Nevermind

               On a Plain is the song that always comes to mind when I hear that Kurt Cobain considered The Beatles a major influence. There is a lot of melodicity in Nirvana’s work and by burying it in punk whirpools, they achieved the sound that bears their name. That’s what this song is all about, sonically speaking. Lyrically, I don’t think we should look too much into it, because the subject is pretty clear: “It is now time to make it unclear, To write off lines that don’t make sense”, to which we can add “And one more special message to go, And then I’m done, and I can go home”. The thing we should remember about Nirvana is not how great they are and what legends they’ve become, because we are already reminded of that all the time (being their generation’s time to boast their idols). Because of that, emerges the danger to close our ears to Nirvana, as a reaction to overexposure. Before you do that, listen (again) to the albums, find your own favorites, discover or rediscover. 

ON A PLAIN here                             ON An unplugged PLAIN here

Fade Into You

FADE INTO HERE

RIDE HERE

The Empyrean

         This is the second time Frusciante leaves the band, the first being right after the Peppers made it big with Blood Sugar Sex Magik. At the time, the guitarist thought he couldn’t cope with the rockstar status and quit, just like now, in order to work on his solo projects. Indeed, he released several experimental albums, but also plunged into a lengthy heroin addiction, which was almost the death of him. Johnny Depp and Gibby Haynes documented the state of his house during this period in a short movie called: 

STUFF

11. Morrissey – It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore

His recent albums are pretty far from the fresh outta The Smiths stuff. I’m talking about the music, because the lyrics have always been briliant – the guy just can’t be topped when it comes to editing ideas into the most simple and yet poetic words. It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore it’s one of the most powerful songs he wrote in years, talking about how politeness and hypocrisy have nothing to do with one’s expression of love: “All the gifts that they gave can’t compare in any way to the love I am now giving to you right here right now on the floor”. LISTEN

10. U2 – Moment of Surrender

Probably the only point where my little top here coincides with that of major music magazines, U2’s Moment of Surrender is by far the highlight of their latest album, No Line on the Horizon. Clocking in at almost seven minutes and a half, this ode to giving up, with plenty of gospel vibes, will make you crave to surrender in any possible way, just so that the song will fit your situation. Bono is not just singing on this, his playing a character. Top form. LISTEN

9. Depeche Mode – Jezebel

Martin Gore always keeps for his own (vocal) self the weirdest tracks on Depeche Mode albums, but then again, in Depeche world, ‘weird’ means unlike anything. It’s quite a cinematic piece of music, a portrait of a lady judged for her unconventional perspective of love: “Open their eyes to the beauty, Open their hearts to the fun, Open their minds to the idea that you don’t own someone”. If it wasn’t for the lyrics or Gore’s innocent voice, you might mistake Jezebel for a Sade piece, but that’s not a bad thing. Is it? LISTEN

8. Editors – The Big Exit

And speaking of Depeche Mode, this track by Editors sounds as if they were really inspired this one time, needed their guitars, but all they were given was an old synthesizer of Martin Gore’s. It might sound demeaning, but, believe me, it’s a compliment, because The Big Exit confirms the alternative band’s choice of a more electro sound as an inspired one. On an echoing big bass, Tom Smith sings about some kind of relationship, but he sounds more threatening than romantic — most likely, that’s the intention. LISTEN

7. The Prodigy – Stand Up

It’s a Prodigy tradition to do on each album stuff they haven’t done before. With Invaders Must Die’s closer, Stand Up, Liam Howlett achieved what is probably The Prodigy’s only uplifting (‘non-menacing’) sounding beat. This is, in part, due to the Manfred Mann Chapter Three sample from One Way Glass. Of course, Howlett couldn’t have a full-on shinny happy tune in the band’s history, so he ‘patched’ the beat with plenty of dirty synths and insanely loud bass, so that your speakers would still fear it, just like the rest of The Prodigy’s discography. LISTEN

6. Manic Street Preachers – Marlon J.D.

It’s been more than half of year since this came out and I still can’t really explain what draws me so  mercilessly to Marlon J.D., why this punkish track with unintelligible riffs and drum machines is as moving as… Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, for example. The Manics are known for their memorable riffs, but with this one, the guitars sound as if they are voices which try everything that would sound good on the given rhythm. The vocals themselves make you believe that reality is a musical where the deepest pain can be expressed, in tune with the bassline. LISTEN

5. The Killers – A White Demon Love Song

You may or may not be a fan of the movie, but New Moon is one interesting compilation for your indie tastes of late 2000’s. The Killers wrote A White Demon Love Song for the movie, so you woun’t find it on any of their albums (so far). It sounds as if they had a lot of fun with this one, because, despite being about a demon, it has that country-growing-up-near-Mexico thing that Brandon Flowers and co. seem to sport as often as possible. Yet, it’s not a parody, but an ethereal ballad, which uses all means to conjure an unique love anthem. LISTEN 

4. Placebo – Speak in Tongues

Brian Molko stated on several occasions that this is his main pick from Battle for the Sun and, for what it’s worth, his opinion could be considered valid. The song has a slightly irregular structure, meaning that from a verse-chorus-verse-chorus thing it turns into this building epic. Lyrically, we hear the same strange metamorphosis from abstract lines like ”Kitty came home without a name” to the eco-slogan-sounding “We can build a new tomorrow today”. Some extra points for the choral part in the middle and the use of the word ‘blasé’… LISTEN

