Under the Scalpel 10.22.09: Creed, Depeche Mode, More
Posted by Mark Ingoldsby on 10.22.2009
Creed's comeback single is an improvement, but unfortunately still features "Stapphonics." Depeche Mode's main vocalist is back from the dead and contributing more than just his voice. Plus a can't-be-missed music video from 30 years ago featuring the worst co-ed cheerleading squad in history. Brought to you by the sometimes humorous, always heartless guitarist from the hard rock band A Simple Complex.
"Under the Scalpel: Dissecting Pop Culture One Song at a Time" is a weekly column written by Mark Ingoldsby, songwriter and guitarist for the hard rock band A Simple Complex. Follow the band on Twitter during our hibernation for new recordings and entertaining quotes from our many wild interviews.
Creed Overcome
Better, But Unfortunately Still Creed
When I heard the band Creed reunited earlier this year, I was happy as a toddler getting swabbed for a flu shot.
At their best, Creed was a preachy Pearl Jam/Stone Temple Pilots rip-off with a singer who relentlessly over-enunciated every word.
At their worst, Creed was a pretentious, boring, obnoxious, forced, sulky, contrived, preachy Pearl Jam/Stone Temple Pilots rip-off with a singer who relentlessly over-enunciated every word.
I thanked God that Scott Stapp, the self-proclaimed-Christian lead vocalist, was guilty of such lewd, violent, and drunken behavior that it drove the other members to form another band. Stapp once got so drunk before a 2002 gig, he was unable to moan his preachy lyrics. This led to a lawsuit from some concertgoers. In 2003, he contemplated suicide, later comparing himself to Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. (That's a stretch.)
After making rock radio fans suffer five years of wussy, hard(ish)-rock singles, the members of Creed who didn't sing like a frog choking on a golf ball finally called it quits and reformed as Alter Bridge, achieving moderate success.
Meanwhile, Stapp got busy working on a record of his own. And by that, I mean his criminal record. He sucker-punched a member of 311 in 2005 after making inappropriate comments to the wife of another 311 band member. He was arrested for public intoxication the day after his wedding in 2006. And in 2007, Stapp scored his biggest "hit" when he hurled a bottle of Orangina at his (by then) ex-wife something the police would later refer to as "suspicion of domestic assault with intent to commit a felony."
But, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And so, in early 2009, Creed announced that they were reuniting. Upon discovering the band's comeback single, I prepared myself for another mopey, dopey, simplistic and annoyingly preachy song, not expecting much.
As soon as the song began blasting out of my speakers, my eyebrows immediately scrunched down, but not in disgust. I was taken aback. The music was actually good. Real good.
Thoughts promptly began to race through my mind. Am I being bamboozled? Set up? Rickrolled? I wanted verification that the song I was hearing actually was Creed, and not some unreleased Sevendust track.
By the end of the song's second line, Stapp's trademark "head and microphone up my ass" vocal delivery was clear as a bell. I was convinced that this was indeed a Creed song.
I did my best to overlook the annoying echo chamber that is Stapp's head and soak the song in for its other values. I discovered that not only is the music good, but the lyrics aren't half-bad either. Not as predictable and melodramatic as the band's prior efforts.
"Overcome" feels like an anthem for somebody who has finally mustered the strength to leave a bad situation.
"Don't cry victim to me,
Everything we are and used to be is buried and gone,
Now it's my turn to speak,
It's my turn to expose and release what's been killing me,
I'll be damned fighting you,
It's impossible, impossible,
Say goodbye, with no sympathy!"
The only thing stopping me from giving "Overcome" five stars is what a friend of mine refers to as "Stapphonics". He's still singing like he's got a bag of marshmallows stuck in his throat. The word "something" gets turned into "soamthing," and "under" becomes "ownder."
It's a shame, because otherwise this song is surprisingly good. Someone just needs to take Stapp to a throat specialist. Perhaps his ex-wife's cell phone is still in there.
