Sometimes simple songs are the best. A straightforward get the rock out, or call to the dance floor, can sometimes produce the greatest musical enjoyment in the world.
Sometimes you stumble across something unexpected that satisfies in more ways than one, and you are left wondering how to comprehend what you have just heard.
Enter, Church of the Cosmic Skull.
I do not know what to make of Church of the Cosmic Skull. They are rock band however they have adopted an interesting variety of influences that make them unique. There is a country influence on their sound. That keyboard organ sound is straight out of the gospel music. Everything about their sound just screams the southern United States to me. Naturally, they hail from Nottingham England. I would not have guessed that. I thought for sure they were some sort of southern rock, country, inexplainable fusion band, thus I figured they would have been American. But those British, there is a lot of talented people on the island of Albion.
Given my introduction to this review, you should anticipate that I am about to begin detailing a simple song by Church of the Cosmic Skull, and you be correct.
Enter, “Cold Sweat.”
It is possible there are fewer unique words in “Cold Sweat” by Church of the Cosmic Skull then there are in many instrumentals. Outside of intro, which is repeated once as a bridge, the chorus dominates the lyrical content of this song, and it is simply:
“You never woken with a cold sweat, No, you never talk about it. You never talk about it. You never talk about it anymore.”
Easy to remember. Easy to sing along with. Easy to get hooked on.
It is possible that “Cold Sweat” is more complicated then I fully realize, but as near as I can tell, the entire song is one long mellow moment. The song plays like a series of high waves. “Cold Sweat” is a song written in pattern, the human brain loves patterns. The repeated format works very effectively here because there is a just enough variety thrown in to keep the song fresh and interesting after several listens, while the meat of the song is just an instant hook.
Time for a quick anecdote. Many times, when the roommate and I have had a rough week we will use the memory erasing device to help us cope. The memory erasing device is vodka. We get drunk, and watch anime and/or youtube videos, many of which tend to be AMVs. As you can imagine since one, or both of us, are trying to forget something, sometimes one of us, or both of us, can descend into a bad mood, and when that happens we have to dig deep and pick our next youtube video to be something that is upbeat. “Cold Sweat” by Church of the Cosmic Skull has become one of my go to upbeat videos.
It is possible that there is a darker context to “Cold Sweat” that I am failing to appreciate. However, I find it impossible to feel anything but positive about this song.
As I write this, as is often the case on this blog, I have only begun to discover the works of today’s artist, Church of the Cosmic Skull. Thus far the only song of theirs I have completely fallen in love with is “Cold Sweat,” and I suspect that is because of the immediate appeal of this song’s structure. It is catchy, instantly memorable, and fun. A great introduction to what I hope to discover is a great band.
Until next year, keep on rocking in the free world.
Where we would be without random music discoveries?
I believe I have mentioned several times how I stumble across a song I like by letting an auto-play music list just go. Naturally this is always a gamble, because there is never any certainty that I will end up listening to any songs I enjoy. Other times, I will discover something completely unknown to me that I really like, when this happens it feels like the best possible material for writing a blogpost, because usual everything about these sorts of songs is a surprise to me.
Nearly a year ago, I was down an indie rock auto-play list, which is typical of me, and only relistening to the handful of tracks that really jumped out at me did I realize there was a shared theme of mental health. I am not sure how I caused auto-play list to be focused on such a subject matter, but things worked out well, many of those songs were rather comforting in their own unique way. Chiefly among them was Radical Face – “Hard of Hearing.”
From the lyrics alone I knew this song was about struggle and bearing with it as best as one can.
“I know I’m not well, But I’m alright.”
This end to the chorus really resonated with me. You know, because I am not okay, but I am doing alright.
After recording “Hard of Hearing” to memory, I did the logical thing and sought it on youtube for my future casual listening. That music video was a wonderful gem, it was delightfully sad and funny.
A quick synopsis of the music video is there is a man experiencing an increasing amount of damage from scene to scene, and when anyone asks him if he needs a napkin due to his uncontrollable bleeding, he statically replies that he is fine. This video made it very clear to me that the struggle being depicted in “Hard of Hearing” is depression. The depressed man is trying to get better by taking the advice from a self-help book, but none of it prevents the ever-increasing damage upon his person. It is funny, because he is clearly not okay, and even though things are getting worse and worse, he holds strong and continues to tell everyone he is fine.
Very sad, but also very funny. The experience showcased in the music video really elevated the song for me. Excellent execution.
I showed this video to one of my friends going through some hard times, I thought he might appreciate it, and he did. What he liked about it so much was, as he put it, “this guy is trying so hard and nothing is working.” This is exactly what I find so likable about the man in this video. He was trying so hard and nothing was making him feel better. Despite the scenarios being rather humorous, we are not really laughing at him, but laughing at the challenging dimensions of how his struggle manifests. Some of the advice he was prescribing to was terrible. No one understands or appreciates what this guy is going through, and they stare uneasily. While humorous it really made the poor bleeding man highly relatable. Every time I watch this video I am routing for the guy. I want him to feel better.
I think it is important for us to be able to make light of even our darkest troubles. Combining the human condition and humour can easily come across as crass or in poor taste, but “Hard of Hearing” fully humanized the entire experience and works successfully as a positive message for awareness. I suspect this would not have been as successful without the humor.
The man behind Radical Face is Ben Cooper. Ben is close to my age, and like me, Cooper wanted to become a writer when he was young. Since the year 2000 Ben has been writing music, and in that time has composed six albums and a number of EPs. His most recent EP “Therapy” was released this year and includes “Hard of Hearing.” Sensibly “Therapy” is exactly about that. Everything comes full circle. It would appear, that Ben is writing about depression from personal experience.
I hope others enjoy “Hard of Hearing” the same way I do. I also hope “Therapy” aids in expanding our empathy towards those who need it the most. Lastly, I hope Ben is doing okay; I’m routing for him.
It is hard to imagine Rush without Neal Peart, yet he was not present on their debut album. It was not until “Fly by Night,” the second studio album, that Neal Peart joined with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson to form Canada’s greatest rock band ever, but also, the greatest progressive rock band ever, Rush.
My favorite track from “Fly by Night” has to be the eight minute thirty-nine second battle epic “By-Tor and The Snow Dog.” “Fly by Night” is Neal Peart’s first Rush album, and “By-Tor and The Snow Dog” is Peart’s first appearance on a Rush song.
“By-Tor and The Snow Dog” is a song about the endless battle between good and evil.
“By-Tor, knight of darkness, Centurion of evil, devil’s prince.”
Versus, the Snow Dog.
This is a very whimsical song.
Given By-Tor’s description I always incorrectly assumed that he was the necromancer in the follow up album “Caress of Steel,” but no, if you examine the lyrical content of that album By-Tor is the hero on that album. Maybe the Snow Dog redeemed him.
Despite the playful name of “Snow Dog” this track always still came across like an epic battle to me. But here is something I did not know until very recently, the names “By-Tor” and “Snow Dog” were created by Rush’s road manager Howard Ungerleider. Apparently, one night at a party there were two dogs, a German shepherd who was biting everyone, get it, biter = by-tor, and a nervous white dog, snow dog.
Very whimsical.
Neal Peart would become a major song writer for Rush, and unlike a lot of drummers, he really enjoyed writing lyrics. I do not know if Peart contributed to “By-Tor and the Snow Dog,” lyrically, but maybe it would be fitting if he did. His first song writing with Rush is an epic fantasy battle fought between two warriors named after two random dogs.
