So, let's start with the big announcement. This will be the last 'Sunday Jamz' installment in written form. Starting from next week, we will be moving to a podcast-video hybrid. That's right, you get to hear the silky, soothing, Marvin Gaye-esque voice of Shak, and Joe and Sam saying some things too.
If you want to follow updates for our Youtube channel (where these videos will be uploaded), then please follow us on all the links below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhLSHk2Rff05lylXJ__pqw
https://twitter.com/Sunday_Jamz
https://www.facebook.com/SundayJamzz
https://www.instagram.com/sunday_jamz/
Our first video will be on Boxing Day, so tune in to our attempt to cure your post-Christmas blues.
Moving on, if this is your first time reading our blog, me, Joe and Sam share a song with one another on a Sunday, a song which has dominated the listening-time of our weeks, and then we all comment on it.
Here is the Spotify link to the playlist which accompanies this activity. It has every song selection from the three of us from the first time we did this. The order is as follows: Joe's song, my song, Sam's song.
The playlist: sunday jamz
Without further ado, here are the songs. Complete with all the colloquialisms of our infantile Facebook Messenger writing styles.
Joe's song:
Arcade Fire - We Used To Wait
Joe's song:
Arcade Fire - We Used To Wait
Sam: "I
initially dismissed this one right out of the gate. I've never been a
huge fan of anything I've heard from Arcade Fire in the past and my
first listen of the track left me wanting. However, after further
listens, I actually like it in many respects. There's a degree of
subtlety about it which suits the track's lyrics and message of how
accustomed we've become to instant gratification. They're well
written, the lyrics, and the track finds itself on the opposite side
of the quality spectrum, compared to someone like Hopsin, for social
commentary. Whilst I think the vocal melody and lyrics are the
strongest parts of the track, I did like the omnipresent piano in the
background the recurring synths. Overall, well written subtle track."
Shak: "There's a tameness
about Arcade Fire I can't get into. Everything kind of glides over my
ears without making much impact. I do like the rhythm section, the
recurring piano, synth and guitar, it's a nice pattern to build off, for the
track, I think it's what they build on top which kind of underwhelms
me. The vocals don't hold much character for me, which is a problem
with me and Arcade Fire in general. Really sounds like just any vocalist. For someone who
is a sucker for male/female harmonies, they don't seem to compliment
each other but rather blend together in this track. The climax of the
track feels a little empty and anti-climatic, nothing soars, nothing jumps out and hits me. It's not a bad song,
these aren't fatal issues, it's still decent, just really nothing
special. They really have to compensate with some of the extravagance
like on Funeral in
order for me to feel remotely immersed. But maybe I should just wait, ay Arcade Fire, we used to wait n shit, i'll let you guys know on listen fifty how great this song really is."
Joe: "The Arcade Fire track is one of my favourites off The Suburbs (which I remember beat Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to album of the year at the Grammy's, making me very happy). I really like the nostalgic vibes with the synth and melancholy melodies. The build up towards the end is sick too. I like the grandness that comes with Arcade Fire's sound a lot of the time, which I think stems from how layered it sometimes gets due to having seven+ members in your songs. There's better stuff on Neon Bible and Funeral but this week I was feeling the Suburbs."
Joe: "The Arcade Fire track is one of my favourites off The Suburbs (which I remember beat Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to album of the year at the Grammy's, making me very happy). I really like the nostalgic vibes with the synth and melancholy melodies. The build up towards the end is sick too. I like the grandness that comes with Arcade Fire's sound a lot of the time, which I think stems from how layered it sometimes gets due to having seven+ members in your songs. There's better stuff on Neon Bible and Funeral but this week I was feeling the Suburbs."
Joe: "the
Oneohtrix Point Never track was my favourite this week, quite easily.
You know I'm a sucker for good synth. Really enjoyed the subtle
building and, again, some nostalgic vibes. Will be revisiting this
track, and whatever other Oneohtrix stuff I haven't heard yet. The two albums I'd heard already gave me high hopes for this track and I
wasn't disappointed. Dink."
Sam: "Unlike Arcade Fire, I've never heard of Oneohtrix. This track was immediately more gripping than the Arcade Fire track though perhaps not as rewarding from multiple listens. That said, I do like this track a lot. It reminded me of Jean Michel Jarre's 'Equinoxe', a complimentary comparison for me, personally. I pictured some kind of sci-fi city with tall blue glass buildings and futuristic vehicles. Not exactly a 'zone without people' but the music fits a sci-fi scene for sure. Overall, an enjoyable piece of instrumental electronic."
