Monday, December 10, 2012
See You Next Year?
I made a lot of progress this past week on the record, so I'm probably going to keep the blog shut down until the end of the year. I'll be back, I promise!
Monday, December 3, 2012
No Blog This Week
I'm coming up on a self-imposed deadline with the album I'm writing and need to redirect my focus this week. So 2005 will have to wait. Back next Monday!
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Song #321 of 9999 - The Gentle Art of Making Enemies by Faith No More
Song #321 of 9999
Title: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Artist: Faith No More
Year: 1995
Album: King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime
Warning: This song has some bad words in it. You've been warned.
I really couldn't say goodbye to 1995 without sharing something from my favorite album of the year, Faith No More's King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime. Prior to recoding this record, Faith No More fired their original guitarist and replaced him with Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance. Spruance's creative approach to harmony is a perfect fit for Mike Patton's schizophrenic vocal style and the results are pretty stellar. I was tempted to feature the very accessible funk-pop track "Evidence," but to be honest, I love this album for its very heavy and very sinister rockers.
"The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" has a chord progression and riffs that emphasize the semi-tone (1/2-step) and the tri-tone to achieve this dark quality. After the introduction, Patton sings over a bass line that slithers around F# (F#-------F---F#-G-F#------etc.). The section that follows (featuring the FNM fan-favorite line "Happy Birthday...Fucker") features a riff that also emphasizes the semi-tone (E-F-F#-A-F#-F-E), while the "chorus" gets its punch from descending whole steps (B-A-G) and the tri-tone (E-Bb). Of course, Patton is brilliant throughout, his vocal track more a theatrical presentation than a song. In the final moments, he grabs hold of the line "I never felt this much alive" and shakes it until its neck is broken. I'm jealous every time.
See you tomorrow in 2005.
Title: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Artist: Faith No More
Year: 1995
Album: King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime
Warning: This song has some bad words in it. You've been warned.
I really couldn't say goodbye to 1995 without sharing something from my favorite album of the year, Faith No More's King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime. Prior to recoding this record, Faith No More fired their original guitarist and replaced him with Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance. Spruance's creative approach to harmony is a perfect fit for Mike Patton's schizophrenic vocal style and the results are pretty stellar. I was tempted to feature the very accessible funk-pop track "Evidence," but to be honest, I love this album for its very heavy and very sinister rockers.
"The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" has a chord progression and riffs that emphasize the semi-tone (1/2-step) and the tri-tone to achieve this dark quality. After the introduction, Patton sings over a bass line that slithers around F# (F#-------F---F#-G-F#------etc.). The section that follows (featuring the FNM fan-favorite line "Happy Birthday...Fucker") features a riff that also emphasizes the semi-tone (E-F-F#-A-F#-F-E), while the "chorus" gets its punch from descending whole steps (B-A-G) and the tri-tone (E-Bb). Of course, Patton is brilliant throughout, his vocal track more a theatrical presentation than a song. In the final moments, he grabs hold of the line "I never felt this much alive" and shakes it until its neck is broken. I'm jealous every time.
See you tomorrow in 2005.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Songs #319 & #320 - Smashing Pumpkins
Songs #319 & #320 of 9999
Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
It's funny how a band's most ambitious work often signals the beginning of the end. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is monumental in scope. Too monumental for me as it turned out as I never had the patience to digest the entire album in one sitting. Not that I should have tried—Billy Corgan has described the two halves of the album as representing "night and day," so what business did I have trying to squeeze it into a measly two hours!? Corgan also said he wanted to "approach the album as if it were (the band's) last" and I don't think he realized how prescient he was being. (There were two more albums before the breakup but nothing as artistically or commercially successful as this.)
