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 Sure, 20 years out of date.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.
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