Music Monday: I'll Stand For Fall
The drill: a rec post of one music video, one song, and one album all centralized around some vague theme.
Today - or what bit of today is left is Labor Day. It originated as a day to acknowledge the workers of the country, and now is associated with a number of things: that original meaning, the last bits of summer, the beginning of school, and more stuff I'm probably missing. So that's what the music this week shall be about.
SONG:
Working Class Hero - John Lennon
We're starting off with the song this time because this is the first thing I thought of for Labor Day. It's a great song, slow, thoughtful, and rather depressing, and it speaks volumes about the kind of society we live in. Yeah, John Lennon is from the '60s, but times haven't really changed this much. Hell, it's all the more relevant in the current socioeconomic climate.
But anyway, I wanted to get that gravely serious part out of the way and move on to brighter things about Labor Day....
MUSIC VIDEO:
Shoot Down The Stars - Gym Class Heroes
The song itself is about Gym Class Heroes' (Travie McCoy's, in particular) experiences through the industry and fighting their way from nothing to where they are now. And the video is adorable. It's set in what looks like middle school, with little Travie getting picked on by bullies and just generally shat on by school before facing his foes in the ever-present Talent Contest. I picked this for the music video because another thing associated with Labor Day is the return to school, and subsequently...
ALBUM:
Sunshine State of Mind - We The Kings
Labor Day also implies the end of summer, and We The Kings are my go-to happy popper summer fun music. They're unapologetically cheerful, singing songs about being in love with a girl and celebrating in the sun. There's not much depth to their songs, and Travis Clark is not the world's greatest singer - he's not terrible, he's very decent in fact, but he's nothing earth-shattering - but that's how I like my Kings. Their songs will put you in a good mood and think of the fun times, no hidden meanings or secret dark depths.
I will say one thing: three albums in and they still haven't quite gotten the hang of writing a good bridge. And by bridge I don't mean the prechorus, but the section in a song between the second verse/chorus and the ending double chorus. Music-wise, it's fine, but the melodies they pick are still kind of awkward. I think that's just going to be a weak spot for them. Otherwise, they're consistent throughout their albums. I think "Kiss Me Last" is the closest to hard-ish rocking out they've ever come so far, and I think it's adorable that they have a song called "The Secret To New York" when their previous album had a song about Los Angeles. I hope they write a song about another major US city in the next album.
Standout tracks: Say You Like Me; Every Single Dollar; The Secret To New York; Over You; Kiss Me Last; Somebody To Call My Own; Summer (Bonus Track)
Today - or what bit of today is left is Labor Day. It originated as a day to acknowledge the workers of the country, and now is associated with a number of things: that original meaning, the last bits of summer, the beginning of school, and more stuff I'm probably missing. So that's what the music this week shall be about.
SONG:
Working Class Hero - John Lennon
We're starting off with the song this time because this is the first thing I thought of for Labor Day. It's a great song, slow, thoughtful, and rather depressing, and it speaks volumes about the kind of society we live in. Yeah, John Lennon is from the '60s, but times haven't really changed this much. Hell, it's all the more relevant in the current socioeconomic climate.
But anyway, I wanted to get that gravely serious part out of the way and move on to brighter things about Labor Day....
MUSIC VIDEO:
Shoot Down The Stars - Gym Class Heroes
Click to viewThe song itself is about Gym Class Heroes' (Travie McCoy's, in particular) experiences through the industry and fighting their way from nothing to where they are now. And the video is adorable. It's set in what looks like middle school, with little Travie getting picked on by bullies and just generally shat on by school before facing his foes in the ever-present Talent Contest. I picked this for the music video because another thing associated with Labor Day is the return to school, and subsequently...
ALBUM:
Sunshine State of Mind - We The Kings
Labor Day also implies the end of summer, and We The Kings are my go-to happy popper summer fun music. They're unapologetically cheerful, singing songs about being in love with a girl and celebrating in the sun. There's not much depth to their songs, and Travis Clark is not the world's greatest singer - he's not terrible, he's very decent in fact, but he's nothing earth-shattering - but that's how I like my Kings. Their songs will put you in a good mood and think of the fun times, no hidden meanings or secret dark depths.
I will say one thing: three albums in and they still haven't quite gotten the hang of writing a good bridge. And by bridge I don't mean the prechorus, but the section in a song between the second verse/chorus and the ending double chorus. Music-wise, it's fine, but the melodies they pick are still kind of awkward. I think that's just going to be a weak spot for them. Otherwise, they're consistent throughout their albums. I think "Kiss Me Last" is the closest to hard-ish rocking out they've ever come so far, and I think it's adorable that they have a song called "The Secret To New York" when their previous album had a song about Los Angeles. I hope they write a song about another major US city in the next album.
Standout tracks: Say You Like Me; Every Single Dollar; The Secret To New York; Over You; Kiss Me Last; Somebody To Call My Own; Summer (Bonus Track)