I chose two of the bigger hits for this post because I think they serve as appropriate bookends for the record and reveal some clues about the coming demise of Smashing Pumpkins. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" rocks as hard as anything on Gish or Siamese Dream even as it structured to resemble a pop song. The guitars are dense and dark, the dynamic changes extreme. Harmonically, the song is essentially pentatonic—you can play it on just the black keys of your piano (try it!). Outside of the instrumental break at 2:26, there's not a half-step interval to be found. But most of all, the song drips with skeevy nervous tension, the perfect accompaniment for the "rat in a cage" refrain.
And then there's "1979," which Billy Corgan has described as the "most personally important song" on the record. We hear electronic drums, looped samples, synthesizers (or guitars that sound like synthesizers) and it all sounds....happy. I don't know how much the other band members contributed to this song but this is the sound of an evolving artist in Corgan. Suddenly, there is an exploration of wide interval dissonances (like the persistent major 7th that opens the track and a more subtle 9th that comes later) and all the density of the early Pumpkins sound is replaced with airy spaces. For better or for worse, this isn't the sound of a band and it's likely the moment Billy Corgan became the sole permanent member of Smashing Pumpkins.
Title: Bullet With Butterfly Wings/1979
Artist: Smashing Pumpkins
Year: 1995Artist: Smashing Pumpkins
Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
It's funny how a band's most ambitious work often signals the beginning of the end. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is monumental in scope. Too monumental for me as it turned out as I never had the patience to digest the entire album in one sitting. Not that I should have tried—Billy Corgan has described the two halves of the album as representing "night and day," so what business did I have trying to squeeze it into a measly two hours!? Corgan also said he wanted to "approach the album as if it were (the band's) last" and I don't think he realized how prescient he was being. (There were two more albums before the breakup but nothing as artistically or commercially successful as this.)
I chose two of the bigger hits for this post because I think they serve as appropriate bookends for the record and reveal some clues about the coming demise of Smashing Pumpkins. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" rocks as hard as anything on Gish or Siamese Dream even as it structured to resemble a pop song. The guitars are dense and dark, the dynamic changes extreme. Harmonically, the song is essentially pentatonic—you can play it on just the black keys of your piano (try it!). Outside of the instrumental break at 2:26, there's not a half-step interval to be found. But most of all, the song drips with skeevy nervous tension, the perfect accompaniment for the "rat in a cage" refrain.
And then there's "1979," which Billy Corgan has described as the "most personally important song" on the record. We hear electronic drums, looped samples, synthesizers (or guitars that sound like synthesizers) and it all sounds....happy. I don't know how much the other band members contributed to this song but this is the sound of an evolving artist in Corgan. Suddenly, there is an exploration of wide interval dissonances (like the persistent major 7th that opens the track and a more subtle 9th that comes later) and all the density of the early Pumpkins sound is replaced with airy spaces. For better or for worse, this isn't the sound of a band and it's likely the moment Billy Corgan became the sole permanent member of Smashing Pumpkins.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Song #318 of 9999 - Black Star by Radiohead
Song #318 of 9999
Title: Black Star
Artist: Radiohead
Year: 1995
Album: The Bends
I've been listening to all the songs on my iPod every morning while I get ready for work in alphabetical order by song title to insure a nice shuffle with no repetitions. A couple of weeks ago, "Black Star" popped up and I was stopped dead in my tracks by the voice I heard. I'm totally supportive of the direction Radiohead has taken and they remain one of the most creative forces in popular music today. But every once in a while, it's worth going back to The Bends to remember what a great pop band they were before they evolved into the world's greatest art project.
Thom Yorke's lyrics were just as unintelligible in 1995 as they are today but with less creative imagery. But it doesn't really matter because the delivery system is so pure and angelic and captivating, as Yorke takes up residence in his head voice for the duration of each of verse. (How great are those close vocal harmonies at 2:41?) The choice to remain in this range expertly sets up the hook as Yorke opens up in full voice for one of the most dramatic moments on the album. The use of texture in "Black Star" is also worth noting, with each verse and chorus arranged in a unique way. Check out the stunning second verse, where the band and producer manage to find room for all those guitars in a confined space without overpowering Yorke's falsetto. Outstanding track.
