I'm finding my self quite content at the point in music history where we are currently located in class. Although I did really like most of what we listened to throughout the 60's, 70's, and 80's, the musical sound of the 90's really makes me feel at home. Pearl Jam is no exception to this, and even though they do sound a bit dated (unlike Nirvana or even some Nine Inch Nails for example) I still really enjoy Eddie Vedder's extremely unique and almost rough voice along with Mike McCready shredding it on the guitar.
Can't say I really enjoy the hair though...
Their first album released in 1991, Ten, starts off with three great songs: "Once," "Even Flow," and "Alive," in that order. To me this album really touches many roots of rock legends like Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, which are shown especially in McCready's Hendrix/Paige/Clapton-esque style leads. All three songs mentioned above really showcase this.
Another song I really like that they've recorded is "Better Man," off of their 1994 album, Vitalogy.
So I really don't care what anyone else thinks, the beginning of that video is really quite amazing ...I have never seen anything like that ever before.
Although, in my opinion, Pearl Jam really hasn't released much to the level of quality as their music from the 90's it's still pretty cool that they've made it this far.
Unfortunately, I am still running out of new music, fairly quickly too. But fortunately, I have found a short term solution, and as you probably may have already guessed, I have filled the void with mix of songs covered by some of my favorite bands, some of which I really like the original, others not so much. For example I have found really interesting (not all amazing) covers of Desperado (The Eagles), Feeling Good (recorded by almost everyone), Careless Whisper (George Micheal), and Over My Head (The Fray).
Starting with Desperado: I personally really do enjoy the Eagles original recording of the song, yet I also like the country spin that Clint Black puts on it along with the very interesting punk rockish alternative spin a band called Me First And The Gimme Gimme's put on it. Unlike Clint Black, these guys are known for the covers that they do including the likes of "Rich Girl," "Only The Good Die Young," and "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)."
So I guess the western movie characters make sense?
So there were live recordings, but they are pretty awful live, so I decided to save your ears...somewhat anyway
Feeling Good is probably one of the most covered songs of all time, but in this case I'd like to talk about the Muse version. I think this song really brings out the soulful and exciting aspects Matthew Bellamy's voice. He also incorporates his incredible range throughout the song, jumping octaves like it's nothing.
Besides the fact that the background people are really creepy, it's an amazing cover.
One song I never would've thought that I would've liked was Careless Whisper. In my opinion, George Michael is just another 80's pop "superstar," who had very so so songs. Yet the South African based band, Seether's, cover of the song has done it many favors. I really like the more intense sound of the song especially with the guitar and drums.
(Just a quick side note: the lead singer sounds a lot like Daughtry....technically Daughtry sounds a lot like him because they came first but still.)
The last song I want to cover(...get it...) is Over My Head (Cable Car), originally recorded by The Fray. Now, I have nothing wrong with this song and I actually really like The Fray, yet a band that I have previously blogged about, A Day To Remember, made a really awesome cover. Because they are much more intense sounding musically than The Fray, it really allows you to appreciate the quality of the song because it sounds good played by very different groups.
The man has a really good voice, I sometimes don't understand why he feels it necessary to scream like that, yet every time I listen I try to keep an open mind.
After doing this little cover experiment, I've concluded that really they are hits and misses a lot of the time, but really many of them, or at least the ones I have found, are really worth listening to.
Ah the 90's, full of rebellious, loud, aggressive grunge bands with Nirvana being no exception. The trio out of Washington state is what I like to think of the definition of grunge; with the combination of Cobain's raspy and distinctive voice, the intense slamming on the drums, and the whaling of the guitar (and sometimes intense bass...when you can hear it) makes for one amazing rock band.
Their most famous album, Nevermind, is full of lovely and happy hits like everyone's favorite: "Smells Like Teen Spirit," along with others like "In Bloom," "Breed," and "Lithium." Another one of my favorites, "Heart Shaped Box," isn't on this particular album but on their third album In Utero.
