Tag Archives: silent alarm

#1230: Bloc Party – So Here We Are

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I was around when Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm was the brand-new debut album released by the band….. 20 years ago. It creeps up on you, doesn’t it. It wasn’t like I was following the group’s every move, ’cause I was nine at the time and was probably thinking about cartoons and football more than anything else. But I knew of the band as I’d seen the video for ‘Helicopter’ on MTV2, months before the album was out. But as 2005 went on, it was difficult to go onto MTV again, or any other alternative music television channel for that matter, and not see Bloc Party in some sort of capacity.

Every site and streaming platform will tell you that the album was released on the 2nd February 2005, but at least in the UK it came out on Valentine’s Day. ‘So Here We Are’, released alongside ‘Positive Tension’ as a double A-side single, was the first track to be unveiled in the proper run up to Silent Alarm, two weeks before. And it’s a song that I completely missed initially. I remember seeing ‘Banquet’ and ‘The Pioneers’ on a much more frequent basis at that time. I’ve a feeling ‘Two More Years’ was even out as a single before I knew about ‘So Here We Are”s existence. But its video came on TV one day, I was thinking if it was a new song. It definitely wasn’t. But I ended up liking it all the same.

Even if this song were to be an instrumental piece, its effect would be just as strong. The twinkling arpeggiated guitar intro, which extends into the verses and beyond, between Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack is enough to put anyone into a kind of meditative trance. But what I’ve always found to be the highlight of it, along with many other Silent Alarm numbers, is drummer Matt Tong’s performance. Among the serene guitars comes this bustling source of rhythm that adds a huge rush of energy to the track. The drums sound like a loop of a sample or something, they’re done that well. The song has no chorus – made up more of one long verse and the coda – all of which concern how people feel after taking ectasy. And it’s during the coda that Okereke sings about having that MDMA-induced epiphany over a glorious solo. It’s beautiful stuff.

#1041: Bloc Party – Pioneers

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Only a minor point, but this track is labelled both ‘Pioneers’ or ‘The Pioneers’ depending on what issue of Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm you have. When the animated music video was getting its airtime on MTV2 back in the day, it was always shown as the former and that’s how I’ve always come to recognise. It’s probably not a note to even think about for more than a millisecond. But there are some people out there who would. Either way you look at it, it would still be the song talked about today, here and now.

I can sort of remember being alive and kicking in the Silent Alarm era. ‘Helicopter’ was the first track of the band’s that I witnessed I think in 2004, check out the post on that for more information, and then ‘Banquet’ came around some time after. Then eventually ‘Pioneers’ was released, and it was another great representative in the string of great singles that Bloc Party were coming out with at the time. Being nine years old going on ten, fair to say I wasn’t in the know of how well-acclaimed the whole album was by fans and critics alike. Thus the album wasn’t something I requested, for reasons I’m not really sure of, thinking about it now. But at the very least I knew that their singles were always good.

Kele Okereke sings in a range that I can only try to reach and does so from the moment he begins the first verse, never letting up until the calming bridge. If only the vocal melody wasn’t so catchy and memorable, it would put my cords under a lot less stress. Same applies to Matt Tong’s pounding drums, which never fully divert from the same tom-tom based pattern for the majority of the song. The title of the song doesn’t appear in the lyrics, but they very much intend to capture thoughts, feelings, beliefs and ideas that people may hold when setting out on an adventure, testing out a new theory or invention, heck, writing a new song. The lyrics detail the number of possibilities that can be taken into consideration, with the reassuring message that all you need is time to figure things out. They recount the overwhelming sensations that one can feel just by setting out on these creative endeavours. It’s a song of optimism and a sense of pride that as life goes on, these ambitious types will always be out there trying to follow in the footsteps of the great minds who have scratched their names into the fabric of time. There’s also a use of the phrase ‘so here we are’, which happens to be the title of another track from the same album. But that’s for another day.

#787: Bloc Party – Luno

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I didn’t listen to Silent Alarm in full until 2014. Why that is I’m not so sure, because I’d always liked (almost) every single that Bloc Party had released up until that point. When I eventually got around to it, bar the singles which are obvious high points from it, ‘Luno’ sounded immense right off the bat. The menacing bass and frantic drums from the start set a tempo and mood that can’t be found on another song on that record. Well, perhaps ‘Helicopter’. But even then, ‘Luno’ seems a lot darker in comparison.

