Alice In Chains – Sickman
Kinda know their sound, but not specific songs. This song is not unexpected based on my previous expectations. They create some drama. Vocals blended with guitar is appreciated. I was getting a little bored at about the 3-minute mark, but they drug me back in. There’s a sluggish feel, but then the pounding and crunching changes it up. It all kinda works.
Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds
This song didn’t grab me, but I like it. The tone of the voice feels like he’s kinda over-singing – in the verse I think. I really love the clean production – each instrument is isolated in a way. I can kinda get lost in this one – and that’s a good thing.
“Sickman”/Alice in Chains. The main chugging rhythm alternates with draggy, druggy passages with a hint of dissonance evoking nausea. That ol’ post-grunge angst. The voices in the background suggest auditory hallucinations. I quite like the grittily squealing tone of the brief guitar solo. Not sure the level of musical invention justifies the length, but it’s a fair specimen of its day.
“Hospital Beds”/Cold War Kids. Intriguingly sparse instrumentation, especially the combo of pounding drums and piano, with the bass burbling away. Add tremolo guitar for flavor. I can’t figure out what “put out the fire on us” means, but the muscular rhythm is in intriguing contrast to the lyrical despair. I agree with Ed — that’s some forceful vocalizing by the singer.
Alice chains – I agree this is a long one. Top be honest, I will usually skip this song because its not one of my favorites but it fit the theme.
Cold Kids – It felt very unpolished, but that is a good thing. I feel everything is so over-produced that it loses the warmth. The music I found really good, simple and defined. The voice, very familiar for the early 2000’s, in my opinion anyway. Yeah, it sounded very forced. I hear a little Jack White/White stripes? but more raw? I don’t know. the lyrics were weird .
Alice- Not my cuppa joe. On the upside, I thought this was an ambitious tune with several movements attempted though I was not convinced that they were successfully stitched together. A couple of nice harmonies in the middle there. AIC does have a particular type of go-to harmony interval that I find not so harmonious. When my mind wandered a couple of times I found myself thinking of another Seattle-area grunge song (“Spoonman”) and also hints of Metallica’s “One.”
Cold War Kids- These guys have always been problematic for me because I confuse them with War of Drugs; I think I just learned about them at the same time and never pursued distinguishing the two. I enjoyed the particularly old-timey clinking of the piano sound in this one. May have been distracted a bit by the video too.
“Sickman” by Alice In Chains: a Frenzy of sad, darkness for sure. I must be in the mood for this sort of thing BUT that is what this round is all about. Vocals are so distinctive. That drone like plaintiff lilt with a touch of harmonizing. The slowed middle is odd but sets up that cool chunky, chunk part. Fun to deep dive it more than I ever would have otherwise. Heroine and death too soon seems to have plagued this group. Here comes the Rooster, they rebuilt a second phase of the band that seems to be kickin even today….Bravo
Alice In Chains – Sickman
Kinda know their sound, but not specific songs. This song is not unexpected based on my previous expectations. They create some drama. Vocals blended with guitar is appreciated. I was getting a little bored at about the 3-minute mark, but they drug me back in. There’s a sluggish feel, but then the pounding and crunching changes it up. It all kinda works.
Cold War Kids – Hospital Beds
This song didn’t grab me, but I like it. The tone of the voice feels like he’s kinda over-singing – in the verse I think. I really love the clean production – each instrument is isolated in a way. I can kinda get lost in this one – and that’s a good thing.
“Sickman”/Alice in Chains. The main chugging rhythm alternates with draggy, druggy passages with a hint of dissonance evoking nausea. That ol’ post-grunge angst. The voices in the background suggest auditory hallucinations. I quite like the grittily squealing tone of the brief guitar solo. Not sure the level of musical invention justifies the length, but it’s a fair specimen of its day.
“Hospital Beds”/Cold War Kids. Intriguingly sparse instrumentation, especially the combo of pounding drums and piano, with the bass burbling away. Add tremolo guitar for flavor. I can’t figure out what “put out the fire on us” means, but the muscular rhythm is in intriguing contrast to the lyrical despair. I agree with Ed — that’s some forceful vocalizing by the singer.
Alice chains – I agree this is a long one. Top be honest, I will usually skip this song because its not one of my favorites but it fit the theme.
Cold Kids – It felt very unpolished, but that is a good thing. I feel everything is so over-produced that it loses the warmth. The music I found really good, simple and defined. The voice, very familiar for the early 2000’s, in my opinion anyway. Yeah, it sounded very forced. I hear a little Jack White/White stripes? but more raw? I don’t know. the lyrics were weird .
Alice- Not my cuppa joe. On the upside, I thought this was an ambitious tune with several movements attempted though I was not convinced that they were successfully stitched together. A couple of nice harmonies in the middle there. AIC does have a particular type of go-to harmony interval that I find not so harmonious. When my mind wandered a couple of times I found myself thinking of another Seattle-area grunge song (“Spoonman”) and also hints of Metallica’s “One.”
Cold War Kids- These guys have always been problematic for me because I confuse them with War of Drugs; I think I just learned about them at the same time and never pursued distinguishing the two. I enjoyed the particularly old-timey clinking of the piano sound in this one. May have been distracted a bit by the video too.
“Sickman” by Alice In Chains: a Frenzy of sad, darkness for sure. I must be in the mood for this sort of thing BUT that is what this round is all about. Vocals are so distinctive. That drone like plaintiff lilt with a touch of harmonizing. The slowed middle is odd but sets up that cool chunky, chunk part. Fun to deep dive it more than I ever would have otherwise. Heroine and death too soon seems to have plagued this group. Here comes the Rooster, they rebuilt a second phase of the band that seems to be kickin even today….Bravo