Oh simple thing where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
As G said the other day, and as I eluded to before, Keane is kind of like a "chameleon". They kind of sound like a whole bunch of other bands. A whole bunch of really great bands at that! I barely knew of them earlier this year, but now they have grown on me and I have now listened to all three of their albums countless times. I also made "Under the Iron Sea" one of my "Must Own Albums".
This album, "Under the Iron Sea" has really stuck out to me as exceptional. I listened to is obsessively until I tired of it, then removed it from my car, only to crave it again this month. I really connect with many of the songs personally. The existential themes of self doubt in many of the songs hit home, like they were written for me. e.g. from "Is It Any Wonder?"…
Sometimes
It's hard to know where I stand
It's hard to know where I am
Well maybe it's a puzzle I don't understand
But sometimes
I get the feeling that I'm
Stranded in the wrong time
Where love is just a lyric in a children's rhyme, a soundbite
Is it any wonder that I'm tired
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right
Keane is totally in my head. I am constantly questioning my actions, thoughts, & beliefs and the uncertainty is indeed tiring. I have to force myself to push the "Publish" button on these blog posts and not look back or else I would question my every word and take me all day to write anything at all. I'd swear that the older I get the less I feel like I really know and am certain of. At least it is comforting others feel the same way, and have put it into song!
Here are my 6 favorites from the album, with "Is It Any Wonder?" being my favorite… er… maybe "Leaving So Soon?". I can't decide. Both are so good!
Work has made me super late in all my plans for the day. It is 5 PM, and I'm doing things I thought I'd would've started at 11 AM. Things like this post…
Although I have been mostly careful not to post songs by the same artists over and over, I kind of have two playlists in my life. One is my song of the day and bonus song that I've been posted as matches what is stuck in my head or fills my fancy at the time. The other are the "new to me" songs that I play over and over. There always seems to be one. These new to me songs give me chills (in a good way), but only for so long. Then it usually isn't long until another song takes its place.
I would post them all as "my song of the day", but my fear is it would make it quite dull, to hear about the same artists over and over for a week and then never again for months. I might just have to create a new category or something?
For today though I am going to cave to my desires, and post the song I am obsessing over by Keane even though I have recently posted a song by Keane. I think it might be the fun drum part that lures me, but I do like to belt out the lyrics in the car. (Yes I sing in the car, doesn't everybody?)
PS: The album cover for Keane's – "Under the Iron Sea" (2006) is surprisingly similar to The Sounds' – "Crossing the Rubicon" (2009) cover, don't you think? Hmmm. (Listen to "The Sounds" here!)
As G pointed out last week, some of Keane sounds like Travis. Yet I seem to recall reading an article 10 years ago when their first album came out that said something like "Travis is the most contrived band you're gong to love." I suppose that might make Keane, doubly contrived, but from my point of view I don't care. I don't get caught up with whether a band or artist is contrived or manufactured. I have certain preferences sure (e.g. no auto-tune please), but I hold each song on its own and if there is something I like about it, then I embrace it.
Who influenced who is always interesting (e.g. I'm sure Keane should be listing Travis, and perhaps Coldplay, Muse, and Geneva while they are at it), but so what if they are not the most original band. If they make songs that can stand up on their own, then I will listen to them! And really Travis came before most of the bands they sound like so I think THEY are the influence.
By the way, I'm looking at the genres that Travis, Keane, Coldplay and Geneva are in, and there should definitely be some heavy overlap, but there isn't. I think I discovered the need for a new genre. I would name it "Bob" (like Canada's "Northwest Territories" could've been named… yes I am serious… click the link!), but "Bob" isn't very descriptive. It is a softer kind of rock, but definitely not to be confused with "Soft Rock". They all seem to come from England (or at least most) and it is similar to Britpop, but not quite the same, so I will dub it "Brit Soft Pop"… oh crap someone already used it. Oh well. Good enough!
A couple months ago my sister gave me this album and I listened a few times, unimpressed. But today this song hit me over the head. A few others on the album "Hopes and Fears" have caught my attention too.
I have noticed before that some albums need to sink in for me before I realize their value. I'm sure others have had the same experience. As I recall from my music theory classes in college, one aspect of what we consider good music is familiarity, and thus simply listening to the same song a few times may make it more endearing and likable in the future. I wonder if I should stop what I am doing to buy their two newer albums, "Under the Iron Sea" and "Perfect Symmetry", or not. I think I'm going to give "Hopes and Fears" a few more listens first and then decide. They do remind me of Geneva and perhaps Muse, so it is promising.