The Who: Making a Name for Themselves

I’ll be honest. I just sat in front of my computer screen for at least five minutes trying to come up with some clever pun about The Who’s name. Maybe my creative side is a little slacking today or maybe I am just so stunned by this rock group’s sheer strength in the music realm. Before a couple of days ago, I had never listened to a single song performed by The Who. People would talk about The Who and I would just be like “Who?” (Got my pun in… I knew I could do it!). But once I listened to their first album, they made several impressions upon me.

First of all, I think the musicians in this band should get a round of applause. Each one of them possesses abnormal strength in each of their respective instruments. While maybe not as versatile as the beloved Beatles, The Who definitely mastered the art. The Who sound a lot like an epic blend of the Beatles and the Stones. While I kind of insulted the Stones last week, they did possess some good qualities, particularly a more bluesy, country, and raspy sound that I think is incorporated well with their music. Likewise, throughout The Who’s first album, My Generation, they incorporate great guitar solos, swing-like beats, and Beatles-like harmonies that carry the melody.

Speaking of the guitar… WOW. There is not a better way of describing this. Consistently throughout the album, Pete Townshend destroys with his wicked chords and contrast to perfect harmonies, sorrowful songs, or raspy sounds. I noticed that it really didn’t matter what the song was, the guitar had a constant and respected presence! In my notes, I literally just have “Guitar sound = freaking amazing”. You have to also remember that The Who only had one guitarist. Only someone with Townshend’s level of musical ability could pull that off! One of my favorite parts of the album was the insane electric guitar introduction in “The Good’s Gone”. This song also has some nice raspy and rough sounding vocals that tie together the attitude of the piece. Do yourself a favor and listen to this video:

While the lyrical capabilities and song-writing somewhat lacks in my book (primarily when compared to the Beatles), I feel that The Who still leave me satisfied with a majority of their music, as they take me on a journey through harmonies and melodies. I was also rather surprised when it came to their harmonies. In some songs, I felt that I was listening to an all-men’s choir performance accompanied by an insane Keith Moon and rockin’ Pete Townshend. I had never heard such an innocent sounding harmony before in a classic rock song. Despite this, other songs made me have wild flashbacks to the Beatles. Once again, while the actual lyrical poem wasn’t there, the harmonies so closely matched the Beatles, that I literally feel that songs like “Much Too Much” and “La La La Lies” could have been inserted into a Beatles album and I would never have even noticed! They were obviously getting their fair share of Beatles music/influence! Check out these two songs below and see what I mean:

While I was generally impressed by this album, The Who, in my opinion, had some downfalls. Only one song sticks out like a sore thumb in my mind when I listened to it and that would be “The Ox”. I felt like my ears were getting bombarded by randomness and chaos. That is the only word I can use to describe this song: chaos. I felt little organization in this all-instrumental song. I didn’t dislike this song because it lacked lyrics; I felt that it lacked everything. I feel that Keith Moon was just set free to explode his drum set and mess around, and the others just blindly followed toward a complete disaster. This was the one and only pitfall, though, in a generally great album. Luckily, “The Ox” wasn’t the first Who song I listened to because I probably would’ve been turned off of them instantly. This sounded like an early form of dubstep! Actually, dubstep has nothing on this song! They were able to make that horrible of a sound without synthesized instruments.

Overall, though, I think The Who really altered the stage for rock. They made an impact on the scene and affected other artists. In later Beatles songs, I hear influences from The Who and the Rolling Stones sneaking their way into the music. Additionally, The Who expressed such versatility through their album that they always had me guessing. I never knew what the next song would sound like, and the surprise of it all made the listening experience rather enjoyable. I hope that I get to listen to more of The Who because they are rocking awesome.

Oh and by the way, I think Keith Moon probably would’ve liked Jerry Lee Lewis a lot!

Albums or Singles? The Ultimate Choice

Unfortunately, I haven’t been very inspired by any current songs lately so I cannot enlighten you today by analzying a particular song I find thrilling, passionate or powerful.

