As i mentioned previously i made a 5 hour Halloween playlist for my friend Morgan who is studying in America just now. She had her dorm party last night, i hope it went well.
7 Years ago today the late, great Elliott Smith died. There is still some debate as to whether he committed suicide or not. But that’s another matter altogether. This post is to celebrate the life of Smith and the never ending legacy that he left behind.
I’m a huge fan of his songwriting skills and voice but i’m simply in awe of the raw emotion he could pluck and strum out of 6 simple guitar strings. There are only a handful of people in this universe of ours who can somehow make me feel the way i do when i listen to Elliott Smith tracks. His albums aren’t ones that i listen to when i’m company of friends. No, Elliott Smith is best experienced alone and dare i say it when you’re feeling down. If you know his back story and the struggles he went through then you’ll know what i mean. The words he sings, the way he sings them, the guitar he strums and the way he strums it can inspire anyone, no matter how down you are, to find that little extra bit of strength to pull through the darkest of times.
He was and still is an inspirational figure to myself and many my friends but it’s not just us who love him…….
His songs have been covered by a wide variety of artists and through a huge spectrum of genres. Here’s a select few.
On the 1st of November, Domino Records release a best of Elliott Smith CD simply entitled “An Introduction To……Elliott Smith”. The tracklisting is pretty flawless. Elliott Smith isn’t the easiest person to make a best of compilation for as he has so many songs that are worthy of making the cut but the album has been whittled down to 14 tracks from this supremely talented and gifted artist.
Live he was a phenomenal force. Quiet yet loud. Happy yet sad. Weak yet somehow strong. All the while very shy and very endearing.
You can download a live Elliott Smith set from Stockholm in 1998 here.
Here’s the setlist:
1. Angeles 2. Division Day 3. Clementine 4. Alameda 5. Between the Bars 6. Pictures of Me 7. Waltz #2 8. Rose Parade 9. Some Song 10. Say Yes 11. Needle in the Hay 12. Roman Candle 13. Independence Day 14. Speed Trials 15. 2:45 AM 16. No Name #1 17. Thirteen
I’ve never seen him live in the flesh but i’ve seen a lot of YouTube videos and this one in particular gives me chills every time. You feel like he’s in the room alongside you playing for only you.
So tonight i can finally get round to uploading my set from Eclecticity last month. I blame Chris for taking so long! Although to be fair he has done a really good job of converting the set and keeping the audio quality at a good level (it’s around 260 kbps). Before anyone gets the wrong idea and thinks this is actually the live gig audio, it’s not. It hasn’t been a miked up recording and caught audience noise, buzzing bass and crackly beats and all the other crap that comes along with it. No, what he done was simply record my set through Traktor while i was playing . So it’s a perfect, clear and audible version. Anyone who uses Traktor will know that it only deals in wav files when it comes to the recording function so these files have been converted to MP3 and Chris has very kindly chopped what was a 4 hour set into 1 hour or so sections. This will allow me to burn them onto discs and also make downloads easier.
Tracklisting (Part 1)
