Love Reign O'er Me

Well, we made it! This is the last song on Quadrophenia, and goodness it is a great one! Love Reign O’er Me is one of those songs that I get goose bumps every time that I listen to it. There is not one thing that is bad about it, and it is by far the best song on Quadrophenia.

As far as the story goes what we know is that Jimmy was heading toward a rock in a boat. He actually jumps onto the rock and this is where Love Reign O’er Me takes place. During one of my first blogs I mentioned that Quadrophenia is happening in flashback, Jimmy is remembering what has led him to a certain point and this is it. I don’t think that Jimmy isn’t actually dying, but I think that he has gone all the way out to this rock and gets stuck. He starts to think about everything has happened and has an epiphany.

Love Reign O’er Me starts out with the sound of rain and a solitary piano, the song has a somber sound to it and the piano really sets the mood. The piano that you hear on this recording is actually what Pete Townshend had recorded for the demo version, when it came time to re-record everyone involved thought that the piano sounded great and wanted to use that same take. Pete on the other hand never thought that his piano playing was good enough and wanted someone else to record it for the album.

As for vocals Love Reign O’er Me has some of the best vocals ever recorded. This is a difficult song to sing and Roger Daltrey pulls it off magnificently. There is quite a range of notes and emotion that is held in the vocals and it not easy to pull off. I have heard Roger sing this song live and he does not disappoint. People often say that when singers get older they can never sing as well as they use to but I have to say that Roger still sounds pretty good. Yes, Roger’s voice is not quite what it used to be 40 years ago, but he still sounds really good and I can’t wait to hear how he sounds on this tour!

I think that by listening to the song that you can probably figure out on your own what the epiphany Jimmy had on the rock. Love Reign O’er Me is such a great way to end this story, the sentiment that is held within the song is universal. Things for Jimmy are not completely resolved, but you can tell that they will get better from here.

I hope that you enjoyed my musings on Quadrophenia because I have really enjoyed writing them! This project has gotten me very excited for the concert tomorrow! I can’t believe that the concert is tomorrow! When I wrote the first blog it felt like it was so far away! It is going to be such a great show!

 

The Rock

So, what do you do when you are having the breakdown to end all breakdowns? Well, you steal a boat of course, it is what Rory Gilmore did after all. Jimmy gets it into his head that he needs to be out on the sea in a boat, so he steals the first one he sees and drives it out to The Rock. Jimmy is high and drunk and on the way to rock he is singing. Basically he is out of his mind, but is having the time of his life.

When I listen to The Rock the sound of the music really helps me imagine the events that are taking place.  It is another emotionally driven song and I love how the music speaks so loudly that there is no need for lyrics at this point in the story. I also love how Pete Townshend used the two lyric less songs to book end the story; it closes in the breaking points in Jimmy’s life nicely.

Alright, now take a listen to The Rock. I would write more, but time slipped away from me tonight and I really just want to go to bed now. I do think that The Rock is one of the songs that you just need to listen too. Once you know the story it is easy to see what is happening through the music.

Doctor Jimmy

Good evening everyone. First things first, I would like to say Happy Birthday to my brother John. As you all know John lent me Quadrophenia and therefore introduced to me to best album of all time. John actually introduced me to a lot of music through the years and I fully believe that if it weren’t for him I would have a terrible taste in music. So, thank you John! I hope that you have a great birthday! See you on Friday for some Quadrophenia!

Now, on to the story. Jimmy is having a bad day, he feels like everything in life has let him down and he just doesn’t know where to go from here. He takes some more leapers and then starts to drink. Mods weren’t drinkers, the rockers drank and the Mods took pills, and the combination of the pills and booze make Jimmy really mean. If you listen to the lyrics you will hear that they thoughts that are going through his head are somewhat disturbing. I believe that at this point he has cracked in a whole new way. This is sort of the beginning of the end, something snaps, Jimmy gets mean, and his thoughts turn dark.

Doctor Jimmy is supposed to hold another personality, this one belonging to John Entwhistle, but it is only a small tag within the song. But I never really felt that it was fair that John’s trait got whittled down to four lines when the other members of the band got fully fleshed out songs. Then I received a copy of the Quarophenia demos and low and behold there was actually a song called Is it me? After listening to the demo I can honestly say that the best part was transposed into Doctor Jimmy. Not that it isn’t a good song, but I’m not really sure where Pete was going with it. In the end I’m glad that it was dropped because I think that it would have slowed down the story.

“Is it me for a moment? The stars are falling, the heat is rising, the past is calling”. These few lines have always been some of my favourite in Quarophenia, because, to me, it seems like even though Jimmy is having this mental breakdown he sort of realizes it. It is quite moment during the moment that he seems to be losing his mind and it is almost like he could come out of it but he doesn’t. It’s also a sad moment, Jimmy is going through something huge and difficult and he is all alone and I think that the loneliness comes through in those lines. Up until now Jimmy has been very tough and doesn’t feel like he needs anyone, but that ends up not being true, which will come up back a little later.

 

 

Bell Boy

I had a bad day today and I find it sort of fitting that Bell Boy is today’s Quadrophenia song of the day. Alright, I am going to kept this short. Jimmy is feeling  pretty good, and takes a walk past the hotel that the Mods had smashed the last time he was in Brighton and he someone that he thinks that he knows.

