Blog #14: The Strokes

The Strokes are an American indie rock band. The Strokes are my favorite band of all time, I think that their music is great, and basically unbeatable. Each song has such a good song, and they really brought back punk rock to the modern age. The Strokes have a lot of the artists that I used for other blogs in them. Their lead guitarist is Albert Hammond Jr., the lead singer is Julian Casablancas, and of Little Joy their drummer is Fabrizio Moretti. However, their solo work were all side projects, they were all a part of The Strokes first. In the band’s history they have put out four albums, Is This It, Room on Fire, First Impressions of Earth, and their last and most recent, Angles. Of these four, Is This It is definitely my favorite it just has the biggest selection of great songs. Angles would probably be my least favorite album, mostly because it just has the smallest selection of songs that I like, and it was a disappointment in my opinion. My second favorite is Room on Fire, and third favorite is First Impressions of Earth. One of the biggest things I have to thank my dad for is listening to such good music. If you’ve read my other blogs, then you know that a lot of the music I listen to is thanks to my dad. I’ve known who The Strokes are for a long time, but I didn’t always love them. In fact, it was only about year ago, around the time Angles was coming out that I started listening to them a lot. I’m not sure what the first song I heard by them was, it might have been Last Nite, but I might be completely wrong. Last year when I started to get into them it was because my brother kept listening to the song Under Cover of Darkness, which had been released as a single before the album Angles did. Basically, my dad bought their first album and loved it, and he continued to listen to their music. Then my brother liked them, and he influenced me to listen to them. Finally, around a year ago, I was out to dinner and kept playing the beat of Under Cover of Darkness on the table, and singing it.

My favorite thing about The Strokes is that they’re so good, but most of what they do comes off of effortless. I like the irony of The Strokes’ songs, and that they have double meanings. My brother described it as, “they are what they’re not.” I agree with him because I think that when you first listen to the songs you think that they’re just apathetic, and not caring, but then when you actually pay attention it you realize that they’re all pretty deep, and emotional. I find this to be very interesting about their music. I think that they have really good catchy rock songs, and kind of redefined rock. The long list of my favorite songs by The Strokes goes like this: Is this it, Barely Legal, Someday, Last Nite, Hard to Explain, The Modern Age, Soma, and Alone Together. Then off of Room on Fire: Repitilia, The End Has No End, You Talk Way Too Much, 12:51, and Meet Me in the Bathroom. Then from First Impressions of Earth: You Only Live Once, Heart in a Cage, and On the Other Side. Finally, off of the Angles album: Under Cover of Darkness, and Taken for a Fool. One of my favorite songs by them was called New York City Cops, but because of sympathy towards 9/11, it didn’t come out on the Is This it album. I think this song is so good because it is a very punk song. It keeps itself going, and I like the fact that it is just rebellious. I like Is This it because it’s such a relaxed song that makes me feel good. It is also a very catchy song, and I like that it reflects his opinions in it. I like Hard to Explain because it tries to say that we are all different even though people would like to think we’re the same. I think it also tries to tell you to be yourself, and not try to blend in with the rest of the world, because it won’t work anyway. It also has a great tune, and is very catchy to me. I like how the chorus takes on a different tune than the rest of the song. I like The End Has no End because it speaks in such a great way, and is very catchy. I think that when he says, “two steps forward and two steps back” it signifies that you’ll l never be able to just keep going, and there won’t be a true end.  I also like when he sings the chorus the second time because he starts to sing it with different rhythm than he previously had. I like the song You Talk Way Too Much because it just kind of is an example of something that you always want to say, but it’s not okay to say it. Just like when he says “it’s only the end, you’re not supposed to say that.” That’s just another example of something that isn’t okay to say in our society. I like On the Other Side because it starts off kind of sad, but then it gets happier. I relate to the feeling of being sick of everyone around you, and not wanting to have to deal with them anymore. Then at another point he says, “I’m tired of being so judgmental of everyone.” I think that in my life I’ve made myself try hard not to care so much about what other people do, and judge people so harshly. By the end of the song instead of in the chorus saying, “Nobody’s waiting for me on the other side,” he says, “I know what’s waiting for me on the other side.” I think that he’s basically adjusting to what will come next in his life, even if it’s not something that he wants. I think this is relatable because I have to just openly embrace the future instead of runaway from it. I like the song Heart in a Cage because it is one of those songs that when you listen to it harder you realize it’s kind of deep. This song makes me a little sad, but that’s okay because it’s a great song. In the song I think that it’s saying that he’s so used to being sad, and being expected to deal with it. However, he can’t because he just isn’t how he wants to be when he’s sad. The second verse is partly I think about how people think they can relate to your feelings, but they really can’t because they don’t understand you at all. I like the song Under Cover of Darkness because it is so catchy, and you can tell that it wasn’t an easy song to make, just because there is so much going on in it. I think this song is another about how he is kind of sick of the world that he’s used to, and doesn’t want to live in it anymore. I relate to it for that reason, and also because he just kind of wants somebody to know that he’d do anything for them. He would wait as long as they would wait too, but I think he wants them to know that if they won’t do what he would, then they’re not worth his time. All these songs are truly great, and all have great things about them. I think that they all are very catchy. I love The Strokes so much, and they are my favorite band. Without them, I don’t know how I would have gotten through my sad times. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I hope you have enjoyed all the music I have posted about.

