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#699: The Tallest Man on Earth – King of Spain

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The Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on Earth turns 10 in just over a week’s time. I got into the album around 2012/13, when I was on a folk tip and trying to find more acoustic-based albums to hear after listening to Pink Moon too many times. The Wild Hunt is much more optimistic in tone, with the songs within mainly threaded by themes of moving on, moving forward and having dreams for the future.

‘King of Spain’ is the sixth track on the album, was the second single from it too, and sees Kristian Mattson – the “Tallest Man” – dreams of becoming the song’s title after unexpectedly starting a new relationship with someone. In his eyes, he could be almost anything now that he’s got that someone who he thought was way out of his reach. And it’s just him and his guitar that do all the magic on here.

Now it’s not out of line to say that here, Matsson wears the Bob Dylan influence on his sleeve from the folk-centric music to the raspiness of his voice. This is something he has gracefully admitted himself. ‘King of Spain’ makes reference to the Dylan song ‘Boots of Spanish Leather’ too. But even so that shouldn’t get in the way of one’s enjoyment of this song. Or the album for that matter. It’s a tour de force delivered by a man and his guitar about daydreams of high hopes and wonderment. You can’t ask for more than that.

#698: Neutral Milk Hotel – The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1

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While I may not see In the Aeroplane Over the Sea as the classic, iconic indie album as a lot of people do – it’s not my go-to when I want something to listen to – I can still appreciate the musicianship and all those elements that make good songs.

‘The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt 1.’ is more or less the introduction to the record, detailing an abusive relationship between two adults while a young boy falls in love with a girl. I would say it’s actually my favourite song on the whole thing. You may find that strange; I won’t argue with you. It just provides a homely and warm vibe straight away from the busy acoustic guitar riff that starts things off. The repetitive melody within the verses become so familiar after numerous listens. I’ve also always liked how the track builds as it goes on, with an accordion added in for the second verse before everything climaxes with those rising horns. It’s beautiful stuff.

It carries on into Parts 2 and 3 where everything takes a left turn. The whole band joins in for a raucous and messy performance. I don’t like it as much. Not because of its rough style. Could never just get into it….. But it’s down there for you.

#658: The Strokes – Ize of the World

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It’s an emotional time. This is the last entry in the “I” section. This has taken two years to do. And I started this again having gone on a bit of a hiatus. I’ll go on a bit of a break after this one. I’ll certainly be back a lot sooner though. So many more songs to go. Plus there are barely any songs for ‘J’.

And to close it out is ‘Ize of the World’, the phenomenal track by The Strokes, found on First Impressions of Earth in 2006. There are a lot of times on this album where Julian Casablancas pushes his voice to the brink. It’s the first one on which he properly screams, or at least properly goes for those high notes with his chest. He goes for those types of vocals on ‘Vision of Division’ where, in my opinion, he doesn’t sound too great. However, it’s on ‘Ize’ where he executes those really well.

It’s a very intense track. Like it’s the backing music to the end of days or something. When I was younger I had these images of my head of people lying awake in bed, fearing of near-death, trying to make up for lost time but it’s too late as the city gets wiped out and there’s nothing left.

That’s really not what the song is about though. It’s more Casablancas’ feelings on modern society, how we survive in these dire times and what we could do to better ourselves. His points and observations are set to great guitar interplay between Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi (as is the usual in any Strokes song); the track alternates between calm verses and powerful choruses before building in intensity as it nears its end before ultimately disappearing out of existence. Kind of takes your breath away the first time you hear the studio trickery. I think it’s one of the most important songs on this album.

So that’s it. The I’s are done. Hope you enjoyed reading each entry. J’s will come soon. See you lat

#655: R.E.M. – It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

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If I were to take a guess, I think I sing this song the same way that the majority of people who know it do. The first three lines are easy as pie, then every verse that follows is just a lot of words smushed up together into a one note melody which is then followed by the very memorable chorus.

‘It’s the End of the World’ is one of R.E.M.’s most well known tracks, one of their most played too – to the point that it may be overplayed for some people. But I only started properly listening to R.E.M. last year. I had heard the song maybe two… three times before? I’ll say five at most. And that was when its video was shown on TV. And in Chicken Little. Actually listening to it with headphones was a very different experience.

‘End of the World’ is the sixth track on R.E.M.’s fifth album, Document, released in 1987. It is not my favourite album of the group’s but this song right here is one of its highlights. The uploaded video above takes all the weight out of the audio quality though which is a shame. When those thunderous drum rolls come in at the beginning, the energy never dips from there. It’s four minutes of relentless, driving momentum. And though I never succeed in enunciating every syllable in the quickfire verses, it’s always fun to try. As said earlier, it doesn’t really matter because it has a hell of a chorus that’s not related to what goes on in those verses in any way.

Going through R.E.M.’s discography (which I had to when I found out they were actually very good) there were a few things I picked up on, especially in their earlier albums. They had a knack for great melodies. And the triple vocal harmonies of Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Bill Berry added a layer that made the band’s songs even better when they were utilised. Melodies and harmonies are present on this track… a few countermelodies too. There’s always something new to pick up on in this track every time I hear it. It’s such a thrill. It’s quite disappointing when it starts to fade out at the end, wish it could go on for ages.

#645: Hot Hot Heat – Island of the Honest Man

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Does anyone else remember when Windows Media Player had this option where you could search for a song on the internet and add it to your own playlist after the program provided a link to the website where the file was hosted? I think it was called the ‘guide’? Something along those lines. It wasn’t such a great tool as the music was very scarce. Not always in great quality either. It wasn’t like now where you can virtually listen to anything now because of Spotify and the like. But to build on my initial question… I think that is how I came to hear today’s song for the very first time back in 2005, and it’s probably one of the better songs from the album it’s on.

‘Island of the Honest Man’ was the initial promo single from Hot Hot Heat’s second album Elevator, before ‘Goodnight Goodnight’ was released as the proper commercial track some time later. In 2005 I was ten, and I guess there was something about this track that I thought stood out from a lot of other things I was listening to around that time. The clangy guitar in the verses is very sharp and biting in its delivery. Its general fast tempo and the way the timing changes during the transition into the chorus. The chorus is fantastic too. There’s a very uplifting sense about it, something I’ve got from those fluid summery guitars that back it up. I don’t think the track excites me as much as it did way back when but I still get into its groove when its momentum gets going. Also recently I noticed that there’s a guitar part that harmonises with the lead vocals during the last choruses. That’s pretty cool.

I guess because I heard it at that young age I never considered what the lyrics are about. Though mainly from its chorus, it’s about finding this place where you can do whatever you want to do without being judged. Be yourself. All of that sentiment.