ST – Lead singer from System of Down, When I first heard them, I loved the sound of his voice. Their political yet sometimes comical songs turned me onto the group. When I saw Serj released a solo album, I had to get it. It turned out to be an amazing album.
TS – “They’ll dance to anything… by the Smith’s” A line from a Dead Milkmen song was probably the first time I heard of the band. I’ve heard some of their hits but never really followed them. I always thought The Smith’s were a band that skater’s listened to. Overall, not a bad song. When the song ended I though something went wrong, Nope, just really short.
L42, I have many albums from Front 242, but nothing from Level 42. this feels like a song that would have been in any 80’s movie. Somebody sitting in a subway car, sadly looking out the window…
Serj Tankian – Lie, Lie, Lie
We had a track from S.T. back in round 4 (https://www.edbejzak.com/my-five-songs/round-4-tangential-orbit/orbiter-one/volume-4-1-3/) which I kinda dismissed. Since then I got a chance to hear him interviewed by Marc Maron on his WTF podcast (http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1210-serj-tankian) and I was impressed by his commitment to activism and to his music – so I listened here with a more discerning ear. It starts with a seemingly random piano tickle (reminiscent of Bill Murray in Ghostbusters). I like that Lie, Lie, Lie is sung like traditional music of a certain region. The grungy guitar adds enriching color. Lyrically interesting: A proposed suicide pact, but he asks to let him go and is smiling as, with a scream, she falls to the boulders below. Liars all! Bookended nicely with that lick of the ivories.
The Smiths – Girlfriend in a Coma
I know, it’s serious. Remember it well. The bouncy beginning kinda reminds me of Talking Heads’ “And She Was.” – the bass is polka-like, as in Ob La Di, Ob La Da. Love the lyrical ambiguity – Does he hope she recovers? A deceptively warm track.
Level 42 – Leaving Me Now
Talk of death links this week’s selections. The lyric here: “Some people kill for less – yet I’d still die for you gladly.”
Musically this falls somewhere in between Spandau Ballet’s “True” & Woman in Chains era Tears for Fears (when they were working with Oleta Adams). This song just flows richly with no stand-out chorus and a tasteful and grand production. It is decidedly 80s, but doesn’t sound dated to my ears.
“Lie Lie Lie” / Serj. Surprises pepper this one, from the neo-classical piano intro to the nasally vocals and to the faux semi-operatic vocal flourishes. And those backing vocals! Like a chorus of sarcastic woodland nymphs. All wrapped around a weird, darkly comic narrative. Reminds me of Van Dyke Parks. Quite like it.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” / Smiths. The arch humor here is morbid even by Morrissey standards. “There were times when I could have murdered her … Do you really think she’ll pull through?” The jest is in the ambivalence. We know it’s serious … yet so concisely stated. nice subtle use of strings.
“Leaving Me Now” / Level 42. I was expecting something more techno/industrial — like Ian, I must have confused them with Front 242, a band about whom I know similarly little. I really tried, even listened twice, but I find most of this kind of white 80s neo-soul irredeemably drippy. The middle bit is nice. That funny little thwacky sound effect reminds me of the reverb on my Fender Champ turned up to 10. I suppose I am leaving this round now.
“Lie, Lie, Lie” by Serj Tankian – Great intro! Just hearing his voice again makes me realize how much I’ve missed System of a Down. From his debut solo album, “Elect the Dead” released in 2007… It’s very catchy, and the contrasts throughout it’s barely over 3 and a half minutes are arranged to their fullest effect. It shows off his talent a solo artist without sounding like just another System of a Down track without his pervious band.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths – From Strangeways, Here We Come released in 1987? Morrissey, and Johnny Marr… talk about a complicated relationship. But still, this song is riddled with tragic humor – and a short run time that makes you believe you missed something. Classic Smiths.
“Leaving Me Now” by Level 42 – From World Machine released in 1985. Progressive? But very mid-80’s a the same time. It’s interesting as it doesn’t really have a chorus? The rich piano textures give it a classical/arrangement feel. Had to listen to this one a few times as like others have commented, I was definitely expecting something a lot more different – thinking Font 242 and have never heard of Level 42.
