Yaniv’s workshop – Andrew Bird 3-Pack!! (Plus loads of Pavement, and much more!)
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“Out of My Head” is a classic 90’s ballad from Fastball (also known for “The Way”). The second single from their 1998 album “All the Pain Money Can Buy“, it’s a full-band piano ballad with some gospel influence and some creative drumming. The song has a rather unusual structure – starts with a traditional verse-chorus, but there’s never a second verse. Instead, there’s a beautiful guitar solo and than a repeat of that infectious, brilliant chorus.
In 2016, Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello has adapted the chorus of this song for a pop hit named “Bad Things”, with the line “I never wanna do bad things to you”, changed to a sexualized “I only want to do bad things to you”. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that’s how I discovered the song – but I liked the chorus a lot, which led me to dig up this beautiful original. Hope you like it!
Latest Chart-a-Thon updates…
“Alone Again (Naturally)” is a special song. It’s one of those touching songs that means so much to so many people around the world. It tells a rather sad tale of a lonely, suicidal man being left at the altar and then telling the listener about the death of his parents. The lyrics are absolutely simple, direct and heartbreaking, and musically, this is one of the most beautiful songs I know. It is – quite surprisingly maybe – not autobiographical, as in fact O’Sullivan’s mother was alive when he wrote this song, and he barely knew his real father, who also mistreated his mother. But despite that, this song have touched millions around the world, and it’s a privilege to bring it to Rock Band.
It was also a big commercial success – the single spent six weeks, non-consecutively, at No. 1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1972. In Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 of the 1970s, it ranked as the fifth most-popular song of the entier decade. And it’s been known as a classic ever since. Even if you don’t recognize the title, give it a listen – you probably know it.
It’s also amazing to play in rock band – maybe surprisingly for such a sad song. It features amazing – absolutely amazing – classical guitar playing by Big Jim Sullivan, a little legend in his own right who played with Donovan, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones and many others. The arpeggios all through the song are beautiful and challenging, and the guitar solo is amazing. The chord progression is surprising and beautiful and you’ll love playing it on keys – with a bit of french horn and strings thrown in too. Bass and drums are basic but solid. Just watch the video preview here (thanks MrPrezident for the preview video!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS-K6KqGNyg
It was a pleasure to chart it!
Completing “Disintegration” Project!
Authored by yaniv297 and grubextrapolate
About 20 seconds of some random bells. That’s what the Cure give you before sucking you into their world, to a sea of sweeping and beautiful synthesizers, melodic guitars, ethereal sounds and deep emotions. They do it with a song that’s anything but plain – and has to be, in my opinion, one of the greatest opening songs of all time. “Plainsong” takes its time to develop – it’s almost 3 minutes until Robert Smith start singing – and even then, his voice is soft, almost blending in with the music. “Sometimes you make me feel like I am living at the edge of the world… ‘it’s just the way I smile’, you said” – with those beautiful, almost sweet words, Smith signs off the song. A small, beautiful moment, the calm before the storm – that will arrive as early as the next song. “Plainsong” is a statement – it’s hard to think of another opening track that sets up an album so perfectly, both thematically and musically. But “Plainsong” is more than a great opener – it’s an amazing song on its own right, and for me one of the best things The Cure ever did.
Authored by yaniv297
Sandwiched between the album two biggest hits, “Last Dance” is one of Disintegration’s hidden gems. The song kicks off with a bass line so bright and melodic, that I’ve mistakenly thought it was guitar for a decade (thanks Grub for correcting me…), and probably the trickiest drum beat on the record – a sophisticated 16th groove with snares, toms and electronic pads, seemingly randomly thrown in, except it’s perfectly calculated and repeats through the song. Sweeping guitars enter, before Smith begins his tale of meeting a lover from your past – somebody who used to be your entire world, and now you barely know each other. “Even if we drink I don’t think we will kiss”, sings Smith, perfectly describing how distant and irrelevant their past together now seems to be. Another classic song from The Cure, and definitely fun to play.