But, this week I want to talk about a very interesting topic: albums versus singles. Throughout early music, we’ve seen a variety of different albums produced among thousands of bands through any genre imaginable: from country to jazz to rock. As society has progressed, though, I think that we have lost a little bit of the magic behind producing an entire album and have shifted towards pure singles.

This is definitely a direct result from how our listening habits have changed. I’ll be honest, when I post a blog about the latest song that has enamored my ears, I don’t always sit there and listen to the whole album. Even artists I love, like Alex Clare, cannot seem to draw me in for an entire 30+ minutes of pure song. I mean, who has the time? That’s actually the key issue. Time. Time. Time.

EVERYTHING is based on time. If something isn’t quick, efficient, or convenient enough for the user, we as an audience get bored. Let’s admit it: If a page takes longer than about fifteen seconds to load, you start to rapidly attack the refresh button. If an answer to a question in Google doesn’t instantly appear, you NEVER go to the second page. Likewise, if artists take too long, you lose interest. The way our society operates today is all about how much you can do in how little time. This is why albums have been engulfed by short and efficient singles.

And can you blame us? We’re (well most of us) are busy people. Most people listen to music while doing something else. And at heart, we all have a pretty limited attention span. While I and some other music lovers enjoy sitting down and bathing in an entire album, most people get bored with the same style/artist. That’s why things like iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and the shuffle feature on iPods came about. It is to serve the craving people have for music without the negativity of getting bored. And when people do get bored, which they are inevitably going to do, they can move on to the next artist with a simple click of a button.

Because of this craving for instantaneous music, singles have dominated the music industry. While artists may release songs as part of an album, radio stations see potential in a single song and rip it apart from its family and throw it onto the big stage. It is overplayed and shoved down the public’s throats, until the song is whipped and beaten. But before that happens, many singles are enjoyed, loved, and cherished by the masses. Singles allow people to get a variety of different music. They enable exposure to other artists, new genres, and fresh styles of music never seen before. Singles are almost like a taster at an ice cream shop before you buy the whole cup.

While I personally enjoy both albums and singles, I can see how individuals could go either way. Albums tell a story through the songs that is lacking in singles. I see well-done albums as a fantastic, magical mural full of detail and intricacy. I see singles as if the mural was cut into fourteen different pieces. While the one piece could still possess all the great qualities of the art (with all the infinite brush strokes and shadings), it still lacks the bigger picture encompassed by and only seen through the entire mural. On the other hand, if pieces of several murals were pushed together, something new and artistic could potentially take shape.

So the next time you turn on your radio or pull out your iPhone to listen to music, think about this: “Do I feel like I want more of this particular song, or does it stand strong all by itself?”

You decide for yourself: Albums or Singles?

The Stones: A Near Miss for Me

If you’re a Rolling Stones fan, I’m going to apologize up front. I have never before listened to the Rolling Stones and I am probably not very well-versed in all of their singles and albums. But… there is no changing my opinion that at least their first album, “England’s Newest Hit Makers” was nothing more than a jamboree of random instrumentals and jumbled, overpowered vocals. I personally don’t even understand how the Rolling Stones can be said in the same sentence as the Beatles. To me, there is absolutely no comparison on any level; vocals, instrumentals, OR songwriting. On a vocal level, the Beatles are capable of hitting incredible harmonies while I feel Mick Jagger’s voice was very weak and had a lack of presence throughout basically the entire album. He sounded overpowered by the band and was too afraid of his own shadow to burst out into a prominent melody! Next were instrumentals. I thought of the instrumentals as a much more jumbled mess. There is no arguing that they had musical talent; but a) I felt a lack of organization and b) they nowhere near compared to the versatile skills of the Beatles and others of their time. Lastly, their songwriting was almost not even there. What was it? Oh yeah that’s right, that ONE song that they ACTUALLY came up with. Real creative minded people I guess. I might just have been in a bad mood when listened to them, but the Rolling Stones were definitely slacking on a variety of fronts.

