“True Faith” by New Order, Friday, July 19, 2024 (repost)
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I thought I'd share a repost today, a dusty memory about New Order, more specifically a keyboard from the '90s that listening to New Order today makes me think about. Buried under twenty years of dust in my parents' garage lies an old Yamaha keyboard. It was my dad's Christmas present to my mom in the mid-90s. This model came with 100 recorded instruments, 100 styles of drum beats, everything from foxtrot to metal, and 25 or so recorded songs. It was a pretty typical family keyboard, but it kept me entertained for years. Although I started playing guitar at the age of 12, I had spent a long time messing around on that keyboard trying to make music. I loved playing the keyboard but hated how fake the instruments sounded. Strings, brass, woodwinds--all sounded like the vegetarian version served at camp meetings. Still, that keyboard played such a crucial role in music in my life.
WHEN I WAS A VERY SMALL BOY. I got my first taste of synthesizers from my keyboard. I learned about the Orchestra Hit. It was the sound used in the hits by Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and *NSync. Other synths were used in hits like Eiffel 65's "Blue" or Darude's "Sandstorm." And of course, all the computer games I was playing had similar synth music. But as the 2000s took full swing, I started to feel frustrated with the family keyboard. My friend's family had a newer model, and their instruments sounded 2% more real. This didn't stop me from playing it or using it to create weird songs with my sister on a tape player. I fully loved keyboard synthesizers without appreciating their origin story. My mom told me one day that I was going to start guitar lessons. I just said okay, but part of me was screaming out that I wanted to learn piano first. Why? Michael W. Smith was so cool back in the '90s. I wanted to learn how to record trippy music like on Delirious's Mezzamorphisalbum. And there were Skillet's Invincibleand Alien Youth albums. And Linkin Park was getting popular. And Earthsuit's Kaleidoscope Superiorhad me wondering how could Paul Meany rap so fast when playing the keyboard. I took the guitar and loved it, but rock without keys is kinda boring.
MY MORNING SUN IS THE DRUG THAT LEADS ME NEAR TO THE CHILDHOOD I LOST. I talked about my history with New Orderin January two years ago and about my initial disdain for the '80s sound in February of last year. Anberlin was certainly my gateway drug to New Order's discography, as they released a cover of this song as the third single from their New Surrenderalbum cycle, rereleasing their album with a bunch of B-Sides. A college professor I worked for loved this song, so I started getting into New Order. I don't remember when I first heard this song, but I steered away from it for years because of the old synthesizer sounds. I thought it sounded like something I could have recorded on my mom's keyboard. But years down the road, I see that's the charm of these old synth classics. The song opens with larger-than-life electronic drums. The keyboard keeps a dark atmosphere throughout most of the song until the end, shifting into a major key. New Order is the real deal. Pop and rock musicians look to their synth-pop songs for inspiration.
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 ...
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