My iPod #264: Green Day - Desensitized

The hours have rushed by, haven't they?

I am now back from my venture to Liverpool for the weekend, and it is time for the first of two posts.

First up is "Desensitized", a song by Green Day which was recorded whilst the band were working on "Nimrod". Apparently, they didn't feel as if it was the best to come out of those sessions. It wasn't released on the album, but as a B-side on the "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" single. However, Australians and the Japanese are fortunate to have it on their versions of the album. It later got released on the bands B-side compilation "Shenanigans" which came out in 2002.

I'd never listened to "Shenanigans" before and one day decided..... that I should. Out of the fourteen tracks on there, I only really like four of them including this one. It isn't amazing. You can tell why they didn't make it onto their albums they were recorded for. "Desensitized" had the potential more than most of the others.

Mike Dirnt, the band's bassist, completely beats the crap out of a lot of things with a baseball bat for the first twenty seconds or so. I don't really understand why, but the sounds of various items breaking upon the bat's impact segues into the song's main riff - one that alternates between G and C (I believe) starting and stopping to allow Billie Joe to fill the silences with the vocals. That's just the verses though. Listen to the song, if you like it then you're welcome.

My iPod #263: Animal Collective - Derek

A very early post today. I will soon be off to visit my friend at his uni for his birthday so in order to prevent myself from having to do three entries when I come back on Sunday, here is the "Derek" - the last track from Animal Collective's 2007 album "Strawberry Jam".

I recently listened to "Strawberry Jam", about a week ago or so. The only other album I had listened to in full was, what is probably considered to be their best, "Merriweather Post Pavilion". That album sounded like it was recorded in another universe, and considering 'Best Ever Albums' had "Jam" rated as their second best I thought I might as well give it a listen. First to see how it sounded, and to figure out whether it was as good.

I can conclude that I do like "Strawberry Jam". I'll have to listen to it again because it normally takes me more than one to really get into any album. But "Peacebone" and "Derek" were ones that left a mark.

"Derek" did because of its time signature changes and innocent melody further accentuated with Panda Bear's lyric where he 'talks' to his child about Derek, the old dog he used to own. He realises that he didn't take care of him that well, and is not prepared to make the same mistake again now that he was a parent. He is ready to take on this great responsibility. A sudden clap begins the triumphant ending where Panda lets his child know that he/she can always count on him when the time comes along with a rampant stomping beat a bit similar to "We Will Rock You".

A very heartwarming way to finish an album.

My iPod #262: Babyshambles - Delivery

"Delivery" was the first single from "Shotter's Nation", the second album by Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band Babyshambles.

The song was important enough that its music video premiered on Channel 4 at a ridiculous time when a lot of people were bound to be asleep including myself. So I didn't see it until the next day, when it was repeated many times on MTV2.

Being the first new piece of material the band had released since "The Blinding EP", and their first new song I'd heard since the slow and pretty tame track "Love You But You're Green", "Delivery" did not disappoint.

Alongside a riff that sounds like an early Kinks track is an earnest lyric from Doherty. He's not feeling great - forlorn and frozen beneath the summer, in his words - and so to relieve the strain he writes this song - the delivery - that comes from the bottom of his heart. I guess this was his way of stating what he was really going through while everyone was going on about his drug abuse and legal problems. All very sad. I like it.

My iPod #261: The Offspring - Defy You

"Defy You" is a track The Offspring recorded for the movie "Orange County"* in 2001. The song was released after the band had released their most album "Conspiracy of One" the previous year, and so it was only available on its single release until 2005 when it appeared as the twelfth track on the band's greatest hits compilation. It is also their last single featuring original drummer Ron Welty, who coincidentally is focused on a lot in the song's video.

The track differs a lot in attitude compared to the band's other singles. I had heard "Original Prankster", "Hit That", "Job" and obviously "Pretty Fly" which, when you look at the lyrics for those particular examples, are quite funny songs which aren't really meant to be thought upon that much. But "Defy You's" message of never giving up and standing up for what you believe was something that I did not expect and struck me when I first saw it on the TV. This was a serious Offspring single I was listening to.

