First thing: from here on in, this is probably going to get a little childish. Why? Because I'm going to be talking about each character based on how much I like the character. That's going to mean there's quite a possibility that I'm going to be talking about comedic relief before talking about other headliners. Take, for example, the fact that Skinner, Reyes and Doggett have all been called "stars" of the show at one point or another, but I'm going to be talking about John Fitzgerald Byers.
Role in show: To talk about Byers, I'm going to have to talk about The Lone Gunmen.The Lone Gunmen were introduced in the first season of the X-Files as Mulder's "tech guys", conspiracy nuts who have a knack with computers and science. The Lone Gunmen consist of Melvin Frohike, the "brains" of the operation, Richard Langly, the "technical brawn" of the group, which considering the group's function, isn't far from the "brains", and finally Byers, who plays the role of the level-headed guy, the PR guy and pretty much the only member of the trio who can behave like a human being in polite society. The Lone Gunmen apparently proved to be quite popular among viewers, and as such, a spin-off series, "The Lone Gunmen", was commissioned, running for 13 episodes. The pilot of the show is infamous (just google "Lone Gunmen Pilot Conspiracy theory" and see for yourself), but the show didn't achieve the ratings it was going for and was cancelled. This leaves me in a tricky position. I want to talk about a character featured in two different shows, but really I only want to talk about his role in one. This is going to mean I might talk about character traits of Byers not present in The X-Files, but I'll try to back up most of the things I say without going into The Lone Gunmen show.
Family: John's family isn't brought up during The X-Files at all, so I'm going to skip over this category.
Pre-1994 Life: Byers earned his unusual middle name by being born the same day that JFK was killed, giving him a natural predilection towards understanding what was going on in that situation, pretty much setting him down the road to be a conspiracy nut. Prior to 1989, Byers worked for the Federal Communications Commission, with the episode "Unusual Suspects" sort of implying that he was just a PR guy, going to tech fairs and handing out badges. In a single day in 1989, Byers was attending a tech fair, when a woman named Susanne Modeski approached him, and while claiming that Mulder was an abusive boyfriend holding her child captive, introduced the three members of the Lone Gunmen. Susanne was in reality fleeing from a government lab in which she was helping make a weapon which was to be used on civilians, and was now fleeing for her life. Susanne introduced the Gunmen to the vastness of government conspiracy,a concept to which they had all previously been ignorant, and also inadvertently introduced the three to Mulder. Byers, who has fallen for Susanne, is heartbroken when she is kidnapped right before his eyes. Between 89 and 94 nothing is really explained, but during that time Byers transforms into a member of Mulder's tech squad.
Personality: After Mulder and Scully, I must say that these posts are probably going to be considerably shorter.
Kindness: One thing that just comes up before everything else when looking at Byers is how he's just such a nice guy.Throughout the entirety of the X-Files, he is the only character who wasn't an arse to someone else. I'm pretty sure that Skinner's secretary got in more fights than this guy. Compared to every other character on the X-Files, who was willing to lie, cheat and steal to get to their own goal, I just find myself rooting again and again for the "Byers approach" to be the victorious one. I might want to backtrack a little in a moment, but I now want to talk a little too close to the end of the series, so spoilers. Bigger. SPOILERS. Red. SPOILERS. And continue. "Jump The Shark". X-Files "Jump the Shark" is possibly the worst I've felt after watching an episode of this show. Yes, I may have been tearing up a little, but overall I just felt like the episode did a real injustice to Byers. To put it simply, the Lone Gunmen die. Off screen. Langly was an arsehole. He just was the whiniest, most irritatingly pedantic jerk I think the X-Files had to offer.... well, maybe Follmer, but anyway, he wasn't important. Frohike ... well, he was a good guy too, but he was a little embittered, a little cranky.... his time had come, really. But Byers? I know the X-Files doesn't pull many punches, considering how many children have been killed, that Scully's mother is the only surviving parent of either Mulder or Scully by the end of the series (spoilers are not over) and that it's almost proud of this body count, but killing Byers was just a real kick in the teeth. Byers embodied a lot (I'll go into it in a second), but for such a good, kind, likable character to die like that? That was just too brutal. END SPOILERS. Going back, though, Byers was really what stopped the X-Files from being set in a hard-boiled crime fiction story, where everyone is just out for themselves and there is no hope left. He really is just the embodiment of the kind everyman, which is why he is far and away my favourite secondary character.
Hope: Tied in closely with Byers' kindness is his hope for the return of the American Dream.The opening to the episode "Three of A Kind" explains exactly what Byers hopes to achieve, and how he is tormented by the fact he has been torn away from the life he wanted so badly to live. This brings up a closely related aspect of Byers: the fact that he is so different to the other members of the Lone Gunmen. Frohike and Langly were never going to live normal lives. They weren't so much sacrificing their lives, just exchanging obsessions. Byers was normal. He would have lived out his existence in blissful ignorance, settled down and had 2.5 children, the American dream. What is remarkable is how he wants to return to this ideal. He still dreams of normality. He dreams of another Kennedy (who he sees as the epitome of a leader or the people) arriving, and his role being completely obsolete. Byers also is the most principled. Although it is more shown in the spin-off, he refuses to stoop to the levels of those he is working against, so that he may look back upon his actions with pride rather than regret. Overall, Byers hopes for the best, acts as he feels his morals will allow and is the best demonstration of an X-Files character with hope for the future. Seriously, there is almost no-one else in that category.
All-round Clean-Cut Persona: For a show almost entirely set in a government office, revolving around government employees, it's absolutely astounding that Byers stands out as a bureaucrat. Closely cut facial hair, perma-grey suit and carefully maintained hair all go to show exactly what profession this man has pursued in a past life. Byers' clean-cut persona is deeper than this, though. Byers is concerned with appropriate behaviour, always attempting to prevent his colleagues offending anyone and always the first to point out potential dangers in plans. Byers' concern with others and optimistic approach would easily allow the label "unworldly" or "naive" to be placed on him, and I'm not sure if I could make a coherent argument against these, but I think it's more about how Byers career shaped him. Dealing with angry nerds every day would force someone to either become aggressive or passive, and the way in which both Langly and Frohike referred to Byers as a "narc" upon first seeing him in "Unusual Suspects" leads me to think that Byers' professional mannerisms and reasonable countenance came about due to the necessity of his job.
Motives: Like Mulder, Byers' primary goal was to investigate and report on the truth, whatever that may be. He clearly was after Modeski, who sort of became a larger than life character in his mind, who was just out of his reach.
Overall, Byers was a friendly, approachable, just so likable character who was forced by his morals to lead a life counter to what he desired.
Considering I'll just be looking at secondary characters from here on in, I think I should give a few episodes for any newcomers to watch to get a reasonable understanding of the person I'm talking about.
For Byers, I'll have to go with the fifth season episode "Unusual Suspects", the sixth season episode "Three of a Kind" and finally the infamous "The Lone Gunmen" Pilot, if anyone feels like tracking it down.
I'll be back soon with another character.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
X-Files: Part 3- Dana Scully
Dana Katherine Scully.
Role in show: Scully is very much the straight man to Mulder's wild theories and beliefs. Her role is very much secondary to Mulder, but I think she is meant to be the everyman, the person thrown into a very strange world which the audience is unfamiliar with.
Family: Scully's father was in the navy while she was growing up, meaning that the Scully family was always living in a naval base. Bill Sr., Scully's father, was always putting work before everything else, but still managed a loving but respectful relationship with his daughter. Scully's mother seems to have been somewhat inconsequential during Scully's childhood, but was one of the main bastions for support for both Scully and Mulder during times of difficulty during their work on the X-Files. The main thing Scully took from her mother is her religion, which is often discussed throughout the show.Scully's eldest brother, Bill Jr., is in all honesty a bit of a prick. He was a bit of a bully to Scully as a child, was skeptical of her beliefs as an adult and just despised Mulder, making him difficult to like. He seems to be just a bit of a push jock, following his father into the navy. Scully's sister, Melissa, was possibly the closest sibling to Scully. Melissa's beliefs were very new age and accepting, embracing beliefs that even Mulder is a little skeptical of initially. The similarities between Melissa and Monica Reyes go a long way to showing exactly why Scully is so quick to trust Reyes, especially in the season 8 episode "Existence". I'll go into this more when I look at Reyes separately. Scully's final sibling, Charles, is a non-event, only appearing directly in flashback. I just wanted to cover my arse here by mentioning him. The main thing to be taken from Scully's family and childhood is how safe she was. She was raised in a close community, with a loving family who never had any real troubles and with a father and elder brother always willing to protect her. Compare and contrast to Mulder. Mulder lost his only sibling at a young age, which basically tore his family apart, and exposed him to the cruelties of the world. I think this is the main reason Scully has faith and science and Mulder has paranoia and the supernatural.
Pre-1994: Scully trained as a doctor, but decided top join the FBI instead of practicing medicine. Immediately prior to here appointment on the X-Files, Scully was an instructor at the FBI academy. Scully was appointed to work with Mulder so as to apply scientific reasoning to his theories and to report upon them.
Personality: As with Mulder, I think I'll just take three important elements of Scully's personality and give them a quick analysis.
I find Scully's faith is one of the most fascinating parts of her personality. Where Mulder has his famous UFO poster, Scully has her gold crucifix, given to her by her mother. Scully, being both a scientist and a believer has a great deal of difficulty taking Mulder's theories as fact. What I initially felt was an inconsistency, Scully believing in God without proof, but demanding it for any of Mulder theories, is actually not poor writing. It instead shows how Scully represents the normal. She is meant to be the average American, faithful but intelligent and able to distinguish fact from fiction. Most importantly, she is used to the world as we know it. In the world of the X-Files, often I find myself staring at the screen thinking "But you've seen so much! Why can you not believe that Mulder is right?!" The truth is that the world to pre-X-Files Scully was black and white, set up the same way the world as we know it is understood. Scully can't easily believe in aliens or other supernatural phenomena because it's not the world she can accept. God? Yes, because that is something she grew up with. Honestly, I think the idea of Scully having faith is more important to how her character developed than her skepticism, but I'll cover it too.
OK, Scully's skepticism can be broken up into three distinct and completely made up be me right now phases. Firstly, we have season 1, or "There has to be a scientific explanation". I'm not saying this phrase or phase goes away completely, but during Scully's initial forays into the odd with Mulder show exactly how Scully thinks. She isn't unbelievably unbelieving, but leans much further towards the logical and real. Secondly, seasons 2-7, or "But I need proof, Mulder!". In a nutshell, Scully has seen things that she can't explain away and is more accepting of what Mulder says, but is still unwilling to take every one of his ideas as absolute fact. Finally, there are seasons 8 & 9, or "Damn it, Doggett, I'm not making this up!". In this period, there is a complete role reversal. Scully becomes the believer, desperately trying to convince the skeptical, specifically Agent Doggett. This shows just how far Scully has come and how convincing Mulder has been. There isn't much to say on this topic, as it doesn't really need any interpretation. It's evident and the show is hardly in need of analysis for this to be evident.
I think the third most striking aspect of Scully's personality is her incorruptible loyalty. This loyalty is obviously bestowed upon Mulder, but occasionally it is shown how strong Scully becomes when she is protecting those she loves and trusts or protecting those wishes. I've already mentioned it before, but the episode "Dreamland" is a great example. When Mulder, the driving force behind the X-Files investigations, has sleeping with secretaries and playing Tiger Woods' golf on his computer become his highest priorities, Scully is torn between the history of herself and Mulder and the fact Mulder is being a dick, which I think is an aspect not explored nearly enough. Her unmovable faith in her former partner in the episode "Lazarus" demonstrates that Scully is loyal to almost everyone she has ever held dear to her.
Motives: Scully's motives are nowhere near as clear as Mulder. Whereas Mulder is driven by his belief, Scully is ultimately just dragged along. This changes in seasons 8 & 9, where her motives become much more about protecting herself and her family, although protecting Mulder is always present in her mind. I can't say as much about this as Mulder, but Scully has much more an urge for "justice" than Mulder, an urge to catch the bad guy and close the case rather than working out the science of everything.
In conclusion, despite being driven as an investigator, Scully is very careful about who she surrounds herself with, as she is willing to trust everyone she knows with her life. In "The Blessing Way", when Scully believes Skinner is attempting to kill her, the fact that she cannot comprehend this is really clear.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Role in show: Scully is very much the straight man to Mulder's wild theories and beliefs. Her role is very much secondary to Mulder, but I think she is meant to be the everyman, the person thrown into a very strange world which the audience is unfamiliar with.
Family: Scully's father was in the navy while she was growing up, meaning that the Scully family was always living in a naval base. Bill Sr., Scully's father, was always putting work before everything else, but still managed a loving but respectful relationship with his daughter. Scully's mother seems to have been somewhat inconsequential during Scully's childhood, but was one of the main bastions for support for both Scully and Mulder during times of difficulty during their work on the X-Files. The main thing Scully took from her mother is her religion, which is often discussed throughout the show.Scully's eldest brother, Bill Jr., is in all honesty a bit of a prick. He was a bit of a bully to Scully as a child, was skeptical of her beliefs as an adult and just despised Mulder, making him difficult to like. He seems to be just a bit of a push jock, following his father into the navy. Scully's sister, Melissa, was possibly the closest sibling to Scully. Melissa's beliefs were very new age and accepting, embracing beliefs that even Mulder is a little skeptical of initially. The similarities between Melissa and Monica Reyes go a long way to showing exactly why Scully is so quick to trust Reyes, especially in the season 8 episode "Existence". I'll go into this more when I look at Reyes separately. Scully's final sibling, Charles, is a non-event, only appearing directly in flashback. I just wanted to cover my arse here by mentioning him. The main thing to be taken from Scully's family and childhood is how safe she was. She was raised in a close community, with a loving family who never had any real troubles and with a father and elder brother always willing to protect her. Compare and contrast to Mulder. Mulder lost his only sibling at a young age, which basically tore his family apart, and exposed him to the cruelties of the world. I think this is the main reason Scully has faith and science and Mulder has paranoia and the supernatural.
Pre-1994: Scully trained as a doctor, but decided top join the FBI instead of practicing medicine. Immediately prior to here appointment on the X-Files, Scully was an instructor at the FBI academy. Scully was appointed to work with Mulder so as to apply scientific reasoning to his theories and to report upon them.
Personality: As with Mulder, I think I'll just take three important elements of Scully's personality and give them a quick analysis.
I find Scully's faith is one of the most fascinating parts of her personality. Where Mulder has his famous UFO poster, Scully has her gold crucifix, given to her by her mother. Scully, being both a scientist and a believer has a great deal of difficulty taking Mulder's theories as fact. What I initially felt was an inconsistency, Scully believing in God without proof, but demanding it for any of Mulder theories, is actually not poor writing. It instead shows how Scully represents the normal. She is meant to be the average American, faithful but intelligent and able to distinguish fact from fiction. Most importantly, she is used to the world as we know it. In the world of the X-Files, often I find myself staring at the screen thinking "But you've seen so much! Why can you not believe that Mulder is right?!" The truth is that the world to pre-X-Files Scully was black and white, set up the same way the world as we know it is understood. Scully can't easily believe in aliens or other supernatural phenomena because it's not the world she can accept. God? Yes, because that is something she grew up with. Honestly, I think the idea of Scully having faith is more important to how her character developed than her skepticism, but I'll cover it too.
OK, Scully's skepticism can be broken up into three distinct and completely made up be me right now phases. Firstly, we have season 1, or "There has to be a scientific explanation". I'm not saying this phrase or phase goes away completely, but during Scully's initial forays into the odd with Mulder show exactly how Scully thinks. She isn't unbelievably unbelieving, but leans much further towards the logical and real. Secondly, seasons 2-7, or "But I need proof, Mulder!". In a nutshell, Scully has seen things that she can't explain away and is more accepting of what Mulder says, but is still unwilling to take every one of his ideas as absolute fact. Finally, there are seasons 8 & 9, or "Damn it, Doggett, I'm not making this up!". In this period, there is a complete role reversal. Scully becomes the believer, desperately trying to convince the skeptical, specifically Agent Doggett. This shows just how far Scully has come and how convincing Mulder has been. There isn't much to say on this topic, as it doesn't really need any interpretation. It's evident and the show is hardly in need of analysis for this to be evident.
I think the third most striking aspect of Scully's personality is her incorruptible loyalty. This loyalty is obviously bestowed upon Mulder, but occasionally it is shown how strong Scully becomes when she is protecting those she loves and trusts or protecting those wishes. I've already mentioned it before, but the episode "Dreamland" is a great example. When Mulder, the driving force behind the X-Files investigations, has sleeping with secretaries and playing Tiger Woods' golf on his computer become his highest priorities, Scully is torn between the history of herself and Mulder and the fact Mulder is being a dick, which I think is an aspect not explored nearly enough. Her unmovable faith in her former partner in the episode "Lazarus" demonstrates that Scully is loyal to almost everyone she has ever held dear to her.
Motives: Scully's motives are nowhere near as clear as Mulder. Whereas Mulder is driven by his belief, Scully is ultimately just dragged along. This changes in seasons 8 & 9, where her motives become much more about protecting herself and her family, although protecting Mulder is always present in her mind. I can't say as much about this as Mulder, but Scully has much more an urge for "justice" than Mulder, an urge to catch the bad guy and close the case rather than working out the science of everything.
In conclusion, despite being driven as an investigator, Scully is very careful about who she surrounds herself with, as she is willing to trust everyone she knows with her life. In "The Blessing Way", when Scully believes Skinner is attempting to kill her, the fact that she cannot comprehend this is really clear.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
X-Files: Part 2 - Fox Mulder
Before I begin, I have to say that I have no idea who, if anyone, will read this. As such, I'm unsure what levels of "spoilers" I should use. The X-Files is hardly "Lost", where even the slightest spoilers will ruin the series, but if anyone reading feels I'm being too revealing or too guarded please comment, and I'll adjust my writing style as appropriate.
Now, Fox William Mulder.
Role in show: Mulder is the star. Mulder is the obsessed alien-seeker who managed to draw a show like this out for 9 seasons and two (godawful) movies. Without the character of Mulder, the X-Files would have been two hours in a basement, with a smoking man occasionally coming in and burning files at will. Mulder's disappearance during the 9th season is the reason that a show already running out of ideas finally passed away.
