Some Songs Considered - Posts Tagged 'universal records'

October 26, 2009

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“House of Jealous Lovers” – The Rapture
(Words/music: The Rapture, available on Echoes, Strummer / Universal 2003)

I’m not a particularly visual person normally, but “House of Jealous Lovers” makes me think of lines with steep angles. The guitars sound like they stop, pivot, and head in a different direction with every note, and even though the riff isn’t too complex (at least in terms of the amount of notes), it makes the guitar line sound worlds different. It’s the kind of thing that I like listening to if I want to aggressively air strum along with my thumb as I’m walking.

Still, maybe because it’s sounds like it looks jagged, I’ve always imagined the song as having a thorny exterior. I’ve always liked the song – I even bought the 12” single at one point – yet it’s hard for me to say that I have a real emotional or visceral reaction to it. Maybe it’s because I never lived in New York (especially New York during this dance punk revival) nor can I remember any occasion where “House of Jealous Lovers” brought a party to that elusive “next level.” Instead, it’s a collection of sounds – that start-stop riff, that deliberate cowbell, and the wild shouting – that sound exciting. It’s not that I dislike the song – it does all of these things well, and on the right moments, it feels perfect. “Moment” best fits it, for better or worse; when the song’s over, it washes away almost instantly. Perhaps this is the result of too many playlists put on shuffle, but I can’t help but come back to my concept of the song as a sort of sonic porcupine. Perhaps it’s the same jagged riff that looks interesting in the first place that prevents me from wrapping my arms around it and putting part of myself into it. Instead, it makes for a few good minutes of an elevated heart rate – and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nonetheless, I’m still curious why it’s kept me at arm’s length.

More on The Rapture: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

October 17, 2009

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Say It Right” – Nelly Furtado
(Words/music: Nelly Furtado, Nate Hills, and Tim Mosley, available on Loose, Universal 2006)

Cold, damp Saturday nights trigger memories of playing in my high school’s marching band. Every fall for four years revolved around football halftime shows and random competitions around the state. I remember holding my drum sticks with raw hands and piling under blankets with four or five friends as we waited for the awards ceremony at the end of the night. So this time of year in particular, the rhythmic pulse of a marching band immediately grasps my attention. Timbaland and Danja’s production on “Say It Right” replicates the sound of a drumline, complete with multi-pitched toms, tightly wound snare drums, and a deep, booming bass drum. It’s not as busy or intricate as some drum lines, but the moderate tempo and light flourishes (opening cymbals, light glockenspiel) almost makes it sound like the kind of music a band might play either entering the field.

This would make Nelly Furtado the drum major – the leader of her band, and her Loose-era image could command this type of center-stage presence. It’s possible to see Furtado in the middle of the field, both leading the band onto the performance space and then singing with their backup. I’m kind of surprised some college bowl game didn’t try this idea, pairing Furtado with one of the more dynamic marching bands. “Say It Right” would probably be an easy arrangement for most of these bands, as it’s mostly percussion with some longer held notes backing the vocals. It’s probably too laid back for a halftime show – as Timbaland and Danja build the beat and then stay out of Furtado’s way for the most part. Still, I can kind of picture it – Furtado and some backing singers as the center of the field with a drum line and some horn players in motion behind her. Then again, it might just be this weather talking.

More on Nelly Furtado: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

September 2, 2009

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Shooter (f/ Robin Thicke)” – Lil’ Wayne
(Words/music: Dwayne Carter and Robin Thicke, available on Tha Carter II, Cash Money / Universal 2005)

I still remember the moment where Lil’ Wayne commanded my attention. While flipping through channels late at night, I caught the end of the Tonight Show just in time for the musical guest. I saw Jay Leno holding a CD, so I stopped to see who was performing. Admittedly, I stayed not because I had any interest in Lil’ Wayne but because the guy he was with was named Thicke (like the guy from Growing Pains?) and looked like he came out of an advertisement for a prep school. It was an odd pairing – Thicke in his sweater on one side of the stage and ~~a shirtless~~ Wayne running around the rest of the stage like his pants were on fire. In a way, the music sounded like this too – Thicke sang the introduction like a piece of slowed down blue-eyed soul (“Shooter” is adapted from his own track “Oh Shooter”), giving way to Hurricane Wayne when it came time for his verses. With a live band (and a DJ, I think) punctuating Wayne’s lines with horn kicks, Wayne ran around the stage like a man possessed.

This performance of “Shooter” (which I’ve only seen once and have never been able to find online) captivated me based on its on-stage theatrics, but the track itself is as endearingly odd. In other hip hop songs, Thicke might sing the hook. While “Shooter” has a repeated hook, Thicke feels more like the narrator pushing the story along with Wayne filling in the cracks with all of the details. Wayne’s in his normal mode with rhymes coming straight out of his subconscious by going off on tangents with unorthodox similes. In his second line, Wayne declares that “when I open up my mouth, all bullets come out,” and he certainly has a way with words. However, at times, it feels like he’s Yosemite Sam shooting off his guns into the air with abandon. Just when it seems like Wayne’s losing focus, he snaps back into lucidity and delivers a direct blow with the “stop being rapper-racists, region haters…” line directed at the business end of the industry. On Leno, Wayne delivers this line directly into the camera. Whether planned or instinctive, Wayne knew his best shot and took that extra second to aim at the target. By that point, Wayne was on my radar. Even with the mega-stardom that came along with Tha Carter III (and that surreal and wonderful interview he did with “Miss” Katie Couric), this TV performance I stumbled on accidentally remains my lasting image of Wayne.

More on Lil’ Wayne: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

EDIT: shityeahitscool shared a link to the video! Click through to check out the performance.

July 9, 2009

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Mabel” - Goldfinger
(Words/music: John Feldmann, Charlie Paulson, Simon Williams, available on Goldfinger, Universal 1996)

“Sense of humor” is a funny term. On one hand, it suggests that the person being described – usually a potential friend or date – can recognize and appreciate a joke rather than being offended. We tend to load the term with far more than just that – having a “sense of humor” often means “finding the same things – and most importantly, me – funny.” Guessing someone’s sense of humor becomes a sort of game, and so many of us put a disproportionate amount of stock into something that, at best, we can guess at. Then again, some people claim that sense of humor is something that you can make a quick judgment about – you either have one or you don’t.

Either way, there was a time in my musical development where “sense of humor” provided a major bonus. I liked “serious” bands, but bands that were kind of goofy or made references to funny things strangely gained a little more of my attention. Appropriately, the following phase went in the exact opposite direction – I seemed drawn to very serious bands making “serious art,” certainly spurred on by the glut of “silly” bands I listened to in my teenage years. I’ve since settled somewhere in the middle – I like my music to have fun when it wants to be fun and dig deeper when it deserves to. But while humor scored extra points in my book, Goldfinger found a place in my discman. I have vivid memories of my friend Scott picking me up and blasting this album. I listened to a lot of this late ’90s skate punk during that time and even though I’ve never skateboarded, this music always struck me as fun, so when Goldfinger injected some silliness into their music. “Mabel” stands out in particular – it’s a tale of heartbreak and unrequited love filled with goofy rhymes, some absurd imagery, and even a dick joke. When it’s explained like that, it sounds entirely unappealing, but listening to Goldfinger sing the song (especially as a teenager), they had an odd sort of magnetic charm based on the amount of fun they seemed to have playing music. Since music was one of my major recreational activities, it makes sense that a band clearly having fun (even on a “sad” song) would be something I’d like. Goldfinger songs still appear on my iPod from time to time, and they are a welcome reminder of times when a Saturday afternoon drive to Taco Bell was the most important event in my world.

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