Shufflin' #2

There comes a time in every blogger's life when you have no inspiration whatsoever. And that's what the shuffle function was created for. Here's another three random cuts of my iTunes library for you to mull over.

Pull Tiger Tail - Mary Jane
As much as I loved their older stuff (see here for example), I never quite took to PTT's newer singles, before they fell apart due to label tyranny. This was their last (and possibly last ever) release, and sums up, for me, what went wrong for them. Unlike their earliest stuff, it just lacks the punch, the energy, that made them special. The vocals seem a little laboured, and everything seems a little Athlete-y in places (not to say I don't like Athlete, I think their first album was awesome, it just isn't right for PTT). That being said, this is an enjoyable song, just not their best work.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Wet Sand
Ah the Chilis. The first band I ever saw live. Of course, this wasn't actually released at the time, the whole Stadium Arcadium period was the beginning of my slight loss of faith in them (along with the colossal damp squib that was their 2007 Reading set). I mean, a double album? Really? Not only is it lazy, it's just too long and full of filler. However, I do like this song. Antony Kiedis' vocals start off all "Under The Bridge" and then grow with the music to a funky crescendo of an anthem ending, and John Frusciante's solos never fail to bring a warmth into my soul, remembering all those times I idolised them.

Friendly Fires - Photobooth
I know it's nothing new, and it's all been said before, but Friendly Fires really are brilliant aren't they? I haven't heard their album yet (annoyingly), but I just haven't heard a song they've done that I haven't liked yet. This early single is a prime example. Straddling the lines between pop, dance and indie effortlessly, it's just perfect. There are enough lyrics for it to interest me, but there's enough repetition and a prominent bass line to make it perfect for dancing to. Just amazing.

I'm Feeling Animated

What could possibly be better than a song that makes you happy, embodies happiness just through its tune and is made by a band who used to have about 30 translations of their band name into different languages on their Myspace? Pull Tiger Tail have always been about rousing you, making you jump, making you smile, and when I first heard this song, it made me do just that. I couldn't stop playing it, and I was glad of it. Who needs shuffle, when you've got just one thing you'd rather listen to than anything else at that time? Music for me is all about personal reaction to what you're listening to. That might be an obvious statement, but too often it gets overlooked in the pursuit of somthing new, something to force yourself to connect to. Too often it's me that does it.

The thing is, when you truly find that connection on the first few listens to a song, it can just bowl you over. When I first heard this, it came in waves. First the guitar riff, then the bass, then the drums and just as that's grabbed you, the vocals emerge and throw you into a sunny paradise. Then the chorus bursts the song open, and as the singer Marcus' breathless one-word delivery washes over you, well it's something that I can't help but sing along to. It's just brilliance, nothing more, nothing less.
Pull Tiger Tail - Animator

PS. They also did a version of this song that's exactly the same except all the lyrics were sung in French after using an online translator. Awesome.
PPS. They've recently been dropped by their label, have no rights to THEIR OWN ALBUM and may not be able to ever make music professionally again. How much does the music industry suck?