The lyrics are fun and all but the heart of “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” is the instrumental, which makes up the strong majority of the song’s run time.
“By-Tor and the Snow Dog Square for battle, let the fray begin.”
What follows from this line is a nearly six-and-a-half-minute battle where lead and bass guitar fight for centre stage and the drums are a neutral constant that keeps everything together.
There are three movements in this instrumental section of “By-Tor and the Snow Dog.” The first is where Geddy Lee’s bass is most prominent, it growls with heavy electric distortion and functions as a really rough melody for most of this part, with Lifeson’s lead guitar stabbing out into the forefront frequently. This is the best part in my opinion, the two guitars beautifully battling each other for the lead.
Then in the second movement, we are treated to a drum solo by Peart, followed by a guitar solo by Lifeson. I guess you could argue that there are four movements, but these two solos blend together and lead into each other so seamlessly that I consider a single part.
Then we take a breath. Everything slows right now, and scant soft sounds echo out from both guitars and the drums march very slowly to a build up, where Lifeson’s guitar becomes the dominate force of the instrumentals finish.
Now what I am about to say is technically speculation on my part, but I am so confident I am going to write everything out as if it is fact; Alex Lifeson’s guitar represents the Snow Dog, and Geddy Lees’s bass represents By-Tor.
It makes perfect sense that Lifeson and Lee fight for the melody in the bulk of the song, this is the fray between the two opponents. The growling nature of the bass is not unlike a biting dog. Snow Dog is victorious, which is exactly why Lifeson’s guitar becomes the focal sound at the end of instrumental.
I have always assumed this is the case, but weirdly, I never hear anyone else talk about “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” with this perspective, which is very strange to me, because it seems obvious, but also, that is the best part of the song. Everything about Rush “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” is a great listen, the entire album “Fly by Night” is a great listen, but the creative ingenuity of having their guitars represent a mythical battle with just sound is just so fantastic.
On the back cover of “Fly by Night” Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are identified at “Snow Dog” and “By-Tor” respectively. So yeah, confirmed as far as I am concerned.
Rush have many great long experimental songs, and I believe “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” is among the very best of them, and perhaps the most charming.
“Things they do seem so cold, Hope I die before I get old.”
For those who somehow do not already know, that famous lyric comes from The Who’s 1965 hit song “My Generation.” This music in review is not going to focus on “My Generation” specifically, but I think this is a going starting point of the longer conversation I wish to have with myself and the internet.
I have a dark sense of humour, so I have found an extra layer of comedy in that old line about dying before getting old. The only member of The Who who fulfilled this promise was Keith Moon. Like the rock god that he was Keith Moon partied to death at age thirty-two, and I like to imagine that if there is an afterlife, then Keith Moon might be shouting to earth to the rest of The Who yelling “we had a deal!”
I think it’s funny, but I also acknowledge the enormity of the loss that was Keith Moon. Obviously for the world, and music at large, we lost one of the greatest drummers of all time. But for the rest of The Who, for Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle, they had lost more than that, they had lost an irreplaceable member of their band, and they also lost a good friend.
Keith Moon died in 1978, five years before I was born, so I grew up knowing the end of the story. I grew up with no sense of loss, so I probably underappreciated the impact of Moon’s death had on the rest of The Who. For young me I always saw The Who as this really upbeat, happy band. They had great songs that carried really get humour and watching their live performances and all the destruction of guitars they seemed like they were having a lot of fun. That did not change very much in their later albums, not as far as I could tell.
Also, before I was born, The Who released two more albums with Kenny Jones on drums. “Face Dances” released in 1981 and “It’s Hard” released in 1982. I really liked both of these albums, though if I am being perfectly honest the principle reason is because of one powerhouse son on each album. “Face Dances” has the wonderfully whimsical, honest love song, “You Better You Bet,” I wrote about that song a while back on this blog: https://colinkellymusicinreview.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-who-you-better-you-bet.html
“It’s Hard” has one of the greatest Who songs ever in “Eminence Front.” I always did like the title track on “It’s Hard” as well, but like most songs in the history of all music, it pales in comparison to the greatness of “Eminence Front.”
As young me listened to “Who are You,” “Tommy,” and “Who’s Next,” I was also listening to “Face Dances” and “It’s Hard.” I never thought much of the changes in the Who’s later day works back then. Over time I began to hear how Daltrey and Townshend hated those last two albums, which I thought was sad because they are pretty good. But the more I thought about it became clearer that Moon’s absence from those albums could be heard. I believe that Kenny Jones probably never got a fair chance to shine with The Who, but that happens when you are tasked with filling the shoes of a rock god. I thought I understood why Daltrey and Townshend disliked “Face Dances” and “It’s Hard,” but I knew very little.
Then I watched this youtube video by the channel Polyphonic:
Humility is an important attribute to possess. Watching that informative video about “Eminence Front” was humbling for me. In fact, the entire channel Polyphonic humbles me deeply. Whoever writes for that show knows a hell of a lot more than I do about the history of music. It brings into question what am I even trying to accomplish with this blog? Clearly there are people out there who are a lot better at this then I am. Oh well, I am just going to keep doing my own thing. I deeply appreciate the information, and the reality check.
Polyphonic and others hail “Eminence Front” as the last great Who song and based on the chronology of their discography this statement is rather inarguable. This factoid is both appropriate and sad. Being a rock star had caught up with The Who, but the show must go on, so Townshed, being the rather forward individual that he is made one last final statement when he wrote “Eminence Front.”
One of the first things I hate to admit not knowing was the meaning of the word eminence. All these years I have been singing along to “Eminence Front” and I never bothered look up the title meaning. Apparently, eminence is fame or recognized superiority. Pete Townshed burned out and recovering from a cocaine addiction wrote a song about how the whole persona of being a rock star was a ruse. The Who were at a low point creatively at this time, but they had contractual obligations, so Townshed dug deep and ripped this song out of his soul, letting loose all the ugliness he saw in the industry and inside of himself. All that glam and partying, it was a put on.
A part of me always knew “Eminence Front” was about the dark side of the human condition, but without deeper thought into Townshed’s life, I took it as a general sentiment. People of all walks of life are hiding behind a false image, and I think that is part of the brilliance of “Eminence Front” that everyone can relate to it. We put on a strong face sometimes or smile through our teeth. At the very least we all someone who has to pretend to be something they are not just to survive whatever situation they are in. Townshed was able to make the woes of his complex extraordinary life relatable to everyone, and this is clearly intentional. The first two verses are about recreational activities and drug use, but the later verses are about gambling and the stock market. In all four examples hazardous risk and reward are in play, but we can easily take the thought further. Everyone puts on a brave show in the face uncertainty, but people forget, that they are hiding behind a false image, and eminence front.
“It’s Hard” and “Eminence Front” while sourced creatively from unpleasant moments in the life of Townshed, the result is one of the best songs The Who ever wrote, and I hope this gives Townshed some comfort and peace. Sometimes starting our demons down helps us conquer them, and I suspect that is the case for Townshed and “Eminence Front.”
Until next month keep on rocking in the free world.
As far as I am concerned, Guns N Roses only have four studio albums. “The Spaghetti Incident” is a cover album, it does not count, and “Chinese Democracy” does not have Slash or Duff, so it is not Guns N Roses album and it does not count either. Feel free to argue with me all you want; arguing with strangers is one of the many services the Internet provides us.