Title: Black Star
Artist: Radiohead
Year: 1995
Album: The Bends
I've been listening to all the songs on my iPod every morning while I get ready for work in alphabetical order by song title to insure a nice shuffle with no repetitions. A couple of weeks ago, "Black Star" popped up and I was stopped dead in my tracks by the voice I heard. I'm totally supportive of the direction Radiohead has taken and they remain one of the most creative forces in popular music today. But every once in a while, it's worth going back to The Bends to remember what a great pop band they were before they evolved into the world's greatest art project.
Thom Yorke's lyrics were just as unintelligible in 1995 as they are today but with less creative imagery. But it doesn't really matter because the delivery system is so pure and angelic and captivating, as Yorke takes up residence in his head voice for the duration of each of verse. (How great are those close vocal harmonies at 2:41?) The choice to remain in this range expertly sets up the hook as Yorke opens up in full voice for one of the most dramatic moments on the album. The use of texture in "Black Star" is also worth noting, with each verse and chorus arranged in a unique way. Check out the stunning second verse, where the band and producer manage to find room for all those guitars in a confined space without overpowering Yorke's falsetto. Outstanding track.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Song #317 of 9999 - San Andreas Fault by Natalie Merchant
Song #317 of 9999
Title: San Andreas Fault
Artist: Natalie Merchant
Year: 1995
Album: Tigerlily
For some reason, I have a generally negative impression of Natalie Merchant, which seems unjustified. I own and have enjoyed both Tigerlily and its successor Ophelia, but I still feel as if I don't really take her seriously as an artist. I was never a big fan of 10,000 Maniacs so perhaps these feelings stem from my early experiences, but I must admit I have enjoyed revisiting her solo debut tonight.
Tigerlily is not going to challenge you. It works just fine as mellow background music and it won't distract you from a task or even your thoughts. It's like the pop equivalent of a Mozart Divertimento. The singles are well-worn but I find myself responding well to some of the deeper cuts, especially "Beloved Wife," "I May Know the Word," and the album opener "San Andreas Fault."
"San Andreas Fault" starts precisely the way you would expect from an artist like Merchant, with the spotlight aimed directly on her voice. The breezy arrangement is sparse and, structurally, there are just four chords to consider. The track begins with a pair of chords that give the impression of a folksy church-in-the-woods kind of gospel: subdominant (IV) proceeding to tonic (I), suggesting a plagal cadence (think "Amen" at the end of a hymn). However, the minor chords that follow (ii-vi) hint there may be darkness looming around the corner. The lyric reflects this sentiment, presenting California as the promised land but reminding us that the ground beneath our feet may betray us at any moment.
Title: San Andreas Fault
Artist: Natalie Merchant
Year: 1995
Album: Tigerlily
For some reason, I have a generally negative impression of Natalie Merchant, which seems unjustified. I own and have enjoyed both Tigerlily and its successor Ophelia, but I still feel as if I don't really take her seriously as an artist. I was never a big fan of 10,000 Maniacs so perhaps these feelings stem from my early experiences, but I must admit I have enjoyed revisiting her solo debut tonight.
Tigerlily is not going to challenge you. It works just fine as mellow background music and it won't distract you from a task or even your thoughts. It's like the pop equivalent of a Mozart Divertimento. The singles are well-worn but I find myself responding well to some of the deeper cuts, especially "Beloved Wife," "I May Know the Word," and the album opener "San Andreas Fault."
"San Andreas Fault" starts precisely the way you would expect from an artist like Merchant, with the spotlight aimed directly on her voice. The breezy arrangement is sparse and, structurally, there are just four chords to consider. The track begins with a pair of chords that give the impression of a folksy church-in-the-woods kind of gospel: subdominant (IV) proceeding to tonic (I), suggesting a plagal cadence (think "Amen" at the end of a hymn). However, the minor chords that follow (ii-vi) hint there may be darkness looming around the corner. The lyric reflects this sentiment, presenting California as the promised land but reminding us that the ground beneath our feet may betray us at any moment.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Songs #315 & 316 - It's TWOsday!
