Bands I listened to today

This video is goofy, but the song is what I’m interested in, progish metal band UFO’s “Too Hot to Handle”. Great, loud, and dirty hard rock riff pushes this song along with some pulsating bass work and steady drumbeat, while the singer shows off his chops with a classic metal voice. Holy crap, the guitar solo on this song is to die for – not only is it super fast, but it doesn’t sacrifice emotional intensity, which is something that can happen with metal bands and their solos when more emphasis is put on their technicality rather than the emotional effect of the notes in the solos. Oh yeah, there’s a closing guitar solo too, what more can you ask for? Ok, so the lyrics aren’t anything to die for, but sometimes depth in lyrics isn’t needed to make a good song or a good band.

One of my favorite songs from The Human League’s smash album “Dare!”; this song’s called “Seconds”. An underlying ominous keyboard beat gives the song a dark tone, while the drum machine keeps a good beat, and a synthesizer provides an epic sounding melody. The music is great and the song is good even if it were just an instrumental, but the lyrics are what really make this song excellent. The lines “It took seconds of your time to take his life”, “the shot that was heard around the world”, and “poor thing, hiding from the sun, waiting for the golden one, waiting for your fame, after the parade has gone” make it clear that the song is written about John F. Kennedy’s assassination, with the “poor thing” line in particular berating Lee Harvey Oswald. To add to the tone of the song, there’s even some synthesized noises meant to sound like a gunshot. Really interesting song, from a band that’s mostly known for it’s two hits “Don’t You Want Me” and “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” – political lyrics like this aren’t something that most would expect from a band that’s associated with 80’s synthpop.

Hailing from New Zealand, Split Enz’s “I See Red”, 1979’s “Frenzy”, is a song that should be synonymous with New Wave. The rhythm of this song is kept frantic with the crazy carnival sound of the keyboards and the distorted guitar riff (which gives it a nice, punky edge), with the bass and drums not really making much of an impact. Tim Finn sings the song with the anxiousness of a bonafide madman, and is supported with the vocals of his younger brother, Neil Finn, giving the vocals a primo harmonized sound. The lyrics aren’t anything special, though the line “squeezed me out of your life, down the drain like molten toothpaste” is a nice use of metaphor, but besides that, they’re about the anger at a failed relationship (getting dumped, basically). Love the piano break about 2/3 through the song, followed by a frenzied guitar solo by Neil Finn. The general bounciness of the band members adds to the song’s tone – no complaining from me here.

Ah, this song brings me back to the days of high school, watching MTV in the morning before school (back when MTV still showed music videos). Chevelle’s “The Red”, from 2002’s “Wonder What’s Next”, is a good metal song. Some brooding bass and simplistic, but powerful, guitar work drive this song along, with a distinct 2000’s metal sound to it. The lyrics really hit me here – “they say freak, when you’re singled out, the red, well it filters through” and “this change, he won’t contain, slip away, to clear your mind” describe what a person with anger issues goes through – “the red” being synonymous for the all-encompassing anger that can occur with such individuals, that can cloud their minds. Having anger issues myself, I definitely take the song personally. The video supports the song well (in that it does actually relate to it), with the singer taking the podium at an anger management meeting, and the crowd slowly going crazy with anger, hitting each other with the chairs in the room. The guitar solo isn’t anything to die for, but fits well with the general rhythm and feel of the song, and the slight screaming from the lead singer up the intensity (whose vocal style strangely enough reminds me of Maynard James Keenan from Tool and A Perfect Circle). The bass player has some nice background vocals that flesh out the vocal portions of the song.

Not a song I listened to at work today, but one I randomly decided to listen to when I got home. Despite my obvious preference for listening to bands with male lead singers, I do like Sinead O’Connor (oh, and she’s Irish too – yay Irish!). Orchestral strings that sound like they’re being made by a mellotron give the song a melancholy quality, and Sinead sings with great feeling and pitch, though does sound somewhat nasally when she sings “to you” during the chorus. This makes me want to check out some more of her stuff – I have a feeling I won’t be disappointed (having previously heard Sinead sing a duet with Matt Johnson of The The).

~ by isolator86 on July 16, 2008.