Special Treatment

My apologies for not having posted since Sunday, but I really wanted to discuss a single songs, and really didn't have a particular song to speak of. I'll get back to this in a second.

A brief item of discussion. I finally received a copy of Yves Klein Blue's "Ragged & Ecstatic", which is even better than I recall. If anyone has the time or inclination, give "Getting Wise" a listen.

Now, the song I would like to discuss today is Paul Kelly's song "Special Treatment".

Now, I've done posts on individual songs before, but this one certainly deserves a special mention. I have one major problem with this song: It is not everywhere. There is no Wikipedia page just for this song. This song is not on either of the Paul Kelly "Greatest Hits" collections. To be reasonable, Kelly's other fantastic song on the treatment of Aboriginal Australians, "From Little Things, Big Things Grow", has achieved a great deal of fame, which it more than deserves.

The discussion of racism in Australia in general is beyond my capabilities. It is certainly there, and it has certainly been institutionalised until depressingly recently. I've met far too many people who are racist, many of whom I thought were intelligent enough to think otherwise. Racism is certainly a thing in Australia.

Now, Paul Kelly's "Special Treatment" from 1989 is a discussion of the treatment received by Aboriginal Australians at various points in Australian history. I'm not going to make any comments regarding the historical reality of the incidents Kelly describes, but they sound pretty much accurate.

What this song captures so well is the sense of injustice. The fact that, no matter what the narrator's family does, someone intervenes, always for the worse.

The music to accompany the song is excellent. The song sounds simple enough, a basic guitar melody, accompanied by Kelly's strong vocals. Throughout the song, more instruments are added, so slowly that you barely notice the original guitar is not alone until near the end of the song (or maybe I'm just a lousy listener). My favourite part of the song is near the end, where the instruments which have slowly been building up just stop, so that Kelly's vocals can be the focus, making sure that if anyone has somehow completely been ignoring the lyrics, they understand what has been going on.

The name of the song comes from a comment in a newspaper, in which someone claimed Aboriginal Australians were receiving "special treatment" in regards to land rights. Kelly used this phrase, used in an inaccurate, illogical, generalising and overall "bullshit" manner to represent exactly what he wants to say. This song is almost sarcastic in the chorus, almost as if the entire history of the narrator's family was playing out before his eyes as he read the newspaper article which contained the phrase "Special Treatment".

I know this review is rather short, especially for such a fantastic song, but I will make a brief conclusion. The reason I find this song so effective is because it goes directly to how much of the racism I've heard is rationalised. The main two arguments I've heard in regards to race are:

1. All the (race) people I've met were (unpleasant trait). Clearly all the people of (same race) have this trait! (Please note: I'm not even going to try to explain why this logic is bullshit. I hope you have the common sense to work it out on your own).

2. (Race) people have it so much better than me.

This argument has roots in the basic psychology of "my problems aren't my own fault." Racism just grows from here. Having an entire song explaining how how things seem can be a lot more difficult to comprehend than you think is exactly the slap in the face some people need. Thank you, Paul Kelly.

In this particular case, I'm not sure I really want some feedback (so that when I don't get any, I can pretend I planned that. Also, I don't feel there is much room for angry racist feedback on this blog).

H. Rourke

Sorting

Only a quick post, I'll do something more substantial later.

I need a new way of sorting my CD collection. I'm sick of alphabetically, but I still want to keep all CD's by a single artist together.

Any ideas would be great, and I'll give any idea decent consideration.

Feedback wanted.

H. Rourke

Observations

I've just been going through some of the statistics for the viewer-ship of this blog. There are some things I just can't explain.

Firstly, the three countries which have the most readers are Australia (expected), the U.S (also sort of expected) and, in first place, Russia. I just have no idea why this blog is so popular there. I don't mind or have anything against Russia, I just don't know why so many readers are from there.

Secondly, the popularity of my posts. Blogger shows me the top ten most popular blog posts. Number 1 is "Top 5 Albums: Part 4". That may seem odd on its own, the fourth part of a (so far) nine part series being the most popular. The really strange thing is that no other post in the Top Album series appears on the entire top ten list. This means that a very large group of readers stopped by, read one post in the middle of a series, and didn't pursue it. Why?

Anyway, it has come to my attention that two reasonably big celebrations are occurring for "Red Television" soon. Firstly, 500 views. If I miss this number by more than 10 people, I'll forget about it, but otherwise I'll try to do something.. Secondly, the 1 year anniversary. Honestly, this feels slightly more important.

