There are uneventful weeks, and then there's this week. You might have seen from my Instagram that I've been making frequent updates on my antics on GTA San Andreas, I've been so bored. Tell you what though, I've never found standing outside a girlfriend's house so much fun, I waited there for two days and she still didn't come out. I can't think why.
So as I've had a boring week, I've returned to my old music favourites to keep me sane.
The Used - Shine
Similar to the comeback we've seen from Fall Out Boy in recent weeks, this later track shows the transformations that The Used have gone through over the years. In places, they're just as heavy as they always were, but their new album Vulnerable is so much more versatile, energetic and positive, those of us who have grown up with The Used firmly planted in our hearts welcome this optimistic approach.
You, Me and Everyone We Know - Livin' Th' Dream
If you've never heard of these guys, then you've missed out on the best of pop-punk. Imagine Andrew WK with a more revengeful, Panic At The Disco twist and you've got You, Me and Everyone We Know. They didn't last long together which isn't good because I love their style, their songs really empower you no matter what mood you're in. I even persuaded my friends to sing their song Happy Birthday to me on my 18th birthday, for some reason I liked the lyrics...
Happy birthday, you're 18, the only thing that means
Is you're old enough to strip, still too young to have a grip
On the high cost of each dollar, the impact of your father
On every shitty guy you'll date
Every piss poor decision you'll make...
Falling In Reverse - Pick Up The Phone
If Ronnie Radke phoned me, I'm pretty sure I'd pick it up. This is pure FIR, and it gets stuck in your head within seconds. If you don't want to be imagining Ronnie naked all night, don't listen to this.
Escape The Fate - Issues
Ronnie Radke's ex-band Escape The Fate, in my eyes, improved when he left, but that's only because I love Craig Mabbit's vocals with a passion akin to the fires of hell. This is one catchy anthem to teenage angst, but as you can tell from this week's playlist - angst is back in fashion.
So what have you been listening to this week, eh? Let me know in the comments!
I'm so sorry I forgot to get a Playlist For The Week done last week, I chose Sunday as the day to start (and finish!) an essay, and this post completely slipped my mind. I'm sure we've all felt that kind of void when all your work is done, you just don't quite know where to put yourself. For me, the hardest decision has been what side of the sofa to sit on.
Sadly, this post is not exhilarating, as I've been listening to the entirety of Fall Out Boy's new album all week, I've not been very varied in my listening, so apologies for the following four tracks. But if you've never heard them before, perhaps this is a chance to discover something new!
Fall Out Boy - Alone Together
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, this is one of my favourite songs from the new album. It's certainly my most played, anyway. It's catchy, it's summery, but it's in-keeping with FOB's old style to a degree. It has to be heard to be believed really, but I can see this becoming a good summer anthem.
Forever The Sickest Kids - The Way She Moves.
Okay, this is a very corny song. FTSK are quite corny in general but I just love them, when I can't be bothered with songs with super deep meanings, when I just need a bit of optimism, I reach for their tracks and I instantly find myself in a great mood.
Vains Of Jenna - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
One of my favourite Elton John covers, Vains Of Jenna are actually fantastic. Ever since they appeared on Bam's Unholy Union, I fell in love. This cover is very similar to the original, with a slight alteration in the mood of the vocals, it's a bit more revengeful and glam. Of course, this Elton phase has been brought on by his astounding contribution on Fall Out Boy's new album, so if you haven't heard that already, then here it is...
Fall Out Boy - Save Rock And Roll feat. Elton John.
I won't ramble about this because I've already given you an ear-bashing about it in my post yesterday, but this could very soon become my favourite Fall Out Boy song.
So that's what I've been listening to this week, apologies again for the boring playlist, what have you been listening to?
Alas, another week is over. This week I've probably been more busy than before, essays here and essays there. I'm procrastinating one right this minute, but through no fault of my own, I've lost enthusiasm, so in order to bring it back, I write blog posts.
So my playlist for this week hasn't been all that creative, adventurous or even startling, but they're all connected by their evocative, rather morbid music videos.
Fall Out Boy - The Phoenix.
The video for this new song came out on Monday, and I sneakily watched it in my lecture because I was just too excited. However, the room was bright and my laptop brightness was down, so I assumed I was watching Patrick Stump writhing around on a table. I even tweeted that it was turning me on a little bit. I then felt disgusted for myself when I rewatched it that night and saw the cutting off of his hand. That's DEFINITELY not what I saw the first time around! I'm a lot less turned on by that now.