I feel that the Rolling Stones released their first album too early. I feel that they needed a little more practice for their strengths to meld into a great album. Because of all the anticipation and hype that I’ve heard from hard-core Stones fans, I figured I was going to be blown away by their sheer talent and awesomeness. Because of all this suspense, I think I felt a little let down or something. To me, the Stones threw in a bunch of great aspects (such as a variety of instrumentals, melodies, and catchy rhythm) and, instead of getting something perfect, they just got a conglomeration of aspects. It’s kind of like making a smoothie. You can have a bunch of great tasting fruit, but if you don’t mix it long enough, you end up with a goopy, nasty, sometimes chunky mess.

I almost laughed aloud at their precocious and pretentious title of their first album. I mean, who actually names their first album “England’s Newest Hit Makers”? That’s like introducing yourself at a party by saying, “Yeah I’m famous, cool, awesome, handsome, dashing, funny, lovely, cute, athletic, strong, and fast. It’s nice to meet you.” This just struck me as strange because they had never been exposed to the industry yet and they were already self proclaiming greatness. While it eventually came, this initial act seems kind of interesting and gives some insight to their personalities.

While the whole album didn’t really work for me, especially with repeated use of the annoying harmonica in EVERY SONG, there were some oases in this drought called an album. One of these oases, was a very upbeat song called “Carol”. Throughout the whole album, I think I was secretly waiting for the Stones to hit their stride. I felt they finally did through this song. It had a very upbeat rhythm and melody. It severely contrasted the other bluesy songs that preceded it in the album. Before this song, I felt like I was listening to a Country album. This song reminded me of the good old classic rock songs! It had wild guitar and instrumentals that worked well with the strong beat and the melody seemed to come straight from rock’s roots. This was probably because they covered Chuck Berry, but I think they did it well. I really enjoyed this song mainly because it was one of the few songs without a harmonica! Check it out:

So while I rip on the Stones a lot, I still feel like there may be some room for them to slowly grow on me as I listen to more and more of their later music.

One More Night - Maroon 5

Unlike Grouplove’s Tongue Tied that I blogged about last week, I feel that the lyrics and meaning behind One More Night are very powerful. The lyrical poem that is created throughout this song offers a theme of the conflicts and frustration that love can cause. This is illustrated well in the lyric “Try to tell you ‘no’ but my body keeps on telling you ‘yes’.” Through this, Maroon 5 gets across the emotional message of conflicting feelings. I interpret this to be that, he is frustrated with his relationship but is kept coming back for more: similar to an addictive drug. I watched the music video for the first time a few days ago and I think it is very well done. It works well with the lyrics and musical aspects in order to put across a powerful message.  I highly recommend watching it! It adds a whole other aspect to the song and embellishes on the story behind it that really helped me gain a full appreciation for the song-writing. Check it out here:

This song is definitely amongst my favorite current singles. It has a nice swing-like beat to it that drives the song through off-beat guitar strums. Starting in the beginning, I love how the drums and vocals overlay this basic rhythm. The rhythm is very reggae-like and carries the song well. I feel the vocals have a very commanding presence. While not a lot of vocal fluctuations or vocal ticks throughout the song (which I personally think add that extra punch to a song), it works well with the general mood and aura. I definitely think it’s refreshing to have a song in today’s time based off of something real/emotional. The music’s pain-filled singing really helps this song accomplish a story.

I tend to enjoy songs that get me pumped up, wild, and want to dance; but this song really doesn’t have that effect. My music is kind of like my food: I like a spicy, jalapeno-filled sandwich with that extra zing, but also enjoy smooth, mild peanut butter if done well. While I enjoy wild songs like Tongue Tied or Too Close with that dubstep zing, I also cherish a well-done, calm, and powerful piece. That’s exactly what One More Night is to me. Because I see the depth behind it, I consider it more than just a fantastic song. I think I enjoy it so much because it is a solid piece of work that took some decent talent and songwriting to perform well and it enables me to reflect/connect with the song. Now, don’t get me wrong. One More Night is no crooning Frank Sinatra! It definitely has its kicks and a pretty wicked climax. Maroon Five does a great job of incorporating current beats, rocking melodies, and relatively calm vocals in order to create a phenomenal piece of music.

