Have we all heard of the terms Utopia and Dystopia before? The latter is a perfect society while the former is the opposite. A Utopia can be anything ranging from Heaven to being born rich while a dystopia can be anything ranging from the zombie apocalypse to being forced to watch the Jersey Shore. Obviously this is all relative. For example, some people may actually enjoy watching the Jersey Shore, in which case having to share a planet with such people can be considered a dystopia. Of course some restrictions apply to the entire concept, yaddy-yah, some more relativity, etc.
I have an important point to make about all of this. It’s actually an observation of the world and our culture. Think about every single dystopian movie or novel you have ever read or watched. Anything to do with the apocalypse, any type of horror, or just any world you would prefer not to be in will do. Okay good. Now try to think of every single utopian movie or novel you have read or watched. Anything depicting your idea of a perfect world or coming close to it would do. Ok now is just me, or are there significantly more dystopias in modern culture than utopias? It probably just means that we like to get scared. But does it also have any deeper implications? Can the stories that we surround ourselves with actually transform our course in history? How much does a novel like 1984 affect were we are today as a society?
This was just an observation I made, and something to think about.
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The Most Serene Republic is a Canadian rock group from Ontario. I would to talk about their second album, entitled Population. The only way I can describe this band is Indie. For all intents and purposes, this band shall be named the “apex of indie music” until further notice. Listen to this song.
“The present of Future End” opens with a gentle guitar line. This ends as a drone-pop with horns segment create the ground for a cool song. This part subsides to lyrics. The vocals in this band are an amazing mixture of three vocalists. It creates for a great listening experience as their voices phase in out, taking turn speaking the lines, while the other two offer harmonics. It pretty much approaches downright trippy if you ask me.
Also, you can’t possibly ignore the VOCAL SOLO at 3:25. I don’t know what else to call it, but all I know is that it sounds amazing. The song returns to the drone-pop with horns for an outro and the song ends well.
A strange piano riff and a sleigh bell play around. They give way to “A Career in Shaping Clay.” This song, for simplicity’s sake, is like the others. But one thing that I would like to address is the band’s drummer. This is a great song to appreciate how great drumming in an Indie band can completely make the experience. The lyrics in this song are actually slightly in slow motion, which creates even greater contrast for the drummer to work with.
The ending part at about 3 minutes throws in a beautiful amount of violin and some sort of gypsy flair into the mix. The solo is interesting and ends the song with the perfect amount epicness.
“Solipsism Millionaires” is my favorite song on this album. Another piano intro, but this time much quicker, falls away to some great vocals. The drumming and relaxed guitar strumming make the song sail until hitting a field of sudden cutoffs. The ‘La la la’s’ setup a climactic bout after which the song continues as if nothing had happened. This happens once more and the song ends coolly with some fast singing.
The professionalism of this band is evident and something characteristic of Indie bands. They don’t allow emotions obscure the vocabulary and excellent musicianship. Honestly this all that one can ask for. There’s nothing like some philosophically stimulating music for everyday easy living. And on that note, listen to this final instrumental piece of theirs and enjoy the rest of your day.
&)
-oko
P.S. That last piece is pretty much jazz. Indie is going places I tell you. I also know that this band has had releases since this one. You should go check them out.
So many of our obscure classic rock posts have come from the garage thus far I think I should make a separate category profiling garage-rock bands of the mid 60s. Before the psychedelic revolution there was a large focus on the garage-rock sound (around 1963-1967). The British Invasion – specifically “beat” groups like the Rolling Stones, The Animals, and the Kinks had a large influence on these bands, as did folk-rock groups that were beginning to experiment in America. This mishmash of influences helped form famous garage-rock bands like the Kingsmen, The Count Five, The Syndicate of Sound, and the Leaves (and even the Troggs in Britain). This genre of music provided much inspiration to the future punk music movement and it also laid a foundation for the soon-to-be psychedelic movement which sparked in popularity during the years of around 1966-1970.
But – like with any popular genre – there were bands that fell through the cracks. Today we are going to take a look at the Mourning Reign, a San Jose band that formed in 1965 and broke up in 1969. This band combined the fuzz of garage rock with folk rock. They even played around with hints of psychedelic music.
