Hiatus

For the next 5 weeks I'll be away in Sri Lanka with no Internet - but lots of posts to come when I return!

Woody Guthrie, Ani DiFranco & Nirvana: "Do Re Mi"

One of the most influential factors of music is its versatility.  There will always be the artist’s interpretation and the listener’s re-interpretation or miss-interpretation. This can be in the context of other artists doing a cover of their own personal, creative interpretation or a listener using a song to get through a rough time by relating their personal experiences to the lyrics.  The beauty of this is that it doesn’t matter; someone can be listening to a song about drug addition and use it to get through a break-up.  It’s about the feeling the melody gives you or the relatability of the lyrics.

For anyone who hasn’t heard “Do Re Mi” by Woody Guthrie, just think “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck.  It’s a dustbowl fuelled folk and country classic.  The first cover of it that I heard was also a folk cover, by Ani Difranco, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and Bo Ramsey.  Growing up, my dad promoted a lot of Ani Difranco tours so I spent a lot of time watching her perform live and I saw a lot of different hair colors!  I’ve only heard this song performed live, and it’s not that it’s bad… it just doesn’t live up to the original.  The imperative emotion is just not there.  I think if I had never heard Woodie Guthrie sing this song, I would like this version a lot more... but therein lies the problem with doing a cover. Even as a folk artist, it’s a pretty ballsy move to cover a classic like this!  It doesn’t live up.

The reason this other cover is so notable is that it was the last song that Kurt Cobain recorded before his suicide.  Actually, all that was recorded was a solo acoustic demo.  I think that a lot of people like to over interpret the meaning of these lyrics when Cobain sings them, hoping to find some hidden further understanding of his suicide.  The problem with that is simple: he didn’t write them.

Regardless, I was really surprised by how much I like this cover.  This song is not meant to be a rock song yet, in my opinion, Nirvana successfully make it one.  It’s by no means better than Guthrie’s, but it certainly stands its own.  When I hear a cover of a well-known song I always unintentionally compare the two (as I think most people do).  It's impossible not to.  That being said, I found that I didn’t do that the first time I heard this song!  I think that, along with the fact that people don’t interpret this song as a cover (although perhaps that’s simply musical ignorance!), demonstrates how strong of a cover this is.  Even though it’s an acoustic cover, like the original, the guitar has a much more raw, harsh sound.  The cover has a naturally haunting tone to it, which is hugely amplified due to the eeriness of it being Cobain’s final recording.

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Kings of Leon New Single: "Supersoaker"

Today, the new Kings of Leon single was released.  They have always had a unique following: one half only listens to their first 3 albums and scoffs at the other half, the mainstream half, who started listening to them after hearing “Your Sex is on Fire” on Radio 1.  With “Supersoaker”, it seems like they’ve tried to appeal to both of these opposing sides.  It’s catchy with big guitar hooks and pounding drums and retains Caleb’s signature, partially incomprehensible, scream.  It’s certainly nothing new for the band, in fact they definitely seem to be leaning more towards their roots than their most recent work.  This song has their original raw sound and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t receive high recognition – Kings of Leon are back!

Their 6^th album, Mechanical Bull, is to be released on September 24, 2013.

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Now Playing: "Bruises", The Magic Gang

Usually when I write about a band, I know everything there is to know about them.  Seriously, ask me any question about Gang of Four or She & Him! For The Magic Gang, I know nothing.  They're an unsigned band based in London... and that about sums up my knowledge.  I couldn't even tell you what they look like!  But when they produce a single like "Bruises" at this stage in their career, they're definitely a band you want to keep an eye on.

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Bloglovin!

I finally feel like I've entered the blogosphere (does anyone actually say that?) and have made a Bloglovin account!  Be sure to follow my blog, here!  All other social media is linked below:

Lights // "Siberia" (Acoustic Version)

I’ve been a fan of Lights since 2008, when I first heard “Drive My Soul” and “February Air”.   There are some songs that you hear in a fairly specific context (i.e. while on vacation somewhere rather than a long tube journey) and they will always remind you of that situation regardless of any contextual relationship.  The first time I heard those two songs was while I was zoning out with my headphones on a boat from Cape Cod to Nantucket and so they both take me back to that exact situation.  Since then I’ve followed her career and loved her slower songs like “Drive My Soul” much more than her electropop songs like “Savior”.   When I first heard the title song of her album “Siberia” I wasn’t overly excited about it. However, when my friend sent me the acoustic version of the song it was as though the song just clicked in my mind.  This is clearly how the song is meant to be performed!  I’ve been listening to this version on repeat for about two months, so I figured I should share it!