Tongue Tied by Grouplove

I really love the introduction to this song. It starts out pretty classy with a light strum of soft guitar and, pretty quickly, other instruments get layered on top of it. I think the basic melody of the introduction and the contrast of certain chords, coupled with a fantastic crescendo in the first 20 seconds of the song really reeled me in like a fish caught on a hook. It builds up so much suspense, the first time I heard it, I had no idea where the song was going to go. It could have branched off into any genre of music, yet it decided to take a route that makes my stomach do a flip from sheer awesomeness.

Tongue Tied, while not having nearly the caliber of Too Close by Alex Clare, also possesses certain dubstep-esque qualities, that make it really interesting to listen to. A quick build up and drop mirrors dubstep while, after the drop, the instrumentals sound a bit more like synthesized guitar and bass sounds. I tend to like limited amounts of this and Grouplove’s song sprinkles it in like a pinch of salt: Not enough to overpower the song, yet enough to make it taste good to the ears. I also found it refreshing that they used vocals in the build-up instead of car-crash sounding screeches as in dubstep.

This song stops short of making me want to full-out dance, but it definitely has a series of good beats, melodic contrast, and strong lead vocals making me sway in my chair. I think the vocals are surprisingly strong in this song and it is incorporated really well into the general aura it brings. Because of a shift in lead vocals (from guy to girl) mixed in with a constant rhythm and melody, this song reminds me of a classic garage-band type of music. It sounds fresh and interesting in a time where music is highly processed. While achieving it merely from the fabric of the song, Grouplove arguably attains a personal vibe similar to the Beatles. They get away with changing vocalists because I feel it tells the song’s story better and offers a more care-free atmosphere to the listener.

I don’t particularly like the lyrics of this song. I also don't necessarily approve of the message in the lyrics or music video. While I don’t think the lyrics offer much to the song or the musical story, other aspects are able to make up for this and ultimately make it a wickedly good jam. Overall, this song sprouts a feeling of rebellion that matches rock’s original roots, yet incorporates a lot of cool instrumentals and sounds, to unify this pretty epic rock song.

While I don’t enjoy the music video itself very much (I feel like it takes away from, rather than add to, the musical skill utilized in the song) it has the best audio quality. Personally, you may enjoy the contents of the video and how the story is interpreted. As for me, I’ll stick with music analysis. The music doesn't actually start until 25 seconds into the video if you wanted to get straight to the music. Here is Tongue Tied by Grouplove:

Another Side of The Beatles

I know you’re probably thinking, “Not another Beatles post! What more can I possibly know?” But, as I was watching this amazing Beatles documentary, I knew I had to blog about it. It allowed me to transport myself back into the time period of the Beatles and experience the whole aspect, outside of just the music. While I normally blog about songs/albums, I think this documentary was excellent at portraying the Beatles. Through this movie I saw a more personable side of the Beatles that, at its essence, drove the group to pure stardom. Additionally, I felt the energy erupt out of the computer monitor wherever the Beatles went. It was quite astounding that they could start such frenzy by merely being themselves. I wish that wherever I went, an entire city of fans would follow! While girls beat down their door like the Zombie Apocalypse, I noticed that the Beatles really weren’t all that special. They were just a group of ordinary guys. And I think that’s exactly why the general population loved them so much. They were just a group of ordinary, fun, cool, humorous guys. This was shown through them doing various normal things like watching TV, eating fast food, and listening to the radio. None of these things were astronomically different/fresh but the persona that the Beatles emitted and the lively attitude that followed them contributed to their mass success. They were able to connect to their audience in a way that late rock artists of the time could not (i.e. Pat Boone. I just needed one last slam on Pat Boone).

