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"He says that when he first wrote the song, he wrote 126 verses to it. Young: "Now, you can imagine that I had a lot of trouble figuring out what four verses to use... I was underneath the stairs at the time... Anyway, this verse that I wrote... It was the worst verse of the 126 that I wrote. So, I decided to put it in the song, just to give everybody a frame of reference as to, you know, what can happen. What I'm trying to say is, by stopping in the middle of the song, and explaining this to you, is that... I think it's one of the lamest verses I ever wrote. And, uhh...it takes a lotta nerve for me to get up here and sing it in front of you people. But, if when I'm finished singing, you sing the chorus 'Sugar Mountain' super loud, I'll just forget about it right away and we can continue." He then continues with the "worst verse", about being "underneath the stairs... And [...] giving' back some glares, To the people that you met, And it's your first cigarette".
"Within a deceptively simple framework, the Boys have pulled off something quite remarkable, which can be fully understood only by peeling away its various layers. As befitting its ostensibly Japanese subject matter, the words are in the style of traditional Japanese poetry, striving for economy of language. While it doesn't fit the standard pattern of that most well-known of Japanese poetic forms, a haiku (three lines of five, seven, and five syllables), it's very haiku-like (three lines of eight, nine, and eight syllables). And like a traditional haiku, it focuses on a particular season of the year—in this case, autumn. But whatever you can say about the style, it seems most likely that the lyric is a metaphor for middle age. The samurai—a noble warrior figure, signifying a willingness to stand and fight against forces of opposition, whatever they may be, human or otherwise—is now in the autumn of his life (or the "September of his years," to paraphrase the title of a classic Frank Sinatra album from the mid-sixties). The lyrics neatly juxtapose present ("It's not …"), past ("… as easy as it was"), and future or alternate possibility ("Or as difficult as it could be …"). It's important to note that it's not a certain future (that would have been "Or as difficult as it will be"), but rather a possibility expressed as a conditional verb. While the past and present are known factors, the future is always tenuous and unknown. So this, the lyrics suggest, is what a noble middle age is all about: knowing that youth, the years of greatest ease (at least in physical terms), are now behind you and that the most difficult years (old age) are still ahead—if you're lucky enough to have any years ahead of you at all—and standing ready to face them bravely, come what may, as a warrior prepared for battle."
"Moby was famous for his devout Christian beliefs, as well as his environmental and vegan activism. First breaking into the British Top Ten with the 1991 single "Go," he soon established himself in the U.S. as one of the scene's premier producers with 1995's critically acclaimed Everything Is Wrong. After a brief foray into punk rock introduced fans to his other sonic inspirations, Moby transitioned into a new role as a crossover pop star with 1999's seminal blockbuster Play. While his chart success would not reach the same heights again, he maintained his fan base with steady, reliable output, swapping between traditional house tracks and expansive ambient collections into the 2020s. Occasionally, he even dipped back into guitar-based, politicized anthems with side band the Void Pacific Choir. In 2021, he issued his 19th full-length, the reimagined retrospective Reprise. Born Richard Melville Hall, Moby received his nickname as a child, derived from the fact that Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, is his great-great-granduncle."
"Maybe I shouldn't be listening to this as the sun lowers on the last warm afternoon of the year. Clouds hover and obscure the rays from time to time as the soft sounds play. Six months ago this would have fitted well, floaty music and breathed vocals being more apt when the promise of warmth is due. How it will fare in colder months is anyone's guess. Being from Sweden they should be used to cold though, so they'll survive. The problem might be the frailty, in the sunshine it is easy to drift along with the soft vocals and restrained chugging and noodling. The title track is lovely, shimmering and glowing, as does Baby, I'm Not Sure If This Is Love and they surpass anything that St Etienne could muster, which is probably the closest comparable band. Maybe the problem I have is that I don't like that sort of thing over the long haul. Luckily, maybe, they up gear by track six, The Chance I Deserve kicks in like Beck and grooves away happily and I Give Up Too provides a (very) brief intermission of strangeness. Then it's back to afternoon lazing mode, fading in and out with your sleepy brain. Teenage Dreams tells of young love and fits the summery mood of holiday romance, but some of the songs do flounder in the soft air, Karen Song being one, coming too close to the Kings Of Convenience, but full of good intentions nonetheless. As We Set Ourseves Free wafts off into the horizon you're ready for something heavier, with more bite, something that will shake the afternoon slumbers away. Still, it's not a bad way to while away the time on a sunny afternoon, just as long as the storm clouds hold off."
