PIX – being a connoisseur of girl singers/bands, not sure why I never picked up any Pixies. Liked the song, need to add them to my list.
BH – An elegant beautifully crafted song. I came across Ben Harper (not be be confused with Ben Folds) sitting in the womens section of a mall clothing store. They had a lounge area with a tv that played videos. a song came on that I thought was really good, I had to keep repeating the artists name over and over again in my head so to not forget. (Before I had a smart phone.) I bought the album as soon as I got home, this song was on that album, which is most excellent. I believe it is a 2 disc album.
Pixies – Gigantic
I feel like I should be into Pixies more than I am. When a track comes on from them, I generally like it. Being a bass man, I dig the beginning of this one. Has that driving grunge sound. “He’s like the dark…” Layered guitars give it the feel of an impressionist-style painting. Just fine.
Ben Harper – More Than Sorry
Haven’t listened to anything from him in a while. Nice acoustic track. His high voice is almost falsetto at times. There’s a warmth here that cradles the song. Emotive.
“Gigantic” / Pixies. Good track with more than a passing resemblance to “Sweet Jane” on the verses and a fun accent at play (“jye-GYAN-tic”) on the chorus. Nice skronky guitars. But is this song about a troubled relationship? Sounds pretty straightforwardly about consensual (and rather ecstatic, at that) nookie. I cannot find evidence in the lyrics that the song fits this round’s theme.
“More than Sorry” / Ben Harper. Poignant take on the the shattered-relationship theme. “Goodbye hasn’t been so good to me.” I am pondering whether there is the hint of a unreliable narrator here, a between-the-lines suggestion (“eyes burn from unshed tears”) that there might be something beyond being sorry that the singer is actually capable of, whether he wants to admit it or not? also interesting that we never explicitly learn what he needs to be sorry over. Is it really all his fault? But I like these mysteries in the tune.
“Gigantic” by Pixies – from “Surfer Rosa” released in 1988. A killer baseline intro, a perfect alternative rock track for those looking for bands who influenced other bands right around the corner in the early 90’s…
And @Bill brings up a valid point! As a long time fan of the Pixies, I always assumed Gigantic was about an extramarital affair. “Forbidden love” kind of territory… I listened to this track again, twice. Then I ended up listening to the entire album. So fun.
“More than Sorry” by Ben Harper – From “Both Sides of the Gun” released in 2006? Not too familiar with his work, but I’ve heard the name. I adore the plucking of the guitar on this track. So simple, yet so eloquent playing at the same time. It’s a very mysterious track packed full of dark themes… and in all honesty, surprised me that it was from the mid-2000’s.
Pixies- This starts off like a Pixies prototype song with the hallmarks of prominent dry bass, then adds a heap of guitars and solid drumming. The absence of Black Frances’ vocals hints at the Pixie spinoffs like the Breeders– I like the female vocals here as it adds a somewhat soft(?) counterpoint to the cacophony.
Ben- I am a casual Ben Harper fan though this song didnnot do much to add to my love of him. I immediately got the mid-70’s vibe of the acoustic number and couldn’t shake the associations to some of that era’s blandness. And somethong about his straining voice did not appeal to me.
“Gigantic”by Pixies: I love this song and the whole vibe of the band. The goofy off key vocal intro is perfect and the distorted vibrato “hey Paul lets have a ball” guitar duet alongside the lead singers slurred singing just works for me. I must have this album, probably on an old and lost cassette or mix tape. I played it a bunch (as it is very familiar) but my thinking is that this was one of a number of very good songs on the album. I do have to be in the right mood for the Pixies. Will need to find the album and give it a run. I am in the mood now. Not clear that the troubled relationship part was clear to me but regardless; cool track.
“More than Sorry” by Ben Harper: I, probably surprisingly, have never heard of Ben Harper. Nice to be introduced to someone new. Lovely and sad song. This one clearly fits the requirements of the round. His singing captures the emotion; very authentic and raw. Enjoyed the guitar playing, mix and tone too of the instrument on this version. Well Done
PIX – being a connoisseur of girl singers/bands, not sure why I never picked up any Pixies. Liked the song, need to add them to my list.
