Doolittle: The sound of 90's Alternative Rock

  Ok, I'm going to start off by saying I love the Pixies. Yes, I know I say that about every artists I've mentioned on this blog but I really mean it. I've only been to three concerts in my life and two of those have been Pixies concerts. In fact, my first concert ever was when I saw the Pixies in Boston. I remember walking out of the concert in a daze with my eardrums violently ringing, it was one of the best feelings I've ever felt. The next day me and my friend where walking around Boston and actually saw Joey Santiago, the lead guitarist of the Pixies just hanging out on the street. It took my mind a couple of seconds to register the fact that I was literally right in front of fucking Joey Santiago. It's the most bizarre feeling to see someone you look up to, just hanging out on the street like a normal person. I tried to play it cool and went up to him to say that I really enjoyed the show from the night before. He accidently dropped his earbuds but was super nice and also took a picture with me and my friend. In fact, I'm going to put the picture at the end of this article and you can even see his earbuds laying on the ground, he didn't bother picking them up until after the picture. Later my friend told me he was actually using the earbuds to make a phone call, I thought he was only listening to music. So basically, I rudely interrupted his phone call, caused him to drop his earphones and after all that damage he was still polite and took a picture with us. It was so amazing to me that a rock legend could be so down to earth and nice even when I accidentally interrupted his phone call.

Ok, now that I've shared that thrilling encounter with Joey Santiago we can move on to the actual album. The Pixies have a lot of solid albums but their third album, Doolittle is what I would consider to be the best Pixies album. So many classic Pixies songs live on this album. Songs like Debaser, Here Comes Your Man and, Monkey Gone to Heaven. Debaser is the very first song on Doolittle and is the proper way to start such a great album. It has such a fast and hectic sound that pairs so great with Black Francis's wailing and surrealist vocals about slicing up eyeballs. Here comes your man is another great song off this album but it's very different then Debaser. Instead of being lead by screeching guitars its much more restrained and locked in to this really amazing and bouncy bass line played by Kim Deal. Kim Deal is one of my favorite bass players of all time and the bass line to this song was one of the first ones I ever learned. Monkey Gone to Heaven is another song off this album that I have to mention. This was the first Pixies song I ever heard and I heard it when I was a young kid playing Guitar Hero World Tour.  I didn't fall in love with the Pixies until my teenage years but a big thanks to Guitar Hero for introducing us for the first time. I'm not sure what else to say about this song besides, its just really good. One part I love in this song is when Black Francis says "rock with me Joe" before Joey Santiago goes in to the guitar solo. It's a small detail but, one I really enjoy and it gives the song character.

The Pixies are one of the biggest names in 90's alternative music. Kurt Cobain even stated that when he made Smells Like Teen Spirit he was "trying to rip off the Pixies."If you're in to alternative rock I'm guessing you've already heard the Pixies but if you haven't then definitely check them out, this album is a really good place to start.

                                                 The Queen is Dead: Indie Pop of The 80's

 The Queen is Dead is such a special album and the Smiths are such a special band. On the list of albums I really love this one would have to be somewhere at the very top. The first time I heard the Smiths was in high school and I remember staying up all night watching their Top of the Pops performances over and over again. This band has so many talented members that it frequently amazes me that the stars could align so well. For one, you have Johnny Marr who is a musical prodigy and wrote some of the best Smith's Songs when he was still only a teenager. The way he plays the guitar is so beautiful and complex, he also manages to look like a complete badass when he plays. Ever sense I first saw/heard him play he's been someone I really look up to. Another famous figure emerging from the Smiths is of course Morrissey. Morrissey has such a unique and elegant voice that perfectly matches his very deep, heartfelt, and witty songwriting. Morrissey is a bit of a drama queen with very strong opinions that he finds greatly important to share. I think this really adds and works with his songwriting but sometimes it can be a bit much. His personality borders right between lovable and obnoxious, though as he gets older, it's starting to lean a little bit more towards the obnoxious side. The last two members of the classic Smiths lineup are bassist, Andy Rourke and drummer, Mike Joyce. While Marr and Morrissey seem to get almost all the attention, Andy and Mike make a very strong rhythm section that shouldn't be ignored. I especially like Andy's bass playing and how he makes keeping up with Johnny Marr look easy.

Now to get on to the actual album. One song I really love on this album is the song called The Boy With The Thorn In His Side. This song stabs me in the heart every time I listen to it and I love it for that. Another song that really gets me on this album is the song called I Know It's Over. Its so eerily sad and beautiful. Some songs that are more fun on this album are the songs Bigmouth Strikes Again and Frankly, Mr. Shankly. The song Bigmouth Strikes Again shows this really funny self awareness on Morrissey's part. Like I said earlier, Morrissey isn't shy about stating his opinions. Morrissey kind of makes fun of himself in this song but does it in a really clever way. Johnny Marr is also in top form like always. I love his frantic rhythm guitar paired with bouncy lead and slide guitar on top. The Song Frankly Mr. Shankly is another really fun song on this album. It's a song about a person just ripping in to their boss. Like most people, I've certainly wanted to do exactly that many times before. This song does a great service in helping me live out that fantasy.

