Track 5 - Turn

I want to sing,
to sing my song
I want to live in a world where I'll be strong
I want to live,
I will survive
and I believe that it won't be very long.

I'd forgotten what it was to fit into a song. All I'd done so far was to try and express what they meant to me. But today, it is more about how it fits.

Travis feels like such a familiar band after 7 years listening to them. Some might think them boring, some may think they are fading away into the same old stuff that made them big (yes, I've heard a lot of comments on that). The truth is, I don't think they are here for reinventing themselves with every record. I think they are so authentic, that they still feel confident in writing and playing the way they've always done.

Don't miss out their newest stuff... If you were of the ones to love the wrist-slashing-cloudy-scottish sound of "The Man Who" or "The Invisible Band"... you're sure to get more on "The Boy With No Name".

Back in 2000, when I heard Turn, it was all about me wanting to eat the world in a bite. Now, it is all about swallowing.
And Fran's shout for "wanting to live, to sing and to survive" sounds so more desperate than ever.
What do you want out of turning? Cos, let's be honest, it goes beyond the actual turning of things in your life. Of course, that is a step in itself and deserves its merit. But, once you turn... where do you go?

Tough little song we got here.
And I am not going to ramble on the structure or the lovely sound of the guitar. Not this time. Cos most of you've heard it enough and need no advice on further listening of it.
This time I just want to state the fact that rediscovering a song and fitting it into your life, gives a turn to it (...speaking of turning, ha!). I did have a story for this song... about how it came to me and how I embraced it. But the present has shadowed the memory. And I wonder if that effect takes place in other aspects of life.

"We've got to turn", sings Fran. Yes, indeed.
I need to turn. I just don't know where yet.

Still, I believe it won't be very long before I do.

Just listen away please...
Cheers.

Track 4 - A Bad Dream

I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public man, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds,
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death

-- W.B. Yeats

After a long, long pause I am back. Sorry about that.
I guess only something as powerful as tonight's concert could've brought me back. I barely have time for anything nowadays...
I am just back from Keane's last concert on the Latin American leg of their Under the Iron Sea Tour.
This morning I was thinking, that whichever song hit me as the most powerful, would be the one to write about.

But... turns out it won't be like that. Even though "Atlantic" was the one (specially with Tom singing a mere 5 meters away from me with images of fire raining down from the sky on the background) it is A Bad Dream that I've chosen to speak of.
And the choice was easy, really. The guys made sure I would not forget this performance thanks to the fantastic intro they put on.

The advantage of not being an absolute fan from hell, is that whatever the band does or says, strikes you as new and amazing. I had no idea A Bad Dream was inspired by a poem from W.B. Yeats. This, Tom said, and immediately the screens transcribed the poem in english, with very considerate subtitles in spanish for us all. I could delight myself with the irish accent coming out of the speakers while following the translation in spanish. Images from WWII aircraft on the screen and the first piano notes sent shivers up my spine....

This song has been my favorite since I first heard the album. Of course, it didn't mean it had to be everybody else's favorite too. We all choose songs for different reasons. For me it was a mix of the lyrics and the melody.... the raw and languid melancholy i feel everytime I hear it. It is as if I am taken back to my early teen years where everything in life seemed so sad, distant and strange. Reminds me of how I started this road of music literacy.

But hey, those were my hidden reasons for loving this song... but then, along comes Tom saying that people have said that "this song is considered to be the best one we've written so far".
I never thought "people" would say that....
Still.... yes... everybody must be aware that the lyrics to A Bad Dream are marvelous.

"Where will I meet my fate?
Baby I'm a man, I was born to hate.
And when will i meet my end?
In a better time you could be my friend."

That's my favorite verse.
It just says so much about human nature I think. And well, now that I know that the song comes from a warlike atmosphere, it makes a lot more sense. But, before that.... it was just about life.

The whole song is a tribute to life's helplessness and of how we long for things to happen or for some people to come back. No matter who or where you are, you must surely know what I am talking about. So, listening to this song, is a beautiful experience of that deep blue feeling.

Waking up from a bad dream.... and realising you are alone.... being tired of fighting... and thinking you wouldn't mind it if that someone was there.

Pure human emotion.

