Ah, the rock opera single. Much maligned, it has nonetheless had its enthusiastic exponents. Notable highlights of the genre include ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and The Beatles’ ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’, a direct inspiration for this song. Radiohead updated the template for the late-90s with this tense, unsettling observation on fashion, culture and vapidity - and created a song that artistically rivalled all of the above.

While The Bends was an excellent album, with a top-rate set of guitar-based songs that dealt with isolation, paranoia and a general feeling of dread, 1997’s OK Computer was a revelation. The verse-chorus-verse structure was subverted, the lyrics tried to make metaphors of the daily commute, European integration, loud taling and German automotive engineering. Instead of talking about his own maladjustment, lead singer Thom Yorke widened the issue to include a general malaise in society, one that was directly linked to the way we lived.

For the millions of us on the comedown from Britpop’s hollow journey, this rang very true. Coming as the first single off of OK Computer, ‘Paranoid Android’ was one of the most unlikely hits of all time, while at the same time being strangely comforting in how weird and “far out” it was.

The song is split into four sections, starting with acoustic guitar and a soft guitar figure, with Yorke crying in a high-pitched voice about the “unborn chicken voices in my head”. The first of several great riffs has him dragging out the words “What’s that”. Feelings of impending dread and doom were never felt so keenly since Ian Curtis.

While the song shifts gears, with new riffs and tempos introduced and left behind, Yorke aims at familiar Radiohead themes like ruthless ambition, arrogance, egotism, business networking and so on, juxtaposing these targets with “off with his head”, “panic”, “vomit” and other disturbing feelings.

The general impact on the listener is that the protagonist is having a really bad time at some event or other, and fantasises secretly about molotov-ing (verb?) the whole place, nay the whole world. Vintage Thom Yorke, in other words.

The video is a story on itself - check the Wikipedia article for the background on this. Musically, it’s amazing, especially with headphones on in a darkened room (which I always called “the Pink Floyd experience”). Guitars duel with each other over intermittent feedback bursts, the bass goes all over the register, and the drums switch tempo as the canvas for the madness.

So, then, truly a great moment in music - and OK Computer is the first time I heard an album and considered it a classic on first listen. Here’s the video for ‘Paranoid Android’.

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

Creedance Clearwater Revival a.k.a CCR were a rock and roll band in the US during the late sixties and early seventies. Lead by John Fogarty, who was the singer, songwriter and guitarist in the band while his brother Tom was also in the band. They were credited with creating the sub rock genre called swamp rock or bayou rock which I alway’s associated with the Southern States of the US which is ironic as CCR were from California. Creating music associated with a different area, culture or background can either be a blessing in disguise or a curse for musicians with the biggest issue being the credability of the band. For me, CCR unequivocally succeeded in creating the swampland/bayou sound while maintaining their integrity. Sure there will be some knockers but you can’t please everybody.

The song Fortunate Son is taken from their fourth studio album Willy and the Poor Boys and their third album of that year (how come bands of that era were so prolific eh?) the song again deals with the Vietnam War but I don’t consider this a protest song in the same vein as Dylan’s Masters of War or Edwin Starr’s War as both of these songs, and protest song’s in general, criticise war itself and the generals that run the war. This song, to me, is more about American society, but could be generalised to most western world countries, and how if you have money you can be absolved from many things including the possiblity of going to war because you were born ‘with a silver spoon in hand’  or were a ‘millionaire’s son’ . One of the sadest things in modern society is the inequality of people based on money as well as race, culture and creed.

John Fogarty is solo these days and a few months back he appeared on the Jools Holland Show and while he looked a bit weather beaten, his voice remains as strong today as it ever was. Check out a video for the song live in 1969. I’m probably opening myself up for a public flogging here but I alway’s think that CCR were the American version of that great English band The Kinks. 

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

Social Distortion are long running west coast rock/punk band from the west coast of America.  I initially found out about them by reading music articles about other bands who would throw in the name Mike Ness while being interviewed. It came to the stage where I had seen the name so often that I inquired about who the guy was from friends until I was informed that he was the guitarist / lead singer for a band called Social Distortion. 

About a year ago I then got my hands an album of theirs and today’s song is taken from that fourth studio album of theirs called Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell. I haven’t yet had the chance to check out any of their other albums so I can’t qualify what type of they are but from listening to the above mentioned album I just think that they are a high tempo, old fashioned rock and roll type of band although I have seen them being described as punk (I can hear some of that on the album), hardcore punk, rockability (what does that mean?) etc, I hope to get my hands on other albums of theirs soon and find out.

