Well, it's been about a week or so since I wrote here last, and it's been a pretty good week/weekend. I hope everyone is doing well! School has been kicking my ass. Oh well. As far as what I said in my last post about there being a part II to it, you can scratch that, as it will be it's own seperate post one of these upcoming days.
So, tonight I am featuring a new artist, as we have already went through all the Bruce Springsteen albums. So this past weekend, I listened to the first album. And that album was Parachutes by Coldplay. So, yeah, I'm am now gonna feature Coldplay on this blog, along with whatever comes along in the life/entertainment/the world. But now on to Parachutes...
Well, this is Coldplay's first album, released in 2000. I actually first really heard about Coldplay my freshman year in high school. My friend had told me about this movie called Garden State and he let me borrow the soundtrack to it. I checked it out, and the first song on it was "Don't Panic" from this album. I fell in love with the song and that's really where I left it. I listened to that song (and The Shin's "New Slang) quite a bit. I really didn't know it was from this album until I actually bought the album, but hey, it's a small world.
This album has a special place in my heart now because it has been with me through a few certain personal events in my life. So I love the album. I don't think there is one bad song on it, even though Coldplay has stated that they are not really fond of the album. Anyway, I have to disagree with them. You can definitely see some soft rock/indie rock/alternative rock in this album, and I definitely believe this is a "romantic" album. Now, when I say romantic, for this album, I mean being in love with life and the world, as well as with someone else. Coldplay has a very worldly sound to them, and this first album really introduces that sound; their sound. It has a dark but smooth sound to the music, but the lyrics are really (for the most part) very hopeful. The first song really sums up, in my opinion, their music in general, with the lyrics "we live in a beautiful world" in the song "Don't Panic". From there, the album just soars.
It's a very intimite album, which is why I like it. It's a good "soundtrack" to life in general, just walking around the city (at least for me) on any kind of day and it really does rock. That's the thing about this album, it really does put you in a good mood, and on a good day, it just makes it better!
I think the album is also about journeying through your own emotions, as this album lets out a bunch of emotions within you as you really listen to it. But it always gives you the hope as well and the happiness of just being alive and being able to feel.
"Yellow" is always a fun song. When I went to see them live a couple years back with my friend Tom, they had a bunch of big yellow balls tossed around the audience with confetti in them. It was really cool, and it's always fun to hear the song live. They are a really awesome live band as well, it was a GREAT concert! This song also is probably their most popular song from this album.
Some songs you may know from the album: "Don't Panic", "Shiver", "Yellow", "Trouble", "High Speed".
I'll post the video for "Don't Panic" below! Hmmm, so that's that that album. Check it out!
Well, that's all I have for now. See ya'll next time! : )
Well, it's been a few days. Hope everyone is doing fine and dandy! I've had a good week/relaxing weekend, so can't really complain here! There's quite a lot to catch up on, so this is going to be a two part blog, the firs part going up now and the second going up later tonight! So for this blog, I'm going to concentrate on saying my final thoughts and review (for now) of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, as in my last post, we have reached his most recent album to date, Working On A Dream.
First of all, I hope everyone enjoyed going though Bruce's studio album discography with me! It has been a blast going through his history again, and I hope I introduced you to a little bit of "The Boss", The E Street Band, and all their greatness!
So for future reference, along with the other stuff I write on here, I'm going to go through studio album discography of bands and such, along with the music videos and all, and my reviews. Through my years, I have built up a pretty big CD collection (and it always grows) so I'll always have a band to talk about or feature. Of course, I take suggestions on what bands I should also check out, or albums! So recommend away! So yeah, for the previous few weeks, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been the ones featured. But alas, until they come out with another album, we will end here for now!
So why did I pick Bruce Springsteen to feature first? Well, one reason is the New Jersey connection. If you don't know that he is from New Jersey by now, then *slap*. Bruce was born in Long Branch, and grew up in the Freehold Borough, not too far from Asbury Park on the Jersey shore. He now lives in Rumson, New Jersey.
I was also raised in New Jersey, so I can relate to his music. Even if you don't live/are not from New Jersey, you can listen to this music and get a feel for the culture there and such. And you also get a feel for something Bruce was very important for: The Jersey Shore Sound
As far as I'm concerned, we have our own music scene in New Jersey. So who comes from New Jersey? Well, let's see, Bon Jovi, My Chemical Romance, of course Bruce, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Frankie Valli and the Four Season and more! Of course, some have more of a "jersey shore sound" than others, but it is still a very important part to the history of music.
