Bands that struck my fancy recently

I used to think that it was rather weird for music journos like X'Ho, Yeow Kai Chai and Paul Zach to continue to write about fresh music and music that was cutting edge. I mean, these guys are not exactly youthful but yet they always seem to be spot on when it comes to music. Guys their age should be listening to Eric Clapton, Simon and Garfunkel, The Carpenters, Bread, Eagles and stuff like that...and be contented.

I'm stereotyping. They're weird. But in a cool way, those three.

So I'm quite please with myself that fresh sounds and new bands still excite me. And in recent weeks, these two bands have struck my fancy.

OK Go and The Editors.

Exciting stuff.

Check out the exceptional video for OK Go's Here It Goes Again: Possibly a single take and on threadmills....

Sam's Town

Sam's Town is another memorable album produced by Alan Moulder and Flood would of course be The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. There were misses....like U2's Pop album. Previously, the Killers' debut album, Hot Fuss was produced by Alan Moulder as well..

Then there is the photo duty covered by the inimitable Anton Corbijn. Ok, so Ansel Adams take black and white pictures as well but no body can convey the emotions of a "look" so well as Anton. I mean to say that Ansel is good at what he does, so they're just different. Ok, think Richard Avedon. Opposite.

And I've been writing a series of blog enteries "inspired" by the songs in the album which I thought was really really excellent. Looking at the bands with formidable debut albums in the past few years and their dreaded "second" album venture...it is a documented syndrome I tell you.

The one other time I felt that an album was so diverse in content yet so cohesive in sound was The Pet Shop Boys' Behaviour album, produced by Harold Faltermeyer. Cohesion in sound (and mood) was also found in Travis' The Man Who album produced by Nigel Godrich but that album lacked the diversity. The Travis album had too many sappy "damn it why am I Scottish!" type of songs.
Alot of people say the Killers are putting a springsteen-esque feather in their cap with lyrics depicting the edgier side of Americana - not in my opinion. The most humble sort of course!

The Killers - Sam's Town Series

I never read a person's blog to know a person. A blog is just figments of the owner(s) figments of imagination. An outlet for his creativity, his inspirations and occasionally his private musings...(link here and here)

So I cleverly (I'm so clever!) plotted (I'm so scheming!) to blindside the usual blogders (I'm so ungrateful!) by disguising my enteries as some
The technique of seemingly stylish writing, use of obtuse words and convoluted structure were to mask the lack of substance.

The only clue? The titles were all songs from The Killers' latest album, Sam's Town.

The first in the series was called Read My Mind. The title was a clue in itself as well! This one had the most personal input. In particular the bit about "the opposite of love is not hate but apathy". This genuinely disturbed more than a couple of people... So I toned it down....but what I was trying to put across was the essence of the song. That people aren't what they appear to be.

Next was Why Do I Keep Counting. This is a damn good song really. Yes, the song lyrics refer the father to a possibly church sorta father but...hey, it can be any form of broken promise. "The haunting romance of a life unlived" came to me. So I just painted this crestfallen guy who never learnt to pick himself up. I like the way I described the smoking....

I had intended to write about "When We Were Young" but thought otherwise cause it was a dead giveaway. I decided that I will reveal this only after I am back from Phuket. So I decided on My List instead. This was difficult because I had to put myself in a "girl" position. I decided then that my most "girlie" moments were when I was hesitant. Ok, there are girls who are very decisive but...well, that was the "well" from which I drew my "water" from. I also cheekily added the line "Hello, it's me". I could've just ended at the first "Hello" but I thought it'd be more interesting with the first line of Todd Rundgren's classic, Hello, it's me. The song, for those who don't listen to evergreens, has one of the most poignant lyrics. Ever.

Finally last night, there was the obvious Bones entry. The video to this single is directed by Tim Burton and Devon Aoki is the female lead. She's currently my muse by the way. She's not ugly. Just very unique. And odd. And weird. And so attractive. Maybe she has feline qualities that I can't see yet. Don't know. Anyway, this entry was about pre-marital sex. Which was what the song is about anyway. But I've decided to have the male play the dominated half. The half that don't really wish to engage in pre-marital sex. Which in real life is true actually. The dominant half in real life is not necessarily the female (or partner if you swing the other way or both ways) half. It could be social pressure, peer pressure, negative influence etc etc....yeah right, who am I trying to kid. Hence I included some lines from the song, "Gone to the dogs in my mind".

Bones

Non-procreative sex is a socially adopted modern manifestation of the forbidden fruit.

He'd always thought the first girl he gave it to will be the girl he marries. It'll be like he'd always imagined the moment to be; passionate, consensual and memorable.

Their love had blossomed, innocently at first. But soon the innocence gave way. Not to the blasphemous or arcane. It was from the naive to the mature.

"Come with me"

His inhibitions went out of the window the moment she removed her top.

"Gone to the dogs in my mind" he thought to himself.

"Don't you wanna feel my bones, on your bones? Don't you wanna come with me?"

He hadn't understood everything she was saying. She was talking about swimming and diving. He was lost in her sex lingo.

"Don't you wanna feel my skin on your skin?

He thought about what his mum would say. He thought about all the care taken by her to keep him from questioning. Good boys don't ask such questions. Good boys are inquisitive of history and art. Not the birds and the bees.

"It's only natural"

He never really liked her. Her droopy breasts and slight paunch from too much beer. Her nicotine-tinged teeth and ash-smelling breath. She dominated him through her experience. She'd taken away his moment. Just like how she might have taken away at least another three guys' moments. At least that was how the water-cooler talk went. He felt his and her urgency of need. The lustful cravings of bodily contact. The momentarily loss of memory as his body arched and heaved.

As he throbbed to a still, he heard a voice. As if calling out to him.

"Wait till tomorrow, you'll be fine"

He'd always heard this voice. In the nights when he nears the precipice of carnal delights. The voice had always saved him.

But not tonight.

Sagacity or Saga City?

Friends know this about me. This odd obesession to want to know the correct pronounciation of a word.

Anyhow, when Vivocity (godammit it's got it's own wiki) was being built, I'd thought the name of the place was a play of the word "vivacity" which means vivaciousness, lively, preppy etc etc....cool! So I was thinking it'd be pronounced as veevor city. And not Vhee Vhoh city.

It's like the art and craft shop at Bras Basah Complex, Sagacity. I always hear people calling it Sar Ghar city instead of Ser G-air city.

Why am I so @n@l?