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!! :)
"All The Way Live" appears to be a song about not succumbing to greed. The vocalist seems to be saying that money isn't everything in life. It can't buy you happiness and you can't take it with you when you die. Basically, it's better to be rich in your soul than in your pocket. Thousand Foot Krutch is a Christian rock band from Canada that formed back in 1995. 2001's "Set It Off", which was their first "official" release, saw the band very much influenced by the fusion of rock and hip hop. I don't think it was a style that suited the band, especially the band that T.F.K. is today. They weren't quite as fierce as Rage Against The Machine. They weren't quite as funky as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Maybe if you morphed the Beastie Boys with Incubus, you may get a sound that compared to Thousand Foot Krutch early on in their career. When their next album, 2003's "Phenomenon" came out, T.F.K. was a band in search of a new direction. Their sound began to move away from the rock/rap style and more into a straight ahead rock and roll sound. They began to sound more like the radio friendly rock sound of bands like Finger Eleven and Three Days Grace. T.F.K. remained extremely active during the 2000's, releasing six albums in an eleven year span. 2005 saw the release of "The Art Of Breaking", then in 2007, T.F.K. released "The Flame In All Of Us", followed in 2009 by "Welcome To The Masquerade" and finally in 2012 with "The End Is Where We Begin". As you can see, Thousand Foot Krutch is a band that basically drops new material about every two years. Currently, as I said before, T.F.K. released their latest album, "The End Is Where We Begin" in April of 2012. I'm sure the band will be out on tour to support their latest project.
"Ticks & Leeches" appears to be a song about all those people that only hang around you to use you for everything you're worth. They suck you dry like ticks or leeches. They want to feed off your wealth, your talent, your fame and your power. They want to take every last ounce of blood from you, then probably toss you aside when you no longer have the same status. It very well could be about Tool's own battle with their record company, Volcano Records who they were in a bitter dispute with right around the time of the release of 2001's "Lateralus". It could also be about the record industry in general and the way they try to suck everything they can out of their artists until they deem them no longer viable to the company itself. Formed in California back in 1990, Tool has gone on to become one of the most successful metal/progressive rock bands on the scene today. The band has been around for twenty-two years, but has released music rather sporadically with just four full length studio albums released during that time. They basically release new material almost every five years. Perhaps, this is to Tool's advantage. Maybe the more time spent perfecting their albums is the reason why most of their music happens to be nominated for Grammy's and other awards after each release. Their 2001 album "Lateralus" came at a time when Tool, as I said before, was butting heads with their record label. It was also a time when Tool very much stood against the illegal file sharing of music as well. They, along with bands like Metallica, led the fight against music file sharing sites such as Napster. In fact, just to mess with the Napsters of the world, Tool announced a bogus album title, full with fake song titles which made the file sharing sites explode with the bogus material. When the real "Lateralus" finally dropped, it was named Kerrang!'s album of the year. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for their single "Schism". It was odd for a band to have singles that clocked in at more than six minutes, but Tool was never one to conform to record company "standards". They have and always will do things their way, no compromise. When you have the level of success that they have had, that's definitely a luxury for any band. Currently, Tool has recently embarked on their "Tool Winter Tour" which ended in February 2012. The band has confirmed that they have been working on new material for a fifth studio album and are kind of waiting on vocalist, Maynard James Keenan to come in and hammer out some of the lyrics and vocals. As I said before, Tool oftens has a new album every five or six years so they are very much due for some new material being that their last release was 2006's "10,000 Days".
"The Project For A New American Century" appears to be a song about the neoconservative plan for global domination, especially through military means. They look to profit financially off of war. They also seek to topple any government that is not appealing to them, i.e. Iraq. Anti-Flag is a left wing political punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formed by guitarist/singer Justin Sane and drummer Pat Thetic, they originally formed in 1988 but disbanded shortly after they formed. In 1993, the two decided to resurrect Anti-Flag and they have never looked back. The band as we know them today was officially rounded out with the addition of second guitarist Chris Head in 1997 and bassist/singer Chris #2 in 1999. In a seventeen year span from 1995 to 2012, Anti-Flag would release a total of nine studio albums, one compilation album, four EP's, eight splits and one video album. That just goes to show how very active Anti-Flag has been as a band during their career. To say Anti-Flag is a political band would be a huge understatement as well. They deal with several issues, both social and political, on all of their albums. Many of their views would be considered left wing. They often challenge conservative views in their songs. While opposing wars, corporate greed and governmental attacks on civil liberties, the band also are staunch supporters of groups like PETA and Amnesty International as well as being on the ground and amongst the masses of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Anti-Flag did receive a little bit of heat following the release of "For Blood And Empire" due to the fact it was their first album that was released through a major label (RCA). Some have criticized the band for taking such a strong stand against corporate America, then jumping on a major label. The band looked at it as just a way to get their message across to a wider fanbase. Currently, the band has recently released their ninth studio album entitled "The General Strike" which dropped in March of 2012. The band is embarking on a tour with The Flatliners and the Have Nots to support their new release.
