Firstly, apologies for the lack of post last month but
things have been getting hectic! But now I’m back on track. Rebel’s back and
yelling louder than ever!
As none of you know I’ve recently started university. That’s
right folks I’m one of those clinically insane people who actually decide to
stick with education longer than legally required AND pay huge amount of money
for it! But you should be use to my lunacy by now. Besides in the words of Mr.
Billie Joe Armstrong “the most punk thing
to do is to do the things no one expects”…or something along those lines…the
point is a musician going to university? Well…this next fact could blow you
right of the water (if you’ve been living under a rock all of this century) but
I’m at an actual music school working towards a degree in Songwriting. Yupp. I
know what you’re all thinking…”How can
you do a degree in Songwriting?” and “Whatdoes it entail? Just sitting round
writing songs?” but that my friends is another story for another time.
Left to right: Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly
Trust me there is a point to me informing you about my
current lifestyle choices, in a recent class I learnt that one of my favourite
songs was not actually written by the band themselves, instead professional
songwriters are behind the piece. The song being “Alone”by Heart,
was in fact written by two men called Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Within
this class it was also unveiled that they are in fact the masterminds behind
classics such as “Eternal Flame” by The Banglesand ThePretenders “I’ll Stand ByYou”as well as writing the song
that arguable put Madonna on her pedestal “Like a Virgin”.
Again why am I telling you all of this? Because I am fully
aware of how stubborn and ignorant musicians, fans and writers are when it
comes to the role of commercial songwriters thing. Myself included in this. We
tend to assume that it is only Pop artists such as One Direction and 5
Seconds of Summer rely on other professionals to write their music;
sometimes even collaborating with these writers. But this is not the case at
all. Some of the largest names in the Rock world have been created through
others, for instance, a man called Jim Steinman founded the artist Meat
Loaf, you know who he is right? To me Steinman is a legend. Up
in the same league as Elton John and Michael Jackson.
Some of his most well known songs include:
- "Bat Outta
Hell" – Meat Loaf
- "Total
Eclipse of the Heart" – Bonnie Tyler
- "It’s All
Coming Back to Me Now" – Celine Dion
- "Dead
Ringer for Love" – Meat Loaf feat. Cher
- "Making
Love Out of Nothing at All" – Air Supply
And so many more!
Artist such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis
Presley had professional songwriters writing their music. To the degree
that Sinatra
was known to make writers compete with each other in order to get the
best songs on to his albums. Another artist who doesn’t get the recognition she
deserves by the general public is Diana Warren, her hits list include:
- "I Don’t
Want To Miss a Thing" – Aerosmith
- "Bed of
Nails" – Alice Cooper
- "Loving You
Is All I Know" – The Pretenders
- "Blue Eyes
Blues" – Eric Clapton
- "Cruel
Nights" – Heart
Basically, these passed few lessons I’ve been subjected to
made me realise as a fan and musician that there are so many people behind the
scenes and back stage that help artists tremendously. To the degree that most
bands wouldn’t be where they are today if it wasn’t for these writers.
So the point of this Rebel Yell article? To (hopefully) make
you see that there are some insanely talented people out there who are either
unknown, undiscovered, or simply don’t want the same version of ‘fame and
fortune’ as artists. I guess that’s it really…I realise there isn’t much to go
off of in this article. I am also aware it is very different from my usual
entries, but hey see I can be somewhat sophisticated too!
Don’t worry everything won’t be like this, I will go back
and forth, sticking primarily to my little quirky reviews and what not. But
every now and again I will drop something insightful your way…like this…after
all I’m a uni girl and all that jazz now aye!
I am also aware I may have shatter some of you own illusions
about some of your favourite artists…such as I was with Heart. Don’t worry you’ll get over it, and hopefully make something
useful of it! But I’m sorry(!!!) if
I’ve destroyed some of your little, perfect worlds…or just wasted some of your
time. Maybe I should have put a disclaimer at the top of here…hmmm…ahh well…
Until next time…”unpleasant
dreams”
(Yes I just stole that line from Elvira…for all of you who knew that reference I salute you! If you
didn’t get yourself educated on her now!)