New York City Cops

Is This it

Under Cover of Darkness

On the Other Side

Hard to Explain

Someday

The End Has No End

The Modern Age

Heart in a Cage

Blog #13: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American Folk Rock singer and songwriter. He’s one of my favorite artists because he has influenced generations of music after him. I also wasn’t aware for a long time just how talented he was, but I now know he is extremely gifted. Bob Dylan isn’t just one of the best Folk Rockers of all time, but he is also a painter, and a very good one. The amount of awards that Dylan has won is astonishing, and the different kinds are also surprising. He has won an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe for best original song. He has had six songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and has won eleven of the twelve Grammy awards he was nominated for. Bob has won Album of the Year three different times, Best Contemporary Folk Album twice, and lifetime achievement award. In 1988 Bob Dylan was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and had five of his songs be honored in 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. Clearly just from knowing that you would have to say that he must be very impressive. However, I didn’t know any of these things when I first heard him, but that didn’t matter because I still loved his music. Bob Dylan has released several albums. The first time that I heard his music, or at least the first time I remember hearing it was when I saw the movie Watchmen. The movie starts off with a fight, and then it goes into a sort of credit thing where it shows what has happened over the years.  While this is going on the song The Times They Are a Changin is playing in the background to show how much things have changed. This was the first song I heard by him, and it’s amongst my favorites.

My favorite thing about Bob Dylan is that his music uses instruments that are so simple, and his music still sounds so different and unique. Other than his music I don’t really listen to music that has harmonicas in them. I sometimes find them to be a little annoying, but something about them in his music sounds so good. My favorite songs by him are The Times They Are a Changin, Knockin on Heaven's Door, and All Along the Watchtower. Knockin on Heaven's Door is such a relaxed, but great song. It sounds like a song that comes from the soul, and it almost is like accepting that your time is up. In a kind of weird way this song is my image of growing old, dying, and that feeling of almost being able to knock on Heaven’s door. In the song he’s taking off the badge, and accepting that his time of being strong is over. I feel like if my death comes from old age, then I will remember this song, because I’ll feel tired and ready for what’s next. I like the song The Times They Are a Changin because it’s a very laid back and original song. This is where my admiration for the way he used the harmonica comes in, this is mostly because it just sounds so perfect with the song. The song is slow and soft, so to have the harmonica chime in at parts just adds to that effect. This song is also very appealing because it sounds so good to me. One of the best things about this song though is the message. The message is that times will continue to change no matter what, and there is no sense in trying to stop it because it must happen.  In the song he says, “Come senators, congressmen. Please heed the call. Don't stand in the doorway. Don't block up the hall. For he that gets hurt, Will be he who has stalled. There's a battle outside. And it is ragin'. It'll soon shake your windows. And rattle your walls. For the times they are a-changin'.” I like this verse because it’s like if you try and stop the change you’ll get hurt. When he says, “There’s a battle outside. And it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake you windows, and rattle your walls…” I think the battle is supposed to symbolize change, and that the change will come for you. Then you will have no choice except to embrace the changes that lie ahead, because it’s already right in front of you. Another line is, “…don’t criticize what you don’t understand,” I think this line speaks to the fact that most people don’t fully understand the change that comes ahead, and you shouldn’t criticize it if you don’t. The overall message is that the times are changing, and you have to embrace it instead of fight it. Bob Dylan is one of my favorite artists, and I think that you will find great joy in his music too. I believe that he is and inspiring artist, and that he will continue to inspire many generations of music. Hopefully, you will see what I see in his music too.

