This is a weekly blog to let you in on what song and/or band that i've been feeling for that particular week. Music will always be a very important part of my life. I see it as the soundtrack for memories that bring you back to a certain place and time and new songs help to create new memories. Hope you enjoy!! :)
The song "Battery Check" by Millencolin explores themes of self-reflection, personal growth, and the struggle to break free from societal expectations. The lyrics convey a sense of longing for independence and the desire to live authentically. The narrator expresses feelings of being trapped in a routine, yearning for change and new experiences.
MILLENCOLIN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1994 - Tiny Tunes (Burning Heart Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
1995 - Life On A Plate (Burning Heart/Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
1999 - The Melancholy Collection (Burning Heart/Epitaph Records)
2002 - Home From Home (Burning Heart/Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
2005 - Kingwood (Burning Heart/Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
2008 - Machine 15 (Burning Heart/Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
2012 - The Melancholy Connection (Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
2015 - True Brew (Burning Heart/Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
2019 - SOS (Epitaph Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON MILLENCOLIN:
Millencolin is a Swedish band that formed back in 1992. After releasing some singles and EP's, the band released their debut album, "Tiny Tunes", in 1994. Due to some legal issues, the band re-released the album in 1998 under the name "Same Old Tunes". Though the band was signed to Burning Heart Records, which released their music in Europe, they worked out a deal with Epitaph Records to release their music in the United States. Their first release working within that deal was 1995's "Life On A Plate". They would follow that up with 1997's "For Monkeys". It was 2000's "Pennybridge Pioneers" that would make Millencolin seperate themselves from the field. Just an awesome album and "No Cigar" is one of my all time favorite songs. From there, Millencolin would continue to drop bangers for albums! 2002 saw the release "Home From Home". 2005 was "Kingwood". 2008 would be "Machine 15". 2015 saw the band release what is my second favorite album by the band, "True Brew". "Bring Me Home" is another great song! Millencolin's most recent release would be 2019's "SOS". Millencolin fell right in line with the skate punk movement that was happening in southern California in the mid to late 90's. They are just an awesome band. I love these guys! I heard some of their songs in the 90's and thought they were cool but when I heard "No Cigar" in 2000, I was sold! What a killer song! That whole album is a great album. One of the best in the skate punk era for sure. I think all their albums from "Pennybridge Pioneers" are must haves for any punk rock fan. These guys gotta be due for a new album. It's been 6 years now. Come on boys! We need a new Millencolin album like yesterday!
The song "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down expresses a deep yearning for personal authenticity and self-acceptance. Written by the band's lead singer, Brad Arnold, along with other band members, the song reflects Arnold's personal struggles with identity and societal expectations. He describes feeling lost while trying to conform to what others want him to be, which leads to emotional pain and a sense of entrapment.
3 DOORS DOWN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
2000 - The Better Life (Universal Records)
* Peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200
* Certified 7X Platinum
2002 - Away From The Sun (Universal/Republic Records)
* Peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200
* Certified 4X Platinum
2005 - Seventeen Days (Universal/Republic Records)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Platinum
2008 - 3 Doors Down (Universal/Republic Records)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Platinum
2011 - Time Of My Life (Universal/Republic Records)
* Peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200
2016 - Us And The Night (Republic Records)
* Peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON 3 DOORS DOWN:
3 Doors Down is a Mississippi band that formed back in 1996. Their demo version of the song "Kryptonite" was being picked up on radio stations even before the finished product appeared on the band's debut album "The Better Life". The version of "Kryptonite" that appears on "The Better Life" catapulted 3 Doors Down very quickly to success. It wasn't long before 3 Doors Down were headlining shows. Their debut album remains their most successful record and has been certified 7X Platinum to date! The band followed that album up with the also successful "Away From The Sun" in 2002. Their next two albums, 2005's "Seventeen Days" and 2008's "3 Doors Down", both peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. In 2011, the band dropped "Time Of My Life". In 2012, 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts left the band to focus on his health. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the band in 2016 when Roberts passed away due to a prescription drug overdose. 3 Doors Down's most recent full length release would be 2016's "Us And The Night". They also produced a 20th anniversary deluxe edition of "Away From The Sun" which features several unreleased tracks in 2023. 3 Doors Down, to me, is just a straight forward melodic rock band. There was a period in the late 90's, early 2000's that a lot of these types of bands began to surface. It's way more unthreatening type rock music than like the grunge bands. But the songs are there. I always thought 3 Doors Down wrote catchy as hell songs. Their music isn't really my "go to" but every now and then I enjoy listening to their music. I pretty much got into this band right out of the gate. "Kryptonite" was a cool song but I really love "Away From The Sun". To me, that's their best song.