It appears that the subject of a family dynamic of angsty rebellious teenager vs. confronting worrying parents is taken on this song from what I’ve seen. I was always busy singing along to it to really think on what it’s about. Plus, it’s quite hard to decipher anyway because of the changes of narrative voice. Thinking of it now, the teenager – who is the ‘Luno’ character – is tired of her parents and does whatever she wants. Typical teenager stuff. She comes back from a night out with a bloody nose and gets confronted by her parents, who then have those ‘where did we go wrong?’ moments and wish that things could back to when times were happier. It’s a song of anxiety, desperation and frustration, and those feelings are very much exuded from the ominous synthesizers, Okereke’s wails and the overall furious force of the song.

A lot of headbanging’s been done through the years to Matt Tong’s drumming performance on this one. There’s not one point on here where he plays a straight 4-4 rhythm without switching things up with a sudden strike on the high-hat or thunderous fills that build the track’s intensity. Even if you don’t admire the melody that much – I don’t see why you wouldn’t – you have to be in awe of the frenetic rhythms.

My iPod #509: Bloc Party – Helicopter

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Ahhh. The very first song by Bloc Party I ever heard; I can vaguely remember watching its music video on MTV2 for the first time. Was around 2004 if I recall correctly. And even then I thought it was unusual seeing a multi-racial indie rock band. Especially one that was fronted by a black man. Being a black boy myself, I thought it was cool. Brought something new to the table. I can’t believe that it has been more than ten years that I’ve known the track.

“Helicopter”, named so (apparently) because of its rapid tempo, the intertwining guitar lines in the introduction and the spitfire rhythm section provided by former members Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong (who will be sorely missed by fans everywhere), is the second track on the band’s stellar debut album Silent Alarm. No one knows what it’s really about. Okereke said it is about himself; though there are many reasons why people think it is about George W. Bush. Looking at the lyrics you can easily see why the interpretation rose.

For me, the song brings a lot of nostalgia. Playing FIFA 06 on the weekends at the age of 10-11 were good times. Plus, it is hauntingly infectious. It is a crazy song with sudden stops and starts, string bends and relentless instrumentation that never seems to end. Well, apart from those aforementioned pauses. A song within the hearts and minds of many a Bloc Party listener.

My iPod #72: Bloc Party – Banquet

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What eventful hours I’ve just experienced. Let me tell you.

I had my prom yesterday. It was alright. It was a joint prom with my school (an all boys one) and our ‘sister’ school (an all girls one). It could have been much better. No one wants to arrive early to a prom, and my friends and I made sure we didn’t. We made it to the hotel; the music was playing, people were inside, but no one was really ready to dance yet. So we stayed outside the hall and chilled for a bit. For about an hour or so. Which was a bit of a waste of time. We ate food prepared by the hotel. Then we danced the night away. The hotel is also near Tower Bridge and The Shard, and I never knew how nice they looked at night until yesterday. It’s quite sad knowing that’s one of the last times I’ll see the friends I’ve made over the past seven years. I’ll still remember them. I’ll make sure of that.

Then today, my aunt only goes and calls the house saying that her flat was burned down. (It really wasn’t, it was just a bit of smoke and damage to the extractor.) But the way my mum reacted, and according to her the way my aunt said it, made it seem like the whole place had gone. She had to go to hospital for a few hours for a check up, ’cause she was coughing and everything. It wasn’t great. I’m glad she’s okay though. She’s fine.

Let’s get started on the song then.

“Banquet” is a song by the band, Bloc Party. It’s one of their most popular ones too, as it is on what is considered to be their best album “Silent Alarm”. It was released as a single too, reaching 13 in the UK charts back in 2005. That was a good time for music in the UK.

It’s about sex. That’s from Kele himself too. So you can’t argue. I’m not just saying that. I don’t have a dirty mind.

I can’t say much about this song. It’s not the one that introduced me to the band. That song was “Helicopter”. So you’ll have to wait until then.

Here’s an interesting fact. Kele Okereke, the lead singer, went to my school back in the nineties which is cool. My mum also spoke to his years ago when they worked in the same hospital. In a way, I know him very well.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.