Rebel Meets Rebel - Cowboys Do More Dope

The Calgary Stampede is upon my doorstep so I might as well talk about some cowboy music. As a rock and roll guy my interest stems from that genre more so than any other, so the best gateway to go from rock to country is bands like The Drive by Truckers, who are basically a country/rock group. I have a lot of metal fans who read my music in review and frankly I have the perfect metal/country group to suggest to them, Rebel Meets Rebel.

Back in the golden age of working at Ceili’s Irish Pub my good friend Gary turned me onto some really good music, namely Black Label Society, but also Rebel Meets Rebel, so as thanks goes, thank you Gary Henderson, you always rocked.

Rebel Meets Rebels defined themselves as a crossover project of American heavy metal / outlaw country, and is a team up of metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell and outlaw country singer David Allan Coe, both rebels in their own right. Fans of Pantera will immediately enjoy the presence of Dimebag Darrell.

Seems to be that Darrell was always a big fan of David Allan Coe, and outlaw country music, which does explain the whole “cowboys from hell,” theme Pantera had going for them their entire career. Admittedly I was never a fan of Pantera, and I never knew who David Allan Coe was before I was introduced to Rebel Meets Rebel so it was quite the experience hearing them for the first time. It was made all the more interesting for me since it was the first time I truly appreciated Dimebag Darrell’s talent, might have been one of those metal mess moments I talked about last month’s Flaw review, I don’t know.

Furthermore it is always interesting to see styles clash. When it works it is a wonderful thing, a combination of two sounds typically thought to be very different coming together and proving that good music really knows no boundaries. Rebel Meets Rebel is good but also fun, it’s fun to hear a country legend sing about his gambling debts with a metal touch to it, and speaking of fun this month’s song is “Cowboys do more dope (than Rock and Rollers).” I grew up in a small town where I was one of the “Rock and Rollers,” but unlike other “Rock and Rollers,” I actually got along with many of the “Cowboys,” and I got to tell you, it’s was a tight race.

When I think of the Calgary Stampede I think not so much about the western culture of my fine city but more about the big party that consumes the downtown, you know, where I live. So a song about Cowboy’s partying like rock stars, seems very, very appropriate to me. As an added bonus the song is awesome.

Have fun at the Stampede folks, or don’t.

Until later this month keep on rocking in the free world.

- Colin Kelly

ZI Kill - Calling

News flash, Japan rocks!

There is a certain level of fascism in the music industry in regards to language. When the Scorpions started getting their band together they wisely choose to sing in English knowing it would help sell records globally, and it appears the majority of European bands have followed that business plan since; Avantasia (Germany), HIM (Finland), Nightwish (Finland), and Power Symphony (Italy) are all past Music in Review examples. There are few exceptions, like Rammstein who mostly sing in German but even then they became popular in North America with English versions of songs like “Du Hast.” The point is, if you want to get attention in the global music market odds are you had better be singing in English.

I understand why the English language dominates the airwaves, especially here in North America, people like to sing along. The one thing you will notice with most (if not all) pop hits they are all easy to sing along too. What’s the most important money marking market in the world? America. What’s the most common language in the world? English, especially as a lingua franca. So it makes sense, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily fair to non-English speaking musicians, or fans that couldn’t care less about what language the song is in.

As you should have surmised by this point in this month’s music in review the song we are talking about is not in English, it’s in Japanese.

A long, long time ago, my big brother Sean and I were watching “Fatal Fury 2” the anime based on the fighting game, and at the very end when my hero and yours Terry Bogard throws off his hat and yells “okay!” as he is want to do, the end of the anime is signaled and the ending credits roll. In silence Sean and I sat through the entire ending credits, something which we never do, I mean who bothers to watch the ending credits? But we both sat there amused by the song being played. After the credits finished Sean and I turned to each other and just before I could say it to him he said it to me “that song really rocked out.”

Indeed.