Guns N Rose’s second studio album “G N’ R Lies” barely qualifies as a studio album, but I count as one because it is half studio album, and half live album of songs Guns N Roses never recorded in a studio. The way I rationalizes this to myself is that those live songs are the closest thing there is to a studio recording for those songs, and the studio songs are good enough to make an EP on their own. Combined, these two parts make a good album.
It is a good album.
Thus, Guns N’ Roses have four studio albums, at least according to me.
The album “G N’ R Lies” is exactly as I described. The first side is four live songs that Guns N Roses used to play in their extreme early days that never made it onto their debut album “Appetite of Destruction.” The second side of the album was four original studio recorded tracks. I am not a huge fan of the first side of “G N’ R Lies,” those four live tracks are very raw, which is assuredly the reason why die hard Guns N Roses fan enjoy them, but I feel the recordings are a little too rough. The second half however, I am very fond of. All four songs, “Patience,” “Used to Love Her,” “You’re Crazy,” and “One in a Million,” are firmly etched into my memory. Like most people, “Patience” is the song I know best and appreciate uppermost from “G N’ R Lies.”
Guns N Roses’ “Patience” is significant for a few reasons.
“Patience” was the big hit song from “G N’ R Lies,” and really, it was kind of the only one. Other songs from the album would get plenty of play in concerts, but most of the rest of the album never got played on the radio.
When we look back on Guns N Roses music as a whole, “Patience” represents a transition in Guns N Roses, and the differences between “Patience” and every other Guns N Roses song at the time of it’s release make the change in Guns N Roses obvious, especially in hindsight. “Patience” is the first rock ballad in Guns N Roses repertoire. This was the first time Guns N Roes released a song that was entirely acoustic. We would see more of this style of song writing on the “Use You Illusion” albums, but rock ballads are few on those as well, making “Patience” unique due to its restrained acoustic style. While rock ballads were not a new thing, the popularity of “Patience” did contribute to the growing trend and did assist rock stars with their comfort level expressing their more sensitive side.
It is conventionally believed that this song was written about Axel Rose’s now ex-wife Erin Everly. At the time, 1988, Axel and Erin were going through some troubles and Axel captured his feelings in the song “Patience.” Axel’s writing this song, I believe in significant, in and of itself. A very style of song for Guns N Roses leading to the more emotional “Use You Illusion” albums, but all of that, is because of Axel Rose. He wanted to more than a rock star, he wanted to be a poet, and “Patience” is one of the more beautiful and obvious examples of Axel stepping out of the rock star image and letting his feelings pour out.
Perhaps the most obvious reason “Patience” is so memorable and popular is that it is a great song. It is a very moody song. It is sad but hopeful. It has that deeply personal touch from Axel making the whole experience of listening to it feel intimate, but at the same time, the sort of emotions Axel is expressing are so universal it is natural we relate to the song of uncertain love. However, it is still rock and roll enough to satisfy that rebel spirit I so often talk about. That is the perfect recipe for a rock ballad, mellow and emotional, but still rock and roll.
My favorite part of “Patience” is the outro. You know that part where Axel and Duff repeat “just a little patience, yeah, yeah,” that part, or more specifically the part where Axel sings his final bit of poetry.
“I've been walking the streets at night, Just trying to get it right. It's hard to see with so many around, You know I don't like being stuck in the crowd. And the streets don't change but maybe the names, I ain't got time for the game ‘cause I need you. Yeah, yeah, yeah but I need you. Oh, I need you. Oh, I need you. Ooh this time.”
Yeah, that part. That is rock ballad gold right there.
This is actually one of the few songs I learned to play on guitar, well badly play on guitar. Those mellow rifts sure are calming, invoking exactly the resonates Guns N Roses intended; just a little patience. Trouble waters are ahead for me, so maybe it is not a coincidence that this song came back into my mind and ear so much recently, I am going to need a little patience.
Ah Sabaton, I have learned so much about military history thanks to thee. Do you think when Joakim Broden and Par Sundstrom started Sabaton back in 1999 they knew they would end up being educators almost as much as they are metal musicians? It is possible that was the intention all along. Needless to say, I have learned a lot by listening to Sabaton; I suspect a lot of people have.
After twenty years of educating the metal masses about military history, what is the logical next step? Sabaton did something intelligent, they started their own history channel on youtube.com, simply called “Sabaton History”.
The formula for the series is they take a Sabaton song and discuss it in two parts; first historian Indy Neidell talks about the historical event depicted in the Sabaton song, then Sabaton member, will talk about the song’s history. This is brilliant. Exactly what we all needed.
Now, I have good working knowledge of European history, better then most, but inferior to any actual historian, but even before Sabaton started taking me to school, I did know that Poland was a warrior nation. In the education system I grew up with, Poland mostly gets talked about as a prime victim of warfare, sandwiched between Germany and Russia, two mega powers vying for control of Polish land. The Warsaw patch being the start of World War Two gets a fair amount of attention, and that is pretty much it. So not everyone realizes how much worse it really was for Poland. The Pols have seen war more, or less, nonstop; not just battles the Germans and Russians, but also the Austrians and the Swedish and probably everyone else in the region. The resilience of the Polish people is truly incredible, and the fact that Poland even exists as a country is testament to that.
So, I knew a little bit about Poland’s military history, naturally I know a lot more now since listening to Sabaton. For example, I knew the Polish forces put up a good fight against the Nazis, but were ultimately overwhelmed, but I did not know to what extent. I did not know any of the major battles, so when I first heard “40:1” I was not caught off guard by the history lesson. Nonetheless, I still learned a lot.
It just so happens the first episode on “Sabaton History” is about “40:1.”
I have linked the video so there is no need for me to recap everything Indy and Par tell us, but here is a quick summary.
The real-life event that is the story for “40:1” is the Battle of Wizna. While the actual numbers of the soldiers in the battle are unknown, Polish folklore holds the ratio to be something in the range of forty to one in their disfavor. Making matters force, the German’s were attacking with more then three hundred panzer tanks and the Polish soldiers had no anti-tank weaponry. Yet somehow, they managed to drag the fighting out for three days. This battle is sometimes referred to as the Polish Thermopylae.
This comparison to the three hundred Spartans is included in Sabaton’s “40:1” chorus:
“Baptized in fire, Forty to one. Spirit of Spartans, Death and glory. Soldiers of Poland, Second to none.”
The history of the song “40:1” is also interesting. Initially Sabaton was not overly popular in Poland, but a song like “40:1” would logically strike a chord with Polish fans. How things played out was through a fan made youtube video. This fan made music video included scenes from one of more war movies, presumably depicting Polish soldiers defending their country. Copyright strikes caused the video to be taken down, but it was too late, it had gone viral in Poland, and was reuploaded over and over, spreading “40:1.”
Long story short, Polish metal fans now love Sabaton, Sabaton have to play “40:1” at every Polish concert, and the Archbishop showed up to gift Sabaton a sword.
As I type this out, I have only watched the first two Sabaton History videos, so I got some homework. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and listen to some Sabaton, not only are they one of the best metal bands in the world right now, but you will learn a bunch of history. History is important, we should always remember.
“Always remember, a fallen soldier, Always remember, fathers and sons at war. Always remember, a fallen soldier, Always remember, buried in history.”
It has been approximately three years since I discovered Ghost. Ghost started their careers back in 2006, so it has been approximately thirteen years where they have been active. Yet, despite this passage of time, and the consistent increase in their popularity, Ghost is a remains a fun mysterious band to tell the average person about.
“Any plans this week Colin?”
“Yeah, I am going to see Ghost on Tuesday.”