Once Jimmy gets closer he realizes that the person that he recognizes is the ace face. If you remember from our Mod lingo lesson from yesterday that ace face what the person who set the trends even for the trend setters. Well, he was working as a bell boy at that same hotel that the Mod had wrecked. The fact that the ace face in fact a bell boy seems to ruin Jimmy’s day. For Jimmy the ace face needed to be something more than a bell boy that is how high of regard that Jimmy held the ace face. Seeing the ace face in a menial job makes Jimmy lose his faith in being a Mod. This is point where Jimmy loses faith in everything, and that is how his bad day begins.

If you remember Jimmy has four personalities, really how could you forget, and Bell Boy is another. This song brings forth the lunatic, and the Who member that embodies that craziness is, of course, Keith Moon. To make the lunatic really come to life Keith Moon even voiced the Bell Boy, which is just perfect.

Alright Who lovers I really want to write more, but am not really feeling like it due to the bad day thing. Really you are lucky that I wrote anything at all. For now enjoy Bell Boy.

Drowned

Drowned is one of my favourite songs, I know that keep saying that but I can’t help it, and when I fell in love it with was not from the studio album but from the Live at Royal Albert Hall. When I was, I believe, 17 I went on a trip with my cousins to Barrie for shopping, dinner and a movie, and during that trip I bought The Who Live at Royal Albert Hall. I remember watching it for the first time and thinking that it was the best thing ever. Most of all I remember being floored the first time I watched the live version of Drowned which was Pete alone unaccompanied by himself with his guitar and it was amazing! I still don’t think that I have ever seen anyone play the guitar like that, it is mind blowing. Since that day I love Drowned so much.

As for the story Drowned actually doesn’t move it along at all. In the liner notes where there is the short story that explains what is happening the only thing that is written is “The sea is so gorgeous you want to jump into it and sink”. That is it. It doesn’t give much to go on. In my mind I am thinking that Jimmy is probably having another drug trip, and he is looking out at sea just loving it.

Musically while Drowned fits in perfectly with the rest of the songs on Quadrophenia I also think that it is the only one on the album that can stand alone. It is just a great song one that needs to listened too.

 

 

Sea and Sand

If you remember back to first blog I wrote about Quadrophenia you will remember that I mentioned a how much my brother wanted to hear the song Sea and Sand at the first Who show that we went too. Well, here it is Sea and Sand. At first you might think that this is song about the beach, but it is about so much more than that.

When Jimmy arrived in Brighton he was so happy to be out in the sea air and away from all his troubles. However, then he started to think about his life and the last time that he was in Brighton, when there was the riot between the Mods and Rockers. Jimmy feels like it couldn’t get any better than that weekend because everything was so great, the dancing, the girl, and the riot. Then, he starts to think about being a Mod and how he never seems to be able to compare to other Mods. In the end Jimmy still love being by the sea.

One of the really cool things about Sea and Sand is the use of the Mod lingo. To give you a bit of an overview tickets are Mods who know what’s going on and follow all the trends, faces are the tread setters, and the ace face is the person that even the faces follow. This song really kind of talks about what it was like to be a Mod, what the fashion was like, what a dance was like, how Brighton was the place to be, and how you had to follow the trends. I think that it would be tough to be a Mod because you had to follow the trends and they changed weekly, something that was in style one week wasn’t the next, and the way that you danced changed weekly as well. It would have been hard to keep up. Despite all that I still think that it would have been fun, the Mods were this short moment in time, and it would have been cool to be a part of that.

Another really cool thing is that Sea and Sand samples a song by the band The High Numbers called I'm the Face. For those of you don’t know The High Number and The Who are the actually the same band. Before The Who was call just that they were call The High Numbers and they really catered to the Mod crowd. I am the Face would have been the sort of song that Jimmy would have listened too and dance too and I love that there is a little nod back to this song in Sea and Sand.

I'm the face if you want it…

5:15

Who is ready for a train ride? Everyone? Alright let’s hop on the 5:15! This is one of my all time favourite songs. Whenever I put it on I can’t help but want to dance! There is just so much that is great about 5:15; what the perfect Friday night song.

First off let’s talk about what is happening in the story. Last time we left Jimmy he was having a breakdown and crashed his scooter, after the incident he decided to leave and go somewhere that he has good memories…Brighton. To get to Brighton Jimmy needs to take the train which is what he is doing during 5:15. He takes about 20 leapers and has a major trip on the train, feeling like he is floating above his body watching what is happening around him. They lyrics to the song are the hazy memories of the train ride.

There is so much about 5:15 that I love. Roger vocals are so amazing, I think that I love the way that he sounds in this song more than any other Who song. There is also the back and forth between Roger and the background/Pete’s vocals that work so well, they show that Jimmy is on an actual train and is interacting with other people. The horns are so cool and add something very unique to the song, and the piano is somewhat reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis and Great Balls of Fire. The drums are cool because they sound sort of like a train, or at least that is what they remind me of. There is a real forward motion contained in 5:15 that really makes me feel like I am moving forward by the way that the song slowly begins and then starts to slow again at the end. I have been on a train before and this song just screams train ride through the whole thing.

5:15 is such a great way to start the second disc, it pumps the listener up and gets you excited for what is to come. This is probably the song that made me fall in love with Quadrophenia. It is well written and the performance is amazing.