Authored by yaniv297 and grubextrapolate
“The Same Deep Water as You” is, well, probably not one for the casual fans. The longest song on an album full of long songs, possibly the saddest song on an album full of despair, the darkest and lowest emotionally moment on this record. Robert Smith has included it within a very limited group of songs that “has a part of him in it”. After recording it, he was “completely overcame by emotions” and, to use his words, “I was amazed that I could still feel like this”. Despite its length, this song is dearly loved within the Cure fans community, who ranked it the 7th best song of the band’s history – beating out the big majority of their hits. This song means a lot to a lot of people. And for those who really love the Cure, and this album, I think this might just be one of the highlights of this project.Man, thanks so much for completing Disintegration!
It’s a dream come true – nothing more nothing less!
Man, thanks so much for completing Disintegration!
It’s a dream come true – nothing more nothing less!
You’re welcome! Glad you’re as excited as we are
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So, after previously charting “My Kind of Woman” and “Freaking Out the Neighborhood” from his “2” album, it’s time for more Mac – and this time we’ll move to the next album, “Salad Days”!
“Let Her Go” (which, by the way, is completely unrelated to the Passenger hit) is one of the highlights of this record. Mac pleads and advice with a friend not to mislead his girlfriend – “Tell here that you love her, if you really love her/But if your heart just ain’t sure, let her go”. Musically, it has everything we know and love from Mac – great guitar lines all over, funky bass, some grooving drums and his great melodies. It’s another one of those catchy, fun and beautiful songs Mac is known for.
Now out – Neil Young 8-pack!
It’s been a huge project for me so it’s great to get it out there. Thanks Banshee, HighFlyingBirds and SpinDoctor for assisting. Hope you like it!
Thanks for the Neil Young pack to everyone involved! Many of these songs would have also been top picks for me too. I especially appreciate Harvest Moon, probably my favorite of his.
Thanks for the Neil Young pack to everyone involved! Many of these songs would have also been top picks for me too. I especially appreciate Harvest Moon, probably my favorite of his.
Glad you liked it
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When “The Whole of the Moon” was released, it wasn’t initially a big success. But gradually it worked itself to a legendary status, and now it’s not only The Waterboys best known song, it’s a huge classic – covered by everyone from Prince, to the Killers and Fiona Apple (whose version appears in the show “The Affair”).
The Waterboys are a very interesting band, with a sound that ranges from Celtic-tinged folk-rock to widescreen alternative anthems – this song definitely belongs to the latter category. An epic song inspired by Prince (who ended up covering it), “The Whole of the Moon” mixes a classic but not cheesy 80’s sound, with trumpets, saxophone and musical layers. Nobody’s really sure who it was written about – Songwriter Mike Scott said “It’s not a specific person. It’s more a type. The point of the song was to illustrate how much more there could be to learn than we had ever guessed. And so, I used that format of songwriting, as if addressing a more knowledgeable or wise being”, but later said it “might be” about Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barrett, so who knows?
Anyway, it’s a classic song and an absolute blast to play in RB. So have fun with it!
An all time punk classic, this is the debut single of Northern-Irish punk band The Undertones. Ever since it’s release, it became a hugely popular song, a lot of it thanks to legendary radio broadcaster John Peel. Peel loved that song so much, he awarded it 28 stars on the scale of 1 to 5 (which he otherwise never broke). He played it twice in a row in his show – another thing he’s never done before or since – with the explanation that “it doesn’t get any better than this”. And eventually, he asked for the opening line of the song – “Teenage dreams so hard to beat” – to be engraved on his tombstone, which it was.
The EP was supposed to be the band’s swan song, as they were on the verge of breaking up – but the huge success kept them together up until 1983, and they made 4 full-length albums. True classic right here.