The meaning of Aerosmith's song "What It Takes" revolves around the emotional turmoil and complexities of a failing romantic relationship. The lyrics express the pain and confusion experienced by someone who is grappling with the aftermath of a breakup, questioning how their former partner can move on so easily while they are still struggling with feelings of loss and heartache.
AEROSMITH DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1973 - Aerosmith (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200
* certified 2X Platinum
1974 - Get Your Wings (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #74 on the Billboard 200
* certified 3X Platinum
1975 - Toys In The Attic (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200
* certified 9X Platinum
1976 - Rocks (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200
* certified 4X Platinum
1977 - Draw The Line (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200
* certified 2X Platinum
1979 - Night In The Ruts (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200
* certified Platinum
1982 - Rock In A Hard Place (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200
* certified Gold
1985 - Done With Mirrors (Geffen Records)
* peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200
* certified Gold
1987 - Permanent Vacation (Geffen Records)
* peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200
* certified 5X Platinum
1989 - Pump (Geffen Records)
* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200
* certified 7X Platinum
1993 - Get A Grip (Geffen Records)
* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* certified 7X Platinum
1997 - Nine Lives (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* certified 2X Platinum
2001 - Just Push Play (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
* certified Platinum
2004 - Honkin' On Bobo (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200
* certified Gold
2012 - Music From Another Dimension! (Columbia Records)
* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON AEROSMITH:
Aerosmith formed as a band back in 1970, hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Though their beginnings date back to the 60's, the classic Aerosmith line-up of Steven Tyler on vocals, Joe Perry on guitars, Brad Whitford on guitars, Tom Hamilton on bass and Joey Kramer on drums began in 1970. Very early on the band caught the attention of Columbia Records who quickly signed the band. Their debut, self-titled album came out in 1973. Instantly, this band was showing fans something. This album featured one of the band's most classic songs, "Dream On". This was followed up by 1974's "Get Your Wings". It was the 1975 release, "Toys In The Attic", that fully catapulted Aerosmith to a headline, arena act, thanks in part to another of their most famous tracks, "Walk This Way". The band continued it's dominance on the rock world with 1976's "Rocks". 1977's "Draw The Line" still had some killer tracks, like the title track and "Kings And Queens", this album started to mark a little bit of a tailspin for the band. Internal struggles and rampant drug use began taking it's toll on Aerosmith. When it came time to record and release 1979's "Night In The Ruts", Joe Perry left the band, a crushing blow. In 1981, Brad Whitford also departed the band. 1982 saw the band release "Rock In A Hard Place", a true low point for the band. Luckily, in 1984, Perry and Whitford returned to the line-up and in 1985, the band dropped "Done With Mirrors". With all the members having entered rehabs and in much better health and mind, 1987's "Permanent Vacation" would prove to be the first album that the band recorded totally sober. It was also sparked by a resurgence for the band thank to a collaboration a year earlier with rap group Run DMC on a remake of "Walk This Way". Suddenly, the arrow on Aerosmith was pointing up! 1989's "Pump" turned out to be one of the band's most successful albums and 1993's "Get A Grip" became the band's first album to peak at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. This proved to be the peak for Aerosmith. Their next two albums, 1997's "Nine Lives" and 2001's "Just Push Play", were successful but the success was taking a bit of a southward turn. 2004 saw the band do a blues cover album, "Honkin' On Bobo", sort of a return to their musical roots. The band's most recent release would be 2012's "Music From Another Dimension!". There has always been an underlying tension in Aerosmith, all the way back to the beginning of the band. Most of it between Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. This has led to a lot of