On the 16th of October, 2011, I delivered the rage filled rant called "A Book" which launched this blog. In regards to how this blog has travelled, I'll be blunt. When I described that I made this blog for me more than anyone else, I was being completely honest. I'm not after attention, although I like feedback for improving the experiences of readers, whether regular or passers-by. I don't make money off this thing, due to the fact I doubt I'd make enough money to justify making the reading experience less enjoyable. I don't have any grand belief that clashes with advertising or capitalism in general, I just like my bog due to it's simplicity. It's the same reason I don't post videos or images. I don't want an irritating mess of colours and videos which just scream "you shouldn't bother reading any of this".

Feedback with ideas for what I could do special for either of these upcoming celebrations would be fantastic. The main things I review are music and books, and I can't really think of anything of either classification that would mark a special occasion.

I'd read another piece of scaremongering claptrap, but I don't really have the motivation. The three most popular posts are of a Herd album, the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2007 (Part 1) and a Fatboy Slim album, so I could do one of those three, but I don't know.

Herd albums are particularly hard to review due to the fact each song tends to be completely different to the previous and the next songs, meaning I can't make any old fashioned generalisations, something I tend to rely on.

As for Triple J compilations, I think I've been through most of the CD's I own, but I could probably dig something up, if necessary.

I recently purchased Fatboy Slim's "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars" (which I absolutely adore so far), which could make for a good review, or I could go back to "Better Living Through Chemistry" (which I really have not enjoyed), which would probably make for a really lousy review.

I've still got about 28 views until I reach 500 (at a rate of about 0-3 views a day), so enough time to throw some ideas around. I'm repeating myself here, but any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I don't know if I've mentioned it anywhere , or if I need to, but I really wouldn't bother reviewing anything but books and music.

I love webcomics, but I wouldn't even try to put a word of labeling on the majority of my favourites, and movies aren't my thing. Considering the fact that I don't have Austar or a set-top box in a country which I'm pretty sure has shut off their free-to-air T.V. without a set-top box should tell you how much T.V. I watch. That really just leaves books and music.

Anyway, I'll try to post a review tomorrow or next weekend if not that, I might look at a single song. No idea what, but it's been a while since I've done one of those sorts of reviews.

If I haven't mentioned already, feedback welcome.

H. Rourke

Top 10 UK Artists

I'm going to do a list of my top 10 of something...I really haven't decided what. I've done my top 10 albums, and that was probably the main one I always had on my mind. I think doing just 10 top songs, with no limits, would be among one of the cruelest things I could possibly do to myself. Top 10 artists? Perhaps, but still, I think that one would be rather limiting. Top 10 albums starting with a particular letter? Damn, I'm desperate for ideas. I'll pull something out of my arse for this one, but any ideas would be very welcome.

I've got it! Top 10 artists from the U.K. This can only end well. A point before I begin: This is not necessarily a ranking of my top artists, but rather just a list.

10. The Clash
How can someone not like The Clash? No matter what kind of music you like, they're almost certain to have made something you enjoy in their career. I only own two of their albums, "London Calling" and "Give 'Em Enough Rope", but I immensely enjoy them both. Knowing my love of second-hand stores, sooner or later I'll have the entire discography of the group. I am going to track down "Sandinista" one of these days, if only so I can say I own "Sandinista" and "Contra" (Vampire Weekend). My introduction to The Clash was very similar to another U.K group. One of my friends introduced me to "Spanish Bombs", and soon after, I came upon "Give Em Enough Rope" at a discount.

9. Gomez
I'm really having a hard time making up my mind about Gomez. I somehow ended up with five of their albums before I completely made up my mind about whether I liked them or not. Either way, they are something different, and I am always grateful for something that can be described as such. They seem to fall somewhere between Gotye and Blur in my mind, with elements reflecting conventional rock, but many elements just coming from nowhere. The vocals are probably one of the big pulls of this group, with a style that just really fits into my definition of good music. I'll make up a decision on these guys soon, but they're going in this list until then. My introduction to Gomez actually comes from my love of a different musician. Thomas Newman has written some of the best pieces of music I have ever heard. Just look up "Dead Already" or "Any Other Name" for a sample. I purchased the sound track to "American Beauty" due to the fact it contained those two songs. It also contained a Gomez track. About a year after buying the soundtrack, I found "Split The Difference" in the same discount bin, and just gave it a go.