I like their 'jokey' singles, but "Defy You" is one that does not pull any punches. There are no "uh-huh, uh-huhs" or references to popular culture - only a heavy performance and a great vocal by Dexter Holland. It is possibly the coolest track the band have ever done.

My iPod #260: Billy Talent - Definition of Destiny

You know what I just figured out? Literally a few minutes before typing this, every last song on Billy Talent's albums from "Voices of Violence" to "Dead Silence" went through my mind. Despite differences in tempo, structure and everything - all of them are in D major... I wonder why that is. Do you think that they even realised this? Has anyone else pointed this out before? What the hell, Billy Talent, what the hell. They are all solid tracks, I have all of them on my iPod, but they have to use another key sooner or later, right?

On with today's song.

"Definition of Destiny" is the final track on Billy Talent's third album "Billy Talent III", the last of their usual Roman numerical naming order, released in 2009. Normally the last songs on Billy Talent albums are worth the wait, and the same applied to "Definition" too. It is quite similar to "Burn the Evidence" in that the instrumentation during the verses mirrors the reflective and observational lyrics, staying at a steady beat and keeping a cool rhythm with guitar arpeggios, before turning the levels up and continuing into a stomping and chord heavy chorus which puts emphasis on the intense message of living life to the full your own way before ending up in the casket. Good way to end an album all in all.

I won't say too much about listening to the album for the first time or how I felt waiting for its release; I'll probably save that for "Devil on My Shoulder". However, I will simply state my opinion which is that 'III' is not their best work. Some may agree, others may not. The album is okay, but not as good as their first two. The production is different (which is understandable as they used the same producer for the two before) but the tracks lack in something as a result. Less of a bite in guitar tone, perhaps. But most importantly.... there is barely any screaming. That was a disappointment on first listen.

My iPod #259: The Futureheads - Decent Days and Nights

When I was standing on a chair in the living room and being an idiot like every other child, the original video for "Decent Days and Nights", the song from The Futureheads' debut album came on MTV2. In the video, the band were in a huge warehouse, standing on podiums whilst playing their instruments. That video seems to have disappeared, as it's not even on YouTube. Does anyone else remember the version I am talking about? It is cool if you do.

No, the video above is one they produced when they re-released the single in 2005. That was the radio mix, which included a new introduction and overall cleaner production. The version I listen to is the original album version, which is the opposite. The guitars sound a bit rough and messier, I swear I always hear this hissing sound during the 'chorus' but apart from that the punchy drums, those sweet harmonic vocals the band are known for and the song structure is the same.

I also didn't recognise until recently why I thought this song was a bit disorienting. The time signature changes throughout the bloody thing. It is 4/4 for the majority, but it switches to 3/4 and 2/4 too. It's very strange, but does it makes the track a lot more fluid. The verse just rolls right into the 'chorus' (which it doesn't really have hence the apostrophes) which then segues into the bridge and so on and so forth. Not one section drags on for too long and so it maintains your attention.

Another one to remember from the good times that were the mid-2000s.

My iPod #258: Pixies - Debaser

"Debaser" is the crazy, loud and energetic opener to Pixies' 1989 album "Doolittle". Lead singer Black Francis wrote it after seeing a movie where the first scene shows an eyeball being slit by a razor.

I wish I had more to say about this song. But it's just one of those that hasn't had that much impact on my life than it probably has for many other people. I simply like it.

It's not the first one of the band's I listened to, that goes to "Velouria" or "Here Comes Your Man"..... maybe even "Build High" - my memory's fading. But I do think I saw the official video (above) on TV and thought "What the hell, is this even a song?" or something along those lines. Francis' yelling definitely threw me off the first time as it may do for any listener who hasn't heard "Debaser" before. But listening to it along with the other fourteen tracks that accompany it on the album, it all made sense.