“Who is Ghost?”
“They are a satanic metal band out of Sweden.”
I watch their facial expression and body language to the see how they respond. Even now, in this day and age, some people are uneasy about satanism, as if the devil is real, and as if any serious person takes anything satanic seriously. It is a joy to explain to people how Ghost have embraced satanism for their theme and extreme theatrics. Ghost is a great conversation starter.
In this year, 2019, Ghost released their fourth studio album, “Prequelle.” Thanks to the lawsuits Ghost front man was revealed to be Tobias Forge, many had already figured this out, I mean, good luck keeping a secret identity in the modern world. Anyway, Tobias has once again reinvented the front man persona for Ghost. This time, the Papa Emeritus character is not reused in a fourth iteration, but instead he has introduced to the world, Cardinal Copia. The satanic parody of traditionally catholic attire and character is repeated, this time instead of a pope we have a cardinal. Forge has a whole new look, mustache and all. I prefer the tuxedo and skull makeup of Emeritus the third, but I was able to see that version live, so I guess I am all good.
Ghost is at that point in their career where they are likely to reach critical mass. After three solid albums, two great EPs, and several successful world tours, those like metal know who they are. They are not likely to dramatically increase their fan base much more from current generations. With this situation at play, their fourth studio album was posed to be a great critical and commercial success, and so it was so. “Prequelle” is the highest chartering and fasting selling Ghost album ever. Critically “Prequelle” was accepted as superb album, many saying it was their best to date. I mostly agree.
The strong satanic theme and style of Ghost has resulted in all of their music sharing identifiers of similar creativity throughout. However, Forge has manage to explore different musical styles and influences from album to album thus far, and “Prequelle” has some charming inclusions and influences not heard previously from Ghost, and the result is an album as good as any Ghost album with unique Ghost songs different from anything heard previously. For example, I cannot recall Ghost ever using a saxophone before.
This is the part of the review where I pick a single song to talk about, and since “Prequelle” is very good, this is a challenge. The first two singles were “Rats” which I liked plenty, but I did not overly love, and “Dance Macabre” which I did love; to quote Philip Anselmo “huge song.” Seems like everyone who cares even a little about metal already knows how good “Dance Macabre” is, so maybe I will ramble about something else.
“Pro Memoria,” yeah, that’s a winner.
In my humble opinion “Pro Memoria” is among the best songs on “Prequelle.” For me, the three best tracks from “Prequelle” are “Dance Macabre,” “Miasma” and “Pro Memoria.” Being a big hit from the new album, everyone is familiar with “Dance Macabre,” Ghost closed the set with it when I saw them live most recently, it was great. The instrumental “Miasma” has some of the best guitar work of any Ghost song, it was great live, especially when Forge broke out the saxophone, he played it himself; it was one of the highlights for the whole show for me. As I understand it, the saxophone is a very difficult instrument to play, that Forge is a talented fellow. So, that leaves me with the potentially under appreciated “Pro Memoria,” they did not play this one live when I saw them, which is not a decision I agree with, but who am I to question Forge and his chosen setlist? The absence on Ghost’s current live playlist however does make “Pro Memoria” an ideal choice for whatever it is I am trying to accomplish on this blog.
The structure of “Pro Memoria” follows a simple but classic pattern, intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro. This formula is typical, but I like it, it works; probably more then half of all good songs have used this formula or a slight modification of it.
In the spirit of Ghost, “Pro Memoria,” like all Ghost songs, is first and foremost about Satan. Verses one and three start with:
“Lucifer, whispering, Silently into your mind, Who walks behind, Who walks behind.”
The only thing more metal then Satan, is death. Naturally Ghost delivers on this in “Pro Memoria” as its chorus is as follows:
“Don't you forget about dying Don't you forget about your friend death Don't you forget that you will die Don't you forget about dying Don't you forget about your friend death Don't you forget that you will die.”
I am always highly amused whenever music makes something dreadful in a cheerful manner.
In all story telling there can be no meaningful beginning without a meaningful end, and this in unavoidable because of the human condition that is life and death. We project our mortal existence onto everything, it helps us relate. Death is a natural part of life; and while we should avoid prematurely encountering it, it does not need to be feared, it is a perfectly natural phenomenon. So, when Ghost describe death as a friend, I get a kick out of it. We cannot forget about death, and we cannot escape its eventually embrace, but with a strange upbeat sound we can take it all in, in a very digestible way.
The entire album “Prequelle” focuses on a struggle to survive, but no song more so then “Pro Memoria.”
“Standing tall, invincible, But do not forget your knives, To save your lives, To save your lives.”
This second half of the first verse makes it clear that the struggle is real, and staying alive is the goal. The chorus that follows and carries the song makes it even more clear that this goal is temporary at best. Heavy stuff. I like it.
I love comment sections, I learn a lot from them. The top comment from: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107859571686/ tells us about the Latin phrase “memento mori” which translates to “remember death.” According to Lord Gonzo, who left the comment, there is a story of a Roman general who had a slave accompany him on his chariot and whisper to him “memento mori” and it is believed that slave was actually Satan in disguise. I tried looking up this tale, histories are uncertain if any Roman general ever did such a thing, and it appears unclear where the mythology of the Satantic inclusion originated. But hell, looks like this random commenter on the internet nailed it. There must a one-hundred present chance that is what “Pro Memoria” is about. Good job, Lord Gonzo, whoever the hell you are.
Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.
February 19, 1980, ACDC front man and vocalist Bon Scott passed away. Apparently, there was multiple versions about exactly how Scott perished, but the version I grew up being told was that he passed out drunk in the back seat of a car where he choked on his own vomit. This is a gruesome demise, but it is very rock and roll in its own way, so if this version is true, I suppose we can take some small comfort knowing that Bon Scott died like a rock star.
What followed was the introduction of Brian Johnson in a story I like to compare to a musical space epic:
The story of ACDC should have been a truly tragic one, if not for the perseverance of the surviving members and Brian Johnson. They took was a very sad story and made it awesome.
The first ACDC album to include Brain Johnson is the appropriately named “Back in Black,” released in 1980. A lot was riding on “Back in Black,” people can be fickle and the change of an iconic front man like Bon Scott was going to be difficult. Fortunately, “Back in Black” is an absolutely amazing album, and Brian Johnson killed it on vocals. The album was so good, and Brian Johnson rocked so hard, that everyone was happy with the outcome. Bon Scott was a one of a kind strange animal, he could never be replaced, however Brian Johnson was his own sort of rock and roll beast, and his style of singing matched the ACDC sound perfectly, so everyone embraced Johnson as the chosen one.
If I had to pick my preferred lead singer for ACDC, I would go with Brian Johnson. I have nothing but love for Bon Scott, but I cannot deny how much I appreciate Johnson’s vocals and the albums he performed on. “Back in Black” is possibly my favorite ACDC album. The only uncertainty that exists in me is because of the greatest that is “The Razor Edge.”
The title track “Back in Black” is among ACDC’s most famous, as is “You Shook Me All Night Long,” but my favorite from this album has to be the opening track “Hells Bells.”
“Highway to Hell” was the last Bon Scott ACDC album, and “Back in Black” is the first Brian Johnson ACDC album, and I think there is something charming about the hell connection here.
When “Hells Bells” plays, I always get pumped. That intro with the echoing bell, then Angus Young’s killer rift, then Malcom Young plays a melody on the bass guitar, and the slow drums pushing their way in, and everything comes together, just the way I like it, and slowly escalates into a thunderous roaring sound. This intro draws the listener into a dreadful state of mind for their dark descension into hell, and then a kick ass rock song plays.
