OKAY, I WILL WRITE A PROPER REVIEW LATER THIS WEEK WHEN I HAVE TIME, BUT I JUST HAD TO SAY, I AM LISTENING TO BOWLING FOR SOUP'S NEW ALBUM SORRY FOR PARTYIN' REAL QUICK BEFORE I HAVE TO RUN TO CLASS AND OH-MY-GOD!
The boys did it again - they've produced another super hilarious, up-beat, catchy, PHENOMENAL ALBUM!
The real review will be a lot more coherent, I promise. Just...GO BUY THE ALBUM NOW. Do not stop, do not preview it, just BUY IT.
"If this collection of songs does not make you smile, you are quite possibly dead or a miserable person that should not ever be allowed to pet puppies or hold babies."
--Jaret Reddick, lead singer of BFS, about Sorry For Partyin'
WOOOOOOO!!! Awesome job to Jaret & the BFS guys! Love you!
Emily Noel
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
October: The Month of New Music
So, in edition to Bowling For Soup’s new album coming out next week, Relient K just released a new album this past Tuesday called Forget and Not Slow Down. They have been my second-favorite band since my junior year in high school, and I am very in love with Matthew Theissen’s voice. My favorite album of theirs will always be Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...But Three Do, but Mmhmm and their 2007 album Five Score and Seven Years Ago were really great, as well, and no one should miss their super-stellar Christmas albums Deck the Halls and Bruise Your Hands and Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer.
But their style changed drastically after Five Score. Over the last 5 albums (Two Lefts, Mmhmm, Five Score, The Bird and the Bee Sides, and this one) their songs have changed from the “you're invincible if you believe in something real/do what your heart believes in” vibe to a “I’ve lost hope, oh no, wait, I’ve found it again, but ho-hum” kind of sound.
Their last album The Bird and the Bee Sides / The Nashville Tennis EP, released in the summer of 2008, was mostly a lot of acoustic versions and demos of their old songs, which was fine, but at least it had a lot of new funny, catchy, nonsensical songs, which is really their trademark. Like the 2 thirty-second tribute songs to the old ska band Five Iron Frenzy, a joke song called “A Penny Loafer Saved Is A Penny Loafer Earned,” and a catchy little 1:01 minute track called “Beaming.” Basically, it’s just their usual funny songs with Matt Theissen’s amazing happy voice that I love more than anything.
But on Forget and Not Slow Down - well, don’t write off this album on the first listen like I nearly did. I was a little disappointed at first because I was hoping for the good old attention-grabbing songs (like “Be My Escape” from Mmhmm) and they just haven’t been writing those lately. This album is a little more serious and down to earth, but by the fifth track I realized they still have their same old sound at heart.
“Therapy” and “Over It” are my favorites on the new album, although I can’t stick to that because I haven’t given the album a thorough enough listen yet. “Therapy” has these really great opening lines that I love:
“I never thought I'd be
Driving through the country just to drive
With only music and the clothes that I woke up in.
I never thought I'd need
All this time alone
It goes to show I had so much
Yet I had need for nothing…but you.”
I can definitely relate to that, because I’m going through a similar feeling and phase right now. (And I don’t know exactly what kind of “you” the song refers to in context, but it seems kind of like an ex.) But the refrain is the best:
“This is my therapy
Let’s call it what it is, not what we were
With a death-grip on this life always transitioning
This is just therapy
’Cause you won’t take my calls
And that makes God the only one
Who’s left here listening to me.”
Which, again, is something I can definitely understand, especially now.
And honestly, I disliked “Over It” on the first few listens, because it sounded so depressing and Matt Theissen sounded really tired out and down, and that’s just not what I associate with his beautiful, happy, soothing voice. But the more I listened, I realized that their old spark is still there, and the same sweet, soothing tone of Matt Theissen’s voice comes back by the end of the song as its message picks up. The refrain goes, “I'm over it / Yeah, behind me now, I'm just over it / Yeah, I'm finding out I'm just over it / No, I don't know what's over just yet /But I won't go slow /And time can let the mind forget / Don't tell me you don't know, already,” in this slow, swaying melody. And Theissen really does sound “just over it” – just worn out and tired, but not giving up – just ready to move on. LOVE IT!
So check out Forget and Not Slow Down, even if you don’t think you’ll like it at first. I was skeptical, too, but my love and loyalty to Matt and the guys won out. It is somewhat different from the older albums, yes, but all bands evolve. (And I am very sorry, Relient K, for giving you a less-than-stellar review.)