internal struggles and spats. Since they're last studio album, the band has been kinda on again, off again. They did tours, they cancelled tours, There's been talk of creating new music and there has been talk that they may be done. It's always something with this band. The last thing I know is that in 2023, Steven Tyler had a vocal chord injury that caused the band to cancel their supposed "farewell tour". But, in 2024, the members have kept open the chance of creating new music together so who knows?! What I do know is that Aerosmith is the most successful American band of all time. They have sold more albums than any other American band, over 150 million records worldwide! They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001. These guys were heavily influenced on the blues rock sounds of bands like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and they would carve their own lane and identity as a band, a legendary band at that! For me personally, I love their 70's stuff. I think that is Aerosmith at their best. Raw, bluesy.. just a kick ass rock and roll band! Their 80's and 90's stuff is still good, I'm just partial to the early albums and sound. I always felt their stuff from say "Pump" and on was a little too polished for my liking. But I will say this, they weren't really affected by the grunge movement because the songs were still there. Aerosmith's songs were just far superior to a lot of the hair metal bands back then in my mind. Plus, they still had the respect of being rock legends so they didn't catch a lot of the flack that a lot of those 80's bands caught in the 90's. I hope it all works out for these guys and maybe they can get some new music out there cuz you'd hate to see them just fade away. Fingers crossed for my Boston bro's!
“Once” is a song by Pearl Jam that explores themes of trauma, violence, and the psychological impact of childhood abuse. It is the second part of a trilogy known as the “Mamasan” trilogy, which includes the songs “Alive,” “Once,” and “Footsteps.” The narrative follows a character who experiences severe emotional turmoil stemming from his past, leading him to become a serial killer. I chose the live version of "Once" for my Song Of The Week. You can hear the studio version on Pearl Jam's debut album "Ten".
PEARL JAM DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1991 - Ten (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Diamond
1993 - VS (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* Certified 7X Platinum
1994 - Vitalogy (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* Certified 5X Platinum
1996 - No Code (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Platinum
1998 - Yield (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Platinum
1998 - Live On Two Legs (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Platinum
2000 - Binaural (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Gold
2002 - Riot Act (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Gold
2003 - Lost Dogs (Epic Records)
* Peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Gold
2004 - Live At Benaroya Hall (BMG Records)
* Peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200
2006 - Pearl Jam (J Records)
* Peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Gold
2006 - Live At Easy Street (J Records)
* Did not chart on the Billboard 200
2009 - Backspacer (Monkeywrench/Universal Music Group)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
* Certified Gold
2011 - Live On Ten Legs (Universal Music)
* Peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200
2011 - Pearl Jam Twenty (Columbia Records)
* Peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200
2013 - Lightning Bolt (Monkeywrench Records)
* Peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200
2017 - Let's Play Two (Republic Records)
* Peaked at #31 on the Billboard 200
2019 - MTV Unplugged (Legacy Records)
* Peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200
2020 - Gigaton (Monkeywrench Records)
* Peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200
2023 - Give Way (Epic/Legacy Records)
* Peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200
2024 - Dark Matter (Monkeywrench Records)
* Peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200
* Pearl Jam also has a bunch of live "vault" releases as well as releasing bootlegs of their live shows through their website*
MY THOUGHTS ON PEARL JAM:
