“Balconies” by Paper Route, Monday, March 25, 2024 (repost)
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Listening to Paper Route makes me wonder, what if Coldplay, after recording X & Yhad continued making electronic music and honed in on their lyrics. Paper Route has a solid pop-rock band, on par with any of their contemporaries (i.e. OneRepublic, Coldplay), but their somewhat eccentric fidelity to their craft, recording their albums themselves in old Tennessee mansions to let the natural acoustics reverberate on the record, had cemented them as an indie rock band. "Balconies" was kind of Paper Route's first and last hit. The band's music had been featured in movies and television shows, but "Balconies" got them a late-night performance slot on Seth Meyers. As one of the most obvious hits from their third album, Real Emotion, the song was released to radio but didn't do too well on the charts. After touring to support the album, the band went on "an indefinite hiatus." However, as the band has had long gaps between albums, I wonder if JT Daly and Chad Howat will assemble a group of musicians together for album number 4.
RAISE YOUR ARMS AND HOLD WHAT YOU CAN'T REPLACE. "Balconies" uses several mixed metaphors to convey a message about being unable to hold it together. The singer claims "that the simple things [he] can't get right" and he "know[s] that it's [his] fault," yet he offers to comfort the listener: "You don't have to speak/ you can just sleep while I drive." He talks about the difficulties he faces: "For every wound, there's a hill to climb" and that he has a "hunting heart trying to survive." This song can draw an obvious connection to Daly's lyrical theme of wrestling with God and religion, but it also seems to be about his other theme, struggles with romantic relationships. If it's the first option, the singer is letting God down in the first verse, and in the second God is offering comfort. I don't like how the speaker shifts so much in that interpretation, so I think the song is about showing support for a loved one when you both are having a hard time. The minor key keyboard synth riff that is repeated throughout the song sounds like rain, and the subject matter of the song matches the dreary sounds of the song.
IF I'M IN YOUR DREAMS, AM I WHAT YOU WANT TO FIND? "Balconies" is certainly not Paper Route's lyrical masterpiece, but it is a comforting, uplifting song. It was a perfect song of the day because of the bleak weather we've been having lately. Yesterday it cleared up for a day only to start raining again today. Whenever I hear "Balconies" on days like today, I'm transported back to my childhood on a boring, rainy day. My mom ran the dryer and folded the laundry and as I got older I folded the laundry. She's watching some late afternoon talk show and I'm watching it too because there's nothing else to do. I'm sitting on the couch, warm towels just out of the dryer are covering me, and I feel the warmth of the afternoon laundry. Later mom announces it's boxed macaroni and cheese for dinner. That was pretty typical food when growing up and there was nothing special about it, but on boring days like today, mac and cheese is kind of a highlight. I can't fully understand the struggles of my parents trying to feed three kids on a single income. I don't know what their daily hopes and fears were. I was sheltered from it. I can look back fondly on those boring, rainy afternoons when I didn't have to worry about money or not being loved by my parents. I know that this is not true of every family, so I'm thankful for the privilege that I had for that time. I think "Balconies" taps into that human emotion of a loved one saying, "Don't worry about it and let carry your burden for a bit." It may be just a box of macaroni and cheese, and we may have to worry about our nutrition later, but you won't be hungry. And sometimes that's what you need.
In the summer of 2003, a rock station in LA started playing an inside cut from The Ataris ' So Long, Astoria , an album built on the late '70s and early '80s nostalgia. The band's first single, " In This Diary " reached number 11 on the Modern Rock chart. They were set to release the second single, " My Reply ," but the accidental hit " The Boys of Summer " overshadowed anything the band would produce in their twenty-five-year career. A cover of Don Henley 's 1984 number 1 hit, The Ataris' punk-rock reworking took the single to number 20 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the Modern Rock chart, unable to beat Linkin Park 's " Faint ." Eighteen or thirty-seven summers later, "The Boys of Summer" remains a melancholy reminder that summer is over and that we all are getting older. I SAW A BLACK FLAG STICKER ON A CADILLAC. Written by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ' guitarist, Mike Campbell , ...
"I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I. Don't want a lot for Christmas." *struggles to change the radio dial amid gridlocked holiday traffic* "There's just one thing I need" *hurry up with my damn latte! I think I'm going to die. Why the hell is Starbucks playing Christmas music in mid-October?* "I don't care about the presents" *internal Elaine monologue 'I think I'm going to die in this department store. Ma'am, why must you spray the perfume so close to my face. I can't breathe! What if the earth begins to shake and we're stuck in here forever underneath mannequins and holiday shoppers and that damn Mariah Carey song stuck on repeat?'* "Underneath the Christmas tree" "No" *raising a strict finger to students who should be studying in the back* "Not before Thanksgiving." "I just want you for my own/ More than you could ever know." Every year, Christmas music gets earlier and earli...
It was Superbowl Sunday of 2005 when I bought Anberlin ’s Never Take Friendship Personal . It was the perfect album for high school. The band’s style took a turn on their sophomore album from a classic or '90s rock sound to a more emotional, mid-2000s sound. The band would redefine themselves with this album, becoming a lesser-known emo staple. Stephen Christian ’s vocals meeting Joseph Milligan ’s riffs, Deon Rexroat ’s heavy bass, and Nathan Young ’s reliance on the cymbals make this one of the band’s heaviest records. The band released two recordings of this song on two different albums and many fans debate which one is better. THIS WAS OVER BEFORE IT EVER BEGAN. The original version of "The Feel Good Drag" feels grungier and Stephen’s scream on the bridge was perfectly aligned with the musical trends of the day. The New Surrender version , renamed "Feel Good Drag," beefs up t he guitar intro, and the solo has a quite satisfying bend. However, having ...
Listening to Paper Route makes me wonder, what if Coldplay, after recording X & Y had continued making electronic music and honed in on their lyrics. Paper Route has a solid pop-rock band, on par with any of their contemporaries (i.e. OneRepublic, Coldplay), but their somewhat eccentric fidelity to their craft, recording their albums themselves in old Tennessee mansions to let the natural acoustics reverberate on the record, had cemented them as an indie rock band. "Balconies" was kind of Paper Route's first and last hit. The band's music had been featured in movies and television shows, but "Balconies" got them a late-night performance slot on Seth Meyers. As one of the most obvious hits from their third album, Real Emotion, the song was released to radio but didn't do too well on the charts. After touring to support the album, the band went on "an indefinite hiatus." However, as the band has had long gaps between albums, I wonder if JT Daly and Chad Howat will assemble a group of musicians together for album number 4. 
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