"Laurent Voulzy, whose real name is Lucien Voulzy, is a French singer-songwriter who started his musical career at the age of 14. He goes from group to group ("Les tigers", "Les Ellences", "Mark Robson Sound", "Temple de Vénus", "Le Poing" ...) without meeting the expected success until 1974, a very decisive year for him because he will meet a certain… Alain Souchon. Their first collaboration gave birth to the album "Petite Annonce", renamed a few years later "J'ai 10 ans". In 1976 the album "Bidon" was released, then "Jamais content". And finally in 1977, the enormous tube which will explode the singer's career, namely the now legendary "Rockollection".
"In the song, the narrator, Sean Dempsey, who comes from Pimlico, a working-class neighbourhood in the Dublin Liberties, recalls his upbringing. He laments the changes that have occurred in the city since his youth, mentioning the loss of Nelson's Pillar, the Metropole ballroom, the "Royal" (Theatre Royal). He dislikes the "new glass cages", the modern office blocks and flats being erected along the quays, and says farewell to Anna Liffey (the River Liffey)."
"Though the Friedbergers work primarily within music and not literature or film, I argue that their music is literature, especially in the way Matthew's lyrics and Eleanor's performances of those lyrics engage with their personal memories, including their creative recollection of objects and traditions they refer to in their songs. After exploring how the music industry's indie rock category parallels the book publishing industry's literary fiction category, I illustrate how the Fiery Furnaces' allusions to history and popular culture connect the listener's memory of cultural objects to the songs' newly adapted versions. Narrative components like temporality, order, and character, customarily associated with literature or film, are central to the Fiery Furnaces' musical reminiscence. The article concludes by tracing the evolution of those elements in the songs to the endpoint (indeed the “moral") of the Friedbergers' attention to memory, biography, and fiction: that neither music nor text is sufficient to replicate the past, but that a literary approach to music and memory can playfully embrace that reality."
"Alvvays bumps it up a notch on the stereo with the release of their sophomore album Antisocialites. Their sound grew spunkier, as they begin to experiment further with motion and variety within each song. An especially driven song from the new album, “Not My Baby,” tells the story of heartbreak and the inconsistent feelings that come after. “Not My Baby” has an urgency not seen before from the Canadian indie-pop group. Racing rhythms coalesce exciting melodies, all charged by the song’s empowered lyrics. However, what really brings this song to the listener is the variation — fast to slow, flowing to sharp, loud to soft. People can connect to this inconsistency, because that is what the twirling and changing emotions of a break-up feels like. All of this beautifully chaotic musical construction is reflected throughout the lyrics, like the lovely line “Traded my rose-colored shades for a wide lens” and the play on the word “silence” as all the instruments cut out. Ultimately, the song frees you with fading melodies and echoes, sending you off in a soul-surfing bliss as you leave that ex (you know which one) in the dust."
"Sarah Assbring is effortless, not just with her ongoing relationship with music—or even when she walked down the runway for Balenciaga—but in the small intimacies of her everyday life. In Assbring’s world, she takes the good with the bad, and through both, only sees beauty. Creating under the alias of El Perro Del Mar, the Swedish indie pop star has released multiple albums, which all exist in their own respective space, giving way to Assbring’s wide spectrum of references. And while her sound is airy and light, she admits that it doesn’t come without intensive, and somewhat cyclical, emotional labor. “I always end up at that moment where I have to deconstruct everything and fall to the floor, and really ask myself, 'Why do I do this? Is it worth it?' Then I end up having that bare, raw, naked reason where I know, “yes this is the place, this is where I’m supposed to be.”
"Phillips, Kimble, and Peters transitioned from Shiva Burlesque’s more psychedelic and experimental sound to create something unique. Grant-Lee Phillips, the creative force in the band, brought with him a unique voice that could be both hauntingly gentle and powerful, paired with a sombre storyteller's honesty. This combination would form the core of Grant Lee Buffalo’s identity. The band’s early influences were a mix of 70s rock, folk, and country, but it was Phillips’ fascination with American history, landscapes, and personal narratives that shaped the band’s lyrical direction. Their sound was further characterized by the use of unconventional instruments and experimental recording techniques, which allowed them to create a distinct atmosphere in their music."