Paul McCartney: I introduced the Beatles to politics

Paul McCartney said very recently in an interview that he introduced the Beatles to politics, not John.

My response: Yeah right. John had nothing to do with politics. Of course. That's why half of his solo songs are political, like "Give Peace A Chance", "Gimme Some Truth", etc. Right. And you JUST pointed this out? You waited HOW LONG to say this? It's friggin 2008, Paul! The Beatles broke up 1969! It's almost been 40 years! I'll bet it's easier for him to say this with John being too dead to argue with him. But to be fair, John died about 20 years ago.

I think this is Paul just trying to cast some positive light on himself and away from John. I don't know why he wants this attention. Attention's useless when you're already the most known band in the world.

-Derek

Listening to: Kid A

by Radiohead. I get most of my super-cool music from one of my teachers. I just borrow the CDs from him and put them on my iTunes, then return them to his collection. When I asked him if Kid A was any good, he just said, in a very quiet, disturbing voice, "Oh, no. You're not ready for that yet. That one's going to drive you insane. It's going to make you kill yourself or something. Please, just put it back... put it back..."

So naturally, I put it back and then took it when he wasn't looking a few minutes later. So now I'm listening to it on my ultra-high-quality iPhone through brand new Apple-made headphones, and my verdict is: it's a powerful album. It is very powerful. I can see what my teacher was thinking when he warned me about it.

My favorite song is absolutely "National Anthem", followed in order by "Kid A" and "How to Disappear Completely".

"National Anthem" is a seriously depressing song. It starts with some cool bass, cool drums, crazy-sounding horns, etc, and then out of nowhere, the lead singer begins to sing, "Everyone/ Everyone around here/ Everyone is so near/ So alone/ So alone". Now the thing is, just typing those words here does the actual experience of hearing it absolutely no justice. His voice is very echoey (in music-speak, it's called reverb), and it's quiet, almost as if he's suffering, etc. And the lyrics themselves? I don't know why, but I fell in love with them as soon as I heard them. For some reason I feel as if I can relate to them. I can see why it's called the National Anthem. It's almost like he's saying, "We don't need that BS national anthem most countries have where they're saying everybody loves to get along with each other. We need a national anthem that speaks the real truth, comes out and says, 'You know what? Society isn't like that. We may be standing right next to each other, but we're so far apart that it tears us up into little pieces.'"

Then there's "Kid A", the second track on the album ("National Anthem" is the third). It features a robotic voice, presumably the lead singers' put through a talk box of some kind. This voice sounds really sad. For me, it kind of conjures up images of a person trapped inside a metal robot body, desperate to get out. I can't hear what the robot is saying yet, but I'll find out soon.

"How to Disappear Completely" features very few loud instruments, the core opposite of "National Anthem". The main lines include "I'm not here, this isn't happening". Almost disturbing when you think about it. It might not just be denial, but schizophrenia. With how messed-up the lead singer of Radiohead seems to be in the brain, I wouldn't doubt it.

Overall, it's a thought-provoking, brilliant piece of art. But don't listen to it if you are battling depression.

Review: "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay

"Viva La Vida" is a big album right now, and Coldplay is pulling out all the stops to get it seen. So I bought it on iTunes, and how is it? It's fantastic. This album is absolute gold, and it will certainly go down in history as one of the great albums of the early 2000's. Let's look at its songs.

I think it's core makeup is the songs "Lost!" and "Lost?". They are essentially the same song, but the first one appears as the third song of the album, and the second appears as the album's finale. "Lost!" is a hard-rocking song, but "Lost?" is a quiet piano song with the same basic musical skeleton as the first. The songs open with the inspirational lyric "Just because I'm losing / doesn't mean I'm lost". Now listen to how this is said in the song. The words themselves are ingenious, but listen to how the haunting melody absolutely interlocks with the mood of the words. As a fellow musician, I can tell you that being able to do that takes pure skill. The way the songs are placed in the album sets the theme for the album, and it reminds me of "In The Flesh?" and "In The Flesh" by Pink Floyd in their rock opera epic, "The Wall".

"42" is a great song, the title probably reflecting Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

But the shiniest gem of the record is the title track, full of soaring vocals, poetic lyrics, and brilliant dynamics. The song is complete with a beautiful orchestra and chorus that makes the music sound extremely colorful and almost seems to make it sparkle. If you have a brand new iPod with brand new headphones, this is a spectacle to listen to on it.

Overall, it's a five-star album. It's been a pleasure to listen to, and I highly recommend it. This is a must-have for your iPod, and an iPod is a must-have because of this.

-Derek

Happy Halloween

I'm at the Rivera residence again. Everybody comes trick-or-treating in broad daylight, and then there are none when it actually gets dark. Kind of ironic.

Time for this week's Top 5. This time it's the Top 5 Psychedelic Songs.

5. Jimi Hendrix- "Third Stone From The Sun"

4. Traffic- "Paper Sun"

3. TIE: Beatles- "A Day In The Life", Beatles- "Strawberry Fields Forever"

2. Pink Floyd- "Bike"

1. Talking Heads- "Once In A Lifetime"

I love all those songs.

Nothing new with Apple. The Beatles just signed a video game deal, so hopefully this means their music will be on iTunes soon.

-Derek

Listening to: Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

which is Pink Floyd's first ever album. It's really, really psychedelic and experimental; just the way I like it. This was when the late, great Syd Barrette was in the band, before he went psychotic off drugs. I especially like Bike, Lucifer Sam, Flaming, and other songs. This album is definitely an acquired taste, but I acquired it very quickly.

At times, the stereo mixing hurts my ears when I'm listening to it on my iPod because it's unbalanced. Sometimes that technique works though. Syd has very eccentric guitar playing and lyrics, but it definitely fits the mood. Overall, great album. But don't expect it to be like Dark Side or Wish You Were Here, because it's completely different.

Listening to: "You Got Lucky"

by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. It's fantastic. Listen to the words. You can feel Petty's fury. He's angry at his ex-lover, saying "Good love is hard to find. You got lucky when you found me." a very cocky statement indeed, but I think any guy who's broken up with someone before can connect with it.

Also, the instrument choice is great. You mainly hear a synthesizer, a second synthesizer, and an electric guitar. I like how they take turns playing the main tune at the end while the drums intensify it even more. You can kind of hear a grand piano right after he says "you got lucky, babe". It works really well.

Overall this is my favorite Tom Petty song, and I recommend it highly.