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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 2, 2016 17:46:23 GMT
Streetlight Manifesto - "Would You Be Impressed?," Somewhere in the Between, 2007 [Ska Punk]
Standout Lyrics: "And when I woke I knew it was time to pray / To make amends before the end, before my judgment day / I looked around, I stood alone, I knew what I had to say / I said 'It's all my fault'"
It's time for a ska kick, I think, and one of the first bands I think of when I think about ska music is Streetlight Manifesto. These guys have been around a long time, and while they aren't exactly as happily pessimistic as a group like Reel Big Fish is, they've still got some really great songs with some pretty nihilistic lyrics beneath the horns and the guitars.
"Would You Be Impressed?" and its mocking chorus of "It's not my fault" in relation to the problems of the world is a very strongly worded message to the establishment. If anyone knows how to raise a middle finger, it's these guys.
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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 3, 2016 20:24:31 GMT
Suburban Legends - "Natasha," Let's Be Friends...And Slay the Dragon Together, 2008 [Third Wave Ska/Pop]
Standout lyrics: "Oh my Natasha I adore you / And I’m always dreaming of you / And I want to paint you on my arm / So we will never be apart"
Visitors to Downtown Disney in California might recognize these guys from when they used to be a house band in the area (and they still do a bunch of Disney song covers that are insanely awesome), but I first encountered Suburban Legends on a tour they did with Reel Big Fish in 2010. Up until I saw them opening for Reel Big Fish, I had no idea who they were, but I was so impressed by their sound, vibe and witty crowd banter that I bought their most recent album at the time after the show as we were all filtering out after the big encore. Guitarist Brian Klemm was hawking their CDs and other merch close to the door and I immediately forked over $10. I yelled over the crowd to let him know that he was awesome and I still have no idea if he heard me or not, but he totally is.
Anyway, the song above is sung by Klemm instead of their usual lead singer, Vincent Walker - probably because the subject of the song is Klemm's cat.
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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 4, 2016 18:28:35 GMT
Gin Blossoms - "Follow You Down," Congratulations I'm Sorry, 1995 [Alt. Rock]
Standout Lyrics: "How you gonna ever find your place / Runnin' in an artificial pace / Are they ever gonna find us lying face down in the sand / So what the hell, we've already been forever damned"
When I think of the 90s, one of the bands that immediately comes to mind is Gin Blossoms. Growing up, my parents usually had the radio on to pop stations, and back in the 90s, Gin Blossoms had a number of hits that would get some respectable airtime. "Follow You Down" was one of them, and I grew to like it better after it was one of the only good songs in the rotation back when I spent my high school years and college summers working retail.
This is one of my go-to karaoke songs, actually. My range is pretty similar to Robin Wilson's, so even while I'm drunk I can sound at least a little bit pleasant.
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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 5, 2016 22:09:51 GMT
My Chemical Romance - "Bulletproof Heart," Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, 2010 [Alt. Rock/Pop Punk]
Standout Lyrics: "I've got a bulletproof heart / You've got a hollow point smile"
"Listen up! The future is bulletproof! The aftermath is secondary! It's time to do it now and do it loud! Killjoys? MAKE SOME NOISE!"
^Yeah, I know that's from a different song on the album, but Dr. Death Defying deserves a shout out.
I'm not ashamed to still be listening to My Chemical Romance in 2016, and neither should you, quite frankly. I'd argue that MCR was ahead of their time, particularly in their Welcome to the Black Parade days, but I think their final studio album is a bit on the overlooked side. Danger Days got heavy rotation in my car during my senior year of high school, and "Bulletproof Heart" is one of my favorites from the album. It plays into MCR's flair for the dramatic and attempts to do a lot of things to the point where I'm sure some might call the song somewhat spastic, but I think they did a great job of meshing all the different elements of the song together.
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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 7, 2016 18:42:36 GMT
The Who - "Magic Bus (Live at Leeds)," Live at Leeds, 1970 [Rock]
Standout Lyrics: "GIVE ME A HUNDRED! / Ninety-five... / I WON'T TAKE UNDER! / Ninety-five... / SHE'S A BUS AGE WONDER! / SHE GOOOOOOES LIKE THUNDER!"
One of my best friends plays bass guitar, and he listens to a LOT of The Who. I'm pretty sure if he could go back in time and be John Entwisle, he totally would. He's still in Idaho and I'm in Utah now, so we don't get to hang out as much as I would like - I did get to see him a couple of weeks ago while I was on my vacation, but that was the first time I've been able to see him since April. Whenever I listen to any of The Who, I always think of him.
Live at Leeds is perhaps the best live rock album ever produced, and "Magic Bus" is perhaps the coolest part of the album. It's a running joke in our friend group to say things are worth "ONE HUNDRED...English pounds" whenever we don't know the actual price of something, and it's solely because of this recording.
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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 9, 2016 20:53:43 GMT
Weezer - "Only in Dreams," Weezer (The Blue Album), 1994 [Alt. Rock]
Standout Lyrics: "And so it seems / Only in dreams"
The Blue Album is one of the best albums of the 90s, and "Only in Dreams" is one of Weezer's best tracks. Its first half is already great, and taken alone it would still be excellent. The second half of it is what upgrades the song from "great" to "masterpiece." The buildup is incredible, and the catharsis that hits at around the 6:45 mark is one of the few things in music to ever bring a tear to my eye the first time I heard it.
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Post by Dorothy Hui on Sept 11, 2016 23:36:58 GMT
Jonathan Mann feat. Ivory King - "We've Got to Break Up" from Song-A-Day, 2012 [Indie Pop]
Standout Lyrics: "Just invite us to your parties and we'll work it out / Don't feel weird / We love all of you"
Jonathan Mann is probably the definition of a journeyman musician. I had a Jonathan Coulton song earlier in this thread, and Jonathan Mann is similar in that he had a project where he was writing a bunch of songs in a short amount of time. Thing is, instead of 52 songs over the course of a year, he wrote 2,000 songs in 2,000 days. I don't know how he found the time or the creative energy, but he was able to pull it off, and there are some gems in that discography (and lots and lots of misses).
"We've Got to Break Up" is the song that introduced me to Mann, and it's very sweet and simple and amicable. The choreography isn't bad either! I figured there's no better time to post this one than the round Ian might be leaving. Sorry, my friend.
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