SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/29/22

SONG:  "The Man Who Built The Moon" (acoustic version)

ARTIST:  Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

ALBUM:  "Back The Way We Came:  Vol. 1 (2011-2021)"

YEAR:  2021

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Manchester, England

YEARS ACTIVE:  2010 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"The Man Who Built The Moon" appears to be about leaving what you know and feel comfortable with in search of something better only to find out that what you sought and where you went to get it is not all that it's cracked up to be. There's a definite sense of regret in this song and perhaps some failure as well. In the end, sometimes it's better to go back to where you came. For my song of the week, I chose the acoustic version of "The Man Who Built The Moon". The original studio version could be found on Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 2017 album "Who Built The Moon?". 

NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2011 - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (Sour Mash Records)

* peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200 on 11-26-11

2015 - Chasing Yesterday (Sour Mash Records)

* peaked at #35 on the Billboard 200 on 3-21-15

2017 - Who Built The Moon? (Sour Mash Records)

* peaked at #48 on the Billboard 200 on 12-16-17

2021 - Back The Way We Came:  Vol. 1 (2011-2021) (Sour Mash Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS:

Following the demise of the hugely successful Oasis in 2009, Noel Gallagher sought to embark on a solo career, hence, the High Flying Birds were formed in 2010. With their self-titled debut album in 2011, Noel Gallagher showed the world that he still had the chops after years of being the chief songwriter for Oasis. While the album still very much had an Oasis vibe to it, it was clear that Gallagher was not afraid to experiment with his sound and this grew evident with each subsequent release thereafter. In 2015, the band released their sophomore effort, "Chasing Yesterday". In 2017, "Who Built The Moon?" was released and Gallagher continued to push the envelope with his sound, incorporating some electronic elements and prog rock elements. His most recent release was a greatest hits album in 2021 called "Back The Way We Came:  Vol. 1 (2011-2021)". This was a three disc release (if you purchased the Deluxe version). The first disc was a greatest hits package. The 2nd was a compilation of several singles that Gallagher had released since 2018 and the third featured some remixes and some acoustic tracks. While pretty successful globally, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds excel in their home country of England. All three of his studio releases reached #1 in England and record sales over there ballooned his sales over here in the States. His solo work will always be compared to his work with Oasis and even with his former Oasis bandmate and brother Liam Gallagher. In my mind, the High Flying Birds are good, but not close to his work in Oasis. In fact, I think Liam's solo releases are in fact better which surprises me a little bit because as I said earlier, Noel was the songwriting force behind the majority of Oasis' material. I just think Noel is going too much in an electronic phase where Liam is just putting out damn good rock and roll records. That being said, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds still has quite a few gems in their catalogue. In fact, I think one of their b-sides, "A Simple Game Of Genius" is an excellent track. No idea why that didn't make their debut album. Let me just say, I love these solo albums by the Gallagher brothers, but I, like probably millions of people, really want to see them make up and bring Oasis back!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Oasis

Beady Eye

Liam Gallagher

The Verve

Blur

TEN NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. If I Had A Gun

2. A Simple Game Of Genius

3. Ballad Of The Mighty I

4. In The Heat Of The Moment

5. AKA... What A Life!

6. The Man Who Built The Moon (acoustic version)

7. Holy Mountain

8. It's A Beautiful World

9. The Death Of You And Me

10. Riverman

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/22/22

SONG:  "1000HP"

ARTIST:  Godsmack

ALBUM:  "1000HP"

YEAR:  2014

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Lawrence, Massachusetts

YEARS ACTIVE:  1995 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"1000HP" is a biographical song for Godsmack. It basically tells the story of when they were scraping and clawing in the streets of Boston, trying to be heard. Then one day they broke through and they've been riding that wave of success and steaming full speed ahead. It's a celebration of the band and it's fans.

GODSMACK DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1998 - Godsmack (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 on 5-29-99

* certified 4X platinum

2000 - Awake (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 11-18-00

* certified 2X platinum

2003 - Faceless (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 4-26-03

* certified platinum

2006 - IV (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 5-13-06

* certified gold

2010 - The Oracle (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 5-22-10

* certified gold

2012 - Live & Inspired (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on 6-2-12

2014 - 1000hp (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 on 3-23-14

2018 - When Legends Rise (BMG Records)

* peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on 5-12-18

MY THOUGHTS ON GODSMACK:

