Michael Koby

Last week, we looked at the song “Foreign Language” by Anberlin. This week, we continue our series of looking at songs by the Tooth and Nail band by looking at the lead off track from their second album, “Never Take Friendship Personal”.

This title track makes for a great opener. They set the mood early on with the open “A” chord done in just away that it basically says “hey this is the opening track” and that is a good thing. When the lead singer pseudo-screams “There’s a hatchet, got a knife” only to follow it up with the melodic vocal “when I awoke there was nothing real in this life” the mood for the entire album is set. You know you are going to get the rock with the melodic, right off the bat, without question.

Setting the tone for an entire album with one song is hard to do, and very few bands have pulled it off with great success. However, it seems that most truly good albums follow this trend (at least the one’s I consider “truly good”). However, what makes this song really work is the play on words in the chorus. The switching between “Innocence gone” and “In a sense gone” right before the line “never take friendship personal” is something incredibly interesting yet deeply disturbing. The reason it is both interesting and disturbing, is because of the incredible difference in meaning in the two lines, that when sung, sound exactly the same.

The title of the song itself lends to a great play on words.  Rumored to be about one of the band’s former guitarists upon their departure, it is interesting to look at the lyrics as a farewell message to a former colleague.  However, friendship is something that is in fact deeply personal, so is it really possible to not take it personally? Is it possible to view a friendship like a business or a temporary alliance? That is something that only the listener can decide, but the line itself begs to be debated, questioned, and contemplated throughly.

Lyrics after the jump… Continue reading →

Last week, we looked at the song “Foreign Language” by Anberlin. This week, we continue our series of looking at songs by the Tooth and Nail band by looking at the lead off track from their second album, “Never Take Friendship Personal”.

This title track makes for a great opener. They set the mood early on with the open “A” chord done in just away that it basically says “hey this is the opening track” and that is a good thing. When the lead singer pseudo-screams “There’s a hatchet, got a knife” only to follow it up with the melodic vocal “when I awoke there was nothing real in this life” the mood for the entire album is set. You know you are going to get the rock with the melodic, right off the bat, without question.

Setting the tone for an entire album with one song is hard to do, and very few bands have pulled it off with great success. However, it seems that most truly good albums follow this trend (at least the one’s I consider “truly good”). However, what makes this song really work is the play on words in the chorus. The switching between “Innocence gone” and “In a sense gone” right before the line “never take friendship personal” is something incredibly interesting yet deeply disturbing. The reason it is both interesting and disturbing, is because of the incredible difference in meaning in the two lines, that when sung, sound exactly the same.

The title of the song itself lends to a great play on words.  Rumored to be about one of the band’s former guitarists upon their departure, it is interesting to look at the lyrics as a farewell message to a former colleague.  However, friendship is something that is in fact deeply personal, so is it really possible to not take it personally? Is it possible to view a friendship like a business or a temporary alliance? That is something that only the listener can decide, but the line itself begs to be debated, questioned, and contemplated throughly.

Lyrics after the jump… Continue reading →

I am working on finding some new content to add to the website on a weekly basis.  In hopes of showing more of my varied interests and keeping you, the reader, coming  back for more.  As such, I give you “New Music Tuesdays” where I give a quick overview of some of the new music being released on the Tuesday in question.

This week we see some nice releases, all releases can be purchased on iTunes.

1) Anthem for the Underdog by 12 Stones – You might not have heard of 12 Stones, but you have heard their lead singer more than you’d probably like to have.  Paul McCoy is the male singer on Evanesence’s “Bring Me to Life” from the Daredevil soundtrack.  His latest outing with his band is a great growth record for the band.  Shows that slow growth in musicians is still possible and should be applauded.

2) To Be Loved by Ian Moore – Ian Moore is one of those artists that was pigeon-holed at a very young age.  Declared the next Stevie Ray Vaughan by just about every music rag on the planet, he decided to prove otherwise.  With each album he retains that bluesy root that made him a star but also injects elements of other styles ranging from funk, to soul, to Indian, to good solid rock.  Ian Moore has yet to truly disappoint, and I’m sure this album is no exception.

3) Combinations by Eisley – The music world lost something when Sixpence None the Richer called it quits.  While I am sure some will disagree with me on that, they did have a very unique sound.  Eisley is a great replacement for Sixpence while at the same time standing on their own.  Their first full-length album was considered genius by most, and this album continues that trend.

4) Live at Radio City by Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – When it comes to Dave Matthews, there are really only 2 ways I really like him: solo acoustic or acoustic with Tim Reynolds.  For some reason he just works better in those two environments to me.  This album is definitely the latter and it sounds every bit as good as Live at Luther College.  A great listen.

That is it for this week, be sure to check back next Tuesday for some more new music.