Red Bull is looking to enter into the music business. Read the article here.
Article #4 – Music & Innocence pt.2
Music and Innocence, the words aren’t often found next to each other, but when they are, it’s beautiful.
Let me start this by saying I don’t know the people in the bands I’m about to talk about. I don’t know the situations, or what it’s like to be in their shoes. This is simply my perspective, my opinion. Please read part 1 here.
The other night I had a random playlist on, and all of a sudden “San Dimas high school football rules” started playing. The moment it started, I was back in 9th grade. The problems, but also the excitements, of being that age came back like I had never grown up. It’s amazing how a simple song has time travel capabilities. Somehow memories get recorded in the melodies and in the lyrics, like a 3rd dimension that’s added to the song.
I’ve heard some of the new Ataris record “Welcome the night” and I feel betrayed almost. The Ataris were a band I grew up with, and they grew up with me too. People change, music changes, and you can’t do the same things over and over again. But this new record is not “The Ataris”. It may be the same people (or rather 2 of the same people), but it’s not the same band. “Anywhere but here”, “Blue Skies…”, “End is forever”, these were records that felt like they were done with passion. “Welcome the Night” feels like it was done out of greed or something else besides passion.
“Everyone makes mistakes these days, hey nobody’s perfect… but the choices that you make, may involve someone else.“ The Ataris
The last Yellowcard music video I saw was a joke. It was flashy and overdone ultimately coming off boring and cliche. The music video was screaming out “Someone else is calling all the shots, and we don’t care. We just want fame.” The record “Lights and sounds” (in the same way as the video) takes itself too seriously and took all the fun out of a fun band. I miss the days when the music was fun, when the music would speak to people, rather than the music that now just sits there. It feels like they’ve given up on what used to matter.
I don’t hate the bands (and I just use those two bands as examples). I hate the idea of losing something I never thought I would lose. Lying is something that everyone knows is wrong. It’s something you’re just not supposed to do. You’ll lose friends over it, you’ll get fired over it; no one likes being lied to. The same is true with music; nobody wants music that isn’t honest, and no one wants something that’s not real.
Article #3 – Music & Innocence pt. 1
Music and innocence, the words aren’t too often found next to each other, yet they make a lot of sense when they are.
I heard an Mxpx song on the radio back in 1998 I believe. I found out who the band was, I went and bought “Slowly going the way of the buffalo” and to this day it’s still probably the cd of mine that has gotten the most play over the years. I went to see Mxpx a few months after buying their cd. A small band no one I went with had heard of named “The Ataris” was opening for them. The Ataris cd “blue skies, broken hearts, next twelve exits” had just come out and by the end of their set all my friends were at the table buying the cd.
The melodies, the lyrics, everything seemed so relevant at the time. It seemed like the songs were written by someone that had been there, someone who knew what it was like to be in high school and to be that age. It felt like the songs were written for me.
Time went by and bands came and went from my cd player. Some were important and memorable, and some not so much. One band that sticks out though is Yellowcard. Back in the days of the old mp3.com (much like Purevolume.com is now) I would just search and search for all types of music, just anything and everything that sounded good. I’ll never forget when I came across this punk band with a violin in it though. I mean they can’t do that, it’s not the standard three piece stuff that was common. Songs like “October Nights” and “Rock Star Land” made me feel like I was a part of the band, and for those three short minutes, well, I think I was. Yellowcard’s first cd “One for the kids” was legendary in my eyes, the songs were written not because there was huge pressure to, not because millions of people were waiting for it, rather the songs were written because they were real, they needed to be sung.
I’m not old but I’m starting to realize I’m not that young anymore either. Times and music both change but nothing can replace the feeling when a song that’s been frozen in the past comes through the speakers once again. I know most people weren’t affected by the same bands and the same songs as I was, but everybody has their own. What are yours? What are the bands, and songs that take you back in time? What was the soundtrack to your youth?