You must be wondering, what about the music? Well.... couldn't be more appropiate. Piano and orchestra-like sounds back up for a lovely melody. Tom's voice is the detonating element. As in every song of his...

Beautiful....
you must know by now I never write about shitty songs, don't you?
Go ahead and listen please....
and enjoy up to the last trembling fiber in your chest....

...did you feel it?

Cheers

Track 3 - Wise Up

You got
What you want
Now you can hardly stand it though,
By now you know
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Til you wise up

Movies and music. How often do they really complement each other? How often a song brings out the real mood of a film? How often are songs developed specially for that matter?

Not very often at all. Most times songs are searched over to match the movie trama. The use of oldies is the most common. Soundtracks like Pulp Fiction (after Tarantino came up with the idea of playing old forgotten songs into movies and turning them into modern hits) are the most common and popular, I think.

Then, there are the movies that include new songs but you don't even notice, until someone nominates them for the Best Original Song category at the Oscars!
But very very few shake you up in your seat. Very few stick in your head long after you leave the theatre. Very few have that strength.

Wise up shocked me the day I went to see Magnolia. And it was all mainly because you just don't see it coming. You know you are watching an insightful movie. You know the characters are all dealing with strong-everyday issues and that you are going to get something out of it. You are all into the drama and the crisis. But the least you expect is a song to fade out the dialogues and star a whole secuence. Yes, the song becomes the dialogue!

And no, unlike what you're thinking, it doesn't turn the movie into a musical. No, no, no. Not at all! It words out the character's thoughts. And even though they are all going through different situations, the song fits every single one. They all sing the entire song. Each singing a different verse.

When it's over, the movie carries on unaltered. Then, of course, frogs rain down from the sky and you realise you couldn't had seen that coming either!! That's when you know this ain't no regular film.

Aimee Mann sang and played eight songs in that movie. Save Me is another great one that comes up at the end with the final credits. But it was Wise Up that stuck in my head and produced a craving to hear it again.

I had never heard Aimee before. And though, at that time, I was not a big fan of women voices, it impressed me. Such a sweet voice singing such strong lyrics. Just a piano and her voice. How could you ever forget it? Aimee did a great job.

I never heard anything from her again until I saw I Am Sam where she covers a Beatles song along with Michael Penn. Lovely too, but not quite as shocking.
I tried buying one of her albums but couldn't really get into it. She's all about soundtracks to me.

If you haven't heard Wise Up, I am sure you haven't seen the movie. So, this time, head out to Blockbuster or your local movie rental place before you look it up on Limewire. You won't regret it!

Whenever you hear it again, you'll see the movie in your head. Everytime.
Yes, that's when you know it is a great soundtrack song.

Can you think of any other with the same effects?

I can. But that will be Track 4.
I leave you now...

Track 2 - Serena

So what, life's tough
You should get over yourself
Like everyone else and enjoy

Isn't it a pity how some songs go underrated? Barely Breathing was the main and only hit single for Duncan's debut album in 1996. And most people, yeah, won't go beyond that. But, the eye opening flash happens when you are not attracted by the song at all, but by the whole album. And this can only happen if, either you never paid enough attention to that one hit single on the radio, or if you are so good a visionary to hear more than that.

My case was the first.

It was an old boyfriend who introduced Duncan to me back in 1999. I was riding in the back seat of his car with two other of his friends. They were taking me home after a rehearsal and while they were all chatting away my whole attention was on the record. When we reached my place, I asked if I could borrow it. Him and I weren't even still involved with each other.

Looking back now, I think I only returned it until the day we broke up.... I didn't want to let it go! It was just so marvelous. And yes, I had heard Barely Breathing on the radio, but I never thought much of it.

Serena is all about the presence of a Riff and the absence of a Chorus.
Who told Duncan to compose like that? So uncommonly original I think....

This particular Riff hits exactly where it should. It is so high pitched and so slightly distorted. Personally, at times, it is all I hear in the song. And that is all I heard for the first hundred times I played it.
Then one day, the lyrics came through somehow and made sense.

And just like the Riff had before, the lyrics matched me. But, they matched me because what they said, matched my troubled self. Right there in that moment, my named changed to Serena. There was Duncan calling my name. And though in spanish that name means "serene", it didn't exactly made me feel like that.