Family: Let's start with Mulder's father, William. William Mulder's exact job description was never (to my knowledge) revealed in detail, although it was revealed that he had previously worked in helping hunt Communists during the McCarthy era, although during Mulder's childhood he held a shady government position, deeply involved in an incarnation of the "Syndicate" a group who had the task of somehow ensuring the human race survived a planned alien invasion, no matter what the cost. The role of Mulder's father isn't discussed too much in the show, but I think William's government job is the main reason Mulder, who seems to rebel against order, rules and the government in general at every turn pursued a career with the FBI. Next is Mulder's mother. There is really not much to say about Teena Mulder. Although she seems well adjusted enough, she really has no noticeable impact upon her son throughout the series until her death. The family member who clearly had the most impact upon Mulder was his sister, Samantha. At a young age, Samantha was taken from the family home with only her brother present. How is not completely clear, but Mulder was convinced via hypnotherapy that aliens abducted her. This is compounded on when it is revealed that Samantha was taken as part of an agreement between the Syndicate and the aliens, the aliens taking one family member of each member of the Syndicate. The desire to find Samantha is the main reason Mulder was drawn to the X-Files, as opposed to the violent crimes unit, where his profiling skill was put to use. He shows signs of guilt quite often in cases involving disappearing children, going a little too far in interrogations and investigations, out of a sense of self-hatred for having been left behind and being helpless to help his sister.
Pre-1994 Life: Mulder attended Oxford University, graduating and entering the FBI as a criminal profiler, at which he apparently was very skilled. A theme of Mulder's character is that he is often told that he had so much potential, especially during the first season or so, to emphasize the fact that he is working on the X-Files out of his own passion for them, as opposed to a punishment or due to his lack of ability as an agent.
Personality: I'll try to pick out some of the most interesting parts of Mulder's personality, or we'll be here for a little longer than I want to be.
Let's start with the quite obvious porn addiction. Scully quite often jabs at Mulder about his extensive familiarity with erotic media, the best example being a throwaway line in the season 3 episode "D.O.P" over an edition of Playboy. Another example is in the season 5 "Dreamland" episodes, in which Mulder swaps lives with a self-proclaimed "Man in Black" working at Area 51. The MiB, Fletcher, checks Mulder's answering machine in the hopes of finding out he has a girlfriend, having his hopes raised by a somewhat suggestive message, only to find out it was an ad for a phone-sex business. Dreamland is a great example of how the X-Files manages to combine their somewhat lighter topics with great character development. Mulder's porn addiction is clearly connected with his lack of passion for anything outside of the X-Files, with Mulder deeming ordinary cases as important as murders "time-wasters" or "punishments", such as the season 2 episode "The Host", where Mulder is outraged he is being forced to investigate an apparent gang hit. Mulder doesn't want anything that will distract him from the X-Files, and porn is the least investment he can have to get off.
Next, there is the willingness to believe. A major flaw in Mulder's character as I see it is his unwillingness to trust people, but the second someone mentions aliens, they can do no wrong. In one episode, season 1's "E.B.E", Deep Throat (I'll get to him in another post, hopefully) gives Mulder a doctored photo, knowing he will believe almost without question. This willingness is short of gullibility, such as when compared to Monica Reyes and his distrust of the government and authority is short of outright paranoia when compared to The Lone Gunmen, but both show a definite division of character, torn between his intelligence and logic and his desperation to believe. "I Want To Believe" is even a motto of the show, alongside "Trust No One", again sending two different messages.
The last personality trait I'll look at is the lack of self-preservation. Mulder doesn't look after himself. He will give up everything for his beliefs, including his sleep, health and life. Although Mulder never actively expects others to do the same, he seems to almost hold them to a similar level unconsciously. Take, for example, the Season 3 episode where Mulder starts telling Skinner (I'll definitely get to him in a later post) how he and Scully are willing to live outside the law and with their lives constantly in danger before Scully tells him she has a problem with this. Mulder doesn't simply expect people to have the same priorities as him, he just seems to get lost in possibilities, needing to be dragged back down to reality, this being exactly where Scully comes in.
Motives:
Throughout the show, Mulder has three clear motives:
1. Find the truth:
"The Truth" begins with Samantha, but expands to include aliens, abductions and essentially encapsulates the entire content of the FBI's X-Files.
2. Protect Scully and her family:
This emerges through seasons 7 & 8, with Mulder attempting to save Scully from "supersoldiers". I think I'll leave that as is, so as not to give too much away.
3. Survive:
Although this is probably the only motive for many characters, it only becomes one of Mulder's most driving motives during the final season, when he disappears so as to protect himself from assassins, but also to find the truth.
Overall, Mulder is a driven character, unable to quite understand other people. His main passion is the facts, even though they might be harmful or damaging to his person.
I would adore some feedback on this series, just to give me an idea of what, if anything, readers want.
Also, I know I said tomorrow. I thought this would take longer to compile. Apparently it didn't.
H. Rourke
Now, Fox William Mulder.
Role in show: Mulder is the star. Mulder is the obsessed alien-seeker who managed to draw a show like this out for 9 seasons and two (godawful) movies. Without the character of Mulder, the X-Files would have been two hours in a basement, with a smoking man occasionally coming in and burning files at will. Mulder's disappearance during the 9th season is the reason that a show already running out of ideas finally passed away.
Family: Let's start with Mulder's father, William. William Mulder's exact job description was never (to my knowledge) revealed in detail, although it was revealed that he had previously worked in helping hunt Communists during the McCarthy era, although during Mulder's childhood he held a shady government position, deeply involved in an incarnation of the "Syndicate" a group who had the task of somehow ensuring the human race survived a planned alien invasion, no matter what the cost. The role of Mulder's father isn't discussed too much in the show, but I think William's government job is the main reason Mulder, who seems to rebel against order, rules and the government in general at every turn pursued a career with the FBI. Next is Mulder's mother. There is really not much to say about Teena Mulder. Although she seems well adjusted enough, she really has no noticeable impact upon her son throughout the series until her death. The family member who clearly had the most impact upon Mulder was his sister, Samantha. At a young age, Samantha was taken from the family home with only her brother present. How is not completely clear, but Mulder was convinced via hypnotherapy that aliens abducted her. This is compounded on when it is revealed that Samantha was taken as part of an agreement between the Syndicate and the aliens, the aliens taking one family member of each member of the Syndicate. The desire to find Samantha is the main reason Mulder was drawn to the X-Files, as opposed to the violent crimes unit, where his profiling skill was put to use. He shows signs of guilt quite often in cases involving disappearing children, going a little too far in interrogations and investigations, out of a sense of self-hatred for having been left behind and being helpless to help his sister.
Pre-1994 Life: Mulder attended Oxford University, graduating and entering the FBI as a criminal profiler, at which he apparently was very skilled. A theme of Mulder's character is that he is often told that he had so much potential, especially during the first season or so, to emphasize the fact that he is working on the X-Files out of his own passion for them, as opposed to a punishment or due to his lack of ability as an agent.
Personality: I'll try to pick out some of the most interesting parts of Mulder's personality, or we'll be here for a little longer than I want to be.
Let's start with the quite obvious porn addiction. Scully quite often jabs at Mulder about his extensive familiarity with erotic media, the best example being a throwaway line in the season 3 episode "D.O.P" over an edition of Playboy. Another example is in the season 5 "Dreamland" episodes, in which Mulder swaps lives with a self-proclaimed "Man in Black" working at Area 51. The MiB, Fletcher, checks Mulder's answering machine in the hopes of finding out he has a girlfriend, having his hopes raised by a somewhat suggestive message, only to find out it was an ad for a phone-sex business. Dreamland is a great example of how the X-Files manages to combine their somewhat lighter topics with great character development. Mulder's porn addiction is clearly connected with his lack of passion for anything outside of the X-Files, with Mulder deeming ordinary cases as important as murders "time-wasters" or "punishments", such as the season 2 episode "The Host", where Mulder is outraged he is being forced to investigate an apparent gang hit. Mulder doesn't want anything that will distract him from the X-Files, and porn is the least investment he can have to get off.
Next, there is the willingness to believe. A major flaw in Mulder's character as I see it is his unwillingness to trust people, but the second someone mentions aliens, they can do no wrong. In one episode, season 1's "E.B.E", Deep Throat (I'll get to him in another post, hopefully) gives Mulder a doctored photo, knowing he will believe almost without question. This willingness is short of gullibility, such as when compared to Monica Reyes and his distrust of the government and authority is short of outright paranoia when compared to The Lone Gunmen, but both show a definite division of character, torn between his intelligence and logic and his desperation to believe. "I Want To Believe" is even a motto of the show, alongside "Trust No One", again sending two different messages.
The last personality trait I'll look at is the lack of self-preservation. Mulder doesn't look after himself. He will give up everything for his beliefs, including his sleep, health and life. Although Mulder never actively expects others to do the same, he seems to almost hold them to a similar level unconsciously. Take, for example, the Season 3 episode where Mulder starts telling Skinner (I'll definitely get to him in a later post) how he and Scully are willing to live outside the law and with their lives constantly in danger before Scully tells him she has a problem with this. Mulder doesn't simply expect people to have the same priorities as him, he just seems to get lost in possibilities, needing to be dragged back down to reality, this being exactly where Scully comes in.
Motives:
Throughout the show, Mulder has three clear motives:
1. Find the truth:
"The Truth" begins with Samantha, but expands to include aliens, abductions and essentially encapsulates the entire content of the FBI's X-Files.
2. Protect Scully and her family:
This emerges through seasons 7 & 8, with Mulder attempting to save Scully from "supersoldiers". I think I'll leave that as is, so as not to give too much away.
3. Survive:
Although this is probably the only motive for many characters, it only becomes one of Mulder's most driving motives during the final season, when he disappears so as to protect himself from assassins, but also to find the truth.
Overall, Mulder is a driven character, unable to quite understand other people. His main passion is the facts, even though they might be harmful or damaging to his person.
I would adore some feedback on this series, just to give me an idea of what, if anything, readers want.
Also, I know I said tomorrow. I thought this would take longer to compile. Apparently it didn't.
H. Rourke
X-Files: Part 1 - Overview & Introduction
Well, it's been a while since I posted anything here, and this is mainly due to the fact I really haven't had an overwhelming urge to do anything. Really, I have no excuse, I just haven't had anything to say.
I do, however, now have something to say. For those of you who read this blog for music reviews or the like, this blog is going to take a somewhat unexpected turn for the next few posts. Why? Because I'm going to be talking about the X-Files.
I love the X-Files. Although I no longer watch TV, I still make a point of re-watching at least a season of X-Files every year. For the unfortunate few who have never seen or heard of the X-Files, let me give a brief idea. The X-Files is a show about FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who investigate the titular "X-Files", which, while only technically being "unsolved" cases, have a bent for the supernatural or unexplained. The content of these cases vary from fantastically huge in scope and consequence to tongue in cheek weirdness. The shows topics are normally fun, a little odd at times, but the real draw of the show is the characters, to me at least. The easy wit and charm in dialogue between Scully and Mulder is some fine magic of idea, script and the skill of Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.
I won't spoil the conclusion of the show, but to say the least December 2012 was established as a very important date in the show's universe, and as such I'm going to celebrate by offering my interpretation of core characters, looking into backgrounds, motives, lives and themes. Beginning with Fox Mulder tomorrow, I'll be continuing this series for as long as I feel like, updating whenever I want.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
I do, however, now have something to say. For those of you who read this blog for music reviews or the like, this blog is going to take a somewhat unexpected turn for the next few posts. Why? Because I'm going to be talking about the X-Files.
I love the X-Files. Although I no longer watch TV, I still make a point of re-watching at least a season of X-Files every year. For the unfortunate few who have never seen or heard of the X-Files, let me give a brief idea. The X-Files is a show about FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who investigate the titular "X-Files", which, while only technically being "unsolved" cases, have a bent for the supernatural or unexplained. The content of these cases vary from fantastically huge in scope and consequence to tongue in cheek weirdness. The shows topics are normally fun, a little odd at times, but the real draw of the show is the characters, to me at least. The easy wit and charm in dialogue between Scully and Mulder is some fine magic of idea, script and the skill of Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.
I won't spoil the conclusion of the show, but to say the least December 2012 was established as a very important date in the show's universe, and as such I'm going to celebrate by offering my interpretation of core characters, looking into backgrounds, motives, lives and themes. Beginning with Fox Mulder tomorrow, I'll be continuing this series for as long as I feel like, updating whenever I want.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Monday, 12 November 2012
Sick
Sorry for the lack of post this weekend, anyone who cares, but I'm sorta sick and really don't have the spirit for posts. Basically, I'll be off of this site until I feel better. Again, sorry.
H. Rourke
H. Rourke
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Showbiz
Well, I've had no unique ideas for content this week, and I really don't feel like another 3 Songs or pointless rant post, so I'm going to back to reviewing an album. Its been a while, huh?
This time I'm looking at Muse's debut release from 1999, "Showbiz". I can't say I have a definitive view on Muse as a whole. I understand the appeal, but I also understand much of the criticism. Overall, Muse are pretty decent and worth a bit of a listen. Let's look at ""Showbiz"
1. Sunburn
This track starts out very stripped back, with just a piano and Bellamy's vocals, which I must say are a standout aspect of Muse's sound. Bellamy has a cool, calm and variable voice, and this song excels by focusing on it. The music grows and reaches the usual, but I have a really serious complaint. The music becomes louder and faster, but I really can't feel any energy behind it. Everything just seems to be going fast when it should be slowing down. This song feels like the climax was just shoehorned in. This song does a pretty good job of introducing the album. If I was to think of a song that summarised the Muse sound, that would be very close. I get why this was one of the singles from the album.
2. Muscle Museum
This song starts with a much more processed sound than the previous track, but still with a definite focus on Bellamy's voice. The climax in this song has much more energy behind it. It think it's all in the drums. If the drumbeat is the same through the rest of the song and the climax, it just doesn't have the same drive. I like the story that this song was named for the words coming before and after "Muse" in the dictionary. My edition has "Muscovite" between "Muscle" and "Museum", but I doubt the two words in that location are a coincidence. This song is another single off of the album (the third of five, with Sunburn being the fourth) and I see why, although I must say it is very similar to the previous track. I really hope this doesn't become a theme.
3. Fillip
I learned something from this song. You can't rhyme "soon" and "direction" without sounding like an absolute dickhead. This song really just switches between tempos like a madman. We start discordantly with rock tones, switching into pop, turning to a faster, more rock influenced sound, switching back between pop and rock before just screeching to a halt, slowing to a slow, sentimental whine before returning to the discordance and the rock. I can't say the switch between the tempos is unpleasant, just unexpected and a little jarring. It takes you on a bit of journey, has a little bit of fun with the sound and overall just sounds like Muse were playing around with different settings and gave us something a bit weird and fun. Not bad at all.
4. Falling Down
Before Bellamy arrives, and even a little bit afterwards, this song really reminds me of Ball Park, but a little more melodramatic. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they definitely have some traits in common. This song starts slowly, and I can't say the pace really changes. The sound feels much less processed than the usual Muse track, which is an interesting change of pace. Bellamy is really putting his all in this one, at some points even being a little bit too emotional for my tastes. The song seems to be a breakup song, and the emotion is relevant, but just seems to slow the entire song down rather than being a central part of it. The emotion in Bellamy's voice seems to be like that weird screaming guy in the street everything else in the song is trying to avoid.
5. Cave
This song has a very unpleasant opening, being about as enjoyable of TV static, but the actual song is reasonable, although the static sound never quite disappears from the song. Bellamy, again, is the saving grace of this song. Honestly, if a lesser vocalist was on this song, I wouldn't even give it a second listening. The music sounds very grand at points, but overall, it just doesn't have the bit of humanity possessed by the previous tracks. Although this was the second dingle of the album, it really does very little for me. With a voice like Bellamy's, a more polished, together song would make the most sense. Pretty ordinary.
6. Showbiz
What the fuck is going on with the vocals? Oh, they stopped. Thank god. If they kept that edited voice shit up for the entire song, I wouldn't have been able to listen to the whole thing. This song has some good elements. It has a lot of energy and life, but it also gives me a sensation similar to feeling a dentist's drill in my teeth. Do they need all of these sounds? Does that guitar with the screech really make this song. Oh shit, they brought that voice effect back. This is just shit. There. The title track of this album is just shit. I'm glad in a way. I was slightly nervous every song would just be OK. But nope, this song is dreadful. Screeching, distortion and strange vocals (half the bloody song is Bellamy making the word "ohwaah" sound different). Just garbage of the purest degree.
7. Unintended
Intelligently, this song is a guitar and Bellamy for the intro. God knows we need that after the mess of the previous song. I'm getting a little bit sick of Bellamy making drawn out, whining notes. It just doesn't suit his voice as much as other kinds of music. OK, so he'll always love someone. Great. But problem. No! Problem resolved? I dunno. I stopped caring the second I realised the entire song would just be Bellamy in whiny mode. End already! Just... stop! Good.
8. Uno
All the greatest songs of our time start with a sound like a very broken motor, don't they? They don't? Is that because the sound is dreadful and no-one wants to fucking hear that? How did I guess?! This is the lead single? Why? Why is this review all questions I'm not asking anyone in particular? How did Muse make a song so poorly composed so as to make Bellamy not enough to fix it? Why did they wait until this track to bring back non-whiny Bellamy? Why did this song suddenly become cool and awesome? Why did the broken motor noise come back as soon as I said that? Why am I still asking questions? Do you think Green Day named their album after this song or the card game? Why isn't this song good?
9. Sober
OK, this song does have a good opening. Bellamy is loud and to the point, the music is basic and driving and everything seems to be building up to a great climax. The climax isn't bad. Man, this song is everything Muse should be. Everything is fast and fun. Previous songs have been pretentious, self-gratifying and just irritating. Give me Sober any day of the week. So far, this is the definite best song off of this album. I can't say this album is bad, per say, but I wouldn't call it one of the best. Perhaps the next few songs will completely change that opinion. I somewhat doubt it. Man, this song is just plain awesome. Uno was the lead single, but this doesn't even make the cut?
10. Escape
Nearly over. All the best albums make you think that. Let's see. Bellamy is in whiny mode. Huh. Well, this is going to take about three minutes, so I'll just sit back and - holy fuck, where did that come from? This song just switched Bellamy from whiny to awesome. Thank God. Let's see: fast paced, fun, loud, not over-complicated, not making me wish for deafness.. yup, this song is now awesome. To say the least, a definite improvement. Slowed back down, chilled out and done. Sweet song.
11. Overdue
Whoa boy, deep breaths, guys. Stop with the mood changes. Pick a song and stick with it. This one seems to switch between a Good Charlotte "ballad", something by The Thermals and Weezer. Pick. A Song. It's not hard. I can't say this song is bad, because you never know what's around the corner, and no part of the song is individually bad. Overall, I'd have to say a good song woven from several different strong aspects. An interesting idea. I wish I knew whether it was on purpose.
