My Music

In this post I’m going to mix things up a bit (given that everything else right now is also mixed up) and write about the 3 bands I like most at the moment and what are, in my opinion, their top 2 albums. Coming in at number 3 we have Cage The Elephant with ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ and ‘Cage The Elephant,’ in second place we have Foals with ‘What Went Down’ and ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1,’ and the band I listen to most is Red Hot Chili Peppers with ‘The Getaway’ and ‘By The Way,’ the latter being my favourite album, maybe you can check these out during self-isolation…

Tell Me I’m Pretty is the 4th studio album by the American group Cage The Elephant (the first after their breakthrough album Melophobia) and was released on December 18th 2015; it includes 10 tracks and continues with Melophobia’s retro-rock style mixed with pop vibes. Some people think it deserves the Grammy it won and others would barely rate it as an album, I love all of the songs and I think it’s a good thing that the band obviously shifted their focus and spent time improving the lyrics. Cage The Elephant manage to encompass loud, fast and propulsive with tracks like Mess Around, and Punchin’ Bag while showing restraint and demonstrating their ability to not shout all the lyrics with How Are You True and Too Late To Say Goodbye, I’d recommend giving them a listen.

Cage The Elephant (named after the band itself) was their first album released on June 23rd 2008 and includes 12 songs. The album really demonstrates their ability to be influenced by alternative rock and classic rock simultaneously which should please Red Hot Chili Peppers fans; they also drop in a healthy dollop of hip-hop and punk for anyone else. Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked is probably their best known song but I love the movement and energy in Back Against The Wall and In One Ear – both songs give you that urge to turn up the volume and jump up and down which might relieve some of your cabin fever from self-isolation.

What Went Down is the 4th album by British group Foals (released on the 28th August 2015) and it includes 10 songs. They really bring out that big arena, stadium rock sound throughout the album and this is especially evident in the first track What Went Down. Anyone wondering if the lyrics actually mean anything or whether they even make sense will be drowned out by hard drumming and cavern guitar riffs. I went to see Foals in concert with two my friends and I can honestly say that’s how to listen to this album properly. When the beats are pummelling your chest you don’t care about what they’re talking about, it’s the wave of emotion and sound that really matters.

Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 is Foals’ 5th album (Part 2 being their 6th and most recent) and was released on the 8th March 2019 featuring 10 songs. Foals have really made some interesting choices in this album – some songs like White Onions are still noisy and messy (but somehow in a good way), while the lyrics of songs like Exits and Like Lightning have actually been thought about and like with Cage The Elephant’s ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ it made a difference. The album stays strong throughout and I recommend In Degrees and Syrups especially, you’ll probably want to turn the bass up.

The Getaway is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 11th studio album and was released on the 17th June 2016, it’s also their latest album and features 13 songs. They had a new producer and as a result while they kept their original sound they also managed to switch it up a little in a couple of tracks and keep momentum going throughout the album. The messy sound and clatter which make some earlier tracks in other albums unlistenable to is gone, each song has a distinct sound and vibe which carries throughout. Of course I like Dark Necessities (a fan favourite) but Goodbye Angels and The Longest Wave are actually some of the best songs on this album, they’re surprisingly sad (like the album as a whole) and once again demonstrate how the same band can sound completely different between albums as well as between songs. If you’re looking for something wistful (to help you remember times before the pandemic) then Feasting On Flowers and Encore have something I can’t quite put my finger on, but they bring back memories and are well worth listening to…

By the Way is the eighth studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on the 9th July 2002, it sold more than 286,000 copies in its first week, and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. It also happens to be my Peppers’ album of choice and I like all of the 16 songs which is unusual. The album (unlike some of their others) definitely has stronger rock themes rather than the punk/rap present before and it leans more on melody and harmony (which probably explains why I like it). They still showcase a variety of sound with Can’t Stop and On Mercury oozing energy, Don’t Forget Me slows it down and shows their somber side while Cabron really departs from the norm featuring arpeggiated guitars which somehow come together to create a medieval-Spanish vibe. Can’t Stop is far and away my favourite song on the album, I was first shown the song 3 years ago on my school skiing trip and was immediately hooked by Chad Smith’s drumming in the intro combined with one of the most catchy guitar riffs I have ever heard, of all the songs on all of these albums Can’t Stop is the one to try if you haven’t listened to it before. Enjoy the rest of self-isolation folks…

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