Here is the studio version of 5:15 and the John Entwhistle bass solo from the Live at Albert Hall version which is the great bass solo of all time.

 

I've Had Enough

If you want a song that is full of emotion then listen to I’ve Had Enough. This song hops around to all the different emotions that Jimmy is feeling at the moment. The furthering of Jimmy’s breakdown is caused by something that probably won’t surprise many people…a girl. He sees the girl that he likes out with his best friend and something just snaps.

The first emotion that Jimmy feels is anger, he is just pissed off at his luck and that his life isn’t going the way that he wanted it too. I feel like during the angry sections of I’ve Had Enough he is yelling at himself about how crap everything is and how it’s all his fault. Jimmy sort of mentally beats himself up about the way his life is going.

Then Jimmy goes into a short I can do better section where he talks about being the perfect Mod. It is like he rallies a bit and thinks if he does everything right and becomes the model Mod then he might be able to win the girl back. This feeling doesn’t really last long.

Lastly, Jimmy slides right into full on depression. He basically says that he is tired of everything, he is giving up. I love realistic this segment is; I can image someone saying these lines over and over in their head or even out loud. The desperation comes through in the vocals and conveys that the feelings that Jimmy is having is not something to take lightly.

I think that it is really interesting how the emotions don’t go in a straight line; they circle around until they end with depression. It makes the whole breakdown seem more real. Thoughts don’t happen in a point A to point B sort of way, they weave around each other affecting/creating each other. I’ve Had Enough really demonstrates how Jimmy’s mind is working at this point in time.

In the end Jimmy is pushed over the edge and he crashes his scooter. You get to hear the sound of the crash happening at the end of the song along with Roger screaming the last line. This is such an interesting way to end the I’ve Had Enough, it shows that the feelings took over Jimmy and this is the consequence. Plus it sounds cool.

End of disc one.

Is It In My Head?

Yesterday, when we left Jimmy he was questioning the world and thinking that it was all messed up, and today we head into the part of the story where Jimmy is feeling a bit paranoid. Mods took pills and in Quadrophenia they are referred to as leapers. I don’t know anything about drugs so I’m not really sure what sort of high you get when you take leapers, but Jimmy had about 200 in his possession and I can imagine that they were probably messing with his already crazy brain.

I think that the combination of the thoughts that Jimmy was having and the pills led him into the state that he was in at the time. He was questioning issues within the world and then when he took the pills and he brought the questions closer to home.

I love the chorus where Jimmy asks if it is in his head or in his heart. I think that the head means that everything that he is thinking is not real and that if it is in his heart then it must be true. It is an interesting concept that because his head is so messed up Jimmy relates fake with his head. The heart part is easy to make out; people are always giving advice to follow your heart. In the end Jimmy is having a real trip and I don’t think that he really knows what is going on.

It’s hard to write about Helpless Dancer, Is It In My Head, and the next song I’ve Had Enough because it all could be describe in one sentence: Jimmy is having a breakdown. Yes that is probably an over simplification of the situation, but that is what it all boils down too. This is what you need to remember when you are listening to these three songs. This isn’t just teenage angst, although that is part of it, this is a full on mental breakdown.

 

Helpless Dancer

Pete Townshend wanted to write an album that was sort of about how different each member of The Who is to each other, and over time it evolved into what we now know as Quadrophenia. As you know Jimmy has four different personalities, like schizophrenia, and Townshend made each personality reflect a member of The Who. Helpless Dancer is the first time that we get to see one of these personalities come through.

The first personality that we meet is that of Roger Daltrey who is cast as the tough guy. Roger was a bit different from the other members of The Who because he never once saw himself as a Mod. He was more of a Rocker in Mod clothes. Before Roger was in The Who he was a sheet metal worker, and that made him quite tough. He never seemed to take any crap from anyone and often seemed a bit gruff in videos.  Roger’s voice lends perfectly to the tough guy motif and helps to drive home the point that is being made in Helpless Dancer.

As for Jimmy he is fed up with, well, with the world. In Helpless Dancer he is questioning things that are still poignant today. The way that the ideas are coming out of Jimmy’s head is sort of a stream of consciousness presented in one long verse instead of the verse/chorus arrangement that is found in so many songs. The way the song is structured makes it sound more frantic, and it makes the listener believe that something is happening to Jimmy. This is where Jimmy first starts to crack; he is looking at the world and thinking that it is so screwed up. From here things just keep getting worst.

The Dirty Jobs

At this point in the story Jimmy gets a job, and the song The Dirty Jobs is all about the working class. It starts with a couple of older men talking about their lives and what it’s really like in the working class. It’s not the best life, but they do what they have to do and don’t complain about it. The men recognize Jimmy as one of them, someone who will be a part of the working class for the rest of his life. Jimmy doesn’t really like what he is hearing and calls the men on it telling them that they need to remember what it is like to fight for their dreams.

The Mod generation was the kids of the men and women who fought in World War Two, and there was a lot that the teens didn’t understand about their parents. These were people that had been through a horrific time and they didn’t have a certain future, after it was all over all they wanted was a steady job that they could count on and family to come home from. The kids, however, did not understand why their parents didn’t want more. The Dirty Jobs describes this situation perfectly. Jimmy doesn’t get why these men are so complacent to work these crap jobs and be treated terribly. He challenges them without really comprehending the reasons why.