The Times They Are a Changin

Knockin on Heaven's Door

All Along the Watchtower-performed by Jimi Hendrix

Blog #12: Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys are an indie rock band from England. Since their origin in 2002 they have put out four albums. They are called Whatever People Say I Am, That’s what I’m Not, Favourite Worst Nightmare, Humbug, and Suck it and See. Their first album became the fastest selling debut in album in British History, and remains the fastest selling album for a band in British history. The Arctic Monkeys are considered to be one of the first bands to get attention from the internet. This was a big deal, because most people thought that it would change the way new bands would promote themselves and market. I first heard The Arctic Monkeys because my dad liked them. He bought their music, and I would listen to it with him. Now, five years later, I’ve realized how great The Arctic Monkeys are. The thing that probably got me to listen to them again was that my brother kept talking about how good they were, and I would deny it. Eventually, I realized that I loved them. I think that I always liked the song I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor, but I never really listened to it enough.

My favorite thing about Arctic Monkeys is that their music is fast, original, exciting, and amazing. The songs all very, and they don’t sound the same. The way the songs are written is just amazing. My favorite songs are I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Brianstorm, Fluorescent Adolecent, and Cornerstone. I like I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor because it’s one of the songs that is fast, but still has a lot to it. It sounds great to me, and I like that it has so many different parts to it. One of my favorite parts is the ending of the intro to the song when it goes into a little mini solo. I like Brianstorm because it sounds more like a poem than most songs.  It goes fast and keeps itself going. I like how the song at some parts kind of takes itself apart. What I mean by this is that it will do something, and then it will go simpler, and simpler. I also like the title of it because it just sounds like how an English person would say brainstorm. I like Cornerstone because it doesn’t sound like all their other music. It’s slowed down and it goes simpler. I can relate to the feeling of seeing somebody who reminds you so much of someone you love. I know that I have definitely made the mistake of calling somebody by the wrong name, because they remind me so much of someone else. I think that this is because for just a few moments you wish you could be with that person, only so that you could feel happy. I’m not sure which of these songs is my favorite, but I know that it is between I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor, and Brianstorm. I think these appeal to me the most not because I’m able to form a connection with them, but just because they sound good to me. I like the fact that they’re fast paced, and have so much different stuff going on in them. I like that they are a good punk band that can keep themselves alive outside of the punk era. This is why Arctic Monkeys along with a lot of the other music I listen to is referred to as post-punk revival. I really like Arctic Monkeys, and I hope that you find the same satisfaction in their songs that I do.

Brianstorm

Cornerstone

I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor

Blog #11: Albert Hammond Jr.

Albert Hammond Jr. is an American rock musician. He is the rhythm and sometimes lead guitarist in my favorite band, The Strokes. Along with the lead singer Julian Casablancas, Albert has written some of The Strokes songs. In 2006, Albert Hammond Jr. put out his first album Yours to Keep, and then his second album in 2008, Como Te Llama? Out of these two albums I like Yours to Keep more, the reason being it just has more songs on it that I like it. The only bad thing about writing this blog is that I haven’t been listening to his solo stuff for very long and I haven’t really listened to all of it. The reason I know about his solo work is because my brother had me listen to it. My brother and I both love The Strokes, so that’s how we know about Albert Hammond Jr. It wasn’t any more than two months ago when I first started listening to his music. The first song I heard by him was In Transit, and that is still my most favorite song by him.

My favorite thing about his music is that it sounds so good to me. Basically all of his work is original, and it just has so much going on. I love the way the instruments he uses sound. He uses a synthesizer in a lot of his songs, and I love the way it sounds for some reason. It sounds kind of like a harmonica, but not really. My favorite songs by him are In Transit, 101, Hard to Live in the City, and Everyone Gets a Star. My favorite thing about 101 is the guitar riffs in it, they sound so catchy. My favorite one is the one that opens the song, and the one that is in the chorus. Everyone Gets a Star appeals to me because it’s just a good song. It’s slow and simple, yet it is still amazing. The chorus in the song just sounds so good to me. The instruments all get put together and sound amazing, and then when he comes in with the synthesizer it gets better. My favorite line in this song is, “Today, you came, now go, away.” My favorite song though, is In Transit. This song has such a positive message, and was put together so well. In the song’s first verse it says, “Free, from the world. I’m not gonna change, ‘til I want to.” I like this line because it’s just relatable, the feeling of not caring what people think, and not wanting to change unless you’re doing it for yourself. The want to be free from the judgment of the world is so normal too. The main thing about his music though isn’t as much the lyrics as it is the instruments in the background. It isn’t just the same four chords going the whole time, or your typical instruments. He incorporates things that aren’t heard as much, and he makes it sound good. His music makes me appreciate every little thing that goes on in the background of songs. I love these songs, and I hope you like it just as much as I do.

