Shawn Mullins’ “Light You Up” (2010) – YES, NO, MAYBE SO?

Shawn Mullins’ Light You Up (2010) – MAYBE

Light You Up (Shawn Mullins, 2010)

Light You Up (Shawn Mullins, 2010)

(October 12, 2010)

Review:

Mullins is a distinctive songwriter, steeped in tradition but indisputably original, and he assembles a keenly woven set of tracks in Light You Up — still, there is something tauntingly brief about Matthew Sweet’s appearance on “California.”  (You petered out after your debut, so mull it over: an electric Thorns album would be sweet!)

Top Two Tracks:

“California” & “The Ghost of Johnny Cash”

The Gaslight Anthem’s “American Slang” (2010) – Yes, No, or Maybe So

The Gaslight Anthem’s American Slang (2010) – MAYBE

The Gaslight Anthem's "American Slang" (2010)

The Gaslight Anthem's "American Slang" (2010)

(June 15, 2010)

Review:

If you ever wondered what Bruce Springsteen would have sounded like had he been born into the alternative/punk rock legacy, well… the time has come; American Slang suffers a bit from homogeneity of sound, but each of the ten tracks here unfolds as a vivid landscape that transports the listener to a new and yet not entirely unfamiliar locale.

Top Two Tracks:

“Orphans” & “The Diamond Church Street Choir”

“Off He Goes” by Pearl Jam – Chords, Tabs, and How to Play

“Off He Goes”
Pearl Jam

F – Am   F – Am   F – C   F – C

F – C                       F – C                                          Am
…     Know a man…        His face seems pulled and tense…
Am          F – C           F   –   C                 F      C      Am
Like he’s riding on a motorbike… in the strongest winds…
Am    F                     C      F                  C
So I approach with tact… suggest that he should relax…
C    F                  C         G             F
But he’s always moving much too fast…

F                                      Am         F                      Am
Said he’ll see me on the flipside… of this trip he’s taken for a ride.
Am            F – C     F      –     C      F   –   C
He’s been takin’… too much on… off he goes
C           F   –   C     F – C – Am           F            C
with his perfectly… unkept clothes… there he goes…

C       F – C – Am

Am   F                 C         F – C
He’s yet to come back…   but I see his picture…
F – C            F  –  C                      Am      F                 C
Doesn’t look the same up on the rack… We go way back…

C  F                     Am         F                                     Am
I wonder bout his insides… it’s like his thoughts are too big for his size…
Am           F – C      F                     C          F        C
He’s been taken… where?  I don’t know… off he goes
C           F   –   C     F – C – Am       F            C
with his perfectly… unkept hope… there he goes…

C              F          C        F         C
And now I rub my eyes… for he has returned
F – C                F – C                          F     –     C       –      Am
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned…
Am  F        C                   F           C
For he still smiles… and he’s still strong…
F              C                             F              C            F  –  C  –  Am
Nothing’s changed but the surrounding bullshit… that has grown…

Am  F             C        F             C
And now he’s home and we’re laughing…
F     –     C           F     –     C                F  –  C  –  Am
Like we always did… my same old… same old friend…

Am     F              C     F               C
Until a quarter to ten… I saw the strain creep in…
C   F            C                      F              C                       F  –  C  –  Am
He seemed distracted and I know just what is going to happen next…

Am      F    –    C         F   –   C
Before his first step… He is off again…

C                    F – C – Am
[F – C] x 4       F – C – Am
[F – C] x 3
F – C (strum; end on C)

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

House of Heroes’ “Suburba” (2010) – YES, NO, MAYBE SO?

House of Heroes’ Suburba (2010) – MAYBE SO

Suburba (House of Heroes, 2010)

Suburba (House of Heroes, 2010)

(August 3, 2010)

Review:

Energetic and ambitious, both musically and lyrically: this is how I would describe Suburba, an album that keenly navigates the alternative and Christian genres, pulling in stereotypical, “expected” components but not without a few innovative surprises.

Top Two Tracks:

“God Save the Foolish Kings” & “Love is For the Middle Class”