I have always liked The Dirty Jobs because it reminds me to never give up on my dreams even if I have to work a crap for a while. Jimmy doesn’t stick around the job for very long, he quits after two days. The song shows two very different sides of the spectrum, you can either work the crap job and not try to get anywhere better, or you can not work at all and try to follow your dreams. I say why can’t you do both. Sometimes you need to make ends meet so that you can support yourself while trying to accomplish your goals/dreams.

I'm One

Hello Folks! It’s John here (Carolyn’s brother). I love what Carolyn is doing going song by song through one of the greatest albums of all time and I had to get in on the action. I asked if I could do my favourite song on the album, I’m One, and she said yes.

This is the song I most identify with on the record. As I’ve grown older, that hasn’t changed even if I have. The song starts out with a quiet, finger picked guitar and Pete starts to sing. I always enjoy when Pete takes lead vocals on a song. It has to be a daunting task having Roger Daltry, one of the best rock singers, in your band. It probably has something to do with the narrative of the story, but I like to think Pete loved the song and simply wanted to sing it himself. The full band kicks in and it’s Who power! It quiets down again before one final bash to the finish. I love the dynamic changes and it shows how versatile this band can be, even in a single song.

This song really captures what it feels like to be a young man and wanting to fit in. A lot of Quadrophenia is about that very thing. This is the one song you could pluck out of the story and it have it stand alone without needing the rest of the narrative. Pete said when he wrote Tommy that he didn’t want it to be simply a song cycle that was driven by plot but he wanted every song to be great. While Quadrophenia is a bit more plot oriented, he does it again.

 When I first got into the album, and this song, I was in high school probably around the same age as the character in the song. I learned how to play it and still play it to this day. The final verse, I feel, could be written for me: “I’ve got a Gibson without a case, but I can’t get that even tanned look on my face. Ill fitting clothes and I blend in a crowd, fingers so clumsy, voice so loud.” I love that verse so much. I wish I would have written it.

I could go on for days about how great this song is, but I’m sure there is a limit I can write.

Carolyn has done a great job describing what the themes of the album are and how it’s such a great teenage angst album. For me, this was my song. Less dramatic than some other ones, but one I could and still do totally relate to.

Enjoy I’m One.

The Punk and the Godfather

The Punk and the Godfather is an interesting song because it is actually a conversation between two people. What happens is that Jimmy goes to see The Who play and he waits for them outside because he use to know one of them. At first the band member doesn’t recognize him so Jimmy shouts at him which is when the exchange happens. Jimmy goes on about how The Who would be nothing without kids like him, that they are the reason for their fame, and the Godfather responds by saying that the punk shouldn’t really be feeling to good about himself at the moment because he doesn’t have that much to be proud of.

 

The next thing that I want to talk about is who I think the Godfather actually is. It has to be member of The Who, but I’ve never read anything that says which member it is. I think that it is Pete Townshend. During the 60’s people thought of The Who as the premier Mod band, and Pete Townshend wrote all these great Mod songs, which would make him the Godfather of the Mods. I think that situations like this probably happened all the time, where some kid would yell at them after concerts, and sometimes people just snap. The last verse is sung by Pete Townshend and I think that it is the Godfathers thoughts, that he saw something in Jimmy that reminded him of himself and he has this thought.

I love how, musically, The Punk and the Godfather has a real argument vibe to it. Roger Daltrey sings all but the last verse and it still sounds like two different people, there are two distinctive voices, one young and angry, and one annoyed and mocking. I also love how The Who was never afraid to mix vocals in a song. Roger was the singer, but sometimes a different quality was needed to drive a point or idea home. In this song you need Roger’s harsh tough guy tone for the argument and Pete’s smoother style for the introspective section. It’s an interesting mix and the voices work really well with each other.

 

Cut My Hair

At the heart of Quadrophenia is Mod culture. Mods were, mostly teens, who dressed in that latest fashions, had the best haircuts, and drove scooters. Jimmy was a Mod, or at least he wanted to be a Mod. He found it very difficult to afford all the things that came along with being a part of this culture and therefore he found it hard to fit in. That is what Cut My Hair is all about. No matter how hard Jimmy tried, he never felt like he really fit in with the Mods, and that no one even seemed to notice that he was there. I think that the sentiment that is expressed in this song is a universal one, no one fits in one hundred percent of the time.

Cut My Hair, to me, is a very melancholy song. I use to relate very closely to this song because I use to care very deeply about what other people thought of me. When it comes down to it most people just want other people to like them. I use to want people to like me a lot…now I don’t care so much. I think that it is more important to do the things that you like, and wear the things that you like. I actually have a recent example, since it has been a bit colder out I have been wearing a toque outside and I like to listen to music. So, what do I do? I put my headphone over the toque. Yes, it looks weird, but I don’t care. People give me strange looks and I just give them a look back that says what, my head is cold. At some point I stopped caring and starting doing whatever I wanted, because I’d rather be happy then have a cold head.

 

Musically, or story-wise, Cut My Hair sets up some information that comes in handy later on in the story. Jimmy holds Mods in high regard, he thinks of them as better than him, and he thinks that being a Mod is what it is all about. As the song ends a news report plays talking about a riot that happened between the Mods and the Rockers in Brighton over the past weekend were they stormed and damaged the Grand Hotel. At first this information seems like just an interesting way to end a song, but if you read the liner notes you learn that Jimmy was there. The incident is revisited later on in the story.