While “Highway to Hell” the song is highly uplifting and celebrates rock and hell and charging into hell to rock out, “Hells Bells” is an entirely different creation. There is a darkness in “Hells Bells,” oh sure, it is a song that feels great to listen to, and the mood and energy always gets my blood flowing for excitement and fun, but the actual content, is dark. “Highway to Hell” is about rock stars happily going to hell and looking forward to the visit. “Hells Bells” is a brooding warning to the damned.
Perhaps one of the reasons “Hells Bells” has this darker edge to it, is because it appears this song is being sang from the perspective of the devil.
“I'm a rolling thunder, a pouring rain, I'm coming on like a hurricane. My lightning's flashing across the sky, You're only young but you're going die.
I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives, Nobody's putting up a fight. I got my bell, I'm going take you to hell, I'm going get you, Satan get you.”
I think it could be understood to think the narrative voice is some sort of grim reaper, however the “Satan get you” part really sells me on the Satan interpretation.
The verses come in pairs on this song, which is a little different. The second pair of four-line lyrics further sets to stone what I am saying:
“I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine, If you're into evil you're a friend of mine. See the white light flashing as I split the night, Because if good's on the left, then I'm sticking to the right.
I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives, Nobody's putting up a fight, I got my bell, I'm going take you to hell, I'm going get you, Satan get you.”
ACDC found a way to make going to hell fun in “Highway to Hell” but in “Hells Bells” they found a way to make being afraid of being dragged to hell fun, somehow. A little bit of darkness never hurt anyone, and while in a reality where the devil comes for your soul should be terrifying, the song “Hells Bells” has such an intense power, it cannot fail to motive. It is creative genius and I do not know how much of it is serendipitous.
I had an idea for a theme for a pair of ACDC songs for blog reviews, “Highway to Hell” and “Hells Bells.” There is a nice symmetry there, singing about hell more than once, but as I reflected on the two albums that house “Highway to Hell” and “Hells Bells” I began to notice that there was more to these two songs than what I first perceived.
The hell connection is obvious, but the added variable of the passing of the guard and subtle change in both style and emotion adds a little more to this side by side comparison. I said before that ACDC are not a deep band, but given the volume and quality of their work, there is a lot to explore, and so much to enjoy.
We all like ACDC, how could we not? But what impresses me, is just how much they gave us with so simple of sounds and song concepts. They knew what they wanted to do and managed to make themselves absolute masters of their craft. The added bonus is fun things like strangely happy songs about going to hell.
Who is the most rock and roll band of all time? This debate was settled long ago when ACDC exploded into existence. Nearly no one considers ACDC the greatest rock band of all time, but universally it is agreed that they are not only great, but unquestionably the most rock and roll music to ever be, rock and roll.
Every ACDC song ever is about something that fits comfortable into the overarching umbrella in the category of rock and roll. They have songs about partying, sex, crime, rebellion, and the devil. Among my favorites is their songs about hell.
Afterall what is more rock and roll then hell?
The first huge song about hell by ACDC is “Highway to Hell” from the 1978 album of the same name. This is the last album of the Bon Scott era, and it is appropriate that Scott’s final creation with ACDC would be an album named after a song about trucking to hell. Bon Scott himself was very, very rock and roll.
Unfortunately, “Highway to Hell” is not a concept album about a road trip to hell. Fortunately, it is what I like to call an “ACDC style concept album,” where the concept is rock and roll. All ACDC albums are rock and roll concept albums.
The truth is ACDC was never a strong album band. They albums were good, all of them, but only a handful could be considered great. ACDC shined on the strength of their individual songs. Your average ACDC song is good, most ACDC songs are good, but the ones that are more than that are bloody awesome. Following this, “Highway to Hell” the album is good, all the songs are good; “Highway to Hell” the song, is freaking awesome.
There is humour in the mood that “Highway to Hell” puts forth, a casual listen of the song could leave one to believe that this song is unironically celebrating dying and going to hell. Young Colin Kelly took great delight at the prospect of such a narrative, and such a narrative would be very rock and roll indeed, following that such a narrative would be very fitting for ACDC to sing about. I always found the lyric “my friends are going to be there too,” particularly charming, as it implies that everyone Bon Scott knows is also condemned to hell in the afterlife, and they are also loving it.
However, there is a slightly deeper meaning at play. This is ACDC, they are not exactly a deep band, but if the lyrics are paid sufficient attention to, “Highway to Hell” is actually a song celebrating life. The two verses lay this out for us:
“Living easy, living free, Season ticket on a one-way ride. Asking nothing, leave me be, Taking everything in my stride. Don't need reason, don't need rhyme, Ain't nothing I would rather do, Going down, party time, My friends are going be there too.
No stop signs, speed limit, Nobody's going slow me down. Like a wheel, going spin it, Nobody's going mess me around. Hey Satan, paid my dues, Playing in a rocking band. Hey mama, look at me, I'm on my way to the promised land.”
Once again, we have a little bit of room of interpretation, is Bon Scott describing a life of sin and an accepted fate of damnation? He is making pretty clear that he has paid his dues to go to hell, which, I think most people would think of as a confession of sin(s), having said that, I believe that is too mild, not rock and roll enough. I think ACDC is paying their dues to rock out in hell with pandemonium. Which is awesome, and naturally, very rock and roll. This also explains why the entire song is so upbeat. This also explains why all of Bon Scott’s friends are going to be there with him. You cannot have an ACDC concert in hell without the whole band, and I always assumed they were good friends.
It is fun to overthink a cock rock song like “Highway to Hell,” hence why I just did; but this is not a song meant to be taken very seriously. ACDC are taking their tour bus to hell, and as they do so they give us a great guitar rift that follows ever lyric, a groovy guitar solo, and everything comes together in the third chorus and outro. Great song. Pure rock and roll. Thank you ACDC.
Six years ago, the American Dad episode “Lost in Space” aired on television. I am a lukewarm fan of the shot, but I really enjoyed this episode; “Lost is Space” is definitely my favorite episode. There is a moment where the character Jeff has his mind probed so everyone can see what his memories of love are like, and the whole sequence plays like a music video with the Wax Fang song “Majestic.” A song I have sang along with so many times now that I can sing the entire thing from memory at any time, no matter how drunk.
“I thought I was asleep when I met you, My heart liquified, and I sighed, oh, this must be a dream. If I forget to set the alarm, and sleep on through the dawn, don’t remind me, Cause I’d rather be dreaming of you, than sleeping along.”
I did not look that up, just typed it out, no problem.
Two years ago, I wrote about Wax Fang in this music blog. I mentioned of course that I was introduced to the band by watching American Dad “Lost in Space,” and I talked briefly about how much I like “Majestic” but I try to be unique, because I like to think I am clever, so I instead focused the review on the song “Dawn of the Dead of the Night of the Hunter.”
It did not take me long after hearing “Majestic” on American Dad to discovery and learn to appreciate other songs like “Dawn of the Dead of the Night of the Hunter” by Wax Fan; obviously. As time went on, I continued to just fall in love with Wax Fang, there are dozens of their songs I listen to now on the regular. They are probably one of my favorite active bands.
Wax Fang’s fourth studio album “Victory Laps” came out in 2017. The same year I wrote my original Wax Fang review. It is no coincidence that “Victory Laps” made a strong presence in my music listening habits that year. Even now, a few of the songs from that album continue to get plenty of play on my music playlist, both at home and at work.