Stop rolling your eyes at me for the title okay! I know it's a major cliche! ANYWAYS…here Halloween edition of "Top Tracks" 1) Fearless Vampire Killers - "All Hallows Evil"
2) Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters"
3) Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman) - "This Is Halloween"
Another month over, but who said the music had to get quieter?! That's right! Turn up those stereos, computers, iPods and whatever other crazy gadgets there are now! 1) The Pretty Reckless - "Make Me Want To Die"
2) Creed - "My Sacrifice"
3) Kansas - "Carry On My Wayward Son"
4) The Runaways - "I Like Playing With Fire"
5) NEW SINGLE: Black Veil Brides - "Heart Of Fire"
6) NEW SINGLE: Black Veil Brides - "Faithless"
7) All Time Low - "Shameless"
8) Fearless Vampire Killers - "Bow Ties On Dead Guys"
A band who have come so far in such a short space of time is The Relapse Symphony. Rebel Yell has dedicated numerous blog posts tracking the progression of the DC rockers. I can remember first listening to the band just two years ago, in which guitarist JC Charles and singer Bret Von Dehl branched out to fan using social media, in particular through Facebook friends requests. As a fan myself it was been somewhat fulfilling watching this band grow and slowly win the souls of more and more people globally. Throughout the passed few years, the band have experienced both loss and gain. The leaving of their drummer Tyler Gloydd, whose role is carried forth by previous lead guitarist Alex Foxx, whose role is now conducted by Ray Miller. However, The Relapse Symphony have seen a dramatic growth in their fan base: Relapse Rebels, as well as releasing the EP Times Running Out. Followed by the release of their first music video Panic! (Times Running Out) in 2013. But they didn't stop there, instead after months of touring with various bands such as Black Veil Brides the band then went on to release their debut album Shadows (review by yours truly can be found here). And now the band continue to develop by announcing and releasing two music videos off of the album: Savage Eyes:
and One More Yesterday:
I'm not going to say much on the videos, because I want you guys to go out and watch them for yourselves. All I will say is that this band have come so far, and I couldn't be prouder! These videos theatricality are something to be admired…wow. I still await the day they travel overseas to play to their UK audience, and when they do I will be in the front row screaming their lyrics back at them. Will you?
Something everyone seems to be currently
writing and commenting about is the anniversary of Green Day’s 7th
Studio Album: American Idiot. And why
not? Arguably it did put punk rock back into the social system, as well
reigniting the band and creating their signature look that they are now most
recognised for.
Being a teenager in this century has been
plagued with political disagreements that have lead to the war in Iraq, but
what century didn’t have it’s political issues? And what decade didn’t have
bands writing about it all?
So why does Green Day’s album stand out so
much? Honestly I believe it was due to bands now days being too afraid to speak
out and risk losing popularity points with their fans and press. However, most
people believe that Green Day’s career was heading downhill after the release
of ‘Warning’ in 2000 (although my
favourite album I must say!) thus had little to lose. Yet, personally it is
these risks that make bands write their best works, the more heart and passion
goes into the writing process if the artists truly believe in every chord,
every beat and every lyric sung.
I remember this album being the very first
album I purchased for myself (as it was for most people of my generation),
being the ripe ol’ age of 10 (two years after it’s release) with her money
crumpled up in her hands, desperate to make the right choice of album. I had
listened to Green Day a few times, but didn’t understand a lot to do with the
music, as this was the same year that I had picked up a guitar for the first
time. It’s safe to say that it was the exotic cover that intrigued my curious
mind…I know, I know don’t judge a book by it’s cover and all that malarkey but
I was 10 for crying out loud (!)...Thus the purchase was made. It wasn’t until
a few years later that I truly appreciated the work that must have gone into
creating the album.
This is the album that put Green Day back on
EVERYONE’S radars…let’s be honest everyone has heard a Green Day song before,
whether they know it was in fact Green Day or not is another story…and the
chances are that the song will be off of American
Idiot…unless it is Good Riddance which
everyone DEFINITELY knows but is always misnamed as Time of Your Life! It even got to the degree that the media
questioned the release of 21st
Century Breakdown and whether the band had set the mark too high for any
other albums to follow American Idiot!
The album even lead to the rock opera being
performed in Broadway then eventually the West End, in which Billie Joe played
the role of St. Jimmy for a while!
I had a chance to see the musical a few years
back, and can safely say that the album works ridiculously well on stage, as if
it was supposed to be made into this. Now don’t get the wrong idea, it is
singing and dancing, but in the form of teenage anarchy; giving a light to the
Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy and Whatshername that the album couldn’t quite
establish. After seeing it the albums story makes so much more sense and I
recommend it to absolutely anyone, not just the fans of Green Day, as is it a
compelling story of the duality of the mind and teenage consequences.
So should we take the album track by track?
Yeah why not aye?
The album opens with the punkish chord
progression, followed shortly by the rebellious cry of “Don’t wanna be an American Idiot” immediately setting up the tone
for the remainder of the album. Billie Joe, Mike and Tré
aren’t taking any prisoners with this album, and they’re making it evident
right at the beginning that they’re here to cause mayhem and bring to light the
corruption of their America.
The album moves on to the almost
10 minute track of “Jesus of Suburbia”
in which the band attempt something that has never before been seen in the
music industry. On numerous occasions all the band members have spoken about
the writing process for this song as well as the other 10 minute track “Homecoming” the story goes that Mike
Dirnt came to the table with a thirty second song, that inspired Billie Joe to
do the same; thus the band continued to write thirty second fragments until
they believed the piece to be completed…”Homecoming”
was born…then this process was repeated for “Jesus of Suburbia”. In this song the band introduce their
protagonist The Jesus of Suburbia, arguably an average kid lost in the world, who
ends up taking the more complicated route of life that revolves around sex,
drugs and rock and roll (and not the good kind!).