I don’t think this song on the album is any better or worse than any of the other songs on the album but for some reason this song just stuck in my head more than any of the others. I think the reason for this is the lyrics in which he talks about coming to the realisation that the girl he’s seeing is no good for him. Below are the lyrics to the first verse:

‘I believe I was wrong but baby know I know.
You and your evil ways gotta go.
Take the key and break away these chains of love,
And I’ll thank the good Lord above.
The radio’s playin’ a sad song…
Bye Bye Baby yeah yeah X2′

In all honesty I just like the way Ness sings Bye Bye Baby repeatedly over some thumping guitar work. Check out a video of the song , it would be a good choice of song to get a party going…

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

I confess. I’m including this song primarily because of one line in this song.

Beefheart is an unusual character, and that’s putting it very mildly. His Trout Mask Replica album (sure, you’d know from the title) is one of the strangest I’ve ever heard, and puts Tom Waits to shame for sheer guttural weirdness.

Big cymbal crash, and then the kind of music you’d hear Jabba the Hutt’s house band play on Return of the Jedi. One of the guitars plays the same dumb riff pretty much through the whole song, while the other one appears to undergo electroshock therapy. I don’t hear much of a bass. As an instrumental, it sounds like a band on either speed, or LSD, or (most likely) way too much of both.

Over that, and keeping absolutely no time whatsoever with the music, Beefheart roars, snipes, and coughs lyrics about some girl who has gone crazy from dancing. He throws out some great lines, the second best of which is

“I knew you were under duress, I knew you were under your dress”

Very cute. The rest of Trout Mask Replica is very similar to this, and is very much an acquired taste. But Tom Waits has cited this as a major influence on his classic Swordfishtrombones album - he had to, it was so obvious.

And the best line? It’s the one where he growls:

“You were afraid you’d be the Devil’s red wife”

Listen to the video on YouTube and you’ll understand. Always brings a chuckle.

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

Between playing Latka on Taxi, sending up Italian stereotypes with his hideous Tony Clifton persona, wrestling women and getting slapped on the face by a famous wrestler on Letterman, Kaufman divided audiences across America. Those who got it thought of him as a genius of improvisational comedy, a Lenny Bruce for the ’70s and ’80s. Those who didn’t get it thought he was a dangerous nut.

‘I Trusted You’ is the best example of this comedy (although check out his famous ‘Mighty Mouse’ song, which is done very well by Jim Carrey in the Man On The Moon biopic). Set over an imbecilically simple guitar riff (A-Ab-G-Ab-A) and a bass line that echoes the main riff, Kaufman repeats the words over and over: “I trusted you, I trusted you/I trusted you, I trusted you” to the excited amusement of the crowd.

After about a minute of this comes the chorus, with the same “I trusted you” lines, this time shouted and screamed. It’s a tough one to describe how this comes across as funny - best just watch the video. If you don’t crack a grin, it’s time to have a little talk with yourself My favourite part is when he gets out into the crowd, shouting “I trusted you” and pointing at individual members of the audience. And what a great dance.

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

The Rolling Stones were bound, at some stage, to make an appearance on thishereboogie . One could choose any number of songs to write about due to their long and successful career.  Indeed Cocksucker Blues is not by any means their best song but the reason I post about it today is because of the background to the song. The song was written specifically to fulfill the band’s contractual obligation to Decca Records and intentionally uses profanity throughout the lyrics of the song that intend to annoy studio bosses and this they successfully done as they refused to release the single.

On another note Cocksucker Blues is also the name of an unreleased  documentary that followed the band during their tour of America in 1972 which was their first tour in that country since their infamous visit there in 1962. If you want to find out more about the song or the film then check out the Wikipedia entry here. Also you can check out the song here

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

Continuing the theme of favourite songs while heading to festivals as blogged about previously here comes another cracking song that will get you in the mood for a festival if you don’t already have festival fever and shame on you if you don’t. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, or B.R.M.C for short, hail from California in the US and at the time were associated with the whole garage rock craze that happened at the turn of century - Im thinking The Hives and The Strokes here.

I’ve only ever listened to two of their albums B.R.M.C  their debut album from which this song comes from and their third album Howl , which is actually my favourite album of theirs. In terms of music there seemed to be a big shift in musical style between albums. The first album contains a lot more distorted , electric guitar (which is always good for an outdoor gig) while Howl  is more folk and blues with the acoustic guitar being the central instrument with the harmonica thrown in for good measure.

Spread Your Love is laced from start to finish with distorted power chords that really light up the song. The lyrics ‘Spread your love like a fever, don’t you ever come down’  is repeatedly sung between 

‘She spread her love like a big fire 
I only saw it once 
She gave me love like a sister 
She’s bad, but not enough’

I know I’ve always enjoyed playing song when going to music festivals and also late at night at the festivals winding down from the day. Check it out.

