Quickie: Song of the Week

Since their levitation to success, this band has been one of the most consistent around. So many anthem-like tunes, as well as some that touch the soul, others that ring around in your head for days...

Hail mostly from Northern Ireland, but originally forming in Scotland, Snow Patrol shot to fame with the song-of-a-generation Run which is a favourite of mine too. But I'm not here to talk about that, or any of their other fantastic tunes that you may have heard of from their albums. This tune was recorded for the Spiderman 3 OST and is beautifully harmonic while at the same time having a killer beat; it's kind of a Run/Chocolate hybrid.

The video is simple but brilliant too, with a group of children performing their perspective on Spiderman; the song speaks to the soul and everyone can relate to it. I am, of course, babbling on about Signal Fire.

Signal Fire
The perfect words never crossed my mind,
'cause there was nothing in there but you,
I felt every ounce of me screaming out,
But the sound was trapped deep in me,
All I wanted just sped right past me,
While I was rooted fast to the earth,
I could be stuck here for a thousand years,
Without your arms to drag me out,

There you are standing right in front of me (x2)
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close cause I need you to guide me to safety

No I won't wait forever(2x)

In the confusion and the aftermath,
You are my signal fire,
The only resolution and the only joy,
Is the faint spark of forgiveness in your eyes,

There you are standing right in front of me (x2)
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close cause I need you to guide me to safety,

There you are standing right in front of me (x2)
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close cause I need you to guide me to safety,

No I won't wait forever(x3)

Quickie: Song of the Week

Sticking with the Foo Fighters theme that I've been having over the previous weeks. Another one from their new album; a rare piano Foo Fighters song appears here. Home is the melodic poem-like song which sees the album take a slower pace. Perfect vocals from the Grohl himself, only prove that the Foos can do it all, whether it be a head-banging rock-fest or foot-tapping indie, they are the professionals.

Home

Wish I were with you
I couldn't stay
Every direction
Leads me away
Pray for tomorrow
But for today

All I want is to be home

Stand in the mirror
You look the same
Just lookin' for shelter
From cold and the pain
Someone to cover
Safe from the rain

All I want is to be home

Echoes and silence
Patience and grace
All of these moments
I'll never replace
No fear of my heart
Absence of faith

All I want is to be home
Ooh

All I want is to be home

People I've loved
I have no regrets
Some I remember
Some I forget
Some of them living
Some of them dead

All I want is to be home

Quickie: Song of the Week!

To celebrate the release of this bands new album it's only right that I do so with one of their songs. And what better than using the new single from the new album?

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace is the bands 6 (studio) album and sees the band going in yet another directions (though, debatable, a similar direction as the original, self titled, Foo Fighters album). And the song of choice for this week is the impressive The Pretender.

The Pretender
Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Keep you in the dark
And so it all began

Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in... again
The need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are at the ready
Are you ready?
I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance
That whole defense

Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It's never-ending, never-ending
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

In time or so i'm told
I'm just another soul for sale... oh, well
The page is out of print
We are not permanent
We're temporary, temporary
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?
[The Pretender lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]


I'm the voice inside your head
You refuse to hear
I'm the face that you have to face
Mirrored in your stare
I'm what's left, I'm what's right
I'm the enemy
I'm the hand that will take you down
Bring you to your knees

So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?

Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
(Keep you in the dark)
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
(You know they all... pretend)
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
(Keep you in the dark)
What if I say I'm not just another one in your place
(You know they all... pretend)
You're the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?

Quickie: Song of the Week!

There's something insanely cute and cheeky about this girl I can't quite put my finger on. She shot to fame with her equally fantastic 'Foundations' which mixed her quick-fire lyrics with interesting emotional content. She's talented, no doubt, but people have questioned her ability to really sing, well perhaps she's not the greatest singer, but she also doesn't flaunt flesh to boost sales (yet) or wear low cut pants to improve her 'sexual image' - does that make her any less of a singer as well?
Well, probably, but what she doesn't hit with high notes or ride upon in a music video she makes up for with her lyrics. Fast becoming the first thing I look for in a singer (see Nerina Pallot)

In a similar style to Lily Allen, who I must admit I am indifferent towards, she doesn't seem afraid to be honest with her lyrics. I do think Ms Nash's style is more to my liking than Lily Allen's, though I do have the latter's album, I don't have the former's, yet - the songs I have heard are brilliantly written.I am, of course, talking of Kate Nash. And the song of choice is Birds, it sounds a little nutty when you first listen to it, but there's deep meaning to it's content. Mark my words.

Birds
She was waitin' at the station
He was gettin' off the train
He didn't have a ticket
So he had to bum through the barriors, again.

Well the ticket inspector saw him rushin' through

He said, girl you don't know how much I missed you
But we better run cause I
Haven't got the funds to pay
This fine
She said fine

So they ran out of the station
And jumped onto a bus with
Two of yesterdays travel cards
And two bottles of bud

And he said you look well nice.