Two songs from “Victory Laps” in particular have endeared themselves to me “Do the Math” and “Serenity Now.”
I am a CPA and my accounting degree has a minor in mathematics, so I tend appreciate math and others who express an appreciation for the scientific field, so naturally “Do the Math” really speaks to me. Nonetheless, today I would rather discuss “Serenity Now” as I do appreciate that track even more.
Before we go any further, I would remiss if I did not point out the obvious Seinfeld reference, “serenity now.” Who could forget Frank Costanza’s mantra to help calm himself? What a hilarious episode, and the song “Serenity Now,” is a fun homage to the iconic episode from the greatest comedy show of all time.
Since Seinfeld is clearly an inspiration on this Wax Fang song “Serenity” now, we would rightly assume that there would be a connection in comedy, however I am entirely sure that is the case. The emotional take away for the song “Serenity Now” is not one of humour but of calm. We all have stressful lives, well I guess there are a handful of lucky bastards out there who lead easy lives, but for vast majority of us, life can and does get pretty stressful. There are many possible cures for what ails us, but a great smoothing friend in the battle against anxiety is music, for music holds a secret and to know it can make us whole. That last part is a Triumph lyric, but I thought I would throw it in there for fun.
Wax Fang’s “Serenity Now,” is very uplifting. There is a calling howl in the intro that calls us in, and the flow of the rhythm jumps very rapidly and hooks the listener and takes them on a fine trot through the song. It is a song with a good amount of speed and energy but is very mellowing all the same.
There are three short verses in “Serenity Now” all about being overcome with panic and wanting an escape of some kind, and each time this is a setup for the chorus that greatly proclaims to us to accept simply that we may not know why, or what to do, and to simply let go.
“Under attack, Now sit back and relax a bit, Let go, let go. I'm on a roll, And now I'm losing control, I gotta let go, let go. Have I lost my mind... Or is it just the sign of the times?”
I like the chorus as lot. I really like how singer Scott Carney bellows out the “let go” part, it does come across to me like a demand but a powerful suggestion, one Carney seems confident you will accept, or at the least, that you should.
Let go, just let go. Let go of all that anxiety and fear. Let is slip through your fingers like the irrelevant grains of sand they are. With enough time passed, no one will care, not even yourself, about the haunting nagging small troubles that plague you in the intermediate. So just let go.
I found this mantra so deeply relaxing. Carney’s goal for “Serenity Now” was surely to share the feeling of calm acceptance, and oh now richly he accomplished this goal. Possibly his best song.
Returning to Seinfeld, the element comedy is not obviously present in the song “Serenity Now” but a literal relation to Frank Costanza’s intention with his mantra is parallel and present. Why does Frank Costanza say “serenity now” to himself? To combat his anger and stress. It is a call to calm, just like Wax Fang’s song. By taking this literal interpretation of this comedy show’s moment, something a of a meta joke is at play. It is like Carney took this joke from Seinfeld and played it straight, which sort of works for humours sake. Nonetheless, I do very much enjoy the powerful relaxing mood of the song and the takeaway message.
Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.
The year 2005, Panic at the Disco release their debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out." The second single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” climbs to number seven in the billboard charts in the United States of America. We got a hit on our hands. Panic at the Disco become a household name, kind of. What is next from Panic at the Disco?
I never heard of them again for years.
Back in 2005 I bought the Panic at the Disco debut album. They had good songs other than “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” I thought the fifth track “Camisado” was the best on the album, and I am not sure anyone I know has ever heard it before. That is sort of the problem, everyone stopped paying attention beyond “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” Panic at the Disco continued to make music, critically acclaimed music, but no one seemed to be listening to it. I guess I am better than most, I stopped paying attention beyond the album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” and they have had five albums since then.
Several years ago, I happened across a clip from a live performance of Panic at the Disco where front man Brendon Urie exclaimed his boredom with the song ““I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and having to perform it every show. A direct result of the singular popularity of that song.
I felt really bad for Brendon. I knew little about Panic at the Disco, but I knew more than that one song. It was too bad that most of the world forgot about him.
Then in the year 2018, Panic at the Disco release their sixth studio album “Pray for the Wicked” and the second single “High Hopes” blows up. This song peaks at number four on the billboard charts, higher than ““I Write Sins Not Tragedies” ever reached. We got a hit song on our hands. Panic at the Disco will never be considered a one-hit-wonder. Brendon now has two songs he has to play at every concert. I hope he is happy. I mean that, I really hope Brendon is happy, he is a talented song writer I really hope his recent commercial success brings him some joy.
What else has Brendon been up to lately? What’s this? “ME!” A collaboration with Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift - ME! Featuring Brendon Urie
Oh, that is bad. That is really bad. This adds an entire extra layer to my perspective on things. What has Brendon from Panic at the Disco become?
Some additional research reveals to me that Panic at the Disco is now a solo act for Brendon Urie, and it appears he has decided to be a pop rock star instead of an indie rock star. This is what we like to call “selling out.”
Well this is a disappointing development. But here’s the thing, I am too old to care.
There comes a time in a man’s life where the existence of artificial corporate pop music is no longer so offensive. Every generation believes their current top forty is the worst it has ever been, and that music is all garbage now because they can tell the top pop tracks are terrible, but time corrects everything. If you look at any top charts list, from any country, since the years they started recording such things, you will find that not a single year has very many truly memorable songs, but the songs you do remember, they are gigantic classics that everyone loves forever. The truth is short term popularity is infinitely less valuable then being appreciated forever.
Knowing all this, hearing the current manufactured music does not bother me anymore. In the long run people will still be listening to Mozart just like people will still be listening to Michael Jackson. Pop music is random, and we should not let it bother us even when it is particularly horrible.
For all I know, maybe Brendon Uria always wanted to be a pop star. He looks happy dancing with Taylor Swift, even if the whole music video is a huge cringe tornado. To the best of my knowledge this is the only collaboration Taylor Swift has ever done, and it was a hit, so from a perspective focused on success, congratulations Brendon.
You know what, maybe Brendon woke up one day and said, “fuck it, I want to buy my mom a house,” and this motivated him to make some money by trying his hand at pop music. Who am I to judge?
The point is, I am too old to be upset about unimportant things like complete strangers trying to make money. I just think it is nice that a band like Panic at the Disco can have a hit song in 2019. Furthermore, I think “High Hopes” is a very nice catchy pop rock song, and I am happy people other than just me are enjoying it.
The Ramones, one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time. They had immersible influence on bands that followed, not just in punk, or rock, but also metal, and weirdly country sometimes. Unfortunately, most of the Ramones are dead, so their musical adventure has come to an end. This does grant us the opportunity to reflect on their entire career all at once.
I have had the privilege of being alive for the majority of the existence of the Ramones, and I feel like my experience with this band is similar to that of the general publics. I had no idea who the Ramones were until sometime in the early nineties and by that time it was almost too late. As the Ramones began to die off and their careers began to end, the popularity of their music grew. Their popularity was seemingly mathematically inverted to their activity as artist. They were a partially unknown band for a long time, as were punks of their era, and society needed to catch up to fully understand and appropriately appreciate what they were doing. My interest in the Ramones runs parallel to this trajectory, the more the Ramones fade into the past, the more I pay attention to them, and the more I appreciate them, just like the general public has done.
