HearSay Songs

Review of rssHugger

2008-07-23T16:16:00.001-04:00

I am trying out rssHugger and so far I really like it. They have a nice easy setup and the website is easy to control. I hope to get many views off of my blog once I have the program properly set up!

Just

2008-07-22T23:53:00.004-04:00

Radiohead

This song has always been one of my favorite Radiohead songs, not because of the lyrics per say, but for the music in itself. I feel that this song brings out tremendous emotion in me with the way that the guitar leads, melodies, bass lines, and drum tracks are all layered and intertwined with one another.

The song begins with some simple strumming on a guitar and then you are immediately blown away by pure musical force. The guitars go off like angry bees swarming around a foe. The music then dies down and you get to hear Thom's very melodic voice.

Thom said in an interview that this song is about a narcissistic friend of his. Though when looked into that light you can find good meaning, I feel that music is such a great instrument to humankind because it can be interpreted in one's own way.

For me, this song is about karma and how karma will always find you. In this world, the actions that you put onto others will come back, no matter how far (or high) you have run, or how many locks you have on your doors. Karma lingers like a stench, waiting to knock you down whenever you think that you are on top. The plus side is that if we heed the words of heroes like Thom and Radiohead, we'll learn that Karma can also pick us up in our times of defeat.

The chorus sings that you do it to yourself, because your life is yours alone, and only you will answer to your own actions. After the verses and choruses are sung, the guitar goes off into a, what I would call liberating, solo. It screeches through all of the other instruments, but you never miss the thick grooving bass line or the hard hits of the drums.

At the highest point of the solo, you hear a high pitching squeal that is turkey on Thanksgiving day to my ears. It's at this point in the song when all natural thinking has left, and I'm only left with myself to contemplate life and it's true meanings. The song then comes back in with it's chorus and hard hitting solos, and finishes with music that leaves the taste of gravy and corn kernels stuck in my teeth.

Lyrics
Can't get the stink off
He's been hanging round for days
Comes like a comet
Suckered you but not your friends
One day he'll get to you
And teach you how to be a holy cow

You do it to yourself, you do
and that's what really hurts
You do it to yourself, just you
you and no-one else
You do it to yourself
You do it to yourself

Don't get my sympathy
Hanging out the 15th floor
changed the locks three times
He still comes reeling through the door
one day I'll get to you
And teach you how to get to purest hell

You do it to yourself, you do
and that's what really hurts
You do it to yourself, just you
you and no-one else
You do it to yourself
You do it to yourself

You do it to yourself, you do
and that's what really hurts is
You do it to yourself, just you
you and no-one else
You do it to yourself
You do it to yourself, yourself, yourself.

Mr. Wendal

2008-07-21T11:11:00.007-04:00

Arrested Development

In lieu of my recent trip to Costa Rica, I wanted to put this song up. This song has been one of my favorite songs for years now, but everyday it seems I can find new ways to look at past experiences.

This song is pretty straightforward, a song which talks about meeting a bum who has a wealth of knowledge to offer the person who is willing to listen. The song begins by immediately showing us how simple charity can mean so much to someone, when we take life for granted on a day-to-day basis. It also begins with a very modest religious theme, saying that what is most important is what is awaiting you in Heaven, not what's here on Earth. Take from that what you will.

The artist then proceeds to talk about the main character of the song, Mr. Wendal. He states that once he began to socialize with this "bum", he learns in himself that this person is a human like everyone else, with thoughts and ideas like everyone else. The idea of giving Mr. Wendal money as charity is diminished when the author starts treating this "bum" as a brother. The artist learns that this person has much to offer, and so they exchange services for goods, goods for service, shoes for knowledge.

The second verse in this song seems to stem from something that the world, Jesus, Gandhi, and every other great spiritual leader has tried to tell us about: a free life from material possessions, social orders, and the like. Mr. Wendal, though what you might consider poor, is free from car payments, office hours, designer clothes, cell phones, and so on and so on. His only worries are sickness and the harassing cops who treat him "inhuman" as opposed to a "human in flesh".

The artist also ponders how really civilized we are, when a whole nation or planet can succumb to violent acts such as enslavement over a "racist grudge". I really like it when he says "Mr. Wendal has tried to warn us about our ways but we don't hear him talk", because I again find it way too often a spiritual leader has tried to warn us about our ways, but we still don't listen. We continue to bathe in our possessions and ridicule those that have less, though those people may actually have the understanding of what the world is all about.

