When You Hear It, Then You'll Understand
OK everyone. I did indeed get three of the "leaked" Oasis tracks. The verdict? Collectively I'd rate them just like Lou Reed's solo stuff: No, it's not bad, but it's not great either. From the six tracks I've heard (the following three, Lyla - which leaked last week - and the live versions of A Bell Will Ring and The Meaning Of Soul that have been floating around since last year) no way is this the best record the band has ever done (get real Noel). My thoughts:
Let There Be Love - Slow weepy in the vein of Born On A Different Cloud that has Liam and Noel trading of verses, Acquiesce steez. Starts out with a sparse piano riff and some acoustic guitar with Liam singing "Who kicked a hole in the sky so the heavens would cry over me?" and the like. Liam has two verses before the drums kick in Noel comes in and sings his verse, which ends on a "We'd love to turn you ooooonnnnnn"-type flasetto. Right after this, about 2 and a half minutes in to the song, it kinda peters out and you expect the track to end before Liam starts back up again with the first verse. A slow and gradual buildup begins and runs through the rest of the track with Liam singing "Let there be love" over and over. A decent tune, but it sounds unfinished, like they couldn't really decide if they just wanted this to be a slow song or make it into a Don't Look Back In Anger type stadium anthem. The result is something in between.
Keep The Dream Alive (written by Andy Bell)- A typical Oasis rocker (and that's good thing). Kind of like a slower Roll With It or a better (Probably) All In The Mind (which I originally thought was written by Andy Bell). Finally some Oasis type lyrics, "I'm at the crossroads / waiting for a sign / My life is standing still / but I'm still alive". Liam's singing is superb and Noel's back up vocals really add alot to the song. Big fuck off chorus makes this stadium ready, complete with signature semi-noodley Noel guitar solo. Liam brings it all home near the end of the song with some "na na na na's" and your author is smiling profusely as he types this and counting the days until I see them in Detroit. A song worthy of being included in the Oasis catalog.
Mucky Fingers - (written by Noel) A blatant and subpar stab at Noel writing I'm Waiting For The Man sans the onetwofifth reference. Rides the Velvet Underground groove repeatedly throughout the song. I kept waiting for it to really take off and go somewhere but it never really does. The chorus is Noel singing "It's alright" over and over again (something that cannot be said for his songwriting lately). There's even a harmonica solo after the bridge. Why do I have a sinking suspicion that the worst songs on the album are all going to belong to Noel? Bottom line: a disappointment.
So from this batch, that gives us one ace tune, one good album track and yet another clunker from Noel.
Also yesterday friend of ILB Mark sent along the new Coldplay single The Speed Of Sound. I have a love/hate relationship with Coldplay. I love their music (being the huge dork I am) but I hate it when that fookin' student opens his mouth to the press. I still stand by my claim that they are the most boring live band on the planet. Their new single sounds like Clocks (admittedly a fave of mine) except with more guitars. It starts out with a short piano intro before the student starts singing over some Echo & The Bunnymen type drums and the pianos come back in after the verse. Midway through the next verse the guitars come in and the student breaks out the falsetto as they approach the chorus. Stadium ready Coldplay by the numbers. Thus, I love it.
Some other treats that have been flooding my inbox:
M.I.A. videos in Real Player:
Sunshowers
Galang
*taken down at the label's request (why put them up and send them out in the first place?)
The Raveonettes "Love In A Trash Can" video (Quicktime)
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of former Panthers great Sam Mills. In a town full of Alonzo Mourning, Kerry Collins, Rae Carruth, Fred Lane and many others Mills was the cornerstone of the Panthers franchise and a force in the community as well as on the field. He will be missed.
Tomorrow: Red Sox v. O's in Baltimore! Also, I hope to have the new mixtape/podcast up for your downloading pleasure. Be sure to go get the first one if you haven't already.
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