Thanks egead for starting this custom and letting me finish it! The guitar and drum charts are heavily based on his work.“One of the greatest songs of the century” -Rolling Stone Magazine13th best track of the 2000’s – NME20th best track of the 2000’s – PitchforkI could go on and on. The Walkmen are a great band (and NOT a one hit wonder), and this is their trademark song for a reason. Pure anger, fury, energy, nastiness, and those drums – man, those drums. They were the ones who began it all, as apparently drummer Matt Barrick just messed around with quick disco beats, resulting in a jam which created this song. The lyrics were written on the spot, in five minutes. And that jam has changed the fate and the lives of this band. It became huge, and only got bigger in time. It’s featured on the soundtracks of Major League Baseball 2K7, Dirt 2, and True Crime: New York City. Simply speaking, it’s pretty much the ultimate indie-rock banger.Challenge for drummers: play this one and Springsteen’s “Roulette” in a row for a serious disco beats stamina test.Today, me and my partner HighFlyingBirds bring you one of the best and most successful rock bands of the 90’s – Blur!
As you can see, I’m a bit of a Britpop fan (just don’t really like Oasis haha). So now it’s time to pay a little homage to one of the best Britpop albums, and certainly one of the most English albums of all time – “Parklife” by Blur.
Guitar by HighFlyingBirds, thanks!
One of the standouts on a standout album, and certainly one of the most English songs on this very English album. “This is a Low” is one of Blur’s most beloved tunes. It’s been a mainstay in the band’s repertoire and history; frequently a concert climax, closing among others their legendary 1995 Mile End show; voted by fans to be included in Glastnbury Anthems DVD; Was the only non-single to be included in their “Best of Blur” compilation. It also featured very heavily in their reunion, performed in their first show at NME awards, in the Brits awards, closing the main set in their legendary Glastonbury 2009 concert, as well as both live DVDs released since, “All the People” and “Parklive” (documenting Hyde Park performances in 2009 and 2012 respectively). It was described by critic Rob Harris as a “key masterstroke” and “close to perfection“.
Musically, it’s an epic ballad, with a rousing chorus and epic guitars all over. There’s a guitar solo – two solos at once, in fact – and it’s a classic anthem. Musically, it’s extremely British – The song’s lyrics reference a low-pressure area of weather hitting Britain. The lyrics are based on the Shipping Forecast, with references made to the various areas in England, such as Biscay, Thames, Dogger, Tyne, Forth, Cromarty, Forties, Blackpool and Malin – all in two verses, which is pretty impressive!
Thanks HighFlyingBirds for charting guitar, drums and helping with bass!
“And it looks like we might have made it, looks like we’ve made it to the end…“
A fitting tune for my last Chart-a-thon song! “To the End” was the second single from the “Parklife” album, and another one of Blur’s signature tunes. It features Stereolab member Lætitia Sadier with some French spoken words, and an entire orchestral arrangement (charted here to keys). It’s a beautiful, epic, ballad with a rousing chorus by Damon Albarn, and it’s one of the band’s most emotional songs. Lyrically, it takes a break from the English themes and focuses on a relationship falling apart, reminicisng on the good times while documenting the bitter end. “Been drinking far too much, neither of us means what we say”. There’s also another version on the song, sang fully in French, but here is the English original. Hope you like it!
So hmm, hey? Maybe you remember me?
I took a break from charting, and it ended up being quite a lengthy one. But now I’m back! Maybe not to the scale I worked in before, but I’ll definitely continue doing some charting work when I feel like it, in my free time. So I’m happy to present:
Yaniv’s 2020 Discoveries pack
It’s been a while, and while I wasn’t charting for most of it, I was (as always) listening to loads of music. And discovered a lot of cool new stuff. So the theme of this pack is my recent discoveries – and specifically, all of the 4 songs released today where songs I’ve heard for the first time in 2020 (which means I didn’t know them at the time my last releases came out). So… here we go!