However, enough about the video, the song is just what I was waiting for from the new FOB album, it's a majestic return to everything I used to love them for - the powerful revenge themes. I'll be honest, I was a tad concerned with the release of My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark that the entire album was going to be dance-associated, like Patrick's solo career, but thankfully The Phoenix rose from the ashes and lifted my spirits again. These lyrics are up there with the best FOB creations out there, just the cry of 'put on your war paint' is powerful and evocative.
Alice Cooper - Bed Of Nails.
When I have a bad day, I put this song on and I instantly grin, regardless of where I am, on a crowded bus or walking down a busy high street. It's the most hideously disguised sex song, 'I'm gonna drop you like a hammer on a bed of nails', come off it Alice, we all know what you're thinking. It's the cheesiness of the lyrics that make it more amusing and suggestive, if he was skirting around the subject, I'd have probably kicked him out of bed by now.
Disclaimer: I'd never kick Alice Cooper out of bed.
Especially not after this music video.
The Used - Blood On My Hands.
In the wake of the MCR split (yes, I'm still rattling on about it), I've come to realise that my only favourite band is still together, and that's The Used. I've loved these guys for a decade and with every album they've only improved. I received some criticism over the FOB return that I was supporting their new material when it was clearly so drastically different from their old tracks, but having seen The Used's career develop, it's a perfectly natural progression for a punk rock band to end up making the music they do now, and it's fine, because I love their new music, I've grown up along with them and to ignore their new material would be to disregard the band entirely. They're still the ones making the music, they've not become different people. Anyway, Blood On My Hands is the track that defines The Used's change from the heavy emotional start to where they are now - heavy and after revenge.
The video is priceless too, if you've ever felt there was no justice in the world for people such as online predators or the people who exact revenge upon those predators, then you might want to watch this video.
I can safely say The Used are my favourite band because there's not one of their tracks I dislike, I can't say a bad word about them.
Except maybe that they haven't headlined a tour here for a while...
So that's it for hard-hitting music videos this week, what have you been listening to lately?
Sorry this isn't posted on a Sunday as always, I was ridiculously busy yesterday! This week has flown by in a whirlwind of essay writing and helping out at open days, and of course the bad news which I blogged about on Saturday, but in case I'm overloading you with MCR grief, I'll only briefly mention them in this week's playlist.
Tom Jones - It's Not Unusual.
Yes, I did say last week that I'd tone down the cheese. But I've been watching Mars Attacks every time it's been on TV this week, so Tom Jones has been residing in my brain for the majority. I'm not even sorry.
Andrew WK - Got To Do It.
I can't quite explain why this appeared this week of all weeks, but I found the chorus dancing around my head when I was writing an essay, so for the sake of satisfying my clearly deprived mind, I kept it on loop throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.
Billy Talent - Fallen Leaves.
I've been having severe Download withdrawals lately because I know I'm not going this year and this saddens me greatly. However, I've kept my head high with Fallen Leaves, which reminds me of the drive home from last year's festival, I can remember driving through Derby to the tune of this as if it were yesterday.
Falling In Reverse - The Westerner.
Thanks go to Katie for reminding me how amazing this song is. It's one of those revenge tunes you can whip out whenever you're down and it gives you that empowered 'bitch please' mood. Works like magic, I'm telling you.
My Chemical Romance - The Light Behind Your Eyes.
For me, this song defines My Chem's entire career. The message that you should never let someone 'take the light behind your eyes' is insanely powerful in the light of their split. I could go on for ages about how much they've meant to me for the last decade, but that's all in my post from this weekend. No doubt I'll be writing another of those kinds of posts soon, but that's to be expected when a band such as MCR saved my life as a teenager, and to see that band disappear in front of my eyes through an uncharacteristically short blog post (and now a lengthy tweet from Gerard Way), I'm devastated to say the least.
I've been digging into the deepest, darkest recesses of my brain to find a better title for a weekly post, and this is what I came up with. Smashing, isn't it? A work of art. Anyway, you know the drill, a week goes by, on Sunday I tell you what I listened to in that week. It might be one track, it might be an album, it might be the most haywire, unrelated playlist you've ever known, but it's what's got me buzzing during the week!
This week, it's two songs and two versions of each. I have a severely bad habit of playing a song on loop when I've fallen in love with it, and even after a week of hearing it non-stop, I still listen to it more because I either haven't memorised the lyrics yet or I just simply haven't got bored of it. Then, I check if there are any covers to immerse myself in further. This week is testament to that bad habit.
The first is Read Em And Weep by Barry Manilow, but it was originally a Meat Loaf song. This is a rare occurrence where I fall in love with the cover before hearing the original, but still love the original regardless of my devotion to the cover.