12. Hate This And I'll Love You
Interesting title. So... crickets? What am I getting into? Okay, I think this is whiny Bellamy. Shit. A decent tempo. Not bad, can't complain. Slow again. Great. Well, this song was so dull it gave me time to spellcheck the rest of the post. Well done, song. You're usefully useless. Someone give Bellamy a dummy and shut him up. Honstly, half of his singing in this song sounds like he's about to cry. Well, they cut Bellamy out for a little while to focus on the unremarkable music. If you couldn't tell, I regreted starting this post at about the fourth song. I would be lying if I said I didn't automatically hate all songs after that merely for existing. JUST END.
Okay, overall this album is average, just erring on the good side of average. Give it a listen, give me feedback. Farewell,
H. Rourke
This time I'm looking at Muse's debut release from 1999, "Showbiz". I can't say I have a definitive view on Muse as a whole. I understand the appeal, but I also understand much of the criticism. Overall, Muse are pretty decent and worth a bit of a listen. Let's look at ""Showbiz"
1. Sunburn
This track starts out very stripped back, with just a piano and Bellamy's vocals, which I must say are a standout aspect of Muse's sound. Bellamy has a cool, calm and variable voice, and this song excels by focusing on it. The music grows and reaches the usual, but I have a really serious complaint. The music becomes louder and faster, but I really can't feel any energy behind it. Everything just seems to be going fast when it should be slowing down. This song feels like the climax was just shoehorned in. This song does a pretty good job of introducing the album. If I was to think of a song that summarised the Muse sound, that would be very close. I get why this was one of the singles from the album.
2. Muscle Museum
This song starts with a much more processed sound than the previous track, but still with a definite focus on Bellamy's voice. The climax in this song has much more energy behind it. It think it's all in the drums. If the drumbeat is the same through the rest of the song and the climax, it just doesn't have the same drive. I like the story that this song was named for the words coming before and after "Muse" in the dictionary. My edition has "Muscovite" between "Muscle" and "Museum", but I doubt the two words in that location are a coincidence. This song is another single off of the album (the third of five, with Sunburn being the fourth) and I see why, although I must say it is very similar to the previous track. I really hope this doesn't become a theme.
3. Fillip
I learned something from this song. You can't rhyme "soon" and "direction" without sounding like an absolute dickhead. This song really just switches between tempos like a madman. We start discordantly with rock tones, switching into pop, turning to a faster, more rock influenced sound, switching back between pop and rock before just screeching to a halt, slowing to a slow, sentimental whine before returning to the discordance and the rock. I can't say the switch between the tempos is unpleasant, just unexpected and a little jarring. It takes you on a bit of journey, has a little bit of fun with the sound and overall just sounds like Muse were playing around with different settings and gave us something a bit weird and fun. Not bad at all.
4. Falling Down
Before Bellamy arrives, and even a little bit afterwards, this song really reminds me of Ball Park, but a little more melodramatic. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they definitely have some traits in common. This song starts slowly, and I can't say the pace really changes. The sound feels much less processed than the usual Muse track, which is an interesting change of pace. Bellamy is really putting his all in this one, at some points even being a little bit too emotional for my tastes. The song seems to be a breakup song, and the emotion is relevant, but just seems to slow the entire song down rather than being a central part of it. The emotion in Bellamy's voice seems to be like that weird screaming guy in the street everything else in the song is trying to avoid.
5. Cave
This song has a very unpleasant opening, being about as enjoyable of TV static, but the actual song is reasonable, although the static sound never quite disappears from the song. Bellamy, again, is the saving grace of this song. Honestly, if a lesser vocalist was on this song, I wouldn't even give it a second listening. The music sounds very grand at points, but overall, it just doesn't have the bit of humanity possessed by the previous tracks. Although this was the second dingle of the album, it really does very little for me. With a voice like Bellamy's, a more polished, together song would make the most sense. Pretty ordinary.
6. Showbiz
What the fuck is going on with the vocals? Oh, they stopped. Thank god. If they kept that edited voice shit up for the entire song, I wouldn't have been able to listen to the whole thing. This song has some good elements. It has a lot of energy and life, but it also gives me a sensation similar to feeling a dentist's drill in my teeth. Do they need all of these sounds? Does that guitar with the screech really make this song. Oh shit, they brought that voice effect back. This is just shit. There. The title track of this album is just shit. I'm glad in a way. I was slightly nervous every song would just be OK. But nope, this song is dreadful. Screeching, distortion and strange vocals (half the bloody song is Bellamy making the word "ohwaah" sound different). Just garbage of the purest degree.
7. Unintended
Intelligently, this song is a guitar and Bellamy for the intro. God knows we need that after the mess of the previous song. I'm getting a little bit sick of Bellamy making drawn out, whining notes. It just doesn't suit his voice as much as other kinds of music. OK, so he'll always love someone. Great. But problem. No! Problem resolved? I dunno. I stopped caring the second I realised the entire song would just be Bellamy in whiny mode. End already! Just... stop! Good.
8. Uno
All the greatest songs of our time start with a sound like a very broken motor, don't they? They don't? Is that because the sound is dreadful and no-one wants to fucking hear that? How did I guess?! This is the lead single? Why? Why is this review all questions I'm not asking anyone in particular? How did Muse make a song so poorly composed so as to make Bellamy not enough to fix it? Why did they wait until this track to bring back non-whiny Bellamy? Why did this song suddenly become cool and awesome? Why did the broken motor noise come back as soon as I said that? Why am I still asking questions? Do you think Green Day named their album after this song or the card game? Why isn't this song good?
9. Sober
OK, this song does have a good opening. Bellamy is loud and to the point, the music is basic and driving and everything seems to be building up to a great climax. The climax isn't bad. Man, this song is everything Muse should be. Everything is fast and fun. Previous songs have been pretentious, self-gratifying and just irritating. Give me Sober any day of the week. So far, this is the definite best song off of this album. I can't say this album is bad, per say, but I wouldn't call it one of the best. Perhaps the next few songs will completely change that opinion. I somewhat doubt it. Man, this song is just plain awesome. Uno was the lead single, but this doesn't even make the cut?
10. Escape
Nearly over. All the best albums make you think that. Let's see. Bellamy is in whiny mode. Huh. Well, this is going to take about three minutes, so I'll just sit back and - holy fuck, where did that come from? This song just switched Bellamy from whiny to awesome. Thank God. Let's see: fast paced, fun, loud, not over-complicated, not making me wish for deafness.. yup, this song is now awesome. To say the least, a definite improvement. Slowed back down, chilled out and done. Sweet song.
11. Overdue
Whoa boy, deep breaths, guys. Stop with the mood changes. Pick a song and stick with it. This one seems to switch between a Good Charlotte "ballad", something by The Thermals and Weezer. Pick. A Song. It's not hard. I can't say this song is bad, because you never know what's around the corner, and no part of the song is individually bad. Overall, I'd have to say a good song woven from several different strong aspects. An interesting idea. I wish I knew whether it was on purpose.
12. Hate This And I'll Love You
Interesting title. So... crickets? What am I getting into? Okay, I think this is whiny Bellamy. Shit. A decent tempo. Not bad, can't complain. Slow again. Great. Well, this song was so dull it gave me time to spellcheck the rest of the post. Well done, song. You're usefully useless. Someone give Bellamy a dummy and shut him up. Honstly, half of his singing in this song sounds like he's about to cry. Well, they cut Bellamy out for a little while to focus on the unremarkable music. If you couldn't tell, I regreted starting this post at about the fourth song. I would be lying if I said I didn't automatically hate all songs after that merely for existing. JUST END.
Okay, overall this album is average, just erring on the good side of average. Give it a listen, give me feedback. Farewell,
H. Rourke
Sunday, 28 October 2012
This Week
I always try to do at least one post a weekend, and this is going to be a short one.
This week has been insanely busy and I can't see anything easing up until the end of next week. I'm not going to promise I'll have a new post up anytime soon, and I haven't had time to write or (somewhat more importantly) think of something to write about.
For now, I just wish to ask anyone who has viewed/purchased/experienced any of the three Paul Kelly related things released: The documentary, the new album, or the A-Z collection, is it worth it and what exactly is on the A-Z collection? I'm really curious.
I hope to be back on here next weekend.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
This week has been insanely busy and I can't see anything easing up until the end of next week. I'm not going to promise I'll have a new post up anytime soon, and I haven't had time to write or (somewhat more importantly) think of something to write about.
For now, I just wish to ask anyone who has viewed/purchased/experienced any of the three Paul Kelly related things released: The documentary, the new album, or the A-Z collection, is it worth it and what exactly is on the A-Z collection? I'm really curious.
I hope to be back on here next weekend.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Allsorts
Well, I like to have at least a post every weekend now that we're back on to regular scheduling. I normally have some idea for what I'm going to do during the week, sometimes a few. If I have a really good idea, it'll go up the same day. Well, when I have one. One day, I hope.
Anyway, I'm going to do something a little different here. I'm just going to talk. I don't know what about, we'll find out, and just see what comes up. If, during this post, I come up with a great idea for a post, I'll either delete this or draft this and put it up later, depending on how far I get. Well, here goes.
Well, election day in Canberra. Polls closed about two hours ago and so far my party (The Greens) is behind the god-damn independents in percentages. That's really sad, but far from unexpected. I hope there will be a swing at some point, but I'm a realist rather than a nutter, so I don't really expect it.
I'm going through a few different books at the moment. It feels like a bleeding age since I last wrote about books here. Anyway, I'm currently re-reading The Great Gatsby, which is one of the greatest books of all time, if you haven't read it.
I'm also reading "Into The Wild", about a kid called Chris McCandless. I can't say I'm much of a fan. McCandless was a real guy who died in Alaska, so I don't want to say anything disrespectful, but the book does not portray him in a positive light in my opinion. The book's chronology is choppy and confusing, the part of the book where the author talks about his own experiences in Alaska seem out of place and self-glorifying and just dull. I like the references to London and Kerouac, and I can clearly see how their work is relevant to McCandless' life, but I really don't think you should reference better books in your own. I'm going to stop here before I say something I'm going to regret.
Going back to Gatsby, I admire Fitzgerald's work for many reasons, and although some of the symbolism may be a touch overboard by modern standards, it's fun to just sink your teeth into. Just read a chapter twice, and you'll come up with something different the second time. Clearly, Fitzgerald has been a major inspiration for many people. Just look at Regina Spektor's "Poor Little Rich Boy" in which Fitzgerald is referenced or Paul Dempsey's "Fast Friends", which is about attempting to make a real friend at one of Gatsby's parties. Gatsby or Fitzgerald aren't directly referenced, as far as I'm aware, but the book is apparently the inspiration.
On the literary front, I've been reading several biographies of Fidel Castro for comparative purposes. The four I've chosen are very different. Each is by an author of a different nationality (American, English, German and French (with Castro himself, so Cuban). What surprised me the most was that none of the books are blatantly pro-Cuba/anti-Cuba. Sure, Castro's autobiography with Ramonet is far from critical of Cuban government, but I'll give that one a free pass, as if Castro says something critical of himself, he'll give a lot of critics free ammo. The other three, which are not autobiographies, are pretty even-handed. Even the American (which to be fair, is actually a collection of famous historical figures, but I just read the Castro entry), whilst more critical than the others, is at the very least relenting on several counts, although still calling him a tyrannical dictator, if memory serves. The one thing about Castro's autobiography is that he manages to make himself look somewhat evasive on several counts. Most questions related to dissidents and human rights abuses go along the lines of:
"What do you say about the case of [insert dissident here], who was [insert mistreatment here]?"
"Listen, have I mentioned how many doctors Cuba has? It's a lot!"
It just gets embarrassing by the end. One of my favourite sections is where Ramonet asks Castro about a debate he had with the Spanish leader Aznar, in which Ramonet claims many thought Castro was a little aggressive. Castro responds, as usual, with a drawn out speech denying being aggressive and attacking European policies against Cuba. Ramonet then responds "You called him 'a little Fuhrer'." This is by about chapter 20, around 500 pages in, and you know by now that is exactly what Castro wold call someone if they pissed him off.
Another of the Castro biographies I looked at was the creatively titled "Castro" by Reinhard Kleist (you have no idea how many times I typed Reinhold Messner. Damn you, BFF!). This is actually a graphic novel. I know many would call it a comic book, but considering this is about an actual historical figure and goes for over 200 pages, I think I can get away with graphic novel. I really like how the whole thing is put together. A large amount of Castro's life is really interesting when presented graphically, and a lot that you would think would be difficult, Kleist handles well. There are a few really small things that get me. Firstly, why make the protagonist a fictional character? This would be a great way to interest kids, or at least teenagers, in history (perhaps with less graphic execution scenes), but inserting fictional characters just casts the entire thing into doubt, especially for newcomers to Castro's life. The other thing I don't quite agree with is the portrayal of Castro as a tragic character who, although having high ideals, is eventually corrupted by power until he is basically Batista. I don't think Castro's ideals have ever changed a great deal, at least not since the 1960's. They just looked better new. You put any governmental system based around a single man's idea of right and wrong, and you get a lot of grey called white and a lot of grey called black. Nothing's really changed about Castro, just what he has to do. I'm not defending all of his actions for a second, but I just think many of the abuses of power aren't to be like Batista,but to ensure Castro's own beliefs. The book is still bloody marvellous, with a great use of silent scenes, a fair portrayal of Castro, I feel, and interesting characters, real or imagined. I've never been a big comic person, and I've never been an art person, but I really respect the lack of colour in the comic. Really, half the bloody book would have been various shades of green, considering the famous fatigues and the Sierra Maestra hideout.
The odd thing about these books is that none of them support the Americans. They don't all necessarily condemn the Americans in the Playa Giron / Bay of Pigs affair, or in their multiple assassination attempts, but none try to justify the actions. I suppose it's just the fact the world's moving forward. Bye bye, McCarthyism. You will not be missed in the slightest.
Anyway, poll results keep coming in from the ACT election. Greens look to be taking the balance of power. Mwa ha ha ha! It's just as we planned! I love it when the fact parties can't get their shit together actually gives a minority authority. It's going to be fun watching Liberals trying to kiss Green arse to get any of their policies approved. Make 'em cry, Hunter!
I haven't been doing anything new in regards to listening to music. In related news, I have an unusually large amount of money remaining this week (read: any money). I've just been listening to more Regina Spektor and Sia. I really think some of Spektor's best stuff was when it was just her with her piano, or without.
The musical highlight of my week was this morning, when I woke up to BFF's "Erase Me" on the radio. It's fantastic to know I helped put some of the money towards that sort of magic travel around the world.
What else? Well, I've been listening to Before Too Long, the Paul Kelly tribute album. I recommend it to any fan of Kelly's work. If you are unfamiliar with Kelly and like the artists listed, I don't really advise it as much. The thing is all of these artists are really trying to be faithful to Kelly, as they god damn should be, meaning their personal styles really take a back seat. Washington is pretty much the same, I think her and Kelly's styles are fundamentally similar, so there's that, but Ozi Batla hardly raps, Paul Dempsey isn't very soulful and most of the rest is just a Paul Kelly song with a different voice, with no significant changes. I can't see any real problem, but just a heads up if interested.
One artist on the album I detest is Adalita. I cannot stand her cover of "Everything's Turning to White". I have a long standing dislike of spoken word music, if that's the correct phrase. You can read out lyrics while music plays in the background? Good on you! I can do that too! I think it all started with William Shatner. I still have nightmares about his cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the accompanying video (Willy in the sky with exploding zodiac signs. Beware). Now, I don't know anything about Adalita or her musical career, but I really hold her name against her. My Mp3 player picks the first song alphabetically by artist name, so I had to throw in the 8in8 album to stop hearing that song every time I turned my music on. I'm aware that Kelly's original version of ETTW (yeah, ETTW. I'm that lazy), he did do some spoken word. That does not mean you should do the whole first half of the song like that. It's only one track out of two fantastic CD's of covers, but I feel it's a significant dampener on the whole project.
Well, I've said enough for a post. If you enjoyed or detested or felt nothing towards this, please let me know for future posts. I had enough fun and things to say to justify doing it again if there is any demand, or if I'm that lazy again.
Feedback welcome
H. Rourke
Anyway, I'm going to do something a little different here. I'm just going to talk. I don't know what about, we'll find out, and just see what comes up. If, during this post, I come up with a great idea for a post, I'll either delete this or draft this and put it up later, depending on how far I get. Well, here goes.
Well, election day in Canberra. Polls closed about two hours ago and so far my party (The Greens) is behind the god-damn independents in percentages. That's really sad, but far from unexpected. I hope there will be a swing at some point, but I'm a realist rather than a nutter, so I don't really expect it.
I'm going through a few different books at the moment. It feels like a bleeding age since I last wrote about books here. Anyway, I'm currently re-reading The Great Gatsby, which is one of the greatest books of all time, if you haven't read it.
I'm also reading "Into The Wild", about a kid called Chris McCandless. I can't say I'm much of a fan. McCandless was a real guy who died in Alaska, so I don't want to say anything disrespectful, but the book does not portray him in a positive light in my opinion. The book's chronology is choppy and confusing, the part of the book where the author talks about his own experiences in Alaska seem out of place and self-glorifying and just dull. I like the references to London and Kerouac, and I can clearly see how their work is relevant to McCandless' life, but I really don't think you should reference better books in your own. I'm going to stop here before I say something I'm going to regret.
Going back to Gatsby, I admire Fitzgerald's work for many reasons, and although some of the symbolism may be a touch overboard by modern standards, it's fun to just sink your teeth into. Just read a chapter twice, and you'll come up with something different the second time. Clearly, Fitzgerald has been a major inspiration for many people. Just look at Regina Spektor's "Poor Little Rich Boy" in which Fitzgerald is referenced or Paul Dempsey's "Fast Friends", which is about attempting to make a real friend at one of Gatsby's parties. Gatsby or Fitzgerald aren't directly referenced, as far as I'm aware, but the book is apparently the inspiration.
On the literary front, I've been reading several biographies of Fidel Castro for comparative purposes. The four I've chosen are very different. Each is by an author of a different nationality (American, English, German and French (with Castro himself, so Cuban). What surprised me the most was that none of the books are blatantly pro-Cuba/anti-Cuba. Sure, Castro's autobiography with Ramonet is far from critical of Cuban government, but I'll give that one a free pass, as if Castro says something critical of himself, he'll give a lot of critics free ammo. The other three, which are not autobiographies, are pretty even-handed. Even the American (which to be fair, is actually a collection of famous historical figures, but I just read the Castro entry), whilst more critical than the others, is at the very least relenting on several counts, although still calling him a tyrannical dictator, if memory serves. The one thing about Castro's autobiography is that he manages to make himself look somewhat evasive on several counts. Most questions related to dissidents and human rights abuses go along the lines of:
"What do you say about the case of [insert dissident here], who was [insert mistreatment here]?"