 

Quadrophenia

I think that before I go any further I should give you my history with Quadrophenia. Three days after my 16^th birthday I saw The Who for the first time, it was amazing, and I remember my brother talking about how much he wanted to hear Sea and Sand, which they did play, but not really knowing the song myself. At this point in time I loved The Who but had never really heard Quadrophenia, I know crazy, right! A few months later my brother told me that I needed to listen to Quadrophenia and then proceeded to lend me his copy. I listened to those two discs pretty much constantly for…I don’t even remember how long. I do remember that I was reading The Return of the King for the first time and now the two are strangely linked in my mind. I listened to Quadrophenia so much because it is amazing, but I don’t think that at the time I really understood what the album would mean to me.

When I was grade 12 I was having a difficult time, all I wanted was to be done with high school and everything that went along with it. One day I went into my room after school and put on Quadrophenia, I turned it up real loud and laid down my floor. For some reason this seemed to help, all the aggression and anger that is held in the album was cathartic, and the one song that I played over and over again was the title track. There are no lyrics on Quadrophenia, the song, but somehow whenever I listen to the song it just feels like me. There is not a proper way to describe the feeling that I get when I listen to Quadrophenia, but there is just something about it that speaks to me. Whenever I get feeling sad, mad, annoyed, or crazy I will crank this song and the world will start to feel right again.

Musically Quadrophenia is amazing, it explores all four of themes that will be played throughout the rest of the album and weaves them together in a way that most composers only wish they could write. It sets up so much without revealing too much, and it makes you excited for what is to come. Every time that I hear the guitar it kills me, I close my eyes and just absorb the music. For a song that doesn’t have lyrics or vocals it expresses so much emotion, more then you could ever imagine to be possible.

The other night I had Quadrophenia, the song, cranked and I thought to myself I can’t believe that I am going to get to hear this song live! And it made me so excited for the concert. I think that my life will be complete after hearing this song live…I might be exaggerating a little bit, but it really will be such an amazing experience for me.  I can’t wait!!

 

The Real Me

At the end of I Am The Sea you hear Rodger’s voice echo the words “Can you see the real me, can you?” and then BAM the music hits you in the face. The Real Me is a song that makes you take notice; after the quiet sea sounds that dominates the opening this is quite a contrast. There is urgency and fear that makes the listener sit up and really listen to what is being said. When it comes down to it The Real Me is the ultimate angst anthem. When you are teenager this song speaks to you.

 

In The Real Me the main character, whose name is Jimmy, is trying to figure out who he really is. He goes to a shrink, his mother, and a priest and asks if they can see the real him.  I’m sure that a lot of people go through this sort of episode during their life, where they feel like they act differently with different people and that none of those facades are really them. Jimmy is trying to find his real self, but each of those people sees him differently. If you read the liner notes you will discover that Jimmy believes that he has a mental illness similar to schizophrenia called quadrophenia, which means that he has four different personalities. Throughout the album the listener can hear the four personalities come through in the themes.

My favourite part of The Real Me is the bass line. In pretty much every song ever written you get just a standard bass line that carries the song along but doesn’t really add much depth to the music, this, however, is never the case with a John Entwhistle bass line. In this song the bass line acts a sort of counter melody; it is very pronounced and has more prominence then the guitar. I often find myself singing along with the bass when listening to The Real Me and I can’t say that I actually do that with many other songs. This bass line is the perfect demonstration of one really awesome thing about The Who, they weren’t afraid to think outside the box. If they wanted to do it, and they thought it sounded good, they did it. AND the really cool thing is that they had the talent to back these ideas up. The other example of this is the horns in The Real Me which were also played by John Entwhistle. The talent was there and they incorporated the talent into the songs which makes them so much more epic!

The Real Me is such a great way to start off this album; it grabs your attention and makes you interested. The music is amazing and the lyrics are one hundred percent relatable. It will always be one of my favourite songs.

 

I Am The Sea

On November 23^rd I get the privilege to see The Who for the fourth time, yes I said fourth time, and at this concert my favourite band is going to play my favourite album from start to finish. Quadrophenia is so honestly so much more to me than just a record, it is what got me through grade 12 and University, it my number one desert island disc and it is such a part of who I am. This is why I have decided to take the days leading up to the concert and write about each song on the album. This might be a crazy undertaking, but I feel like it is going to get me even more excited about the show, although right now I’m not sure how that could be possible.

The first song on Quadrophenia isn’t actually a song but more of an introduction. The sounds of the sea are what fill the speakers with Roger Daltrey’s voice echoing the themes that are played throughout the album. I love this opening because it instills this feeling that there is more to this album than just songs; that there is a story. This is how the tone of the album is set; it introduces the themes in a way that makes you think. Once you listen to the album you are able to figure out what this opening really is and what is really means. It’s like in a movie when at the beginning they show a scene that is the ending to show that the movie is happening in flashback. That is what Quadrophenia is, it is a flashback, and the main character is remembering the events that have led him to this point.

So, here we go. I have undertaken a crazy project and I hope that you enjoy reading about it. If you haven’t heard Quadrophenia yet…what are waiting for? Kidding, I hope that this introduces to a great album and that you enjoy it!