It honestly took me about 3 years to fully understand what Cobain is "singing" throughout the chorus.
I'm sorry? What about the dinosaurs?
So, um...what did I just watch?
Despite the fact that these guys makes some of the strangest videos I have ever seen, they sure know how to rock. And although Cobain is no where near to the level of playing as some other guitarists of the time like Mike McCready of Pearl Jam or even Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, that's what makes him (and the band) so unique.
Ben Folds Five, as you all know were kind of a huge deal in the 90's especially with their most popular album, and my personal favorite, Whatever And Ever Amen. This album had a number of huge hits like "One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces," "Brick," "Song For The Dumped," "Kate," and "Battle For Who Could Care Less." All of which I really enjoy. Just last year the band came back together to record and release another album, The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind, containing songs like (one of my personal favorites) "Michael Praytor, Five Years Later." One thing that I really like about the trio out of Chapel Hill is that they really don't ever use a guitar and they still sound amazing. Their music consists of drums, an up right or electric bass, and of course, a piano. Many times they have even described themselves as "punk rock for sissies."
From this to...
...this
One thing that I really love (and really hate) about Whatever And Ever Amen is the pacing of the album. The first song "One Angry Dwarf..." is super up beat and fun to listen to but by the third song, "Brick," the mood has changed drastically, from fun and exciting to really sad and depressing. Yet the next song, "Song For The Dumped," is right back to up beat and almost funny, lifting the mood out of the giant hole that it was hurled into.
So this is kind of amazing and one hot mess, and that's why I absolutely love it. He looks like Jerry Lee Lewis when he slams on the piano like that, pretty cool.
This song is so sad but the man can sing. I really enjoy his crazy octave jumps and ridiculous falsetto.
Why a verse of this song is sung in Japanese I have absolutely no idea...
These guys really are no joke, and with playing they are capable of and the songs they have, who even needs a guitar to make awesome rock music?
Another great Youtube find I've stumbled upon recently is a band formed in Stockholm, Sweden with the name of Dirty Loops. As of now there are only three members in the band: Jonah, their outstanding vocalist with hints of none other than Stevie Wonder in his voice, Henrik, the bassist who's idle is one of the most famous bass players in the world, The Red Hot Chili Pepper's Flea, and Aaron, the drummer. Even though, as far as I know they are only on Youtube, they are still extremely talented musicians. Many if not all of their songs are covers of get this...pop songs, yet they add their own really amazing jazzy and soulful spin to all of them.
So I definitely would never have placed these guys in the same band...ever...yet it works, really really well.
My two favorite songs/covers of theirs are: "Rolling In The Deep," originally recorded by Adele and...surprisingly "Circus," originally recorded by Brittany Spears. As weird as that sounds, they have really improved both songs 100% if not more.
I honestly could listen to this song for an hour straight and not get bored with it, a huge part of it is the amazing keyboard solo starting at about 1:53 along with his incredible voice.
Sorry Britt, these guys outdid you on your own song by quite a lot. I really love the keyboard feature at the beginning of the song and all throughout the chorus, I also like how they change the meter of the song from slow to fast alternating between the verses and the chorus. The occasional base solos are also spectacular.
How these guys aren't already incredibly famous, I have yet to discover because they definitely have the potential to be amazing. Their soulful and jazzy sound is one that isn't heard much in this modern age and to me, that's a shame.
This week in class, we listened to a medley of lovely, extremely creepy, mostly explicit music. Now, many people would consider this rather unpleasant to listen to, yet in my opinion, it is none other than just another excellent way to express ones' self. A few groups are absolutly amazing at doing this, including none other than everyone's favorite Gangsta rap group: N.W.A., two other extremely important and influential rap groups: Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys, and two rock groups: Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana.
Lets start with the rap:
Both the Beastie Boys and N.W.A. relied heavily on samples (especially on Paul's Boutique...it really is quite cool though) and most evident, vulgarity. N.W.A.'s most famous hit "Straight Outta Compton," is probably one of the most explicit songs I know, yet that's the beauty of it, it grabs your attention and almost forces you to listen to what the song is trying to say.
