Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCXXXII--Blur: Song 2

 We have another first for Friday Night Jukebox:  the first song that both of my readers are probably sick of, especially if they've seen a sporting event or any numbers of movies over the course of the past twenty some odd years....

Blur formed in London, England in 1988.  Originally a Britpop band, Blur would reinvent itself a couple of times over the course of its career with excellent results.  The band has had considerable commercial and critical success in its native U.K., and while they haven't quite enjoyed the same success here in the states, they have had a few hits and a nice following.  In the mid 90's Blur had a running battle with Oasis for the best band in the U.K.  It's generally conceded that Blur did not wind up on the winning end of the battle, but to even be a part of such rarefied air has to be a nice consolation prize.  Blur has released eight studio albums (with the last six all debuting at #1 on the U.K. Album Chart), five live albums, and five compilations.  They've also released 34 singles with 2 #1's and nine more top ten singles on the U.K. Singles Chart.  Blur has won five Brit Awards and been nominated for a Grammy.  The band took a hiatus from 2004-2008, and has been on another hiatus since 2016 but has not ruled out a future reunion.

"Song 2" was released as a single in 1997 from their cleverly titled fifth album, Blur.  The single reached #2 in Great Britain, and #55 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album was their third straight number one in the U.K., but peaked at #55 in America.

Fun Fact:  "Song 2" is two minutes and two seconds long, has two verses and two choruses, and was the second song on its album, as well as the second single released from said album.  No word as to whether the number two was a particular band member's lucky number...

Originally written by frontman Damon Albam as an acoustic tune to fuck with their record label, the song took on a new life when guitarist Graham Coxon suggested they play the song with a power pop energy...and their record executives surprisingly loved it.  It's one of those songs that after the first couple of guitar chords is instantly recognizable, and the opening progression is widely considered not only Coxon's best work but one of the better guitar openings in rock history.  From there it's a nod to American alternative power guitar, some frenetic vocals from Albam, and a whole heck of a lot of "woo-hoo"'s (it's the little things...).  Even with the ubiquity of the song, it's still a great listen and two minutes and two seconds of power pop joy.

Lyric Sheet:  "I got my head checked/By a jumbo jet/It wasn't easy/But nothing i-is/No/Woo-hoo..."

Enjoy:

It's Not Just an Infrastructure Bill, It's a Jobs Plan, Too

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXIV--Kula Shaker: Tattva

Not sure what it is about Great Britain of late, but this will be the fifth straight FNJ that features a band from across the pond, as they say.  It's also a week late because...life.

Kula Shaker had its beginnings in 1988 and had several incarnations with several different names before finally becoming the band that would have some success in the late nineties.  Led by frontman Cripian Mills (grandfather John Mills and mother Hayley Mills were actors/actresses of some note), the band became known for its psychedelic rock and being heavily influenced by Indian mysticism and spirituality.  They had a good deal of success in their native U.K. from 1995-1999 at which time they split--they reunited in 2004 and have been together ever since for the occasional LP release and golden oldies tours.  Over the course of their career, Kula Shaker released five albums with two going top ten in the U.K., and released 18 singles with five reaching the top ten.  For whatever reason (U.S. pop radio and record labels suck?), the band had virtually no commercial success in America, but that hasn't stopped them from having a 30+ year run of making music for a living.  Beats the hell out of the grocery business!

Fun Fact:  Kula Shaker is named for King Kulashekhara, one of the twelve Alvars (saints) of south India.  The band chose the name because a) Crispian Mills has much interest in Indian culture, and b) invoking the King's name is thought to be auspicious and the band needed a lucky break to get their career going.  I'd say it turned out to be quite auspicious....

"Tattva" was released in 1996 on their album entitled K (that's it--just the letter K).  The single would reach #4 on the U.K. charts (it had some AOR play in the States but nothing else), and the album would reach #1 (it topped out as low as it possibly could have on the Billboard 200, reaching exactly #200).  That a song such as "Tattva" reached #4 is proof positive that there are so many cool kids in the U.K....