I want to conclude by going back to my opening statement. I said I wanted to write this because of my experiences in Costa Rica. The reason I say this, is that in my eyes and from what I have seen from where we stayed, our culture would easily deem Costa Rica as a "poor country". Poor in money, yes; poor in spirit, love, and happiness? I think not. I found this country to definitely have less (possessions) than where I live, but the people were no less happier, and probably have a better understanding of what life is really all about, just like Mr. Wendal.

Lyrics
Here, have a dollar,
in fact no brotherman here, have two
Two dollars means a snack for me,
but it means a big deal to you
Be strong, serve God only,
know that if you do,
beautiful heaven awaits
That's the poem I wrote for the first time
I saw a man with no clothes,
no money, no plate
Mr.Wendal, that's his name,
no one ever knew his name cause he's a no-one
Never thought twice about spending on a ol' bum,
until I had the chance to really get to know one
Now that I know him,
to give him money isn't charity
He gives me some knowledge,
I buy him some shoes
And to think blacks spend all that money on big colleges,
still most of y'all come out confused

Go ahead, Mr.Wendal (2x)

Mr.Wendal has freedom,
a free that you and I think is dumb
Free to be without the worries of a quick to diss society
for Mr.Wendal's a bum
His only worries are sickness
and an occasional harassment by the police and their chase
Uncivilized we call him,
but I just saw him eat off the food we waste
Civilization, are we really civilized,
yes or no ?
Who are we to judge ?
When thousands of innocent men could be brutally enslaved and killed over a racist grudge
Mr.Wendal has tried to warn us about our ways
but we don't hear him talk
Is it his fault when we've gone too far,
and we got too far,
cause on him we walk
Mr.Wendal, a man, a human in flesh,
but not by law
I feed you dignity to stand with pride,
realize that all in all you stand tall

Mr.Wendal, yeah yeah yeah, Lord, Mr.Wendal

Recycled Air

2008-07-18T16:52:00.021-04:00

The Postal Service

I recently returned from Costa Rica and this song has been heavy on my mind. Unfortunately I didn't have my iPod at the time to listen to it during flight, but I definitely felt the grasp of it's meaning as I was traveling thousands of feet above Central America.

This song reminds me of the gut wrenching feeling of lifting off from the ground, which is a feeling that never seems to go away. I am reminded of the gasp of air and clutching of the hands on the armrests as the airplane turns on its jets and speeds off of the runway.

I also got a very good sense of my head inflating like a balloon on the way back from our trip as we descended to the ground. My ears wouldn't equalize and I become dizzy trying to blow air out the sides of my head. I became rather scared that I might pass out, but I was fortunately saved by a delicious yawn that left my ears open and free.

The chorus at the end of this song is beautiful in that it describes perfectly how the lay of the land looks from those in the sky. The ground looks like a sweater my great aunt may have knit me some years ago, and I love the way the artist refers to the ocean cradling it in it's arms.

As you ascend into the clouds and skies above, you can really sit back and think about all of the accomplishments mankind has made to allow us to see things from a point of view we would never have been able to see before. This was my thought as my cares were gently swept away as I flew to the sky, and beyond. . .

Lyrics
I take a breath
And pull the air in until there's nothing left
I'm feeling green
Like teenage lovers between the sheets

Ba ba ba ba . . .

Knuckles clenched to white
As the landing gear retract for flight
My head's a balloon
Inflating with the altitude

Ba ba ba ba . . .

I watch
the patchwork farms
Slow fade
into the ocean's arms
And from here
they can't see me stare
The stale taste
of recycled air

I watch
the patchwork farms
Slow fade
into the ocean's arms
Calm down,
release your cares
The stale taste
of recycled air

Welcome to HearSay Songs

2008-07-18T12:03:00.006-04:00

Greetings:

Thank you for taking the time to visit my very new blog! I'm excited to join the community and hope to offer everyone some interesting facts and opinions on some of the greatest songs around. I'll provide complete song reviews and music information daily, so that you can learn about something that you have never heard of before, or so that you can give your opinions on how these wonderful songs have affected you!

I welcome and encourage all feedback so that we can have a full database on how music inspires and helps people throughout their lives. I look forward to writing to you all, and hope that you enjoy this site as much as I.

HearSay Songs