8. Fatboy Slim
I love Fatboy Slim. If the fact that "Palookaville" has become my most popular review has nothing to do with this psychologically, I'll be damned. I own four Fatboy Slim albums, three of which I adore and the other ("Better Living Through Chemistry") which I have difficulty justifying keeping. Sure, it has a few good tracks, but there is some serious shit on there. Why are all my reviews of good artists focusing on their mistakes? Anyway, Fatboy Slim has produced gold like "The Rockefeller Skank", "Weapon of Choice", "Right Here, Right Now" and pretty much anything on "We've Come A Long Way, Baby". I can't remember how I was introduced to Fatboy Slim. I'd heard "Right Here, Right Now" on an ad for Channel 10 news, and "Weapon of Choice" is in fucking everything. Maybe the fact several Fatboy Slim songs appeared in Daria is how I knew about him. I'll probably never know.

7. Kasabian
This might come as a surprise...to people who have never so much as looked at this blog before. Kasabian holds a position on my Top 5 Albums list, my Top 5 Covers list, and if I ever make it, they are almost set to win the best band name list. Kasabian just have talent. There is no way to beat around this one. No matter if the music is good or bad, they make it well. Good vocals, good music and reasonably lyrics, Kasabian have it made. I only own two Kasabian albums, "Empire" and "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum", but I'll probably track down "Kasabian" and "Velociraptor" one of these days. I do really like all of their music, but just haven't gotten around to buying much of it. One day...

6. Manic Street Preachers
This is a strange choice. Rather appropriate for a strange band. I first got into the MSP when a friend of mine mentioned the propagandalicious track "If You Don't Act Now, Your Children Will Be Next". I'd never heard of the MSP, but found their album "This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours" (which "Your Children Will Be Next" is off) the very next day. Honestly, I like them for their mix of batshit crazy and disturbingly upfront honesty. A rather strange mix, actually. I only own three of these guys albums.

5. Franz Ferdinand
These guys and Kasabian just go hand in hand for me, despite the fact I don't think I've met anyone who knows of both bands (before meeting me, anyway). They both just seem to be trying to convey emotions more through music than through lyrics of vocals. I think I was introduced to both "Empire" and "You Could Have It So Much Better" around the same time, which probably had more influence than I'm letting on. I only have these guys first two albums, and honestly don't know how many there are.

4. Coldplay
I have certain...words...for Coldplay. MAKE SENSE. Other than that, I absolutely love these guys. Now, I own every album by Coldplay, and I'm rater proud of having a comprehensive collection, but this fact should be taken more to show how quickly Coldplay albums end up in the discount bin rather than I will spend a lot of money on them. Mylo Xyloto was firsthand though. And rather shit. My introduction to Coldplay is probably my favourite of all these groups. I was just watching Rage one night when I saw "Violet Hill" (which is still my favourite Coldplay song). The style of the song just hooked me, and I remembered it when I bought their albums a few years later.

3. Plan B
... in small doses. One of Plan B's albums is among my favourite of all time. I've been meaning to mention this for a while, but I bought his new album, "Ill Manors". The best thing I can say is that it's not as career-crushingly horrible as I expected. It actually isn't half-bad hip-hop for the most of it. I still prefer the R&B Plan B. My introduction to Plan B was actually my mother mentioning that she heard a great song called "She Said" on the Hit List (I miss video hits. I've said it before, but I stand by it). I checked it out, was introduced to the plot of the album, and bought it soon after. Plan B is just awesome...when he wants to be.

2. Blur
I'm of two minds in regards to Blur. On one day, I can hear a Blur song and think "This is just pure awesome!". The next day, I can think the exact same song is pure shit. This is one group I'll never defend, because I can live without them for the large part. I have two of their albums, both of which are pretty good. I, like the rest of the planet, was introduced by "Song 2" to Blur.

1. Lily Allen
I was tempted to put The Kinks or The Beatles here, but everyone likes both those groups, for the most part. Lily Allen is a strange one, especially for my tastes. On the whole, I'm not a big fan of any artist who seems to be really angry for a large part of their career, but I think Allen has just enough soul to keep her on my good side. I really liked "LDN" when I heard it back in 2006, but I think I figured this was a good pick from an average album, and figured I'd be done. Allen of course gained even more fame, to the point where I finally bought her first album last week. Me? Behind the times? Never!

Anyway, that's a taste of my UK tastes. In trying to work out which albums I had of who, I figured out I will never be able to do this with any other country. The UK was just perfect for it. Now, despite the fact I've been watching the tree outside my window write in agony from the wind and rain, I must travel. Wish me luck.

Feedback welcome.