1. Queens of the Stone Age – Someone’s In The Wolf
2. Japanese Popstars featuring John Spencer – Destroy
3. HTRK – Disco
4. The Question?
5. Teki Latex – Dinosaurs With Guns
6. G-Tronic – Suckerpunch
7. TKNK – Tank
8. Refused – New Noise
9. Missil – Get Busted
10. Dgtl Monkey – In The Middle
11. Designer Drugs – Drop Down
12. Cyberpunkers – OMG
13. Mix Hell – Highly Explicit
14. The Mastertrons – Gardaland Is Destroyed
15. Audionite – Blank Volume
16. Buy Now – Body Crash
17. Dirty Disco Youth – Minds…Off
18. Night Kids – Gurgle 2.o
19. Polen – Funk You
20. Felix Da Housecat – Kick Drum
1. Felix Da Housecat – Kick Drum
2. The Subs – Mitsubitchi
3. Moderat feat Busdriver – Beatswaysick
4. EdiT feat The Grouch – Artsy
5. Bloody Beetroots feat The Cool Kids – Awesome
6. Kissed With A Noise feat Young Buck – Watuppp
7. Congorock – Babylon
8. Micro Prophets – Steel Your Soul
9. Mighty Fools – Amsterdam
10. Boemklatsch – Bonafied
11. The Party Squad – Pull Up
12. Modeselektor – Dancing Box
13. Boreta – Bubblin’ In The Cut
14. Black Holes – War Drums
15. EdiT – Battling Go-Go Yubari In Downtown LA
16. Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me
17. Dublicker
18. The Qemists – Dem Na Like Me
19. Nixon – 2012
“I was in the back of my car, sleeping in the sunshine”
There’s nothing better than finding an amazing track that can be best enjoyed in the late hours of a clammy summer night when the light is still fighting to shine over dark right into the wee small hours.
Previous songs that could’ve laid claim to being contenders for “Feel Good Hits” of summers gone by are Matt and Kim’s “Daylight”, Iglu and Hartly’s “In This City” and one of my all time favourites from Head Automatica. The song in question is of course is “Beating Heart Baby”. That song reminds me of my last year of teenagerdom and dancing like a maniac in the Cathouse under the influence of Jack Daniels and Sambuca. There are of course many more. Most people find their own anthems of choice and it reminds them of a certain summer and how amazing it was. Summer’s always amazing, right?
There is however a new summer song in waiting…..this track has the potential to become the anthem of your and everybody elses summer if you let it. Its bruising synths and the unique ecstatic, excited voice are the perfect company for sitting in the park with friends drinking and reminiscing.
“Polaroids and drinking red wine, sleeping in the sunshine.”
Jaguar Love also have a few more tracks worth checking out. I’ll be honest i’ve never been too impressed by their debut back in 2008 but the newest album, “Hologram Jams” is pretty much a summer pop gem. Think of a likeable mashup of MGMT, Weezer and Head Automatica singing songs about things such as cherry soda and the like. Singer Johnny Whitney describes the new material as “kind of Daft Punk meets New Order meets Black Flag” so take from that what you will. They’re also really friendly and down to earth guys. When i bought a t-shirt at a gig of theirs it was frontman Whitney who sold me it. They do all their own merch personally and meet the fans which to me has always been a good idea.
I can’t wait now that summer has properly started. Late nights, drunken picnics in the Botanic Gardens, stoned strolls through the walkway, lots of pictures and of course plenty of “Feel Good Hits” to listen to.
S.I.T Wolf X
ps. on the subject of “Feel Good Hit of the Summer”……Queens of the Stone Age are releasing a special ten year anniversary edition of “Rated R” that’s loaded with extra tracks and a live performance from a Leeds/Reading show. It’s due for release sometime in July. That month just happens to be my birthday……..
Just a wee extra….
So will this summer be….nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, red wine and polaroids?
You share your birthday with Will.I.Am, Terence Trent D’Arby and Eva Longoria. Julius Ceasar was murdered on this day as well apparently.
Oh and it’s a national holiday in Hungary. Just thought i’d throw that in for some international appeal. And you never know they might be secretly celebrating your birthday.
“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you….”
I know you’ve probably seen this before but here it is anyway….
The only things i could think of which were bad luck related were black cats, the number 13, walking under ladders, opening an umbrella indoors, walking on the cracks in the pavement, breaking a mirror, magpies, ravens and i wasn’t sure if standing in dog faeces is unlucky or lucky. I think it varies from culture to culture. Personally i think it’s a bit of both….it’s obviously quite unlucky to stand in it but then again surely your day can only get better if you tread in shit so it could be kinda lucky i suppose. Dunno really.
