My iPod #153: Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way

Well, here I am. The end of another letter. It's the end of 'B'. I've been doing this since the day I finished my A-Levels, and now I'm in university. That's crazy. It's weird to think about. It seems very fitting for it to end on this note.

When will 'C' start? God only knows. I wouldn't say this is the end of "My iPod", but I can't see a point in the near future when I'll start writing about my favourite songs in alphabetical order. It's a shame. It will be back... soon. Hopefully.

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The video for this song is now censored when it plays on "MTV Rocks" in the UK. It takes out all the best scenes too. Why?! I don't get it.

"By the Way" was the Chili Peppers' first single and title track of the band's eighth album in 2002. The song proved to be very popular in the USA and the UK reaching number one in the many charts they have in the former, and number two in the latter.

The music video features Dave Sheridan (Officer Doofy) who kidnaps Anthony Kiedis with his taxi, a lot of other shit happens, Anthony escapes and Sheridan picks up Chad Smith at the end. It's action-packed to say the least. If you haven't seen it, it's probably one of the best videos that accompanies the tone and mood of the song.

The song initially trolls you with its quiet, Scar Tissue-esque introduction before launching into a pumping combat/style instrumental break driven by Flea's bass and Anthony's rapping before launching into the uprising chorus. It's brilliant stuff to listen to.

I guess that's it. I'll see you when I see you. I hope you'll be waiting for......... me.

Jamie.

My iPod #152: Nine Black Alps - Buy Nothing

I leave for university tomorrow, and I can't wait. So many opportunities waiting for me.... But wait.

Where does this leave "The iPod Times"? Is this finished will I ever get back to this. You'll have to wait for the last song of the 'B' series. Which is also tomorrow. I really don't know what I'll do.

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"Buy Nothing" was released as a free download from the band's website, and was the first taste of new material in two years after their second album "Love/Hate".

I wasn't a huge fan of that album. The band had completely dumped their post-grunge/hard rock approach they had on "Everything Is" and replaced it with - what I think was supposed to be a more radio friendly sound - which just didn't work for me. It's an okay album, but that's really it.

"Buy Nothing" was the sign that everything had gone back to normal. It has a hell of a riff which drives the song along as lead singer San Forrest tells us to forget about the government, advertising and consumerism are meaningless. BUY NOTHING.

That's all there is to the song.  It's one of the heavier songs on "Locked Out from the Inside", it's one of my favourite songs by the band too.

Jamie.

(Sorry for the late post. I'm packing, you see.)

My iPod #151: Weezer - Butterfly

"Butterfly" is the acoustic finisher to Weezer's cult classic "Pinkerton".

It's a slow and solemn number which will make anyone become teary-eyed, especially after listening to the previous nine songs.

"Pinkerton" was written during a period of turmoil for the band's lead singer Rivers Cuomo, and you will never hear anything that could detail the feelings and emotions that he felt as you do in this album.

You should really listen to the album as a whole before listening to the song. At least that may give you something to lean on. When you're sad and feeling lonely, you might not want to listen to "Butterfly". It might make you feel worse.

Jamie.

My iPod #150: Green Day - Burnout

With two hits of the hi-hat and two quick rolls on the snare, "Dookie" explodes into life with its opener "Burnout". The album was Green Day's major label debut and the first words 'I declare I don't care no more', however grammatically incorrect it may be, resonated with many a bummed out teenager of the nineties.

"Dookie" has been in my possession since Christmas 2005 but I never really appreciated it. I'd really only wanted it to hear the transition of "Chump" into "Longview" because I'd read on fan sites that the band liked to do that technique where songs seam into one another. I already owned "International Superhits!", the band's singles compilation, so why would I need to hear any more of their other stuff?

That was a bad mistake. In fact, it wasn't until 2010 when I sat down and listened to "Dookie" the whole way through. The album's inclusion on "Green Day: Rock Band" excited everyone, and it made me appreciate the instrumentation even more. I knew Tré Cool was a brilliant drummer, but I didn't know he could do all those fills and rolls, and at such a pace as well. Overall, the songs were quite short but were satisfying in terms of their melodies, structure and quality.

