Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Black

I've been putting off doing this song as a review for a long time, mainly because I never

thought I'd do it justice,

But I'll never know if I don't try so here goes.

*clears throat*

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Pearl Jam - Black

Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid spread out before me as her body once did
All five horizons revolved around her soul
As the earth to the sun
Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn
Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds
Of what was everything?
Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

I take a walk outside
I’m surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear
Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head
I’m spinning, oh, I’m spinning
How quick the sun can, drop away
And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass
Of what was everything (note the lack of question mark)
All the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...
All the love gone bad turned my world to black
Tattooed all I see, all that I am, all I’ll ever be...yeah...

Uh huh...uh huh...ooh...
I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a sun
In somebody else’s sky, but why
Why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine

If both extremes of emotion were condensed into Verse-Bridge-Chorus-Outro,
Pearl Jam's Black would be the result.

There isn't enough I can say about this song that hasn't already been said before by my fellow-Black loving peers but I can say that its one of the most beautiful songs that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to,

I've always loved listening to songs using a pair of headphones rather than a speakers because I feel its alot more personal that way, its just you and the music sharing an experience,nobody but you,lost in your own thoughts.

This is the unofficial anthem to the aforementioned statement, the way the mood seems to change from the verse to the bridge is perfect and the song has one of the most moving outro verses I've ever come across, its definitely one of,if not the, highlight of the entire song and Vedder's choice of lyrics really denotes the intensity of emotion.By this I mean that the change of style in the lyrics from mildly abstract poetry, to a clear message ("I know someday.........why can't it be mine?").


From what I've read,the band never wanted the song to turn into those mainstream,overplayed tracks on the radio, it meant alot to them.
One story I heard was a group of people were sitting around a campfire singing the song and Eddie came out and asked them to stop.

The song is too fragile and beautiful in it's simplicity to be played on FM in my honest opinion.

Moving on, the song revolves around the loss of a person,the five horizons of a person,the untouched sheets,the pictures washed in black all symbolizing the aftermath of a person leaving,these phrases used ever so subtly,really put you in awe at times, it sorts of builds you up for the final climax at the end where Eddie sings with such passion, its enough to quiver the hardest of hearts and make emotions run freely again in a once hollow body.

There are three versions of the song that I know of, one of course was the recorded studio version, then theres the 'Unplugged' version and finally the version the band did live at the Benaroya Hall.
An interesting fact that a few people mustn't have noticed was that Eddie messes up the lyrics in the 'Unplugged' version, if you watch the video you can see him shaking his head at the end of the verse and right after he makes the mistake,I recommend watching their Unplugged performance of the song simply because he really belts it out in the end with the "We belong together" bit.
The last one is something I'd recommend for the very nice solo after the song,it seems to have the same effect on me as Eddie singing the ending in the original (the crowd sings the "I know someday....can't it be mine?" lyric and it can really give you goosebumps.

And that my dear readers, is my shameful review of Pearl Jam's Black

Comment at will.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Champagne High

I've got an hour or so before my English class so I thought I'd do a quick review (its been a while hasn't it?),


I've been listening to alot of new bands since my last review ,I've even declared from time to time that my favourite song in the world is Pearl Jam's Black, I'm not planning on reviewing it anytime soon because I really believe I wouldn't be able to do it justice, the song is beyond beautiful (yes I know say that about alot of tracks but bear with me).

Moving on, today's review will be of Sister Hazel and their song 'Champagne High' which I came across by chance a few days ago, I was getting hold of 'All for you' , and I got 'Champagne High' as well just so I could see how it sounded.

And I did,

And I liked it alot :),its was all I listened to yesterday and I'm listening to it right now too.

Anyway here goes,

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Sister Hazel - Champagne High

I wasn't looking for a lifetime with you
And I never thought it would hurt just to hear
"I do" and "I do"
And I do a number on myself
And all that I thought to be
And you'll be the one
That just left me undone
By my own, hesitation

Pre-chorus
and for the million hours that we were
well I'll smile and remember it all
then I'll turn and go
while your story's completed mine is a long way from done.

Chorus
Well I'm on a champagne high
Where will I be when I stop wondering why
On a champagne high
I'd toast to the future but that'd be a lie
On a champagne high, high

Spring turned to summer
But then winter turned to mean
The distance seemed right
At the time it was best - to leave
And to leave behind
What I once thought was fine And so real - to me
And while I'm still gone
On the quest for my song
I'm at your - celebration

Pre-chorus

Chorus

Your wagons been hitched to a star
Well now he'll be your thing that's new
Yeah what little I have you can borrow
'Cause I'm old and I'm blue...

Pre-chorus

Well I'm on a champagne high (so high)
Where will I be when I stop wondering why
On a champagne high (so high)
Toast to the future but that'd be a lie
On a champagne high
Where will I be when I stop wondering why
On a champagne high... high...
So high so high you left me undone
so high, so high you left me undone....


Well the lyrics weren't really impressive I must say, but it does the job right.
I've always liked alternative songs which incorporate cellos and violins since they really give that orchestral 'lift' to a piece and bring them alive on their own, the violins in the song do just that,especially towards the end,where its presence is increased and then dies down.

One thing I really did like about the song was the backing vox at the line "I'm old and blue" , I'm not sure who the female vocalist is but it sounds really good,she can be heard faintly all through the chorus as well.

I'm sure the meaning is pretty straightforward here, I thought it was sung by a person who was at a wedding of someone he really loved, and now hes on the sidelines watching her being 'hitched' while hes on a 'champagne high'.

Alot of you might not take to this song as I did, but I thought it was pretty nice since I haven't heard much from Sister Hazel ,and I enjoy covering acoustic stuff with Richard from time to time.

Apologies for the short review (lacking in substance too I think), I've got a headache and the fasting isn't making it better >.<.

Cheers.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

A Day in Sharjah

I know its late but I thought I'd blog about how our day went celebrating my birthday/taking in the 'sights' in Sharjah,

If you ask Hitesh or Richard they'd tell you that it made them appreciate Dubai's scenic value more,

I for one found it to be a really quaint place,I especially loved the walk to the Ferris wheel (which we've been talking about trying for ages) with the moat thing and the bridge walk,come to think of it , it reminded me alot of the AH area in FFXI in the Elvaan territory,(MMO geek blog quota fulfilled).

The Ferris ride was really cool though, we had alot of fun screaming obscenities into the microphone and Sarah recorded the whole time with her digicam.
We also tried out the rides at Sahara centre which was f**king A,regardless of what I had thought earlier, they look like kiddie coin pushers but don't let that fool you.
We rode the 'Asteroid twice' and rode the 'Tidal wave' 3 times while singing either Last Kiss or Black throughout ;).

Sarah's and her mom were nice enough to buy me two cakes to celebrate back at her place , here are a few pics they took.

P.S (excuse the 'stoner look' I seemed to sport the whole day on account of a full 2 days of partying)

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Us tired after the whole thing was over

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Stoner image of me and Richard

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Before going out I cut the cake and...

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Yeah

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

This too (I gave some to Shehara,Karan and Sarah too though I haven't got those pictures with me)
 
http://soundcloud.comSwiftheart