"Listen, have I mentioned how many doctors Cuba has? It's a lot!"
It just gets embarrassing by the end. One of my favourite sections is where Ramonet asks Castro about a debate he had with the Spanish leader Aznar, in which Ramonet claims many thought Castro was a little aggressive. Castro responds, as usual, with a drawn out speech denying being aggressive and attacking European policies against Cuba. Ramonet then responds "You called him 'a little Fuhrer'." This is by about chapter 20, around 500 pages in, and you know by now that is exactly what Castro wold call someone if they pissed him off.
Another of the Castro biographies I looked at was the creatively titled "Castro" by Reinhard Kleist (you have no idea how many times I typed Reinhold Messner. Damn you, BFF!). This is actually a graphic novel. I know many would call it a comic book, but considering this is about an actual historical figure and goes for over 200 pages, I think I can get away with graphic novel. I really like how the whole thing is put together. A large amount of Castro's life is really interesting when presented graphically, and a lot that you would think would be difficult, Kleist handles well. There are a few really small things that get me. Firstly, why make the protagonist a fictional character? This would be a great way to interest kids, or at least teenagers, in history (perhaps with less graphic execution scenes), but inserting fictional characters just casts the entire thing into doubt, especially for newcomers to Castro's life. The other thing I don't quite agree with is the portrayal of Castro as a tragic character who, although having high ideals, is eventually corrupted by power until he is basically Batista. I don't think Castro's ideals have ever changed a great deal, at least not since the 1960's. They just looked better new. You put any governmental system based around a single man's idea of right and wrong, and you get a lot of grey called white and a lot of grey called black. Nothing's really changed about Castro, just what he has to do. I'm not defending all of his actions for a second, but I just think many of the abuses of power aren't to be like Batista,but to ensure Castro's own beliefs. The book is still bloody marvellous, with a great use of silent scenes, a fair portrayal of Castro, I feel, and interesting characters, real or imagined. I've never been a big comic person, and I've never been an art person, but I really respect the lack of colour in the comic. Really, half the bloody book would have been various shades of green, considering the famous fatigues and the Sierra Maestra hideout.
The odd thing about these books is that none of them support the Americans. They don't all necessarily condemn the Americans in the Playa Giron / Bay of Pigs affair, or in their multiple assassination attempts, but none try to justify the actions. I suppose it's just the fact the world's moving forward. Bye bye, McCarthyism. You will not be missed in the slightest.
Anyway, poll results keep coming in from the ACT election. Greens look to be taking the balance of power. Mwa ha ha ha! It's just as we planned! I love it when the fact parties can't get their shit together actually gives a minority authority. It's going to be fun watching Liberals trying to kiss Green arse to get any of their policies approved. Make 'em cry, Hunter!
I haven't been doing anything new in regards to listening to music. In related news, I have an unusually large amount of money remaining this week (read: any money). I've just been listening to more Regina Spektor and Sia. I really think some of Spektor's best stuff was when it was just her with her piano, or without.
The musical highlight of my week was this morning, when I woke up to BFF's "Erase Me" on the radio. It's fantastic to know I helped put some of the money towards that sort of magic travel around the world.
What else? Well, I've been listening to Before Too Long, the Paul Kelly tribute album. I recommend it to any fan of Kelly's work. If you are unfamiliar with Kelly and like the artists listed, I don't really advise it as much. The thing is all of these artists are really trying to be faithful to Kelly, as they god damn should be, meaning their personal styles really take a back seat. Washington is pretty much the same, I think her and Kelly's styles are fundamentally similar, so there's that, but Ozi Batla hardly raps, Paul Dempsey isn't very soulful and most of the rest is just a Paul Kelly song with a different voice, with no significant changes. I can't see any real problem, but just a heads up if interested.
One artist on the album I detest is Adalita. I cannot stand her cover of "Everything's Turning to White". I have a long standing dislike of spoken word music, if that's the correct phrase. You can read out lyrics while music plays in the background? Good on you! I can do that too! I think it all started with William Shatner. I still have nightmares about his cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the accompanying video (Willy in the sky with exploding zodiac signs. Beware). Now, I don't know anything about Adalita or her musical career, but I really hold her name against her. My Mp3 player picks the first song alphabetically by artist name, so I had to throw in the 8in8 album to stop hearing that song every time I turned my music on. I'm aware that Kelly's original version of ETTW (yeah, ETTW. I'm that lazy), he did do some spoken word. That does not mean you should do the whole first half of the song like that. It's only one track out of two fantastic CD's of covers, but I feel it's a significant dampener on the whole project.
Well, I've said enough for a post. If you enjoyed or detested or felt nothing towards this, please let me know for future posts. I had enough fun and things to say to justify doing it again if there is any demand, or if I'm that lazy again.
Feedback welcome
H. Rourke
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
First Year Anniversary
Welcome, to the celebration of one year of Red Television!
Let me be honest about this blog. In the past year, it has not been successful. It has not become insanely popular and it's content has never been ground-breaking. This blog is and has always been merely an outlet for my interest, and often rage, regarding music, literature and little else.
Over the past 12 months, I've had 682 views, which is about 682 more than I expected. I hope those who have and hopefully will continue to browse this blog will enjoy what you read, whether or not you agree with what I have to say.
Now, I tossed around several ideas for the celebration of a year of blogging, and decided the best way of talking about the past year would be to take the five most viewed of my posts and talk about their creation. I doubt I'll have much to say about the majority, but let's see what comes out:
Post #5: Palookaville (Posted December 6th, 2011)
Now, this post, in brief, was an album review of Fatboy Slim's offering, "Palookaville". For a little bit of context, I like my sleep. I go to bed around 11 most nights, because after that time being on the internet becomes risky. This post was completed around 2 in the morning, so I really don't know what I was thinking by that stage. Alright, at about Track 10 I had ceased to care in any capacity, but by the end of the album I was at that stage where I cared way too much. I had a rant about fucking kittens. What was I thinking? Anyway, a lot of the strange content of this review stems from my own lack of familiarity with the music-making process. I don't know anything about music. My real interest is in how it makes me feel and what the lyrics say, so half of my discussion material is out the window just by choosing to review a Fatboy Slim album, which typically is very light on coherent lyrics. I had to write about something, so I really just wrote the first things that came out of my head. In all honesty, they really should have stayed in there. This review is honestly one of my absolute favourites, because it just makes so little sense, but is genuinely amusing. I don't drink, but I figure this is how I might sound if I were ever to get drunk. The other reason I like this post is the fact there is a comment on it. A genuine, unconditional comment. I've only ever had two comments on this blog, and I guarantee that ever comment like the one on this post is giving me a reason to write for at least another year. Thank you, Desertdew, sincerely. In another note, I still hold the deletion of one of the tracks against you blogger. That really pisses me off, although when I was actually typing, I was too tired to really care.
Post #4: Ten Great Songs of the 2000's: Part 1 (Posted April 15th, 2012)
The original idea for this post was just to talk about music I liked then and there, rather than music I would have to defend my enjoyment of years down the track. Just music I was enjoying the novelty of, right then. Of course, if something is too easy, I get bored, so I decided to make sure all of the songs on this list had not been released as singles. Which was surprisingly hard, especially when I didn't repeat groups and then tried to do a second part, which was a terrible idea. I notice I mention the "ratings" I gave music at the top of the post. I don't really know why I stopped doing that. It was frustrating, looking at two songs in completely different contexts, which I had given the same score to, and trying to work out if they both deserved it. Ultimately, I just forgot and I don't think anyone's really complaining. Or reading. But I'll see things how I wish to see them. In retrospect, six months later, all of the songs stand up, bar "Inspiration Island". Honestly, I just wanted to put Drapht in there, but realised all the songs I liked by him were singles, so just threw a random track in there. I'm not saying the tracks bad, but I think it doesn't quite deserve to stand amongst songs of such high a calibre. I called this post filler, but it really ended up being a hell of a lot more effort than a normal post, really. The tally at the bottom was way too optimistic, and I really shouldn't have bothered.
Post #3: Triple J Hottest 100 of 2007 Part 1 (Posted December 23rd, 2011)
I still feel a little guilty about this post. I mean, I'm perfectly aware no-one bar myself gives a shit, and it's not like I wrote ten words and gave up, but I still would like to go back and finish it one day. Yay, retcons! Yeah, if I fix it, that phrase will be gone too. And that one. And that one. I'll stop. I did go on holiday, as described, and didn't have internet access. By the time I got home, the library was on my back to return the CD, and I didn't really want to risk fines. I sort of forgot about it afterwards. Of the six songs I didn't cover, I'm only familiar with "Hang Me Out To Dry" by the Cold war Kids, which I really like, but can't actually say that much about off the top of my head, so you really aren't missing much. I still own my discman, although it's getting a little old, but I use an MP3 player just because it's lighter, has more storage, doesn't skip when I walk and the batteries are a hell of a lot easier to recharge. The content of the post is pretty much what I think now. I have a higher opinion of Bloc Party, a lower opinion (if that's possible) of Soko and now wince when I see that I attributed Chemical Heart to Gyroscope (I now know that it's by Grinspoon. To be fair, the names are pretty similar and Chemical Heart doesn't sound like many other Grinspoon tracks.) It's not an unforgivable mistake, but still a little embarrassing. Why don't I retcon it? Morality, or as I like to call it, laziness. I still don't get that fucking Salmon song. Were they actually trying to start a dance craze, or am I missing something?
Post #2: 3 Songs: Frank Sinatra vs. Noise Addict vs. Sam Cooke (Posted October 3rd, 2012)
I don't get why people liked this particular post. I like my writing, and sort of get why people would like my 3 Songs as a whole, but why this one? It's not the only time I mention Cooke or Sinatra, and I really don't think Noise Addict have that big a fan base. Whoever it was, I think I pissed them off, because my blog has had as little traffic as usual after that surge. I don't really have much to say about the post, as I wrote it about two weeks ago. If it's still one of my most popular next year (hoping I'll keep this going another year), I'll give it a good going over, with a little time between it and me, to make me feel safer from past me. I still like the SUBTLE LINK line.
Post #1: Top 5 Albums: Part 4 (Posted 22nd of July, 2012)
I really don't know why this single part of my Top 5 Albums saga is more popular than all the other posts in it combined. I don't know if the comment was due to the popularity or visa versa, but it doesn't really matter. I stand by everything mentioned here, especially about Jane Tyrrell releasing a solo album. She has talent, a great voice, a foot in the industry, experience and shares a surname with a character from a Shakespearean play. There is no reason this shouldn't happen. Also, every song she touches is magic. Only time will tell us what happens, I suppose. I realise in retrospect that I really need to break some of my rants into paragraphs, but the post consisting of a solid rant is sort of diminished in effect by breaking up the post into smaller paragraphs. I, again, don't have much to say about this post considering the fact it was only written a few months ago. One thing that stands out is the fact that I was still planning on putting "Lonely Avenue" by Ben Folds & Nick Hornby as my favourite, but a good listen changed my mind. It's weird how that happens, but I still say the album is fantastic. Paul Kelly's "Deeper Water" is just a considerable bit better. Also, the answer to the question at the end of the post is Hole, the Courtney Love fronted band. I bought "Celebrity Skin" on special, but this fact has been rendered redundant by my very ill-advised purchase of a Hoobastank album, which I regret beyond words. The comment I had on this post is the second ever received in this blog, and I really don't get it. This blog is clearly default settings. I think that's pretty obvious. If I had done something specifically for this blog, there would be a little Red Television logo, no birds and just a different style. The fact that Blogger classified this as spam saddened me a bit. I don't know if it is or not, but feel free to spam what you like here. If I don't mind it, it can stay.
I don't know if this is how I'll celebrate next year, but it probably depends on whether or not the most viewed posts have changed significantly. I'll probably have new things to say, even if they haven't, but I'll see if I have any better ideas, or if any better ideas are volunteered. I hope everyone reading enjoyed this brief look back, and hope everyone has enjoyed the previous year. I've had a hell of a lot of fun, and don't plan on stopping my reviewing any time soon.
Feedback is very welcome, and I always love hearing from people, even if they have nothing to say.
H. Rourke: One year and counting, my friends.
Let me be honest about this blog. In the past year, it has not been successful. It has not become insanely popular and it's content has never been ground-breaking. This blog is and has always been merely an outlet for my interest, and often rage, regarding music, literature and little else.
Over the past 12 months, I've had 682 views, which is about 682 more than I expected. I hope those who have and hopefully will continue to browse this blog will enjoy what you read, whether or not you agree with what I have to say.
Now, I tossed around several ideas for the celebration of a year of blogging, and decided the best way of talking about the past year would be to take the five most viewed of my posts and talk about their creation. I doubt I'll have much to say about the majority, but let's see what comes out:
Post #5: Palookaville (Posted December 6th, 2011)
Now, this post, in brief, was an album review of Fatboy Slim's offering, "Palookaville". For a little bit of context, I like my sleep. I go to bed around 11 most nights, because after that time being on the internet becomes risky. This post was completed around 2 in the morning, so I really don't know what I was thinking by that stage. Alright, at about Track 10 I had ceased to care in any capacity, but by the end of the album I was at that stage where I cared way too much. I had a rant about fucking kittens. What was I thinking? Anyway, a lot of the strange content of this review stems from my own lack of familiarity with the music-making process. I don't know anything about music. My real interest is in how it makes me feel and what the lyrics say, so half of my discussion material is out the window just by choosing to review a Fatboy Slim album, which typically is very light on coherent lyrics. I had to write about something, so I really just wrote the first things that came out of my head. In all honesty, they really should have stayed in there. This review is honestly one of my absolute favourites, because it just makes so little sense, but is genuinely amusing. I don't drink, but I figure this is how I might sound if I were ever to get drunk. The other reason I like this post is the fact there is a comment on it. A genuine, unconditional comment. I've only ever had two comments on this blog, and I guarantee that ever comment like the one on this post is giving me a reason to write for at least another year. Thank you, Desertdew, sincerely. In another note, I still hold the deletion of one of the tracks against you blogger. That really pisses me off, although when I was actually typing, I was too tired to really care.
Post #4: Ten Great Songs of the 2000's: Part 1 (Posted April 15th, 2012)
The original idea for this post was just to talk about music I liked then and there, rather than music I would have to defend my enjoyment of years down the track. Just music I was enjoying the novelty of, right then. Of course, if something is too easy, I get bored, so I decided to make sure all of the songs on this list had not been released as singles. Which was surprisingly hard, especially when I didn't repeat groups and then tried to do a second part, which was a terrible idea. I notice I mention the "ratings" I gave music at the top of the post. I don't really know why I stopped doing that. It was frustrating, looking at two songs in completely different contexts, which I had given the same score to, and trying to work out if they both deserved it. Ultimately, I just forgot and I don't think anyone's really complaining. Or reading. But I'll see things how I wish to see them. In retrospect, six months later, all of the songs stand up, bar "Inspiration Island". Honestly, I just wanted to put Drapht in there, but realised all the songs I liked by him were singles, so just threw a random track in there. I'm not saying the tracks bad, but I think it doesn't quite deserve to stand amongst songs of such high a calibre. I called this post filler, but it really ended up being a hell of a lot more effort than a normal post, really. The tally at the bottom was way too optimistic, and I really shouldn't have bothered.
Post #3: Triple J Hottest 100 of 2007 Part 1 (Posted December 23rd, 2011)
I still feel a little guilty about this post. I mean, I'm perfectly aware no-one bar myself gives a shit, and it's not like I wrote ten words and gave up, but I still would like to go back and finish it one day. Yay, retcons! Yeah, if I fix it, that phrase will be gone too. And that one. And that one. I'll stop. I did go on holiday, as described, and didn't have internet access. By the time I got home, the library was on my back to return the CD, and I didn't really want to risk fines. I sort of forgot about it afterwards. Of the six songs I didn't cover, I'm only familiar with "Hang Me Out To Dry" by the Cold war Kids, which I really like, but can't actually say that much about off the top of my head, so you really aren't missing much. I still own my discman, although it's getting a little old, but I use an MP3 player just because it's lighter, has more storage, doesn't skip when I walk and the batteries are a hell of a lot easier to recharge. The content of the post is pretty much what I think now. I have a higher opinion of Bloc Party, a lower opinion (if that's possible) of Soko and now wince when I see that I attributed Chemical Heart to Gyroscope (I now know that it's by Grinspoon. To be fair, the names are pretty similar and Chemical Heart doesn't sound like many other Grinspoon tracks.) It's not an unforgivable mistake, but still a little embarrassing. Why don't I retcon it? Morality, or as I like to call it, laziness. I still don't get that fucking Salmon song. Were they actually trying to start a dance craze, or am I missing something?
Post #2: 3 Songs: Frank Sinatra vs. Noise Addict vs. Sam Cooke (Posted October 3rd, 2012)
I don't get why people liked this particular post. I like my writing, and sort of get why people would like my 3 Songs as a whole, but why this one? It's not the only time I mention Cooke or Sinatra, and I really don't think Noise Addict have that big a fan base. Whoever it was, I think I pissed them off, because my blog has had as little traffic as usual after that surge. I don't really have much to say about the post, as I wrote it about two weeks ago. If it's still one of my most popular next year (hoping I'll keep this going another year), I'll give it a good going over, with a little time between it and me, to make me feel safer from past me. I still like the SUBTLE LINK line.
Post #1: Top 5 Albums: Part 4 (Posted 22nd of July, 2012)
I really don't know why this single part of my Top 5 Albums saga is more popular than all the other posts in it combined. I don't know if the comment was due to the popularity or visa versa, but it doesn't really matter. I stand by everything mentioned here, especially about Jane Tyrrell releasing a solo album. She has talent, a great voice, a foot in the industry, experience and shares a surname with a character from a Shakespearean play. There is no reason this shouldn't happen. Also, every song she touches is magic. Only time will tell us what happens, I suppose. I realise in retrospect that I really need to break some of my rants into paragraphs, but the post consisting of a solid rant is sort of diminished in effect by breaking up the post into smaller paragraphs. I, again, don't have much to say about this post considering the fact it was only written a few months ago. One thing that stands out is the fact that I was still planning on putting "Lonely Avenue" by Ben Folds & Nick Hornby as my favourite, but a good listen changed my mind. It's weird how that happens, but I still say the album is fantastic. Paul Kelly's "Deeper Water" is just a considerable bit better. Also, the answer to the question at the end of the post is Hole, the Courtney Love fronted band. I bought "Celebrity Skin" on special, but this fact has been rendered redundant by my very ill-advised purchase of a Hoobastank album, which I regret beyond words. The comment I had on this post is the second ever received in this blog, and I really don't get it. This blog is clearly default settings. I think that's pretty obvious. If I had done something specifically for this blog, there would be a little Red Television logo, no birds and just a different style. The fact that Blogger classified this as spam saddened me a bit. I don't know if it is or not, but feel free to spam what you like here. If I don't mind it, it can stay.