"Third Eye" appears to be a song that is somewhat dedicated to comedian and satirist Bill Hicks, whom the bandmembers of Tool felt a very strong connection to. Both Hicks and the band felt that the meaning of existence was very much connected to seeing things through your own third eye. The third eye was a concept which has it's beginnings in Hinduism and it really implies of having a spiritual presence or being in a deep state of awareness or consciousness. Hicks and the band felt that hallucinogenic drugs only enhanced this state, Hicks calling psilocybe mushrooms the "squeegee" to keep one's third eye clean. Tool formed as a band in Los Angeles, California back in 1990. They were a band that appealed to both the metal scene as well as the alternative rock scene. In fact, they were also very progressive with their brand of metal and also very much known for their use of visual arts both in their music videos as well as their live performances. Tool first broke on the scene with the release of their 1992 EP "Opiate", considered some of the band's heaviest recordings to date. 1993 saw the band release their very first full length album, "Undertow", which featured one of the band's biggest hits of their career, "Sober". In 1996, Tool achieved major success in the form of Grammy Award winning album "Aenima". Between 1996 and 2001 would also be the very first time that Tool would take a little break between albums. This was a time when the band members would begin also working on other projects most notably Tool frontman, Maynard James Keenan and Tool guitar tech, Billy Howerdel forming the band A Perfect Circle. 2001 saw the return of Tool and yet another Grammy Award winning album, "Lateralus". With the help of the popular single "Schism", "Lateralus" debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Again, there would be a five year break between albums until the band returned in 2006 for their "10,000 Days" album, also number one on the Billboards. A very dark and brooding band, Tool may like to stay in the shadows but there is no questioning their success over the years. By putting extreme focus on the music, rather than themselves, they have garnered a level of respect amongst rock circles and are clearly one of the major players in the metal and alternative rock scenes today. Since their last release in 2006, Keenan has been working on a new project called Puscifer, but the remaining members of Tool have been writing material for the next Tool project. The band has also committed to several tours during this time as well. Currently, it seems imminent that Tool will soon get together and create yet another masterpiece!
"The Devil's Takin' Names" appears to be a song about trying something that you either never had a need to do or never quite thought you would actually ever try. It almost has an attitude of don't knock something unless you've tried it. The Lawrence Arms are a punk band that formed back in 1999 and they are very much a staple of the Chicago punk scene. The band features the dual vocal threat of Brendan Kelly and Chris McCaughan on all of their releases. The band's first two releases, 1999's "A Guided Tour Of Chicago" and 2000's "Ghost Stories" were both released on Asian Man Records. Through these two albums as well as tours, The Lawrence Arms caught the attention of NOFX's Fat Mike who would recruit the band to sign on his Fat Wreck Chords label, where the band remains to this day. The band would release three more full lengths on Fat Wreck, 2002's "Apathy And Exhaustion", 2003's "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and 2006's "Oh! Calcutta!". Between constant touring and their five full length albums, The Lawrence Arms also managed to put out four EP's, a compilation album and also appeared on several various artist compilations as well. The band's last official release was an EP entitled "Buttsweat And Tears" which dropped in 2009. From the mid 2000's till the present, The Lawrence Arms were not quite as active as in their beginning years. Most of this was due to working on side projects. Chris McCaughan formed an acoustic band called Sundowner while Brendan Kelly teamed up with Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano on a band called The Falcon. Kelly also started working on some acoustic stuff as well. A lot of focus began to be put on these side projects but The Lawrence Arms was never in danger of breaking up. They, in fact, recorded a live show at The Metro in Chicago in 2009 on their tenth anniversary and the video of the performance would be released by Fat Wreck Chords a few years later in 2011. Currently, there is no word on The Lawrence Arms working on any new material out there, with members probably still focused on the solo acoustic stuff as of now.