** Apparently, Level 42 formed in the Isle of Wight which confirms my suspicion that they sounded very British… Which of course, had me thinking of the Beatles lyric from When I’m Sixty Four, “Every summer we can rent a cottage In the Isle of Wight / if it’s not too dear…”
Catching Up…
Serj- That’s quite the interesting intro. And then quite the interesting verse. I’m thinking about Saturday services at the Synagogue with a bit of Fred Schneider from the B-52s. Wait, he’s her brother? Is that her brother or her brother? Damn I love those harmonies ( I am thinking from his name that there is some eastern eurpean lineage there). And here is part that sounds Decemberistsish. I am really surprised at what an interesting, textured and curious song this was. Wow. Thanks.
Level 42- Very familiar with the band and the song. One of my musical friends is a HUGE Mark King (bassist, singer, writer) fan. This is a pretty jam, groovy with great bass playing and solid, juicy drumming. There is also a certain digital sheen that songs from this era have. But the quality of the writing and performance transcend that. I wonder if there is an ‘unplugged’ version out there- real piano, upright bass, drums.
“Lie, Lie, Lie” by Serj Tankian: not heavy metal. interesting sound and delivery. very cool telephonic/nasal vocal with the female voice on top. lalalalalalallalal lielielie..love that part…yup…grabs hold and will not let go.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths: I do not know a lot of Smith songs but the ones I do know have true staying power. A certain characteristic flavor. This one is another good example of this quality. Depressing subject pulled by what sounds like a rather spritely rhythm and melody. It works very well.
“Leaving Me Now” by Level 42: love that deep wurly keyboard playing against the warm loose bass and the high “Winwoodesque” synth shines. I am playing this with my 15 inch monitor for subs (just happened to have it on) and this sounds really good with that on. This might pass me by on smaller computer size speakers but captured me now.
Serj – I hear this and I think of some R-Rated stop motion animation directed by Tim Burton. Am I wrong?
Smiths – Moz, you gotta let her go. Ask Serj for tips.
L42 – Interesting that Dave mentions the “Winwoodesque” vibe. They opened for Winwood when I saw the “Back in the Highlife Tour.” That jazz-pop sound of the mid 80s.
ST – Lead singer from System of Down, When I first heard them, I loved the sound of his voice. Their political yet sometimes comical songs turned me onto the group. When I saw Serj released a solo album, I had to get it. It turned out to be an amazing album.
TS – “They’ll dance to anything… by the Smith’s” A line from a Dead Milkmen song was probably the first time I heard of the band. I’ve heard some of their hits but never really followed them. I always thought The Smith’s were a band that skater’s listened to. Overall, not a bad song. When the song ended I though something went wrong, Nope, just really short.
L42, I have many albums from Front 242, but nothing from Level 42. this feels like a song that would have been in any 80’s movie. Somebody sitting in a subway car, sadly looking out the window…
Serj Tankian – Lie, Lie, Lie
We had a track from S.T. back in round 4 (https://www.edbejzak.com/my-five-songs/round-4-tangential-orbit/orbiter-one/volume-4-1-3/) which I kinda dismissed. Since then I got a chance to hear him interviewed by Marc Maron on his WTF podcast (http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1210-serj-tankian) and I was impressed by his commitment to activism and to his music – so I listened here with a more discerning ear. It starts with a seemingly random piano tickle (reminiscent of Bill Murray in Ghostbusters). I like that Lie, Lie, Lie is sung like traditional music of a certain region. The grungy guitar adds enriching color. Lyrically interesting: A proposed suicide pact, but he asks to let him go and is smiling as, with a scream, she falls to the boulders below. Liars all! Bookended nicely with that lick of the ivories.
The Smiths – Girlfriend in a Coma
I know, it’s serious. Remember it well. The bouncy beginning kinda reminds me of Talking Heads’ “And She Was.” – the bass is polka-like, as in Ob La Di, Ob La Da. Love the lyrical ambiguity – Does he hope she recovers? A deceptively warm track.
Level 42 – Leaving Me Now
Talk of death links this week’s selections. The lyric here: “Some people kill for less – yet I’d still die for you gladly.”
Musically this falls somewhere in between Spandau Ballet’s “True” & Woman in Chains era Tears for Fears (when they were working with Oleta Adams). This song just flows richly with no stand-out chorus and a tasteful and grand production. It is decidedly 80s, but doesn’t sound dated to my ears.