Here’s a quick list of my old Relient K favorites.
My All-Time Top 5 Relient K Songs:
1) “In Love With the 80’s (Pink Tux To The Prom)” (Two Lefts)
2) “Falling Out” (Two Lefts)
3) “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been” (Mmhmm)
4) “Jefferson Aeroplane” (Two Lefts)
5) “Pressing On” (The Anatomy of Tongue In Cheek)
There are a lot of others, of course, like their more well-known ones “Mood Rings,” “Be My Escape,” and “Sadie Hawkins Dance.” But those listed are the ones that have really stuck with me over the years.
Happy Weekend, everyone!
Emily Noel
(Disclaimer: All re-printed lyrics copyright of Relient K.)
But their style changed drastically after Five Score. Over the last 5 albums (Two Lefts, Mmhmm, Five Score, The Bird and the Bee Sides, and this one) their songs have changed from the “you're invincible if you believe in something real/do what your heart believes in” vibe to a “I’ve lost hope, oh no, wait, I’ve found it again, but ho-hum” kind of sound.
Their last album The Bird and the Bee Sides / The Nashville Tennis EP, released in the summer of 2008, was mostly a lot of acoustic versions and demos of their old songs, which was fine, but at least it had a lot of new funny, catchy, nonsensical songs, which is really their trademark. Like the 2 thirty-second tribute songs to the old ska band Five Iron Frenzy, a joke song called “A Penny Loafer Saved Is A Penny Loafer Earned,” and a catchy little 1:01 minute track called “Beaming.” Basically, it’s just their usual funny songs with Matt Theissen’s amazing happy voice that I love more than anything.
But on Forget and Not Slow Down - well, don’t write off this album on the first listen like I nearly did. I was a little disappointed at first because I was hoping for the good old attention-grabbing songs (like “Be My Escape” from Mmhmm) and they just haven’t been writing those lately. This album is a little more serious and down to earth, but by the fifth track I realized they still have their same old sound at heart.
“Therapy” and “Over It” are my favorites on the new album, although I can’t stick to that because I haven’t given the album a thorough enough listen yet. “Therapy” has these really great opening lines that I love:
“I never thought I'd be
Driving through the country just to drive
With only music and the clothes that I woke up in.
I never thought I'd need
All this time alone
It goes to show I had so much
Yet I had need for nothing…but you.”
I can definitely relate to that, because I’m going through a similar feeling and phase right now. (And I don’t know exactly what kind of “you” the song refers to in context, but it seems kind of like an ex.) But the refrain is the best:
“This is my therapy
Let’s call it what it is, not what we were
With a death-grip on this life always transitioning
This is just therapy
’Cause you won’t take my calls
And that makes God the only one
Who’s left here listening to me.”
Which, again, is something I can definitely understand, especially now.
And honestly, I disliked “Over It” on the first few listens, because it sounded so depressing and Matt Theissen sounded really tired out and down, and that’s just not what I associate with his beautiful, happy, soothing voice. But the more I listened, I realized that their old spark is still there, and the same sweet, soothing tone of Matt Theissen’s voice comes back by the end of the song as its message picks up. The refrain goes, “I'm over it / Yeah, behind me now, I'm just over it / Yeah, I'm finding out I'm just over it / No, I don't know what's over just yet /But I won't go slow /And time can let the mind forget / Don't tell me you don't know, already,” in this slow, swaying melody. And Theissen really does sound “just over it” – just worn out and tired, but not giving up – just ready to move on. LOVE IT!
So check out Forget and Not Slow Down, even if you don’t think you’ll like it at first. I was skeptical, too, but my love and loyalty to Matt and the guys won out. It is somewhat different from the older albums, yes, but all bands evolve. (And I am very sorry, Relient K, for giving you a less-than-stellar review.)
Here’s a quick list of my old Relient K favorites.
My All-Time Top 5 Relient K Songs:
1) “In Love With the 80’s (Pink Tux To The Prom)” (Two Lefts)
2) “Falling Out” (Two Lefts)
3) “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been” (Mmhmm)
4) “Jefferson Aeroplane” (Two Lefts)
5) “Pressing On” (The Anatomy of Tongue In Cheek)
There are a lot of others, of course, like their more well-known ones “Mood Rings,” “Be My Escape,” and “Sadie Hawkins Dance.” But those listed are the ones that have really stuck with me over the years.
Happy Weekend, everyone!
Emily Noel
(Disclaimer: All re-printed lyrics copyright of Relient K.)
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