What!?! He Posted on the Weekend?
A rare weekend post for me, however with me being here this weekend I might as well make use of it and post something. So there's an explanation for that, haha.
Sometimes I feel there are albums that are perfect for a period of life or situation. Like me, being in my early twenties, I have still yet to find out exactly what I should be doing with my life, other than this blog of course. Albums that kind of dwell on that topic are a bit harder to come by rather than say albums that are mostly dealing with the ending of relationships and stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, I own a bunch of that stuff, but like I said, it always deals with the same things. Where as, I am more inclined to relate to an album that has to deal with someone going through an odd transition in their life, or someone dealing with numerous changes in their life or maybe just themselves. Anyway, I am sure I've only managed to confuse people with all the above, but those types of albums are going to be my main focus of this post today.
I'll start with the general "relationship" album, maybe with a bit of a more misogynist feel to it at times, which I can always appreciate. That album happens to be The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen. I choose this because it's not the typical "I miss you, I still love you" stuff. It's actually the more logical and what I would believe to be the more common situation or train of thought after such events. Probably has something to do with the fact that it's not written with the mentality of some fruitless teen relationship. Anyway, the album has found its way in and out of my CD player quite a bit. It never takes me long to come to fully appreciate Greg Dulli's lyrics, albeit a bit up front with them at times. However, that's the beauty of this album. It's so completely honest, self loathing, and bitter that it makes for one of the only true heartbreak albums that I can think of aside from maybe a couple others. Regardless, this is an album of someone laying it all on the line...emotions, frustration, etc. It's caught and perfectly expressed in a real way on Gentlemen, all the while still managing to be a straight forward indie rock album. Check out the songs below for some of my favorites off the Gentlemen.
The Afghan Whigs - Debonair [MP3]
The Afghan Whigs - When We Two Parted [MP3]
The Afghan Whigs - What Jail is Like [MP3]
Buy The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen here!
The album This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About from Modest Mouse is more along the lines of what I was talking about before. An album that focuses, while not completely, on the confusion of lifes direction. At least that's what I've always gathered from it. Of course it deals with the little nuances here and there that makes life so challenging at times, however it's all those things that lead you to question it in the first place.
I'm not to terribly familiar with Modest Mouse's entire discography, as I've never really considered myself a huge fan. This album though always seems to capture a different feeling from me however when I hear it. I don't know if it's having to do with living in the Midwest and its vast nothingness, or if Isaac Brock just hit the nail on the head with it here. Isolation will do strange things to you after awhile, and throughout the album you get the sense that a lot of the songs are partly due to it. Songs like "Dramamine" and "Talking Shit on a Pretty Sunset" creep along slowly and quietly but manage to tell and present a much larger feeling of desperation and confusion. Explaining exactly what the songs or this album sounds like is fairly pointless, as I am sure most by now have been exposed to Modest Mouse by this point, and to be honest they haven't changed a whole lot. However, This is a Long Drive... is the kind of album I feel that is almost essential listening in between jobs or relationships. Although it won't help you any with your outcome, it's at least a bit comforting to hear in my opinion.
Modest Mouse - Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset [MP3]
Modest Mouse - Dramamine [MP3]
Modest Mouse - Custom Concern [MP3]
Buy Modest Mouse - This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About here!
Sometimes I feel there are albums that are perfect for a period of life or situation. Like me, being in my early twenties, I have still yet to find out exactly what I should be doing with my life, other than this blog of course. Albums that kind of dwell on that topic are a bit harder to come by rather than say albums that are mostly dealing with the ending of relationships and stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, I own a bunch of that stuff, but like I said, it always deals with the same things. Where as, I am more inclined to relate to an album that has to deal with someone going through an odd transition in their life, or someone dealing with numerous changes in their life or maybe just themselves. Anyway, I am sure I've only managed to confuse people with all the above, but those types of albums are going to be my main focus of this post today.
I'll start with the general "relationship" album, maybe with a bit of a more misogynist feel to it at times, which I can always appreciate. That album happens to be The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen. I choose this because it's not the typical "I miss you, I still love you" stuff. It's actually the more logical and what I would believe to be the more common situation or train of thought after such events. Probably has something to do with the fact that it's not written with the mentality of some fruitless teen relationship. Anyway, the album has found its way in and out of my CD player quite a bit. It never takes me long to come to fully appreciate Greg Dulli's lyrics, albeit a bit up front with them at times. However, that's the beauty of this album. It's so completely honest, self loathing, and bitter that it makes for one of the only true heartbreak albums that I can think of aside from maybe a couple others. Regardless, this is an album of someone laying it all on the line...emotions, frustration, etc. It's caught and perfectly expressed in a real way on Gentlemen, all the while still managing to be a straight forward indie rock album. Check out the songs below for some of my favorites off the Gentlemen.Buy The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen here!
The album This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About from Modest Mouse is more along the lines of what I was talking about before. An album that focuses, while not completely, on the confusion of lifes direction. At least that's what I've always gathered from it. Of course it deals with the little nuances here and there that makes life so challenging at times, however it's all those things that lead you to question it in the first place.I'm not to terribly familiar with Modest Mouse's entire discography, as I've never really considered myself a huge fan. This album though always seems to capture a different feeling from me however when I hear it. I don't know if it's having to do with living in the Midwest and its vast nothingness, or if Isaac Brock just hit the nail on the head with it here. Isolation will do strange things to you after awhile, and throughout the album you get the sense that a lot of the songs are partly due to it. Songs like "Dramamine" and "Talking Shit on a Pretty Sunset" creep along slowly and quietly but manage to tell and present a much larger feeling of desperation and confusion. Explaining exactly what the songs or this album sounds like is fairly pointless, as I am sure most by now have been exposed to Modest Mouse by this point, and to be honest they haven't changed a whole lot. However, This is a Long Drive... is the kind of album I feel that is almost essential listening in between jobs or relationships. Although it won't help you any with your outcome, it's at least a bit comforting to hear in my opinion.
Buy Modest Mouse - This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About here!
Labels: indie-rock
posted by Jonathan at
10:15 AM
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