Music

Mike’s Top 5: Rock | #1: Weezer – Say It Ain’t So

There’s not much to say about this one, really. Say It Ain’t So by Weezer is easily my favorite rock and roll song of all time:

The Blue Album is the first CD I ever bought of my own accord. As a fourth grader, a lot of my musical preferences were shaped largely by my brother: he liked Nirvana, so I liked Nirvana. He liked Green Day, so I liked Green Day. But after seeing the music video for Buddy Holly on MTV, I knew that I liked Weezer without Bill’s help.

It must have been around Christmastime in 1995 that I finally picked up the eponymous “Blue Album”; I can’t think of any other scenario in which my dad would have driven 11-year-old me to Best Buy simply for the sake of buying a CD. I paid for it with my own money, and as it turns out, my first music purchase has proven to be one of the best music purchases of my life.

Weezer remains charmingly unpredictable and weird. Sometimes I’ll whine about their new stuff going too far off the beaten path, but at least they’re having fun and keeping things interesting. Plus, Rivers Cuomo is the quintessential anti-frontman, for which I’m eternally grateful.

Thanks, Weez, for Say It Ain’t So. I’ll still be rocking out to this one when I’m an old man.

Bonus: Here’s the demo version. Both guitar and Matt Sharp enthusiasts should get a kick out of it.

Mike’s Top 5: Rock | #2: Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American

It was 2001, and I was cleaning out my car (a gold 1987 Mercury Cougar, if you must ask) in the driveway. To make the chore go a little faster, I had my radio tuned in to 89.7 The River. That’s when I first heard Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World:

This might sound overly nostalgic, but the discovery of Jimmy Eat World marked a turning point in the development of my musical tastes. I was “coming into my own” as a music fan, and their songs struck such a chord with me that I’ve pretty much spent the last 10 years trying to re-write Clarity. I haven’t come close.

Their last couple of albums haven’t interested me as much. Futures was an amazing powerpop album, but since then the hooks and memorable melodies have been few and far between. Even so, I still consider myself a diehard fan. I’ll buy their new album when it comes out next year, but I’m hoping for a return to form.

All that said, Salt Sweat Sugar Bleed American is modern rock at its finest. Don’t be surprised if Flight Metaphor covers this one someday.

Bonus: Check out this solo set from Jim Adkins back in March.

Mike’s Top 5: Rock | #3: Foo Fighters – Everlong

Is it just me, or was 1997 a great year for music? Here’s just a sampling of the records that came out that year:

Jars of Clay – Much Afraid
Radiohead – OK Computer 
Sixpence None the Richer – Self-Titled
Spice Girls – Spiceworld (Ok…maybe not that one)
Five Iron Frenzy – Our Newest Album Ever
Switchfoot – The Legend of Chin

And of course, Foo Fighter’s The Colour and the Shape, featuring Everlong:

Musically, lyrically, and emotionally, Everlong is a near-perfect song. Seriously. It ebbs and flows in all the right places. The lyrics are vague enough for you to apply your own meaning, but singer Dave Grohl’s delivery communicates a passion beyond the words. If I was banished to a desert island with an iPod that could only hold five songs, I’d think long and hard about including Everlong.

It’s no stretch to say that Foo Fighters is one of the best rock and roll groups of all time. Say what you will about Nirvana, but in my book Dave Grohl’s little “solo project” has become five times the band they ever were. Grohl himself would likely disagree with me, but in any case, we should all be thankful that he turned down that gig drumming for Tom Petty.

Bonus: My friend Marc and I first hit it off when we discovered our mutual appreciation for this song.

Mike’s Top 5: Rock | #4: Phantom Planet – California

No, I did not find out about this song because it was the theme for The OC. And out of respect for Arrested Development, I intend to never watch a single episode.