Two songs I also have to talk about off this album are the songs, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. The main reason I like the song, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others is mostly because of Johnny Marr's guitar playing on it. The main riff of this song is so intricate snd twinkly. I like There Is A Light That Never Goes Out because it's such a classic Smiths song. In this song Morrissey fantasizes about being hit by a bus and dying by the side of this other person. Yeah I know its pretty dark but it's also a ridiculously catchy song. The Smiths do such a good job of making dark subjects so fun and catchy. Like usual I would definitely recommend listening to this album if you haven't already. The Smiths are just a classic band in music history and on this album they are really in top form. All their albums are really great but I would have to say this ones my favorite.

                                                                             Bleach

  Bleach is Nirvana's first album and was released in 1989. While Bleach had success on a lot of college radio, Nirvana didn't blow up until the release of their second album, the famous Nevermind. I kind of feel bad for Bleach in a way, being stuck in the shadow of your younger brother must be quite embarrassing. Even if it is sort of permanently stuck in the shadow of Nevermind, Bleach has nothing to be embarrassed about. It's an album that I feel perfectly fits in to Nirvana's discography. I love how on all three of Nirvana's studio albums (and Unplugged too) Nirvana is able to give the listener a new kind of sound while staying Nirvana at their core. So many bands mess this up, they either don't change enough and people get bored. Or they change too much and completely distance their fans. Anyways, to get back on topic I think Bleach is a great album, just like all of Nirvana's albums. Can you tell I'm a Nirvana fan?

Two of my favorite songs on this album are School and also Negative Creep. I love the bouncy and hard grove on the song School that sort of melts into the chorus when you hear Kurt yell "NO RECESS." then you eventually get to the bridge were he keeps repeating "you're in high school again" which builds in to another "NO RECESS." Nirvana use their instruments to create this kind of winding tension on the verse. The chorus is the release. Once you get to it you just want to scream the, "NO RECESS" at the top of your lungs along with Kurt, and trust me I have. Besides the sound of this song I also love the complex story Kurt tells by just repeating basic lines. I didn't know this for a while but the song is about Kurt while he worked as a janitor at his old high school which, makes perfect sense and is really clever. My other favorite song on this album is the song Negative Creep. This is another really badass and heavy song. The reason I like this song so much though is because of its lyrics. I remember the first time I heard the line, "I'm a Negative Creep and I'm Stoned." I was at some tourist center in Canada and I just remember thinking that they had to be the most relatable and angsty line of lyrics I've ever heard.

One thing I noticed about this album is that Kurt repeats lines a lot. Two great examples of this are the two songs I talked about above. While this might at first sound like a bad thing, trust me it's not. Kurt has such a way of picking the perfect phrases to drill in to your skull and these repeating lines are such a big part of the albums style along with its rougher sound. I know its common practice to repeat lines on the chorus but repetition is definitely taken to an excess on this album, especially compared to other Nirvana albums like Nevermind and In Utero. Even though I mostly chose to talk about my two favorite songs off this album, every song on this album is really good. Just like In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (which is the last album I talked about) I think this album is great and, I love it but, I can't guarantee everyone will. If you like Nirvana's other work or if you like heavy and aggressive music like Punk rock or even metal I suggest you give this album a listen. This album deserves just as much love as Nevermind and being Nirvana's first album it certainly has a special place in music history.

         In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

     

  

     In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is an album that I only first listened to about two months ago. With that being said, I’ve probably listened to the album about a hundred times and I feel such a connection to its songs that it’s hard to believe I haven’t known them my whole life. That’s one of the things about this album, not everyone enjoys it but the people who do tend to get a feeling of sacredness or great importance from it. These feelings this album invokes is what has given it such a cult status. Released by a band called Neutral Milk Hotel in 1998 it is still widely celebrated. My absolute favorite thing about this album has to be Jeff Mangum’s songwriting on it. With his songwriting, Jeff taps in to a surreal and magical world. A magical world filled with carrot flowers, Anne Frank, and semen stained mountaintops. I would like to stress the word surreal. If you aren’t a big fan of surreal songwriting that’s totally fine but, this is probably not the album for you. Personally, I didn’t know I was such a big fan of surreal songwriting until I heard this album. It’s almost as if Jeff Mangum uses his songwriting to bombard your brain with bizarre images straight out of circus freak shows and lonely attics. Jeff Mangum’s vocal delivery on this album is also something I truly love. He has such a unique voice and the way he stresses/holds certain words is very iconic. 

While I do think Jeff Mangum is what makes this album so special, I still find every other musician’s contribution to be immensely important. The horns on the song Communist Daughter or the singing saw that whistles over the title track, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea add a whole other dimension to the music. I didn’t even know that the singing saw was an instrument until I listened to this album. I love its unique sound and the way it’s perfectly used to almost sound like wind, replicating what it would truly sound like to be in an aeroplane over the sea. While we are on the topic I would really like to point out this title track. If I had to pick a favorite song it would be this one, it’s a very beautiful song and from the moment I heard it I knew it was a song I would treasure. In fact, from the moment I heard this album I knew it was something I would treasure. I can't promise this album will be everyones cup of tea but it's definitely worth listening to and has a kind of magic if you're a certain kind of person.