In Transit

101

Blog # 10: Drugs, Alcohol, and Music

If you aren’t a complete idiot, then you know that the majority of musical artists around have at one point, or another done drugs. If you listen to “popular” music these days, then you have to realize that more than fifty percent of it is about sex or drugs. I read a brief article about a book called Everybody Must Get Stoned: Rock Stars on Drugs, this article sums up a few of the points that the book makes. Most of it being, nearly all artists have or still do drugs, I always knew this before, but to read a couple of articles about it was kind of interesting. In this article it quotes the book saying that, “Lots of good music has been made by people on heroin.” I know that the music that I listen to was probably made while some musician was high, and I embrace that because I realize that the music most likely wouldn’t have been as good if they were sober. I have no problem with people doing drugs, but when it comes to musicians doing drugs, I just expect it.

 In today’s culture, the rappers that are famous are all high, and their songs are all about how they love to smoke weed. I hope you don’t think that I like that, because if you did you would be wrong. Musicians who do drugs so that they can be more creative with the music that they make, and see a whole new side to things is better than musicians who just worship drugs. Most articles suggest that musicians don’t just do drugs to make better music, but also to relieve stress. Kurt Cobain was a very famous grunge artist who was from the band Nirvana. When they became famous he realized he didn’t quite like it. He thought his music was misinterpreted, and that caused him stress. Cobain went to drugs to relieve his difficulties, but because he was stressed out by his fame, he commit suicide. This relates to one of the quotes from the same book which was, “Conversely, lots of good musicians have stopped making music (as well as breathing) because they took heroin." I feel bad for musicians like this, but at the same time I know it’s their fault. One of my favorite rap groups is Atmosphere, I like them because they don’t rap about what a typical hip-hop artist does. One of my favorite songs by them is F*ck You Lucy, Lucy is a theoretical person who represents alcohol. This song is a great song that has a good message, basically don’t let alcohol infect your life like the singer did, this could be said as well for drugs.

In musical culture drugs and alcohol are nearly impossible to get away from. The reason so much music is about them is because so many musicians use drugs and alcohol. I can’t say that I’m disappointed in the musicians who let these things destroy their lives, because they made their impacts on the world, and that can’t be taken away from them. I won’t say that drugs and alcohol are wrong, because who am I to say that? It’s your own choice, and your own life. I personally love many artists who have done these things, and when some of their songs are about drugs. I hope that you wouldn't judge a musician by their public problems, before listening to their work. Below is the link to the short article I read, and a couple of songs influenced by drugs/alcohol. I am going to end this post with a quote from the book Everybody Must Get Stoned: Rock Stars on Drugs that made me laugh, “It's not my intention to encourage or discourage consenting adults to use mind-altering drugs.... Have fun with this book, but not too much fun, unless you want to end up like that doper Paul McCartney—a healthy, vital, talented billionaire who was knighted by the Queen of England.”

http://reason.com/archives/2009/05/13/everybody-must-get-stoned-rock

F*ck You Lucy-Atmosphere

Cocaine-Eric Clapton

Marijuana-Kid Cudi

Blog #9: Kanye West

One of my favorite rap artists nowadays is Kanye West. There is something about him that makes me love him and his music so much. The fact that he isn’t like every other rap artist these days makes him good. In Kanye’s career as an artist he has put out five solo albums, The College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, 808’s and Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and lastly, his collaborative album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne. I think that each one of these albums is good. I think the fact that Kanye West was a producer before he started to make his own music helped him a lot. I can’t honestly say that I remember when I first heard Kanye, or how I was introduced to his music. When I first heard it I probably didn’t like it, but years after I’ve realized that he is a truly good artist, and deserves a lot of recognition.