Yeah, it is a very melancholic song. But there is nothing wrong with listening to songs like that once in a while, is it? And it is weird the effect this song has, cos Duncan sings it to this girl called Serena, but he speaks of her with such great knowledge of how she feels. Seems to me, he speaks on her behalf and does so much more succesfully than she could ever do.

After every verse, the Riff replies Duncan.... everytime. Even throughout the verses, the guitar lets go these little cries.... here and there, higher and higher in the scale with this tiny bell decorating every note.
If you haven't guessed it already, it is Serena backing him up.
And considering this, it is obvious why Duncan misses singing the chorus: he lets Serena do it.

"Life just passes you by" sings Duncan... then Serena replies with her nice long Riff.
"Serena" says Duncan three times, in what should've been the chorus, and Serena sings back again.
This is more like a duet song, isn't it? But quite an unsual one.

I don't want to close up this Duncan Sheik discussion, since I know I will return to him further on. He sings so many things in so many different ways that it will be inevitable. He so makes me want to write! But for now, let's just say that if you haven't heard Serena yet... please do.

But hey! Before you go clicking away into Limewire or the iTunes Store (ha! very similar sources, aren't they?), try to be as sad, troubled or lonely as possible.
Because so is Serena, and she's had enough with music executives placing her on track 6 of the album. She's tired of being misunderstood.

Enjoy....

Track 1 - Don't Panic

"We live in a beautiful world..."

This is a good start, isn't it? I can't think of a nicer song to start this Music Literature than track 1 from Coldplay's Parachutes album.
Such a bright and sad and short and powerful song it is.
It was quite a nice incident the first time I listened to it, actually....

I had just bought the Kid A album back in 2001. Such a big wait for a new Radiohead album and it was finally released. So, I ran to the music store, picked it up from the new releases section and paid cash. Then, ran back home... closed shut my bedroom door and stuck it on the CD player.

Three minutes later I started wondering if I had really picked up the correct CD on the store...
"What's this??" - I said out loud. "This ain't nothing like Radiohead! This isn't what it was supposed to be!"

A complete and absolute disappointment it was.... So, the next day at school, heartbroken, I came up to a friend who was really into Radiohead and asked his opinion on Kid A. He said he hadn't heard it yet. He was saving up to buy it next week.
"Oh don't bother going all the way to the mall, I'll sell it to you. I couldn't get to track 3... so it's as good as new", I said.

That way I got rid of it and, later that afternoon, ran back into the music store again.
With the almost wasted money on my hand, I started wandering around the cd shelves.... Until I saw this one yellow-spinning-globe cover album on the listening station.

There it hit me.

Track One - Don't Panic.
Could it had been a more perfect title?

Don't Panic. Ok. So I did, I didn't panic...(after my Kid A hysteria)
And I just let the tune carry me on...

Electric guitar coming from one headphone.... then the acoustic from the other....
Then Chris's voice matching the bass while singing the first verse. Before you know it, you are already on the chorus with the beautiful-repetitive solo of the lead guitar backing up the message that yeah, we do live in a beautiful world (and doesn't it seem oh! so sad to remember it?)
Isn't it all too perfect for the first few seconds of a song?...for the first few seconds of an album?

Two minutes nineteen seconds and Coldplay gives us a small intro to the rest of the record. A masterpice.
For me... well, that's all I needed to listen.
I came back to myself, made sure I was picking up the same record with the same cover and paid cash once more.

I've been a Coldplay fan since then.
And I've never liked any Coldplay album better than this one.
And I doubt they'll ever get any close to composing like this again. You know, it was just the perfect music, for the perfect time.

I played this record for so many people and everybody loved it. So many people that had never even heard that there was a band named Coldplay.
And you'd think that yeah, I was just a too eager music fan in Mexico, listening to the new brit bands...
But no. I even took this record with me to Canada and I played it to lots of friends there...
I know I must be remembered just for playing this CD at parties or car stereos.
But well.... there is no way you can hide a record like this.

And, unlike McCartney, when I find myself in times of trouble... Parachutes comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom "Don't Panic".

Cheers...