Tag Archives: your

#596: Blur – I’m Just a Killer for Your Love

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‘I’m Just a Killer for Your Love’ is the tenth track on Blur’s self-titled album, released in 1997. For anyone who owns that album and holds it in particular high regard, it’s not hard to notice the slight quality difference in terms of production between this track and all the other 13 songs it’s placed alongside. It has an almost monoaural mix compared to the somewhat expansive sounds in ‘Beetlebum‘ or ‘Death of a Party‘, it sounds like the recording was accidentally started after Dave Rowntree starts drumming, there’s a Beatles ‘Yer Blues‘ feel to it in that it sounds like the band are just in this one room close together busting this thing out.

Well, there’s a reason for this. It’s the only song on there not to be produced by Stephen Street. Apparently, it was the very last track that the band worked on for the album and something the four members knocked out whilst working in Damon Albarn’s then new ‘Studio 13’. The track is very loose, rough around the edges, very slack in its execution but oddly seductive too.

This song predates Gorillaz’s first album by a few years but there are a number of things about it that remind me of what would appear on that project’s 2001 debut. The lyrics are a number of surreal images that when put together appear to make a coherent story, Albarn’s played up (or toned down, however you see it) vocal delivery is something he would go on to develop and play with more with the project, and just in general it’s almost experimental in its weird way.

Pay attention to Alex James really forcing that wah-wah effect on his bass, that’s some good stuff.

#584: The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand

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Been almost a month since I was last here…. I’m sorry. Can’t say I’ve tried to keep to my earlier statement of doing a blog at least every Sunday. The posts will arrive in due time. Just been suffering from a lack of motivation. Not in a bad way, it’s just work. Weekends have really been reserved for laying down and sleeping.

Recently I decided to listen to all the songs on my phone in alphabetical order during my morning/evening commutes. Only because the shuffle system on iPhones is very poor. In doing so I’ve only properly realised how many songs by The Beatles (that I personally enjoy) begin with the letter ‘I’. There’s a lot of them to come in this ‘I’ series. ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ was the hit that made the four lads huge in the USA, and pretty much everywhere else.

There are some days when I listen to this thing and think it’s just too sappy. The lyrics are too simple and on the nose…. A song like this would never be taken seriously in today’s musical climate. Though the majority it’s just like….. fuck that. This song’s great for all of those reasons. John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing their chests out on this one, singing in unison and in perfect harmony…. The musicality between the four of them is just wild and thrilling but tight and controlled. It rocks without trying too hard. It’s just a good pop song, it can’t be denied.

Again, when it comes to The Beatles and YouTube – it’s very hard to find their official stuff because their record label always takes their music down when you try and upload it. There is an actual video for it; it’s not up just yet. Still, below’s the performance taken from the Ed Sullivan show when John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared on American television for the first time and owned it.

My iPod #560: Wilco – I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

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The story goes that Wilco were going through some inner turmoil during the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, particularly between lead singer and guitarist Jeff Tweedy and fellow guitarist and composer Jay Bennett. Their original record label weren’t so impressed with the final result of their work, rejected it and told the band to get out of their faces, leaving them with an album to provide but no label to release it. Eventually things all fell into place. Wilco got signed again. The album, originally slated for September 2001, was physically released to the masses months later in May 2002. Critics ate it up, fans loved it. Still do to this day. It has gone down as one of the best albums of the opening decade of this century.

‘I Am Trying to Break Your Heart’ is the album’s opener. It’s seven minutes long. It takes about a minute of that time for the song’s main chord progression to make itself known after a sort of instrumental prelude of pianos, percussion and organs. Tweedy’s mellow voice comes in with the album’s first (and possibly most quoted) lines “I am an American aquarium drinker/I assassin down the avenue/I’m hiding out in the big city blinking/What was I thinking when I let go of you?”, and it all goes on from there really. You have to listen to it for that full experience.

Tweedy doesn’t have the greatest singing voice. Not soulful, or belting from the stomach or whatever. But it’s just perfect for the whole mood of the track. And the album in general. The vocal melody is the most simple thing. But it’s great. It will get in your head. And accompanied by the very full mix provided by Jim O’Rourke, it’s an enrapturing listen. It’s hard to not find yourself in a bit of a trance when hearing this. You probably won’t feel it on your first listen. It’ll sink in.

Above is the supposed demo of the tune, as recorded by Jay Bennett before it went through remixing for the album. Some prominent smooth Rhodes(?) piano in there, but not quite the same.

My iPod #523: Alexisonfire – “Hey, It’s Your Funeral Mama”

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The video isn’t really eight and a half minutes by the way. Someone messed up on their part.

I think this song is awesome simply because it is about go-karting.  I have never heard of another song which touches upon the subject, even if there was it would never come close to topping this one.

“Hey It’s Your Funeral Mama” is a song from Alexisonfire’s second album Watch Out!, released in 2004. Why that’s the song’s title I couldn’t tell you. I have the feeling it may be taken from a film, or may have sprung up in a conversation between a band member and their friend. We’ll probably never know. The hilarious music video has nothing to do with the subject matter either. Alexisonfire hold auditions for Alexisonfire clones so the real band can take a break while the clones do their shows for them. It’s a good watch.

Alexisonfire songs always get me pumped up and motivated even if I’m not planning to do anything active. “It’s Your Funeral” is no different. Straight from the beginning, the alternate muted and power chords give off the sound of engines revving up before racing off as soon as the lead guitar line enters the mix. Overall, the guitar playing is sick. And slick. Kudos to Wade MacNeil and Dallas Green. But the highlight throughout the whole track is the interplay between MacNeil, Green and lead screamer George Pettit’s vocals. One guy will be singing their heart out in one line before the other abruptly comes out of nowhere to scream the next. A very hard to sing along to by yourself, for sure.

A really enjoyable song in the long run. Something to thrash your arms about and go wild to.

My iPod #500: Brakes – Heard About Your Band

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500 posts. That’s crazy. I never thought this would be something I’d still have the energy and commitment to carry on two years later, and yet here we are. I’m proud. Thanks to anyone who has liked, given a comment, or simply checked the blog out. You are part of the reason I choose to do this. A big part nonetheless.

And so the band that has the privilege of having the half-thousand song that I am going to discuss is Brakes. Or BrakesBrakesBrakes, if you are situated in the USA. “Heard About Your Band” is a song from the Brighton band’s debut album Give Blood, released ten years ago in July. The album was recorded in a mere eight days in January 2005, and most of the tracks on there were recorded live and in one take. There are some cuts where the band will finish one track, and you’ll proceed to hear them tuning their guitars and sorting themselves out before going straight into the next one. Many of the songs are under 3 minutes. The shortest is seven seconds. And with a wealthy amount of sixteen tracks, Give Blood doesn’t even reach half an hour in duration. It’s very efficient. It is a belter.

“Heard About Your Band” is the fourth track in, and is about singer Eamon Hamilton’s experience of listening to this guy incessantly rabbiting on his band, and his stories of meeting all these female icons like Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and ‘the girl’ from Sleater-Kinney. Of course, Hamilton is sarcastic throughout his lyricism; he clearly doesn’t give a shit about what this person has to say, but his vocal performance with his gravely yelps and frantic ad-libs make him sound like he’s so excited about the whole ordeal. In the end, he dismisses with a pissed-off sounding “Whatever, dude” and the track comes to a close a minute and ten seconds in.

A great thing about the album is that the tracks don’t go on longer than they should do. All the good parts are crammed into maybe 1-2 minutes, which makes for some enjoyable listening. “Heard About Your Band” is no different.

That’s 500 done. Here’s to the next 500. Keep on reading.