H. Rourke

Top 5 Covers

Sorry for the somewhat late post, I try to keep up at least a ratio of something (if at least an apology) every week. This week, however, I have been as sick as a dog.

Considering I just completed a very long list (in word count, not items), I decided I'd do a short list. A while ago I read a cracked article about (some number) of covers which were better than the originals. I can't remember who was on it, but I recall I was familiar with about three of them, and agreed wholeheartedly.

As the title of the post suggests, I'll be looking at my five favourite covers. Rules:
1. I must be familiar with both versions of the song.
2. It can't be a parody. Now, my rules of parody covers about anything which seems to be making fun of the original. For example, I won't include Jonathan Coulton's fantastic cover of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot, because the style of the song seems designed to point out the ridiculousness of the song. If you don't agree, this is my number 6 pick.
3. I must think the cover is better than the original. No "both were good". The newer cover must be superior.
Let us begin:

5. "Sweet Escape" by Kasabian (originally by Gwen Stefani)
The magic of this cover is how easily the song becomes Kasabian's. Anyone hearing Kasabian's version before Stefani's would have no difficulty believing that the song came straight off of "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum". It just really has that ring to it. An honourable mention should go to Franz Ferdinand, who covered another Gwen Stefani song, "What You Waiting For?". The song didn't make this list both because Franz Ferdinand threw in parts of other songs in the cover and that it just wasn't as much fun to listen to as Kasabian.

4. "Hotel California" by The Cat Empire (originally by The Eagles)
I've probably mentioned it somewhere that I really got into the Cat Empire for the first time by hearing this cover. The cover has a very interesting twist: It's in French. Now, I love the French language. I'm nowhere near fluent in it, but I know a few phrases. Someone once told me that people listen to people just speaking French, just recordings of conversations or people reading books. I sorta get it. French just sounds so musical and mysterious, and Hotel California does have that mysterious tone all over it. I think that knowing the regular lyrics and not knowing French is the best way to enjoy this cover, which is easily better than the original. I'm afraid I don't know any other groups who have covered Eagles songs.

3. "Disco 2000" by Nick Cave (originally by Pulp)
The original Pulp version of this song irritated me. The subject matter was regret and pretty much misery, yet the group sounded like they were having fun singing it (although Pulp does have a vocalist who doesn't seem to be suited to sad songs). Nick Cave changed that. Hole-y shit. During the recording of this song, the studio technicians must have been making sure Cave couldn't grab any sharp objects. The entire song just changes for me. Having someone actually inject misery into this song is just common sense. I absolutely adore this song. Interestingly, this is the only song on the list where the cover is more miserable than the original (probably debate-ably, but no-one fucking comments, so I can say whatever the hell I want). An honourable mention should go to William Shatner, who did a cover of the only other Pulp song, "Common People". Many people think the cover here is superior, but I'd like someone to give it another try. Get Nick Cave again, then I'll believe he truly hates the wealthy idiot.

2. "Lost In The Supermarket" by Ben Folds (originally by The Clash)
This is the first cover on the list where I've really enjoyed the original and respect the artist who created the original (yeah, of the previous three original artists, none were really my kind of music. Maybe Pulp, but they're yet to give me a reason to give a shit about their music. They write good songs, but can't sing them. That's kind of a deal breaker for me). One of the real hits from "London Calling", the actual meaning of the song is open to interpretation. Seeing as The Clash is the group behind it, I think we can rule out the literal interpretation, and trust it's some sort of commentary on superficiality, commercialism and/or society in general. I'm not going to do symbolism in a list of cover songs. Anyway, this, in my opinion, is the only song Folds could really do better than The Clash, of all the The Clash songs. What I think this song originally was meant to be was a jingle, or at least the kind of music that would be played in a supermarket. This meant The Clash had to sound like a pop group. The Clash cannot sound like a pop group. Ben Folds, however, can sound like a pop group, and this song demonstrates it perfectly. As long as you try to forget the cover was made for a movie in which William Shatner voices an untrustworthy raccoon, this song is fantastic. There are a hell of a lot of Folds covers to choose from. Two great examples are "Sleazy" by Keesha and "Bitches Ain't Shit" by Dr. Dre. To be perfectly honest, there are a number of reasons these songs aren't in this list, and Folds cover of them has noting to do with it. Firstly, based on the songs titles alone, I have never familiarised myself with the artists. Secondly, I can imagine no way in which songs with those titles, those artists and, as revealed by Folds covers, ridiculous lyrics, can no be considered parodies in their original forms. Dear God, I hope they are legitimately jokes. Moving on, an honourable mention should go to Urthboy, who covered the famous "London Calling". I think an artist I'm familiar with also did a cover of "Rock The Casbah", but no names are springing to mind.