We watched the ending credits a few more times to soak in the song, and yeah it was a full on, kick ass, rock song. We surmised by the English chorus that the song was called “Keep on Calling,” and later learned that it was actually just called “Calling.”

Interestingly “Calling,” was the first mp3 I ever downloaded. This was like 1995 or something so downloading music was new and very new to me. I remember downloading the mp3 and not having anything to play it on, my computer had no idea what an mp3 was. It was almost embarrassing at school when I asked my friend Steven La’Roche “what’s an mp3?” Steven always being the cynical sort told me rather insultingly what I needed to know to play the song, and thus my life of listening to music on the computer was born.

Later on I learned the song was by a band called ZI Kill, and after listening to other songs by them they are a pretty good rock band, but there is no question in my mind that “Calling,” is by far their best. Maybe it helps that I always think of Terry Bogard when I hear the song now. It was also interesting to me to learn that ZI Kill actually had a small following in the U.K., in fact their single “Calling” was recorded there.

I think it’s important to keep an open mind in regards to music, because you never know where a good song will strike your ears, like the ending of an anime, in fact this is not the first time you have heard me reference a song from an anime; Seatbelts – Blue was reviewed way back in November 2007, and I can assure you, it won’t be the last. I still haven’t talked about the interesting sub-genre of rock and roll in Japan known as “Super Robot Rock and Roll,” I don’t know if they actually call it that or not… but yeesh they have a lot of rock songs about giant robots in Japan. If this last sentence wasn’t enough to convince you Japan rocks, nothing will.

ZI Kill give them a chance, they are a good rock band.

Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- Colin Kelly

Flaw - Only the Strong Survive (Acoustic Version)

“It’s mine,
It’s pure,
And as decent as I can,
Make myself inside.
We all know,
Only the strong survive.”

At one point in time I was on a musical mission, I mean other than the one I’m currently still on known as the “Music in Review,” I was making an issue with one solid idea, that faster wasn’t always better.

For several years the friends I was staying in touch with musically were really into hardcore metal. I understood their love for such music, it was inherently rebellious, and in concept and in style it was bold and daring, but that didn’t mean it was good. I remember watching videos of various guitarists and being really upset with what I saw, they were playing amazingly fast and clearly had talented hands but the songs they were playing were a blur of uncomplimentary sounds. My more musically talented friends, and I have several since I have no talent, would be in awe with what such guitarist could physically do since they knew to appreciate the difficulty of it, but I was at an odd advantage, being an untalented ignoramus I saw the final product for what it really was, shit.

A lot of metal music, suffered from this for years. There was never a thought put forth to create a melody or rhythm and no matter how fast you can thrash a guitar if what you’re playing is an incomprehensible mess you are going to sound terrible.

I found the perfect song to illustrate this point, though the point may have been better made three or four years ago, I’d still like to make it. Flaw is a metal band that I do not know much about, but I do know one thing the music they make is, for the most part, an incomprehensible mess. Just another example among many who thought that they could create enough flash in their playing style to offset their lack of song writing ability, but Flaw did something that halfway proved me wrong. Flaw proved they could write a good song if they stopped being stupid.

Flaw – Only the Strong Survive, is not a very good song, in fact I would go so far to say it is a bad song. Nothing offensively terrible but definitely bad, that is until you hear the acoustic version. The acoustic version only has piano and acoustic guitar, no bass player demanding the lead guitarist’s attention, no drummer so stupid they forget they have a responsibility in the band, no metal mess, just a simple solid and very heart felt good song. They stopped trying to impress everyone with how dumb they can carry on and focused on the song itself and low and behold it made a world of difference.

Now this mission I was on was never a mission against metal music, I like a lot of metal music, it was a mission to save metal music, and while I doubt my influence made a great big deal of difference it seems with the central European movement towards symphonic metal change has come. But still any band that is all flash and no substance I can point to one song and say, “that’s what you’re doing wrong.” That song is Flaw – Only the Strong Survive.