I don't know if this is how I'll celebrate next year, but it probably depends on whether or not the most viewed posts have changed significantly. I'll probably have new things to say, even if they haven't, but I'll see if I have any better ideas, or if any better ideas are volunteered. I hope everyone reading enjoyed this brief look back, and hope everyone has enjoyed the previous year. I've had a hell of a lot of fun, and don't plan on stopping my reviewing any time soon.
Feedback is very welcome, and I always love hearing from people, even if they have nothing to say.
H. Rourke: One year and counting, my friends.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Top 5 Songs
Well, I was trying to think of what would be a good first anniversary celebration post, and this was my second best idea, so I decided to commemorate the end of the post-a-day period with something special.
To start off with, these songs are probably not going to be my all time favourites. I'm certain that whatever I write here I will think otherwise within 24 hours, so this is my Top 5 Songs on October 14th, 2012, nothing more nothing less.
A clause I've given myself to prevent repetition is that none of these songs can be from albums in my Top 5, just for the sake of talking about new music. So what's on the list?
Song #5: Sunset by Powderfinger (Vulture Street, 2003, Track 6)
I'm not actually going to talk about what I like about each of these songs so much as how I found out about them. This track was on a hits CD someone gave me once, one of these "Now" or "Fresh" albums. Overall, I'm not a big fan of them, as just so much of them consist of lousy pop, but occasionally there are little gems like this. By 2003 or 04 or whenever it was, I had clearly heard some of Powderfinger's work but nothing had struck me as much as this track. I don't doubt that I've heard a lot of Powderfinger at least as good as this song, but this was the first, and that means a lot to me. The lyrics are pretty good, basically saying "pull your bloody head in, you idiot", which is a good moral for many songs.
Song #4: Sad Rude Future Dude by Ball Park Music (Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs, 2011, Track 3)
I originally became interested in Ball Park Music after hearing this song on Triple J one day. Although I'd heard iFly and wasn't overly impressed, this made me think again, and Rich People Are Stupid made me pick up the album, if only to say that I owned an album containing a song with that title. There isn't really a moral for this song, but it does basically discuss the increasing distance between people in the technological world we live in, and the lack of social skills people possess. This may or may not be the song which best describes me, although I'm sure there's something less sad that would do it. Maybe.
Song #3: The Angry Mob by The Kaiser Chiefs (Yours Truly, Angry Mob, 2007, Track 2)
Before I discuss this song, I need to point out that Wikipedia has a page called Angry Mob completely unrelated to this song. That is kind of awesome. Now, I first became familiar with Kaiser Chiefs with their to date most successful hit Ruby, which I liked the sound of, but the lyrics just sounded like rubbish, so I didn't really become fascinated by this group until this song came along. I just adore the imagery of this song, of a large group of people so easily controlled, yet unable to control itself. Kaiser Chiefs music has been called mindless pop, and I really disagree with that. Sure, every song might not be a mini-thesis, but they at least try to put a fair amount of thought into the majority of their songs.
Song #2: Now We Can See by The Thermals (Now We Can See, 2009, Track 4)
This song is just awesome. This has life, rage, frustration and fun all in one fantastic package. I know no-one who doesn't enjoy this song. I heard this song first, like so many others, on Triple J, and this is tragically the only Thermals song I've ever heard on the station. Anyway, this is the tune that eventually had me purchase two Thermals albums, and I haven't looked back for a second. If the group hadn't released this one, slightly different, song, I never would have been interested in their music. Thank God for odd choices.
Song #1: Army by Ben Folds Five (The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner, 1999, Track 6)
This song is the best track Ben Folds has ever made. This represents the best of his career. I'm not saying for a second that his career after 1999 was pointless, and he created many other excellent tracks, but this is my absolute favourite, due to the autobiographical content, sense of humour, fantastic use of instruments, wordplay and just the urge to learn the song off by heart that this song exudes. Now, I'd like to talk about Ben Folds albums. I love Reinhold Messner, but I'd have to put Ben Folds Five as the best Ben Folds album of all time. It just has a more cohesive, stronger sound. I first heard this song after beginning to research just who Folds was after hearing You Don't Know Me and Underground. Thank you, YouTube, for introducing me to BFF magic.
I apologise for a relatively brief post, but I have work to do. I promise a decent attempt to celebrate a year on Tuesday, and hope anyone reading had as much fun on the post-a-day as I did. Adios.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
To start off with, these songs are probably not going to be my all time favourites. I'm certain that whatever I write here I will think otherwise within 24 hours, so this is my Top 5 Songs on October 14th, 2012, nothing more nothing less.
A clause I've given myself to prevent repetition is that none of these songs can be from albums in my Top 5, just for the sake of talking about new music. So what's on the list?
Song #5: Sunset by Powderfinger (Vulture Street, 2003, Track 6)
I'm not actually going to talk about what I like about each of these songs so much as how I found out about them. This track was on a hits CD someone gave me once, one of these "Now" or "Fresh" albums. Overall, I'm not a big fan of them, as just so much of them consist of lousy pop, but occasionally there are little gems like this. By 2003 or 04 or whenever it was, I had clearly heard some of Powderfinger's work but nothing had struck me as much as this track. I don't doubt that I've heard a lot of Powderfinger at least as good as this song, but this was the first, and that means a lot to me. The lyrics are pretty good, basically saying "pull your bloody head in, you idiot", which is a good moral for many songs.
Song #4: Sad Rude Future Dude by Ball Park Music (Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs, 2011, Track 3)
I originally became interested in Ball Park Music after hearing this song on Triple J one day. Although I'd heard iFly and wasn't overly impressed, this made me think again, and Rich People Are Stupid made me pick up the album, if only to say that I owned an album containing a song with that title. There isn't really a moral for this song, but it does basically discuss the increasing distance between people in the technological world we live in, and the lack of social skills people possess. This may or may not be the song which best describes me, although I'm sure there's something less sad that would do it. Maybe.
Song #3: The Angry Mob by The Kaiser Chiefs (Yours Truly, Angry Mob, 2007, Track 2)
Before I discuss this song, I need to point out that Wikipedia has a page called Angry Mob completely unrelated to this song. That is kind of awesome. Now, I first became familiar with Kaiser Chiefs with their to date most successful hit Ruby, which I liked the sound of, but the lyrics just sounded like rubbish, so I didn't really become fascinated by this group until this song came along. I just adore the imagery of this song, of a large group of people so easily controlled, yet unable to control itself. Kaiser Chiefs music has been called mindless pop, and I really disagree with that. Sure, every song might not be a mini-thesis, but they at least try to put a fair amount of thought into the majority of their songs.
Song #2: Now We Can See by The Thermals (Now We Can See, 2009, Track 4)
This song is just awesome. This has life, rage, frustration and fun all in one fantastic package. I know no-one who doesn't enjoy this song. I heard this song first, like so many others, on Triple J, and this is tragically the only Thermals song I've ever heard on the station. Anyway, this is the tune that eventually had me purchase two Thermals albums, and I haven't looked back for a second. If the group hadn't released this one, slightly different, song, I never would have been interested in their music. Thank God for odd choices.
Song #1: Army by Ben Folds Five (The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner, 1999, Track 6)
This song is the best track Ben Folds has ever made. This represents the best of his career. I'm not saying for a second that his career after 1999 was pointless, and he created many other excellent tracks, but this is my absolute favourite, due to the autobiographical content, sense of humour, fantastic use of instruments, wordplay and just the urge to learn the song off by heart that this song exudes. Now, I'd like to talk about Ben Folds albums. I love Reinhold Messner, but I'd have to put Ben Folds Five as the best Ben Folds album of all time. It just has a more cohesive, stronger sound. I first heard this song after beginning to research just who Folds was after hearing You Don't Know Me and Underground. Thank you, YouTube, for introducing me to BFF magic.
I apologise for a relatively brief post, but I have work to do. I promise a decent attempt to celebrate a year on Tuesday, and hope anyone reading had as much fun on the post-a-day as I did. Adios.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Saturday, 13 October 2012
3 Songs: Jet vs. Little Red vs. Katy Steele
All going to plan, I'm afraid tomorrow will be the last post-a-day for a while. I'll still try to post something over the weekends, probably more substantial than a 3 Songs, perhaps even an entire album review again. Hell, it's been a while. I'll probably return to post-a-day schedule in November or December with any luck, and I'd love any feedback for any things readers would like to see. Also, Red Television celebrates one fantastic year on the 16th, and I'm trying to work out something special to celebrate with. Ideas, again, would be incredibly welcome. If nearly three weeks of 3 Songs isn't a big enough hint, I'm pretty low on ideas. Also, 3 Songs are really easy to write and I'm lazy. Speaking of which:
Song #1: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is by Jet (Shine On, 2006, Track 3)
Jet. Okay, I can talk about Jet. Good old Aussie rock, without too much tacked on. This is one of the few groups I feel absolutely confident in saying "This is rock". There are probably some sub-genre's but fuck it. This is rock. How was I introduced to Jet? Well, they were everywhere. When? Always. This song, Are You Gonna Be My Girl?, Shine On, I swear there has never been a time when ads weren't using Jet material. I came across Get Born in the discount section of Flipside, and found Shine On in probably the same place, I don't quite remember. They weren't bad, but I haven't come across any other albums of theirs since. To be fair, I haven't specifically looked. A little bit of enjoyable, not exactly thought provoking Aussie rock. Now, I just want to have quick rant (an oxymoron if I ever heard one). Upon the release of this album, Shine On, an internet music-review site called Pitchfork Media "reviewed" this album, by putting a video of a monkey urinating in it's own mouth and nothing else beneath the title. That pisses me off. Firstly, I really don't get where the reviewer is coming from. Sure, Jet may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they're hardly the kind of group to incite this kind of reaction. Secondly, that is fucking lazy. There was literally no discussion of why the reviewer felt this reaction was appropriate. I get the imagery, this album is recycled, self-congratulatory and pretentious. Fine. Have that opinion. But at least explain why you have that opinion. Sure, with a lot of music I have noting to say and writing even a few sentences is tricky, but if writing about music is that god-damned hard for you, maybe music criticism should not be your field of work. Finally, and this is what really pisses me off, is how rude that is. Sure, any musician who puts their work up for public consumption is expected to deal with criticism, constructive or otherwise, but this is just being a lazy jerk. What gives you the right to dismiss someone else's hard work with such a throwaway, unimaginative act? Think of how any human being would feel if this was someone's response to their art? Fuck off, Pitchfork. Three other things I must acknowledge: Firstly, I know that I review music, and I may say some harsh things, but I at least attempt to justify why I feel the way I do about what I hear, even if I may not succeed. Secondly, I'm not just saying this because I like Jet. There is no musician I would support such an act against. Sure, there are a few I think the sentiment of, but I'd never do that as a response to their work. What confuses me a little is using Jet as the focus here. In regards to professional reviewers, few had problems with this album. This hardly feels like the universally panned album such a review would seem to be in response to. Finally, I'm aware that this happened 8 years ago, but I feel that time hardly makes any of my points less valid. Erm, sorry for that. Let's move on to the song.
Musically, this song has a hell of a lot of life. A good beat, some great guitar and drum work, all showing exactly why this was the lead single. This song is just plain fun, and no matter what some reviewers think, there will always be room for basic, near-generic music that is just a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. There aren't many elements of this song I can actually take out to talk about. Just... pretty damn good.
Vocally, I'm not quite sure what's going on. Is the loud voice and the quiet voice the same person? I'm not sure, but I'm going to proceed as if they are both Cester. If so, that bloke clearly has a great vocal range. OK, now Cester is hardly the greatest singer of all time, but he does exactly what he needs to. The voice during the verses is a little irritating, but not unlistenably so, and is more than made up for in the chorus, when Cester's voice is absolutely ideal for the kind of music he's making, matching the guitar screaming away in the background perfectly. Also, I must say that the backing vocals are great, adding a lot to Cester's performance. I can't imagine the song without them.
Lyrically, I just don't get it. I've read and heard the lyrics to many times to contemplate and I don't know what the fuck Jet is saying. I imagine it's about a girl, because it's a rock song, and that the girl is hard to get, as the chorus seems to be a challenge. Beyond that... there is little. Okay, I think this was sort of meant to be full of clever word play and fun imagery about a woman and trying to pick her up but the whole thing just comes off as hard to follow. I could be completely wrong. It might have been written to be hard to follow, in which case Jet has succeeded. The lyrics probably aren't as incomprehensible as I'm making them out to be, but anything containing the lyric "ya" just turns my brains off.
Song #2: Going Wrong by Little Red (Midnight Remember, 2010, Track 12)
Well, Little Red. I wonder if every group here won't have been mentioned in previous posts. Anyway, I was introduced to Little Red with some of their 2008 hits like Witchdoctor and Coca-Cola, but really became interested with their song Rock It, although It's Alright is still my favourite track of theirs.
Now, this song is much slower than any Little Red songs I'm familiar with, and I had to check several times to make sure that the right artist was labelled, but I'm going to go with it. The music is slow and very, to be quite honest, uninteresting, but I really don't think that the music is really the draw of the song. The music just feels very sentimental and out-dated, which I think is what they were going for, but it doesn't really work.
The vocals. Who the hell is singing this? More importantly, why hasn't he been singing everything? Seriously, this guy's voice is magic, and as the almighty Wikipedia lists three vocalists, I have no idea who he is. But he should be everywhere. Deep, slow, smooth, in control and just fantastic. This guy's voice is legendary and I just adore it. The backing vocals are really good too, clearly trying to add to that older style.
Well, there are no written lyrics for this song, which is a pain in my arse, but I'll do my best. The song seems to be about a couple who has life made. Everything has been perfect, they have no reason to be unhappy, but for some reason they have problems, and the entire song is Mr. Magic-Voice trying to work out what the hell happened between the two of them. A simple story, but one which really reflects the older musical style.
Song #3; Most Wanted Man In The World by Katy Steele (Before Too Long CD 2, 2009, Track 7)
Okay, this is another cover, and I'm familiar with the original, so this is going to be interesting. Katy Steele is the lead vocalist of Little Birdy, who I enjoy but am not overly familiar with.
Musically, this song is very slow, although this cover feels slightly faster than the original, which I enjoy. I can quite remember if the piano is in the original, but it really gives this song a bit of life, which it really needs. When the trumpets kick in, this song really comes to life though, and I have to pick this song over the original.
In regards to vocalists, I've mentioned my preference for female vocalists before, but I can't really profess any real liking for Steele. She's a little bit too loud, a little melodramatic and really draws out every bloody note. However, that is pretty much exactly how this song should be performed, and she does a great job with it. In comparison with Kelly, though, it really comes down to understated or over the top. Which is you preference? Overall, I like Kelly's quieter approach to most of his songs, but this song is very slow and his slower approach really bogs it down for me. I've got to pick Steele here, but it really boils down to which end of the spectrum you prefer.
Lyrically, this song is the same except for the fact that the genders are changed (yes, I'm aware the song should be called Most Wanted Woman, but the CD remains the same as Kelly's version, and I figured if I changed it Kelly fans might not have realised it was a cover straight away). Clearly, gender reversal, like in most songs, has no impact on the plot of the song. The lyrics are pretty dull, and this is not one of Kelly's greatest in my opinion. Man is sad, dull and far too human. Pretty girl make sad man feel better. Yay! Yeah, it might have a lot of emotion behind it, but I always just found it sort of dull. Each to their own though, I suppose.
Overall:
Musically, I have to give this one to Jet, as they just sound like they're having fun making a fun sounding song. Fun! Steele gets runner up, as she gave a little bit of new life into a song which was pretty much completely stale to me from the start. Little Red just sounds so old, and really not in a good way.
Vocally, Little Red wins hands down. I love the sound of that guy's voice, and if anyone could shed some light on who that is, or what other groups he has done vocals for, I would really, really, really appreciate it. It's a tricky one for runner-up, but I've got to give it to Jet. Their vocals match the music ideally, and even though they sound a little strange in the verses, it's not a big thing. I have no real problem with Steele, and if I ever see a Little Birdy album at a good price I'll pick it up, but she isn't really my kind of singer. I have no negative things to say, and she sounds like she's giving the song a good burl, but her voice just isn't for me.
Lyrically, I can't really say much about any of these songs. Really, it's a tie between Kelly and Red. I'm going to have to go with Kelly... because he's Kelly. Although both songs are about relationships, and Kelly is actually being the more cliche, he manages to give the most life to the characters. Little Red is still pretty good, though. Jet? I don't know what the hell they were talking about, and I can't really judge on what I can't understand.
Winners:
On my scales, all of these songs are completely tied. Really, all have one win and one runner-up. I feel that all of these songs are bloody good on their own, and all represent the cream of the Australian crop. None of these artists (bar Kelly's lyrics) have appeared on my blog before, and they all deserve equal attention. I declare no winner.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Song #1: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is by Jet (Shine On, 2006, Track 3)
Jet. Okay, I can talk about Jet. Good old Aussie rock, without too much tacked on. This is one of the few groups I feel absolutely confident in saying "This is rock". There are probably some sub-genre's but fuck it. This is rock. How was I introduced to Jet? Well, they were everywhere. When? Always. This song, Are You Gonna Be My Girl?, Shine On, I swear there has never been a time when ads weren't using Jet material. I came across Get Born in the discount section of Flipside, and found Shine On in probably the same place, I don't quite remember. They weren't bad, but I haven't come across any other albums of theirs since. To be fair, I haven't specifically looked. A little bit of enjoyable, not exactly thought provoking Aussie rock. Now, I just want to have quick rant (an oxymoron if I ever heard one). Upon the release of this album, Shine On, an internet music-review site called Pitchfork Media "reviewed" this album, by putting a video of a monkey urinating in it's own mouth and nothing else beneath the title. That pisses me off. Firstly, I really don't get where the reviewer is coming from. Sure, Jet may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they're hardly the kind of group to incite this kind of reaction. Secondly, that is fucking lazy. There was literally no discussion of why the reviewer felt this reaction was appropriate. I get the imagery, this album is recycled, self-congratulatory and pretentious. Fine. Have that opinion. But at least explain why you have that opinion. Sure, with a lot of music I have noting to say and writing even a few sentences is tricky, but if writing about music is that god-damned hard for you, maybe music criticism should not be your field of work. Finally, and this is what really pisses me off, is how rude that is. Sure, any musician who puts their work up for public consumption is expected to deal with criticism, constructive or otherwise, but this is just being a lazy jerk. What gives you the right to dismiss someone else's hard work with such a throwaway, unimaginative act? Think of how any human being would feel if this was someone's response to their art? Fuck off, Pitchfork. Three other things I must acknowledge: Firstly, I know that I review music, and I may say some harsh things, but I at least attempt to justify why I feel the way I do about what I hear, even if I may not succeed. Secondly, I'm not just saying this because I like Jet. There is no musician I would support such an act against. Sure, there are a few I think the sentiment of, but I'd never do that as a response to their work. What confuses me a little is using Jet as the focus here. In regards to professional reviewers, few had problems with this album. This hardly feels like the universally panned album such a review would seem to be in response to. Finally, I'm aware that this happened 8 years ago, but I feel that time hardly makes any of my points less valid. Erm, sorry for that. Let's move on to the song.