The band was made up of:
Lead/Rhythm Guitarists: Johnnie Bell, Tom O’Bonsawin, Steve Canali
Rhythm Guitar/Vocals/keyboardist: Jay Garrett
Bass Guitarist Charlie Gardin
Drummer Craig Maggi — Mike Hossack (Doobie Brothers)
Lead Vocalist Beau Maggi
Let’s listen to some tracks.
The first few notes of “Satisfaction Guaranteed” scream garage rock. A fuzzy guitar and well-defined bass provide the rhythmic backing to the introduction. Everything about this song is typical garage sound – from the Jagger-like vocals (which I must say are very well done by Beau Maggi) to the choral harmony. When I first listened to this I thought that it sounded like some song – and then I quickly realized it sounds like 100-or-so songs I know and listen to. So where does it differ? The multiple-guitar solo is wonderful and atypical. This band had a surplus of guitarists and they used them to their advantage. That may be the best part of the song which otherwise is simply a solid, enjoyable garage track.
“Light Switch,” which appears on the same EP, immediately takes a 180 degree turn. It makes you perk up. The band takes from its folk-rock influences, but, more from early 60’s pop melody. The vocal harmonies are fantastic. They are tight and, wait, what was that. Is that a church bell and a plucked acoustic and an accordion. The song transforms into this odd progressive (even psychedelic) segment halfway through and this leads up to rising percussion and a Phil Spector-like wall-of-sound vocal moment briefly. This is an oddly prescient segment. The song ends on a guitars ominous twang. Absolutely the best song by The Mourning Reign and one that should be listened to by all.
Go ahead and type 2012 into google images and click search. Destruction of the Earth, perpetual darkness, that awful movie 2012 – yes everyone Happy New Year to you too. If it was up to Google images we will not make it through the year. But let’s remove ourselves from unfounded apocalyptic prophesizing and talk about something we can control – music released in 2011.
To all of the readers that have helped us eclipse the 500,000 view mark, thank you. I started writing this blog during my Junior year at Binghamton University and it has followed me into the “real world.” This blog truly means a lot to me and I appreciate everyone who reads it (even if we disagree and argue in the comments section!) I hope that I can continue to bring you fresh, interesting content in 2012 (until we all die in some fiery Earth-wide explosion of some kind).
So…moving right along for the first time in 2012, the top 10 songs of 2011 countdown went by incredibly quickly. It is always such a pleasure counting down some of the best songs of the year and I hope everyone enjoyed reading about great songs. In the vein of past countdowns, I will list the top 10 (in case you missed the countdown or want a quick reference guide) with the song and a small blurb from the article about the particular song. With that, let’s begin.
10.) “Summer Song” by Matt Duncan
What I Said: “In a way this song is a microcosm of a summer day at the beach. You ride in on the low groan of a car’s engine, are welcomed by the bright sun and sea breeze, play in the steamy orange sand and salty seawater, and then, just like that, it’s gone. But boy, it was one hell of a day – and song.”
What I Said: “This is a perfect example of vocal precision, passion, and productivity. The three P’s to a good vocal performance. She has a message, displays it well, and does so with such force and delivery that the listener is left in awe. A vocal masterstroke. I’d love to hear more like this!”
What I Said: “The song itself is also memorable. It features barbershop quartet/monk-like background singers that provide this religiously lachrymose backdrop. Darnielle sings the verse in a very observational tone, as if he is simply explaining what is going on. The call-and-response chorus is a treat. I feel as if I can imagine Darnielle singing this in some tenebrous dystopia where, I don’t know, “the heat’s about it break.” The song remains entertaining but somewhat complacent until after the two minute mark where a light shines on Darnielle and he belts out the chorus like a call to action.”
