Song of the Day 01/02/11: Papa Roach – Between Angels and Insects

Takin’ it Back!

When I was in 8th grade, I didn’t think there was anything cooler than Papa Roach.  Well maybe System of a Down, but that was because both bands were about saying screw you to the MAN, whoever that may have been at the time.  When your 14, that’s what…you wanna sing about.  “Between Angels and Insects”, was that song for me.  I would just play it over and over, and sing along.  That awesome little bassline.  Those jamming riffs that allowed you to head bang perfectly.  Simple lyrics you didnt have to be smart to get.  A song that’s so easy to sing along to, you could easily join in on the first listen.  And let’s not forget that last bridge, where you get to curse out the MAN.  So yeah, maybe I was just a nerdy 14 year old kid with teen angst, but to me “Angels and Insects” was what life was really all about.  Sad.  I know.  That doesn’t mean we can’t all be nostalgic together!  lol.

Song of the Day 12/27/10: System of a Down – Radio / Video

So I think “Radio/Video” has all the pieces that make System of a Down so great!  Awesome guitars, cool harmonies, crazy lyrics and big sections of “oh oh oh ahaha” kind of singing parts.  A ska breakdown.  Dizzying melodies.  I mean c’mon, who doesnt love System?? Ok, so they can be annoying if you aren’t in the mood.  But otherwise!  This song makes me wanna dance in circles.  And then possibly go insane.

Song of the Day 12/26/10: Linkin Park – The Little Things Give You Away

I’ve always loved Linkin Park.  The first album will remain one of the best albums of all time, in my head.  After their second album, I still loved them, but I asked for something different.  For the third album I hoped for something more mature.  Something that went deeper than just break up songs.  While Minutes to Midnight isn’t perfect, “The Little Things Give You Away”  really touched me.  It is  powerful, it has an awesome solo, and it isn’t about love!  This is a song for New Orleans.  It’s a cry against the Bush administration for what happened there, and I think what I love most about it is that it doesn’t come from a place of hate, but of pain.  The chorus is so light and fluttery, but the meaning behind it is a punch in the gut. “All that you ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you, and now six feet under water I do.”  Beautiful.  Please, please Linkin Park, make more music like this.

Song of the Day 12/21/10: Coheed and Cambria – Welcome Home

Coheed and Cambria…. So yeah it’s no small secret that I do not like Coheed and Cambria.  The biggest issue I have with them is that they are a HUGE investment.  They don’t just have one concept album.  They have a tetrology of them and they are ALL connected.  Only a die hard fan can make any sense of the lyrics.  I’ve listen to every one of their albums in full and I didn’t find enough there, musically, to merit me making that effort to get to know the story.  I don’t doubt that there are some die hard fans of the band and I’m glad they get so much out of it.  My other qualm is that if you’re going to have a band where the story is so absolutely important to the band, then your singer should be understandable.  Beyond all that, I can say this, it doesn’t matter what “Welcome Home” is about.  It doesn’t matter if the rest of the band’s material sounds nothing like it.  “Welcome Home” is a song of epic proportions, and the riff keeps you interested for all 6 minutes.  So if you never listen to anything else by the band, keep this on your iPod.  And if you want more stuff that sounds like this, turn towards 3, a band that keeps this kind of style reputation (though toned down a bit).

Song of the Day 11/29/10: Nightwish – Ghost Love Score

If there has ever been an album that single handedly makes the case for operatic metal, it is Nightwish’s Once.  To be honest, I don’t think a better operatic metal album will ever be created since Nightwish and their singer Tarja are no longer together.  To say that “Ghost Love Score” is epic, doesn’t even come close to a good description of its breadth.  The song is never too heavy, and often feels drawn out, but it’s all in the interest of creating that tension that begs for the orchestra and choir to roll back in and command the second half of the song.  The second half of the track has this feeling of snowball effect where layers just keep getting added one after the other, in perfect succession making this crazy awesome sound.  The breakdown, at about 4 minutes, to this awesome string piece, adds woodwinds, choir and eventually horns and metal into this ultimate metal force that cannot be stopped.  Listen to this loud and in one sitting, and then over and over.  Tell me you don’t start to get chills around 5 and a half minutes!!  I remember the first time I heard this song I just started laughing, because it was so ridiculous.  Enjoy.  And check out the rest of the album too. : )

Song of the Day 11/27/10: Lostprophets – Sway

So the Lostprophets were one of those bands I liked to rage to in the early years of high school, but the truth is while they really know how to bring the energy, they also constructed some really awesome mellow songs, such as this album ender.  I love Ians voice which sounds equally good while screaming, singing, or going falsetto.  The simpleness of this track on the surface, also has a kind of build underneath that really draws you to keep listening.  Its meaning, of being able to sway in the midst of life is something I was really drawn to.  I remember in high school after a bad break up, just going on long walks at night and listening to this over and over.  The outro is equal parts haunting and soothing, mixing in influences from choir, to Moby, in a way that just works on so many levels.  It can even make you wanna dance in the right mood.  My other great memory of this was driving around with my sister, Hannah, in traffic, and this song came on and we were just silent for nine minutes.  At the end Hannah was just like, WOW who was that?  lol.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did and still do.

Song of the Day 11/17/10: Stratovarius – Eternity

Ah… Stratovarius, always welcome when you need to feel a bit more powerful.  The major riff in this song is so good.  For a long time I thought high pitched male vocalists were wusses, but one day I was listening to Strat and thought… you know how powerful it must feel to sing those notes!?!?  lol.  Yeah just enjoy it’s awesome electrical power, and walk the walk, instead of just talkin the talk.

Song of the Day 11/16/10: Pain of Salvation – Pluvius Aestivus

This track from the album BE is a concept album about life; its beginning, middle, end and rebirth.  It’s a grandiose epic of an album, inspired by the idea of making an album with a complete orchestra.  This track, which translates to “Summer Rain,” is a mostly piano representation of a rainstorm and its themes.  Listen while watching the rain outside if you can.

Song of the Day 11/13/10: Avenged Sevenfold – Sidewinder

So, a lot of people hate Avenged Sevenfold.  I think in large it’s due to their very unique sound.  Metal fans think they’re too soft and pop rock fans think they’re too hardcore.  Some people think the singer is too wimpy, others think he’s too rough.  The songs are too long for some and too short for others.  I can go on, but I’ll let you know right now to leave all your preconcieved notions behind, and just listen to the music for what it is.  Avenged Sevenfold doesn’t have the best lyrics all the time, but what they do have is extremely good musicality and song writing skills.  They know how to keep a listener on their toes, and how to keep you guessing where the song will go next.  “Sidewinder” is amazing at this.  It has a killer opening rift, super raspy singing, patient drums and amazing guitar shredding skills, at four and a half minutes, proves you completely wrong by becoming an even better song2 for the last two minutes. It’s a shocking change, but something that’s missing in lots of metal.  Variety.  In the words of one of the commenters on the youtube video: Best.  Outro.  Ever.  Enjoy.  Oh and it’s metal so please play it loud.

Song of the Day for 11/07/10: Pain of Salvation – Sisters

Why?  Tells the tale of a man who struggles over the loss of a lover, meets her sister, and wants to bed her because of the similarities between the two.  He knows it’s wrong because he doesnt really want her.  The song finishes open ended without the man making a final decision.  Pain of Salvation is one of my all time favorite bands, and this song is near the top of the list of their greatest works.  All their albums are concept albums so check out the entire album, Roadsalt.  I’m sure I’ll feature more tracks off the album in the future.

Enjoy it.