Welcome to “Fiveplay” #3. The impression today is one of sadness; not one of the picks in this downcast selection is going to put you in a cheerful mood if you decided to have a listen. I apologise for that in advance, but if you want to shake off a few despondent feelings, I find that one of the best ways to do that is through music.
1. Re-Offender- Travis
Where Why Does It Always Rain On Me? touches on unspecific unhappiness, Re-Offender looks at the disconcerting, unenviable situation of being locked in a relationship marked by domestic abuse. I think this song demonstrated Travis’ brilliance: it was a certainty that Why Does It Always Rain On Me? shot them to fame, but Re-Offender, along with Love Will Come Through on the same album (12 Memories) saw the Scottish band tap into much deeper emotion.
Rating: ****
2. Rape Me- Nirvana
Since when was anything performed by Nirvana cheerful? Brusque-titled Rape Me involves a role reversal, leading to poetic justice. Kurt Cobain said that the song was to do with a man being sent to prison for raping a woman, and is raped himself afterwards. Additionally, a more subtle meaning was to with Cobain’s feelings of depression following a claim that his wife took heroin while pregnant. According to the grapevine, this claim had surfaced from a close member of Nirvana, and the “rape” is a reference to the betrayal. The band’s trademark grunge sound doesn’t feature greatly until the chorus, so, surprisingly, given the name, this song isn’t all that vicious (though that song composition is often typical of Nirvana tracks). A quietened guitar backs up Cobain in between.
Rating: ***
3. Selfish Son- Bloc Party
Cropped up as a b-side to the single I Still Remember from Bloc Party’s A Weekend In The City. Why this didn’t make it onto the album, I do not know. Darkly experimental feel about the first minute and 20 seconds of the song. The entrance of the glockenspiel (which, by the way, could grate on you a spot) lifts the mood confidently, but images of impending doom are bound to flash through your mind when you listen to what Okereke is talking about. I’d say this is one of Bloc Party’s “fullest” songs; it sounds polished and all-rounded. Pleasingly climactic after nearly five minutes of musical heaven.
Rating: ****
At the beginning of my passion for Red Hot Chili Peppers, I had a small sample of their songs to listen to. These included Scar Tissue, Give It Away, Californication, By The Way, The Zephyr Song and Otherside (Under The Bridge came a long before this lot). At the beginning, Otherside was the only track I hadn’t given a listen. And for a good couple of months, little changed; I consciously avoided it as the first time I had tried it out, I skimmed through it and didn’t like what I had heard. I eventually decided to give it a second chance after hearing the opening on a friend’s playlist. Almost immediately, I scolded myself for failing to accept it the first time. Turns out this was one of the best songs I had ever listened to. Containing heartfelt lyrics, I generally loved Red Hot Chili Peppers’ transition into melodic rock. And this song epitomises all that I love about that change.
Rating: *****
Final track on Jimmy Eat World’s Futures album. And likely to be one of the most sombre too. It’s unquestionably the longest; over 7 minutes of track to listen to! To take in a song of that length requires you to have a fairly good attention span, but every second is glorious. Jim Adkins smooth, albeit slightly high-pitched – that suit most of Jimmy Eat World’s other material, but don’t integrate perfectly in this slower song – vocals describe a pain caused by a loss of faith in all humankind (and vice versa, since all of humankind has abandoned him) bar one person. Though multiple interpretations are possible; at the same time, the song’s character may be hinting at suicide. Beautifully constructed in its ability to bring tranquillity.
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