Search the Archives
Grrr…argh….technical difficulties.
mp3s do not compute!
No fear, the blog will blog on.
I first heard Venice is Sinking at AthFest 2007 and I knew I had found my instrumental pop fix.
Have a listen through Youtube here and read on as Daniel Lawson from ViS tells you about this song, inspired by a local neighborhood no less!
• What inspired the lyrics to the song? (Personal experience or observation?)
This song is pretty personal. The lyrics are about a very specific party at our old practice space during which I lost the keys to my apartment because of an ex-girlfriend and some kudzu. Later that evening she and I broke into my apartment together. The next morning was filled with confusion, regret and a rented metal detector. I never did find my keys.
• Why title the song ‘Pulaski Heights’? (Does it have anything to do with the Athens neighborhood?)
The title has everything to do with that neighborhood! We used to practice at the house that sits right next to the rail road tracks on Pulaski Street. I used to live around the corner on Barrow Street and I think all of us have pretty nice memories of that part of town, drinking mimosas in the afternoon and hitting golf balls at the passing trains. It’s probably my favorite neighborhood in Athens because of those memories and the diversity that exists there. Where else in town will you find an upholstery shop next to an architect’s office - next to a former linseed oil refinery - next to a yoga studio - next to a train depot - next to a Volkswagen mechanic with houses and apartments scattered inbetween? The zoning must be insane over there.
• Who is the song directed to? Who is the “you” in the chorus?
The same girl that I broke into my house with that night. I used to live with her in an old house in Pulaski Heights.
• How did “no one noticed, but no one looked away”?
I think it happens all of the time. People are drawn to things that maybe they don’t feel like they should be and sometimes they pretend not to notice something that is extremely obvious. That might not make any sense. I don’t know…that line has a specific meaning to me (that’s honestly a little boring), but hopefully people can interpret it in a different and more interesting way for themselves.
• Could you describe how you decided on the melody for the song? I’m particularly interested to know what’s behind the lengthy music intervals and the harmonizing near the end.
A lot of our songs have a similar structure with instrumental breaks between the verses instead of a more traditional chorus. I guess we just like to leave room for the instrumental melodies to take hold, but I don’t think it was a conscious decision with this one. This song pretty much wrote itself one day at practice, coming together faster than probably any other song that we’ve written.
• Why the inclusion of a string instrument?
It’s just one of the many perks that come with having a full time violist in the band.
• What was the concept behind the music video? (Why is Karolyn the only one stuck in a TV?)
The video was directed by our friends Chris Poules and Tim Hayden of Wow! Bang! Science! Productions. I can’t really remember, but I want to say the TV stuff was all their idea. I think Lucas wanted to be cutting some wood with a skil saw, so he should probably get the credit for that. The video was a lot of fun to make, but I’m pretty sure Chris and Tim felt kind of rushed. I think it was shot in maybe two days and the final scenes were filmed at the new bus station on the edge of downtown before the city finished construction.
As the semester draws to an end, I’d like to leave you guys with a song that speaks volumes about a predicament many of us find ourselves in.
As an English and Journalism major, my majors are not supported by my parents. Their main complaint? It’s not profitable. Even in my classes, I am constantly reminded by professors and speakers that one does not enter these career paths for money.
I am often tempted to just opt out and change to a major more financially stable. I love my comforts just as anyone else and I want to be able to afford to live a nice lifestyle.
And then a song like this comes along.
This song’s message struck a chord with me and I hope it does to anyone out there contemplating a major change for money.
Scroll on down to see what Alex and Brian have to say about their song, ‘Two-faced Savior.’
See y’all next semester and stay strong my fellow majors! 
• What inspired the lyrics to the song? (Personal experience or observation?)
Alex: A little bit of both. Financial gain plays such a large role in human motivation. I’ve known so many people to sacrifice what they love for fear of it hindering their ambitions of financial gain. College is a great example; you see people choosing majors for money rather than passion . The lyrics of this song describe a man whose stifled childhood dreams come back to haunt him.
Brian: I agree. Definitely a combination of the two. All of us are in college despite desires to be making a career out of this band. In that respect we can sympathize with the character of this song. Most of it would be observation, though, because while we’re still in school we are still actively pursuing our dream of music while we watch other people (neighbors, peers, coworkers) piddle their lives away without pursuing anything but a buck.