When I was young and in high school, I remember someone, somewhere, say that all Ramone’s songs sounded alike. I have heard that remark again recently, though it escapes my memory once again where I heard it, and I think when I was young, I might have agreed with that sentiment, but not anymore, now I know better. I strongly suspect the origin of this misconception has everything to do with the popularity of the Ramones early works, which had a formula that was tried several times at that point in their careers. Like all great artists the Ramone’s changed their style over time and there is a wonderful variety in their later works. Today however, I want to talk about those early days and that style that made the Ramones icons of punk rock.
One the key things that made the Ramones special was the velocity of their music. There is a famous quote from one of the Ramones, which I could presumably look up on the internet, but I am going challenge myself by trying to quote it from memory, “our songs are not short, we just play them really fast;” pretty sure that is it, and no, I do not remember which Ramone said it. This thought, this quote, I think perfectly encapsulates the music of The Ramones early in their career. Their rifts were principally simple, and on paper, easy to play, but for those who dare to try to cover the Ramones, it is not as easy as it looks, at least it is not easy if you want to do it right. Matching that pace is very difficult.
This fabulous speed that Ramones played in, made them stand out. Their ability to play together in unison with the desire goal of racing through their songs is an incredible feat, and their live performances are so impressive there is no wonder why so many musicians that followed thought of them as champions and were so keenly inspired by them. Cross genres too, that is rare.
Back in my high school days, nearly two decades ago, I remember well smoking joints in the parking lot at school listening to “Blitzkrieg Bop,” sure there were other Ramones’ songs being played, but that song stands out in my memory uppermost.
“Blitzkrieg Bop” is the first track on the first album by the Ramones, so this does feel like an appropriate place to start a conversation about the Ramones.
“Blitzkrieg Bop” is a perfect example of that fast early years punk rock style which the Ramones invented. The song is a mere two minutes and ten seconds but would easily have been three and a half minutes or so if performed by a different group. The rifts are all simple but highly catchy. Everything the Ramones did back then was deceptive. The song “Blitzkrieg Bop” sounds simple, but the timing and exactness of the layers intertwining is genius level music. But I like “Blitzkrieg Bop” because it is fun.
“Blitzkrieg Bop” is an apex fun party punk rock song. The beat is fantastic, the entire song is one big wonderful hook. It is punchy with high energy and there is zero chance of it out lasting its welcome because it is so short and sweet. Even the lyrics, are about going out and having a good time mixed with a metaphor about military conflict. In a single word, I think “fun” is a good way to describe “Blitzkrieg Bop.”
It is insane that when I listen to “Blitzkrieg Bop” now, it does not sound to quick to my ears anymore. Maybe I have been conditioned over the years to Ramones’ music where I can absorb their sounds better, or maybe music has evolved from what the Ramones started and if I am really serious about studying music of great haste, these pioneers are no longer the craziest speed freaks of punk rock. The truth is probably both.
It pleases me that every recent Spider Man movie has a Ramone’s song on the soundtrack. The Ramones are the perfect choice for Spider Man. Firstly, one of The Ramones most infamous cover songs if their rendition of the theme song from the old Spider Man cartoon. When a musical group does something like that, they have forever linked themselves to that franchise. Additionally, the Ramones are music of youth, even though these songs came out forty years ago, they are timeless songs of youth, partying, and casual rebellion. You cannot be a rock band, or a punk rock band, without some presence of rebellion; that is just the rules.
It is a very good thing that the world continues to appreciate the Ramones more and more. As a guy who writes about music on the internet for fun, I like to fancy myself as someone in the know, and say something like “I liked the Ramones before they were cool,” but that would be a lie, I have followed the same trend as most people embracing the Ramones more and more over time; that statement is also inaccurate because the Ramones were always cool.
When explaining to friends my love of horror movies, or graphic violence, or other extreme content, I typically elaborate the common connecting thread of high emotion. Great horror, or anger, or sadness, can intensify great joy when overcome, the peaks feel taller when the valleys are deeper. An identical enjoyment exists for me in sad music; like really, really, sad music.
As touched upon in the last Music In Review, I am not a big fan of country music, with of course the most notable exception of Johnny Cash. However, there is some deeply depressing music in the genre of country so sometimes, though not often, I come across a song so morbidly saddening that it appeals to me, if for no other reason than it has ventured into the realm of high emotion.
Enter, John Moreland.
Like many musicians, and songs I discover these days, I happened across John Moreland while letting youtube play whatever it wanted to while I was at work or super high, somehow, I manage to never be both at the same time. The song “You Don’t Care for Me Enough to Cry” plays and it is sad, really, really, sad.
The second verse:
“Now I'm forcing myself into, What you've already been through, But darlin’ I can't help the way I feel. And you need something stronger, A drug to kill the hunger, And ease the awful pain of living here.”
Wow that is sad. I love it.
Then the third verse is this:
“I dreamt I'd take you with me, And you'd say you forgive me, And we'd live out some easy ancient song. Now where I am unattended, In a splendid love's remembrance, You lost the mind to even do me wrong.”
Wow, she cares so little about him she cannot even muster the energy to mistreat him. Ties in nicely with the chorus and song title:
“You don’t care for me enough to cry.”
So, those are some very sad words, clearly, but the delivery of Moreland’s soulful voice adds that extra something special that elevates this song to the level of high emotion. This is not just a sad song, but a deeply painful display of heartache. So, on these merits alone we have a fine song, but, the fine guitar picking of Moreland bestows upon our ears that needed sorrowful twang that is both country and yet universal.
So, then I watched this live version of this song:
Music City Roots Live From The Factory:
And, ah, god lord, that is a big man.
It is principally irrelevant what Moreland’s physical appearance is, what truly matters in the context of any conversation about his music, is the music. Our attention should be on his soulful voice and guitar skills; however, I draw attention to Moreland’s size for one reason, the opening line to his chorus on this song is as follows:
“Well I'm the kind of love that hurts to look at.”
Do you think maybe this line is meant both figuratively and literally?
I must imagine that Moreland’s deals with a variety of health issues both being the cause of and consequence from his body. I suspect there is a significant number of people he has encountered in his life that have been very rude and cruel to him. Lastly, I assume a strong majority of woman would disqualify him from romantic consideration. This line, about how difficult his love is look upon, was miserable enough as is, but once we apply this second dimension, it is possible to interrupt a personal tinge of anguish from the man Moreland. We all experience heart break but damn, the scenario this single line infers to me paints a truly painful struggle.
Lastly, let us return to that live video, and look at the faces in the crowd. No one is smiling, they all look very unhappy, yet I am confident in believing they are having a good time. They came to enjoy the quality live music, but they also came to take in all that sadness. There is a comfort in sharing pain with others, a reminder how similar our capacities for joy and sorrow are. This is a perfect example of what I talk about when I say I enjoy dark subject matter and high emotion. That connection we can find in each other when we explore the human condition, whether it is pleasant or not. This song “You Don’t Care for Me Enough to Cry” captures all of this and more.
Legend has it that papa Carter, June Carter’s father, would go for hunting trips in Ontario, and when he did, his go to guide was grandpa Kelly (as in my grandfather), and sometimes he would bring Johnny Cash with him. Is this true? I do not know, but I sure like to believe that it is.
Speaking of Ontario, it was in Toronto when Johnny Cash proposed to June Carter successfully. If the biopic movie “Walk the Line” is to be believed, Johnny asked June to marry him many times before that fateful night in Toronto. This moment was capped off wonderfully with the performance of “Ring of Fire” one of Johnny’s most famous songs and written by June. It is a song about falling in fall, and how that can consume you. All who know the details of “Ring of Fire’s” history have wondered how revealing this song is of June’s feelings, and perhaps her forward thoughts regarding her relationship with Johnny.