Godsmack formed as a band back in 1995, hailing from Lawrence, Massachusetts. For a very short time they were called The Scam before settling on the name Godsmack. They recorded a demo album in 1997 called "All Wound Up" which served as the basis for their proper debut album, 1998's "Godsmack". The band was pushed hard by local Boston radio station WAAF who put their songs "Keep Away" and "Whatever" in heavy rotation. Local buzz soon crept throughout the nation and Godsmack's debut album would eventually be certified 4X platinum! Their follow up, 2000's "Awake" was also a huge success for the band, certified 2X platinum. Godsmack's next three albums all reached #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. 2003's "Faceless" was a monster, featuring hit singles like "Straight Out Of Line", "I Stand Alone" and "Re-Align". The band dropped a nice acoustic EP called "The Other Side" in 2004. The band featured a heavy sound to begin with, but 2010's "The Oracle" was considered by the band to be their heaviest effort to date. 2014's "1000hp" ended the band's relationship with Universal/Republic and the band is now signed with BMG. Their most recent album was 2018's "When Legends Rise". Sully Erna has confirmed that the band's next album has been completed and should be released in mid to late summer 2022. Godsmack is a hard rock/metal band at heart. You can hear a grunge influence in their sound. Sully Erna has often been compared to James Hetfield of Metallica and Layne Staley of Alice In Chains vocally. Erna has kind of tried to veer away from those comparisons but they are pretty obvious when you hear their music. My first experience with Godsmack was the song "Whatever" off their debut album. I love this song. It's just got a real cool vibe to it. Excellent pit song!! I really like Godsmack's first three albums then I wasn't totally as in to them from "IV" on. I got all of their albums and still listen from time to time but I listen to those first three way more often. Not saying those newer albums aren't good, maybe I just grew out of them for some reason. I think there are a lot of hard rock bands that came out after those initial grunge bands of the 90's and there are many good ones, I just never thought any of them rose to the heights of those bands. Maybe that's a bad comparison because I'm not so sure I consider Godsmack a grunge band. They have grunge like tendencies with metal influences but then, you could say that Alice In Chains and Soundgarden were grunge but had metal influences as well. Who knows what the fuck I'm saying?!!  Anyway, Godsmack is a cool band and in the end, I gotta give props to my Massachusetts homies!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Drowning Pool

Breaking Benjamin

Stone Sour

Staind

Seether

TEN GODSMACK SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Whatever

2. Awake

3. I Stand Alone

4. Re-Align

5. Running Blind

6. Bulletproof

7. Speak

8. Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh cover)

9. 1000hp

10. Whiskey Hangover

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/15/22

SONG:  "The Ballad Of Johnny X"

ARTIST:  The Bouncing Souls

ALBUM:  "Live"

YEAR:  2005

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  New Brunswick, New Jersey

YEARS ACTIVE:  1989 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"The Ballad Of Johnny X" appears to be a song about an old, battle hardened punk rocker that perhaps was too caught up in cliche ideals to really put forth the effort to become a better musician, or at least one that cares about his music. It seems he should have all the wisdom in the world to either better himself, or to give advice to someone coming up, but he's just content to be a slacker. I chose the live version of "The Battle Of Johnny X" for my song of the week. The studio version can be found on The Bouncing Souls 1996 album "Maniacal Laughter".

THE BOUNCING SOULS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1994 - The Good, The Bad, And The Argyle (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1996 - Maniacal Laughter (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1997 - The Bouncing Souls (Epitaph Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1999 - Hopeless Romantic (Epitaph Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2000 - The Bad, The Worse, And The Out Of Print (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2001 - How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Epitaph Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2003 - Anchors Aweigh (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #168 on the Billboard 200 on 9-13-03

2005 - Live (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2006 - The Gold Record (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #141 on the Billboard 200 on 6-24-06

2010 - Ghosts On The Boardwalk (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Live At Generation Records (Generation Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - Comet (Rise Records)

* peaked at #110 on the Billboard 200 on 6-30-12

2016 - Simplicity (Rise Records)

* peaked at #157 on the Billboard 200 on 8-20-16

2020 - Volume 2 (Pure Noise Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOUNCING SOULS:

The Bouncing Souls are a legendary punk band hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey. They formed back in 1989. The band's first album was really a compilation of old EP's and 7" singles called "The Good, The Bad, And The Argyle" which came out in 1994. Their proper debut would be 1996's "Maniacal Laughter". The band caught the ear of legendary punk label Epitaph who promptly signed the band and released their next five albums. 1997's "The Bouncing Souls" has some classic tracks on it, but the band really saw it as an unfinished product. 1999's "Hopeless Romantic" really started to be the point where The Bouncing Souls began finding their sound. The band rounded out their Epitaph deal with three classic punk rock albums, 2001's "How I Spent My Summer Vacation", 2003's "Anchors Aweigh" and 2006's "The Gold Record". For their 20th anniversary, the band put out a bunch of singles which ultimately culminated in the compilation "Ghosts On The Boardwalk". In 2012, The Bouncing Souls inked a deal with Rise Records to release "Comet" in 2012, which was the band's highest charting album on the Billboard 200, peaking at #110. They also released "Simplicity" through Rise as well. The band's most recent release was 2020's "Volume 2" which is a compilation album featuring re-worked versions of some of the band's biggest songs, mostly in acoustic settings. As I said earlier, The Bouncing Souls are a legendary punk band. These Jersey dudes almost single handedly brought back the "pogo punk" style where the audience all bounces, no pun intended, to their songs. The Souls definitely have a melodic/pop element to their sound, but they can shift into hardcore on a dime. They are also hugely influential and have taken many a band under their wing to be openers for them. I first started getting into The Bouncing Souls around 2001 with their "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" album. But it was their 2003 album "Anchors Aweigh" that really hooked me to these guys. "Kids And Heroes" is just one of the best songs of all time. Still makes every mix I put together to this day. These guys just always seem like they are getting better. True punk legends!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Face To Face