Pearl Jam got their start back in 1990, hailing from Seattle, Washington. Their story is quite long so I'll try to keep it simple! When the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, died of a drug overdose, MLB members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament were not quite sure where they were going to go from there. Gossard began jamming with childhood friend Mike McCready. McCready suggests Stone call Jeff Ament. Demo's are being created. Chris Cornell of Soundgarden asks Stone, Jeff and Mike to help him on some songs as a tribute to Andrew Wood. Add Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron to the mix. Temple Of The Dog is formed! Former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons tells Stone that a buddy from San Diego is a good vocalist. Stone gives Jack a instrumental tape. Jack gives Eddie Vedder the tape. Eddie goes surfing. Puts lyrics and vocals to the songs "Alive", "Once" and "Footsteps". The "Mamasan" trilogy is born. Vedder lays first official vocals on Temple Of The Dogs' "Hunger Strike". Stone Gossard on guitar, Mike McCready on guitar, Jeff Ament on bass, Dave Krusen on drums and Eddie Vedder on vocals form a band called Mookie Blaylock. Band goes on tour opening for Alice In Chains. NBA player, Mookie Blaylock doesn't want band using his name. Pearl Jam is formed! Let me break it down by decade. The 90's! The "grunge" rollercoaster is about to begin! Nirvana's "Nevermind" changes the whole musical landscape and flips it on it's head! Seattle is the spot! Nirvana. Alice In Chains. Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. This is where it's at! Pearl Jam's first 3 albums are historic! 1991's "Ten", 1993's "VS" and 1994's "Vitalogy" catapult Pearl Jam to the top of the mountain. But success and fame are hard to deal with. Since "VS", Pearl Jam has been pulling back from the spotlight. No more music videos. Less interviews. A lawsuit against TicketMaster! When the band released 1996's "No Code", they were clearly trying to reinvent themselves a little bit, as shown by their decision to release "Who You Are" as their lead single. Awesome song but very un-Pearl Jam like for that time! They would close the decade out with 1998's "Yield". Could be my favorite album by the band but that could change day to day! 2000 to 2010. These were some tough years for the band. 2000's "Binaural" and 2002's "Riot Act" were not the band's most sought after records. On top of that was the tragedy that happened at the band's performance at the Roskilde Festival in 2000 where 9 fans were crushed to death during PJ's set. Never shy in their politics, the Bush Administration with their warmongering ways led the band to produce probably their most political album, 2006's "Pearl Jam". A very urgent album and also one of my favorites by the band! The band would finish that decade off with 2009's "Backspacer", maybe the band's most positive album and one that keeps growing on me year after year! 2011 to present. By this point, the albums are more spread out. The band members have growing families and other projects so it takes a little longer to get together and record new material. 2013's "Lightning Bolt" is a somewhat disappointing album. 7 years later the band dropped "Gigaton" in 2020. A much better effort from their previous album. "Who Ever Said" is currently my favorite song. Once again, that can change in a minute! In 2024, the band released their most recent album, "Dark Matter". Produced by Andrew Watt, he got the band to come to the studio and hammer out the songs as a band like they did back in the day and the guys loved the approach and the album shows that it's such a cohesive effort. I think "Dark Matter" will be considered one of the band's best albums in time. Oh. I forgot to mention the drummers.. Dave Krusen on "Ten", Matt Chamberlain ('91 tour), Dave Abbruzzese on "VS" and "Vitalogy", Jack Irons on "No Code" and "Yield" and Matt Cameron ever since! What can I say? Pearl Jam is my favorite band and has been since I heard the opening chords of "Once" on their debut album "Ten". I really believe that the early 90's grunge explosion was the last great era of music. I appreciate the greatness of bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Alice In Chains more and more each time I listen to their music. They are still so relevant and I'm always waiting for a new band to come out and have the kind of impact that those bands had. It will happen. Someday, it will happen.
SIMILAR ARTISTS:
Soundgarden
Temple Of The Dog
Stone Temple Pilots
Mad Season
Alice In Chains
TEN PEARL JAM SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
Ok.. I love this band too much to just throw 10 songs out here. I'll list what song is my go to song at this moment on all their albums. And I'll throw in a non album track and a live cover to boot!