Now to focus on the song itself for the last few paragraphs; it is a strong chilling song about death, and “we all know; only the strong survive.” Death has always has been a topic of great interest to me, and why not, it is the end of all things, the final chapter, the loss of someone forever, how is that not important and therefore interesting. It has become something that I now take for granted, but we all know, that only the strong survive, it is a major theme in everything I write, the strong surviving and the weak perishing, I believe it’s true and so does Charles Darwin. Even in our day and age of peace there will always be physical and emotional troubles that plague us, and the only way to survive them is to be strong. This is not a declaration of motivation, it is more of a mandate, it is a statement of fact, you must be strong, there is no recourse there are no other options. You must be strong.

Flaw managed to do a very good job of capturing this in “Only the Strong Survive,” it helps in the acoustic version you can actually make out what the singer is saying, instead of trying to sound metal cool, he pours his heart into the lyrics giving it a much more emotional and gripping tone. Being able to make out the words helps in a big way since the chorus is very solid and poetic, even though the verses are a little weak. It is a song that pulls you in, and by the end when the singing is over and the piano plays till the finish, every last note played seems to echo like the song is never going to let go of you.

Arguably Flaw got lucky with this song, but I’m pretty sure they just finally started using their talents intelligently.

“You will survive, I will survive, we will survive...”

Until later this month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- Colin Kelly

Led Zeppelin - In The Light

This music in review was a long time coming. It’s my favourite song, of all time, ever since I was thirteen, and that’s a long time now. Led Zeppelin was my first love but they had at least one song I thought rivalled Stairway, and that song was “In the Light.”

Like a lot of songs that really got me through hard times there are both positive and negative emotions associated with them, and way back in September 2008 I reviewed Rush – “Working Man,” and I was unhappy with what I had done, I went off on some angry tangent and didn’t focus on what was really important, the music. It is probably my only regret thus far in the music in review. So I’m not going to make the mistake again.

Led Zeppelin – “In the Light,” is the first track on the second disc of the two disc album “Physical Graffiti,” an album that shares the honour of my favourite album of all time, tied with Pink Floyd – “The Wall.” Whenever asked the deserted island question those are the only two albums I ever say with confidence.

For the longest time I knew the opening sentence I would use to introduce “In the Light,” it went something like this; “there is something about “In the Light,” that I can’t explain, it means something more to me then words,” but that is bullshit. When someone says things like “it can’t be explained,” usually means the person explaining it is too stupid to explain things, or in my case it means I don’t think you’re smart understand what I’m saying, well I don’t think either is true, so here we go.

Robert Plant stated the three songs he felt were his best performances ever were “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” “All My Love,” and “In the Light.” Once Page and Jones had the instrumental written up for “In the Light,” Plant heard the song and within moments had the lyrics done, it just came out of him like these words were something he had been dying to sing his entire career.

“In the Light,” came to me at the perfect time, it was Zeppelin who I worshiped, I was young and just discovering them, and here was this almost lost gem that only die hard Zeppelin fans really seemed to talk about. It was songs like “Stairway to Heaven,” and “In the Light,” that defined what I considered to be brilliant song writing, it is more than a song, it’s a story, and any good story starts slow introducing to you the characters and setting, it lets you get comfortable, and then excitement increases, intelligently and methodically, and you experience a powerful serge of emotion from the tales of these characters, and it moves you in a way you didn’t think possible. “In the Light,” in one listen did this for me, my thirteen year old self was struck and the feelings associated with this song has never changed, only strengthened with time. As I grow older I start to appreciate what Robert Plant is saying in this song more and more, it’s like I always knew but as I live through the lyrics I understand all the more.

This is one of those songs you should give a listen to by yourself, and let yourself absorb every sound, and every word. The message of believing in yourself, but also there is a slight sense of spite, which very much agrees with me, like saying to a lover “hey, did you believe I could leave you?” yet still a romantic and touching song “As you would for me, I will share your load.” So sad yet so promising and optimistic, “When love is pain, it can devour you, but you are never alone, I would share your load.”

