When you cry, a piece of my heart dies / Knowing that I may have been the cause / If you were to leave, fulfill someone else's dreams / I think I might totally be lost
My thoughts on this song:
If you've heard just one song from City and Colour, this is likely it. This is one of many songs where my emotional connection to it was forged because of my relationship with my wife — I discovered City and Colour just a year or two before meeting her in college, and the longing expressed in this song felt very personal to me. Also, Dallas Green is one of the best male rock singers of our time and his voice is a treat for the ears.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
Gather all your possessions / Smile, cause you've got it all / Still that empty feeling / Won't go away
My thoughts on this song:
August Burns Red was a favorite of mine in high school, largely because they were great at writing breakdowns, but over the years I've cooled on them a bit. Their music is fun to listen to, and features some great moments, but a lot of songs are kind of filler. Not this one, though. I think of this as one of the best-composed hardcore songs, especially the guitar work. The rhythm and lead play off each other very, very well. I loooooove the way this song weaves between sections and just keeps building and building until the final breakdown, which is an all-time headbanger.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
But I will never end up like him / Behind my back I already am / Keep a calendar, this way you will always know
My thoughts on this song:
I see Fall Out Boy (up to and including Folie a Deux) as the world's most competent emo-pop-punk band. They had a knack for writing catchy hooks, clever lyrics and fun rhythms. I love listening to their stuff, but most of it is just good, not great. But I think if any of their songs deserve to be called great, it's this one. Its quirky, weird verses play wonderfully off the grandness of the choruses, and the payoff of the last chorus plays beautifully. Lyrically, it basically seems to be about a guy sleeping with somebody else's wife, so it's perhaps a bit odd that such a simple theme came in such flowery packaging, but hey — a lot of great songs have done the same thing.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
A singer, a writer / He's not dreaming now of going nowhere / He gave heed to nothing / And all that he was / Is just a tragedy
My thoughts on this song:
This song marks the beginning of my love for music, more or less. I remember listening to this in the dusty garage of my family's cabin by myself, spinning a CD my older brother and sister had been listening to again and again. The music seemed to be telling a fascinating story I couldn't wrap my head around. I liked all of it, but this was the track that really grabbed ahold of me. Probably it was the melodramatic emotions involved in it. And yes, it is perhaps overly dramatic...but to me, this song is beautiful.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you / Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too / Twenty-four before my love you'll see / I'll be there with you
My thoughts on this song:
There's so much to love about this song. That amazing bass riff. The bizarre lyrics. The keyboard fills. Yes wrote a true epic with this song, and it's a joy to listen to...seriously, the friggin' bass, though. It's incredible.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
In post 31, toolenduso wrote:One thing this exercise has taught me about myself: I really go for opening and closing tracks on albums.
lol big same in general. roundabout is pretty great. i'm not familiar with a ton of yes but i generally like what i hear. close to the edge (the song) is an all-time classic
I really need to listen to that album. I've heard bits and pieces but Fragile is the only Yes album I've listened to all the way through, and I love it but I can be pretty bad about following up and listening to other albums from bands I like.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
Forget the words I'm speaking / Just want to rearrange / So I'll just say it / I really miss you, miss you I said
My thoughts on this song:
This song is catchy, emotional and fun to dance to. But more than anything this song makes me think about the angst I went through when my girlfriend (now my wife) left the country for four months during college. I was listening to this album a lot, and the simple yearning expressed in the chorus is exactly what I felt. I also love the poppiness of the synths during the chorus, and the way those atmospheric sounds that run in tandem with the beat sort of clip away suddenly, giving an extra oomph to the percussion.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
I sat you down and told you how / The truest love that's ever found is for oneself / You pulled apart my theory / With a weary and disinterested sigh
My thoughts on this song:
I'll warn you right now: Don't turn up the volume on this song just because it starts off quiet. It gets suddenly, dramatically louder. Anyway...this song's sound is very unique. I couldn't tell you of another song that sounds like it. It basically consists of quiet, whimsical passages punctuated with loud, grand, orchestral moments. It's simple, but pretty. And those lyrics! It's a very poetic telling of a man so enthralled with the person he's in love with that he feels more or less unworthy of them — a sentiment that can be dangerous but difficult to escape.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
It's the diamonds and pills / Leave my daughter alone / It's the glamour that kills / Dad, I'm not coming home
My thoughts on this song:
He is Legend's first album is one of my absolute favorites, and the last track on it is a barn burner. Like most of the rest of the album, it's a vaguely sinister tale of something going wrong. And it brings with it unmatched energy.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
When she leave yo ass, she gonna leave with half / 18 years, 18 years / And on her 18th birthday, he found out it wasn't his
My thoughts on this song:
This might be the best rapping Kanye ever did, and it's done over one of the most fun, infectious tracks in his discography. I like a lot of his songs, but if I'm being honest, I think this one slaps the hardest.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
Rocking chairs of disenchantment / Green grass of envy and malice / Our salad days living in Happy Hollow
My thoughts on this song:
To end their loosely-structured concept album, Cursive wrote a janky, rollicking song briefly recapping every single track that preceded it. And in the spirit of the album's bitter stance toward religion, the recaps are in the form of old, often biblical phrases usually twisted in some way. It's short, but boy do they pack a lot into it.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
i need to get more into cursive's older stuff, i have had the ugly organ for a while (which i love) and got their two recent albums (both of which are pretty good, vitriola might even be great, need to give it more spins)
i think i checked out this one once but don't remember a ton about it.
I liked some of the stuff on Ugly Organ, and I remember listening to Mama I'm Swollen and thinking it was OK. But Happy Hollow I've loved for years and years. It's got this weird concept that totally works, and I just think the songs are really well written to boot.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
And I heard your voice as clear as day / And you told me I should concentrate / It was oh so strange, and so surreal / That a ghost should be so practical
My thoughts on this song:
I remember reading a review of this album once that said something to the effect of "every moment tries to sound as big as the universe." That's pretty true, and I think it works better on this song than any other. The drumming is perfect — kind of frantic, without being overbearing — the piano works great and the singing is beautiful. And the lyrics are a very honest, realistic portrait of what it's like to lose a family member when you're young, something that appeals to me personally.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
We read the risks hand in hand / A ruined rest, but now we wake up / We cut our teeth on foreign plans / Then cursed the air, but now we wake up
My thoughts on this song:
The front end of this song is fun, catchy and big, but it's the back end of the song that makes it one of my favorites. The swelling of the music, the dynamic instrumentation and Casey Crescenzo's stellar singing adds up to something amazing.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
I feel like they're a very underappreciated band. Most people I show them to end up liking them, but for some reason they have yet to really take off. I mean they don't make radio friendly pop or anything but even as smaller acts go they just don't seem that well-known.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
Carry on, my wayward son / There'll be peace when you are done / Lay your weary head to rest / Don't you cry no more
My thoughts on this song:
Few have ever managed to create a song that was this creative that nevertheless became a big, decade-spanning hit. I think the thing I love about this song is how dynamic it is. Its various sections sound so different from each other, but Kansas really makes them feel like they are exactly where they should be. All in all, this song just plain
rocks
.
"Half of the game is figuring out who the scum is. The other half is convincing everyone else that you're right." -- PlaysWithSquirrels, in Newbie 437
I think this, more than any other song I can think of, is one where I wonder if people are underwhelmed by it purely because they've heard it all their lives. They're wrong; even now I think this is one of the best songs to hit a radio.
Happy cake day!
Everything you say and do matters. People will respond in ways you may never see. May those responses be what you intend.