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Introduction to She & Him

My love for She & Him is no secret.  I’ve adored Zooey Deschanel since Elf and M. Ward since Monsters of Folk.  Deschanel’s voice reminds me of Nancy Sinatra. Although their music is nothing alike, the brilliant and seemingly effortless creativity of M. Ward’s arrangements is on par with Matt Johnson of The The!   In 2009, I watched them perform on TV with Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis and Jakob Dylan and realized that they were not just talented but likeable, too.  As an actress, Deschanel is good but not so special that she couldn’t be replaced.  However, the combination of her vocals with M. Ward’s creative genius is perfect.

As I mentioned in my Summer 2013 Playlist, Volume One was the only album in my car in America for 4 summers straight and therefore I’m pretty sure I could recite the entire album by heart!  It’s a slow-paced mixture of 50s folk and 60s pop, creating an altogether polished sound, but leaving room to musically evolve and experiment.  The pop influence that Deschanel adds is demonstrated in the carefree melodies and the (bordering on cheesy) lyrics.  The standout tracks here are “Change is Hard”, “I Was Made For You” and “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today”.

Volume Two evolved their sound without losing any of what made them special in Volume One.  Each song remains deceptively simple, yet catchy.  Now, I think you can make of this what you will.  Some critics would argue that the album is a miss due to She & Him’s inability to dramatically evolve or take musical risks, such as branching out into a different genre.  However, I think that the clear boost of confidence in Deschanel’s voice after their debut albums success and the effect it has results in a huge evolution in sound.   Moreover, that’s not really what She & Him seems to be about.  They aren’t trying to break musical boundaries or change music, as we know it.  They’re two friends who like to play music together and happen to sound really great doing it.

But I digress.  The album begins with the heart-breakingly beautiful “Thieves”, which is the best track on the album.  I won’t get too analytical but this song seems to be about a difficult relationship, with the “thieves” being the thoughts and feelings the narrator is having that are pushing them apart.  This is followed by “In the Sun”, which seems to discuss a lull in a relationship that’s becoming more than a lull.  She makes her affection for the person clear by repeating "My baby, My Darling", but keeps her feels of wanting to leave – or “get the slip” – to herself.  The other standout tracks here are the cover of NRBQ’s “Ridin’ in my Car”, the childish but endearing “Lingering Still” and “I’m Gonna Make It Better”.

In early may of this year, Volume Three was released.  It was actually released the day of my Statistics exam, rendering it the perfect reward after nearly a month of revision being finished!  For me, with most of the “catchy” Top 40 songs today, after a few listens I can’t bear to hear the chorus again.   This album features a huge selection of catchy songs that still haven’t reached that point of unbearability (if that makes any sense!).  “Never Wanted Your Love” is the obvious single here.  This, and “I’ve Got Your Number Son” demonstrate Deschanel’s songwriting at its finest.  I’ve said this before, but I really love when bands combine deadpan depressing or heart-broken lyrics with deceivingly upbeat melodies.  With Volume Two’s release in 2010, this is the first original album that Deschanel has released since her divorce in 2011.  If you keep that in mind while listening to the album, you’ll definitely make the connection.

 

Having lived in London for nearly 6 years now, any song about the city hits a cord with me.  “London” features purely Zooey and a piano.  If all the ballads on the album had been more like this, this album would have been a 10 out of 10 for me.  Listen to “Snow Queen” before listening to “London” and you’ll see how vast the difference is! 

Something that I’ve always really liked about She & Him is the anonymity of their moniker.  Prior to their formation, both Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward were already established public figures.  Therefore, they could have easily garnered a lot of public attention immediately had they called themselves some play on their names.  Rather, they chose to use literally the most generic name possible.  This should give you a good idea of the type of music you’re in for - if you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 4 years and still haven’t heard She & Him!

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