Song #315 of 9999 Song #316 of 9999
Album: Herzelied Album: Bo Diddley
Here are two song you don't see side by side every day! Tonight's theme is songs that have the same name as the artists who performed them. There are perhaps more of these than you think: Bad Company, Belle and Sebastian, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Icehouse, Motorhead, Body Count, Tin Machine, They Might Be Giants, Wilco...the list goes on and on. But I thought I'd take us back forty years to what may be the first! (Can you think of an earlier example?)
Let's go out of order and start with the elder statesman. "Bo Diddley" is Bo Diddley's rhythm-and-blues infused-with-hoodoo autobiographical third-person rendition of the lullaby "Hush Little Baby," set to a rhythmic pattern so unique and influential it has come to be known as the "Bo Diddley beat." Essentially the clave rhythm of Afro-Cuban music, the beat pattern took on a whole new personality in the hands of Diddley and his band. (I personally think the maracas make the song.) You could probably think of a half-dozen songs that use this beat without even trying, but I'll get you started: "I Want Candy" (Bow Wow Wow), "Desire" (U2), "Panic in Detroit" (David Bowie), "Faith" (George Michael), "Magic Bus" (The Who), "Not Fade Away" (Buddy Holly)....it's another long list.
Rammstein's Herzelied (translation: "heartache") was released in 1995 but I was unaware of the German industrial band until 1997 when I saw David Lynch's neo-noir thriller Lost Highway. Lynch enlisted Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to collect most of the songs for the soundtrack, but chose two songs by Rammstein himself. Both are used to great effect in some very tense sequences in the film. "Rammstein" (the song) is about a 1988 air show disaster at the Ramstein (yes, one "m"—the band added the additional "m" to their name to allow for an alternate translation: "ramming stone") Air Force Base in the German town of the same name. The video shown here was directed by Lynch and features scenes from Lost Highway.
Title: Rammstein Title: Bo Diddley
Artist: Rammstein Artist: Bo Diddley
Year: 1995 Year: 1955Artist: Rammstein Artist: Bo Diddley
Album: Herzelied Album: Bo Diddley
Here are two song you don't see side by side every day! Tonight's theme is songs that have the same name as the artists who performed them. There are perhaps more of these than you think: Bad Company, Belle and Sebastian, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Icehouse, Motorhead, Body Count, Tin Machine, They Might Be Giants, Wilco...the list goes on and on. But I thought I'd take us back forty years to what may be the first! (Can you think of an earlier example?)
Let's go out of order and start with the elder statesman. "Bo Diddley" is Bo Diddley's rhythm-and-blues infused-with-hoodoo autobiographical third-person rendition of the lullaby "Hush Little Baby," set to a rhythmic pattern so unique and influential it has come to be known as the "Bo Diddley beat." Essentially the clave rhythm of Afro-Cuban music, the beat pattern took on a whole new personality in the hands of Diddley and his band. (I personally think the maracas make the song.) You could probably think of a half-dozen songs that use this beat without even trying, but I'll get you started: "I Want Candy" (Bow Wow Wow), "Desire" (U2), "Panic in Detroit" (David Bowie), "Faith" (George Michael), "Magic Bus" (The Who), "Not Fade Away" (Buddy Holly)....it's another long list.
Rammstein's Herzelied (translation: "heartache") was released in 1995 but I was unaware of the German industrial band until 1997 when I saw David Lynch's neo-noir thriller Lost Highway. Lynch enlisted Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to collect most of the songs for the soundtrack, but chose two songs by Rammstein himself. Both are used to great effect in some very tense sequences in the film. "Rammstein" (the song) is about a 1988 air show disaster at the Ramstein (yes, one "m"—the band added the additional "m" to their name to allow for an alternate translation: "ramming stone") Air Force Base in the German town of the same name. The video shown here was directed by Lynch and features scenes from Lost Highway.
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