Like most people who have souls of rock and roll, I do not listen to a lot of country music. Naturally, like most rock and roll enthusiasts, I do however listen to a lot of Johnny Cash. Sometimes I think about the passion rock and roll individuals like myself for Johnny Cash, and I ponder if this is a unique phenomenon in the history of music; but when I do think as such, I always rediscover a logically explanation. Even though rock and roll already existed in Cash’s day, the rebel spirit that would later come to dominate rock and roll was first and best personified in Cash’s hard attitude and acceptance of the outlaw code. In many ways, country music legend Johnny Cash was the first true rock and roll hero.
Since I could not help but mention the fateful night in Toronto where Johnny and June finally accepted each other forever, I think it only sensible to talk a little more about “Ring of Fire.”
“Ring of Fire” is probably the most obvious song to write a blog post about. I am not unique among members of my generation for having this song as my introduction to Johnny Cash. This is one of his more famous songs. When I first heard “Ring of Fire” my young mind interpreted the song literal, about actually falling into an inferno, which I thought was awesome. Naturally as I grew older, I suspected there was a deeper meaning, and in fact a rather obvious meaning and it was not hard to piece together this song was about falling in love.
However, “Ring of Fire” depicts a danger to falling in love. Love can do terrible things to people. As stated earlier, June Carter wrote this song for Johnny to perform, and it is only natural that I, and presumably many others, would look at this song as a indirect lover letter to Johnny from June, and with Johnny singing it, the reply in kind is complete. Now assuming I know and understand the history between Johnny and June correctly, they were in love for a long time, but there was some persistent separation between them. Them being together was a complicated challenge of some sort, and they flirted with the idea and with each other, but June withheld and they coexisted and worked together under this looming desire for a long time before June finally caved with one of the most iconic happily ever afters followed.
But she must have known. If not in the forefront of her thoughts, June Carter must have known in her subconscious, or in her heart, that this burning desire could not be ignored forever. I believe June knew what she was writing and I think in her own way this was her subtle way of telling Johnny, but also, telling herself, that they both would fall into that burning ring of fire and they would emerge, at last, together. I like to think this song was written as a permission note to Johnny Cash to ask June Carter repeatedly to marry him, to help build up her courage to one day finally say yes.
There is one potential major flaw in my theory, June Carter may not have written “Ring of Fire” with her future husband in mind. June’s sister Anita Carter performs the original version of this song. So, it is possible that all that deep thinking I have given to “Ring of Fire” being a musical love note between June and Johnny is projection from the assistance of hindsight. But hey, it is also possible that I am onto something here.
The takeaway, I think, is that “Ring of Fire” is effectively a perfect song. It is universally relatable, it has that country music twang, but also that rock and roll vibe, and it might also possible divine insight into the relationship between two music icons who lived complicated, fascinating, and uplifting lives both apart and together.
Wednesday July 10, 2019, Metric played the Coke-A-Cola stage at the Calgary Stampede. Someone warned me that this was happening, but I did not listen. I nearly missed it. Luckily for me my best friend, the same one I have mentioned numerous times recently on this blog, gave me a text out of the blue inquiring if I would join him on this adventure. We had seen Metric live once before at the Stampede Corral back in 2012, so we have been listening to Metric for a long time. Exactly how long my friend brought up numerous times before and after the show. We have been listening to Metric since 2002, seventeen years. Man, I still think of Metric as a new band. The passage of time is unrelenting, what I once thought of as new is now a classic.
So, we went and saw Metric. It was a great show. It was the sort of show where I was reminded just how many songs by Metric I like. They opened with “Dead Disco” and closed the show with their new track “Now or Never Now.” Other notable songs they performed include “Help I’m Alive,” “Gimme Sympathy,” “Breathing Underwater,” “Black Sheep,” “Gold Guns Girls” and a truly great performance of “Dress to Supress.” The fact I felt the need to list so many songs that Metric played should inform the reader of two facts, I really like a great many Metric songs, and I also really enjoyed this show.
Like all music performances, before the show I had a few songs in mind that I was hoping to hear, and one of the lesser famous songs of Metric’s I wanted to hear, but figured I would not, was “Twilight Galaxy.” The second song they played was “Twilight Galaxy.” Good times.
“Twilight Galaxy” appears on Metric’s fourth studio album Fantasy, released 2009. Fantasy is a powerhouse album by Metric. Easily their best album. Four of Metric’s biggest hit songs are present on Fantasy, “Gimme Sympathy,” “Help I’m Alive,” “Gold Funs Girls” and “Stadium Love,” three of which I got to hear at the Coke-A-Cola stage. The other songs on Fantasy while less well known, are range from good to great; there are treasures on Fantasy throughout, and to me, most importantly, the fourth track “Twilight Galaxy.”
It is possible that “Twilight Galaxy” is my favorite Metric song. This is one of those laid back and mellow songs that works perfectly as a background song to introspection, or meditation. There is a real nice cosmic feel to the whole thing, the dancing symphonics from the keyboard echo into deep space and assist us on our journey.
Studying the lyrics of “Twilight Galaxy” the story is no where near as cosmic as one might expect. I think the song is about acceptance.
The first verse:
“Did they tell you, you should grow up, When you wanted to dream. Did they warn you, better shape up, If you want to succeed. I don't know about you, who are they talking to? They aren't talking to me.”
A common spirit of rock and roll is rejecting the status quo, and this opening verse ties into that. Maintaining a healthy youthfulness is important to free spirits. Resisting the social pressures to confirm and live an ordinary life can be fearful proposition.
The second verse I like a lot more:
“Did I ask you for attention, When affection is what I need. Thinking sorrow is perfection, I'd wallow 'til you told me. There's no glitter in the gutter, There's no twilight galaxy.”
The struggle is real, and we can et addicted to sadness if we are not careful. Artistic expression is frequently drowned in sadness and wallowing in our self loathing is not as glamorous as we sometimes perceive it to be. There is no glitter in the gutter.
We have a half verse before the outro, which I believe sums up “Twilight Galaxy’s” message:
“I’m alright now, Come on baby, I’ve seen all the demons that you’ve got, I'll pick you up and take you where you want.”
Facing our own demons can be challenge enough but accepting others for theirs can be equally challenging. Wrapped up is sorrowful creative thinking can surely be draining, sometimes our loved ones can help pick us up our of a funk.
But this raises a question, what is the “Twilight Galaxy?”
Giving my less than perfect knowledge of Metric’s songs, I have noticed a trend of dreaming big is regards to music and the dark side of such an endeavour being explored just as much as the great goodness of such a thing. “Twilight Galaxy” is present on the fourth Metric studio album, by which plenty of time had passed for Metric to become success and thus familiar with the reality of being a soft rock star. I think the “Twilight Galaxy” is the unrealistic expectations of artist, specifically, musicians, what they hope to experience and how they will live once their songs end up on the radio or after they create a strong following. There are no stories that are identical, and no two musical groups with identical experience or personalities to respond to this events, whatever was dreamed up was just that. There is no “Twilight Galaxy” and by 2009 a matured Metric knew that.
I return to my initial simple explanation of “Twilight Galaxy;” this is a song of acceptance. Accepting yourself for who you are, and what your life has become, and acceptance of those around you who discourage you sometimes.
But mostly, I just find the mellow sounds of “Twilight Galaxy” super relaxing.
Until next month keep on rocking in the free world.