Musically, this song has a hell of a lot of life. A good beat, some great guitar and drum work, all showing exactly why this was the lead single. This song is just plain fun, and no matter what some reviewers think, there will always be room for basic, near-generic music that is just a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. There aren't many elements of this song I can actually take out to talk about. Just... pretty damn good.
Vocally, I'm not quite sure what's going on. Is the loud voice and the quiet voice the same person? I'm not sure, but I'm going to proceed as if they are both Cester. If so, that bloke clearly has a great vocal range. OK, now Cester is hardly the greatest singer of all time, but he does exactly what he needs to. The voice during the verses is a little irritating, but not unlistenably so, and is more than made up for in the chorus, when Cester's voice is absolutely ideal for the kind of music he's making, matching the guitar screaming away in the background perfectly. Also, I must say that the backing vocals are great, adding a lot to Cester's performance. I can't imagine the song without them.
Lyrically, I just don't get it. I've read and heard the lyrics to many times to contemplate and I don't know what the fuck Jet is saying. I imagine it's about a girl, because it's a rock song, and that the girl is hard to get, as the chorus seems to be a challenge. Beyond that... there is little. Okay, I think this was sort of meant to be full of clever word play and fun imagery about a woman and trying to pick her up but the whole thing just comes off as hard to follow. I could be completely wrong. It might have been written to be hard to follow, in which case Jet has succeeded. The lyrics probably aren't as incomprehensible as I'm making them out to be, but anything containing the lyric "ya" just turns my brains off.
Song #2: Going Wrong by Little Red (Midnight Remember, 2010, Track 12)
Well, Little Red. I wonder if every group here won't have been mentioned in previous posts. Anyway, I was introduced to Little Red with some of their 2008 hits like Witchdoctor and Coca-Cola, but really became interested with their song Rock It, although It's Alright is still my favourite track of theirs.
Now, this song is much slower than any Little Red songs I'm familiar with, and I had to check several times to make sure that the right artist was labelled, but I'm going to go with it. The music is slow and very, to be quite honest, uninteresting, but I really don't think that the music is really the draw of the song. The music just feels very sentimental and out-dated, which I think is what they were going for, but it doesn't really work.
The vocals. Who the hell is singing this? More importantly, why hasn't he been singing everything? Seriously, this guy's voice is magic, and as the almighty Wikipedia lists three vocalists, I have no idea who he is. But he should be everywhere. Deep, slow, smooth, in control and just fantastic. This guy's voice is legendary and I just adore it. The backing vocals are really good too, clearly trying to add to that older style.
Well, there are no written lyrics for this song, which is a pain in my arse, but I'll do my best. The song seems to be about a couple who has life made. Everything has been perfect, they have no reason to be unhappy, but for some reason they have problems, and the entire song is Mr. Magic-Voice trying to work out what the hell happened between the two of them. A simple story, but one which really reflects the older musical style.
Song #3; Most Wanted Man In The World by Katy Steele (Before Too Long CD 2, 2009, Track 7)
Okay, this is another cover, and I'm familiar with the original, so this is going to be interesting. Katy Steele is the lead vocalist of Little Birdy, who I enjoy but am not overly familiar with.
Musically, this song is very slow, although this cover feels slightly faster than the original, which I enjoy. I can quite remember if the piano is in the original, but it really gives this song a bit of life, which it really needs. When the trumpets kick in, this song really comes to life though, and I have to pick this song over the original.
In regards to vocalists, I've mentioned my preference for female vocalists before, but I can't really profess any real liking for Steele. She's a little bit too loud, a little melodramatic and really draws out every bloody note. However, that is pretty much exactly how this song should be performed, and she does a great job with it. In comparison with Kelly, though, it really comes down to understated or over the top. Which is you preference? Overall, I like Kelly's quieter approach to most of his songs, but this song is very slow and his slower approach really bogs it down for me. I've got to pick Steele here, but it really boils down to which end of the spectrum you prefer.
Lyrically, this song is the same except for the fact that the genders are changed (yes, I'm aware the song should be called Most Wanted Woman, but the CD remains the same as Kelly's version, and I figured if I changed it Kelly fans might not have realised it was a cover straight away). Clearly, gender reversal, like in most songs, has no impact on the plot of the song. The lyrics are pretty dull, and this is not one of Kelly's greatest in my opinion. Man is sad, dull and far too human. Pretty girl make sad man feel better. Yay! Yeah, it might have a lot of emotion behind it, but I always just found it sort of dull. Each to their own though, I suppose.
Overall:
Musically, I have to give this one to Jet, as they just sound like they're having fun making a fun sounding song. Fun! Steele gets runner up, as she gave a little bit of new life into a song which was pretty much completely stale to me from the start. Little Red just sounds so old, and really not in a good way.
Vocally, Little Red wins hands down. I love the sound of that guy's voice, and if anyone could shed some light on who that is, or what other groups he has done vocals for, I would really, really, really appreciate it. It's a tricky one for runner-up, but I've got to give it to Jet. Their vocals match the music ideally, and even though they sound a little strange in the verses, it's not a big thing. I have no real problem with Steele, and if I ever see a Little Birdy album at a good price I'll pick it up, but she isn't really my kind of singer. I have no negative things to say, and she sounds like she's giving the song a good burl, but her voice just isn't for me.
Lyrically, I can't really say much about any of these songs. Really, it's a tie between Kelly and Red. I'm going to have to go with Kelly... because he's Kelly. Although both songs are about relationships, and Kelly is actually being the more cliche, he manages to give the most life to the characters. Little Red is still pretty good, though. Jet? I don't know what the hell they were talking about, and I can't really judge on what I can't understand.
Winners:
On my scales, all of these songs are completely tied. Really, all have one win and one runner-up. I feel that all of these songs are bloody good on their own, and all represent the cream of the Australian crop. None of these artists (bar Kelly's lyrics) have appeared on my blog before, and they all deserve equal attention. I declare no winner.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Friday, 12 October 2012
3 Songs: The Beatles vs. Green Day vs. Pomplamoose
Well, back to what I do best. Don't laugh.
Song #1: The Night Before by The Beatles (Help!, 1965, Track 2)
Well, I needed a group slightly older and slightly more famous than The Kinks to review. Why not The Beatles? This is going to be fun...
Musically, this song is nothing special for The Beatles. There's a reliable but simple drum beat, a guitar playing along. Really, nothing that impressive. The tune is pretty much Beatles classic, but nothing groundbreaking.
Vocally, what can I say? McCartney is neither particularly good or bad here. Honestly, this is one of the most bloody average songs I've ever had to review. Sure, it's decent, but not good enough to discuss in depth and it's not nearly bad enough to rant about. It's just freaking average.
Lyrically, this song is not good and not bad. The averageness is killing me. Well, this couple parted ways after a night together and upon meeting up, the woman is acting differently. Differently how? I don't know. This song is so bloody vague. I understand the sentiment, that the good times they had will be remembered even though they no longer really get along, but I just really come up with anything to say. OK, enough with the blandness. I really don't like comparing things to the Beatles because they are really the band that springs to mind when I think "beyond criticism". I don't mean that they're perfect, they aren't, but that people put them on a pedestal.
Song #2: Sweet 16 by Green Day (¡Uno!, 2012, Track 10)
Musically, this song seems a little bit slower than the majority of this album and I'd even go so far as to call it sentimental. Compared to the rock sound, "slower" doesn't mean a slow song, just one with less of a driving drum beat, a quieter guitar and strange place between relaxed and upbeat.
Vocally, the sentimentality is really obvious. If I didn't know what this song was, I wouldn't have thought Armstrong until the chorus, at least. It's a pleasant change, and I think Armstrong definitely has the range to pull this kind of song off occasionally. I mean, it's hardly "The Luckiest", but it shows a little more (non-rage) emotion out of a band that doesn't seem to do that very often.
I have a question about this song. What does "Jane Street" mean? Is it a well known location or just something Green Day invented? It probably means nothing to the lyrics but I'm curious. Anyway, the song is pretty basic. The narrator missed the past, will always remember his sweetheart when she was 16.. or he was 16... or both or something like that. I think there's also a mention of how kids will always have this kind of romance. To be perfectly honest, this song doesn't give a very cohesive story. There are only two verses, which just describe a character... or two different characters, I don't know, without actually saying much about them. To be perfectly honest, you don't really need a plot. The title says it all, although I was hoping Green Day would subvert it somehow. Meh. A little bit of sincerity never hurt anyone.
Song #3: Makin' Out by Pomplamoose (Tribute to Famous People, 2010(?), Track 8)
First things first, this song is a cover (as the album title may suggest). The original song was by a man named Mark Owen. Never heard of him, or the original version of my song, so his version will not be mentioned here. If anyone has gone to the trouble of hearing both versions and one is clearly superior, please tell me why in the comments. Now, I don't think I've mentioned Pomplamoose before, and they deserve a look at. My introduction to the group came from their involvement with Ben Folds in the YouTube videosong Things You Think. A quick tally of all the artists I've been introduced to by being a fan of Ben Folds:
Regina Spektor (Collaboration)
The Clash (Cover)
Pomplamoose (Collaboration)
Nick Hornby (Collaboration. Yeah, he isn't a singer, but so what?)
William Shatner (Collaboration with Fear of Pop)
Fear of Pop (Side-Project)
8in8 (Side-Project)
Elliott Smith (Inspiration for "Late")
Among others. Is still hold my experiences with Shatner's "music" career against him. Anyway, I became much more interested in Pomplamoose after Nash from TGWTG.com devoted an episode of "The Music Chair" to Pomplamoose (Nash is the same guy who introduced me to Jonathan Coulton). Honestly, they had me at the gratuitous faux-French name. I do like French, especially gratuitously.
Musically, this song is very stripped back. Although I know Pomplamoose can do much more elaborate songs musically, it is clear the vocals are the main draw here. At times the music quietly bumbling along in the background just sounds unnecessary. Seriously, Dawn's vocals can hold up a song on their own. Why the music?
Vocally, as previously stated, Dawn's vocals are good. In this song she seems to be rather wavering, but I feel this is to stay more in touch with the lyrics of the song and the overall tone rather than a reflection on Dawn's style. At points there is a strange echo effect (actually, it might always be there, but it is more prominent here and there), which normally would be used to emphasise a strong vocal delivery, and just feels misused in this song. This is one of those situations where I feel I need to re-emphasise that I am not a musician and judge these things with no authority, just the textbook definition of an uninformed opinion. Although, to be fair to reader's intelligence, you probably realise that by this point in the post.
The lyrics to this song compared to the vocal delivery confuses me a little, and I think a knowledge of the original would assist that, but I'm not going to bother. My internet is a little bit shit, and I don't want to watch any YouTube I don't have to for the next 2 years or so. God-damn TPG. Anyway, the song is about a woman in a relationship with an absolute arsehole, at least by the lyrics. Sure, the couple seems happy enough, but the partner just keeps telling the woman to shut up. Add to this a vocal delivery much more relevant for a soppy love song, and I really start to wonder what the dynamic between the two is. To bring this wondering to a head, consider the lyric "You'll be the one that knocks the man out I was beating up" and I really would like to know what the two are doing in their free time. Anyway, the lyrics are quirky enough, if not a little strange, and certainly leave a lot of questions, many of which I feel are deliberate. Hear that, majority of music I whine about? Deliberately leaving me confused. Remember that line for the next interview, It'll shut someone up.
Overall:
Musically, this s too easy. Green Day, without a doubt. I like The Beatles and Pomplamoose, but Green Day is closer to my preferred genres. On top of that this particular Beatles song was so bloody dull, and the Pomplamoose song was pretty much music-free. I've got to give runner-up to The Beatles.
Vocally, another easy pick. Dawn of Pomplamoose is the clear winner, and this may have something to do with my natural preference for female vocalists, but I stand by the choice anyway. The runner-up is McCartney again, as whenever Armstrong slows down his accent picks up, and I'm not a big fan of it.
Lyrically, Makin' Out is the clear winner, as it held my attention for an entire song, which is an entire song longer than either of the others. The problem with both of the other songs is that they leave so much up to guesswork. Who? What? Why? When? Not so much how, but all the W's. I guess I'm going to have to go for Sweet 16, as the word count for my discussion of it is slightly longer than Song #1. Both redefined the concept of blandness. Congratulations.
Winners:
1. Makin' Out by Pomplamoose (originally by Mark Owen)
2. Sweet 16 by Green Day
3. The Night Before by The Beatles
There are no more words but for: Meh. Also: NO KINKS!
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Song #1: The Night Before by The Beatles (Help!, 1965, Track 2)
Well, I needed a group slightly older and slightly more famous than The Kinks to review. Why not The Beatles? This is going to be fun...
Musically, this song is nothing special for The Beatles. There's a reliable but simple drum beat, a guitar playing along. Really, nothing that impressive. The tune is pretty much Beatles classic, but nothing groundbreaking.
Vocally, what can I say? McCartney is neither particularly good or bad here. Honestly, this is one of the most bloody average songs I've ever had to review. Sure, it's decent, but not good enough to discuss in depth and it's not nearly bad enough to rant about. It's just freaking average.
Lyrically, this song is not good and not bad. The averageness is killing me. Well, this couple parted ways after a night together and upon meeting up, the woman is acting differently. Differently how? I don't know. This song is so bloody vague. I understand the sentiment, that the good times they had will be remembered even though they no longer really get along, but I just really come up with anything to say. OK, enough with the blandness. I really don't like comparing things to the Beatles because they are really the band that springs to mind when I think "beyond criticism". I don't mean that they're perfect, they aren't, but that people put them on a pedestal.
Song #2: Sweet 16 by Green Day (¡Uno!, 2012, Track 10)
Musically, this song seems a little bit slower than the majority of this album and I'd even go so far as to call it sentimental. Compared to the rock sound, "slower" doesn't mean a slow song, just one with less of a driving drum beat, a quieter guitar and strange place between relaxed and upbeat.
Vocally, the sentimentality is really obvious. If I didn't know what this song was, I wouldn't have thought Armstrong until the chorus, at least. It's a pleasant change, and I think Armstrong definitely has the range to pull this kind of song off occasionally. I mean, it's hardly "The Luckiest", but it shows a little more (non-rage) emotion out of a band that doesn't seem to do that very often.
I have a question about this song. What does "Jane Street" mean? Is it a well known location or just something Green Day invented? It probably means nothing to the lyrics but I'm curious. Anyway, the song is pretty basic. The narrator missed the past, will always remember his sweetheart when she was 16.. or he was 16... or both or something like that. I think there's also a mention of how kids will always have this kind of romance. To be perfectly honest, this song doesn't give a very cohesive story. There are only two verses, which just describe a character... or two different characters, I don't know, without actually saying much about them. To be perfectly honest, you don't really need a plot. The title says it all, although I was hoping Green Day would subvert it somehow. Meh. A little bit of sincerity never hurt anyone.
Song #3: Makin' Out by Pomplamoose (Tribute to Famous People, 2010(?), Track 8)
First things first, this song is a cover (as the album title may suggest). The original song was by a man named Mark Owen. Never heard of him, or the original version of my song, so his version will not be mentioned here. If anyone has gone to the trouble of hearing both versions and one is clearly superior, please tell me why in the comments. Now, I don't think I've mentioned Pomplamoose before, and they deserve a look at. My introduction to the group came from their involvement with Ben Folds in the YouTube videosong Things You Think. A quick tally of all the artists I've been introduced to by being a fan of Ben Folds:
Regina Spektor (Collaboration)
The Clash (Cover)
Pomplamoose (Collaboration)
Nick Hornby (Collaboration. Yeah, he isn't a singer, but so what?)
William Shatner (Collaboration with Fear of Pop)
Fear of Pop (Side-Project)
8in8 (Side-Project)
Elliott Smith (Inspiration for "Late")
Among others. Is still hold my experiences with Shatner's "music" career against him. Anyway, I became much more interested in Pomplamoose after Nash from TGWTG.com devoted an episode of "The Music Chair" to Pomplamoose (Nash is the same guy who introduced me to Jonathan Coulton). Honestly, they had me at the gratuitous faux-French name. I do like French, especially gratuitously.
Musically, this song is very stripped back. Although I know Pomplamoose can do much more elaborate songs musically, it is clear the vocals are the main draw here. At times the music quietly bumbling along in the background just sounds unnecessary. Seriously, Dawn's vocals can hold up a song on their own. Why the music?
Vocally, as previously stated, Dawn's vocals are good. In this song she seems to be rather wavering, but I feel this is to stay more in touch with the lyrics of the song and the overall tone rather than a reflection on Dawn's style. At points there is a strange echo effect (actually, it might always be there, but it is more prominent here and there), which normally would be used to emphasise a strong vocal delivery, and just feels misused in this song. This is one of those situations where I feel I need to re-emphasise that I am not a musician and judge these things with no authority, just the textbook definition of an uninformed opinion. Although, to be fair to reader's intelligence, you probably realise that by this point in the post.
The lyrics to this song compared to the vocal delivery confuses me a little, and I think a knowledge of the original would assist that, but I'm not going to bother. My internet is a little bit shit, and I don't want to watch any YouTube I don't have to for the next 2 years or so. God-damn TPG. Anyway, the song is about a woman in a relationship with an absolute arsehole, at least by the lyrics. Sure, the couple seems happy enough, but the partner just keeps telling the woman to shut up. Add to this a vocal delivery much more relevant for a soppy love song, and I really start to wonder what the dynamic between the two is. To bring this wondering to a head, consider the lyric "You'll be the one that knocks the man out I was beating up" and I really would like to know what the two are doing in their free time. Anyway, the lyrics are quirky enough, if not a little strange, and certainly leave a lot of questions, many of which I feel are deliberate. Hear that, majority of music I whine about? Deliberately leaving me confused. Remember that line for the next interview, It'll shut someone up.