3. Tori Amos – Fire to Your Plain

Though not a perfect album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin adds some valuables to Tori Amos’ 20 years career, like this slick bluesy little thing about a love triangle (?): “I am low, Watching you,Watching her play this game”. We encounter the kind of subtly orchestrated chorus we heard on Girl, for example, from Tori’s first album, though in a different tone. This is also one of those special cases where Her vocals are just as sarcastic as the lyrics. It’s not a single, but it has been graced with a cool video. LISTEN & WATCH

2. Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way to Blue

Grunge idols made a significant return this year, with a new singer replacing the demised Layne Staley and, of course, they couldn’t make an album without carving their love for the ex-bandmate in the shape of a three minute ballad, that will have you contemplating whoever is missing from your life. With Elton John on the piano, this deploring of life resignation (“I Dont wanna feel no more, It’s easier to keep falling”) might be the best rock tearjerker of the year. It will slow you down and force a moment of reevaluation. LISTEN

1. Little Boots – No Brakes

It’s all about looking towards the future and this year’s crop of new artists is one for the books. As far as Little Boots is concerned, 2009 was practically just her debut, so 2010 can’t come fast enough. In the same manner of 80’s retro pop, but with a hot twist, which made New in Town a hit, No Brakes is one perfect pop song, with plenty of feel, as well as well-crafted metaphorical lyrics. Synth bass and bells, catchy hooks, this is the kind of music suited for everyone and everywhere (ok, that’s a bit too much, but you get the idea). LISTEN    

Hey Stoopid

Feed My Frankenstein

Might As Well Be On Mars.

                The horror-like intro (phasy pads, high piano keys, door effects), the classic whiny guitar solos suitable for hair metal ballads, they extend the song to a seven minutes length, but it all goes so fast, as if you are listening to a three minutes no.1 pop hit. Might As Well Be On Mars is what you would call a classic heavy ballad: it’s about love, heartbreak, alienation (as the title suggests), but from that ‘tough guy with long hair’ perspective: “You’ve, turned my world into a dark and lonely place, Like a planet lost in space”. It’s torch song for biker chicks, yes, but of the best quality. If you are familiar with Cooper’s Poison, you can expect the same kind of big loud, but romantic chorus, that anchors the track in mainstream and makes it appealing to non-rockers.

MIGHT AS WELL LISTEN TO IT

Listen or Download (or both) Here

Enchanted

Enchanted

         Currently, the band are on an approximately one month tour of North America, enchanting fans, old and new, with The Cranberries hit-list of honour, as well songs from O’Riordan’s solo albums. Due to a personal matter of the singer’s, a recent gig in Detroit had to be cancelled, but now the tour is back on track. 2010 will bring two other legs on their reunion tour, one in South America for the winter and then, Paris in the springtime… plus other major European cities.

          Hopefully, the audience’s response will encourage the Zombie authors to grace us with new material. Their last album was 2001’s Wake Up and Smell the Coffee. See a performance of their 1996 classic, When You’re Gone, played in Philadelphia, on November 17:

Reunited  

Music from and Inspired by The Jackal soundtrack of the 1997 action thriller, starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. This “discrimination” doesn’t mean that the other album, containing Carter Burwell’s score should be disregarded. In fact, some of the tracks from there would fit inconspicuously on this album, Burwell being one of the most versatile film composers of the last two decades. His slick combination of electronica and a traditional score creates the real sonic trademark of the movie. That and, of course, the opening track, Massive Attack’s Superpredators, which sets the tone for the violence that is to follow and creates a memorable title sequence in the process.

And speaking of violence, an action movie, back in the day, would usually have more of a rock collection type of soundtrack, that’s why The Jackal, musically, is quite the milestone. By 1997, electronica and dance music had evolved in a more aggressive ‘beast’, bravely competing with rock as a mean of venting N. energy. The cream of the crop of the artists who achieved this are featured on The Jackal. A lot of these bands actually toured together. There’s no point in denying that UK was the headquarters for this new face of dance music and this is also illustrated through the selection found on this OST.

We’ll start with the most obvious, so we can ‘get them out of the way’ — The Prodigy. They make their appearance on this album with the classic (even then) hit, Poison, but without the ”phone call” intro. They are also joined by their touring partner back in the Jilted day, Moby (with Shining), one of the few non-British names on the whole thing. The list continues with Apollo Four Forty and their blood pumping mover & shaker, Raw Power (such a good choice of title). Keeping it still in the big beat bands area, we have Agent Provocateur with Red Tape (another title destined for action flicks OST’s). The DJ’s aren’t missing either. Of course, you have Fatboy Slim ‘going out of his head’, as well d’n'b icon, Goldie, both with a track (Sunray 2) and a remix of Bush’s Swallowed. Lunatic Calm’s overused Leave You Far Behind also makes its first ever appearance on a soundtrack.

There is also a softer side to this album, it’s not big, but it’s there. You have Primal Scream’s ‘feel good Sunday morning’ Star, Ani DiFranco’s moody Joyful Girl, some chill d’n'b by LTJ Bukem and then, there is Shineaway. Fully aware of the consequences, I must say that this is the true treasure of the album. A collaboration between The Psychedelic Furs’ singer, Richard Butler, and virtuoso producer BT, Shineway is basically a ballad, but with enough cool sounds around the edges to be the ballad to the power songs listed above. If the other songs are the stuff that draws you to this album, Shineway is the thing that’ll keep you there. There are some other songs on it, but I have to leave at least a bit of mystery unrevealed. You check it out !