Of all Meat Loaf's back catalogue, why cover Read Em And Weep? Not that I can speak for the Manilow himself, but I'd assume the reason is because Read Em And Weep doesn't have the cult following as, say, Paradise By The Dashboard Light or Bat Out Of Hell, so there's no real danger of offending the die-hards and there's still plenty of room to place his own stamp on it. I also think it suits Manilow's style a lot more, while the occasional references to physical intimacy don't suit his typical suave but chivalric output, I think it gives him a nice edge, something he should try a little more often, but of course, in moderation.
Meat Loaf v Barry Manilow?
It's a tough battle but it's not unwinnable.
Vocals - I adore Meat Loaf's emotive choruses, when he reaches the climax of the bridge, his voice reaches the old familiar Meat Loaf notes we know and love, but the Dead Ringer album wasn't his greatest vocal work due to illness, so that forgives his blunt vocals. But Manilow's version does exactly the same in it's own right. They both convey the emotion in the lyrics to the best of their ability, and in my eyes, they're absolutely on par. Personally I'd give the edge to Manilow for the way he extends his lyrics slightly, Meat ends his notes quite abruptly and I prefer fluidity, but that's what makes Meat Loaf and that album in particular so revolutionary.
Manilow's vocals really drag me into feeling guilty for hurting him. I really feel as if he's standing in front of me, pleading with me to look him in the eyes. With Meat, I'm rooting for him, pleading the girl he's talking about to listen to him and look him in the eyes. It feels a little indirect in comparison with Manilow's direct plea, straight from his heart to mine. Manilow's best lyric has to be 'for the memories still alive in the bed, for the lies we believed', he extends that last note beautifully, really putting some power behind it. Watch any performance of Barry's live and you'll see which songs he prefers straight away, he puts his heart and soul into his best songs and this is definitely one of them.
Composition - I'd say Manilow's backing singers were better, I didn't get the same spark from Meat's two singers. But giving Barry the edge would be a little criminal considering his version was released 2 years after, so he could adjust the features Meat didn't get spot on. I also prefer Manilow's instrumental composition, the soft solemn guitar contrasting with empowering drums and a lot of priority given to the strength of the piano, it flows neater, but that's primitive to every Manilow production, so that can't be pinned on Meat, because his version has 'Meat Loaf' written all over it.
Music Video - However, in the music video stakes, I have to say Meat Loaf wins hands down. His story is easy to follow - a man, a typewriter, a microphone and a girl. And the awkward two backing singers totally cockblocking the entire situation.
As for Manilow - Barry and numerous topless men dressing up for a stage production, incessant cuts to an irrelevant woman strutting in front of a mirror, Barry comes out in full clown costume, face paint included, singing to a crowd of a handful of people including a clone of himself who sings back to him. Don't believe me? See for yourself.
That being said, the two are complete icons in their own right and their equally indomitable fanbases speak volumes, so it's very tough to compare. I've not been a huge Meat fan but I'm a Rocky Horror maniac so he's always been in my good books.
Another Barry Manilow cover from this week's playlist is Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, originally by BJ Thomas.
The reason I like this song so much? This scene in Spider-Man 2. EVERY TIME I hear this song, I see slow-mo strutting Tobey Maguire in my head and everything's alright with the world.
BJ Thomas v Barry Manilow?
This is a dilemma, because I've loved this song for as long as I can remember, but the BJ Thomas original was the only version I knew existed, and I was introduced to the Manilow cover by chance last month as I scoured YouTube for his covers.
Bask in the artistic photographic montage. Bask, I tell you!
Vocals - You can hear Barry giggling to himself twice in his version, and the entire song is sung in a jokey tone, which I feel detracts from the meaning - nothing's worrying me, I won't let things get me down. To others I'm sure it makes it more light-hearted and comical, I don't have time to laugh at anything other than slow-mo strutting Tobey Maguire!
Composition - I have to give this round to BJ Thomas, because his is a lot less rushed than Barry's, as I said before, you can tell when Barry isn't keen on a song and it shows with this. In this case, Barry's not used the time between the original and his cover to focus on the improvements he can make, he's just covered it, and in many ways that's an admirable quality, because he's not sizing up the competition or looking to benefit from bringing the original down a notch.
As much as I love Barry, I have to give the edge to the original, but Barry wins on musical chivalry.
Of course, there are a fair few songs Barry Manilow has covered in his time, for example Journey's Open Arms, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time, and frankly, I love every single one of them. There's not one song I feel he's ruined.
I promise next week, my music taste will be more adhering to my stereotype. I've had too many run-ins this week passing fellow goff detectives who are blasting metal through their earphones and I'm strutting along to Barry Manilow. I have a few Ghost songs lined up in conjunction with my March Metal Calendar Challenge so I'll return to normal this time, I fully apologise if you don't like/care about Manilow. I can't help that I do. Believe me, I've tried.