“Recently I’ve been struggling with anxiety
To the point I find it hard to leave the flat”Richard Dawson writes awesome, epic and ultra-relatable rock songs. His album 2020 (released confusingly enough in 2019) is a masterful collection of British mostly-everyday stories, starting with the brilliant “Civil Servant” about getting up to a job you hate, wanting to kill the annoying co-worker who keeps talking all the time, and moans about how “I just want to lie here and play the new Call of Duty“.
But the one song that trumps them all for me is “Jogging“. An epic rock song full of brilliant guitar riffs, a huge chorus with big synths, it almost sounds like Muse at times. Dawson displays his full impressive singing range, and the lyrics deal with anxiety, lack of self confidence, and finding solace in sport and jogging as a way to hide your flaws.
It’s really is a brilliant piece of work, and my favorite of this pack. Listen and check it out yourself!
The legendary Bauhaus were described as the founding fathers of goth rock, driven by moody post-punk dynamics and jagged guitar chords, plus the manic mysticism of singer Peter Murphy. Mostly known by their frantic “Bela Lugasi’s Dead”, Bauhaus are a fantastic and hugely underrated band in the post-punk/goth area.
“She’s in Parties” is the lead single from their 1983 album “Burning from the Inside“, and it’s one of their best known and most catchy tunes, while also being dark and emotional. It’s lead by a superb bass line, which becomes another great bass line later in the song (yeah that’s 2 great bass lines), brilliant drumming, noisy guitars and a surprising disco section. It reminds me of Bowie‘s more experimental work, but more goth. It’s really a great tune and one I’ve listened to a lot.
Quite a contrast from the 80’s goth of Bauhaus, Beach Bunny is all about upbeat, sunny, catchy and fun indie-surf rock. I’m not sure how old those kids are – probably pretty young – but honestly, “Sports” is just a fucking banger. Full of guitar riffs and lines, upbeat groove and an unbelievably catchy chorus – what more can you ask for? It’s just an amazingly fun song, and also a blast to play on every instrument.
“Shivers” was originally intended as a joke. An “ironic comment on the way that people making hysterical things out of what were essentially high school crushes”, a big over-exaggeration, according to songwriter Rowland S Howard. With an opening like like this:
“I’ve been contemplating suicide,
But it really does not fit my style”
It’s easy to see how it was meant to be over-the-top, or ironic. But most people didn’t get the joke, and took it awfully seriously, and it became somewhat of a cult emo anthem. Probably thanks to one Nick Cave – just 22 at the time, who sings the lead vocals. His melodramatic, emotional performance of the song certainly didn’t sound like a joke (and if you know Nick Cave, generally his whole persona is quite dark and not very humorous). Whether or not it was “the right call” to have Cave sing it is debatable – both Cave and Howard himself has commented that maybe Howard should have sang it himself – but regardless, “Shivers” have become a major cult hit. And now, a Rock Band custom! So I hope you enjoy playing and singing along to this great song.
That’s it for today! Hope you have fun, and hopefully see you soon!
I had this one in the works for a while – in fact it was supposed to come out as an opener to The National Festival for C3X, alongside “Either Way“, but for whatever reason it wasn’t finished in time. So recently I’ve came back to it, and here it is.
“Hummingbird” is a Wilco classic, from their brilliant 2004 album “A Ghost is Born“. Gorgeously arranged, with different musical detours along the way, it quickly became a fan favorite. It’s quite complex musically, with a lot of chords, scale changes, and the whole song transposes halfway through, and yet it sounds simple and sincere. The song clearly means a lot to Tweedy — in concert, he can’t keep still when he sings it, often breaking out the dance moves, like a hummingbird himself. Gameplay wise, it’s fun and entertaining on all instruments. Hope you like it!
More Wilco:
Wilco – Jesus Etc. (with mrcoupdetat)Wilco – I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (with mrcoupdetat)
Wilco – I’m the Man Who Loves You (with mrcoupdetat)
Wilco – Heavy Metal Drummer (with mrcoupdetat)
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