Pet_Sounds

Good evening, fellow Music Banterers. As you probably didn't notice, I neglected to post last night. I will not elaborate on the reasons, except for saying that it involved a six-foot American alligator. However, the track's lyrics really weren't worth reviewing. Here they are, see for yourself. But without further ado, I present tonight's program...

Time to Pretend - MGMT

To me, these lyrics are about the rock star lifestyle, "Make some music, make some money, find some models for wives" and how it comes with its own baggage. "The models will have children, we'll get a divorce, we'll find some more models, everything must run its course." How many times has that happened? This is why I don't think I'd want to be a star. The story is always the same in the end. Divorces, affairs, drugs... pretending to have a decent life. I challenge somebody to show me a rock star with one marriage. I'm sure there are a few, but I honestly can't think of one. The song ends with a Jimi Hendrix reference: "We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end."

Apparently, they're actually about the life cyle of the praying mantis. Hmm.

I'll give them a 7/10. Not life-changing, but not a turn-off, either. I don't think I could write better lyrics myself.

Tomorrow, I review Sunny Day Real Estate's Song for an Angel, as requsted by Briks. Hopefully, no reptilian creatures will delay it. But for now, I wish you a good night.

__________________
Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Good evening. For tonight's program, I take my first recommendation, from a user with whom I am proud to share the title of youngest Music Banterer, Briks. His suggestion...

Song About an Angel - Sunny Day Real Estate

If you've exchanged much music banter with me, you'll know that I'm a fan of '60s psychedelia, and thus, abstract lyrics. I've heard it said that to to write abstract poetry takes little to no talent. Technically, that is correct. But, to write significant abstract poetry, that moves your listener - that is another story. To write apparently meaningless lyrics that affect people more than apparently meaningful lyrics - that takes skill (and often drugs). Personally, no set of straightforward lyrics has moved me as much as The Beach Boys' Surf's Up. Why? I can answer in one word: connotation. Choosing the right word to convey a certain emotion to the listener. But now, for this set of lyrics in particular...

I could spend hours analyzing this song. The lyrics are very cryptic. However, here are a couple of notes. It seems there has been some tragedy in this man's past, from the first stanza. The angel says he is maried to his pain. Perhaps the angel is a dead lover? Desperation pervades the song. As I said, I could spend hours reviewing these lyrics, but they truly can't be described. I recommend you read them for yourself, by clicking on the bold title above.

8/10 score. My only criticism is that they are perhaps too cryptic. Thank-you, Briks, for an excellent recommendation.

That concludes tonight's program. Tomorrow, I will actually listen to one, and only one, of the six songs I've reviewed. Be sure to check in at the same time tomorrow. But until then, good night.

__________________
Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Good evening. As you might have noticed, I didn't post yesterday. I was rather busy, and by the time for reviewing came around, I didn't have the energy for a proper write-up. However, the song I chose to listen to was Jackson Browne's Running on Empty. I've only listened once, and since I make a rule of at least three listens over 24 hours before judging a song, you won't be seeing that until tomorrow or later. But enough pre-amble, let's get down to business. Allow me to present...

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

At a glance, these are shallow. Her man leaves her, wants her back, she ain't goin', etc. But what changes the song is the lonesome tone that pervades the lyrics under the surface. She wants him back, she needs him back, but she has hardened herself. It seems like she is singing to herself. He might be long gone and frankly, not give a damn about where she goes and what she does, but she just can't get him out of her head. She desperately wants to phone him and make up. Will she?

9/10. They flow. Enough said.

Thank-you for reading, as always, and remember to tune in at the same time tomorrow. I'll be looking at Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I Love Rock 'N Roll. But until then my friends, good night.

__________________
Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Pet_Sounds

Good evening. Tonight, I will take a look at...

I Love Rock 'N Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

There sure were a lot of songs about rock 'n' roll in the '70s and '80s. Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll, Billy Joel's It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, and the Beach Boys' take on Chuck Berry's Rock and Roll Music, to name a few. Heck, the Stones even had one, the name of which escapes my memory. However, this song opens with a very similar line to the Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There.
Beatles: "Well she was just seventeen, and you know what I mean..."
Jett: "I saw him dancing there by the record machine, I knew he must have been about seventeen..."
(What is it about seventeen-year-olds that songwriters can't resist? Even Meatloaf's tenagers were barely seventeen [and barely dressed!])
These lyrics actually made me laugh with their awkwardness. I mean, seriously, we get that the fella loves rock 'n' roll. What's that got to do with you?
It's worth mentioning that this song is an Arrows cover. One of those covers that outlasts the original, a la Twist and Shout.

5/10. Meh.

A tidbit of information: Since I write every day, barring reptilian intervention, I don't usually go into great depth, so to fully understand the context of everything I say, it is recommended to skim the lyrics linked in the bold song title. Tomorrow, I glance at Coldplay's Clocks. However, until tomorrow, good night.

__________________
Everybody's dying just to get the disease

Surell

MGMT make some of the most pretentious, least inspired shit around. But that's just one man's opinion. If that's what they said I'd take it with a grain of salt to throw in their four eyes. Not sure how you'd go about throwing one grain in each eye though.

Btw the Weezer song is chock full of that 90s irony I think, taken alone I can see why you'd dislike it for sure. I think it's a fun song but I haven't read the lyric sheet itself either.

__________________