My favorite thing about Kanye’s music is that it doesn’t sound like everybody else’s, when he samples songs he doesn’t just do one type of music for it. In fact he has sampled more than ten different genres of music. Earlier I said that I think his experience as a music producer helped him to make good music later on in his life. I think this because it gave him more grounds to be creative, and learn how to make good, catchy songs. There are several songs that I love by Kanye, so I will try to narrow it down. Some of my favorites by him include Touch the Sky, Can’t Tell Me Nothing, Power, Good Morning, and Jesus Walks. All of these songs appeal to me in their own little way, and are all just very catchy. I like Touch the Sky because of the message it sends, it’s just simple, you can basically do whatever you want. All you have to do is put your mind to it, and you can make your dreams come true. I like the song Power because it just gets me kind of excited, a lot of his songs have this effect on me. They just get me pumped up, and I like it. I like this song just because it sounds so good when I listen to it; it just flows together so nicely. Off of his collaborative album Watch the Throne, my favorite songs are No Church in the Wild, Otis, and That’s My Bitch. No Church in the Wild is one of the songs that get me going, it pumps me up, and it gets me started. I think that it’s just a great song that is catchy, and speaks well. I like Otis because it’s just a good rap song, it seems more like a 90s’ sort of rap song. I think this just because of the fashion that it is in, where it’s two guys just kind of passing off between verses. My favorite line in this song is in one of Kanye’s parts where he says, “Luxury rap, the Hermes of verses. Sophisticated ignorance, write my curses in cursive.” This line just sounds so cool to me, and is probably his best line on the entire album. It’s tough for me to describe why I like rap songs, it just has to do with whether it’s catchy, has a good message, fun, or just amazing. I hope I did a good job in convincing you to listen to his music. If you listen to his music you’ll realize he is a little ignorant, and self-obsessed, but rightfully so. I think that all of that adds to his music and makes it better, the fact that he can rap about it makes it cool. I hope you will enjoy Kanye West’s music just as much as I do.

Good Morning

Otis

No Church in the Wild

Blog #8: If you can get it for free, why pay for it?

I believe that the SOPA movement is wrong, and isn’t necessary. There are some things that I take into consideration when I think about what SOPA is trying to have done, and I think that it might not be that bad. However, overall I’m against what they want. I like going on the internet and listening to music, a site that I might do that on is Youtube. If the SOPA movement is passed, I wouldn’t be able to do that. At the end of the day, it winds up being stupid, mostly because musical groups have contracts with Youtube, and are paid for how good their music does. Another site that would most likely wind up shut down would be Fandango. This is even stupider, because when I go on this site it is because I want to see when a movie will be playing, if I’m looking at show times it is because I want to pay to see a movie. Then that money will be distributed with the company that made the movie I’m seeing. Sites like these shouldn’t be shut down, as a country we need to continue to change from generation to generation, and make things easier on ourselves. If we begin to shut down sites like these, then we will strip ourselves of whatever revolutionary elements we have added to our lives to make them easier. Another site that I see would be shut down is Twitter, while I don’t care for Twitter I do think that it’s is stupid for it to be shut down. It would be shut down because many tweets would have relation to things that have already been copyrighted by others. I think this is dumb because lots of people are influenced by things that famous people do. If a teenage girl is following her celebrity crush on Twitter, and he tweets that he just watched a movie and loved it. Then that girl will most likely be stupid enough to go and out make sure she sees that movie just because the man she dreams about “loved” it. Now you see how this would be something that would help people trying to sell their ideas. Now, if you go further and think about somebody who has millions of followers on Twitter, then millions of those followers will go and out and possibly pay for that movie. I hope you see my side of the fight that what SOPA is doing is wrong, however I do understand partially why they’re right.

I think about the tons and tons of people who make music, and that is their job so they need to make money from it. I wonder sometimes how people are still able to make a living out of being a musician. More than half the people listening to their music won’t buy their whole album, and more than half the people listening to their music might not even pay to hear it. I’m not just talking about listening to it on Youtube, but also downloading music off the internet for free. If you can get it for free, why pay for it? I think about my own personal life, and I think about how if I were a musician how angry I would be that people are basically stealing my music. I've come to the conclusion that you shouldn't steal people's music, even if you don't view it as stealing. I’ve downloaded music off the internet, and I feel bad when I do it. Even if it’s somebody who doesn’t “need” those fifty cents they’re going to get from Itunes, I still feel bad. In my thoughts it went how do people still have albums going platinum? Then it became how do people still make a living off of music? I hope you will think about these things next time you listen to a song on Youtube, or download a song off of the internet. I’ve made up my mind about whose side I’m on in this fight. I’m not saying that you should never listen to a song on Youtube, or ever download a song off of the internet. I personally don’t care what other people do. All I’m saying is that before you decide that SOPA is stupid, try and think about both sides of the fight.