Posts Tagged ‘Post-Grunge’
Veruca Salt – "Seether" (1994)
2010/09/17
G convinced me to make the move and put all our audio CDs into slip cases, ditching the bulky jewel cases. The collection was literally taking up an entire wall, and had become "a problem", even despite the fact I buy very few CDs these day. (Straight to MP3 baby!) I grabbed a random stack of the condensed disks resulting in the "Ru" and "Sa" section (Veruca Salt included of course) to listen in car, which lacks MP3 powers because car makers didn't wise up until very recently.
This song takes me back to simpler times, cruising around after school in mom's maroon Pontiac 6000 station wagon, switching the stereo between our mix tapes and the radio. Visiting a park, a store, or the middle of nowhere just for kicks and for lack of anything better to do. Simpler times, not that long ago and yet half a lifetime away.
Song Recommendations
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Click here for more info on Veruca Salt – American Thighs – "Seether".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Veruca Salt - American Thighs
Three Days Grace – "Never Too Late" (2006)
2010/07/13
The world we knew won't come back
The time we've lost can't get back
The life we had won't be ours again
…but…
Maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late
It's never too late
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Click here for more info on Three Days Grace – One-X – "Never Too Late".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Three Days Grace - One-X
Sonic Youth – "Sunday" (1998)
2010/01/03
Today is the last day of "vacation". My next day off is possibly not until May. Ouch. At least it is Sunday though.
Sunday comes alone again
a perfect day for a quiet friend
…
i guess its true its never too late
still i don’t know what to do today
…
sunday comes and sunday goes
sunday always seems to move so slow
…
to you – lonely sunday friend
with you – sunday never ends
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Click here for more info on Sonic Youth – A Thousand Leaves – "Sunday".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves
Spacehog – "In The Meantime" (1995)
2009/12/01I cannot say I know any other Spacehog songs. You might assume they are not nearly so good, but I know better than to assume. It seems to me most bands and artists that have "made it" are one hit wonders. Perhaps two hits if they are lucky. They have a spurt of success thanks to the one song, and the album the one song is on, and then they struggle to repeat that success. Spacehog is no exception.
What separates them from the bands and artists that pump out hit after hit, album after album, is still a bit of a mystery to me. My hypothesis is:
1. You need a unique enough sound to not be lumped in with a well developed genre. Covering the Beatles isn't going to help you unless you sound nothing like the Beatles at this point. You don't want to be TOO unique though or you may not be considered music or lumped in with those "Experimental Music" freaks (although even they have their successes).
2. You need good or unique looks. Remember how video killed the radio star? Yeah. If you are not "pretty" then a unique wardrobe is probably your best friend. A visual image for your fans to latch on to is probably a must though.
1 & 2 will help for the first hit, but then…
3. You need to be able to reproduce your sound enough for it to be a sound associated with you, from song to song, and yet not have every song sound exactly the same (although that can work too for certain bands, The Strokes, I'm looking at you… with love that is). Each song in your repertoire needs to compliment your overall package.
…and yet I feel like my hypothesis must be missing a lot. Other factors like your stage performance, the recording quality, your publicist and label, blah blah blah, all factor in, I'm sure. There is also that magic of the right time, right place too. I am not actually in the music industry, so I probably should not hypothesize about such things. Someone might get hurt. But whatever. Put on a helmet.
So why didn't Spacehog score more than this one song on the charts in the USA, even after touring with Oasis and also The Black Crowes? I guess I'll have to listen to more than this one song to find out. Maybe #3 didn't apply? I do love this song though!
Song Recommendations
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Click here for more info on Spacehog – Resident Alien – "In The Meantime".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Spacehog - Resident Alien
Album of the Week: Foo Fighters – "The Colour and the Shape" (1997)
2009/10/04Track 2: Monkey Wrench:
It took me a while to realize I liked the Foo Fighters. As I mentioned before, Guitar Hero 2 really hooked me with "Monkey Wrench", and I have since expanded my appreciation to several of the Foo Fighter's albums. I still think that "The Colour and the Shape" is my favorite of them all and the one to have. I love exercising and running to it, working in the garage or the yard to it, basically anything that requires a little adrenaline and energy. The Foo Fighters will get your blood flowing and you will like it!
Here are my 6 favorites from the album, with "Monkey Wrench" being my favorite.
Track 2: Monkey Wrench
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-3U5RwqY88
Track 3: Hey, Johnny Park!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnZ1Ft20pHw
Track 4: My Poor Brain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324darD4SRs
Track 5: Wind Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i860U22o3TE
Track 8: See You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM52_Q3enjU
Track 11: Everlong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crOZk88eCcg
Click here for other album suggestions!
Click here for more info on Foo Fighters – "The Colour and the Shape".
The MP3 album may be purchased here… Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
Travis – "Driftwood" (1999)
2009/06/19I love this song.
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!
Song Recommendations
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Click here for more info on Travis – The Man Who – "Driftwood".
The MP3 may be purchased here… Travis - The Man Who
