Well yesterday was not as revelatory as it normally is when RHCP release a new album. I don't know that I can ever match the high of 5/9/06.
The reason I'm not bouncing off the walls is b/c I'm in an air conditioned nightmare. No doubt. When I can get to the beach I will give this my all. I'm with you. I'm with it.
I ran with the Lizard last nite so my legs got a little extra use and I did 60 quick curls this morn so I'm doing all right. The bare-backed ride this morning is pleasant as this weather is pretty much perfect. 80s.
I have 2 reviews today -- the first is I'm With You and the latter is for Things and A Man Asleep, which I finished last nite.
I've listened to I'm With You at least 3x now. I've also been a huge RHCP fan since I'm 12. For nearly 2/3 of my life they have provided its soundtrack and awakened creative measures and have inspired me to do good and walk a positive path. I also strongly heeded the message in Mother's Milk and have avoided drug use, and, I make it my business not to listen to them while under the influence of alcohol. My theory is that if the music and lyrics are spawned organically, then it should be transmitted to an uninhibited person. Let the music be the mind-alterer. Granted I am extremely biased -- yes, I'm going to love the album, but I'm more intrigued by it right now, it's almost like I'm ruminating on a first date -- but because I have a solid knowledge of its predecessors and have some insight as to how it's played thanks to some experience with the bass, I feel it's a warranted bias. An unwarranted bias would be my trying to review a rap album. I will have more thoughts on these tunes as the weeks progress, because this is important to me (and I don't have the lyrics in front of me). It'd be wrong not to have more and different takes on it. It's wrong to care about nothing and not to put yourself out there and commit to a favorite some-thing/one/place. So it places a label on you, BFD! Wear it proudly. I once saw a bumper sticker that read "Opera Lover." So as far as I'm concerned, the band's asterisk is my true skin color.
Monarchy of Roses: This is the "Warped" of the album in terms of its style, scope and loudness. It's fast, it grabs you and the genre-bend, which is new, is a departure from the Frusciante-driven music we've heard on the last 2 albums. None of the other tunes sound like it and the vocals are sonically distorted. Nevertheless it's a cool song and does have a hard rock-disco effect that is certainly appealing. If Kiss can make "I Was Made For Lovin' You" work, then there's every reason that this works.
Factory of Faith: Kind of a familiar-sounding funky, jam-inspired (?) quartet tune. Easily could've been on Stadium. Also, has traces of "Easily" in it ("be my wife" -- "let's get married today") but is more positive than that song, as the message is optimistic -- the title alone is empowering. At least it moves in a "21st Century" sort of way. Is the faith from an internal source? Does the band leave its fate in the hands of Obama? It's reaffirming to hear a message like this, especially in the wake of natural disasters (I realize it's circumstantial).
Brendan's Death Song: Actually quite uplifting and beautiful, despite a morbid title. I guarantee it'll end up in a show or movie by year's end. You could have played it over Nate's ethereal death in the ocean in "Six Feet Under" and it'd suit just fine. Anthony is really singing from the heart here, and the layers just keep piling on. I imagine waves crashing down. The dirge's lyrics are tough ("Like I said/I'm almost dead/I'm almost gone...) but they are sung with a confidence and an ease, making the transition from life that much simpler. Hire a string quartet to play that at my funeral. Flea deviates toward the end, contributing to the loudness. It's an emotional time, your feelings are all over the place and they are accented and emphasized, even. Of course it makes me think of Pop, just a little, as we all knew what was going on with him and the transition, while quick, wasn't a major shock.
Ethiopia: I don't want to like it as much as I do. At first I found the rhyme scheme a little juvenile but the chorus makes it worthwhile and since he's addressing his boy/son (at least, in the song -- he could just be a character in a song) there's a silver lining there. The guitar bounces off the singer, and sometimes it sounds off by a half-beat but I felt that way about "Charlie," too, and now I can't imagine it another way. Similar to "Factory" this song can be accomplished by a quartet. You can also get a better feel for Josh's (new) background vocals. I also like that there are two solos. The first one was underwhelming but the second one (dual-layered) is pretty impressive.
Annie Wants A Baby: Probably the most "Stadium" of all the tracks. Comes off as a tighter and more interesting cousin of "She Looks To Me."
Look Around: Take the funkiest and most rocking parts of Californication and Stadium and you get this. Here's elements of "Purple Stain," "So Much I," and "21st Century" in a spicy sauce. The clapping adds a nice garnish and here we get the best parts of mostly non-distorted Chili Pepper sound. Whatever mantra Kiedis is repeating during the bridge is awfully reminiscent of what he does during "By The Way." Here's a good song about the variety of, and distractions in, life. I guess the clapping can get you to focus if you are too distracted. I think this is my second-favorite track.
Rain Dance Maggie: I've always felt like it sounds like a really good B-side from By The Way. Love the guitar work during the chorus -- creates a second melody a la George Harrison. Not the single I would've led with, but it is catchy nonetheless. The outro is too long - no reason they couldn't have just repeated the chorus. For a single that's dead air time. I've been listening to the song for a month, now, so it's not new anymore.
Did I Let You Know: So far it's my favorite track. It works on many levels -- it's a rock song, with some Spanish (?)/Latin-guitar influences and at its heart it's a love story you can dance to. It conjures an image of a couple in the middle of a bossa nova dance. I even get the feeling of a matador in a coliseum. It's a sensual tune and the guitar work, though minimal in sound, is clever, catchy and warming. It's like a wink. Josh's vocals resurface more heavily this time and he almost sounds like a breathy woman. I'd kill to hear this at a wedding. Similar to the way Horace Silver is credited for combining several geographical elements to his compositions, RHCP should be similarly acknowledged.
Goodbye Hooray: Off the heels of an intimate track, here's a garage band just rocking out. A lot of energy. Heavy bass here, and Flea is soloing for the first time in quite a while ("Coffee Shop" and parts of "Get On Top" stand out as the last true solos). This is what "On Mercury" aspired to be.
Happiness Loves Company: A latter Beatles-ish, piano-driven tune. Throw Chris Robinson in there and this could be a newer Black Crowes song that could blend right in to Before the Frost... It's nice to hear them using a piano without showing off too much with it. It's catchy and quick but it has a nice lyric: "We all struggle with some loneliness."
I will pick up from "Police Station" tomorrow and I'll have my book report done, too.
Thank you for reading.
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