Shak: "The whole album Zones Without People could be a soundtrack to the Stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It really disconnects you from the Earth and flings you into space, where there is nothing to grab on to and texture becomes everything. There was a few songs I was considering choosing but I went with this one. The song is repetitive and doesn't have much progression. It is going for a hypnotic feeling rather than any sort of journey I feel. The builds are very subtle on the main melody. I love how the synths echo and bounce off each other, feels like a sound being swallowed into some kind of wormhole. Also how the synth sounds layered on top of the main rhythm start simple, with single notes, then scatter and reverberate away into the distance. This songs speaks to my general preference of atmosphere over all in music. There's something quite minimalist about the song that accompanies the imagery I get."
Sam's song:
Frank Zappa - Cosmik Debris
Shak: "Really good example of some blues rock, the contrast from the deep, comically intense spoken word in the verse with the soul singing in the chorus is enjoyable. You can hear the progressive tendencies come in as the song goes off in enjoyable tangents. The track is a little novelty and has a sort of tongue-in-cheek feel, especially with the tone of the spoken word which seems to border on parody, but it is still engaging musically. An interesting middle-ground between paying homage to and parodying a genre which refrains from being mocking but also from being deadly serious."
Joe: "I enjoyed
the Zappa song a decent amount, I can definitely appreciate the spoken
word that sporadically explodes into the gospel choirs and hot guitar
solos. The thing that has always kept me from being a massive Zappa
fan is how silly it gets. The high-pitched voice that jumps in and
sounds like a goblin just makes me cringe a bit, and other bits sound
a bit Rocky Horror. Not really my ting but I can appreciate it
nonetheless."
Sam: "I grew up with Zappa and so the potential wall of his humour, within his music, was broken down long ago. That said, I think Cosmik Debris is an example of Zappa's more accessible side. I discovered this track more recently than something like Don't Eat the Yellow Snow/Nanook Rubs It, a childhood favourite, and it too has quickly become a favourite. Zappa has a knack for creating solid instrumental bases and layering his unique artistic stylings on top of them, Cosmik Debris being no exception. I love the lyrics, I love the gospel choir, I love the guitar solo, and I love the odd musical inserts. Overall, a great track and one of the better Zappa tracks."
Sam: "Unlike Arcade Fire, I've never heard of Oneohtrix. This track was immediately more gripping than the Arcade Fire track though perhaps not as rewarding from multiple listens. That said, I do like this track a lot. It reminded me of Jean Michel Jarre's 'Equinoxe', a complimentary comparison for me, personally. I pictured some kind of sci-fi city with tall blue glass buildings and futuristic vehicles. Not exactly a 'zone without people' but the music fits a sci-fi scene for sure. Overall, an enjoyable piece of instrumental electronic."
Shak: "The whole album Zones Without People could be a soundtrack to the Stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It really disconnects you from the Earth and flings you into space, where there is nothing to grab on to and texture becomes everything. There was a few songs I was considering choosing but I went with this one. The song is repetitive and doesn't have much progression. It is going for a hypnotic feeling rather than any sort of journey I feel. The builds are very subtle on the main melody. I love how the synths echo and bounce off each other, feels like a sound being swallowed into some kind of wormhole. Also how the synth sounds layered on top of the main rhythm start simple, with single notes, then scatter and reverberate away into the distance. This songs speaks to my general preference of atmosphere over all in music. There's something quite minimalist about the song that accompanies the imagery I get."
Sam's song:
Frank Zappa - Cosmik Debris
Shak: "Really good example of some blues rock, the contrast from the deep, comically intense spoken word in the verse with the soul singing in the chorus is enjoyable. You can hear the progressive tendencies come in as the song goes off in enjoyable tangents. The track is a little novelty and has a sort of tongue-in-cheek feel, especially with the tone of the spoken word which seems to border on parody, but it is still engaging musically. An interesting middle-ground between paying homage to and parodying a genre which refrains from being mocking but also from being deadly serious."
Sam: "I grew up with Zappa and so the potential wall of his humour, within his music, was broken down long ago. That said, I think Cosmik Debris is an example of Zappa's more accessible side. I discovered this track more recently than something like Don't Eat the Yellow Snow/Nanook Rubs It, a childhood favourite, and it too has quickly become a favourite. Zappa has a knack for creating solid instrumental bases and layering his unique artistic stylings on top of them, Cosmik Debris being no exception. I love the lyrics, I love the gospel choir, I love the guitar solo, and I love the odd musical inserts. Overall, a great track and one of the better Zappa tracks."
That's it. What did you think of the songs?
What have you been listening to this week?
Make sure to tune in on Boxing Day for the first Podcast-Video of Sunday Jamz.
Make sure to tune in on Boxing Day for the first Podcast-Video of Sunday Jamz.
Anyway, thanks for reading.
Follow our listening habits in full at:
last.fm/user/DreadAlert1 - Joe
Disclaimer: We are not professional reviewers. Do not hold us to a high standard.
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