Wax Fang - Serenity Now

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.”

Here is the link to that Music in Review blog post: https://colinkellymusicinreview.blogspot.com/2017/09/wax-fang-dawn-of-dead-of-night-of-hunter.html

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.

- King of Braves

Panic at the Disco - High Hopes

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.

- King of Braves

The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

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.

- King of Braves