Without getting into the whole story that is the mini-opera called "Quadrophenia", I'll just say that "Sea And Sand" is a time of reflection for the story's main character Jimmy. Jimmy would go to the beach to gather his thoughts and reflect on his inadequacy in love as well as his inability to fit in at home or with the Mod subculture that he so much wanted to be a part of. "Quadrophenia" was really The Who's masterpiece, specifically Pete Townsend's. Townsend called this album the greatest piece of music he ever wrote and the best he ever will write. The Who formed as a band in England back in 1964. To separate themselves from the already successful Beatles and Rolling Stones, The Who would feature a bombastic live show, complete with smoke bombs and destruction of instruments. Early hits like "I Can't Explain", "My Generation" and "I Can See For Miles" put The Who on the map and they would never look back. Lead singer Roger Daltry had a thunderous voice and unmatched stage presence. Bassist John Entwistle took you on a ride with his slick basslines, never staying in one spot for long, always moving. Keith Moon, the band's drummer, was insane to say the least. His drumming was unrivaled and he managed to turn total chaos into a thing of beauty. Lead guitarist Pete Townsend was the mastermind of the band. A creative genius who would almost bring himself to nervous breakdowns while creating some of the best music of all time, then would let out his pent up frustrations on stage, on his guitar and on the audience's ears. I'd say the real "golden era", if you want to call it that, for The Who was between the years 1969 and 1979. During this span, the band released the following hallmark albums, "Tommy", "Who's Next", "Quadrophenia", "The Who By Numbers", "Who Are You" and "The Kids Are Alright". These albums, along with unforgettable live performances, most notably the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and the Isle Of Wight, would propel The Who to legendary status, easily securing a spot right next to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as one of the best rock and roll bands of all time. The Who would sell about 100 million records worldwide during their illustrious career. All wasn't always perfect for the band however. Tragedy would strike not once, but twice for the band. In 1978, drummer Keith Moon died of an overdose right at the height of The Who's reign on the rock world. They would continue on as a band, but very sporadically. Mostly, they would get together for benefit festivals and stuff like that. In 2002, bassist John Entwistle passed away of a heart attack leaving only Daltry and Townsend as the surviving members of The Who. The two did put out a new studio album in 2006 entitled "Endless Wire" but touring was again sporadic, mostly due to health issues involving Townsend. Still, the band always makes it a point to perform at the Teenage Cancer Trust benefits concerts that are held yearly at Royal Albert Hall in London. Currently, word has it that Townsend has been writing new material for a supposed Who record in the future.
"Pop Song For Us Rejects" appears to be a song about dealing with someone in your life who is dealing with addiction. It appears that in order for the vocalist to move on in his own life and achieve the goals that he wishes to achieve, he must first sever ties with the addicted person who has been nothing more than an anchor to him. You get the sense he still feels for the person, as in the second verse when it seems that he is happy that the person is starting to do better, yet he still can't get too close. The roller coaster ride of addiction is too much, even for those who are close to the person who is trying to fight his demons. This version of the song was taken from a bootleg that was put out there back in 1996. The song was recorded live in Amsterdam on March 5, 1996. "Pop Song For Us Rejects" would see an official release almost a year later on 1997's "Freak Show". Silverchair formed as a band back in 1992. The three Australian schoolmates, guitarist/vocalist Daniel Johns, bassist Chris Joannou, and drummer Ben Gillies would win a national competition with their song "Tomorrow". "Tomorrow" would be the song that garnered interest in the band and would get them their very first recording deal. In 1995, at the tender age of 15, Silverchair released their debut album, "Frogstomp". Early on, they were lumped in with the grunge movement and like many bands that came out after the Seattle giants, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, Silverchair would have to live with the constant comparisons and especially the hard aspect of trying to be just as great as those bands, very hard for any band, let alone a group of teenagers to go through. While "Freak Show" saw the band stay in that post-grunge/alternative rock phase, it was their third album, 1999's "Neon Ballroom" that saw Silverchair evolve a bit with their sound. While still having heavy elements, the band began exploring the use of keyboards and orchestration, giving them a more grown up sound. By the time of Silverchair's next recording, 2002's "Diorama", experimentation was in full force. Some saw this album as extreme growth for the band while it left a lot of the early fans of the band feeling somewhat alienated. Silverchair took a bit of a hiatus during the years between 2003 to 2005 where the members all worked on side projects. The band got back together in 2005 for a fund raising concert called Wave Aid which benefitted those affected by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. It was during this show that the band felt the undeniable chemistry that made them a band in the very first place. Eventually, in 2007, Silverchair released their fifth studio album, "Young Modern" which contains, what I feel, is one of their best songs to date, "Straight Lines". If you were looking for a "Tomorrow" or a "Freak" on this album, you definitely came to the wrong place. The band was still very much in experimental mode on this album. While the band's popularity in the United States probably reached it's height after the band's first three albums, their success never waned in their native Australia, where they have been one of the most successful bands in that country. Where in the U.S., they are somewhat of an afterthought, in Australia, all five of their albums have peaked at number one on Australian rock charts. In 2009, the band began to work on what would be their sixth album. After two years of off and on work, the band decided to go on what they would label an "indefinite hibernation". Currently, the band members of Silverchair are all working on solo projects and it appears that they may only get together to perform at benefit shows and stuff like that. After twenty years together, the book may be officially closing on Silverchair.
