevented me from writing a post yesterday. By ‘social gathering’ I mean I went to my friend’s house to watch the football. And what a boring match it was. Very disappointing. Germany will beat Argentina, I think. There will be two songs today. The first one is by Sex Pistols, and is the song “EMI” from the punk band’s first and only album “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols“.

The track is about the famous EMI record label, who the band were signed up to for a while in the 70s. They signed a two year contract with it, but left (or were fired) after only three months ‘cos of controversial and delinquent behaviour. The band wrote this, what can be considered an attempt to challenge the label’s credibility or simply a big ‘fuck you’, in reply.

Is it just me or does Johnny Rotten sound even more snotty and annoying on this track, than he does on every other one on the album? I always get that feeling, just because of the subject matter. He is taking the piss and basically announcing why EMI were rubbish, so it wouldn’t surprise me. The vocals on the album in general neither grate on me, nor should they grate on anyone else. They just add to the attitude and mood each track tries to convey. That’s good singing if you ask me. But it really shows on this particular one. Especially in the last verse before the finale where Lydon has a sort of dumb-robotic delivery going on, and the raspberry blown at the very end.

Basically it was the perfect song to end their only album on because it practically summed up what the band were all about: Not giving a shit about anything, or anyone. But themselves.

That’s cool.