• The song has a storytelling element to it (characters, plot, etc) is there a reason why you approached the song this way?
Alex: The album itself is a story. This song establishes the conceptual direction of the album.
Brian: We chose to make the album itself a story because it lays in line with the theatricality we let seep into every aspect of the band. We find that kind of thing more entertaining and enjoy creating it more than just a compilation of songs. Making the song (and ultimately the album) a story also helped influence us to make some new and fun creative decisions such as using a computer keyboard for the percussion.
• Why the phrases, “The Corporate Corpse” and “The Warrior Child”?
Alex: “The Corporate Corpse” describes a man whose life is not his own, but one belonging to a societal blueprint that regiments people’s lives around financial stability and mundane routine. “The Warrior Child” describes a boy with a militant Peter-Pan-complex who battles ideals of corporate enslavement and promotes lifestyles characterized by the pursuit of dreams. I want to clarify that Crumbling Arches is not anti-corporate; we are simply using these topic as a vehicle for the themes in the album.
Brian: The corpse is dead because he has stopped pursuing his dreams and has become nothing but a hollow shell of a man. Life can do that to you if you don’t fight it. Our character has given up and taken the easy road to a menial desk job. The warrior child is still fighting. Nobody wants to live and die in a cubical.
• Why title the song ‘Two faced Savior’? Who is the two-faced savior?
Alex: If I answered that question, it would reveal a turning point in the story.
• Near the end, the child gains the upper hand and chokes the corpse? Why choose the word ‘choked’?
Alex: It isn’t literal; it indicates that the child was effective in convincing the corpse that he was suppressing his dreams and living a life of stagnation.
Brian: The corporate corpse was upset, all choked up. Like that one song from Grease…
• Could you describe how you decided on the melody, the pace, the instruments for the song?
Alex: This song is a lot more spacious and soft than the body of the album. Conceptually, the soft, unhurried pace of the album parallels the scarcity of dynamics in the protagonist’s life. The song picks up when the corpse begins to understand the stagnancy in his life.
Brian: We chose to make a computer keyboard the main percussion because the song takes places in a cubical. As the song begins you can hear the ringing of a telephone, people talking, the sound of a fax machine, and other office sounds to reinforce the setting.
• How does the song fit in with the rest of your concept album?
Alex: It is one of three narrative ballads that help to simplify the story.
Brian: It introduces the main character, themes, and conflict of the story. Like any good narrative should.
• Is there a certain aspect of society you are targeting or commenting on with this song?
Alex: The song is targeting the human tendency to replace dreams with practical goals. It is targeting a general lack of faith that unorthodox dreams can and do materialize.
• Who is the song directed to?
Brian: Anyone and everyone who has wished they could do something but held back for any reason at all. It’s meant to call out everyone on their timidness, and to give them an opportunity to recognize if they are pushing their own dreams aside in the name of practicality.
Composed of a little Dark Meat, a little bit of Venice is Sinking, and a whole lot of introspection, The Ginger Envelope is one folksy band that has become a staple on my Ipod lately.
The band will be celebrating the release of its debut album, Edible Orchids, with a concert this Thursday at the 40 Watt.
The best thing about the concert? Each ticket will include a copy of the album! How flipping amazing is that? In a time when the music industry turns against fans in the name of profit, here is a band that distributes their music for music’s sake. Kudos.
And since I was able to preview the album for an Out & About article, I assure you the songs are catchy as fishing for piranhas with a piece of meat.
The song ‘Failsafe’ in particular has been on constant repeat and so when it came down for a blog update, I couldn’t resist.
Here is a taste of the audio goodies and a smattering of insight from the lyricist, Patrick Carey.
Click below to listen to ‘Failsafe’
• What inspired the lyrics to the song? (Personal experience or observation?)
I’m sure that the lyrics were born of personal experience, but it seems that they waver between expressing those feelings, while at the same time looking out into the environment that fosters these experiences into being…
• Why title the song ‘Failsafe’?
It wanted to be called by that name.
• Who is the song directed to? Is he/she the same person as ‘little baby’?
I suppose it’s directed to everyone who’s struggled with their own mentality, when we straddle the line between dream and waking, ambition and passivity…I’d wish to think its not directed at any one person.
• Why ‘would you like to see where they buried the country’ or ‘more boredom’?