Well she was wearin a scarf
And he thought she looked nice and
Yeah she didn't really care about
Anything else because she only
Wanted him to think that she looked nice
And he did

But he was lookin at her yeah
All funny in the eye
She said c'mon boy
Tell me what you're thinkin' of
Don't be shy

He said alright I'll try

Well the stars up in the sky
And the leaves in the tree
Oh the broke and missed branches
Pop inbetween
All of my air in the world
Is how much that I like you

She said what?
He said let me try and explain again

Right birds can fly so high
And they can shit on your head
Yeah they can almost fly into your eye
And make you feel so scared
But when you look at them
And you see that they are beautiful

That's how I feel about you

Right birds can fly so high
And they can shit on your head
Yeah they can almost fly into your eye
And make you feel so scared
But when you look at them
And you see that they are beautiful

That's how I feel about you
Yeah that's how I feel about you

She said what?
He said you
She said what are you talking about?
He said you

Right birds can fly so high
And they can shit on your head
Yeah they can almost fly into your eye
And make you feel well scared
But when you look at them
And you see that they are beautiful
That's how I feel about you
(REPEAT)

And that's how I feel about you

She said thanks I like you too
He said cool

Quickie: Song of the Week!

This band have had a special place in my heart for about 5 years now, in fact I used to idolize their front man (just a bit) around a year ago. The band itself was formed in 1995 by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, although I say 'formed' - for a while it was just himself. In fact, he wrote and recorded the whole first album (self titled Foo Fighters); playing all of the instruments (except for guitars on the track "X-Static") and providing all of the vocals.

Dave managed to get a few people in so that they could tour; Nate Mendel (Bass), William Goldsmith (drums) and Pat Smear (Guitar) made up the original band. However, some 12 years on now and the band now consist of only Dave and Nate from the original line up with the replacements of Taylor Hawkins (drums) and Chris Shiflett (Guitar)

Picking a song is difficult, part in due to the mere number of songs they've churned out over the years, but more so due to the amount of quality songs they churned out over the years. However, there's something about this tune that always stops me 'song-hoping' - I love the lyrics, the simplicity of them, the beat is amazing and the vocals: awesome. From their 2nd album The Colour and the Shape

May I present to you...

My Hero

Too alarming now to talk about
Take your pictures down and shake it out
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
Hes ordinary

Dont the best of them bleed it out
While the rest of them peter out
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
Hes ordinary

Kudos my hero leaving all the best
You know my hero, the one thats on

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
Hes ordinary

Quickie: Song of the Week!

Time to dust down your leather biker jacket and grow in that mustache and take a look back in time...

Perhaps one of the greatest bands to have ever graced this earth, they began creating music way before I was born. They presented us with a paradox; a very cool looking camp group of musicians; long curly hair, womens clothing and a front man wearing vest tops and a now famous mustache.

I am of course talking about Queen - even their name is camp!


Now, picking a song was extremely difficult. And thus, I was thankful when I realized I had to pick not one but two songs from this fantastic band due to my absence during last week. This was a little easier as there are two songs in particular which I think are brilliant - for very different reasons. Firstly...

Those Are The Days Of Our Lives; A truly beautiful song. About saying goodbye to the past and accepting the future - made even more haunting when it came the attention to all the fans and the rest of the band, that lead singer Freddie Mercury was terminally ill (HIV). He was always a fan of wearing make-up but once this secret came out fans wondered if their was another reason for the amount of make-up he was wearing during the making of the video for this song. Freddie continued recording music until a month before his death November '91...

Those Are The Days Of Our Lives

Sometimes I get the feelin'
I was back in the old days - long ago
When we were kids when we were young
Things seemed so perfect - you know
The days were endless we were crazy we were young
The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
The rest of my life's been just a show

Those were the days of our lives
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing is true
When I look, and I find, I still love you

You can't turn back the clock you can't turn back the tide
Ain't that a shame
I'd like to go back one time on a roller coaster ride
When life was just a game
No use in sitting and thinkin' on what you did
When you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
Better sit back and go with the flow

Cos these are the days of our lives
They've flown in the swiftness of time
These days are all gone now but some things remain
When I look and I find no change

Those were the days of our lives - yeah
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing's still true
When I look and I find
I still love you

I still love you

We miss you Freddie...

------

This next song needs no introduction; perhaps their greatest work and my favorite Queen song, and certainly one of my favorites in general.
Bohemian Rhapsody: It optimizes Queen; camp, brilliant lyrics, entertaining, Freddie piano and vocals, awesome harmony(s) (inc. Brian May and Rodger Taylor..
What I find so awesome about this song is it's change of pace: slow (harmonic) -> slow (rock) -> Brian May Guitar solo (eat your heart out) -> Theatrical/Opera (Galileo! Galileo!) -> seemlessly into full on ROCK! -> then just as quick as it reaches Rock-ness to falls back down to slow Rock and slowly comes to a stop.

"Any way the wind blows"
Phenomenal.