This is a subject i’ve wanted to write about for a long time now but i’ve only just found the time to get down to it tonight. The song that made me decide to finally commit to this post was Owl City’s “Fireflies”. I heard it on the radio at work and although i find myself humming along to its undoubted catchiness i still can’t get the fact that he’s ripped off The Postal Service out my head. First time i heard it i actually thought it was a new Postal Service song. He even makes himself sound like Ben Gibbard through extensive autotuner and compression use. Yet i had to laugh when i read an interview with him in which he stated that he had only ever really heard a few Postal Service songs before and that they hadn’t really “caught his ear”.
Here’s the section:
“I’ve become more of a fan (of The Postal Service) having started Owl City, actually. I had some friends in high school that would have it playing in their cars and stuff. It was cool, but it never really caught my ear. It’s kind of ironic, looking back at it, because a lot of people do relate the two projects. I can totally see it now, but I didn’t really then, for what it’s worth.”
Hmmm…..sorry Owl City but i get a pungent waft of bullshit when i read that.
VIDEO: Owl City – Fireflies
VIDEO: The Postal Service – Such Great Heights
But i’m not picking on or singling out Adam Young for being influenced by The Postal Service. All i’m saying, all i’m asking is how does it come across? Is it plagiarism or coincidental influence/inspiration?
Some of my favourite bands have been hugely influenced by others to the point of almost sounding like them so i’m not saying it’s a bad thing, don’t get the wrong idea. Interpol clearly listened to Joy Divison. A Place To Bury Strangers obviously owned some My Bloody Valentine records. Josh Homme grew up with Black Sabbath and Black Flag. Boards of Canada have heard Brian Eno. I could go on. Put it this way if there was no Jesus and Mary Chain there’d be no BRMC and if it wasn’t for The Cramps or The Birthday Party i’d imagine Eighties Matchbox would sound a bit different. So it is a GOOD thing to be influenced.
Without a shadow of a doubt one of the hardest things to do in music is create a truly original sound. There’s that much music around that it’s nearly impossible to create a song that cannot be compared to another band or another song. Personally i feel that bands are now labelled as “the new insert famous band name here” too much, there’s nothing wrong with comparisons but it get’s a bit boring when every week some new band are being labelled as the new Sex Pistols, the new Oasis, the new Green Day or the new Babylon Zoo. Ok, forget that last one. In fact forget them all, i’m not a fan of any of the bands i mentioned, they’re just the first famous-ish ones that popped up. I have in fact been guilty of labelling bands once or twice myself to be honest. On this very blog actually, i believe i said Japandroids could be the new Death From Above 1979 but i did state that i also don’t like labelling bands.
“….Make no mistake, these guys have the potential to be the new Death From Above 1979. Although to be honest i don’t like comparing bands to each other, it’s not fair on either so instead i’ll just say the Japandroids sound like they might be influenced by DFA and it’s a badge they seem to wear with pride.”
But that’s going slightly off subject. This is about the plagiarism/influence debate not labelling bands. So back to it, here’s a few examples of apparent plagiarism. Some are obvious, some are slightly similar.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs vs Love and Rockets
The Accused: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Gold Lion
The Original: Love and Rockets – No New Tale To Tell
Hockey vs anything by Tom Petty (this was a suggestion by Emma)
The Accused: Hockey – Song Away
The Original: Tom Petty in general
Elastica vs Wire
The Accused: Elastica – Connection
The Original: Wire – Three Girl Rhumba
Green Day vs The Kinks
The Accused: Green Day – Warning
The Original: The Kinks – Picturebook
Nirvana vs Killing Joke vs The Damned
The Accused: Nirvana – Come As You Are
The Other Accused: Killing Joke – Eighties
The Original: The Damned – Life Goes On
Couldn’t find an embeddable (is that a word Kempy?) video for this one so here’s the MP3
So it can be everything from drum beats to chord progression and rhythms to vocal delivery, it’s more or less all been done before by someone somewhere. That’s not to say there’s nothing original left but it is does make for a good debate on similarity, comparisons and the old age debate of a blatant rip off. And what does it tell us about music today? Has it really all been done? Or is that unknown chord still out there waiting to be found?