Dead To Me

Red City Radio

Strung Out

Lagwagon

TEN THE BOUNCING SOULS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Kids And Heroes

2. Gone

3. Sing Along Forever

4. Lean On Sheena (Avoid One Thing cover)

5. Apartment 5F

6. Coin Toss Girl

7. True Believers

8. The Pizza Song

9. Ghosts On The Boardwalk

10. Writing On The Wall

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/8/22

SONG:  "G"

ARTIST:  7 Seconds

ALBUM:  "Out The Shizzy"

YEAR:  1993

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Reno, Nevada

YEARS ACTIVE:  1980 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"G" appears to be a song about someone whose stubbornness fogs his thinking to the point where even his good friends can't get him to change his mind or see the errors of his ways. It's at a point where the vocalist has reached his limit with this guy. He just doesn't want to hear reason because he is totally stuck in his beliefs. 

7 SECONDS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1984 - The Crew (BYO Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1985 - Walk Together, Rock Together (Positive Force/BYO Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1986 - New Wind (Positive Force/BYO Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1987 - Live! One Plus One (Positive Force/Giant Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1988 - Ourselves (Relentless Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1989 - Soulforce Revolution (Restless Records)

* peaked at #153 on the Billboard 200 on 12-30-89

1991 - Old School (Headhunter/Cargo Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1993 - Out The Shizzy (Headhunter/Cargo Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1995 - alt.music.hardcore (Headhunter/Cargo Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1995 - The Music, The Message (Sony/BMI Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1999 - Good To Go (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2000 - Scream Real Loud...Live! (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2005 - Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over! (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2014 - Leave A Light On (Rise Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON 7 SECONDS:

7 Seconds formed as a band back in 1980, hailing from Reno, Nevada. After releasing several EP's and 7" singles, the band dropped their debut album in 1984, "The Crew". After this album, the band dropped the legendary "Walk Together, Rock Together" album in 1985. In 1986, the band began to veer away from their hardcore punk roots and started to venture into almost a new wave vibe drawing U2 like influences on their "New Wind" album. They would continue exploring different sounds on their next few albums as well. Their 1989 record, "Soulforce Revolution" would be their only album to break the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at #153. In 1995, as the punk rock revival was happening and bands like Green Day, Rancid and The Offspring were soaring up the music charts, 7 Seconds signed a major label deal with Sony/BMI for the release of "The Music, The Message". This album also marked a return to a punk rock sound. Their next album, 1999's "Good To Go" marked a triumphant return to hardcore punk and they haven't looked back. After releasing "Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!" in 2005, the band didn't release a new full length for 9 years, the longest span between albums for the band. In 2014, 7 Seconds released "Leave A Light On" which is the last full length album the band released. In 2018, frontman Kevin Seconds announced that the band was going to breakup, mostly due to the health issues of his brother and bandmate Steve Youth. However, in 2021, 7 Seconds announced they would be supporting the Circle Jerks on a 2022 tour. No word if the band is going to work on new material or if they are just going to tour at this point. 7 Seconds is a legendary punk band. Highly influential. In fact, they are the first band to be coined "hardcore". They had kinda a weird period from like 1986 to about 1993 where they were very experimental with their sound and they lost some of their hardcore punk fanbase. Thank God by the mid 90's they found their way again and got back on that hardcore train! I knew of 7 Seconds when I first started getting into skate punk in the 90's but I really didn't get into them until I bought their "Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!" album in 2005. Around that time, I was, and still am, a super fan of the band Deviates and when I really listened to a 7 Seconds album, I was like, holy shit.. This is what the Deviates were probably influenced by. Ever since then I worked my way back to their whole catalogue. These dudes are legends for a reason. You can hear their influence in most of the punk rock bands that started to shine in the 90's and it's awesome to see the boys back on the road in 2022. Hopefully, they get inspired to put some new material together for a long overdue album in the near future.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Circle Jerks

Youth Brigade

D.O.A.

Minor Threat

Adolescents

TEN 7 SECONDS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Rules To Follow

2. Walk Together, Rock Together

3. Young 'Til I Die

4. Leave A Light On

5. The Music, The Message

6. Clenched Fists, Black Eyes

7. Best Friend

8. Soul To Keep (For Phyllis)

9. New Wind

10. Escape And Run