I figure I may not be around to see the infrastructure collapse, and wouldn’t mind knowing how it all went down. And as far as boredom, again I think it relates the complicity and passive nature of all of us who could make changes for the betterment of the whole.
• Could you elaborate on the line, ‘you and I share the same green thumb’?
People rarely realize how elementally similar they are.
• How is ‘pandemonium never too perfect’ or ‘never so simple’?
Well, when pushing limits and boundaries, whether physical, emotional, or otherwise, it obviously invites more chaotic elements in all around you; out of which we all must find order, that is if we make it through said challenges still in tact.
• Could you describe how you decided on the melody, the pace, the instruments for the song?
The melody, in all fairness chose itself, the pace seemed to be about right, and the instrumentation comes from hearing what calls back to you after you’ve sent it out there.
• This song seems to be about disillusionment in the city, am I close?
I’d bet there’s a bit of that in there, as well as confusion about
your place within it, but really I’d rather let it be interpreted by those who hear themselves in it…
With contemplative lyrics, a moody melody and soft delivery, Bain Mattox’s “Rice Paper Heart” is the kind of song makes me want to write poetry in a leather bound journal and sip coffee on a winter day.
The song’s lyrics are a perfect blend of tenderness, disillusionment and poetic insight. Though the words are spare and disconnected, their connotations and the overall atmosphere make the song a fantastic addition to any indie-coffeehouse-folk-rock collection.
To listen to the song, please click here and read on. (The song is second on the playlist).
Wanna see Bain live? His next concert is @ The Star Baron in Atlanta on Nov. 8th @ 9:00 pm.
• What inspired the lyrics to the song? (Personal experience or observation?)
This song is about a friend of mine who had a bad battle with depression, the lyrics were based on things she had said to me.
• Why title the song ‘Rice Paper Heart’?
The song is about someone whose heart is fragile, much like rice paper.
• Could you elaborate on the line, “stemming from this juncture, the
simplicity of puncturing this… Rice Paper Heart…”?
It means that the “juncture” she was at in her life was the reason her heart became so breakable.
• How does the line “Technicolor episode” fit with the song’s meaning?
She felt as though she was living everyday like she was outside of herself watching what she was doing on a movie screen. So I took the phrase “Technicolor Episode” to mean “Movie-like life.” I also claim that that is how I write music. I try to view everything objectively as if I am watching myself or whatever else from a distance.
• In the lyrics, it seems as if you place yourself in a defining moment in time (referencing the night, tonight, etc.) Could you tell me more about why you framed it like this?
I guess because all of this was happening during the time I wrote it. It was very much in the now of what was going on in my life with this person.
FOR FULL LYRICS CLICK HERE.
I seriously question the need for an introduction here – If you haven’t heard of the Modern Skirts or their music during your time here at UGA, then I suggest a Q-tip because too much ear wax does affect your hearing.
In the astronomically small chance that you have no idea who these guys are, I beseech you to download ‘Pasadena’ off this blog. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a free song to christen you into the pop nirvana that is the Modern Skirts.
With irresistable hooks and flawless harmony, this band had me at ‘Seventeen Dirty Magazines.’ But seeing as ‘Pasadena’ always seems to be the song concert-goers sing along loudest to, I decided to feature it on this week’s blog.
So whether you are a fellow fan, curious to know what inspired this crown jewel of a song, or a wide-eyed newbie, curious to know what all the fuss is about, here’s the scoop straight from lead singer Jay:
• What inspired the song?
The song was inspired by a feeling I had at one point in time when I contemplated moving to another location without telling any of my family or friends my whereabouts. At least, until I gained a better knowledge of myself…it was a very selfish idea.
• Why did you title it as “Pasadena”?
Pasadena is just a label for anywhere in the world I could’ve gone at the time.
• Why choose Pasadena and/or Catalina as the destination?
Pasadena and Catalina were both places I had never been before. They were the first locations that came to mind.
• Who is the song directed to? (i.e. who are you asking to go to Pasadena with you?)
The “let’s move to Pasadena” line is plural because it referred to my physical being and all the emotional baggage that was strapped to me at the time.
• Where did the line, “Maybe I should jump in the sink and swim right down the drain,” come from?
The line refers to being swept away from the surroundings that seem to choke you and getting some breathing room somewhere else.
• Is there really someone named Caroline?