Bruce has always had a bit of Jersey in his music, but I think it's most prominent in his earlier work, such as Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.;The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle; Born To Run and Darkness On The Edge Of Town. What's important is that these show his roots, which, when you listen to later stuff, you can hear the sound still very much in the music. It's hard for me to explain really what the Jersey Shore sound, or the New Jersey sound, is in it, maybe it's the boardwalk style, the street style, the struggle style, but it always has that sound of old school rock and roll to it! Maybe that's it. Maybe it sounds like the roots of rock and roll. Actually while I look it up now, it says on wikipedia that it is "a mixing of pre-Beatles rock and roll, R&B, doo-wop, and the urban culture of the mid-Atlantic states". Now that I read that, it does make sense, good way to describe it, but I would also really emphizise "urban culture of the mid-Atlantic states". I think this may be another reason why I really like it so much, it does really ring a bell with the culture of what I grew up with, as I grew up and spent a lot of time around working class environments and suburbia. I also grew up ten miles outside of NYC, in North Jersey, and a lot of it is urban. All this comes out in Bruce's lyrics a lot, wheather it be about struggles of working class, walking along streets, or just being happy with the essentials of happiness: emotion, love, and hope. Even when we are stuggling to pay the bills or just to get through those endless shifts at work (like me at Holsten's at times haha), at least you have, well, you. It's about loving the little things, which I have come to realize makes life all the more great. Bruce's music is music that we can relate to and that can (and has) brought many people hope and a feeling of not being alone. It's done that for me as well. When I was having a down day and felt trapped in my little hometown in New Jersey, I could drive around, listen to Bruce, and get myself in a good mood. Many of the drives I took to work were drives with Bruce music blasting on my 20-25 minute commute, and I would always hum them while I cleaned dishes, or cooked food, or served people at the counter and I could say "yup, that's me right now" as I did it, refering to a Bruce song. Alas, working in a very "New Jersey"ish diner, I grew somewhat fond of it in my own way.
That's the other thing. Bruce and the band really make you appreciate the working class people. The people who do the jobs that we think aren't so glamourous. Well, SOMEBODY'S got to do them. It also makes you appreciate your life a little more. Some of us are so lucky to be able to have luxuries such as IPhones, fancy cars, fancy clothes and such. Yet, some of us are working a job/jobs for pretty long hours just to pay the bills, have food and a home, feed a family, and save up for other things and have the luxury of nothing but dreaming. A vacation may be walking around in the streets, which in all honesty, I enjoy doing as well. Now, I can't say that I don't have it good, because I do. I go to school, I'm not loaded but I'm comfortable (at least most of the time), and I have many oppurtunities. But I'm by no means rich and I grew up in a middle class house and my dad and I try to save money, but we are happy. I did, however, know and do now know many people who had to work for what they have, and that meant (in some cases) working three jobs. Yet, these people were happy. And it clicked with me, that their stories and Bruce's music and my own dreams are what made me appreciate where I am from and that's why I'm happy with where I am at right now. That's also why I like going on long walks, just sitting and watching (now) the Chicago skyline and (back in New Jersey) driving around New Jersey and occasionally driving into NYC (though I usually take the bus). It took me a long time to appreciate New Jersey, as I used to HATE it with a passion, as many people knew. But, as I was here in Chicago, and as I listened to more Bruce Springsteen and thought about it more, I have come to really appreciate it and like it. It's not my FAVORITE place in the world, but I'm actually quite excited to go back for a week or so this summer!
So in conclusion of all this, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are lengendary and a big part of today's rock and roll and New Jersey culture! They are just amazing and are the definition of modern rock and roll! I hope you will go out on your own and listen to some of his music, as you can see a bit of what New Jersey is all about. And as I have said before, those who think New Jersey is just like "Jersey Shore", I'm afraid you are wrong. I think that's why I hate it so much (as do many people I have talked to in New Jersey), it's a misinterpretation of New Jersey and it's not what New Jersey it all about. Sure, we have quite a few guidos/guidettes that annoy the crap out of us, but not many of us go clubbing every night/have the time to do it and it fails to capture any of Jersey's working class culture or rock and roll history as well as the hope we have living there, wheather it be from faith, dreams, or music. Sorry Jersey Shore, but you are a fail. (p.s., I don't live too too far from where those idiots live on the shore, Seaside Heights).