Ahhh “Holiday” you cannot deny that this song
is catchy, definitely one of my favourites off of the album. Upon close
listening Billie Joe sings about political corruption once more, possible being
more direct compared to “America Idiot” with
lines such as
Bombs away is your punishment,
Pulverize the Eiffel towers,
Who criticize your government,
Bang bang goes the broken glass and,
Kill all the fags that don't agree,
Trials by fire, setting fire.
What’s more focuses on
his own distaste for this mentality, and how “it’s not a way that’s meant for me”.
This song is
appropriately tied with the following “Boulevard
of Broken Dreams” however this connection is most evident within the
videos, however if you listen closely you can hear the two merge on the album.
It almost mimics the consequences of “Holiday”’s
America, how this can destroy the mind of someone who questions the
establishment he has been brought up by, and how no one has the drive to
correct it, how it can make him feel as if he “walks alone”.
“Are We The Waiting?” perhaps acts
as the moment of calm before the storm? As it is placed directly before the
song “St. Jimmy” in which the Jesus
of Suburbia’s alter ego escapes and becomes the more dominant force in his
mind. Perhaps the members of Green Day are suggesting that this is what the
America in which it was written was driving it’s youths too?
“Give Me Novacaine” tells the
internal fight of Jesus of Suburbia, as he tries to make sense of the mayhem
around him. He speaks of St. Jimmy as if he is a real person, saying “Jimmy says [novacaines] better than air”
he seems to have lost the boundaries of his two personas. That he is now
willingly giving in to his darker ego.
Now the love interest
takes the stage in “She’s A Rebel” as
the to be Whatshername is introduced into Jesus of Suburbia’s life. In the
stage production she is the one that breaks the trance St. Jimmy has over the
protagonist. They share a destructive love that ultimate attempts to become
pure, but ends with her leaving him. Yet, within the song “She’s A Rebel” Jesus of Suburbia is too hypnotised by this girl
who’s “the salt of the Earth and she’s
dangerous” to the degree that he’s wondering, “is she dreaming what I’m thinking”.
“Extraordinary Girl” tells the
struggle of the aftermath of infatuation in the relationship. How it can become
more tedious and routine-like. Dramatically juxtaposing the wildness of “She’s a Rebel” it is at this point that
the listener is made aware that the relationship between Jesus of Suburbia and
Whatshername is doomed to fail, especially with St. Jimmy in the mix.
The following song “Letterbomb” could take several
different meanings, revolution through the line “Where have all the riots gone?” however the female vocals of “Nobody likes you, they’re all out without
you having fun” could suggest Whatshername pointing out all of Jesus of
Suburbia’s faults. “You’re not the Jesus
of Suburia, St. Jimmy is a figment of your father’s rage and your mother’s
love” as well as “she said she can’t
take this town, I’m leaving you tonight”. But then again it could be his
subconscious continuing to torture him. Instead this war within himself has
lead to the self-destruction of his relationship and the life he lead at the
beginning of album. Is the band suggesting the reason for his imploding is due
to the establishment he was subjected to?
Pretty much everyone in
the Green Day fan base knows that the song “Wake
Me Up When September Ends” is about the death of Billie Joe’s father.
However the video takes the route of the Iraq war, making an anti war twist.
Either way the song revolves around the heartbreak and lost love of
battle…whether it is a political battle or a battle within yourself dealing
with grief, or anger etc.
The
penultimate song “Homecoming” is the
second 10 minute song that tells the story of the death of St. Jimmy who “blew his brains into the Bay”, stating
that this suicide was the Jesus of Suburbia killing off the more hysterical
side of himself. In the musical itself it follows the leaving of Whatshername,
as he takes an office job after St. Jimmy’s death, but then discovering that
this isn’t the life he is supposed to lead either. Instead he returns home “Homecoming” to the scene at the
beginning of the musical, where the audience are reunited with characters he
left behind. In all, the song attempts to summarise Jesus of Suburbia’s journey
throughout the album, from his internal struggle of “Nobody likes you” to his friends lifestyle as a true rebel in “Rock and Roll Girlfriend” and how true
rebellion made his life as amazing as it is today, compared to Jesus of
Suburbia’s fake rebellion leading him nowhere…this song as well as being pretty
much an autobiography of Tré Cool’s life.
The album finishes with the song “Whatshername” recalling Jesus of Suburbia’s encounter with the
girl sung about in “Extraordinary Girl”
and “She’s A Rebel” however he can “remember the face but cannot recall the
name”. The Jesus of Suburbia is back where he started. Back at home.
To me American Idiot feels relatively new, not like it's been around for a decade now! Green Day have come a long way in the 27 years of being together.
But their candles not burnt out yet. There are been rumours that American Idiot will be made into a
feature length film, but has not been confirmed yet…honestly this will be the
icing on the cake if it is made!
Mike Dirnt shares his views on the album on it's 10th birthday…how do you feel about it?
