“Anyone Who’s Anyone” by Fleet Foxes, Friday, February 18, 2022
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Before they recorded their breakthrough EP, Sun Giantor their self-titled album that was so loved by Rolling Stonethat it was included in their book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, the folk-rock band Fleet Foxes released their debut eponymous EP in 2006. The Seattle-based band appeared on the music scene around the time when mellow music started flooding Alternative music, which had been dominated by hard rock-leaning acts since Nirvana crashed onto the scene. But along with British folk-rockers Mumford & Sons changing the focus from power chords on electric guitars to acoustic guitars and folk instruments, the template was set for a very different, post-rock scene.
Fleet Foxes used Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Netherlandish Proverbs for their self-titled album cover.
I’M JUST A LITTLE MIRAGE. The YouTube channel Polyphonic released a video in September 2021 called "A Love Letter to Pop Punk." The video reminded me of all of the colliding styles in the early '00s, especially the different flavors of rock. The argument of the video is that indie rock seems to be most remembered fondly by the critics, whereas the pop punk is often overlooked. Of course, most of my blog is about pop punk nostalgia, so today we're going to dive into the pretentious indie side. I certainly blasted my share of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." I loved Franz Ferdinand's first album, and could tolerate Modest Mouse's lead singer for a couple of songs. I loved The Shins for a couple of albums. But then there was Fleet Foxes, a band that sounded unlike anything in the indie rock roster. First of all, their artwork of their first album, a painting by Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Netherlandish Proverbs, the scene depicting a medieval fiefdom occupied by the townspeople acting out proverbs. The sounds of the guitars and the harmonies of the Fleet Fox singers reminded me of Renaissance troubadours. The music is beautiful and complex, but much too mellow to listen to on the drive home from college.
IT’S SO MUCH BETTER IN THE SUNLIGHT. "Anyone Who's Anyone" sounds more like The Shins than Fleet Foxes, with the upbeat guitar and driving beat. It also reminds of Franz Ferdinand's "Jaqueline," the opening track on their debut album. It makes sense that the band was formed after frontman Robin Pecknold and guitarist/mandolinist Skyler Skjelset discovered their mutual love of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Although the direction the band took with tracks like "Mykonos," "White Winter Hymnal," and "Blue Ridge Mountains," sounds different from "Anyone Who's Anyone," though it does sound similar to "He Doesn't Know Why." Lyrically, too, "Anyone Who's Anyone" sounds like a hipster pop song, mentioning the names of several people, making Fleet Foxes sound oddly--dare I say refreshingly-- contemporary. In the middle of a hectic Friday, it was nice to be reminded of Fleet Foxes. While "Anyone Who's Anyone" wasn't one of the songs I listened to much back in college, revisiting the other songs in the band's box set of their first album, first two EPs, and rarities/b-sides was just the calming walk down memory lane I needed. And who knows, when I might also want to explore the 1000 other albums that I'm supposed to listen to before I die. Maybe I'll blog about it if I ever get a death wish.
Before " Shape of You ," Ed Sheeran was known primarily as a singer-songwriter. His albums + and X took clear influence from The Beatles , Carole King , Elton John , James Taylor , and the ballad writers of yesteryear. But he had a knack for throwing in a few rap bars along the way. With every record, Sheeran gained more acclaim. His sophomore record produced the mega Billboard #2 hit , " Thinking Out Loud ," which won two Grammys including Song of the Year. The final single from the album, " Photograph " was written in collaboration with Snow Patrol 's Johnny McDaid . Sheeran drew inspiration from his long distance relationship with singer/songwriter Nina Nesbitt (the featured musician on Kodaline ’s acoustic version of “Brand New Day” ). The two spent five months apart. They would eventually break up, but the song remains a gem on Sheeran's second best-selling record. LOVING CAN HURT . "Photograph" was the song that introduced m...
I've talked about how Carrie & Lowell , Sufjan Steven 's 2015 masterpiece, is a quintessential portrait of dealing with grief and forgiveness when I wrote about the first two tracks, " Death with Dignity ," and " Should Have Known Better ." By the third track on the record, " All of Me Wants All of You ," explores grief in a different way from the previous two tracks. As with most songs on the album, "All of Me" appears to be deeply personal to the artist. But being personal doesn't stop this track's language from being the most obscured with allusions to geography and possibly an allegory from a little-known Spanish play. ALL OF ME THINKS LESS OF YOU. There's a debate on Lyrics Genius about the meaning of this song, especially surrounding the identity of the only other character mentioned by name in this song, Manelich. Is he the one the song is about? Stevens has written vaguely about homosexual attraction throughout ...
Last year, RIIZE debuted on SM Entertainment with the single album Get a Guitar , which contained two songs, “ Memories ” and the title track . The group was the first new boyband to debut on SM in seven years, following NCT ’s debut in 2016. The concept of the fifth-generation K-pop group is “emotional pop” akin to the millennium boyband sound--first and second-generation K-pop. RIIZE is a portmanteau of the words rise and realize , and the group’s motto is “a team that rises together and realizes dreams.” RIIZE was created with Sungchan (정성찬) and Japanese singer Shotaro Osaki , members of the massive now 26-member supergroup NCT, combined with five other members to form RIIZE. Get a Guitar sold more than one million copies in its first week. The success nearly matched H.O.T , whose debut album slightly outsold RIIZE's debut. DRAWING SUNSHINE IN THE RHYTHM. Last month, Slate ’s Hit Parade podcast delved into the history of boybands. Host Chris Molanphy first guided...
Comments
Post a Comment