 

This clip I believe is from the movie, the words they have a bottom of screen are from the liner notes.

 

For Alan Arkin and Madeline Kahn

Last Tuesday The Tragically Hip released their new album Now For Plan A, last weekend, being Thanksgiving, my family, being major Hip fans, discussed the album and quoted lyrics to each other all weekend. OK, I know that at this moment you are probably thinking that you can’t believe that I going to talk about the Hip again, but just trust me.

During one of our first family Hip discussions of the weekend my Dad mentioned that he thought that something had happened to the lead singer, and lyricist, Gord Downie like divorce and the rest of thought that he was wrong. Later, I can’t remember if it was that same day, we watched an interview where Gord Downie talked about how, during writing this album, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer…Dad was close, something bad had happened. Another day later we were listening to Now For Plan A and Dad stated that he thought that the song We Want to Be It could be about going through chemo, and at first I thought that it couldn’t be that obvious, but the more I listen to it the more I think that he is right.

The lyric that make me, and my Dad, think about chemo is simply the word drip being repeated in between lines. In my mind I imagine that these lyrics are the thoughts that are/were going through his head as he sat with his wife watching the chemo drip into her arm. Even the sound/tone of the music feels like this countering of mellow and urgency that I think fits the lyrics perfectly. I find it interesting to hear the thoughts of the person who is supporting the patient; it is one that is very rarely told.

My favourite part is the chorus which repeats “We don’t want to do it, we want to be it”. This line comes from a story that Alan Arkin told about the first time he worked with Madeline Kahn. Arkin asked Kahn what made her want to be an actor and she told him that she wanted to be the music, Arkin thought about it and realized that she was right; we don’t want to do it, we want to be it. I really think that that phrase is so powerful, not just in terms of this song, but for the way that you should live your life.

The more I listen to and think about We Want to Be It the more amazing I think it is. There are so many emotions expressed in this song and the each listen holds something a bit different from the last. Listen, take in the lyrics, feel the emotion behind the vocals, and enjoy.

 

P.S. I couldn't find the album version on youTube, but this live version is pretty good. If you can get your hands of the studio version you won't be sorry.

 

Remember When We Broke Up...The First Time!

I am struggling with what song to write about this week. Every other week there has been one song that has been stuck in my head and I have been loving, but this week there is nothing. I haven’t really listened to a lot of music, and there hasn’t been a song that has inspired me to write about it at all. I guess that I should have known that this would happen at some point, but I hoped that with the amount of music that I have on iPod it wouldn’t have to happen at all!

At the moment, I am sitting at work, I know I shouldn’t be writing a blog at work but it’s slow and I am trying very hard to stay awake, and I am listening to CHUM FM. This really makes it difficult to pick a good song to write about because all I hear are the pop songs that I just don’t like. Most of the time I am able to allow the music fade into the background and ignore it, but there are times when it drives me crazy. One of the “this station is driving me crazy” moments happened frequently about a month ago. This was when CHUM would play Someone That I Use to Know, We Are Young, You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful, And I’m Glad You Came about three times each every day. Every time one of those songs came on the radio all I wanted to do was bang my head against the wall. It drives me crazy how often CHUM, and other stations I’m sure, play the same songs. I really would like some variation, especially since I listen to the station every day between 8-4.  

I will admit the music isn’t all bad all the time, sometimes they play an older song, like the Michael Jackson song that is playing right now, or a song that is a guilty pleasure. As strange as this might sound I really enjoy it when they play Taylor Swift on the radio. I have a sort of soft spot for Taylor’s music and have really been loving her new song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, which is just a lot of fun! Taylor Swift seems to have two types of songs one being sentimental songs that make you go “awww”, and two: something awesome and fun that makes you go “YHEA!” or maybe that is just me.

Anyway, I think that for this week I will leave you with Taylor Swift’s We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The video is actually pretty fun, it was shot in one take and Taylor changes outfit about 6 times which amazes me, and if costume changes aren’t your thing then the woodland animal band should amuse you.

 

The Symbol For And (&)

“And sometimes in the staff room I catch your eye with “why’d it have to end?” But I know from how you worry at your wedding band that I’m just your little “&.” At the last conjunction, after every other “and,” I was just your little “&.””

When it comes to lyricists John K. Samson is by far one of the best. There are times when I am listening to his songs and I start to think about the words that he is singing and am blow away. JKS, as my family like to refer to him as, writes about life. Now, I know what you are thinking, isn’t that what everyone writes about? Yes, but JKS can write about simple everyday things and make them sound heartbreaking, and he is able to write about more complex issues in such a way that make you understand. The words that he uses paint beautiful pictures about life that I’ve never heard from any other artist, he truly is unique.

In the end it is hard to explain how amazing a John K. Samson’s lyrics are without sitting everyone of down to listen to some of his songs, or to read is book titled Lyrics and Poems. Alright, this isn’t lyrics of the week so let’s talk about the music. In the song that I have chosen for this week’s offering, The Last And, JKS displays his ability to write beautiful music to display the words that he has penned.  The Last And projects the feeling of sadness that the lyrics are trying to convey. I love the way that JKS is able to weave the two elements in such a way that create a perfect harmonious story.

