Heartthrob

So, this week I really wanted to pick my favourite song of off the New Tegan and Sara album Heartthrob but I am having a really difficult time choosing which one is my favourite. I have been a fan of Tegan and Sara for a long time now, I remember seeing the music video for Living Room on Much Music when I was in High School, and I was so excited to hear that they were releasing a new album. My first listen of Heartthrob I wasn’t really sure what I thought about it. This album is quiet a departure from what Tegan and Sara have done previously that I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but after a few more listens and seeing the interview on Q I am so sold on this album! I love it! I think it is so great! I can’t choose which song is my favourite because they are all so awesome.  I really don’t think that I can express just how much I love this album.

While Heartthrob may be a departure for Tegan Sara at the same time it is so them. Tegan and Sara have always been very unique and that is exactly what has carried on into this album. Yes, this album is more poppy and uses synthesizers, but in no way are Tegan and Sara selling out! Just the opposite, it seems like a natural progress for their music. In the Q interview they flat out said that it was contrived and that is what I love about them! The music change but they didn’t make excuses or say that it just happened; it was thought out and planned!

What I love the most is that it still sounds like Tegan and Sara. The vocal, melody and harmony are undeniable their style. The music even sounds like them but more pop infused, and not at all like the music you will find on Much Music these days! Tegan and Sara are still as unique as they ever were, but they have opened themselves up to a broader audience. I have to say that the more that they have taken feels completely natural to me, and I am so glad that they did it.

The first song that I heard of off Heartthrob was, of course, the single Closer. I like it right away, I thought that it was different but interesting and couldn’t wait to hear what the rest of the album would be like. Yes, at first I wasn’t sure about the rest of Heartthrob, but now I love it. The lyrics are amazing, they are so honest. Tegan and Sara have really put their hearts on their sleeves for this album and every word hits home with me. I never thought that I would ever listen to an album that would make me want to dance and cry at the same time, but here it is and I want to do just that! I can’t say enough about the lyrics they are that good, and it is consistent in every song! Please just take the time to really listen to the words.

Since I started to write this blog I have listened through Heartthrob and I can say that I think that my favourite song is a tie between I Was a Fool and How Come You Don’t Want Me. Both of these songs are heartbreaking and beautifully written. I strongly urge you to at least check on these two songs and them purchase the rest of the album.

 

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!

 

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.

 

 

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 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

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

Hey, That's A Morning Moon

“The sun is a light blub

And the moon is a mirror

There are times you can see both the blub and the mirror

And that’s a morning moon”

I always listen to music on my way to work, actually I just always listen to music, and this morning I put on the Tragically Hip album We Are The Same. The first track is Morning Moon; I have always loved this song, but it never spoke to me before in the way that did while walking to the streetcar at 7:15am.

Morning Moon reminds me of the morning, I can almost picture Gord Downie sitting out at the crack of dawn trying to make sense of life looking at the sun rise on one side and the moon on the other. Morning can be such a peaceful time of day, and it is always cool to see both the sun and moon in the sky. This is what popped into my mind this morning on the way to the streetcar; I often think about things, sometimes random things, on the way to work. Sometimes I get some really good thinking in, and other times I just get my crazy thinking out of the way.

I love how Morning Moon is so mellow; it is the perfect early morning song. The music sounds like morning too, the day is new and you never know what is going to happen. Gord Downie’s vocals are also so great! I love it when Gordie sings softly; you can really hear the tone and emotion in his voice. In this song Gordie almost sounds like he is contemplating out loud which really helps to paint the picture of him watching the sunrise.

Check out Morning Moon by The Tragically Hip off We Are The Same