“Lie Lie Lie” / Serj. Surprises pepper this one, from the neo-classical piano intro to the nasally vocals and to the faux semi-operatic vocal flourishes. And those backing vocals! Like a chorus of sarcastic woodland nymphs. All wrapped around a weird, darkly comic narrative. Reminds me of Van Dyke Parks. Quite like it.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” / Smiths. The arch humor here is morbid even by Morrissey standards. “There were times when I could have murdered her … Do you really think she’ll pull through?” The jest is in the ambivalence. We know it’s serious … yet so concisely stated. nice subtle use of strings.
“Leaving Me Now” / Level 42. I was expecting something more techno/industrial — like Ian, I must have confused them with Front 242, a band about whom I know similarly little. I really tried, even listened twice, but I find most of this kind of white 80s neo-soul irredeemably drippy. The middle bit is nice. That funny little thwacky sound effect reminds me of the reverb on my Fender Champ turned up to 10. I suppose I am leaving this round now.
“Lie, Lie, Lie” by Serj Tankian – Great intro! Just hearing his voice again makes me realize how much I’ve missed System of a Down. From his debut solo album, “Elect the Dead” released in 2007… It’s very catchy, and the contrasts throughout it’s barely over 3 and a half minutes are arranged to their fullest effect. It shows off his talent a solo artist without sounding like just another System of a Down track without his pervious band.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths – From Strangeways, Here We Come released in 1987? Morrissey, and Johnny Marr… talk about a complicated relationship. But still, this song is riddled with tragic humor – and a short run time that makes you believe you missed something. Classic Smiths.
“Leaving Me Now” by Level 42 – From World Machine released in 1985. Progressive? But very mid-80’s a the same time. It’s interesting as it doesn’t really have a chorus? The rich piano textures give it a classical/arrangement feel. Had to listen to this one a few times as like others have commented, I was definitely expecting something a lot more different – thinking Font 242 and have never heard of Level 42.
** Apparently, Level 42 formed in the Isle of Wight which confirms my suspicion that they sounded very British… Which of course, had me thinking of the Beatles lyric from When I’m Sixty Four, “Every summer we can rent a cottage In the Isle of Wight / if it’s not too dear…”
Catching Up…
Serj- That’s quite the interesting intro. And then quite the interesting verse. I’m thinking about Saturday services at the Synagogue with a bit of Fred Schneider from the B-52s. Wait, he’s her brother? Is that her brother or her brother? Damn I love those harmonies ( I am thinking from his name that there is some eastern eurpean lineage there). And here is part that sounds Decemberistsish. I am really surprised at what an interesting, textured and curious song this was. Wow. Thanks.
Level 42- Very familiar with the band and the song. One of my musical friends is a HUGE Mark King (bassist, singer, writer) fan. This is a pretty jam, groovy with great bass playing and solid, juicy drumming. There is also a certain digital sheen that songs from this era have. But the quality of the writing and performance transcend that. I wonder if there is an ‘unplugged’ version out there- real piano, upright bass, drums.
“Lie, Lie, Lie” by Serj Tankian: not heavy metal. interesting sound and delivery. very cool telephonic/nasal vocal with the female voice on top. lalalalalalallalal lielielie..love that part…yup…grabs hold and will not let go.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths: I do not know a lot of Smith songs but the ones I do know have true staying power. A certain characteristic flavor. This one is another good example of this quality. Depressing subject pulled by what sounds like a rather spritely rhythm and melody. It works very well.
“Leaving Me Now” by Level 42: love that deep wurly keyboard playing against the warm loose bass and the high “Winwoodesque” synth shines. I am playing this with my 15 inch monitor for subs (just happened to have it on) and this sounds really good with that on. This might pass me by on smaller computer size speakers but captured me now.
Serj – I hear this and I think of some R-Rated stop motion animation directed by Tim Burton. Am I wrong?
Smiths – Moz, you gotta let her go. Ask Serj for tips.
L42 – Interesting that Dave mentions the “Winwoodesque” vibe. They opened for Winwood when I saw the “Back in the Highlife Tour.” That jazz-pop sound of the mid 80s.