What I Said: “The song rises like a man getting out of bed with a sharp sun puncturing and reflecting off the glass. But it does take a bit of a dark turn that strays away from the happy melody. This dark turn remains for the rest of depressing song. The instrumentation serves as a bit of a contradiction to the lyric. But, when looking into this some more, I actually feel that it’s apt. The music is constant and pretty static. It is wonderfully crafted, but it does not change much. There remains the pounding percussion, same three chords, and similar harmony. I think the song represents a moment in time so well because of this constancy. And that is at least lyrically what the song was supposed to convey.”
What I Said: “Fitz and the Tantrum’s musical styling may come off as a direct homage to the sweet Motown soul and gritty Stax soul of the 1960s. The band makes use of the Motown organ, an airy, bubbly, and inviting organ that was popularized by bands like Motown’s Four Tops. But there is something else there. I believe it can best be described as 60′s R&B/soul a la Indie flavoring with drippings of 80s new wave. A tasty harmonious concoction.”
What I Said: “The first 40 seconds of the song deserve a breakdown. The very beginning of the song features a lone synth over a strung-out note. The synth in trademark M83 fashion (i.e. “Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun” off of 2005′s Before the Dawn Heals Us”) tells a story. It speaks to the listener like a passionate lyric. A low bass is added into the mixture and supports this delicate combination until the song explodes with some more heavy synth, electric drums, and a female vocalists high hum. The resulting combination is flat-out magical. There is no other way to describe it. This combination will persist in the song, both haunting and inviting.”
What I Said: “In “Someone Like You” Adele sings of a lost love and lyrically envisions this ex happy in the future with a wife that is not her and children that are not hers. The relationship with this ex lasted 18 months and Adele thought it would end in marriage – which it clearly did not. Worst of all, the ex got engaged not long after. She is clearly bothered by these thoughts and her vexation shows through her vocal performance, which can best be described as sincere with hints of consternation, preoccupation, fearfulness, and sadness. She is able to tug on these emotions effortlessly”
What I Said: “The song is carried by this creative melody and Zach Condon’s distinctive drawn-out voice that is supported by some back-up vocals in this piece. The horns are simply magical and they totally carry the song, though. That is my point of focus. And at the very end when a lone trumpet can be heard holding onto its last breath over the piano that began the song the listener is shocked to find a somewhat religious aspect to the song – a heavenly togetherness.”
What I Said: “They sing this lyric over and over again, implanting it in the listener’s head. This does two things. First, it hopefully helps achieve the main message that Foster wanted people to take from the song. The song, in his eyes, is an attempt to quell such events by encouraging families and friends to provide love, support, and friendship to children who may seem isolated or violent. The song is also witty and clever. You see, the first few times I found myself listening to the song I couldn’t quite make out the chorus. Then, one day as I was driving and listening, I found myself singing “you better run, run, run, outrun my gun” and I stopped. What did I just say? The song is a giant f*ck you to hipsters because it is a true hipster song (whatever the hell that is). It is adorned with vocal effects, strung-out keys, constant rhythm, an excellent bass, and that whistle finale. And it is utterly catchy and infectious. So you dance to the song and sing the lyric and then feel terrible for singing it. In a way this also adds to the song’s overall effect. If Foster wanted to make people even more aware to the potential dangers of lovelessness and youthful alienation, then he did a pretty good job with this song.”
“And , when Simon’s climbs the ladder and meets the Lord he can only muster up this:
Lord, is it Be Bop a Lula? Or ooh Papa Doo? Lord, Be Bop a Lula? Or ooh Papa Doo? Be Bop a Lula.
When I first heard this I laughed hysterically. There is something so wonderfully funny and truthful about this lyric. Finally, in Simon’s world, man is given the chance to talk to the creator – the being who has apparently sponsored humanity and has all of the answers one seeks. Yet the only thing the character can muster up is gibberish. A mistaken song lyric. And perhaps that’s all there is. Well at least in the realm of this song. And how refreshing the song’s melody is as well. It features a fun rhythm backed by Simon’s 12-string acoustic guitar, a neat guitar riff, some hip percussion, a sax, keys, and even an accordion. The rhythm is proficient and quite fitting. It is a pleasure to continue listening to Simon’s effortless voice over create, transforming rhythms. He is a master at what he does and his musical themes will never get old.”
The Music Court 