Friday Special: So Excited - B.B King

So Excited - B.B King - Completely Well

This song really does make me So Excited. I feel bad whenever I write short reviews like these, but I really cant even begin to describe everything that I love about this song, probably because I love everything about it. From its key's to drums to B.B. King himself this is a truly amazing song.

Song: Here

Song of the Week: Don't Let It Bring You Down

Dont Let it Bring you Down - Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

The lyrics for this are simply amazing. Neil Young's voice is not for everyone, but this was the absolute standout for me on an album of amazing songs (Southern Man, Etc...). For some reason I find the phrase "Dont let it bring you down, It's only castles burning, Just find someone who's turning, And you will come around" oddly reassuring and sad. For me it deals with loss of material items and things, and that the relationships we have with people, who have also lost like you have, is what will ultimately turn us around and make us alright. Anyway, I've included all the lyrics, they are really potent! A phrase that always gets stuck in my head is the "Blind man running through the light of the night, With an answer in his hand, Come on down to the river of sight, And you can really understand" it's just all one big contradiction but I still love it and find it very powerful.

Song Here

Lyrics Below
---------------
Old man lying by the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by,
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load
And the building scrape the sky,
Cold wind ripping down the allay at dawn
And the morning paper flies,
Dead man lying by the side of the road
With the daylight in his eyes.

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around.

Blind man running through the light of the night
With an answer in his hand,
Come on down to the river of sight
And you can really understand,
Red lights flashing through the window in the rain,
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying in a gutter in the lane,
If you're walking home alone.

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning,
Just find someone who's turning
And you will come around.

Monday Night Special: Return Trip

Return Trip - Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics

Well it's been a while since I reviewed an Electric Wizard track (let alone listen to one) and Return Trip really brought me back to what I first loved about them. They really should have been featured in the March Madness piece and it's a shame I didn't write anything about them because they are without a doubt one of the most maddening bands I've ever heard. While they're not exactly doing much new with the content of the genre (satanist imagery and slow dark jams about drug use have been around for a while) they do something special with where they take the sound. This weekend I was listening to some old Black Sabbath song's and their Electric Funeral stuck out to me as the forerunner to Electric Wizards earlier stuff. The distortion, the slowness and repetitiveness of the entire melody, except of course for the jazzy fun tempo change at 2:17. Thats the true "innovation" (if you could call it that, devolution might be more appropriate) of Electric Wizard. They do away with most concepts of lyrics, melody, and tempo change, and opt instead to sink the listener into a black pit of fuzz and distortion with an occasional rising guitar solo eventually falling back into the muck. I wouldn't say Return Trip is a song for people with long attention spans, it's more for people with no attention spans that just like to sink back and fall in. Enjoy.

Midnight Special: Six Pack

Six Pack - Black Flag - Damaged

A good friend of mine first showed me Black Flag's album Damaged and this was the first song off that album to stick with me, most likely because of its opening bass line. To me Henry Rollins seems like an unnecessarily angry man, and a really poor comedian (Right here. Being angry and loud doesn't make you funny, it makes you an asshole.) but I do like some of his aggression and delivery. All in all well worth the two and half minutes.


Song: Here

Song of the Week: You Know Your Right

You Know Your Right - Nirvana - Nirvana

Looks like part of my musical brain is still stuck in the nineties. Kyuss, Mudhoney, Earth, The Melvins, and now Nirvana by far and away the most well known of the group. Much like all the aforementioned bands it's absolutely brimming with attitude, but also with changing dynamics. Going from that soft eerie bass oriented sound with weird guitar over to for the verse, to a full on angry scratchy distorted riff for the chorus only reinforces the moody and unbalanced tone of the song. As an aside, I really like Dave Grohl on the drums.

Song: Here

Friday Special: Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue - George Harrison - All Things Must End (Apple Jam Disc)


An 11 minute "Jam" recording with Eric Clapton, Out of the Blue doesn't bother with slow introductions it just jumps right in with thumping steady driving drums, powerful saxophone and of course the bluesy duo of Eric Clapton and George Harrison. I find it particularly fun when a long song like this one manages to not just be the individual players showing off, but also building off of each other to create different melodic lines, it makes the song much easier to listen to the whole way through.

Song of the Week: The Good Times Are Killing Me

The Good Times Are Killing Me - Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News

After the March Madness posts thought it might be a nice idea to detox a little bit with good kind Modest Mouse. For me, this is the song that most represents the albums title, its a cheery simple summer song that is actually sad, and the news that is alluded to as good in the title is only good if you happen to love bad news. Its still good news, just as the times are still good, but you just have to love bad news, and the good times aren't actually good, they end up killing you. Even with this depressing message I still think its just a really happy song, mostly because it has a reflective feel to me. Almost as if hes saying, the good times are killing me, but I'll be alright. Thoughts aside about meaning, I love the singer and the album as a whole is one of my favorites.


Song: Here

Song of the Week: Witness the Fitness

Witness - Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me

I usually like to go with an albums more unknown song when I know I love an album pretty thoroughly, but Witness is just too good to pass up. The whole song is really smooth with cool electronic fills working alongside a catchy chorus. It has stumbling almost drunk kind of fun quality to it (one with less babbling). Enjoy.


Song Here