Best Rock Song Ever? You be the judge

Bohemian Rhapsody

Is this the real life -
Is this just fantasy -
Caught in a landslide -
No escape from reality -
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see -
I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy -
Because I’m easy come, easy go,
A little high, little low,
Anyway the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to me,
To me

Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead,
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away -
Mama ooo,
Didn’t mean to make you cry -
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow -
Carry on, carry on, nothing really matters -

Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine -
Body’s aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-I’ve got to go -
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth -
Mama ooo - (any way the wind blows)
I don’t want to die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all -
[Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]


I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, scaramouche will you do the fandango -
Thunderbolt and lightning - very very frightening me -
Galileo, Galileo,
Galileo, Galileo,
Galileo Figaro – magnifico -
But I’m just a poor boy and nobody loves me -
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family -
Spare him his life from this monstrosity -
Easy come easy go -,will you let me go -
Bismillah! no -,we will not let you go - let him go -
Bismillah! we will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! we will not let you go - let me go
Will not let you go - let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no -
Mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go -
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me -

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye -
So you think you can love me and leave me to die -
Oh baby - can’t do this to me baby -
Just gotta get out - just gotta get right outta here -

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters -, nothing really matters to me,

Any way the wind blows....

Quickie: Song of the Week!

I love this song, I'm still not quite sure what it's about. At a guess I would say it's about love (is there a song that isn't?) but more that one of the people in the relationship does not seem to care or show emotion anymore - acting 'mechanical', hence the content of the song - with the other individual acting completely opposite - still believes in hope, and love, and the relationship...


The band is Athlete and the song is the inspirational "Wires":

"Wires"

You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out of your skin
You got tears, making tracks
I got tears, that are scared of the facts

Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes

You got wires, going in
You got wires, coming out of your skin
There's dry blood, on your wrist
Your dry blood on my fingertip

Running, down corridoors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know

I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You'll be alright
I see it in your eyes, I see it in your eyes
You'll be alright

Alright

Running, down corridors through, automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen christmas lights, reflect in your eyes
down corridors, through automatic doors
Got to get to you, got to see this through
First night of your life, curled up on your own
Looking at you now, you would never know.

Quickie: Song of the Week!

In a bid to spice things up a little; with yesterdays The Week Ahead and now this: Song of the Week. Well I pretty much love this girl; beautiful, intelligent, talented (both singing and writing) and she has a smexy posh accent - hey it can be, sometimes.. (and she swears! Which just makes her sound dirty! Haha)

Seriously though, check this girl out if you haven't already - I'm a fan of her piano stuff; not so much so with regard to her more "pop-y" songs, but they're all brimmed with fantastic lyrics.

I present to you Ms Nerina Pallot, and my song of choice

If I Know You

Well it could have been a Sunday
Or it could have been the next day
Or it could have been any day at all
And it could have been a good day
Or a very very bad day
When you made your grand arrival, I can recall

But if I know you
You'll come sailing through the starlight in the blue
And if I know you
There'll be something that you do
Nobody else could contemplate, it's true
If I know you

Madonna's in the bathroom
Madonna's in the redroom
Holy Virgin Mary, come to my aid
I'm sinking while you're swimming
Losing while you're winning
Everything i've given, you give away

And if I know you
You'll come sailing through the starlight in the blue
And if I know you, you'll swim
You could never drown if someone pushed you in
And if I know you
There'll be something that you do
Nobody else could even contemplate, it's true
If I know you

Damn it, I'm going to post another song of hers because I couldn't stop listening to it last night (I had heard it, but never really 'listened' to it - the lyrics are immense, best on her first album in my opinion...)

Dear Frustrated Superstar

Dear Frustrated Superstar, your mother's waiting in the car
To whisk you off to your new premiere
And all the friends who knew your name
Are waiting, wondering what became
Of the girl that they once knew but never loved
They never loved.

So every city tells the lie
Of beggars, tramps and butterflies
Of all these things, then what am I?
A princess in a threadbare gown,
A gaudy, painted circus clown?
A child who lost her key and can't get home?

All the things I never was -
A traitor in the Western Wars
A girl who did it just because.
Do or die, or don't at all

Prepare to suffer for your call
Some things have to hurt or they're not true.

They can't be true
When you die, you'll wonder, "was that it?"
Will you think of how you'd wished you lived?
Well, you're here now
Yes you're here now.
So I only want to be up there
With a hundred others, I don't care
'Cause I'm here now
Yes I'm here now.

Papers, books, philosophy
An envelopes eternity
I count each passing minute, hour, day.....
Wonder how I smile so well,
Wonder how they never tell
There's really no one living here at all.

So here a line from God's own song
To comfort you when things go wrong
My children never visit anymore.
Go searching in my sky at night
They must be there to set alight
Their mothers aching heart is so unsure
I'm so unsure....

When you die, you'll wonder, "was that it?"
Will you think of how you'd wished you lived?
Well, you're here now
Yes you're here now.
So I only want to be up there
With a hundred others, I don't care
'Cause I'm here now
Yes I'm here now.

Dear Frustrated Superstar, I really hope you get that far
If not, I hope you live
I hope you live.