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

Mick Flannery, to me, is one of the best up and coming musicians currently plying his trade in the Irish music scene. He first came to my attention a few years ago when he appeared live on Irish television performing another great song from his debut album Evening Train called ‘If I Got a Dollar’ which is a simply gorgeous song that he duets with another female musician who I don’t know. If you like bluesy folk then you will like Mick Flannery. Think a young, Irish Tom Waits and you’ll get the picture.

The song, like a lot of songs on the album revolve around relationships, love and gambling especially card playing which is the main theme of today’s song which is basically a conversation between three guys playing a card game and is sung in the same manner.I know Aaron Dillon, another Irish musician is a guest vocalist but I don’t know the other. What separates this from other songs that I have heard recently is the atmosphere that the song conjures up and the realistic conversation that friends and foes have when there is money involved in a card game. Below is the first verse of the song but I’m not really doing it justice that can only be achieved by listening to the song:

‘I put 55 dollars on this hand
Im In, Im out, not a chance
so only one of you dogs wanna dance
ah you better have some balls in those pants
give me two cards, one card, don’t look at that
trying to feel a flush up bite me in the ass
Jesus you must have lady luck up there hiding in your hat
don’t try and fuckin fool me boy we’ll see about that
It’s a hundred to play now we’ll see what you weight now
that pot is getting hotter boy we’ll see if you stay around’

The song continues in this vein as the size of the pot gets heavier and tension grows

’shut the fuck up what the fuck its got to do with you
I don’t see your money here so you don’t get to contribute
nothing to this little bet’

I got the chance to see him play in Whelan’s last year and it was a good gig even though the place was half empty. He made one funny quip as he was introducing a new song by say “This is a new song….not that you would know” - typical Cork humour. He’s playing in Whelan’s again tonight so get your asses to it. Here’s a youtube link to the song.

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

I really got into Pavement when I was in my teens. Growing up in the middle of the Irish countryside, touch-me-I’m-sick bands like Nirvana or earnest, hand-on-heart-despair bands like Pearl Jam (sorry Des, I know they’re a favourite!) didn’t do an awful lot for me. My music taste focused on three groups: Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground and these boys, Pavement.

‘Cut Your Hair’ is a classic example of their ability to glue a great melody together to some sparkling wit. A commentary on the explosion of the “hair, flannel shirts and sincerity” groups that came up in the wake of grunge’s pioneers, the harmonies that open the song and come up after the choruses are inspired, like a slowed down Beach Boys on helium.

The lyrics always get me laughing, just for the surrealism. Lines like “hit me wearing muzzles”, “did you see the drummer’s hair” and (my favourite) “NO BIG HAIR!” just seem to come out of nowhere. It’s as if the band sat down to write a poppy song, but just kept getting sidelined into weird tangents that come out in the lyrics. This isn’t the only Pavement song that does that - check out ‘Silence Kit’ (or, as I always thought it was called, ‘Silent Kid’), the first song on the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain album.

The whole Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain album is a really good listen, and their debut, Slanted & Enchanted is also recommended. Here’s the video for ‘Cut Your Hair’ - a treat in itself. “No big hair!”

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites

Polly Jean Harvey or PJ harvey as she is more comely known as, has been around for a while now and I have always been a big fan. A couple of years ago she was playing at the electric picnic and I was an excited little boy as I had never seen her before. Turns out she was almost an hour late for the appearance and I ended up not seeing her at all as it impacted my schedule for other bands. A big no no for me is being late for festival appearances, do it on your own time. It irked me so much that as a form of protest I refused to buy a ticket for her gig in the Olympia a month or two later - not that it made much of a difference to anyone except me. I also didn’t listen to her latest album when it first came out but I eventually buried the hatchet. Like lovers quarreling she had some making up to do with me and when I eventually listened to her latest album the making up was done.

This is the first single from her latest album ‘White Lines‘ and marks a massive departure for the queen of the post-rock genre. Nearly all the songs are softer, mellower than her previous efforts. It always takes courage for a musician to depart from their signature sound as it can either create a whole slew of new fans or cause current fans to distance themselves from the artist. One of the first things I noticed from the new album is that she actually has a lovely, sweet voice that to me, was somewhat lost on her previous guitar heavy albums.

Lyrically I’m a bit confused about what the song is about. Its could be a number of things - childbirth, dreaming, abortion or even hallucination (thats if you have ever seen fear and loathing in Las Vegas and their penchant for Ether).

‘Something inside me, unborn and unblessed, disappears in the ether, one world to the next‘

So right now, I’m taking it that she is giving birth - ‘the woman beside me is holding my hand’ while Ether is being used as the anaesthetic which is causing some mild euphoria ‘The ceiling is moving‘ and ‘conscious of nothing‘ . Musically its mainly just a keyboard accompanying PJ and its the keyboard that accentuates the feeling of helplessness throughout the song. Check out a live version of the song from Copenhagen  here

Add to Digg, del.icio.us, etc.

Hide Sites