I mean, bands take influences on board, of course they do. If you grow up listening to certain music and then you yourself begin to play music, of course you’re going to have taken something from the music you love. The chances are that the band you love and are influenced by have themselves been influenced by someone else. It’s an endless line of influence, a knock on effect, a domino effect, musical dominoes if you like.
I only discovered about three years ago that what i thought was part of one of the best Queens of the Stone Age drum intros ever is in fact copied straight from a Black Flag song. One of the opening drum segments of “Song For The Dead” and the intro to “Slip It In” are pretty much identical. Queens of the Stone Age actually came out and stated that the intro to “Song For The Dead” is in fact an homage to Black Flag. All together now….Awwwww, bless.
I, myself have questioned what i come up with when writing tracks or making music. I constantly find that i tell myself “oh you can’t have that at the breakdown bit, it sounds too much like QOTSA” or “you can’t use that intro, it sounds like a Mogwai rip off”. Just the other week i wrote a song that i thought sounded too much like something Boards of Canada would compose, i kept it in mind anyway and called it “Bored Of Canada”. It sounds a little bit like this one by the reclusive legends…
This is a special Halloween mixtape, feel free to download it if you want. I threw it together this afternoon in the midst of a hangover. Apologies for the quality of the track “Dragula”. The bitrate was really low and i only realised halfway through the mix. I would have left the track out if i’d known but i recorded the mix all in one go and made the mistake of not checking the quality of the tracks first. Like i said i was hungover and it was a last minute thing. I just had a quick browse through some of my music files and took the songs i thought to be most apt for a Halloween mix.
Something Wicked This Way Comes Tracklist
——————————————–
1. Intro
2. Queens of the Stone Age – Burn The Witch
3. Smashing Pumpkins – Ava Adore
4. Rob Zombie – Living Dead Girl
5. Eagles of Death Metal – Chase The Devil
6. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – Puppy Dog Snails
7. Pixies – Dead
8.Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
9. The Cramps – Human Fly
10. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – I Put A Spell On You
11. Prodigy – Voodoo People
12. John Carpenter – Halloween Theme Tune
13. Michael Jackson – Thriller (Remix)
14. Zombie Nation – Forza (Fukkk Off Remix)
15. Zombie Nation – Kernkraft 400
16. Designer Drugs – Zombies!
17. Rob Zombie – Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Remix)
18. NiKiT – Sudden Death
19. Bobby Pickett – The Monster Mash
20. ToToM – Ghostbusters Theme vs Smashing Pumpkins vs Ram Jam
21. Max Romeo and The Upsetters – I Chase The Devil
22. Imogen Heap – Getting Scared
23. Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy (Intro only)
Ok, sticking with the Lost In Translation theme of the last post i just want to share a song i randomly came across online. It’s possibly one of the most beautiful songs i’ve heard in a long time. It’s a mash-up of such between two very contrasting bands. Being brought together are my favourite band, the alternative legends Queens of the Stone Age and in a very daring and inspiring move the French electronic duo Air, who are pretty legendary in their own right too.
Right, you’re wondering where the Lost In Translation theme i’m talking about is yes? Well the Air track being used is “Alone In Kyoto” which was a centrepiece (musically) of that particular film, to me the title of the song and how it is used sums up the whole film. It’s an amazing, strangely calming piece of music in it’s own right but for some reason when it’s paired with an acappella of the blatant sex-infused lyrics of “Make It Wit Chu” by QOTSA it becomes even more amazing, even more calming. The songs perfectly match the whole way through the song and compliment each other beyond belief. As for the chorus, the moment it kicks in i get a little tingle in my spine. The way that the phrase “I Wanna Make It With You” kicks in and the piano of the Air track just sound so good together.