BH – An elegant beautifully crafted song. I came across Ben Harper (not be be confused with Ben Folds) sitting in the womens section of a mall clothing store. They had a lounge area with a tv that played videos. a song came on that I thought was really good, I had to keep repeating the artists name over and over again in my head so to not forget. (Before I had a smart phone.) I bought the album as soon as I got home, this song was on that album, which is most excellent. I believe it is a 2 disc album.
Pixies – Gigantic
I feel like I should be into Pixies more than I am. When a track comes on from them, I generally like it. Being a bass man, I dig the beginning of this one. Has that driving grunge sound. “He’s like the dark…” Layered guitars give it the feel of an impressionist-style painting. Just fine.
Ben Harper – More Than Sorry
Haven’t listened to anything from him in a while. Nice acoustic track. His high voice is almost falsetto at times. There’s a warmth here that cradles the song. Emotive.
“Gigantic” / Pixies. Good track with more than a passing resemblance to “Sweet Jane” on the verses and a fun accent at play (“jye-GYAN-tic”) on the chorus. Nice skronky guitars. But is this song about a troubled relationship? Sounds pretty straightforwardly about consensual (and rather ecstatic, at that) nookie. I cannot find evidence in the lyrics that the song fits this round’s theme.
“More than Sorry” / Ben Harper. Poignant take on the the shattered-relationship theme. “Goodbye hasn’t been so good to me.” I am pondering whether there is the hint of a unreliable narrator here, a between-the-lines suggestion (“eyes burn from unshed tears”) that there might be something beyond being sorry that the singer is actually capable of, whether he wants to admit it or not? also interesting that we never explicitly learn what he needs to be sorry over. Is it really all his fault? But I like these mysteries in the tune.
“Gigantic” by Pixies – from “Surfer Rosa” released in 1988. A killer baseline intro, a perfect alternative rock track for those looking for bands who influenced other bands right around the corner in the early 90’s…
And @Bill brings up a valid point! As a long time fan of the Pixies, I always assumed Gigantic was about an extramarital affair. “Forbidden love” kind of territory… I listened to this track again, twice. Then I ended up listening to the entire album. So fun.
“More than Sorry” by Ben Harper – From “Both Sides of the Gun” released in 2006? Not too familiar with his work, but I’ve heard the name. I adore the plucking of the guitar on this track. So simple, yet so eloquent playing at the same time. It’s a very mysterious track packed full of dark themes… and in all honesty, surprised me that it was from the mid-2000’s.
Pixies- This starts off like a Pixies prototype song with the hallmarks of prominent dry bass, then adds a heap of guitars and solid drumming. The absence of Black Frances’ vocals hints at the Pixie spinoffs like the Breeders– I like the female vocals here as it adds a somewhat soft(?) counterpoint to the cacophony.
Ben- I am a casual Ben Harper fan though this song didnnot do much to add to my love of him. I immediately got the mid-70’s vibe of the acoustic number and couldn’t shake the associations to some of that era’s blandness. And somethong about his straining voice did not appeal to me.
“Gigantic”by Pixies: I love this song and the whole vibe of the band. The goofy off key vocal intro is perfect and the distorted vibrato “hey Paul lets have a ball” guitar duet alongside the lead singers slurred singing just works for me. I must have this album, probably on an old and lost cassette or mix tape. I played it a bunch (as it is very familiar) but my thinking is that this was one of a number of very good songs on the album. I do have to be in the right mood for the Pixies. Will need to find the album and give it a run. I am in the mood now. Not clear that the troubled relationship part was clear to me but regardless; cool track.
“More than Sorry” by Ben Harper: I, probably surprisingly, have never heard of Ben Harper. Nice to be introduced to someone new. Lovely and sad song. This one clearly fits the requirements of the round. His singing captures the emotion; very authentic and raw. Enjoyed the guitar playing, mix and tone too of the instrument on this version. Well Done