Singles 02.09.06: Issue #43
Posted by Michael Horvath on 02.09.2006
The RETURN! With sizzling hot new tracks from Yellowcard, Foo Fighters and 30 Seconds To Mars!
It sure has been awhile eh? I know this is my first real column of 2006 and I think it my first actual singles column since late 2005. Its not like I haven't been doing anything. I spent most of January writing very special year end review columns for 2005. There are my top 20 rock songs of 2005 out there and my worst songs of 2005 as well. If I were you, I would definitely give them a read as they are literary classics. But now I am back to what I do best and it's a good thing to because there are a ton of new songs out there that are just dying to be reviewed, so stay tuned for the next few weeks as it is going to be a wild ride.
So let's do it
Yellowcard Lights & Sounds
Finally Yellowcard returns after dangerously flirting with obscurity. By now almost everyone knows who Yellowcard are. They are one of the millions of pop punk bands that just happened to make it big during the pop punk heyday of the early 2000's. They fit right in there with Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory and so on. They came out of nowhere in 2003 with their major label debut Ocean Avenue. At first the band got a tinsy winsy bit of radio airplay with their lead single Way Away, but thanks to good reviews and a spot on the Madden 2004 video game, the song began to get more airplay. Second single Ocean Avenue continued the band's upward trend and it by far the bands biggest hit to date. The debate then began whether or not Yellowcard was going to go more pop or more punk on their new album. Well, thankfully they decided to stay away from Simple Plan territory and stay with a little bit of punk edge which can be heard on the lead single Lights & Sounds from their latest album of the same name, Lights & Sounds, which has been in stores since January 24, 2006. The song catches the band at their best, mixing their poppy melodies with some rather edgy punk aspects. Much like Way Away, Lights & Sounds has started off very slow, but now it is all over the radio airwaves and has reached the #12 spot on the Billboard rock chart so far. Not too shabby so far, but we all know that a slow and sappy second or third single is inevitable. I just hope it's decent. 3/5
30 Seconds To Mars The Kill
On August 30, 2005 30 Seconds to Mars released their sophomore disc entitled A Beautiful Lie. So far, he band's real claim to fame so far is that Hollywood heartthrob Jared Leto just happens to be their lead singer. Well, let's just say that he is way better than Russell Crowe and Keanu Reeves at being the front man of a band. Leto actually has some sort of rock persona and it is evident in every 30 Seconds To Mars song. You can easily tell that Leto really likes the music that he is creating; I mean this is basically his part-time gig and he does not have to do it to make a living. The Kill is the seoncd single from A Beautiful Lie following lead single Attack which was a great song, that didn't get the credit that it deserved. I fear the same thing is going to happen with The Kill. In fact, the entire band is being overlooked, when they shouldn't. A Beautiful Lie was one of the best CDs released last year and more people need to start recognizing these guys. Anyways, for those familiar with 30 Seconds To Mars, it is noticeable that The Kill is a little bit of a more mellow tune compared to the bands other songs. That is fine and dandy, whatever it takes for them to get the radio airplay that they deserve. The build-up from the versus to the chorus are excellent and who knew Let was actually a good singer. I wish I could say that this song was going to be a surprise hit, but no one seems to want to give 30 Seconds To Mars a chance, what a shame. 4/5
Foo Fighters No Way Back
Straight from my album of 2005 , the Foo Fighters have selected their third single from In Your Honor and it is No Way Back. I am a little surprised here, only because seeing that In Your Honor is a double disc, I thought the third single would have been a song from disc two, making it an acoustic song. Well, thankfully Dave Grohl and the boys have decided to push the rocking disc as much as possible. That is a very good idea as disc one kicks the crap out of disc two. No Way Back is an excellent choice for a third single. It is an amazing song. The guitar mixed with the up-tempo drum beat is second to none. Throw in Dave Grohl's surprising great singing ability and you have yourself a hit. Let's face it, no matter what the band chose as their third single, it was going to get radio airplay due to the success of In Your Honor. Maybe the Foo Fighters are going to be the Green Day of 2006. The bands fourth single will be a song from the acoustic disc, which will get massive airplay over the spring and into the summer, just watch. Anyways, No Way Back deserves all the attention that it is going to get. If you are into listening to the meaning of songs and paying attention to the lyrics, this song has a great uplifting message. If you just like to rock out, this song is totally for you. As I said previously, the guitar work here is great! Throw in some screaming from Dave Grohl (which he loves to do, especially live) and this song almost gets the ultra rare 5/5 rating. Instead it has to settle for a 4/5 just because.
And I'm gone
I will leave you with my personal top 5 songs of the moment:
1. Neverending White Lights The Grace (an amazing song from a Canadian artist, nice and soft and mellow featuring vocals from Alexisonfire singer Dallas Green, I highly recommend, an easy 5/5!!!!)
2. Nine Inch Nails Every Day Is Exactly The Same
3. P.O.D. Goodbye For Now
4. Nickelback - Animals
5. Audioslave Out of Exile
Have a great week and I will leave with these inspirational words from the great Homer Simpson "America's health care system is second only to Japan ... Canada, Sweden, Great Britain ... well, all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!."