"Dookie" is a fantastic album. Is it my favourite....? It's up there. This song is one of the reasons why.

Also, next year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the album's original release, so look out for any Green Day gigs near you. That might just start playing the whole thing in full!

Get Tré to sing "All by Myself", people.

Jamie.

My iPod #149: Queens of the Stone Age - Burn the Witch

"Burn the Witch" was released as the third single from Queens of the Stone Age's fourth album "Lullabies to Paralyze". That album was their most recent when I started listening to the band's music in 2005, and I can remember the video for the song being shown multiple times on the television.

"Lullabies" is a much darker album, believe it or not, compared to "Songs for the Deaf". The guitars are much harsher and there is an overall sense of gloom and obscurity that is built in each song. "Burn the Witch" is no different. The song begins with these harsh whispers before jumping into its ominous stomping beat which carries on throughout the song along with the contrast of Josh Homme's falsetto vocals with Mark Lanegan and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top's gravelly, lower tones. The bass line which mimics the vocal melody of the verses repeats throughout too, and all of these combined make up a tune which will disturb you to your soul.

The music video builds this feeling of doom with very freaky imagery. It does look quite cheap and you don't know whether to laugh because everything looks fake, but who wouldn't feel a little discomfort if you witnessed a witch with an army of skeletons coming towards you? You wouldn't just feel a little bit frightened. You'd run away, duh.

Have fun. Sweet dreams.

Jamie.

My iPod #148: Billy Talent - Burn the Evidence

"Burn the Evidence" is the closing track from Billy Talent's second album, "Billy Talent II", released in 2006.

By that time I'd been listening to Billy Talent for about a year or so, but it was only their material from their first album. When were they going to release something new? Well, it was when they uploaded their demo for "Red Flag" on their myspace page that I found out that something was coming pretty soon. It was an exciting time.

"Billy Talent II" came out and for me was just as good as their first. The band had a lot less anger in their sound but you could sense that it was still there. The album cover summed up that statement.

"Burn the Evidence" describes the scene of a man who drives a luxury Sedan, crashes and plummets through the windshield. It's unclear whether this is intentional. I thought it was. Users on songmeanings.com say otherwise. It seems to me that the narrator was also built up for great expectations, those didn't go as planned and so he kills himself. It's not a sad song though. The instrumentation is delivered with determination and the lyrics depict a person thinking forward instead of feeling pity on himself. Whatever it is, it's a very good closer for an album.

Did you know it's in the same key as "Living in the Shadows"? I'm very sure they are the same structurally too. I sing the bridge from "Shadows" to the instrumental break in "Burn the Evidence" all the time. They are very similar.

Jamie.

My iPod #147: Feeder - Burn the Bridges

It was in the midsummer of 2006 when the advert for Feeder's brand new compilation "The Singles" started to be shown regularly on the television. If anyone doesn't know who Feeder are or you've never listened to their material, "The Singles" is a good place to start. Even though it is a compilation, it is one filled with 20 tracks of their most popular songs.

Out of the twenty, three new tracks were recorded for exclusive inclusion on the album. "Lost and Found" and "Save Us" were released as singles; "Burn the Bridges" was not, and it still amazes me that it wasn't.

In the wake of the compilation's release, Feeder's official website had a major overhaul in design. It was basically changed so it had the same colour theme as the album cover, but it also let users listen to short samples of the tracks that were included. "Burn the Bridges" was the one which I jumped around to and played my air guitar to all around my living room, but before I knew it the sample was over and I had to start from the beginning all over again.

My cousin bought "The Singles" for me and gave it to me as a present on Christmas Day. I then went ahead and broke my original Playstation 2 just as I inserted the disc into it. That was a bad time for me. That's a whole different story.

The point is "Burn the Bridges" is one of Feeder's best. I think it's great.

Jamie.