We have another first here on FNJ in that the chorus for "Tattva" is in Sanskrit:  "Acintya bheda abheda Tattva," which translate roughly as "Truth, Mystery, difference non-difference, Truth."  Alrighty then....  Needless to say, we're not dealing with your average top 40 love song this week (and it makes singing along to the chorus a bit difficult unless you're fluent in Sanskrit).  Still, the chorus is actually quite catchy and in between the intonations there are some very nice psychedelic rock verses, some solid guitar work, and an overall vibe that can best be described as otherworldly.  Also of note is that a song such as this could easily veer off into Novelty Song territory, but the band manages to keep it from that path with its no nonsense playing and Mills straightforward vocals.  While spiritual enlightenment may not be everybody's cup of tea in a pop song, "Tattva" definitely makes a case for repeated listens and would be a fine addition to the Quirky Song Hall of Fame (if such a Hall existed). 

Lyric Sheet:  "For you will be tomorrow/Like you have been today/If this was never ending'What more can you say?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXI--The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony

Every now and again when I revisit a tune picked for Friday Night Jukebox, I'm surprised to find out a song I thought was great was even better than I originally thought (if that makes any sense).  Such was the case with this week's song as the U.K. is again this week the home of the band that produced it.

The Verve formed in 1990 in Wigan, England and were originally just known as Verve, but eventually they felt it was much cooler to all themselves The Verve, as the word "the" makes all the difference (not serious--it was actually for legal reasons as there is a jazz label called Verve that made a stink about the band having the same name as their music company).  To say that The Verve had a volatile relationship would be an understatement--the band split up three times (1996 for a year, 1999 for eight years, and 2008 without yet recommitting to a reunion) in its relatively brief run.  Over the course of their career, The Verve released four LPs, three EPs, and amazingly after the Eagles and The Clash, only two compilation albums.  They've had two number one albums in the U.K., two #23 albums here in the States, four top ten singles on the U.K. charts (including one #1), and one top fifteen single in America.  Courtesy of this week's tune (and its album), the band also shows up on numerous best alternative'Britpop/90's all-time lists, and are considered one of the better bands to come out of the Britpop movement.  They also won 2 Brit Awards and were nominated for a Grammy Award.  Lead singer Richard Ashcroft has had some solo success in the years when the Verve wasn't a band, and the rest of the band has continued playing music in various incarnations through the years.

(Not So) Fun Fact:  Due to legal complications (which really aren't interesting enough to discuss), the band was forced to give credit for the song to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as it sampled an orchestral string version of their song "The Last Time."  This likely cost The Verve a hefty sum of money, though Jagger and Richards did sign over the rights back to the band earlier this year.

"Bittersweet Symphony" was the first song and first single released (1997) from their seminal album Urban Hymns.  The song would go on to reach #2 on the British charts and #12 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album was on of their two #1's in England and one of the two that reached #23 in the United States.

(Actual) Fun Fact #2:  The photographer of the album cover said that it's simplicity was the result of Ashcroft wanting fans to just "listen to the fucking record."

Amazingly enough, "Bittersweet Symphony" is exactly as its title suggests:  a bittersweet symphony.  The melody is 99% driven by orchestral strings--I heard a touch of other instruments, but not enough to really make note of.  The lyrics are 99% driven by Ashcroft's vocals, which are an amalgamation of regret, sorrow, and anger.  The song is a look into the hope borne out of desperation--there's a lot of nuance in "Bittersweet Symphony" as it takes a look inside the human soul, the bitter and the sweet, the hope and the sorrow.  In the end, The Verve took a shot at greatness and didn't miss.  The song isn't merely one of the best of the 90's--it's quite conceivably one of the best of all-time.  A true masterwork.

Lyric Sheet:  "'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life/Tryna make ends meet/You're a slave to money then you die..."

Enjoy (Note the Official Video is one of the few "Official Videos" worth watching...):

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee