3. The Dead Weather – ‘Dodge and Burn’

THREEEE! Dun dun duuuun!

I don’t know what that was….just trying to make it more dramatic.

Hello once again!
I’m looking at the new album from The Dead Weather.
I bought this album for my dad for Christmas, and then quickly stole it and popped it on my iPod!
Just like last time, this isn’t a new band for me – I have their past albums, and am a huge fan of Jack White – got his solo albums, White Stripes, Raconteurs, and finally, Dead Weather.
But – just like last time! I’ve yet to listen to it. So now I will!

I will look at this album as if I haven’t heard any of that band before – although I might compare it briefly, which is hard to avoid because it’s quite a bit different to their past stuff!

Plus, sticking to the idea behind this blog – the artwork is awesome!

It’s a very menacing photo anyway, with everyone (apart from Jack) looking straight at the camera – with their dead eyes. The good news is they’ve perfected their zombie look in time for next Halloween. (The guy on the far left certainly looks like he wants to kill me…)

Then Jack’s in the middle trying to look cool. Who am I kidding? He IS cool! Look at that hair! He’s gone from Edward Scissorhands to Elvis.

The next noticeable thing is the background, which I THINK, is possibly slightly, yes definitely photoshopped. And resembles the Springfield Tire Fire.
Something else I only just noticed – check out the guy on the right – anything seem off?
*Quick google search* Ok, so he doesn’t REALLY have 6 fingers (or 5 fingers and a thumb for all of you who are pedantic…) on 1 hand. There’s a couple of special edition covers, which show and x-ray of a hand with 6 fingers. Don’t really know why though…

Moving swiftly onto the music. Straight off the bat I heard myself saying “Yep – that’s Jack White alright!” because the guitar and feel of the song is just like his last solo album ‘Lazaretto’. But with Dead Weather, Alison Mosshart sings lead vocals – and her attitude immediately comes through in her melodic screams.
The first song, ‘I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)’ is a very energetic start to the album – quite grungy rock with hints of metal and a sprinkle of blues in the overdrived guitar, thumping drums and harmonious bass.

This song really sets the tone for the album – energetic, loud, something my grandmother would HATE. It’s great!
It has a really interesting middle break, where it really breaks down to nearly half speed (it actually feels like it’s going to end, but it’s where they repeat the lines “Why does my heartbeat feel like a speaker? Feeding back. Repeater. Repeater”.
It sounds like it would be repetitive but with the 2 vocals of Mosshart and White blending perfectly, and the little musical quips make it really enjoyable to listen to! It then builds back up to the original speed to finish with the feedback of the guitar as if they’d recorded and put the guitar down and walked away from it, which I wouldn’t put past Jack White. I saw a live gig of his online, and at the end he put his guitar on a stand in the middle of the stage, walked off, and just let the guitar whale away for a good 5-10 minutes until a roadie came on stage and turned the amp off.

As for lyrics, I don’t really know what this song’s about. Although that’s not new for Dead Weather, or Jack White and any of his groups. “Nothing’s a colour, I cross the desert, nothing’s alive. What does the black top know that I have not cracked with my mind?”

Next up – ‘Buzzkill(er)’ carries on the same form – overdrived guitar and bass accompanied by drums with fast rolls blaring in every now and then. It’s a very simple band setup – guitar/keyboard (I think!), bass, drums, vocals. It’s a probability the record has a couple of additions that they don’t do live. But it only adds to it! SO I don’t think it would change much when they play live, if at all – in fact, they could be 10x better! Guess I’ll have to do some research….
*Youtubes ‘dead weather live’* - Oh. My. God. Ok – well, yeah, they’re alright I guess...(Probably not 10x better, but a good 2 or 3 times maybe….!)
As for this track, it sounds like it has keyboard, but it could easily be guitar through about 900 pedals to distort it – but I THINK it’s keyboard. A few notes held a bit longer than they would on guitar, and quite fast changes between notes. There’s definitely a guitar in the mix somewhere too though!
“I’ve got my boots and my jacket on, my cash and key. Got my highs and lows and I come and go as I please. Good Lord, I’ve got no time for you. I’ve gotta run.”

I think the song is summed up in the title. ‘Buzzkill: a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect’. So, I assume, it’s shouting at someone who’s not letting them have fun. And that person, I believe, is God. “Good Lord, forget about me. I’m doing fine.” Oh Lord, I got no minds for you. I will not please. No mercy shall be given me, down in Tennessee. Stop! Buzzkillin’ me!”

Track 3 is ‘Let Me Through’ which is more bluesy than the previous ones. “I’m a bad man, let me through.”  Same guitar again, with the same amount of pedals – but this time the bassist has got a few hundred of his own! I’ve never heard a bass which sounds like it’s going through a battery powered amp at full volume. If I listened to it for the first time without hearing anything else, I’d think my speakers just broke. But knowing it’s meant to be like that, it sounds awesome! It’s like (and I’m getting all drummer here so bear with me) like when you get a nice 20” ride and put a cracked 16” crash stacked on top. Hit it out of context and it sounds worse than hitting a metal bin lid. But put it in the mix a bit and grunge it up, and it sounds great! I mean, it still sounds like you’re still using the DIY-kitchen-kit with added accessories of bin lid cymbals, chip pan cowbell, and pepper grinder shaker. But if you’re playing that behind a band like The Dead Weather, and you’re a good enough drummer, it’ll still sound great! (Also – if any band members, managers, promoters, family, friends of the band see this – PLEASE do a cover of one of your songs on DIY instruments! I DARE YOU).

“I got a bloodhound tooth hanging like a dagger in a bar out west. If you try and pull it down you know I’ll save all my best shots for you. Boom boom boom.” Don’t mess with this girls dog tooth!

The next song is easily my favourite on the album – ‘Three Dollar Hat’.

Before I start reviewing the song – I want to write out some of the lyrics:
I'm that bad man named Jackie Lee
Shooting everybody down with a .33
Jackie said Johnny can't you see?
That you love everybody but Jackie Lee?

Johnny said to Jackie don't take my life
I got three young kids and a bad-ass wife
Jackie told Johnny you're acting crazy
What you know about having a baby?

I won’t copy all the lyrics, but will say it escalates! It’s a very dark, but interesting story told through the song. Surrounded by psychedelic sounds. It sounds like they’ve taken a keyboard, played a song on it, and then sped it up to fit in 30 seconds. Or they got someone like me to go in and play a guitar solo. Out of key, weird timing, not hitting the right notes. But, once again, it works! That’s blues for ya!

The song is written in the first person, and I think it’s about a man called Jackie Lee, who’s accusing Johnny for stealing his hat, and he’s basically going to kill everyone until he gets his hat back. But in the end, it’s the thirst for the hat that kills him.
I thought I’d search online to see if anyone had tried to explain the lyrics, but found something more interesting. A quote from Alison Mosshart: “And as per usual with the Dead Weather, it was written and recorded at the same time. There’s not a lot of thought put into the writing of the music, it’s really just a human, organic explosion. Everyone starts playing at the same time and we start writing lyrics at the same time — just making stuff up and singing.”

Aha! That would explain why I’ve had trouble figuring out what the lyrics meant, and the story or message behind the songs. But The Dead Weather write music which is just fun to listen to, and isn’t meant to be picked at.

So yeah….I guess I’ll leave this review at that.

But then I’ll have to stop listening to it as much…..which I don’t want to do because it’s so awesome!

Ok, review’s re-commenced!

‘Lose the Right’ is next. This time it’s definitely a keyboard, with some kind of cathedral organ setting. (Unless they actually used an organ – which would be awesome!)
This is accompanied with drums and bass. With a guitar solo taking over the song for 13 seconds. I could’ve listened to that solo for another minute or more – it really fits with the song as well as Mosshart’s voice – will have to keep an eye out for a live version of the song. There’s bound to be great solos when White’s on guitar.

“Oh, you lose the right. When your mind goes straight to hell, you lose the right to tell anybody what to do.”  Now that I’ve learned that the band write the lyrics while they’re recording, and putting as little thought into as they can, so the songs are pure and unaltered, I now listen to the songs differently. I’ve always paid more attention to the music than the lyrics and vocals because I’m a drummer, not a singer. So this is a new exercise for me in terms of reviewing the songs and lyrics and the meanings behind the song and how well the artist has portrayed those meanings.
But when those songs don’t really have a meaning, that when it gets tricky!
But this seems to be about someone who has been unfaithful, a hypocrite, or untrustworthy.
“I always knew you put poison in your potion”

Following ‘Lose the Right’ is ‘Rough Detective’.
In this song, White and Mosshart are singing in call and respond. With White starting. “You’re an unusual suspect now and may be right. The kind all men cannot recollect or forget at night. You’re the rough detective with the smokey eye, where the person you are after is the other guy.”
It’s great how well the 2 voices go together. With White’s quite rough, and pitchy. And Mosshart’s quite mellow yet brutal. They’re the best words I could use to describe their voices without looking in a dictionary. No-one sings like them – especially not like White with his high pitched squeals. He sounds a lot like my cat when she’s hungry. It actually seems like she’s taken the vocal lead towards the end of the song, where it’s full of squeaks like someone hasn’t oiled a door hinge in a few years (the lyrics that I found online put that part as “ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah” – but try and sing that breathing in as high pitched as you can go. That’s kinda what it sounds like). The section is then made perfect by the quick-fired line “what’s happening?!”.

It seems like the songs about a detective who’s chasing a suspect, but isn’t a very good detective! “Don’t make me run, baby. Don’t make me run.”. But like the previous songs, it could be about anything! It’s what you make of it really.

Track 7 is ‘Open Up’ which has a nice energetic start and then dies down to lightly strummed guitar and keyboard. Then suddenly. *Thump* and the guitar kicks in louder building the song. But as soon as it picks up, it dies down again. I’ve heard music similar before, while watching ‘Death Race’ – the film where Jason Statham is imprisoned in the most messed up prison in the world (unless you watch Death Race 2….that ones worse.) where he has to drive around and kill the other drivers in a new type of reality TV. This music reminds me of the intro and credits music. It’s not got the same guitar, but it has a similar vibe when it dies down to guitar and keyboard.

The lyrics are….strange. To say the least. The chorus is just “Open up, open up. That’s enough! That’s enough!” repeated over and over with Mosshart singing the first part, and then the rest of the band singing the last part – which could be taken in many ways. I’ll leave you to think it through to yourself….

“Mind is faster than pen but the end is so stupid. Like bubblegum in your hair isn’t fair but it smells good. Breathe in but you choke, but you choke on a mouthful of everything that you hoped, that you hoped was not there. But it’s here. It’s here!”

Next up – ‘Be Still’.
Starting with a full 7.5 second silence, it then comes in with a guitar that sounds so dirty it probably featured on an episode of Time Team. The vocals then come in, and is quickly followed by drums and organ joining in on the fun! “Ice pop. Blue green. Sweet tooth. Yellow thing. You dream in cartoon. Love pink.”
This one, like many of the other songs features quite a lot of screaming, and, like the previous song, has White and Mosshart singing one after another. But this time, they’re singing “Be still” one after another.

The next thing I notice, this song is rather short! It’s only 2:48 – yet feels longer – especially with the dramatic beginning.
As for the lyrics – still not a lot of clues as to what it’s about. They say ‘be still’ a lot. “Little sister, the earth quakes no matter what.”

‘Mile Markers’ is up next with drums and bass followed by a great little drum solo to begin with. “The cold white flamingo wins at black market bingo that we used to play, but we don’t play no more.”
The vocals are very Scatman John and Courtney Barnett. Talking the lyrics in a melodic way, and it works brilliantly! It gives me hope that even if I can’t sing, I can still sing – it also makes the song quite punky, and bluesy – which is a really nice addition to the album. I know most of it is bluesy, but this is a different kind of blues. Old blues like Robert Johnson is a very rich blue, not very bright, but very full in colour. Then this song is a pearlescent finish. Electric blue with a small hint of the colour of Leeloo’s hair in The Fifth Element. It shouldn’t work, but if you look at it just right, it all makes sense and you realise how it’s such an awesome thing!
 This song has the most amount of lyrics on the album by far, with Mosshart talking nearly the whole time, with a few gaps for backing vocals and solos. “Big boys, bad girls, grind their teeth in stereo”.

Next – ‘Cop and Go’.
This song screams 80’s cop show. I don’t know if it’s just the title that made me think that – but it really does!
It starts with a strange guitar noise and a hi-hat hit. Then changes to a synth sound like someone’s having a VERY bad heart attack. The guitar riffs and vocals throughout the song go together beautifully. (Although I wouldn’t call any of these songs typically ‘beautiful’ they’re beautifully written and are nice to listen to, even though the songs themselves aren’t typically a ‘nice’ thing to listen to. It’s not like laying in a room filled with thousands of pillows. It’s more like sitting in the back of a Rolls Royce Phantom, but at the same time it’s being driven around a race track by The Stig. It’s really good fun, and a nice experience, but it’s not ‘nice’ – you’re still being thrown around – but you will have a smile on your face!) So yeah, the vocals and guitar go together really well!
“Look at me on the level, uh-huh. Like we got shit to settle, uh-huh. But all you do is cop like a cop and go.”
I really enjoyed listening to this song – it’s not as weird as all the other songs, but I do have to admit, the constant beeping at the beginning and end of the song did start to drive me up the wall a tad.
‘beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep’

Nearly done! The very funky ‘Too Bad’ is next up.
The first thing that strikes me as strange is the vocals in the intro. It’s simply Mosshart shouting “Hey!” but she’s then put on a carousel which is then quickly spun faster and faster while still shouting every time she goes the whole way round to create ‘hey     hey      hey    hey  hey heyheyheyhehehhhhh’. There is a word for it, but I can’t think of it right now!

“I’m going back, yeah I’m going back. I’m going back to bed baby, it’s just too too too too too bad!”
This song has some really great bass and guitar parts, making it really funky with a perfect mix of rock and blues. I wish I could describe how the song goes using words. But ‘dun dun diddliddliddliddliddle’ doesn’t really work, and I can’t say it sounds like another song, because I can’t think of 1 that it sounds like!
Unlike the next song, which is the last song on the album. (Nice Segue!)

‘Impossible Winner’ confused me for a bit. I thought my iPod had shuffled onto a different album. It sounds a lot like a Bond theme track.
It’s actually written by Mosshart (unlike the other songs which are written together as a band, or by Jack White) – I decided to do a bit of research on this song, because it’s so out of place on this album, and I found something interesting!
Alison Mosshart – “I didn't think of that song as a Dead Weather song” "I just got to the studio before everyone, which is rare, because I'm usually the last one to get there. I was sitting there playing to myself, and Dean just walked in and caught me. He had me play it to him, then he started playing piano. It was like a stupid movie: LJ walks in the door and starts playing bass. Twenty minutes later, Jack gets in and starts playing with us."
Apparently the song was meant to be for The Kills (Mossharts other band), but she wanted to try it out with Dead Weather to see what they did with it. Personally, I think it really showcases their ability! Not only can they play rocky/metal/blues – but they can do big band stuff too!
It could’ve easily been sung by Tina Turner, Shirley Bassey or any of the top female swing singers in front of the London Symphony Orchestra. That’s what it sounds like! Which really says how great Alison Mosshart is! Yeah, she can scream, but damn she can’t half sing!!

“I'm no beginner, I'll be here every night, My name up in lights. The impossible winner.”

And on that note, that’s the end of the album – and what a way to end it!

In summary, I love this album! Which isn’t a surprise, because I love the other Dead Weather albums, and this is simply an extension of those, but definitely shows how they’ve progressed and evolved. It’s definitely a Jack White band because it’s got a lot of the same bits as he does with his most recent solo album but with the great vocals from Alison Mosshart.

I will definitely continue to listen to this album, and will immediately put it on my ‘Jack White Playlist’ which consists of 3 JW solo albums (1 which is live), 2 Dead Weather albums (now 3), 2 Raconteurs albums and 5 White Stripes albums. That way I can have about 12 hours of Jack White. For those who don’t know, I’m quite a big Jack White fan. And if he brings out another album this year (which I doubt he will), I will definitely be reviewing it – just so I can listen to it for a week straight. The review will just be “BEST ALBUM EVER THE END GOODBYE GONNA LISTEN TO IT 10 MORE TIMES. NEXT BLOG – THIS ALBUM AGAIN!!”.

Or, I dunno, I could actually review it….we’ll see!

Do you agree/disagree with anything I said? Like / dislike the review? Any constructive criticisms? Please leave a comment below! Would love to hear from you. Also, if you have any recommendations of albums I should listen to and review (as long as the artwork is awesome), let me know.

Thanks for reading, keep tuned for the next blog.

I’ll be reviewing Bon Iver – ‘Bon Iver’

Don’t forget to check out my website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube below.

I’m doing these blogs alongside my better half; Fern Teather – she is listening to a new albums (doesn’t matter about the artwork, she’s trying to expand her musical knowledge and listen to new artists!). She’s also keeping a blog, and it’s nowhere near as long as this one, so go give it a read!!
Check it out here: 52-albums.blogspot.com

Catch ya laters!

Sam

www.bongoboy.co.uk
www.facebook.com/samthurlowpercussion 
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www.youtube.com/bongoboyuk

2. National Flower – ‘Farewell Michael Meanwhile’

Welcome to blog number 2!

This past week, since finishing listening to The Weeknd’s album, I’ve now moved onto another new album that I bought a couple of weeks ago – ‘Farewell Michael Meanwhile’ by National Flower.

I didn’t primarily buy this one because of the artwork – I bought it because one of my favourite ever albums is by the lead singer of this band!
Michael Sheridan is said singer. Although I only recently found out that was his surname. I know him as his stage name – ‘Michael Meanwhile’.

And so it all comes together! As the title perceives, he is no longer going under the name Michael Meanwhile! Which for me is a very sad moment.
But nonetheless, his new musical direction is just as good as his solo ventures!

The reason that I’ve included ‘Farewell Michael Meanwhile’ in these blogs, even though I’ve heard him before, is because I’ve hardly listened to the album since I got it 2 weeks ago, and because the artwork is brilliant!

That – I believe, is Michael Meanwhile (or at least a 1910 rendition of him) taking on a bear with his bare fists in what looks like a boxing ring – with the ropes going across behind them, and the beam of light coming from…somewhere.

I mean, what more can I say? What a way to go!

Unless he wins…. Would that mean if he wins, he’s going to release more solo stuff?!

As for the music, it’s all very recognisable, and obvious that it’s the same writer, and definitely the same singer as he has a very distinct voice – it’s the kind of voice I could imagine presenting a radio station that plays obscure unknown music, which is always absolutely amazing, but no-one ever listens because it’s one of those stations between 103.6 and 103.8, that you can only get if you slowly twiddle the antenna in a clockwise direction.

His voice is soothing, but equally powerful, and gives my chills down my spine every time I hear it!

The album starts off with ‘Rise & Fall’ with a beautiful saxophone intro which makes it feel as if ‘Baker Street’ is about to start, followed by lead vocals and acoustic guitar. It’s a very laid back, trundling song, with great vocal harmonies, and instrumentation throughout (including even more sax, and some violins thrown in there too).
From the lyrics, it seems as though the song’s about a break up - “How long can the story of our rise and fall drag on? Oh please, you gave me up now give me peace.”
But it’s not too soppy, and even though it doesn’t have many lyrics, that doesn’t stop those lyrics being beautifully written. “You’ve sorried me to death. So let me catch my breath.”.

Bursting in next is ‘Gravity’ – which is definitely showing the other side of the band. Going from the mellow sway of ‘Rise & Fall’ to an upbeat foot-tapping song!
It’s like being drenched with a bucket of water on a hot summers day, and the feelings of joy that come with chasing the sibling who did it around the garden.
I can imagine the band all standing on a stage. With massive smiles and tapping their feet like the Beach Boys used to do – and it’s got a similar feel too! Classic sounding electric guitar. Driving drums.
Unfortunately, because National Flower aren’t very well known (don’t know anyone else who has heard of them), their lyrics aren’t available online anywhere.
With the last review, I was able to go online, find the lyrics, read through them to decipher bits I couldn’t hear in the song, and to try and work out what the songs about (which wasn’t too difficult with pop music, because it’s normally really obvious so that people can relate to without having to think about what the song means). With less mainstream music, songwriters are able to write about anything, and make it sound like anything. Singing about finding love, but changing love into the sun. There’ll be obvious lines, but most of it will be a bit obscure, and you have to really listen and understand all the lyrics.
I don’t think ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams needs much explanation as to what the song’s about.

As for National Flower, their lyrics are obscure most of the time, and use a lot of metaphors. “Take a deep breath, take that battle. Finish what is left. Gravity’s all around, but the skies not falling. If you don’t know that yet, get down off the shelf, because nothing happens by itself.”

‘Here Comes the Water’ is next on the list – and it gives me the strange feeling that this album is
going to be up – down – up – down in terms of song vigorousity. Because from first impressions it’s very laid back and returned me to mellow swaying.

(That’s what I do while I’m listening to the music. Mostly at work, so my colleagues get confused – I then go home, refresh my memory of the songs, sway/foot-tap depending on the SVF (Song Vigorousity Factor – I just made it up, but I think it should definitely be a term proper music critics use for how their body moves while listening to the music!). I then write this review. Not in 1 sitting. The last one I did over 4 days. This one has been 1 day so far! But will take another 2 or 3 to finish it, recorrect any spelling mistakes, look over all the grammatical mistakes and chose to ignore them, update any parts that I’ve changed my mind about, and remove any parts where I rant on for ½ a page. Then publish it!

I also try not to veer off topic too much…….So yeah, ‘Here Comes the Water’ – It begins just acoustic guitar and vocals, and then the drums come marching in, along with slide guitar, which completes the Americana feel for the album, and it then picks up quite a bit! “Here comes the waaaaater”.
Listening to the song, it seems as though it’s about trying not to drown in a flood…but of course, it’s all a metaphor! From what I can make out, I think it’s about being in a relationship, and not letting life get the best of you, and just being with each other through thick and thin and never losing each other. “Grab hold around my neck. ‘Cause I won’t lose you now, and I won’t lose you when it’s above our heads.”

Aaaand up again with ‘Days of Greatness’, commencing with a great little organ rift which sounds happy enough for me to already know this is gonna be a great song! It then gets interrupted by the bash of drums and manic trumpet, and then swoosh, straight into the song.
The SVF of this song certainly had my head bopping as well as my feet tapping – it just screams happiness! It even has a barber shop quartet feel with “bum bum bum” harmonies.

Oi. Stop laughing.

They’re literally singing “bum bum bum badaaa” – and it sounds great! It sounds like it’s just one person singing into a harmony pedal, but I can still imagine 4 blokes in stripy suits standing there singing! With the bloke with the lowest voice standing at the end holding his cherry red braces in his hands. “Come on everyone, turn your face to the sun, before the whole thing explodes”.

In the next song, it’s not as far down as previous songs, but it’s not up…and not on the same level – so it’s TECHNICALLY another down song (if you’ve forgotten by this point, I had a feeling by the third song that the album will switch between upbeat songs and downbeat songs. So far, we’re on song No.5 and it’s gone: down, up, down, up, and now down (slightly) – so the next one should be up if it’s true).
But for now, ‘Don’t Forget Me’ (ironic song title considering I nearly just went veering off topic….again).
It’s got a great feel to it – almost Wild West kinda feel. Strumming acoustic guitar with electric guitar picking on top. Just replace that for a banjo and you’d think you were standing in the glaring sun outside the saloon in Armadillo chewing tobacco and spinning your six-shooter round your finger. Just waiting for the outlaws to ride past. Ye-haw!

When it went to the next song, I thought I’d suddenly started listening to Wheatus or Third Eye Blind (up again!) – it just has that feel to it! Drums introducing the song, and then the ‘chickachickachicka’ of an electric guitar (I don’t know the technical name for muting the strings while playing a chord) and then BAM straight into the song – ‘Hey Geronimo’. It quickly then dips down when the vocals come in, so it’s just vocals, drums and bass, and it continues to dip and dive between the quieter verses, and then louder choruses.
I’m gonna be honest, before I googled ‘Geronimo’ I had no idea what the song was about.

“According to paratrooper Gerard Devlin, ‘Geronimo!’ dates from August 1940, and is attributed to Private Aubrey Eberhardt, member of parachute test platoon at Fort Benning. The parachute had only recently been adopted for troop drops and this platoon was the first to test it. On the eve of their first jump, the platoon decided to calm their nerves by spending the day before taking in a film at the Main Post Theatre and a night at the local beer garden. The film they saw was a Western featuring the Native American chief Geronimo. Its title is uncertain, but it was probably the 1939 film Geronimo with Andy Devine and Lone Rangerstar Chief Thundercloud in the title role.

On the way back to barracks, Eberhardt's comrades taunted him saying that he would be too scared to remember his name. Eberhardt retorted, "All right, dammit! I tell you jokers what I'm gonna do! To prove to you that I'm not scared out of my wits when I jump, I'm gonna yell Geronimo loud as hell when I go out that door tomorrow!" Eberhardt kept his promise and the cry was gradually adopted by the other members of his platoon.” - Wikipedia

Once I’d got that into my head, it all made sense.
“Hey Geronimo, Where’d you go when you jumped off [of that] edge? Did you want to be alone? With your thick skin.”

Next up, ‘Just One of Those Things’.
It starts with vocals, on their own. Which is great! There’s then a short bass & guitar rift, and it picks up a bit, right up until there’s a looooovely hi-hat snap followed by a completely silent…silence, and then big cymbal crash, and then straight into the chorus! (I am a sucker for sudden breaks in songs.)
And this song is full of them!! MMmmmmmm!!
It’s such a feel good song, but I know how his lyrics can be sad when it sounds happy, and vice versa.
I keep trying to work it out, but I can’t. And every time I listen to it I keep hearing the line “Polish my bell and you’re gonna want to ring it!” and just burst out laughing!
But I can’t really make out any other full sentences to give me an idea of what it’s about. I can make out random words like bull, rifle, paper bag, playground, and a few short out of context sentences.
But nonetheless – the music sounds great!! And it’s upbeat! – finally, right near the end, they break the sequence!

Nearly done – ‘Weight of the World’ brings it down once again. And yet again has me thinking what the song could be about. Personally, I think it’s a lot about looking out for someone, whether it’s someone with a mental disorder or a troubled partner. “Take a load off your bleeding shoulders and put it on mine, and the weight of the world will fall”.
It’s got a very country-gospel feel to the music, with slide guitar throughout and organ coming in at the end to build the song for a big finish…which dies out just before the end, in order to not be too rocky.
Funnily enough, I can’t think of anyone else that it sounds like. It’s just very them. All the other songs have a little catch that I can hear in other songs – it might sound exactly the same as some songs, but I have a limited musical spectrum. I don’t know all the Led Zepplin songs, or all the Lady Gaga songs. I know MOST of the Red Hot Chili Peppers songs….that’s thanks to my dad for playing them constantly throughout my childhood. I can still remember shouting “I DON’T EVER WANNA FEEEEEEEL LIKE I DID THAT DAY!” while sitting next to him in the car, both of us tapping along to the drums. And there, begun my love for drums.
But the point is – I don’t know all the songs ever. But hopefully this project blog will help narrow that gap a bit, and should add about 500 songs to the list of songs I always respond with ‘no idea’ when asked if I like it or not. I don’t go along with the whole looking cool by knowing every song ever response – not since I saw the video of people being interviewed at Glastonbury and being asked if they liked “The Keychain Syndrome” and responding with “Yes! They’re one of my favourite bands!”, only to find out that I just made up that band name….. Honestly, the looks on their faces when they were told up front that they’re a liar, was priceless!
And I’d say it’s more embarrassing to say you love a band that you’ve never heard of, then get asked to play it or sing along and have to then say “Actually….I don’t know it” than it is to just be honest and say you don’t know a song. You’re human. You’re not expected to know every song ever. Plus, it’d make life a lot more boring if you did know every song ever. There’s nothing quite like finding a new song and being obsessed with it, and playing it over and over and over and over and over and over until you then hate it and never listen to it again!
It’s what makes life worth living!

Speaking of which – next new song!
‘Red & White & Blue’ keeps the SVF at a mellow sway, with just finger picked acoustic guitar coupled with vocals with a clarinet or other smaller wood wind instrument playing a couple of bars here and there – but that’s it. So it’s a very laid back and acoustic song. The kind of song a good guitarist who could sing would be able to play on their own – which then makes me wish I could 1. Play guitar that well, 2. Sing that well & 3. Find chords and lyrics online….which I can’t, I’ve tried.
It sounds like it’s about a man called ‘Murphy’, and possibly their death. Like a tribute to the person they were. “Murphy you’re a Prince, perfect in a pinch. Everybody knows it.”
The title refers to the colours of the American flag “As the Roman candles do what Roman candles do. The 4^th of July has been redefined” – whether that means it’s about someone who passed on the 4^th July. “The Roman candle. They got nothing on you as you’re draped in red and white and blue”.

I might be missing an important detail about who Murphy is, but I don’t know much about American history, but it would make sense if the song was about an important figures death, it has that feel about it.
“Murphy don’t look now. We’ve thrown you to the hounds, they’d gladly eat you up, but tonight they’re eating out. So Murphy be a pal, and forgive what we do. Because we never deserved you.”

But whatever who or what it’s about, it’s the most beautiful song of the album. Simple and powerful.

The last song is a riot. Literally. ‘Riot’.
It’s instantly obvious that this album is ending on a high!
With pounding drums and electric guitar rocking out non-stop from start to finish….which, after listening to it for the 4^th time on repeat, does get rather repetitive.
“I wish that we could start a riot, there ain’t no way we’re going quietly. When the wolf is at the door don’t look surprised.”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good song – and listening to a lot of songs on repeat makes them seem more repetitive than they actually are. When I listen to the album through, without skipping tracks or repeating them, it’s a great finish!
As for the lyrics – same as on some others, it’s difficult to decipher the words and meanings without seeing it all written down because some words aren’t recognisable unless you already know what he’s singing – especially when metaphors are used.
And this is yet again, another song that I can’t work out the meanings behind the words. “Recklessness stands to reason. Sit and knock them back one, two, three. Cause right now is less is more than ever.”

So…..a song about being drunk and wanting to riot about something?
Don’t know…..maybe you’ll have to go listen to the album and let me know what you think! ;)

And on that note – IT’S DONE!
To sum up the album, I’d definitely recommend it if you like Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth, and clever lyrics along with great instrumentation and warming vocals.

I’d say my favourite song out of all of them is either ‘Days of Greatness’ or ‘Hey Geronimo’ – they’re both really feel good songs, and have really clever lyrics that I can’t get out of my head!
The whole album does get a bit tedious when it’s alternating between energetic songs and slower songs, but if you put it on shuffle it’s absolutely great!
The artwork is really clever, and I think it is as playful as the music is, so works really well. If you saw it in a shop, you might giggle in your head, and imagine that it would sound upbeat and a bit quirky – which it manages in bucket loads. Just like it did when he was just Michael Meanwhile.

Do you agree/disagree with anything I said? Like / dislike the review? Any constructive criticisms? Please leave a comment below! Would love to hear from you. Also, if you have any recommendations of albums I should listen to and review (as long as the artwork is awesome), let me know.

Thanks for reading, keep tuned for the next blog.

I’ll be reviewing The Dead Weather – ‘Dodge & Burn’

Don’t forget to check out my website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube below.

I’m doing these blogs alongside my better half; Fern Teather – she is listening to a new albums (doesn’t matter about the artwork, she’s trying to expand her musical knowledge and listen to new artists!). She’s also keeping a blog, and it’s nowhere near as long as this one, so go give it a read!!
Check it out here: 52-albums.blogspot.com

See you in a while...

Sam

www.bongoboy.co.uk
www.facebook.com/samthurlowpercussion 
www.twitter.com/bongoboyuk 
www.youtube.com/bongoboyuk

1. The Weeknd - 'Beauty Behind the Madness'

Hello!

Welcome to the first of many album reviews!

If you didn’t see my last blog, click HERE to go to it, and give it a read.
That will get you up to date with what I’m doing, and why!

Done?

Good! Not much more to go – I just wanted to say that I will lay the review out starting with the artwork, then moving through each song and a summery at the end – these are of course all my personal opinion, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously!

Anyway! Let’s get to it!

So – the first album I listened to this year (simply because I bought it on 31^st December and I think the artwork is cool!) is ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’ by The Weeknd.

I’ve seen the album advertised on telly and all over the internet. Now, I haven’t ever listened to The Weeknd, so didn’t really know what to expect. I’d only heard 1 song from The Weeknd before then. That song, of course, was ‘Can’t Feel My Face’. The song which has been played on radios and in the charts for a few weeks, and weirdly, I thought it was really good! (I tend to like more musically complex stuff, but I liked the funkiness of it!)
I obviously won’t start with that one, I need to talk about the key part of a CD – the part that catches your eye when you look at the hundreds of CDs in HMV….

Let’s discuss the artwork.
I really like it!
There, done – next?

Only joking!
I really think it’s important, especially for solo artists, to have their face on the front cover. It seems really self obsessed, but it means people can scan across a rack full of albums and see a familiar face!
Of course, if every band and artist did this it would be a sea of faces – moody black and white, cheesy smiles and pouts going from the top shelf to the bottom.
But for newer artists, who haven’t been popular for very long, but are in their own music videos and are the ‘face’ of their music, it’s a key part of advertising!
The cover they’ve done for this album is a great example of taking a simple black and white photo of the main singer, and giving it a grungy feel – it’s like those mix and match ‘perfect boyfriend’ collages that stereotypical teenage girls do in 90s American films. Cutting Justin Timberlakes hair out of NME, Tom Cruises smile out of TIME and Zac Efrons eyes out of Entertainment Weekly, and then glueing them together on a piece of card, and looking into the mutants beautiful eyes and imagining being with them forever. It’s LIKE that, but a bit more like a blindfolded 5 year old tried to cut his eyes out, but then gave up and just stuck the whole face on a piece of card with cuts and rips all over the place.

But with that in mind, and the title of the album – ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’, I actually think that’s the kind of thing they’re going for. Mix matched cuttings out of magazines glued together to make a mutated perfection. But this time, the teenage girls only have 1 photo to use.

But do I think the cover matches the music? On some songs, yes. But it’s a very diverse album, with lot’s of genres floating around. A lot of it is electronic rock, so they’ve kicked out the classic acoustic drums and overdrive guitar sound for electronic drums and dubstep whooping and buzzing sounds, but there’s a lot of piano and string sections, and the majority of the album is very old school R&B with a modern twist.
For instance, ‘Often’ sounds a lot like Mario – ‘Let Me Love You’ at half speed, and instead of the boy band style of backing vocals, replace those with wubs and buzzes...and then get Moby to remix it – oh, and just making it sound a lot better.

I actually own a R&B compilation CD from the early 00’s (which is how I know all the words to ‘Let Me Love You’….), and this CD really takes me back to those days, listening to that kind of music, but with a very modern twist.

Amongst the R&B songs, there’s a couple of real treasures! ‘The Hills’ being one of them.

It’s a really simple song musically. With only a couple of instruments going at one time, then with vocals laid on top. I can imagine if you hear this in a club, with the bass boosted through the roof – it would be a pulsing shake going through your chest. Of course, it’s not fast enough to go down well in a club, so I guess I’ll just have to turn all the lights off, lay on my floor and put my subwoofer on my chest to get a similar effect – it’s a lot like having a midi keyboard, and just holding one note. (or just try and sing “bvbvbvbvbvbvbvbvbvbv” in the lowest voice you can). The lyrics are really catchy, yet hard to understand exactly what he’s singing. I keep singing “I only call you when it’s half past five” in my head and then do a small body roll when the music (also in my head) drops.

Another stand out song is one I’ve already mentioned – ‘Can’t Feel My Face’.
This one starts like all the others sound – ambient wubs and vocals on top. But then it drops and just goes to drums and bass with catchy vocals on top (which almost forces you to dance like he does in the music video!) I am really tempted to actually play along to this song, because it’s such a straight beat, and really cut back, so it’d be possible to fill it out with some rolling bongos.
One critisism with the song, because I’ve listened to it a few times, it does get boring very quickly. It’s very VERY repetative, and that makes it feel a lot shorter than it is (coming in at a reasonable 3:34!), although for the whole time I’m trying to work out what he’s singing about – love? Lust? Cocaine? Meth? A skin disorder that causes his face to hurt when he’s not with ‘them’? Who knows.

One more song which really stands out (and that I keep going back to listen to) is ‘Dark Times’.
For this one, Mr Weeknd has brought in the world famous (who grew up only 2 villages away from me!), Ed Sheeran.
I don’t know who wrote the song, I’m guessing it was a collaboration, but mostly written by Ed (the lyrics sound like he wrote them – “Waking up, half past five, Blood on pillow, one bruised eye, Drunk too much, you know what I'm like, But you should've seen the other guy”)
I love the groove it has going on with quickly muted guitar. Slow blues. Mmmm delish!
The 2 male vocals mix really well – not too sure about the ‘AAAaaaaaAAAAaaaa’s going on in the background – sounds like someone tripped over in the studio.
I also think it could’ve gone even bigger towards the end, and turned into something really epic. But that’s a very small critisism!

Going back to the beginning – ‘Real Life’ which is the opening track, has a really impacting first 20 seconds of what I can only describe as the sound the Jaegers make on Pacific Rim, and then brings it down to vocals and what sounds like a over-drived cello. The lyrics are the key part of the whole song, but I think the over use of “oh yeah” takes away from it.
I think it really sets the scene for the whole album. With the albums I’ve worked on, it’s always been a stuggle to decide which song should go first. Because that’s the song that people will listen to to decide whether they like the CD or not.
If you put your worst song first, you’ll lose a lot of possible buyers. But then if you put your best song first, the listeners will get bored quickly.
What you put second and third are also key, and I think they chose good songs to start off the CD.
They didn’t go straight for their most well known material, because they saved that for later, so you have to listen to 10 of their other songs before you get to the one you bought the CD for.
‘Losers’ which is the second track is still keeping to the same quality as ‘Real Life’, and starts up the R&B piano and drums – I don’t know what it’s trying to express, but the first line is “Only losers go to school” – I can see why a parental advisory is given!

This is followed by ‘Tell Your Friends’ which is typical 00’s R&B, but with much more complex rhythms and instrumentation. The lyrics are typical R&B with about the same amount of cursing. One line I particularly enjoyed was “I'mma spend it all on b*****s, And everybody f*****', everybody f*****'. P***y on the house, everybody f*****’.”

Bet he thinks he's so cool!

Moving on.
‘Aquainted’ is one of the songs on the album which just kind of passes me by. I can listen to the whole album on loop (which I do for these reviews), but I seem to phase out when it gets to that song. Maybe it’s the point of the album, or the fact it’s placed between the 2 biggest songs – ‘The Hills’ & ‘Can’t Feel My Face’. It’s just nothing special – I do like that they put a Phil Collins style drum roll 17 seconds in to go from the same ambient start into the same cut back verses they have in other songs, and then put it in randomly throughout the song.. Maybe that’s why I seem to just phase out when it comes on – it’s like I’ve heard it before, 3 songs ago.

Another of their well known songs; ‘Shameless’ is one I’ve previously heard – but only a bit of it.
It’s got a nice feel to the music, it’s something about the chords and rhythm that makes me want to burst into improvised dance! Swaying back and forth. Feeling as if I’m swimming, moving through the water. And then the wah wah guitar / theremin sound comes in for the middle eight – it’s nice to hear an instrumental solo in modern music. No matter what instrument it is! It just doesn’t happen very often anymore! In the good old days (I was born in the 90’s, so this is just from what I’ve been told) songs used to be about 4 minutes of solos, and 1 minute of lyrics.