Rating: **** (4 out of 5)
If You Like: Pearl Jam, Sevendust, Staind, Stone Temple Pilots
PS Due to low ticket sales, tickets to Creed's shows are selling for as little as 75 cents. No joke.
Depeche Mode Hole To Feed
Vocalist Finds Purpose In Contributing More Than Voice
"Hole To Feed" is one of three Depeche Mode songs from their latest album that was penned by vocalist Dave Gahan. Loaded with thumping electronic percussion, lush harmonies, and silky guitar, this song has everything needed to turn any dance floor into a Roman orgy.
Unfortunately, the music video that accompanies the song inspires another practice often attributed to the Romans vomiting. If you have a stomach that can handle watching several people lick each other's faces like a bunch of milk-soaked cats in heat, have at it. I made the mistake of trying to watch it while eating lunch. Bad idea.
Until recently, Gahan simply sang the words that were handed to him. "I have tried (songwriting), but Martin [Gore] is so good at that, it would be silly to offer the group something second-rate," Gahan said in 1985, "I'll concentrate on the singing. I think I'm pretty good at that."
That formula worked well. DM's 1989 single "Personal Jesus" became Warner Brothers' best selling single. Their 1990 album Violator went triple platinum, and their 1993 follow-up Songs Of Faith And Devotion debuted at #1 in several countries around the world.
Unfortunately, while Gahan's professional life was a nine, his personal life was at a two. Between 1991 and 1996, Gahan divorced twice and attempted suicide once. Helplessly addicted to drugs, he died on May 28, 1996 from shooting a fatal speedball made with the Red Rum brand of heroin (named from the word murder' spelled backwards).
Thanks to fast-acting paramedics, Gahan was revived. However, even after being brought back from a flatline, Gahan shot up again for a couple of days until an intervention put him on a new path.
Over the next five years, Gahan worked diligently on his sobriety and DM released two more albums. During this time, he began to search for a higher purpose in life.
"I thought, 'Martin's so confident. He writes these amazing songs," Gahan shared. "But I didn't feel good about what I was bringing to it. I was becoming more like a fucking hired singer, a fraud. For years it was like I was an outsider listening to somebody else's music and getting something from it, but not really being part of the engine."
After 2001's Exciter, Gahan expressed frustration with the "lack of experimentation" on the album, and decided to plunge headfirst into songwriting. In 2003, he released a successful solo effort titled Paper Monsters. Having gained a true sense of purpose, and some confidence in his abilities, Gahan confronted the other members of DM with an ultimatum.
"I want half the songs on the record," he recalls informing the band.
"I was a little bit overconfident," Gahan later admitted. But after making it clear he couldn't stay in DM without being involved in the writing process, the other two members of the band met him halfway, and have been using three of Gahan's songs on each album since.
Gahan explains his song "Hole To Feed" as being about "wanting to fill a gaping hole but not knowing what to fill it with, about sometimes the idea of having a hole to feed all being a figment of my imagination when I'm actually fine."
"We are here,
We can love,
We share something,
I'm sure that you mean the world to me,
When you get,
What you need,
It's no way of knowing,
What you'll have is another hole to feed."
"Hole To Feed" is an exciting mix of electronica and rock elements that achieve a tribal feel with its pounding percussion. The track is very suitable for grinding at hot, sweaty, stinky dance clubs and it works just as well as a fun excuse to tap your foot while sitting at your desk. But be warned that its contagious rhythms may tempt you shake your stuff at the office, so listen at your own risk.
I am very glad Gahan didn't end up like Layne Staley, Shannon Hoon, and Bradley Nowell. "Hole To Feed" is one more excellent song from an excellent band who recently gained another excellent songwriter in an existing member.
DM has long had a knack for churning out cutting-edge music that appeals to underground crowds as well as a mainstream audience. "Hole To Feed" is no exception.
Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)
If You Like: Chemical Brothers, Covenant, Daft Punk, Garbage
Wacky Video Of The Week
Armi Ja Danny I Want To Love You Tender
Premise: Aryan woos Sandra Dee look-alike in an outer-space disco with help from the world's worst co-ed cheerleading squad.
