Lyricus Hocus Pocus

"... we've got the means to make amends. I am lost, I'm no guide, but I'm by your side"
(Leash, Pearl Jam)

I've never been someone who pays much attention towards lyrics, but lately for no apparent reason I caught up with some interesting lines that lies in some songs. One of them is the lyrics of Pearl Jam's Leash that I've written above. Never been a big fan of the band, though I enjoyed Eddie Vedder's voice nonetheless,not a big fan of the song either. It sounded very early 90's/ Seattle sound-ish. However, there's something that hits me in the chorus. It's the lyrics. I don't know why but there's something that I can connect with in that line. Well, probably a lyric will hits you when you feel exactly like it. In my case, that was probably it.

There's another song that I really liked because of the lyrics. It's Bright Eyes's At the Bottom of Everything. The song itself is very simple, only three chords progression is used in the song. It started with Conor Oberst (the vocalist) narrating a story about a woman and a man in a plane and continued with the strum of folk guitar. His lyrics reminded me of how Bob Dylan wrote his songs. It was like a critical view on his surroundings, how he felt towards the world, and he put it in a very delicate way. Oberst is not your ordinary lyricist, he's more like a poet. A comparation with Bob Dylan is inevitable, as they have so many things alike, from their lyrics to their musical style. This is is the lyrics I'm talking about;

We must talk in every telephone, get eaten off the web
We must rip out all the epilogues from the books that we have read
Into the face of every criminal strapped firmly to a chair
We must stare, we must stare, we must stare

We must take all of the medicines too expensive now to sell
Set fire to the preacher who is promising us hell
Into the ear of every anarchist that sleeps but doesn't dream
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing

And it'll go like this, all right

While my mother waters plants, my father loads his gun
He says, "Death will give us back to God
Just like the setting sun
Is returned to the lonesome ocean"


Now, since I'm already on the music topic, I'm gonna have a say about some of the music that caught my ears lately. First off, did any of you saw the Grammys? More specifically, did you see Coldplay and Radiohead's performance? Holy cow they were great. Coldplay did an awesome job with Lost, in which they collaborated with Jay Z, and Radiohead blew my mind with their live version of 15 Step. Interestingly, rather than using drum machines like they did in the album, they invited the whole USC marching band to serve as their percussion. What a great touch! Thom Yorke is one crazy cool motherfucker. Look at how he moves on the stage with all that energy. That was one great live performance from my favorite band!



Secondly, I've browsed myspace for new music a couple of days ago and found this new under the radar band called The Winston Jazz Routine. They got me interested because I thought they sounded like a blend of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, with the vocal that sounded like Colin Meloy of The Decemberists. In short, it was a blend of everything I'd like to hear from a band. I searched everywhere and downloaded their album called Sospiri. Calling the album decent would be an understatement. I thought it was a good album. Suited for those who like Indie or Post-Rock genre. Curious? This is their myspace page; http://www.myspace.com/thewinstonjazzroutine

Thirdly, I chatted with an old friend of mine, who's musical opinion I've always held high. He recommended this local indie band called The trees & the Wild. I was actually surprised when he gave me the link to their myspace page. While the local major scene has been dominated by crappy love songs with whiny lyrics, the local indie scene was also stuck with bands that sells generic rock n' roll sound. Now, the trees & the wild isn't like any other so-called indie bands. While their sound didn't actually original, they managed to offer genuine sound that echoes like Sigur Ros's songs with a John Mayer-ish vocal. They created this peaceful and relaxing melodies that no other local band have ever made before. Apparently, they haven't release an album yet, but some of their songs that they put on their myspace page are good enough for me to buy their album. Here, check out some of their songs at http://www.myspace.com/thetreesandthewild

Ha! Enough ranting for today, I've spent way too much time doing nothing and this is how I deal with boredom. I thrive on it by writing nonsensical bullshit. Well, hope you still enjoyed it though. Until next time, fellas!