It was 2002, and my family was on vacation. We were channel surfing in the hotel before going to bed when this performance on David Letterman caught my eye:

I started watching it about a minute or so into the song, so I didn’t hear the name of the band. I spent the next several months trying to track them down (bear in mind this was before the days of Youtube or Yahoo Answers). When I finally did, I considered myself a fan.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Phantom Planet is singer Alex Greenwald‘s absolute disregard for proper vocal technique. He has an excellent singing voice, but that’s not what impresses me about him – it’s his performance. If you listen to any Phantom Planet record from beginning to end, you’ll hear Greenwald giving 110% the whole time. And I really mean that; he’s often singing beyond his voice’s breaking point.

I’m more than just a little excited to learn that they’re planning a comeback in 2013.

Bonus: Check out their video for Big Brat, possibly one of the coolest music videos ever made. Judging by the youtube comments, apparently this song appears in the latest Spiderman movie, which I have yet to see.

Relient K and Biting My Tongue

Relient K – Photo by Jered Scott

From time to time, one of my friends will ask, “Hey, whatever became of the Relient K ordeal?” This is my attempt at answering that question…sorry it took so long!

A few months ago, I saw that Relient K had posted a teaser video for their upcoming album. I’m a longtime fan of Relient K, so naturally I was excited to hear new music and see some behind-the-scenes footage. But when I clicked on the link and the video started playing, what I heard didn’t sound new at all. Instead, I heard the main riff of one of my own songs, Biting My Tongue.

For comparison, here’s Relient K’s video:

And here’s my song:

Flight Metaphor has been playing Biting My Tongue live for more than two years; the studio version above appears on 2011’s Eastmost Peninsula.

As I watched Relient K’s video, my head started spinning. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or upset. I knew that if their song appeared in a finished form on Relient K’s new album, it meant that I’d have to defend the integrity of mine. It would only be a matter of time before someone accused me of “ripping them off.”

I showed the video to a few of my close friends, and almost all of them flipped out. A few told me to seek legal counsel, others started “ralllying the troops” for an online revolution, and I started composing a reactionary blog post. I dug up all the demos I ever recorded of Biting My Tongue, preparing to “put Relient K in their place.”

Thankfully, none of that happened. Instead, my friend Dave passed along Ethan Luck’s e-mail address, as he receives the music credit in the video (For the uninitiated, Ethan plays drums for Relient K). Remembering Jesus’ teaching on conflict and Paul’s exhortation to stay out of legal disputes with other believers, I decided to send Ethan an e-mail presenting my dilemma.

The next day, I received an extremely gracious and kind response. Ethan assured me that he had never heard my song before, that it was a freak coincidence. What follows is a portion of his e-mail:

I’m pretty blown away that the first chord/melody is pretty identical! So crazy. I put that RK video together and needed some music behind it. I, literally, wrote and recorded that guitar thing about 10 min before posting the video. I hope you don’t think there was any ill will here. I apologize for the confusion! Also, we have no intention of using that for our new album. Again, it just came out quick, while playing guitar.

He even went so far as to offer to take the video down and re-upload it with different music, but I told him it wasn’t necessary. I was happy enough with the fact that I could keep playing my song without having to justify it to my audiences.

All in all, it was a pretty surreal experience. Never in a million years would I expect to pull up a video from one of my favorite bands and hear a song nearly identical to something I had already written. Thankfully, the entire matter was wrapped up in less than a day, and Ethan was real cool about everything. Moral of the story: following God’s instruction can keep you from doing something stupid.

As for Biting My Tongue, every version I ever recorded of it appears below. I’ve always wanted to make a blog post highlighting the “evolution of a song,” and this experience has afforded me the opportunity. Enjoy! (Oh, and be sure to pick up Relient K’s new album when it finally drops 🙂 )

Demo #1
December 25th, 2009, 2 AM – Instrumental Idea

Demo #2
December 2009 – Vocal Idea

Demo #3
February 2010 – “Wait And See” Full Band Instrumental Demo

Demo #4
March 2010 – “Wait and See” Full Band Demo

Final Version
October 2010 – Biting My Tongue (Biding Time) Studio Version, Released June 2011