While chaos followed them everywhere they went, The Beatles still maintained their fun personalities and good sense of humor that makes them so appealing to the masses spanning generations of time. Certain scenes accurately depicted their desire to enjoy, such as when they were on a train ride to Washington DC from New York City. Despite the fact that people on board were still yearning for autographs and pictures, the Beatles goofed around like they were just by themselves. I found this refreshing because I feel that current celebrities lack this personality that is found in the Beatles. I think that nowadays, celebrities worry about maintaining their public image instead of being themselves, while the Beatles did the reverse: they maintained their public image BY BEING THEMSELVES. They did various humorous acts, like dressing up as waiters on the train, Paul McCartney walking through the train carrying 30 purses, and George Harrison and Ringo giving a joke endorsement for Marlboro Cigarettes. Even when not in complete privacy, the Beatles’ personality still shone through. They playfully bantered with the press about light-hearted issues like their hair, dodged cameramen, and made fun of themselves on the radio.

This attitude was channeled into their performances throughout their first American tour. They are shown performing on the slick Ed Sullivan’s Show, who was the grandfather of all late night talk shows. When they came onstage, the cheering and yelping of joy carries on for what feels like an eternity and my ears exploded by the sheer noise (even though I can turn down the volume on my computer). While the audience goes berserk and wildly flails to the music, the well-rehearsed Beatles are able to keep harmonies while not even able to hear one another. In plain music standards, this is epic! No bands or artists could keep a melody without utilizing advanced technology; not even over a sound with a decibel equivalent to a train collision. I can barely make out their phenomenal melodies, easy-going rhythms, and harmonies of songs like “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. This didn’t stop the crowd from continuing to be insane and faint from happiness. Grown women turned into little girls when the Beatles came on stage; they clapped their hands giddily and smiled like they were possessed.

I believe the commanding stage presence of the Beatles and their ability to connect on a personal level with their audience enabled them to become one of the best in the business which spanned even the test of time.

Because you can never get enough Beatles, here’s a video of “She Loves You”:

Back to the Best - The Beatles

Now transport yourself back to early rock and roll. Rock, at its roots, is an art form of rebellion. This was illustrated through wild songs and fresh melodies that fused with amazing beats to create one of the best genres ever. The industry was kick-started by early rockers like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and my favorite bad-to-the-bone rocker himself Jerry Lee Lewis. Now these guys were uncensored! From Elvis’ uncontrollable dance moves, to Lewis’ constant insanity, rock looked bright. Check out one of my previous blog posts to see more of this wild side of rock.

The problem in the early 60s, though, was that the early rockers were disappearing. Chuck Berry went to jail. Little Richard joined a church. Buddy Holly died. These classic rockers left behind a void that needed to be filled. Censored, manufactured artists like Pat Boone attempted to fill the generations’ craving for rock; but let’s admit it… his songs were all garbage. Pat Boone sounded to me like he was an old man crooning about dandelions in his backyard. I cringe to even post a link to this video because it’s so bad. If you want to torment your ears, listen to some horrible “rock”:

Coming off of this “old man music”, the Beatles were a fresh and cool group. In my opinion, a bunch of hip young guys were able to single-handedly reenergize the rock and roll community and probably made thousands of youth around the world take a sigh of relief. THEY WERE FINALLY FREE FROM THE GARBAGE OF THE EARLY 60S!

I’ll be honest, until a couple of days ago, I had never listened to a full Beatles song. Once I listened to the first song, though, I had no idea why I hadn’t started before. To put it bluntly, they were so amazingly talented that my brain did a flip! I listened to their first album, Please Please Me, and absolutely loved it. You would think that this was the first time I had ever heard music. I was struck by their raw talent and perfectly balanced harmonies that carried each song so fluidly. Throughout the album, their songs connected to each other under the common theme of love. I thought that this connectedness really aided at the success of their album and the band itself.