It says a lot to me, I stand strong and alone in life, and when I reflect on every past attempts of reaching out to a potentially lover, it’s always the same, for me, “I would share your load, baby let me.” I think you can see why this song only gains meaning for me with the passing of time. It’s the greatest song ever, I think so anyway.

Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- Colin Kelly

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven

It is commonly considered the greatest rock song of all time, a riot broke out once when they didn’t play it live, people have conspired satanic messages and messages from god by manipulating the song and lyrics. It was the song that gave them the respect they deserved all along; it was “Stairway to Heaven.”

It is hard, if not impossible to consider any band greater than Led Zeppelin, even their works that received less praise are some of the best albums in the entire genre of classic rock, they are hands down the greatest rock band of all time.

After joining The Yard Birds, Jimmy Page was soon left without a band as they broke up in 1968. Someone once joked that Page starting a band would crash like a Led Zeppelin, the greatest retort ever, Led Zeppelin. Within two years Zeppelin had three amazing albums, but it wasn’t until 1971 when “Led Zeppelin Four” was released did people finally realized just how great Led Zeppelin really was, this was when “Stairway to Heaven,” hit the airwaves. Stairway broke the expectation of what a hit song could be, it was eight minutes in length considerably longer than any number one hit song on popular radio before then, and unlike most lengthy songs Stairway was not edited for radio play. The producers were almost afraid to touch the song for they knew the celestial greatest their ears beheld.

Stairway to Heaven is in all aspects a perfect song. Stairway is long and elaborate, the instrumental, most notable Jimmy Page’s guitar strikes a variety of combinations over the eight minute adventure, sounds so beautiful and never heard before, and even now, never recreated. Also the message and meaning of the song is deep and mysterious, as stated earlier people have tried to dissect both godly and satanic messages from Stairway, a true poet runs the risk of having his words warped, which is the price to pay if you really want to make an emotional connection with others. The fact that Stairway could touch such a violent variety of spiritual thinkers in such a powerful way truly makes the point of just how effective the song is at touching the human soul. I honestly believe if you want to dissect the song you will find J.R.R. Tolkien overtones. “In my thoughts I have seen, Rings of smoke through the trees,” this is almost an exact quote from Tolkien, describing the hobbits knowing Gandalf is coming because they can see his pipe smoke above the trees. Still I like the fact this song brings out such strong emotions in everyone.

I knew a day would come when I would feel obligated to talk about Stairway, it was a song that could not be ignored, but still what is there to say? It’s the greatest song of all time? It may well be that but most everyone already knows that, and most everyone already knows that Zeppelin is so much more than just this one song. Still it felt necessary to point to the high standard set by Stairway and simply remind myself and the music in review this is what other musicians aspires too, it’s what I aspire to as well, we all aspire to greatness, and if there was one word to describe Stairway I think that’s it, greatness.

I’m reminded of what Merlin said in “Excalibur,” “That's it... and look upon this moment. Savour it! Rejoice with great gladness! Great gladness! Remember it always, for you are joined by it. You are One, under the stars. Remember it well, then... this night, this great victory. So that in the years ahead, you can say, 'I was there that night, with Arthur, the King!' For it is the doom of men that they forget.” I really like that movie. This music in review is a reminder of something you already knew, dare you forget it, ever.

- Colin Kelly

Interpol - Lights

2010 was a good year for me in regards to music, many of my favourite modern groups released albums, and among them Interpol released their self-titled album. This is Interpol’s fourth album, and it being the self-titled album is kind of funny but this is hardly the first time a band has had their self-titled album be something other than their first.

Interpol was going through a transition, bass player Carlos Dengler was preparing to leave the group and after their third album “Our Love to Admire,” there was tension in regards to creativity. Paul Banks (lead singer and rhythm guitar) was not pleased with the scene they had fallen into, many bands go through this once they become popular, “Our Love to Admire,” was the first album to get nationwide attention upon release. Paul was taking the potential threat of “selling out” so badly he was even considering moving to New Jersey, which he may have done for all I know, but the point is they were New York’s new big band to love, so that move would have been a big move.