Overall:
Musically, this s too easy. Green Day, without a doubt. I like The Beatles and Pomplamoose, but Green Day is closer to my preferred genres. On top of that this particular Beatles song was so bloody dull, and the Pomplamoose song was pretty much music-free. I've got to give runner-up to The Beatles.
Vocally, another easy pick. Dawn of Pomplamoose is the clear winner, and this may have something to do with my natural preference for female vocalists, but I stand by the choice anyway. The runner-up is McCartney again, as whenever Armstrong slows down his accent picks up, and I'm not a big fan of it.
Lyrically, Makin' Out is the clear winner, as it held my attention for an entire song, which is an entire song longer than either of the others. The problem with both of the other songs is that they leave so much up to guesswork. Who? What? Why? When? Not so much how, but all the W's. I guess I'm going to have to go for Sweet 16, as the word count for my discussion of it is slightly longer than Song #1. Both redefined the concept of blandness. Congratulations.
Winners:
1. Makin' Out by Pomplamoose (originally by Mark Owen)
2. Sweet 16 by Green Day
3. The Night Before by The Beatles
There are no more words but for: Meh. Also: NO KINKS!
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Politics
Okay, the title of this post will give everything away. I'm going to talk about the upcoming local elections, and I'd like to talk about how I'm going to vote.
Now, this is in direct reference to the Canberra elections on the 20th of October, but also applies to the larger scale elections, whenever the hell those are. I'll try and keep this reasonably understandable for people from overseas.
There are three parties who have any kind of say in Australian politics: The Labor Party (centre-left), the Liberal Party (centre-right, in a coalition with the National Party) and the Greens (centre-left, but further left than Labor). The Greens are much smaller than the other two, but they are offering an increasingly appealing option.
I vote Greens. There. If you strongly disagree with that, fine. Feel free to tell me why, I don't mind. Hell, I'm the only person I know who votes Green and I can put up with a lot of criticism. The Greens do have shortcomings, sure, but politics in Australia revolves around the concept of voting for the people you hate the least, and I like many policies of the Greens. Now, let's talk a little about two of the criticisms I've heard about the Greens:
1. "They're a single-issue party."
They really aren't. Sure, as the name suggests, the Greens came into existence with the sole purpose of being an environmental movement, and a lot of that thought has been retained in modern policy. But just look at this page. Sure, there are a lot of environmentally focused policies, but the Greens also have some pretty simple ideas that should be passed. Gay marriage is a biggie, as well as the abolition of indefinite detention for asylum seekers. Sure, the Canberra election is not going to bring these things around, but it's a hell of a big step forward.
2. "They aren't doing anything different to the Labor Party."
Bullshit. This is just plain bullshit. OK, sure the Greens and Labor parties are the closest two parties in the political spectrum in Australia, but I swear, if Labor or Liberal parties get any more centrist, they're just going to sit around all day waiting for something to react to, or arguing that the other party is wrong merely because the other party thought of it first. Labor and the Greens have worked together, but the two are incredibly different, and the Greens have never been worried about pissing them off, so I have no hesitation in saying a vote for Labor is not a vote for the Greens under a different name.
Now, let me talk about why I like the Greens, without focusing on criticism:
1. They're something different.
The Liberals and Labor have been having a two-party pissing contest since 1946, and I'm getting bloody sick of it. I'm not saying that The Greens should have the balance of power, but more voices need to be heard than the two that keep shouting "Yes, we agree on this policy, but you guys suggested it, so it must be wrong." I think the need for a third ( a second voice, really) is what prompted the One Nation Party. Not familiar with it? Look it up. It's one of the top three most disgusting things that Australians have done, as long as I can cover a lot of incidents under the "racial discrimination" category. The Greens have fair policies, common sense for the most part, that is just simply not there. What more can I say?
2. The people.
The people in the Greens represent me. Sure, that sounds like something out of a brochure, but it's true. Unlike other parties, Greens politicians are generally young, passionate, caring, interesting and diverse. I really doubt there are many wealthy old white straight male former lawyers in The Greens, and I like the change of pace. It's only a small thing, but it says a lot.
3. Their approach.
Do you know what really makes me want to vote for someone? Childish name calling! That's right, Labor and Liberals, TV ads and pamphlets telling me how wrong everyone else is really makes me want to vote for you. Neither of the L parties are exactly excluded from this. but the Liberals are a hell of a lot worse. The reason I'm doing this post is because I honestly received a pamphlet from the Liberals which was 6 pages of telling me "Those other parties are all wrong, but we'll do it right. They're doing this, this and this wrong. Vote Seselja." without actually putting forward the smallest piece of Liberal policy for changing it. Actually, I lie. One of the pages was just a big picture of Sesilja and a happy family smiling. Much better. The Greens, as far as I can tell, have a complete aversion to attack ads, which is the reason I will vote for them until the day I die, as long as that policy continues. Because the people running my city or my country should NOT think calling people names will get the elected. Actually, that would explain quite a lot about our foreign policy under the Liberals: Call everyone names, then lie back and think of America. Cheers, Howard.
Anyway, Canberra, vote Rattenbury, Le Couteur, Kerlin and Siddle on October 20th. Cheers for reading.
Now, this is in direct reference to the Canberra elections on the 20th of October, but also applies to the larger scale elections, whenever the hell those are. I'll try and keep this reasonably understandable for people from overseas.
There are three parties who have any kind of say in Australian politics: The Labor Party (centre-left), the Liberal Party (centre-right, in a coalition with the National Party) and the Greens (centre-left, but further left than Labor). The Greens are much smaller than the other two, but they are offering an increasingly appealing option.
I vote Greens. There. If you strongly disagree with that, fine. Feel free to tell me why, I don't mind. Hell, I'm the only person I know who votes Green and I can put up with a lot of criticism. The Greens do have shortcomings, sure, but politics in Australia revolves around the concept of voting for the people you hate the least, and I like many policies of the Greens. Now, let's talk a little about two of the criticisms I've heard about the Greens:
1. "They're a single-issue party."
They really aren't. Sure, as the name suggests, the Greens came into existence with the sole purpose of being an environmental movement, and a lot of that thought has been retained in modern policy. But just look at this page. Sure, there are a lot of environmentally focused policies, but the Greens also have some pretty simple ideas that should be passed. Gay marriage is a biggie, as well as the abolition of indefinite detention for asylum seekers. Sure, the Canberra election is not going to bring these things around, but it's a hell of a big step forward.
2. "They aren't doing anything different to the Labor Party."
Bullshit. This is just plain bullshit. OK, sure the Greens and Labor parties are the closest two parties in the political spectrum in Australia, but I swear, if Labor or Liberal parties get any more centrist, they're just going to sit around all day waiting for something to react to, or arguing that the other party is wrong merely because the other party thought of it first. Labor and the Greens have worked together, but the two are incredibly different, and the Greens have never been worried about pissing them off, so I have no hesitation in saying a vote for Labor is not a vote for the Greens under a different name.
Now, let me talk about why I like the Greens, without focusing on criticism:
1. They're something different.
The Liberals and Labor have been having a two-party pissing contest since 1946, and I'm getting bloody sick of it. I'm not saying that The Greens should have the balance of power, but more voices need to be heard than the two that keep shouting "Yes, we agree on this policy, but you guys suggested it, so it must be wrong." I think the need for a third ( a second voice, really) is what prompted the One Nation Party. Not familiar with it? Look it up. It's one of the top three most disgusting things that Australians have done, as long as I can cover a lot of incidents under the "racial discrimination" category. The Greens have fair policies, common sense for the most part, that is just simply not there. What more can I say?
2. The people.
The people in the Greens represent me. Sure, that sounds like something out of a brochure, but it's true. Unlike other parties, Greens politicians are generally young, passionate, caring, interesting and diverse. I really doubt there are many wealthy old white straight male former lawyers in The Greens, and I like the change of pace. It's only a small thing, but it says a lot.
3. Their approach.
Do you know what really makes me want to vote for someone? Childish name calling! That's right, Labor and Liberals, TV ads and pamphlets telling me how wrong everyone else is really makes me want to vote for you. Neither of the L parties are exactly excluded from this. but the Liberals are a hell of a lot worse. The reason I'm doing this post is because I honestly received a pamphlet from the Liberals which was 6 pages of telling me "Those other parties are all wrong, but we'll do it right. They're doing this, this and this wrong. Vote Seselja." without actually putting forward the smallest piece of Liberal policy for changing it. Actually, I lie. One of the pages was just a big picture of Sesilja and a happy family smiling. Much better. The Greens, as far as I can tell, have a complete aversion to attack ads, which is the reason I will vote for them until the day I die, as long as that policy continues. Because the people running my city or my country should NOT think calling people names will get the elected. Actually, that would explain quite a lot about our foreign policy under the Liberals: Call everyone names, then lie back and think of America. Cheers, Howard.
Anyway, Canberra, vote Rattenbury, Le Couteur, Kerlin and Siddle on October 20th. Cheers for reading.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
3 Songs: The Kinks vs. Green Day vs. Monk Turner + Fascinoma
Kinks, anyone?
Song #1: One Of The Survivors by The Kinks (Preservation Act 1, 1973, Track 6)
Yeah. More Kinks. Sorta getting sick of talking about them by this stage.
Musically, this song is pretty good. In the early 70's, the Kinks entered their awesome melodramatic, camp song era, but this song still has a lot of the rock 'n' roll The Kinks had started out with layered through it. Lively enough, but nothing that special.
Vocally, this song is fine, but I absolutely swear that Davies puts on an American accent at one stage, which is hilarious, horrible, awesome and sad all at the same time. The vocals are fun, alive, not too serious (as that has been a serious problem in the past) and just rock. I really like how Davies sung this song exactly as I feel it should be heard; fun, but not zany, a good song but not pretentious. A bit of fun, and well sung.
The lyrics of this song tell the story of Johnny Thunder (apparently of no connection with the singer) who, although ageing, is still trying to live like a teenager in the 50's, listening to that era's music and riding his motorbike. To be perfectly honest, he's not that out of fashion, at least not as much as the music portrays him. Sure, 20 years out of date. It's not like he's living in the 2010's and is...talking about....music..from...1973... I think we're done here. The lyrics are fun, paint a picture of an interesting character and just don't take themselves too seriously.
Song #2: Let Yourself Go by Green Day (¡Uno!, 2012, Track 4)
Now, I'm pretty sure this is the first real mention of Green Day on this blog outside of comparison to Good Charlotte, so I'll take a moment to talk about what I think of them. Like most of the world who weren't familiar with Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life), I was introduced to Green Day with the song American Idiot, which was enjoyably angry and anti-American during a period (i.e. the reign of Bush Jr. and his irritating imitator, John Howard) when many people weren't very happy with America. I honestly don't know if that song would have been as popular during Obama's leadership but that's another story, isn't it? I bought a few of their albums, and currently own Warning, Nimrod, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, of which the unpopular "Warning" is the absolute stand-out. Now, I've heard a lot of criticism of Green Day, a large amount stemming from people's whose opinions I respect, centring around a lack of originality. This really doesn't bother me, possibly due to absolute love of cover versions of songs. If a band can do it well, it doesn't really matter to me if they were the first. I know that's a pretty self-centred view of the matter, but as long as their not breaking the law or being boring, I don't mind.
Musically, this song is just fun. In fact, that would summarise this entire album, pretty much (don't expect me to use the name of this album. That upside down ! is a pain in the arse). A pounding guitar and drum combo, assisted by the vocals of (a 40 year old?!) Billie Joe Armstrong. I like the fact this album is a return to the one-off tracks, no large story, allowing each track to be much simpler, and having a much more individual style. Fast paced and fun. That sums this song up perfectly.
Vocally, Armstrong is a great singer, and is the most heavily accented singer I have ever heard who is not from Europe. He sounds young, passionate and somewhere between Plan B and Zack de la Rocha on the sounding pissed off scale, so enjoyably so. He's honestly had better songs that suit his voice, but he seems to be having some fun here, and that's worth something. I do like the "shut the fuck up" heard faintly in the background at some stage.
Lyrically, this song is pretty damn basic. The individual described in the song tells lies, complains and insults people and should just shut the hell up. I don't get the title. The only context for "Let Yourself Go" I've heard is in context to physical appearance, rather than in reference to noisy and irritating people. Meh. In comparison to all those songs which have tried to weave stories and only left me with questions and/or disappointment, this is an enjoyable change of pace.
Song #3: Trust (Is Just A Word) by Monk Turner + Fascinoma (Emergency Songs, 2011, Track 3)
If this review interests you, grab this song here... or near here. It's the right site, I just can't find a plainly labelled download button. Play around a bit, you'll get it, I'm sure.
Musically, this song is awesome. I can't say much about Mr Turner or his Fascinoma, as I really just got bored one night and downloaded some free music. That is exactly the reason I now have more Serbian jazz on my computer than I knew existed. I like the previously linked site way too much, but it doesn't provide much information, mainly as the majority of the artists are pretty small-time. I know Turner is from L.A. and... that's it really. Never mind. Anyway, the music for this song is strange from a commentary standpoint. I wouldn't call it up-beat, but it stops short of laid-back, so somewhere in between, good for relaxing without being tempted to fall asleep. A good tune. The saxophone is put to great use, as is the piano. Pretty damn good.
The vocals for this song are by a woman named Alanna Lin, the vocalist for Fascinoma. She has a really pleasant voice, and I can easily draw a link between this and some of Sia's poppier tunes, but the voice lacks some of the strength or that ridiculous accent Sia puts on whilst singing sometimes. As for the actual performance, I'm not well-versed in Lin's discography, so I can't say much in comparison, but the vocals match the music pretty well. They aren't too serious or invested in what sounds like a pretty chilled track, so everything's pretty good here.
The lyrics for this song present a small problem for me. The artists behind this song are not very well known (as the whole "free download" may suggest) so the lyrics aren't online anywhere, meaning I have to actually listen to them. If I misinterpret anything, at least there are no rabid fans waiting to rip me to shreds, but still... Anyway, I think the whole point of the song is basically the narrator saying that someone else's words mean nothing, as they are either manipulative or unreliable, or possibly just both. All three elements of this song are really inoffensive, which does a little damage to the lyrics, but makes the music and vocals very listenable.
Overall:
Musically, I really enjoyed the first and third songs the most, and I'm going to have to give this one to Turner + Fascinoma, as they haven't been in every post for nearly a bloody week. The Kinks are a close second though, as I'm a sucker for old rock 'n' roll. Green Day's piece just doesn't cut it.
Vocally, I'm going to have to give this one to Lin. I do enjoy female vocalists very much, especially in more relaxed songs, and this track is still novel to me. After Lin, I'm going to have to give the runner-up to Armstrong, because his ridiculous American accent is legitimate.
Lyrically, I really couldn't call any of these three songs very good. The Kinks win, as they actually manage to describe an interesting character...and bring several realities to light. Honestly, I think the character in the last two songs may have been the same, especially considering both groups are from California. That's one of the small states, right? Anyway, I'm going to go with Lin again, as I know for a fact from Green Day's two god-damn rock operas that they can do much better.
Winners:
1. Truth (Is Just A Word) by Monk Turner +Fascinoma
2. One Of The Survivors by The Kinks
3. Let Yourself Go by Green Day
I do hope I have more of those small-time artists come up in this review format. They're normally really fun to talk about, as long as you can find information about them.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke.
Song #1: One Of The Survivors by The Kinks (Preservation Act 1, 1973, Track 6)
Yeah. More Kinks. Sorta getting sick of talking about them by this stage.
Musically, this song is pretty good. In the early 70's, the Kinks entered their awesome melodramatic, camp song era, but this song still has a lot of the rock 'n' roll The Kinks had started out with layered through it. Lively enough, but nothing that special.
Vocally, this song is fine, but I absolutely swear that Davies puts on an American accent at one stage, which is hilarious, horrible, awesome and sad all at the same time. The vocals are fun, alive, not too serious (as that has been a serious problem in the past) and just rock. I really like how Davies sung this song exactly as I feel it should be heard; fun, but not zany, a good song but not pretentious. A bit of fun, and well sung.
The lyrics of this song tell the story of Johnny Thunder (apparently of no connection with the singer) who, although ageing, is still trying to live like a teenager in the 50's, listening to that era's music and riding his motorbike. To be perfectly honest, he's not that out of fashion, at least not as much as the music portrays him. Sure, 20 years out of date. It's not like he's living in the 2010's and is...talking about....music..from...1973... I think we're done here. The lyrics are fun, paint a picture of an interesting character and just don't take themselves too seriously.
Song #2: Let Yourself Go by Green Day (¡Uno!, 2012, Track 4)
Now, I'm pretty sure this is the first real mention of Green Day on this blog outside of comparison to Good Charlotte, so I'll take a moment to talk about what I think of them. Like most of the world who weren't familiar with Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life), I was introduced to Green Day with the song American Idiot, which was enjoyably angry and anti-American during a period (i.e. the reign of Bush Jr. and his irritating imitator, John Howard) when many people weren't very happy with America. I honestly don't know if that song would have been as popular during Obama's leadership but that's another story, isn't it? I bought a few of their albums, and currently own Warning, Nimrod, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, of which the unpopular "Warning" is the absolute stand-out. Now, I've heard a lot of criticism of Green Day, a large amount stemming from people's whose opinions I respect, centring around a lack of originality. This really doesn't bother me, possibly due to absolute love of cover versions of songs. If a band can do it well, it doesn't really matter to me if they were the first. I know that's a pretty self-centred view of the matter, but as long as their not breaking the law or being boring, I don't mind.
Musically, this song is just fun. In fact, that would summarise this entire album, pretty much (don't expect me to use the name of this album. That upside down ! is a pain in the arse). A pounding guitar and drum combo, assisted by the vocals of (a 40 year old?!) Billie Joe Armstrong. I like the fact this album is a return to the one-off tracks, no large story, allowing each track to be much simpler, and having a much more individual style. Fast paced and fun. That sums this song up perfectly.
Vocally, Armstrong is a great singer, and is the most heavily accented singer I have ever heard who is not from Europe. He sounds young, passionate and somewhere between Plan B and Zack de la Rocha on the sounding pissed off scale, so enjoyably so. He's honestly had better songs that suit his voice, but he seems to be having some fun here, and that's worth something. I do like the "shut the fuck up" heard faintly in the background at some stage.
