Kieran ologized Cluster of F**k's - Part 3 - Im Mad as Hell and Im Not Gona Take It Anymore! to MusicOlogy
May 22, 2013
e@n commented on Ology's Battle Of The Fans: '80s Semi-Finals (Duran Duran Vs. Depeche Mode):
“Duran Duran ♥”
May 22, 2013
Damar commented on Ology's Battle Of The Fans: '80s Semi-Finals (Duran Duran Vs. Depeche Mode):
“Depeche Mode!!”
May 22, 2013
Chrissie commented on Duran Duran: The Study Guide Version:
“Freakin' hilarious! Tongue-in-cheekiness appreciated by THIS Duranie! ;-)”
May 22, 2013
Chrissie commented on Ology's Battle Of The Fans: '80s Semi-Finals (Duran Duran Vs. Depeche Mode):
“Duran Duran -- I remember the first night I was truly cognizant of the individual band members. It was the first Friday of December, 1984. My BFF Pam and I suffered the same affliction of not having cable TV and had to get our music video fix via NBC's "Friday Night Videos." I'd seen Duran Duran videos and knew their songs, but just wasn't all that into them. The video for "Do They Know It's Christmas" came on and I was like, "Pam, who is this hot guy with the long blonde hair???" "Oh, that's Simon LeBon. He's the lead singer of Duran Duran." Hmmm... "I guess that guy with the red and black shirt that says 'Duran Duran' on it is in the band, too, huh?" "Yeah, that's John Taylor. Like EVERYONE thinks he's hot." (And I remember thinking, "He's okay, I guess," LOL!) "Hey, Pam! Who's this guy back here? Shoot, I keep missing him! They just barely show him, with the amazing make-up and the gorgeous eyes???" "Oh, that's Nick Rhodes. He's in Duran Duran, too. I think he plays keyboards." Hmmm... The next video up? "Wild Boys" by Duran Duran! Just a few moments earlier, during "DTKIC," I had picked out these three men who would fill my dreams, diaries, and Duran-induced imagination for years and years to come, three talented musicians whose band's music would, from that night forward change my life forever and whose music would literally save my life more than once.”
"Monday is for drinking to the seldom seen kid," insists Elbow frontman Guy Garvey ominously a few songs into the band's now-classic, Mercury Prize-winning fourth album. Entirely self-produced and recorded in their hometown of Manchester, The Seldom Seen Kid married Garvey's detailed, gloriously specific lyrical portraits to a cinematic, sprawling sonic backdrop filled with lavish string and horn arrangements, choirs, electronics and maybe even a not-so-subtle Richard Hawley cameo. Almost universally acclaimed upon its release, the album more or less disappeared off the radar before roaring back after the aforementioned Mercury nod, scoring a major hit with the anthemic "One Day Like This" and introducing the band to a veritable legion of new fans. Song for song, it's easily one of the best albums of the past decade and more than worth a second (or third) listen.
Elbow circa-2008
Using Spotify? Listen to Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid in its entirety right here.
"Starlings"
Comes billowing gently to life on a bed of blip-bloop electronics, breathy background vocals and… get ready for it… bombastic "hail to the king!" trumpets. "You are the only thing in any room you're ever in," Garvey sighs. "I guess I'm asking you to back a horse that's good for glue and nothing else." When he later wonders, "Darling, is this love?" you can't help but believe so.
"The Bones Of You"
A restless, weary waltz of choppy percussion and dangling guitar strums. "I took a hammer to every memento, but image on image like beads on a rosary pull through my head as the music takes hold," Garvey croons over the slow grind of Pete Turner's bass and Mark Potter's layered acoustics. Keep your ears peeled and you just might hear a little bit of Gershwin's "Summertime"…
"Mirrorball"
"We took the town to town last night… We kissed like we invented it…" The perfect soundtrack to an empty city streetscape, lonely and lunar-lit—a gorgeously bleak, gentle stroll that comes to life with the aching sweep of violins during its devastating chorus. "My sorry name has made it to graffiti / I was looking for someone to complete me / Not anymore, dear / Everything has changed…"
"Grounds For Divorce"
Awww yeahhh. The album's roaring first single is a bluesy, guttural stomp soaked in Bushmill's and haunted by the ghosts of girlfriends past. "I've been working on cocktail called grounds for divorce," Garvey half-scowls, "There's a hole in my neighborhood down which of late I cannot help but fall." Comes growling to life after the first chorus with Mark's snarling beast of a guitar riff and Richard Jupp's punch in the stomach drums.
"An Audience With The Pope"
"I have an audience with the pope and I'm saving the world at eight… but if she says she needs me, everybody's gonna have to wait," Guy forewarns over the naught trickle of pianos and sultry two-step of Pete's buzzy bass guitar. "Good god, I'm easily bruised but so often a moth to her flame." Saucy stuff, for sure.
"Weather To Fly"
Guy's feathery falsetto meanders softly over the lush sweep of lullaby pianos and cloudy day strings—a low-flying gray cloud of guarded optimism, blossoming brilliantly beneath Garvey's circular quatrains. "Are we having the time of our lives?" he persistently wonders. Sigh… oh, this song. Music for diving off foggy cliffs.
"The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver"
Hey, speaking of heights… the album reaches its first major climax with this sluggish grind, a slow build up to the heavens that reaches a near-explosive orchestral blast of strings and airy keyboards all stretched out beneath the ache of Garvey's progressively desperate vocal yowl.
"The Fix"
A bit of a throwaway, sure, but a deliciously fun one, for sure. Guest Richard Hawley's guest vocals and guitar lend a bit of naughty partner in crime to this salacious bit of business, populated with gangsters, gambling and good-for-nothings. Worth the price of admission to just hear that distant, wailing "wah wah wahhh" guitar line.
"Some Riot"
Oh, good heavens… my absolute favorite. Comes gently to life with a bit of melancholy piano and distant guitar pluckage before settling into a sort of post-Pink Floyd, nauseous to and fro sway. "It's breaking my heart to pour like the rain," Guy moans softly. "When will my friend start singing again?" If the vocal swell around the 3:30 doesn't immediately move you to tears, well, I can't help you, mate.
"One Day Like This"
Can't not feel instantly great when this song comes on, right? "Holy cow, I love your eyes!" Guy exclaims (without an ounce of irony) over a bright sunny day's bed of "build me up" violins. "Kiss me like a final meal… Kiss me like we die tonight…" Dare you to try not joining in once that infectiously feel-good final refrain comes rolling through like a worldwide sunrise. To paraphrase its famous outro, "One song like this a year would see me right."
"Friend Of Ours"
A heartbreaking farewell to a friend set to the funereal sway of Craig Potter's piano and Richard's delicate brush drumming. "Never very good at goodbyes," Guy moans gently, "Love you, mate." The Seldom Seen Kid bows out quietly and humbly… never suggesting it knows how rapturously brilliant it truly is.
Have a favorite song from or memory of Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid? Hit up our comments section below.
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