So I hope you enjoyed going through Bruce's history with me and I will feature another band very shortly. But I hope everyone enjoyed hangin with Bruce for awhile, and I hope you enjoyed some of the songs I posted! There is really none other like Bruce Springsteen and the Legendary E Street Band. I have seen them three times back home in NJ, and seeing them live is an experience! They all have such energy and character, it's a must see show at least once in your life. If you want to check out a recent concert video of his, check out London Calling: Live In Hyde Park which is from his most recent tour. It is pretty much a full concert video and it does a good job capturing their energy, though there is nothing like actually being at one of their concerts! But that should give you a good taste for them.
Well, there is so much more I could say about Bruce, but I will leave it there for now! Here's to the Boss and the Legendary E Street Band! Baby, we were born to run!
What's up everyone?
Well, it's been a few days, and I am very sleep deprived right now so I am gonna make this kind of short.
Not too much going on besides school and writing music. Been coming up with some more lyrics and guitar stuff for a few songs I have in mind. I've found myself concentrating on making the music before the lyrics recently, and it's proving to be alright! So we will see where that goes. I have an offer to record some stuff so that would be great if I could do that before the year is over. Picking and choosing songs has proven a bit difficult too, because there is so many ideas but I know I need to concentrate on a few central ones (at least from what I'm trying to do). So yeah, that's what I've been up to, late night music theory with a friend of mine last night which was awesome! And then came back at like 2:30ish and did some spanish homework, listened to music, procrastinated, and barely got any sleep before my 9:00am dance class, but all and all good day, a bit more on the out of it side but still awesome!
So my friend Phil and I were waiting for a brown line train at the Library stop, when I noticed that some old guy was filming us on his phone from the other side of the track. We were like "woah, that's a bit creepy". So we moved to the other side of the platform....to see him following us with his camera. What. The. Fuck. It was really creepy! What is this guy doing creeping on us? It was absolutely weird. The train came pretty quick after that, but it was just a creepy experience all and all. So watch out for that guy : /
Anyway, so that's my creeper story.
So I'm going to pass out in a few minutes because I have to get up, eat breakfast, hopefully morning swim, type up a paper, shoot a film in the morning, class from 12:30-3:20, study for music theory exam and spanish quiz, dance paper, try to see a dance show, work on more lyrics/music, try to get a little reading in, and then jump off a cliff.
But, these past few days, I did get to listen to the latest Bruce Springsteen album, Working On A Dream, released in 2009. Some of the songs were written during the Magic tour, and they decided to take it from there and make another album, which is pretty fast for Bruce. It's different than Magic for sure, with a less bleak and dark tone. It has a bit more upbeatness to it, but still, like usual, has the Bruce sound. Magic will always be my favorite but this comes pretty close, and the more I listen to it, the more I fall in love with it.
This is also the last album to have long time E-Street Band member Danny Federici on it. He passed away on April 17th, 2008 from melanoma, which he suffered with for three years. The song "The Last Carnival" on the album is ususally played for him (at least on the CD's DVD, which shows a 38 minute long special about the making of the album and has a little memorial clip for him, and also has an extra music video on it for one of his songs he wrote for Halloween, "A Night With The Jersey Devil", which is AWESOME). The song is also considered by quite a few people as a sequel to "Wild Bill's Circus Story", a song off of Springsteen's second album The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. Great album by the way. Anyway, so this album is dedicated to him and he is missed by many Bruce and E Street Band fans. I personally have seen him perform during the Magic tour, and he has such an amazing stage presence on the organ and the accordian. He was such an amazing musician and band member, it's so weird to not seem him on the stage with Bruce anymore. Alas, we all get old : (
All this aside, this is a great album. Some of my favorite songs: "Outlaw Pete" (an 8 minute epic), "Lucky Day", "Working On A Dream", "Queen Of The Supermarket", "What Love Can Do", "Good Eye", "Kingdom Of Days", "Surprise, Surprise", "The Last Carnival", and "The Wrestler" (which is an bonus track, and it is from the movie The Wrestler. It's the song that starts the credits at the end of the movie. It's an amazing song, and I'm sad it got snubbed by the Academy for Best Song. err)
Hey, also check out this website called myfavoritekirby.com. My friend TJ worked on it and it features my friend Kent's work. So check it out and enjoy it, I'm sure you'll find some good stuff there! The link is below!