Lyrically, this song is pretty damn basic. The individual described in the song tells lies, complains and insults people and should just shut the hell up. I don't get the title. The only context for "Let Yourself Go" I've heard is in context to physical appearance, rather than in reference to noisy and irritating people. Meh. In comparison to all those songs which have tried to weave stories and only left me with questions and/or disappointment, this is an enjoyable change of pace.
Song #3: Trust (Is Just A Word) by Monk Turner + Fascinoma (Emergency Songs, 2011, Track 3)
If this review interests you, grab this song here... or near here. It's the right site, I just can't find a plainly labelled download button. Play around a bit, you'll get it, I'm sure.
Musically, this song is awesome. I can't say much about Mr Turner or his Fascinoma, as I really just got bored one night and downloaded some free music. That is exactly the reason I now have more Serbian jazz on my computer than I knew existed. I like the previously linked site way too much, but it doesn't provide much information, mainly as the majority of the artists are pretty small-time. I know Turner is from L.A. and... that's it really. Never mind. Anyway, the music for this song is strange from a commentary standpoint. I wouldn't call it up-beat, but it stops short of laid-back, so somewhere in between, good for relaxing without being tempted to fall asleep. A good tune. The saxophone is put to great use, as is the piano. Pretty damn good.
The vocals for this song are by a woman named Alanna Lin, the vocalist for Fascinoma. She has a really pleasant voice, and I can easily draw a link between this and some of Sia's poppier tunes, but the voice lacks some of the strength or that ridiculous accent Sia puts on whilst singing sometimes. As for the actual performance, I'm not well-versed in Lin's discography, so I can't say much in comparison, but the vocals match the music pretty well. They aren't too serious or invested in what sounds like a pretty chilled track, so everything's pretty good here.
The lyrics for this song present a small problem for me. The artists behind this song are not very well known (as the whole "free download" may suggest) so the lyrics aren't online anywhere, meaning I have to actually listen to them. If I misinterpret anything, at least there are no rabid fans waiting to rip me to shreds, but still... Anyway, I think the whole point of the song is basically the narrator saying that someone else's words mean nothing, as they are either manipulative or unreliable, or possibly just both. All three elements of this song are really inoffensive, which does a little damage to the lyrics, but makes the music and vocals very listenable.
Overall:
Musically, I really enjoyed the first and third songs the most, and I'm going to have to give this one to Turner + Fascinoma, as they haven't been in every post for nearly a bloody week. The Kinks are a close second though, as I'm a sucker for old rock 'n' roll. Green Day's piece just doesn't cut it.
Vocally, I'm going to have to give this one to Lin. I do enjoy female vocalists very much, especially in more relaxed songs, and this track is still novel to me. After Lin, I'm going to have to give the runner-up to Armstrong, because his ridiculous American accent is legitimate.
Lyrically, I really couldn't call any of these three songs very good. The Kinks win, as they actually manage to describe an interesting character...and bring several realities to light. Honestly, I think the character in the last two songs may have been the same, especially considering both groups are from California. That's one of the small states, right? Anyway, I'm going to go with Lin again, as I know for a fact from Green Day's two god-damn rock operas that they can do much better.
Winners:
1. Truth (Is Just A Word) by Monk Turner +Fascinoma
2. One Of The Survivors by The Kinks
3. Let Yourself Go by Green Day
I do hope I have more of those small-time artists come up in this review format. They're normally really fun to talk about, as long as you can find information about them.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
3 Songs: Maroon 5 vs. The Kinks vs. The Kinks Again
Hoping for a shorter title this time, and if possible, a Kinks-less one. I imagine that means that all three songs are going to be Kinks.
Song #1: Until You're Over Me by Maroon 5 (It Won't be Soon Before Long, Track 13, 2007)
Let me take you through a few albums I own. I own all 5 Coldplay albums. I can't say I really proud of that. I own 2 Good Charlotte albums. I'm not proud of that. I own a Hoobastank album. I own an Everclear album. I own a Spin Doctors album. I own a 1200 Techniques album. Fucking hell, I own the single "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba. But none of these are as shameful as possession of a Maroon 5 album. This is not because of the album itself. The album is pretty good. I am ashamed of this album because of what Maroon 5 are today. I mean, seriously. Moves Like Jagger and Payphone? What the fuck where they thinking? I liked Maroon 5 because they had class. Their songs were good, all their music videos were well made, even the cover off of this album was cool. The second I saw Adam Levine dancing shirtless in front of the American flag I knew I could never take these people seriously again. I own one Maroon 5 album, and with the possible exception of their debut, I have no intentions of owning another one.
Musically, this song is really fun. That is one thing I can give Maroon 5. Their songs can vary from brilliant to shit, but they seem to enjoy making them. This song is upbeat, lively and has a great build from the slower opening to the great conclusion. I'm not quite sure why this was a bonus track, as I think it would fit in perfectly on the normal album.
Vocally, a lot has been said about Levine's voice. Personally, I think it works perfectly for the kind of music he makes. If he tried to be taken more seriously, to pull some Nick Cave-esque material out, he'd be sorely disappointed with the result, but for relationship-based pop it works perfectly, and is perfectly demonstrated here. Seriously, Wiz Khalifa on Payphone? What were they bloody thinking? Sorry, back on track.
Lyrically, this song is about the same thing everything on this album is about. Relationships. Specifically, sex. This album is an anti-breakup album. This is a sex album. Meh. This song is about Levine refusing to have sex with a woman because he's too in love with her. Yeah, makes perfect sense. He's scared of regretting sex with this woman because he's too in love with her. I.. sort of get it, but I think this is a rather vague concept. Is he scared she's just using him? Is he scared of just using her? Are either of them already in a relationship? What's stopping them being together, especially if they want to be together, and at least one of them is in love with the other? This song raises a lot of questions, and not in a good way. The Maroon 5 usual.
Song #2: Misfits by The Kinks (Misfits, Track 1, 1978)
Well, good to know that The Kinks will haunt me to the day I die. At least they're not a bad group.
Musically, this song is a little sad. The music is slow, emotional and nostalgic, and I imagine there is a lot of emotion behind it, but just reading the lyrics I really imagine this song as either a really fast, fun rock 'n' roll tune, or else a really camp, over the top Bowie-like number, as in Soap Opera. Instead we get neither. The Kinks take themselves way to seriously with the music to this song, putting a little too much emotion into it. The music for this song really doesn't grab me, but that may just be me.
Vocally, this is Davies. What the hell else can I say? Again, he plays this song way too straight when I either want to hear an old rock number or a campy Soap Opera tune. In the end, I just really don't like how he does this song.
The story of this song is really weird. This strikes me as one of those songs where the group had a moral taken from a really specific, personal experience and instead of writing about that experience they try to make the moral vaguer to appeal to a wider audience. Before I try to talk about said moral, I really like the line : "You set out to outrage, but you can't get arrested." which I really hope is a reference to an old O. Henry story, although it may not be. The problem I have with these lyrics is the meaning of the word "misfit". I think "misfit" means that kid in school who sits on his own and reads Karl Marx rather than, as this song is attempting to say, someone who has given up on life. Yeah, there are some common elements, like "You go your own way" and "Why don't you join the crowd?" but overall, The Kinks are clearly talking about a different kind of personality that really isn't covered in my mind by the word "misfit". I can't give a word for it, but it seems the character described in Ben Folds' "Bastard" seems to be more what The Kinks are talking about. Two things could explain this. Firstly, it could be a British thing, although I sort of doubt that, as the word "misfit" pretty much is exactly what it says on the tin - someone who doesn't fit in. Secondly, this song is from the 70's and perhaps it meant something different then, although I think it boils down to The Kinks going "What's a word for this? Misfit? No, not quite... I suppose It'll do until we think of it." and writing their song anyway. The story goes that your life is not yet over, live the day, carpe diem and fuck off. Not my kind of song, to say the least. They could have made this campy and fun, but noooo, they had to make it dead serious. Bloody hell.
Song #3: Yo-Yo by The Kinks (Give The People what They Want, 1981, Track 7)
Well, I can't say I wasn't exactly prepared for this, but it's a Kinks vs. Kinks post after all... with a side of Maroon 5. Never mind
Musically, this song really has a lot more personality then Misfits. Although the song starts off a little slow, by the end of the second verse, it's in full pop-rock mode, which is all I god-damn wanted from the previous song. This song has a beat, life, volume, pace and just personality. Have fun making sense of that. I know I can't.
Vocally, Davies clearly gives a shit here. The louder the man gets, the weaker his voice is, but it's a fair trade-out. Davies varies from verse to verse to chorus, giving emotion and passion to the song. I have no idea, based on music and vocals alone, how this was not a single from this album. This song bloody rocks.
Lyrically, I was sort of nervous what aspects of a yo-yo would be explored. Knowing the Kinks, I was thinking it would either be "She treats me like a toy" or "I just keep coming back". The first aspect gets a mention in a verse near the end, and the first one is subverted, with the line "You don't know which way I'll go" which, honestly, makes a hell of a lot more sense to me than most yo-yo based metaphors or similes, but I sucked at yo-yoing. The majority of the song, however, is in discussing people getting stuck in routine, doing the same thing over and over again. I sort of get it, but when you realise the fact that yo-yo's are very easy to stop using, the metaphor is not the strongest one, but it makes reasonable sense. I must say, by the end of the song, the word yo-yo had no meaning to me. By the third listen, Davies was just making strange noises with his mouth for half the song. This song, as I've already mentioned, has personality. It may not be the most thought provoking, but fuck that. This song makes bloody sense, and what more can I ask? Well, a lot. And I have. But I'm comparing three songs here, and this is the first to be even slightly thought out lyrically.
Overall:
Musically, Misfits can just piss off. I hate that song now, especially because I really like The Kinks (no shit, they've only been in about a weeks worth of posts) and like it when they make good music. So Misfits is out. First place is going to Maroon 5. It was really close, but Maroon 5 excel at their music... on that album while The Kinks manage to make their songs enjoyable through other methods. Yo-Yo, of course, comes second.
Vocally, I've got to give this one to Levine. Not the greatest voice in the world, but pretty good. So... Davies vs. Davies. I'm going to go with Yo-Yo as although Davies has a better sounding voice in Misfits, he sounds as though he doesn't give a shit, and the song is supposed to be emotional and all that stuff. If it can't make the singer care, why should I?
Lyrically, let's face it, none of these songs are Shakespeare. Poor lyricism doesn't prevent songs being good (although it seems a necessary part of being popular, as The Hit List demonstrates 99.9% of the time). As for lyrics, Yo-Yo wins straight out. The metaphors, although in places seem weak, at least make sense. I think if your talking about a couple becoming distant with age (as the first two verses are), perhaps a yo-yo isn't the best comparison available, but I get what they were trying to say. Second is a tough pick, but Maroon 5 wins, just. Although the lyrics raised some questions, and didn't quite demonstrate the relationship between the characters, it made some kind of sense, which is always nice. Misfits... that word does not mean what you either think it means or are trying to convince me it means. Misfits is... not good.
Winners:
1. Yo-Yo by The Kinks
2. Until You're Over Me by Maroon 5
3. Misfits by The Kinks
I think artists should be here once or three times. This shit just makes the title look awkward, more so than usual.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
Song #1: Until You're Over Me by Maroon 5 (It Won't be Soon Before Long, Track 13, 2007)
Let me take you through a few albums I own. I own all 5 Coldplay albums. I can't say I really proud of that. I own 2 Good Charlotte albums. I'm not proud of that. I own a Hoobastank album. I own an Everclear album. I own a Spin Doctors album. I own a 1200 Techniques album. Fucking hell, I own the single "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba. But none of these are as shameful as possession of a Maroon 5 album. This is not because of the album itself. The album is pretty good. I am ashamed of this album because of what Maroon 5 are today. I mean, seriously. Moves Like Jagger and Payphone? What the fuck where they thinking? I liked Maroon 5 because they had class. Their songs were good, all their music videos were well made, even the cover off of this album was cool. The second I saw Adam Levine dancing shirtless in front of the American flag I knew I could never take these people seriously again. I own one Maroon 5 album, and with the possible exception of their debut, I have no intentions of owning another one.
Musically, this song is really fun. That is one thing I can give Maroon 5. Their songs can vary from brilliant to shit, but they seem to enjoy making them. This song is upbeat, lively and has a great build from the slower opening to the great conclusion. I'm not quite sure why this was a bonus track, as I think it would fit in perfectly on the normal album.
Vocally, a lot has been said about Levine's voice. Personally, I think it works perfectly for the kind of music he makes. If he tried to be taken more seriously, to pull some Nick Cave-esque material out, he'd be sorely disappointed with the result, but for relationship-based pop it works perfectly, and is perfectly demonstrated here. Seriously, Wiz Khalifa on Payphone? What were they bloody thinking? Sorry, back on track.
Lyrically, this song is about the same thing everything on this album is about. Relationships. Specifically, sex. This album is an anti-breakup album. This is a sex album. Meh. This song is about Levine refusing to have sex with a woman because he's too in love with her. Yeah, makes perfect sense. He's scared of regretting sex with this woman because he's too in love with her. I.. sort of get it, but I think this is a rather vague concept. Is he scared she's just using him? Is he scared of just using her? Are either of them already in a relationship? What's stopping them being together, especially if they want to be together, and at least one of them is in love with the other? This song raises a lot of questions, and not in a good way. The Maroon 5 usual.
Song #2: Misfits by The Kinks (Misfits, Track 1, 1978)
Well, good to know that The Kinks will haunt me to the day I die. At least they're not a bad group.
Musically, this song is a little sad. The music is slow, emotional and nostalgic, and I imagine there is a lot of emotion behind it, but just reading the lyrics I really imagine this song as either a really fast, fun rock 'n' roll tune, or else a really camp, over the top Bowie-like number, as in Soap Opera. Instead we get neither. The Kinks take themselves way to seriously with the music to this song, putting a little too much emotion into it. The music for this song really doesn't grab me, but that may just be me.
Vocally, this is Davies. What the hell else can I say? Again, he plays this song way too straight when I either want to hear an old rock number or a campy Soap Opera tune. In the end, I just really don't like how he does this song.
The story of this song is really weird. This strikes me as one of those songs where the group had a moral taken from a really specific, personal experience and instead of writing about that experience they try to make the moral vaguer to appeal to a wider audience. Before I try to talk about said moral, I really like the line : "You set out to outrage, but you can't get arrested." which I really hope is a reference to an old O. Henry story, although it may not be. The problem I have with these lyrics is the meaning of the word "misfit". I think "misfit" means that kid in school who sits on his own and reads Karl Marx rather than, as this song is attempting to say, someone who has given up on life. Yeah, there are some common elements, like "You go your own way" and "Why don't you join the crowd?" but overall, The Kinks are clearly talking about a different kind of personality that really isn't covered in my mind by the word "misfit". I can't give a word for it, but it seems the character described in Ben Folds' "Bastard" seems to be more what The Kinks are talking about. Two things could explain this. Firstly, it could be a British thing, although I sort of doubt that, as the word "misfit" pretty much is exactly what it says on the tin - someone who doesn't fit in. Secondly, this song is from the 70's and perhaps it meant something different then, although I think it boils down to The Kinks going "What's a word for this? Misfit? No, not quite... I suppose It'll do until we think of it." and writing their song anyway. The story goes that your life is not yet over, live the day, carpe diem and fuck off. Not my kind of song, to say the least. They could have made this campy and fun, but noooo, they had to make it dead serious. Bloody hell.
Song #3: Yo-Yo by The Kinks (Give The People what They Want, 1981, Track 7)
Well, I can't say I wasn't exactly prepared for this, but it's a Kinks vs. Kinks post after all... with a side of Maroon 5. Never mind
Musically, this song really has a lot more personality then Misfits. Although the song starts off a little slow, by the end of the second verse, it's in full pop-rock mode, which is all I god-damn wanted from the previous song. This song has a beat, life, volume, pace and just personality. Have fun making sense of that. I know I can't.
Vocally, Davies clearly gives a shit here. The louder the man gets, the weaker his voice is, but it's a fair trade-out. Davies varies from verse to verse to chorus, giving emotion and passion to the song. I have no idea, based on music and vocals alone, how this was not a single from this album. This song bloody rocks.
Lyrically, I was sort of nervous what aspects of a yo-yo would be explored. Knowing the Kinks, I was thinking it would either be "She treats me like a toy" or "I just keep coming back". The first aspect gets a mention in a verse near the end, and the first one is subverted, with the line "You don't know which way I'll go" which, honestly, makes a hell of a lot more sense to me than most yo-yo based metaphors or similes, but I sucked at yo-yoing. The majority of the song, however, is in discussing people getting stuck in routine, doing the same thing over and over again. I sort of get it, but when you realise the fact that yo-yo's are very easy to stop using, the metaphor is not the strongest one, but it makes reasonable sense. I must say, by the end of the song, the word yo-yo had no meaning to me. By the third listen, Davies was just making strange noises with his mouth for half the song. This song, as I've already mentioned, has personality. It may not be the most thought provoking, but fuck that. This song makes bloody sense, and what more can I ask? Well, a lot. And I have. But I'm comparing three songs here, and this is the first to be even slightly thought out lyrically.
Overall:
Musically, Misfits can just piss off. I hate that song now, especially because I really like The Kinks (no shit, they've only been in about a weeks worth of posts) and like it when they make good music. So Misfits is out. First place is going to Maroon 5. It was really close, but Maroon 5 excel at their music... on that album while The Kinks manage to make their songs enjoyable through other methods. Yo-Yo, of course, comes second.
Vocally, I've got to give this one to Levine. Not the greatest voice in the world, but pretty good. So... Davies vs. Davies. I'm going to go with Yo-Yo as although Davies has a better sounding voice in Misfits, he sounds as though he doesn't give a shit, and the song is supposed to be emotional and all that stuff. If it can't make the singer care, why should I?
Lyrically, let's face it, none of these songs are Shakespeare. Poor lyricism doesn't prevent songs being good (although it seems a necessary part of being popular, as The Hit List demonstrates 99.9% of the time). As for lyrics, Yo-Yo wins straight out. The metaphors, although in places seem weak, at least make sense. I think if your talking about a couple becoming distant with age (as the first two verses are), perhaps a yo-yo isn't the best comparison available, but I get what they were trying to say. Second is a tough pick, but Maroon 5 wins, just. Although the lyrics raised some questions, and didn't quite demonstrate the relationship between the characters, it made some kind of sense, which is always nice. Misfits... that word does not mean what you either think it means or are trying to convince me it means. Misfits is... not good.
Winners:
1. Yo-Yo by The Kinks
2. Until You're Over Me by Maroon 5
3. Misfits by The Kinks
I think artists should be here once or three times. This shit just makes the title look awkward, more so than usual.
Feedback welcome.
H. Rourke
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