“Interpol” the album is similar to “Our Love to Admire,” insofar that it does not compare to their first two albums, there is a solid consistency of quality throughout both albums but neither are awe inspiring like “Turn on the Bright Lights,” and “Antics,” except for one song, “Lights.” Sometimes that all it takes, one song to rekindle our faith in a band, I was ready to get used to the idea that Interpol had already pasted their prime after two albums (which isn’t at all uncommon) and I would have to enjoy good but not great music from them from now on. “Lights,” is a different story, it’s the only song on the last two albums that as good as any song on the first two albums.

“Lights” does something I love, it builds itself up, it starts out slow and the rhythm never changes but the tempo does. At first, slow and calm and by the end fast and intense, this is one of those songs that really should be listened too on high volume; it will help you notice the change in tempo and also in volume. Interpol is very much a band of small details if you listen to “Lights” on a higher volume you are more likely to catch some of these subtleties.

Like all Interpol songs the lyrics are deep and mysterious, leaving any guess for interpretation as good as any other. The video is strange visuals, intense strange visuals of course, and perhaps a specifically intended meaning lies within. I had heard that the video was a visualisation of medical/chemical process but I can’t remember what it was and I can no longer find information about it. It would figure for Interpol to do something that far out, but whether or not that is the case I do not know.

Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- Colin Kelly

Interpol - Not Even Jail

It was four years ago I talked about New York’s Interpol. It was a band I always wanted to revisit, because their first two albums were just incredible, having mentioned one track off the first album, “Turn on the Bright Lights,” I knew eventually I would have to talk about their second album, “Antics.”

It was a sweet moment in my life when I saw Interpol – Evil on Much Music. At that point in my life I had pretty much given up any hope of ever seeing a good music video again, but here was this puppet in a car crash wincing and irking as it sang the lyrics to the song. Nothing special really, but I really enjoyed seeing the range of emotion they could muster from slightly twisting a puppet’s face, and even more so I enjoyed the song.

I felt really cool when I bought the album “Antics,” they were playing it at the music store (not HMV, it was something else in TD square that went out of business), and I said “Hey it’s Interpol.”

The guy at the till replied “yeah, their new album is amazing.”

I believe I said, “Alright, let’s dance,” and proceeded to buy the album on display. I guess I could have grabbed a copy from the shelf, but social grace is a mystery to me.

It was one of those impulse buys that works out so well you brag about it, as if your courage to buy an album you knew very little about made it all the better. That’s what “Antics” was for me, one of many successful impulse buys, and if you hung out with me in 2007 you probably heard me talking about Interpol.

“Antics” is one of the best albums of the last ten years, if you haven’t listened to it yet you have done yourself a disfavour.

Like all great albums I struggle picking out a single song, something of a reoccurring theme here at Music in Review. “Evil” seems like an obvious choice because it was the song that lured me in, but I feel “Evil” is my second favourite on the album. Interpol does a really good job with their rhythm and lead guitar, the rhythm uses simple rifts that become comfortably repetitive while the song grows around the lead guitar, which also uses simple cords to pull you in and ready you for sharp change in the tempo, and the best example of this is “Not Even Jail.”

Like all Interpol songs the lyrics are deep and profound and even a little confusing, which is a good thing it creates this wonderful sense of mystery to the true story being told to us. I have my own interpretation of “Not Even Jail,” but my insights could serve no better than your own, travel this song on your own and let me know what you think.

I do wonder what people would take away from “Not Even Jail,” the opening cord is almost jarring, the first building block in a masterpiece, but enough to shock away any pop music puppet. Despite the simplicity in the majority of their songwriter Interpol’s music is somehow unfriendly to those who do not let the songs pull them in, so I suggest to you, let yourself get pulled into “Not Even Jail.”

Until later this month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- Coin Kelly