Next up – ‘Earned It’. A song which was apparently in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ (I only know that because it’s in brackets behind the title of the song). It does have a BDSM kinda vibe to it I guess….
But looking past that, it’s a really good track. It’s verging on being a big band number, but doesn’t quite get there. Even though it has mostly a string orchestra doing the music, using the same jabs as there is in ‘Dark Times’ – but this is R&B with classical instrumentation. Which is a refreshing and interesting mix. Even though it feels like a DJ mixing with every Bond theme tune ever.

‘In the Night’ flips the album around with it’s electronic ‘bop’s and synth clapping and manages to make me bop a bit too!
It does sound very 00’s pop – I found myself almost being able to hear Girls Aloud while listening to it. Which was a very strange experience. They’re probably nothing a like, but it was just that feel – it feels like it’s from the same decade. This is another song where I don’t know what it’s about. A girlfriend leaving in the night? Prostitution? The possibilities are endless!
All I know is, I’ve never heard anyone put ‘riveting’ in a song, let alone sing it as greatly as he does – “it’s riiiii-vet-ting”.

Following ‘In The Night’ is ‘As You Are’ – personally, this one kinda passes me by.
The lyrics are quite hard to pick out, and it feels like I’ve heard it somewhere else in the album, even when I go back and realise it isn’t like any of the other songs.
I think it’s the mix of drums, synth and reverbed vocals (which have all featured throughout the album), and the fact that when I read the title, all I can think of is Nivarna – ‘Come As You Are’.

Almost there!!
‘Dark Times’ (still love it!!) comes in after ‘In the Night’, but I won’t drool over it again.

Afterwards, ‘Prisoner’ came in, entering with it’s strange bird calling / ‘oooowwwaaaa’-ing at the beginning – which I find really charming, and I nice little catch which makes the song instantly recognisable.
The title says it features Lana Del Rey – which immediately made me nearly skip the song – I was in a happy mood and didn’t really want to be depressed right now.
Yep – it has quite a depressing feel to it, but the really interesting timing and music distracts for it, and it’s nice to have a female lead vocal in the mix, which it’s lacked throughout the album.
There’s been others feature (Labrinth & Ed Sheeran), and I think the collaborations have paid off – because this is a much catchier song than the previous one. And when I say catchier, I won’t be driving around singing this at the top of my lungs, but at least I can remember bits of it!

Last but no means least:
‘Angel’ – Honestly, when I first heard this, I thought I’d accidently started listening to a rock ballad from the early 90’s. “I don’t remember Bryan Adams writing this!”
Opening with what can only be described as an angelic choir boy, and then BOOM! Kick drum and sliding bass into an organ riff. But then Mr Weeknd’s voice came in – but it’s still going along to the chord progressions found in those classic songs, which a few modern tweaks.
All together, this is a unique song to end the album – but one thing that I don’t like, and that could’ve been avoided if the writers weren’t so….lazy? They repeat almost every line twice in the same line. “Cause all I see are wings, I can see your wings. But I know what I am and the life I live, yeah, the life I live.” And don’t even get me started on the chorus! It’s just the same 5 words repeated again and again, and even got the choir boy and his mates to join in! To give you an idea of the chorus, just imagine the sentence ‘I hope you find somebody’ repeated 1, 2, 3……24 times!

Anyway! Moving on.
I think all together, it’s a really good attempt at a ballad! And a good close to the album.

Aaaaaand

Fin!

After 1 week of religiously listening to ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’, I’ve realised why so many people like The Weeknd. I still have no idea if it’s just one artist, or a band. But I don’t care!
Train has done pretty well for himself!

This album is a refreshing break away from the current norm. Over the past few years, when an artist who writes electronic music (and let’s be honest, that’s pretty much everyone in the charts), and they then release an album – it’s normally the same boring stuff throughout. But this isn’t! It’s a really nice mix of genres and instruments to go along with the brilliant vocals. Yes, some of it’s a bit sketchy – but I don’t think I’ve ever come across an album without something wrong with it (apart from my girlfriends – hers is amazing and you should all go buy it right now! www.fernteather.com/shop ;) ).

I will definitely be leaving this album on my iPod, ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ and ‘Dark Times’ are now amongst my most played, just because I leave it on repeat and keep listening to them both!

And because I bought this album because I liked the artwork, I really do think it reflects the music behind the picture!

Do you agree/disagree with anything I said? Like / dislike the review? Any constructive criticisms? Please leave a comment below! Would love to hear from you. Also, if you have any recommendations of albums I should listen to and review (as long as the artwork is awesome), let me know.

Thanks for reading, keep tuned for the next blog.

I’ll be reviewing National Flower – ‘Farewell Michael Meanwhile’

Don’t forget to check out my website, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube below.

I’m doing these blogs alongside my better half; Fern Teather – she is listening to a new albums (doesn’t matter about the artwork, she’s trying to expand her musical knowledge and listen to new artists!). She’s also keeping a blog, and it’s nowhere near as long as this one, so go give it a read!!
Check it out here: 52-albums.blogspot.com

See you next time!
Sam

www.bongoboy.co.uk
www.facebook.com/samthurlowpercussion
www.twitter.com/bongoboyuk
www.youtube.com/bongoboyuk

About me and this blog

Hi! My name's Sam Thurlow, I'm a percussionist and designer - which pretty much covers my hobbies as well as work!
This is a blog I started in January 2016, and I'm adding to it whenever I get a chance to!

"So what's this blog about" i hear you ask! Well, I listen to an album, write a review of it - giving my honest opinion about the CD, whether I'm going to keep listening to it, whether I think the artwork was better than the music - and it will be in depth, and probably a long (but hopefully very interesting) read!

The reason I'm doing this? Well, I started out just choosing albums because of their artwork. Because when you put an album in shops, the first thing people will see is the picture on the front.
It's the same with books, and the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" - I ask, why not?
But I then got interest to review particular albums, and then personal albums. And thus, we have a review blog! A lot of it is ramblings - but what's wrong with that? ;)


Thanks - hope you enjoy the blogs!
Sam
www.bongoboy.co.uk