Although not on the album Paul's Boutique, my favorite Beastie Boys song is, not surprisingly "No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn." Not sure really what it is about it but one of my favorite aspects about it is the whole point of the music video is to make fun of the 1980's hair metal scene.
Another song of theirs that I can somewhat stand is the 12 minute medley: "B-Boy Bouillabaisse."
Although Public Enemy wasn't as vulgar in their lyrics, Chuck D is still one of the most talented rappers of that time, if not all time. They were much more political minded in my opinion than other groups like N.W.A. for example. One of my favorite songs of theirs is "Bring Tha Noise."
Although the rock bands of the late 80's and early 90's didn't rely on explicit language as much to get attention and listeners, they had their own creepy way of bringing in audiences, just as Kurt Cobain did with Nirvana and Trent Reznor did with Nine Inch Nails did in their tenured careers.
So besides feeling like I was just hypnotized, I also realized that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be before listening.
All in all, the use of the explicit language and disturbing lyrics and in some cases videos, all of these artists have one thing in common. All are trying to receive some sort of attention so they can explain their thoughts to everyone, even if no one wants to hear.
U2, once again has found its way into my lovely little blog. This time with their 1988 documentary, Rattle and Hum. Honestly from what I saw I really enjoyed it, especially the cinematography of it all and, of course, the music it featured. After watching it, I realized that the guys really were good friends with each other, and loved making music and just had a great time doing it. A few videos that really stood out to me were their cover of The Beatles hit song, Helter Skelter, Bono singing Just Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with a gospel choir, and all of their work with blues guitar legend, BB King, most notably "When Love Comes To Town." All of these really show U2's amazing versatility and pure talent when making and even rerecording music.
I have the up most respect for The Beatles, but U2, in my opinion, killed the song....probably one of my favorite recordings.
I love the way The Edge describes the song at the beginning of the video.
After watching the documentary, I really have come to appreciate U2 even more. These guys really do know what they are doing.
As I seem to be running out of new music to listen to, I decided to delve into my childhood. As I was pondering who I listened to I remembered these guys...Fall Out Boy. The emo rock/punk/pop/alternative band or whatever they were were formed in 2001 in Chicago Illinois. The group led by front man, vocalist, and guitarist- Patrick Stump, known for his crazy range and falsetto, and bassist and lyricist- Pete Wentz- known for well being crazy.
The first song of theirs that I really became familiar with first was "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy," off the album Take This To Your Grave in 2003. Looking back on it I have no idea why I liked it. I feel as though the whole album was very childish, reeking of early 2000's pop. Yet by their second album From Under The Cork Tree in 2005, their sound had completely changed. The early 2000's pop sound had vanished, replaced for a much heavier rock influence with more thought provoking and controversial lyrics/message. My two favorite songs off of that album were probably the two most popular: "Dance, Dance" and "Sugar, We're Goin Down." On their third album, which I consider to be just as good as the second, two other songs stood out: "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race," and "Thanks fr th Mmrs."
This band is really good at a lot of things, one of those being the way they make their videos. All of their videos relate to each other in some sort of way, either with the same characters or a continuing story. For example, at the beginning of "This Ain't A Scene..." the "Dance, Dance" video is ending...pretty cool in my opinion. Another thing about the video's...watch Pete's dance moves, the man likes to spin.
Oh, what a twist
That's not a possible Joe Cocker impression I see at about 0:35 is it?
After taking a quick break from the band and having somewhat successful solo carriers, Stump and Wentz have rejoined the band and have released two new singles: "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Them Up)," and "The Phoenix." Both are much more intense and darker than their previous works.
....Is that...2 Chianz....what?
A bit dark but interesting none the less
After going back and listening, I realized that they are still really good musicians who have amazing stage presence and are really entertaining to watch. More good news is that FOB's new album Save Rock And Roll is expected to come out April 16th. Hopefully it's as good as their old music if not better.