Their light-hearted songs, I feel, offered a transition period from the highly-manufactured songs of Boone, to a more modern rock (mimicking the good stuff from pre-1960s). I love how I am able to just easily tap my foot and sway to the rhythm as the instrumentals carry the counter melody to the lead vocalist. Another thing that struck me was the raw talent in everything. They were able to all sing great and wrote their own songs from the heart. I once wrote a song, but I remember it as a pretty challenging process. These guys were able to churn out songs as fast as McDonald’s does with hamburgers. That analogy wasn’t the best, but I’m too overwhelmed with the sheer awesomeness of the Beatles to try to correct it. No comparison would be sufficient to describe the Beatles.

Just to give you a sampling, I chose my two favorite songs from their first album. This first song is “I Saw Her Standing There”. The lighthearted lyrics mesh perfectly with the jolly tone. There is a pretty cool instrumental section towards the end of the song with an amazing guitar/bass solo. I love the vocal range of John Lennon. He’s really able to hit those high notes. Once again, the harmonies are insanely legit.

In contrast, my other favorite song is “Twist And Shout”. This song, at the end of the album, shows the tired, yet gravelly vocals of Lennon. This gravelly melody, even if accidental, adds a more urgent tone to this song and a more classic rock sound. I highlighted this song because it showed the versatility of the Beatles that made them so successful.

Never Too Late for "Too Close"

Alex Clare, famed by his hit song Too Close, seems to have written a pretty diverse set of relatively long songs in his 2011-released album The Lateness of the Hour. I discovered Alex Clare only after hearing his song featured on an Internet Explorer commercial which was made about a year after his album released. Personally, I find Too Close to be the best mixture of a variety of sounds. The only way I can describe it is if you took dubstep, soft rock, and sick rhythms from rap, and threw them all into a blender. Too Close is the V8 juice of modern music: it is a mixture of a bunch of things that fuse to form one energizing song that pumps me up! Clare was able to mesh a multitude of aspects that individually worked, and combine them into one passionate song. To me, Alex Clare is the male form of Adele. While not nearly as famed as the goddess Adele, the two artists are more similar than not. Alex Clare sings with the same deep, soulful passion that Adele seems to reach for when writing and belting out her variety of hits in which have made her famous around the globe. Clare’s great vocal range from soft to a near-cry out of exasperation unites everything together. His voice, like Adele, makes the emotion-packed lyrics of his song come alive. In my opinion, he has the capability of turning the poetic lyrics into a heart-stabbing song about break up and moving on. While I'm usually not one to heavily cherish lyrics, Clare makes them matter. This straight-from-the-soul feel is what makes this song a piece of pure rock and why I think it is so refreshing amongst the Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga randomness that clogs our ears daily.

While the earlier description may make this song sound too love-oriented for my hard rocker fans, this song is nowhere near the ditzy melodies strummed by Taylor Swift. Judge for yourself:

The perfect mix of synthesized instrumentals building suspense and an epic set of drops, only found and cherished in the dubstep community, really accented distinct shifts from soft vocals to emotional cries found in the chorus. While not a huge hardcore dubstep fan (which I think sounds more like a dial-up modem battling a robot than music) Clare utilizes just enough of these synthesized sounds to make a bowel-twisting, stunning song. The insane melody and disco-techno rock sound it offers in correspondence with Clare’s powerful vocals pulled me in like a fish caught on a hook. Now that I’ve broadened my musical horizons, I can see a crazy Jerry Lee Lewis playing a similar song in modern day. Unlike Lewis, though, Clare has a much better balance between passionate insanity and softer breaks between chorus.

Overall, Too Close, does exactly what the song title suggests. It brings me in close to the lyrical meaning behind the song and I feel connected to Clare and his tough decisions over moving on, which is what his surprisingly intense love song depicts. Despite its rage-seeming climaxes, this (at its lyrical roots) is just another song about love. But Alex Clare makes it worthwhile to listen to.