I think that The Last And is probably one of the best songs to demonstrate what I am trying to say about John K. Samson’s writing. It is one of my favourite songs off of his solo album and some of all-time favourite lyrics. If you haven’t even listened to JKS number one, you should, and number two, check out either his solo album, Provincial, or any of the albums that he has done with his band The Weakerthans.

 

P.S. I don't get the cups of coffee/tea in the video either it was just what I could find.

 

Good Morning Bird, Good Nightingale

On Sunday night I was on a bus driving back to the city from a weekend up in Parry Sound and as I was heading into the city, the lights beginning to surround me, Caught a Long Wind by Feist came on my iPod. It sort of caught me off guard just how good the sound of the song expressed how I always feel when I am on the bus late at night. It was such great moment; I love it when music surprises me.

Caught a Long Wind has a sort of ethereal quality to it; the way starts quietly with a little hum and acoustic guitar. The guitar plays really nicely with a piano, both moving forward with a steady pace. The instrumentation in this song it so great, there are very few instruments, used in a very specific way, that create such an interesting soundscape. I have always loved Feist’s voice, although I do wish that she would enunciate better, and this song really showcases what she can do vocally. The Lyrics are also pretty cool. The first thing that I ever really noticed about this song, lyrically, was when she sang “Little Chick-a-Dee”. It caught my attention, and then I noticed that she used more birds in the lyrics and I ended up loving it.

Metals is such a great album and I could have picked any number of songs to write about, and I probably will write about them in the future, but I really love Caught a Long Wind. I have been a kind of fan of Feist for a while now but Metals is the album that really solidified my love of her, if you haven’t heard it yet please buy it, you’ll love it!

Check out Caught a Long Wind by Feist of off Metals.

 

I've Been Meaning to Call You, Then I Do

“Phone rings once

Phone rings twice

Phone rings three times”

Once, years ago, I had a stroke of genius concerning the ringtone on my cell phone. I had just got a phone that came with a program that allowed me to edit a song so that I could have a certain part, instead of just the beginning, play whenever I received a phone call. My brilliant idea was to use the four lines that are written just above this paragraph, which are from the song In View by The Tragically Hip. Yesterday, I heard this song on the radio and immediately began to wonder if I would be able to put the ringtone from years ago on to my new Blackberry. The experiment was a success and I now get to hear Phone rings once…every time my phone rings.

When World Container came out back in 2006 I remember that everyone thought that it sounded so different from what The Tragically Hip usually offers, but mostly I remember loving In View most of all. The song starts out with something that sounds like a synthesizer or a strange setting on a keyboard, which sets the tone. The music is great, it makes me want to dance, and the melody gets stuck in my head very easily. The lyrics are probably my favourite part and at first you think that it is just about a guy who keeps forgetting to call a girl back, but after you listen to it a bit more you hear that it is not just about meaning to call someone but also about the relationship between the caller and the person being called.

The music video for In View is also pretty great. It was filmed in China and follows Gord Downie through the day. It gets really funny when Gord is having lunch and snatches a cell phone off the table next to him and then is chased through the street of Shanghai. I can’t help but smile every time I hear In View, it is such a happy, fun song, and if you want to get me out of a bad mood just turn it on and turn it up! I firmly believe that it is one of those songs that once you hear it you’ll love it, even if you not the biggest Hip fan!

Check out In View by The Tragically Hip off the album World Container.

 

I Left My Home and Started to Roam

“I’m getting use to being alone

I’m getting use to it out on my own

For a long while I thought I would break

But now I know that it just takes a while” 

There are times when the minimalistic approach is a really powerful tool for songwriting, and Heartless Bastards have perfected this in their song Low Low Low. In Low Low Low there are two acoustic guitars, minimal drumming, and vocals and yet this is one of the most emotionally driven songs I have ever heard. I love the simplicity of the music and how it showcases the vocals. It is the vocals that make this song special to me; I love the way the singer sings in a lower range and doesn’t need to embellish her notes to make the song sound emotional. I also love that the song begins quiet, sort of mellow, and then slowly grows louder and more expressive. It makes the song more realistic and as though someone is actually thinking or saying these words to someone.

I love the lyrics of Low Low Low the most. The lyrics really hit home for me, and sometimes I feel like this song was written about some of the experiences that I have had in my life. I think that is the way to tell that it is a really great song; you are able to relate to the song on a realistic level. I think that the word choices are well done; they are simple everyday language that makes sense. The problems and conclusions that are described in the song are done so in a way that make you feel optimistic at the end of the song. Things haven’t been the greatest, but things will get better.

Low Low Low is one of those songs that I could listen to over and over again and never get sick of, in fact I have just listened to it about ten times right now. I just love it when a songwriter is bang on with the subject that they are writing about. This song was somewhat of a surprise to me, after listening to it a few times it just hit me over the head one day and made me love it. I love it when a song does that; makes you realize how amazing it is and was all along.

Check out Low Low Low by Heartless Bastards from their album Arrow.

La La La

If you have ever watched the Gilmore Girls then you have heard some of Sam Phillips music. All of the cues between scenes were done by Sam Phillips and even some of her full length songs make appearances at times. Being a long time super fan of the Gilmore Girls I always loved the music that was used in the show; this is how I first discovered Sam Phillips, from the credits. It didn’t take long for me to look up Sam and her music; I loved it right away and downloaded everything that I could.