1. "I Was Only 19" by The Herd (originally by Redgum)
When I started this list, I didn't really order the songs in anyway, I just thought that this song had to be no. 1. As it happens, the songs have sorted themselves into the order I enjoy the most. Anyway, one Friday, The Herd turned up on Triple J for the weekly segment "Like A Version", in which a well known band, normally plugging something, covers a well known song. "I Was Only 19", for anyone who is unfamiliar, is a powerful anti-war song detailing a young soldier surviving Vietnam. This is the first Australian original song, and has received world-wide fame (i.e. I've read about it in one book by an American. That counts!). The Herd absolutely redefined the meaning of the song, making it their own, much like Kasabian with "Sweet Escape". The Herd's cover has since become their best-known song, a massive hit and something that has completely redefined the band's image. This song was put on The Herd's third album, "The Sun Never Sets", in a reissue. I bought the version released before that reissue. I went out and bought "Like A Version 2" which, besides this cover and a lovely cover of "Yellow Brick Road" by Sarah Blasco, has noting I like. That is how much I like this song. The Herd, with some guests, recently covered Sam Cooke, but the song was neither better than the original nor better than this cover. The main reason no other group has covered Redgum is the fact that Redgum really never had another hit. They had a career making folk-ish songs, but then after this just sort of spent the rest of their career trying to replicate it. The wrote a great song called ASIO, but it wasn't very successful. If you get a chance check it out. Also, they're that group who put music to a Lawson poem in one of my 3 Songs posts.

Yeah, so that's my list. I'd love to hear any suggestions for other great covers. Please excuse me while I spend the next 48 hours kicking myself for not including other great covers.

Feedback welcome.

H. Rourke

Top 5 Albums: Part 9

Well, now my top 5 are on the table for all to see, it's about time I started comparing and contrasting. I'm aware this is a rather pointless activity, all considered, as I've made you all aware of how much I like the albums, why I like the albums and backed these claims up with evidence when I feel like it, but it is obvious that some of these albums have certain strengths and weaknesses, and I want to talk about which have what.

Let's start with number 5, Kasabian's West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

To start off with, the main draw of this album is certainly its music. None of the songs on this album appealed to me because of the lyrics, although they aren't too bad, or the vocals, although they certainly compliment the music. The mood of the song, the reason I truly adore it, is brought about by the placement of elements, but music seems to be what the artist was focusing on.
Strengths: Mood, Music
Weaknesses: Lyrics, Story (which I feel differs from lyrics. I'll explain with Album 2.)

What I'd also like to mention is how the individual songs of the album compare with the album as an entity. With Kasabian's album, the individual tracks all hold their own as individual songs and although the album is better than any individual song, each song carries the strengths of the album, just to a smaller degree. The fact that each song is clearly a different story, or a representation of a separate being, allows the songs to be heard individually for analysis. I must say, this album is the only of my top 5 which has no "weakest" track, and that certainly shows the strength of the songs individually.
Weakest Song: n/a
Strongest Song: Fire


Album 4, Hilltop Hoods' State of the Art certainly has a lot of weaknesses. Firstly, the reliance on the usual hip-hop archetypes, partying and patting yourself on the back, seem to keep coming up, while in other songs, the Hilltop Hoods seem to be trying to escape them, leading to a bit of a mess in regards to exactly what message they're trying to make. In regards to my rating triumvirate, music, lyrics and vocals, music was definitely the weakest point, as nothing even remotely different was attempted in this regard. Strong points, however, centered around the few songs in which the Hilltop Hoods were clearly trying to break away from the stereotypes, with lyrics being the strongest part of the album. I honestly can't think of another simple strength of this album.
Strength: Lyrics
Weaknesses: Music, clichés of genre

This is the most bi-polar of the albums, flicking from fantastic song to terrible song on a whim, meaning the songs are the weakest. The stand out, Fifty In Five, is probably the only song that really could survive outside of the album, with the possible exceptions of Still Standing and Chase That Feeling.
Weakest Song: She's So Ugly
Strongest Song: Fifty In Five