There is no Caroline. Caroline symbolized the one person who seems to understand you best when in reality, he or she is just a floater giving you empty advice and false hope.
• Could you describe how you decided on the melody, the pace, the instruments for the song?
The song started with the verses. Then, I randomly played the guitar hook which inspired me to put words to that melody. I came up with the “then on to Catalina” part in my car while I was on my way to show the song off to the rest of the band.
• What do you want the listener to glean from “Pasadena” if anything?
I don’t know if there is anything to be “gleaned” from Pasadena. I just think the song reflects a similar human emotion that we all have had at one point or another.
Blogger’s Note: The only thing I share with Kim Jong Il is my ethnicity. Don’t let me dictate what goes on this blog. Post a song you’ve always wanted to know the meaning behind. I will hunt it down. And don’t tell me that you’ve never wondered how some songs came to be.
Tin Cup Prophette was the first local artist I ever saw in Athens, so I thought it would be fitting to start the first entry with the song that opened my eyes to the audio feast in this here college town.
What had struck me most about “Going Numb” was the way the violin complemented the haunting lyrics throughout the song.
For her initial verses we have staccato, plucked violin that creates an alert pace. And when the song crescendos into the chorus, a solemn violin melody is layered on top. That part is pretty freaking euphoric, honestly.
So have a listen here, and read the story behind the song directly from the artist’s fingertips to your eyes.
P.S. the song is the second track on the website.
• What inspired you to write the lyrics? Was it personal experience
or observation?
“Going Numb” is definitely based on a personal experience, but I like to make it ambiguous enough so that people can interpret it for themselves. It is basically about being in a position (having a job, etc) that you really resent or don’t enjoy to the point where all you can do is force yourself to be numb to its affect on you.
• Why did you title it as “Going Numb”?
It is titled ‘Going Numb’ because it best represents the feeling of slowly shutting oneself off to the rest of the world in order to cope with an unpleasant situation.
• Why should your face have no eyes, no scorn, no vacant stare, etc?
What I see as the process of going numb is the slow shutting down of one’s senses: becoming blind to the surroundings.
• Why are you ‘opening fire’ and who is ‘going down like a place I never could admire’?
It’s really just a figurative way of stating my anger for something/someone. It’s a way of saying, I want you to suffer.
• There seems to be a dichotomy between mind and body in the lyrics, is that intentional?
Yes, when you shut yourself off from something, it isn’t just a physical change. It’s a mental one as well. I wanted to create the imagery of slowly feeling less and less with each body part until your thoughts become focused on the lack of feeling, or
numbness.
• Could you describe how you decided on the melody, the pace, the instruments for the song?
Basically, I write all of my melodies on the violin and looping pedals. I just create layer after layer until i feel like there is a complete melody and mood. That song is mostly all violin, even the lower registered stuff; it’s just altered in my pedals. There’s a little ambient guitar noise, a little kee bass, and i like the contrast that the glockenspiel has with the lushness of the strings.
• What do you want the listener to glean from “Going Numb” if anything?
If anything, I want any listener to be able to relate something in their life to something in the song. My lyrics are often misinterpreted, which is OK if it conjures up some distinct feeling in someone, whether it reminds them of a person or a situation. I had a girl who had just lost a baby and said that song helped her cope. So, I wrote a song out of anger, and yet, someone else can relate to it in a much different way.
Went to a great concert but fell victim to warbled lyrics?…Looking for a good band to break you into the Athens music scene?…Ever wonder about the story behind your favorite song?…Or let me put it this way, do you like free music?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then this blog belongs on your computer monitor. Welcome to Liner Notes.
Consider me your lyrical detective. Each week (or basically often as I can), I will track down a local Athens band and get the scoop on one of their songs. Lyrics will be posted as well as an in-depth interview on the creative process behind the song. PLUS with the band’s permission, we will make that song available for download…for FREE!
And like any good DJ, I take requests. In fact, I’d rather base this blog off requests. After all, I want to find the bands you actually want to listen to. So go ahead, leave a comment with the band’s name and the song you want me to feature next time. Don’t worry too much about them being local either, I will hunt down anybody. Just keep in mind though, the less corporate the band, the more likely I will make contact and get the song for download.
So there you have it, Liner Notes 101. I look forward to being your musical private eye, gumshoe…or whatever.
RSS 2.0