So that's all I have right now. I'm gonna go pass out. Good night everyone!
What's up everyone?
It's been a few days, and just been a relaxing weekend. Catching up with school work and hanging out with friends and roommates and such. For all you Columbia people or people who have also been on spring break, I hope this week back in school has not been to bad for you!
So I got to listen to the album Magic by Bruce Springsteen, released in 2007.
Well, all I've got to say is: fuck yeah. This is my favorite Bruce Springsteen album ever! It was also the first Bruce Springsteen album I ever bought. I remember going to the K-Mart in my hometown with a friend of mine and seeing it there. I had listened to him before with my father but never really explored his music on my own, so I went ahead and bought it to give it a try. We drove around and listened to the whole album. (while skipping pretty much all my morning classes because of that and going out to get lunch and just driving around NJ and such. I was not a big fan of high school.) After one listen, I was immediately hooked.
This is Bruce's first album with the E-Street Band since The Rising was first released, and they make quite the comeback. This album is pretty much the definition of modern rock and roll today. It brings the Bruce and E Street band elements, obviously, but also brings the music to a new intensity. Every song on this album is raw but spot on, all the instruments being emphizised and everyone giving it all they've got. Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager, classified the album as "a high energy rock" album, and he couldn't have been more right about that. He also said that is has a very "heavy E-Street Band" sound, and there too he is right. I would definitely say that this album is a bit heavier than his other albums and he does it in a way that it still sounds like him.
Also, I remember reading that the songs on Magic were meant to be played live. I can see this, because the songs have such an energy to them that it even sounds like they were played live. It's just pure rock and roll, and I think Bruce always does a great job with this, and Magic is him at his peak.
The themes on this album are little bit more darker and blunt. It still has the working class element to it, but it also has an element in it that sort of like about the country crying for help. It is about really looking at society in America and that state it's in, and also looking for the truth around us, even when the country seems to be slowly coming apartment. It is definitely many kinds of statements that this album is making, and you can get lost in this album very quickly, but letting the music and lyrics take you is the best way to experience this album. It does make you think a bit, so be warned.
I can not express how much I love this album, so I can't really pick any favorite songs on this album, as they are all amazing, so I will write the whole track list for you:
1. Radio Nowhere
2. You'll Be Coming Down
3. Livin' In The Future
4. Your Own Worst Enemy
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Girls In Their Summer Clothes
7. I'll Work For Your Love
8. Magic
9. Last To Die
10. Long Walk Home
11. Devil's Arcade
*12. Terry's Song- bonus/hidden track- Bruce's song for Terry Magovern, his long time assistant, who passed away July 30th, 2007.
So there you have it folks, Magic. It's a must and it never gets old.
So otherwise, my roommate and I watched Ghostbusters last night. Ok, who HASN'T seen this movie? If you haven't, I'd get on that. Right now. It's a classic! Released in 1984 and directed by Ivan Reitman, the film is about three scientists (played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis) who, after losing their academic jobs, decide to start a ghost catching business. The film also includes Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dana, as she gets mixed up with a spiritual plot to end the world. Rick Moranis also plays Louis, Dana's geeky neighbor and Ernie Hudson, who plays one a team member of the Ghostbusters. And I mean, who doesn't know the theme song?
This movie is a classic and should not be missed, so watch it! That's all I have to say about that.
I also got to watch The Black Parade Is Dead!, the live DVD from My Chemical Romance, which includes the final performance of that tour over in Mexico City, where they played The Black Parade in it's entirety. It really is quite the performance. They have so much energy and stage presence when they play the album, and it really is a fun show to watch. Probably nothing like being there, but you can get a good taste of it from the DVD. It also features a show from Hoboken, NJ of all places. I have yet to see that one, but once I do, I'll report back on it. Anyway, that's pretty much it for now!
Stay classy.