It’s a new and exciting twist on the genre of mash-ups which is probably (although not always) more commonly known for rap accapellas, glitchy beats and electro synths. Fortunately for us there are a few exceptions out there, DJ’s who will make alternative mash-ups, guys who will take songs that really shouldn’t be put together and make magic happen and that’s exactly what this is…
Have a listen to both songs individually first off with the YouTube videos and imagine them together and then download the MP3 at the bottom of the post. You’ll be missing out if you don’t.
ps. i don’t know if anybody actually downloads the MP3’s i post on here or not. But if you only ever download one track off this blog make sure it’s this one! Just click on the title once and it’ll open in a new page then right click it and save target as or left click once more and you can save it. Thanks.
Yet another new section..been meaning to start this section for weeks and since i’m bored and sad about missing out on going to An Audience With Kevin Smith i thought i might as well start it now…
Just video posts with lyrics underneath them.
1. THE VEILS – VICIOUS TRADITIONS
“I’d Pull My Weight If It Made Any Difference……..”
I’d pull my weight if it made any difference
He gave his life for the nine million others
But on his graves written “Here lies Joseph”
His countrys gun and innocent soldier
Well fight your way out of this one
Fight your way out of this one
Fight your way out of this one
Fight your way out of this one
He grew a blood red vision for all their good “intentions”
He made an easy million from a foreign investment
He danced with the devils in beautiful buildings
Affirmative action for a useful reunion
He’d change his name if it made any difference
Now hes waiting in line for the lasting confession
And on his graves written “Here lies our son Joseph”
His countrys gun and innocent soldier
Well fight your way out of this one
Fight your way out of this one
2. THE POLICE – EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC
“Though I’ve Tried Before To Tell Her….”
Though Ive tried before to tell her
Of the feelings I have for her in my heart
Every time that I come near her
I just lose my nerve
As Ive done from the start
Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on
Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand rainy days since we first met
Its a big enough umbrella
But its always me that ends up getting wet
Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on
I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day
And ask her if shell marry me in some old fashioned way
But my silent fears have gripped me
Long before I reach the phone
Long before my tongue has tripped me
Must I always be alone?
Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on
3. RADIOHEAD – FAKE PLASTIC TREES
“…and if i could be who you wanted..”
Her green plastic watering can
For her fake chinese rubber plant
In fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plants
Just to get rid of itself
And it wears her out, it wears her out
It wears her out, it wears her out.
She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns.
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins.
And it wears him out, it wears him out
It wears him out, it wears him out.
She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love.
But I cant help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And it wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out.
And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted,
All the time, all the time
4. RYAN ADAMS – LA CIENEGA JUST SMILED
“..i’m too scared to know how i feel about you now…”
“Ah the night…here it comes again”
It’s on with the jeans, the jacket and the shirt
How’d I end up feeling so bad
For such a little girl
And I hold you close in the back of my mind
Feels so good but damn it makes me hurt
And I’m too scared to know to how I feel about you now
La Cienega just smiles…”see ya around”
And I hold you close in the back of my mind
And raise my glass ’cause either way I’m dead
Neither of you really help me to sleep anymore
One breaks my body and the other breaks my soul
La Cienega just smiles as it waves goodbye
“Ah the night…here it comes again”
It’s off with the jeans, the jacket and the shirt
How’d I end up feeling so bad
For such a little girl
And I hold you close in the back of my mind
Feels so good but damn it makes me hurt
And I’m too scared to know how I feel about you now
How I feel about you now
La Cienega just smiles and says, “I’ll see you around”
5. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – GO WITH THE FLOW
“…i want something good to die for, to make it beautiful to live…”
She said “i’ll throw myself away, they’re just photo’s afterall”
I can’t make you hang around
I can’t wash you off my skin
Outside the frame, is what we’re leaving out
You won’t remember anyway
I can go with the flow
Don’t say it doesn’t matter anymore
I can go with the flow
Do you believe it in your head?
It’s so safe to play along
Little soldiers in a row
Falling in and out of love
Something sweet to throw away
I want something good to die for
To make it beautiful to live
I want a new mistake, to lose is more than hesitate
Do you believe it in your head?
I can go with the flow
Don’t say it doesn’t matter anymore
I can go with the flow
Do you believe it in your head?
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Someones In The Wolf 