My Beau Ideals of Music

It was never to my tastes to post lyrics on any sort of forum of communication, except for an occasional away message. But, I do listen to a profuse amount of music, so I figure it is somewhat appropriate to do something in homage to that fact. So, here is a short list of some bands currently on my playlist, followed by my impressions for each.

Chris Cornell - From his solo album, between working on Soundgarden and working on Audioslave. It’s interesting, the stylistic change that Cornell has gone through since leaving Soundgarden, becoming much less brooding while remaining philosophical and wandering. His voice never fails to be moving, in my opinion, though, no matter the lyrics behind it; here, they’re very Bluesy, especially with songs like “When I’m Down” and “Preaching the End of the World.”

Primus - Always fun and rhythmic, they never fail to not deliver a song without some sort of silly theme and a catchy bass line. Primus is definitely not the “wackiest band ever,” which certain people may have you believe, and they are far from being that outlandish or deviant musically. It’s rock, plain and simple, with heavy emphasis on the bass, and I can not complain about that since I am a huge fan of the bass. Les Claypool’s thin and nasal voice tells tales of inane and bizarre things that are ultimately pointless, to complete the picture. “Tommy the Cat” and “Too Many Puppies” tend to be my favourite songs to listen to on the fly, along with “Sgt. Baker” sometimes.

Tom Waits - He’s gritty and down-to-Earth, with his mellotron thumping and his voice rasping. I love Tom Waits, because each song is its own being, with drastic shifts between slow Blues ballads and rock ‘n roll numbers, and everything in between really. It’s hard to get used to his voice, for some people, as one friend described it as “He sounds like he’s having a hernia.” Still, no song could’ve been more perfect for Fight Club than “Goin’ Out West,” and there is an ineffable addictive quality to “Russian Dance.”

George Thorogood & the Destroyers - You’ve probably heard the song, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” and that is precisely the song that made me pursue more of his music. It’s Blues, laid bare, and I suppose I should mention I am a big Blues fan. “I Drink Alone” is also a beautiful, melancholy song that strikes me deeply, too . . . .So, a long while after having written this, I realise that George Thorogood is also the original artist who did “Bad to the Bone,” “Shake Your Moneymaker,” and a slew of other classic rock’n’roll; here’s to me being behind the times with rock music.

Muse - I gathered more songs from this band because I kept hearing “Our Time Is Running Out” on the radio, and it was one of the few songs on the radio I really, really dug. Good Lord, did I make a good decision is finding more songs by them, too, because I’m really loving this band, with their unique style of an almost punk-ish Jazz with strangely appealing lyrics. I have been playing the Absolution album to death — “Apocalypse, Please,” “Sing for Absolution,” “Thoughts of a Dying Athiest,” and every other track: all great. Their older stuff, such as “Muscle Museum” or “Feeling Good,” is also wonderful. I can’t praise this band enough, it is the Different Band of the Moment on my list.

That is all.

Adios.