Album 3, Future Shades by The Herd is almost the reverse of State of the Art, using the expectations and clichés formed from their previous work to surprise all that heard it and create a new experience from their other albums. The sense of an other-worldly experience is what I think gives this album the step to set it apart. In regards to its weaknesses, I think the vocals might be it. Although The Herd is a very talented group of musicians, I don't feel this album pushed them out of their comfort zone in regards to their rapping. The music is the high point of the album, closely followed by the lyrics, and the vocals certainly compliment both of these, but just don't stand out on their own. There is also a sense of many of the songs being similar to others.
Strengths: Other-worldliness, music
Weaknesses: Vocals, repetitiveness

All the songs off of this album hold their own for me, with only Red Queen Theory seeming to be a definite weak point. I am definitely interested to hear the next album to truly work out if this album is a sign of a permanent change of just a break. This will definitely affect how I feel about the album, but for now it holds out with its sense of individuality.
Weakest Song: Red Queen Theory
Strongest Song: A Thousand Lives

Album 2, The Defamation of Strickland Banks by Plan B finds its strength in its sense of story and its lyrics, which are the two factors which just keep dragging me back to it time and time again. The weakness would be the vocals in the rap segments. Honestly, Plan B is not the worlds best rapper. Not the worlds worst, but not the best. I just purchased Ill Manors to confirm this, and confirmed it is. Altogether, the rap segments seem somewhat shoe-horned in and unnecessary.
Strengths: Lyrics, story
Weaknesses: Rapping, presence of rap sections

Every single song off of this album can and very well should be released as a single, and would sell well enough. Each song oozes charisma, talent and emotion. Even what I consider the weakest song off the album, Stay Too Long, could be and has been a successful single. Just bloody fantastic, every part.
Weakest Song: Stay Too Long
Strongest Song: The Recluse

The final album on my list, Deeper Water by Paul Kelly, finds its strengths in a sense of brutal honesty, being down to earth and just fantastic, with the lyrics being the strongest aspect. The songs are weak in the sense they sound very raw, almost as if they went straight from Kelly's mouth to your ears, which is a good trait on paper, but leaves some tracks sounding like they are lacking. Kelly's vocals, whilst being kind and honest, border on irritating, but perhaps that is just my tastes.
Strengths: Lyrics, honesty
Weaknesses: Rawness, vocals

This is possibly the only album which I think the vast majority of the tracks are at their best on this album. Many of these tracks, if released as singles, would just seem forced and without context. On the album, they feel honest and more developed. Deeper Water is the only song which could be a single or a song from this album in my mind. Give in to My Love is a strange case, as I think it really doesn't belong on this album, but certainly could do well as a single.
Weakest Song: California
Strongest song: Deeper Water

Now, unless I'm struck by a ray of inspiration, this will be my last Top 5 Albums post for mow. I'm certain I will return at some point, but for now I've conveyed all the information I feel is important for people to understand what I call good music, while I continue to call a lot of music garbage. I don't know what I'll do next week, or sometime through the week, but I'll find out when I get there.

I hope everyone enjoyed a rather personal series of posts, and I hope not to be that personally involved in any other series of posts. Emotions are important when discussing music but personal attachments to particular songs just make your opinions hard to clear from nostalgia.

Feedback welcome.

H. Rourke

Top 5 Albums: Part 8

Okay, so I've finally decided on what my actual Top Album is...

Drum roll...

Paul Kelly's 1995 release, 'Deeper Water'.

That's right. It's someone I claimed I had no actual albums by. That statement was true at the time, but since then, I've collected six Paul Kelly albums. Addictive personality? Me? No shit.

Anyway, this album was going to be one of my favourites since the moment a note of it touched my ears. Anyone who has read through my 3 Songs posts will know that the song Deeper Water is my favourite by Paul Kelly, and this album manages to form a beautiful album around it. There are too many utterly fantastic things about this album.

Let's start with the album cover. It is one of the most beautiful, simplistic images I've ever seen, conveying so much emotion in just a snapshot, using only two colours. The image is the back of a man's torso, while two hands grab his head and neck in what I must presume is a loving embrace. I suppose it could be otherwise, but I don't think so. My two other favourite album covers (West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum by Kasabian and Internationalist by Powderfinger) have a heavy reliance on colour, and for them it works, as they are very cluttered, interesting images. This is the reverse, and it's style is emphasised by Kelly's musical style, also simple and somehow older than the release date.

As usual, I'm going to pick a few songs to focus on, and I must emphasise how tricky that choice was.

The first track I'm going to focus on is "Deeper Water", the fifth track on the album. Paul Kelly's music, especially this song for me, always manages to provoke some feeling of nostalgia. It's as if Kelly's description of fictional events is so brutally accurate you can't help but feel it's real, matching his character's experiences with your own. I'm not actually going to discuss this song in depth, as I have done this before, but also there is little I can say about the song which it cannot say for itself. Listen to it.

The next song is Madeline's Song, track six. This song is a strange emotional shift, going from incredibly accurate depictions of life and it's course, to a cool, laid-back song about a dream girl, who Kelly imagines will soon grow up. There really isn't much to say about this song, and I'd be lying if I said it was memorable in comparison to the rest of the album, but there's just something about it that I really love.

Song eight, 'Give Into My Love', deserves at least a passing mention, just due to the fact it's one of the hits off of this album and is insanely catchy. The chorus is just the title repeated a few times, but it still manages to convey so much emotion. Again, the lyrics of this song aren't as good as some others, but the emotion conveyed in every line just blows me away, more than making up for it.

Track 10, 'Anastasia Changes Her Mind', is just so very likable. I just adore the lyrics because they're so very human. No one is acting like an idiot, just like people. The track itself doesn't have music or lyrics as catchy as "Give Into My Love", but there is just something so very emotional about this song that is more portrayed by the lyrics. I think this is a great portrayal of a Paul Kelly song that wasn't a hit but shows how his talent is present in almost all of his songs.

The final track on the album, 'Gathering Storm', is beautifully strange. If anyone out there lives in the countryside, Australia or otherwise, just look out into the sky at night. The feeling of just seeing something so amazingly massive out there, something not even remotely perceptible in the city, is the kind of feeling this song gives me. This song just seems to whisper to you, telling you exactly how you should feel: awed. his is easily one of my favourite closing songs of all time, akin to "A Distant Shore" by Ozi Batla. So many albums would be vastly improved if they could just produce one piece of magic to leave us on, to always remind us of the talent, the variety and the all-round skill you have in changing someone's mood so completely.

After listening to this song, I have little else to say regarding Mr. Kelly and just how under-rated he seems to be. Everyone reading, both of you, go to Youtube or Soundcloud or whatever you use and just listen to a single Paul Kelly song. I promise you will like it.

In conclusion, I have two things to say. Firstly, my Top Albums series will continue soon with a general comparison and discussion of good albums in general. I'm aware no-body comments, but if you want me to talk about something, please leave a comment here for me to respond to next week. Secondly, for anyone curious about the other possible albums for my No. 1 position, the runners up were "Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs" by Ball Park Music and "Vulture Street" by Powderfinger, both extremely good albums, both deserving a mention, but just not as good as Paul Kelly at his best.

Feedback welcome.

H. Rourke

Top 5 Albums: Part 7

Well, I have a little free time (correction, I'm making a little time. It is not free, by any means) mid-week, so I figured I'd try and sort out my top album.

I'll be really quick with what it was originally going to be. It was going to be "Lonely Avenue" by Ben Folds, with the lyrics by Nick Hornby. I think the reason this CD was so great in my mind is because of how great is looked on paper. I mean, Ben Folds is a musical genius and I love Hornby's work. "Juliet, Naked" is a fantastic piece of work that portrays a fantastic and realistic, yet likable "stalker-type" and "31 Songs" is the best piece of music analysis I've ever read. If you ever want to see the kind of reviews I wish I was writing, read it. It won't take too long. I read it in 24 hours. On a weekday I did not have off. Moving on.

The reason I found out this album isn't as good as I thought was because I started composing my Top 10 albums of all time. Not necessarily for this blog, it just sort of happened, and Ben Folds Five by Ben Folds Five found its way to position 9. Due to my love of variety, I decided I couldn't have two Ben Folds albums on the list...and I realised that Ben Folds Five was the better album. So clearly, my top album of all time was not really my top album after all.

This leaves me in an interesting position. I have several albums that could possibly take its place. The first is from 1995, and truly deserves a place on this list, but I'm not sure if it should be at the top.

There's also an album from 2011 that I adore, but I really don't know if I just haven't had the novelty wear off yet.

On top of that, there is an album that has a good deal of sentimental value from 2003.

There are several new albums I purchased recently, almost all of which I adore, but I don't think I'm familiar with any of them enough to put them on this list.

Along with these are a few old outliers which never leave my MP3.

I suppose the only way any readers will find out is by waiting around until the weekend.  My apologies for both brevity and a lack of content. I'm honestly unsure of which will win, and I'm starting to think this Top Albums series could go over a dozen.

Feedback on my rantings welcome.

H. Rourke

Top 5 Albums: Part 6

To be truly honest, I'm starting to re-think which album I'll make my top one. Presently, there are four competing for the top position in my mind. If I choose one other than originally planned, I'll tell you. The only reason I'm re-thinking it is because I've seen how much I can talk about my other favourites, but I don't know what I could say about this top album. I'll wait until next week to decide.

Anyway, the album I'm discussing today is "The Defamation of Strickland Banks" by Plan B.

I'm aware I've already done a character analysis of Banks previously, but it's perfectly possible for an album to have a good plot with terrible music and vocals (as I predict my review for Plan B's new album, Ill Manors, will describe. The album's in the mail. It will be reviewed soon). Strickland Banks, however, manages to pull off everything perfectly. There has never been such a delicate and well handled balance between R&B vocals and hip-hop, or such a fantastic balance between music and story.

I'm not going to discuss the story of Strickland Banks in detail here. I've discussed it in reasonable depth before, and Wikipedia will provide a decent plot summary for those who are curious here. I will discuss how the key songs I've picked move the plot along.

There are two small weaknesses of this album that I'm constantly being attacked with when I discuss it with people. The first is "Why did he have to ruin a perfectly good song by rapping?" I'm aware this is a statement which reflects the views of people I know, and as thus can't really be answered, but I think the fact that Plan B uses rap, which he clearly sees as more of his kind of music than soul, sparingly and only as a means of expressing extreme emotions. I think the use of rap in small proportions is justified and I like that its something not used in music that often. I'm most certainly not including the bizarre and pointless inclusion of guest rappers on pop tracks as an example of this procedure. Plan B is using his voice as he wishes in his own song, not trying to shoehorn rap where it doesn't belong, which is a hell of a lot of places.

Now, the first song I wish to focus on is the very first, Love Goes Down. This is a fascinating song for me when I was first becoming fascinated with the album. This song, plot wise, sets up Banks career as a popular soul singer who specialises in love songs, with an obvious basis in his own love life. It also sets up his relationship, which comes into play during several other songs, one of which I'll look at also. I love this song because it is just so emotional and loving. This is a clear demonstration of what the album is going to consist of. Plan B isn't going to attempt to be overly masculine and try to maintain his "rep" throughout this album. This album is going to be emotional, deep and reveal a lot about Plan B and his creations. Just a bloody fantastic song.

The next song I want to look at is the third song, "Stay Too Long", as the second song is very similar to the first. The third song is the most plot heavy and is actually my least favourite of the album. The song's plot is basically Banks celebrating some success by partying way too hard, drinking too much, staying out too late and making a series of terrible decisions, which end up with him ignoring his girlfriends phone calls and going to a hotel room with a strange woman. Now, I need to make a very important distinction: "Least Favourite" does not mean "Song I Don't Like". I enjoy this song, and I adore the plot set up here which resolves in the next song. The reason this song scores poorly in comparison in my mind is the fact this song is just so lively. I think this song was sort of made to be a party hit from the album, and I feel it slightly suffers from it. Also, the rap here just crosses the line to gratuitous for me, with Plan B really falling back on it far too often. The best part is how the music reflects the chaotic mindset of Banks, which ultimately forces him into the worst situation of his life. Also, just listen to the sound at the very end of the song, an "augch" sort of vocalisation. Is it frustration, disgust, anger, pain? I'm putting way too much thought into it, but I'm legitimately curious.

The next song is the favourite of most people I know who have heard the album. Me? Not my favourite, but I do really enjoy it. This song is basically the "Consequences Song". Banks got himself into absolute shit. It's revealed he walked out on the girl last night when it was revealed she was more than a little stalkerish. The same girl has accused Banks of raping her out of spite. This song, She Said, documents the court case, with Banks trying to plea his innocence, interspersed with flash-backs to the previous night. The beat is just fantastic, the music video is perfect and it takes no thought to realise why this was the big hit of the album.

The final song I want to look at is track 7, The Recluse. I'm not really sure why this song is my favourite, but I think the violin and sense of fear and anger have a lot to do with it. The previous songs have documented Banks experience in prison and this song documents his tactic of staying in his cell at all times to protect himself. This song sows seeds for several future songs, such as "The thought of killing makes me sick." setting up for "Traded In My Cigarettes". I think this is the kind of track "Stay Too Long" should have been. Foreboding, dark and full of events that would have added meaning later on.

Now, it should be very obvious why I adore this album so much, and just why this is my go-to album for good storytelling.

I shall return next weekend with a final album for judgement. I will probably pick a different album to the one discussed at the beginning, so disregard my comments pertaining to it.

H. Rourke