Recently I have been obsessed with Sam Phillips album The Indescribable Wow which I think is the most Gilmore Girl sound out of all her albums. The song that I haven’t been able to get out of my head this week is I don’t Want to Fall in Love. This song is so great; it is peppy and mellow at the same time with a different sort of instrumentation. I love Sam Phillips voice it is so unique, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone who sounds like her.

Sam Phillips is one of those underrated artists that I believe that everyone should love. Her songs are different and amazing. Whenever I hear Sam I can’t help but to think of the Gilmore Girls and that always puts a huge smile on my face.

Check out I Don’t Want to Fall in Love by Sam Phillips off of The Indescribable Wow

I'll Send This Message to You

Hear me calling

On Fridays when I am leaving work I like to put something on that will get me pumped for the weekend. Today a song immediately popped into my head and I had to put it on, from that moment until I got home I had some pretty heavy rock blasting into my ears. It made me excited to have some time to myself to do whatever I wanted, and it put me a great mood.

The song was This is Yr Captain by C’Mon, and this is a pretty awesome song. It has this guitar riff that makes you want to jump around and head bang and I definitely did some head bobbing on the streetcar. The guitar is so distorted and hard hitting that when I hear it I want to run or something. I’m not really explaining this very well, but there is a reason that people play these sorts of songs before they play sports. I think that the thing that I love the most is that it is catchy without having a lyrical hook. There are a lot of bands/artists that rely on the lyrics and melody to bring people in, but This is Yr Captain is so guitar driven that you don’t need that same sort of hook to make people interested.

I suppose that This is Yr Captain is one of those songs that you have to hear to understand, and not everyone will like it I’m sure, but give it try it might surprise you. And if you get pumped up for whatever event is happening next then all the better!

Check out This is Yr Captain by C’Mon off of In the Heat of the Moment

Bring the Beat in

Baby it’s you

You’re the one I love

You’re the one I need

You’re the only one I see

I feel like I didn’t listen to a lot of music today, or maybe nothing really grabbed hold of me today, so I put off written the song of day until after 9:00pm. Well, I decided to just get my iPod and put on the first thing that made me smile. It’s Beyonce. I have a soft spot for Beyonce and I put on Love On Top and it made me feel happy. Sometimes I think that when it comes to music you can’t always get caught up in what is good and what is not and just go with your gut and listen to what ever makes you feel good. This is how I feel about Beyonce. She is crazy, and she isn’t what I usually listen to, but I love her.

Beyonce has a really great voice, and, although I hate to admit this, I have loved her since Destiny’s Child. Beyonce is so confident, and I find that really inspiring. She knows what she wants and she gets it. She doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do, and because she is fiercely independent she create some really unique music. Love on Top is the song that I put on because it is so danceable and cool. I love the way that Beyonce uses her voice and the crazy amount of key changes is also really awesome!

So here’s to guilty pleasures that aren’t really something to feel guilty about. I saw like what you like and be proud. Right now I think I am going to dance around my apartment to some Beyonce.

Check out Love On Top by Beyonce off of 4

Peanut Butter Pulitzer Prize

I’m highly suspicious of you.

As I left work today I put on my headphones and pressed play, but sound was only coming out of one side. After playing with the cord for a while I determined that my headphones had decided to stop working. Annoyed I made a detour to pick up some new headphones because I can’t live without headphones. Then on my way home the traffic on King Street took forever, it took me 45 minutes to get home when it should have taken 20 minutes. By the time I got home I was grumpy puddle, a puddle because I was sweating so much from being crammed on a hot streetcar for way to long, but then a song can on my iPod that made me smile.

Highly Suspicious by My Morning Jacket is a song that you can’t help but like. It is so ridiculous and so awesome at the same time. I can’t understand a word that Jim James is singing, and actually believe that he is saying peanut butter Pulitzer Prize through the song, but it’s the feel of the song that just grabs me. Highly Suspicious is so much fun, so silly, and at the same time such a hard hitting rock song that it blows me away every time I listen to it. The heavy guitars combined with Jim James’s crazy falsetto creates one crazy song, but I love every second of it.

The moral of this story, I guess, is that if you are grumpy make sure that you put on a song that is awesome and makes you smile. I can tell you that it works, or at least it worked for me today.

Check out Highly Suspicious By My Morning Jacket off of Evil Urges

This Summer

We won’t regret what we cannot know

They can rip the roof right off of this house

They can cancel all our shows

Since today is probably the hottest day ever I thought that today’s song of day needed to be summer themed. Superchunk has a lot of really great summer sounding songs, but I can’t get their latest release, This Summer, out my head. This is a song to blast during those sticky nights when you are happy to be warm, because we all know that cold weather will be here before we know it.

This Summer honestly sounds like summer; the sun high in the sky and a sandy beach. I think that the thing I love the most is the drumming. There is a very distinct surf rock beat which really helps to create the feeling of summer. The distorted guitars have an almost sunny feeling, and Laura Balance’s bass weave is wonderfully around the guitars adding depth to the song. Of course the hand claps that are heard throughout the entire song really help to set the tone, a summer tone.

Superchunk is pop rock at it very best and This Summer showcases their sound really well. I don’t know how they get the summer sound so perfect, but I love it! Every time I listen to This Summer I can’t help, but grove along with the beat.

Check out This Summer by Superchunk off of This Summer B/W Cruel Summer