Tag: 2003

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Best tunes of 2003: #13 Snow Patrol “Spitting games”

<< #14    |    #12 >>

Snow Patrol got started in Dundee, Scotland way back in 1994 when Gary Lightbody formed a band with university friends Mark McClelland and Michael Morrison. Of course, they went through a few name changes and struggled mightily before settling on the moniker we now know and signing to indie label Jeepster, original home to another Scottish indie band we love*. Unfortunately, the struggles didn’t end there, seeing an almost complete turnover in personnel and middling sales and critical reception of their first two records. They were dropped by Jeepster in 2001 but it turned out to be the best thing to happen to them, because they were signed to Fiction less than two years later and sent to the studio to record their major label debut.

“Final straw”, Snow Patrol’s third record, was where I came in. I don’t remember now exactly how I heard about the group or the record, but I definitely remember that it was never a grower. I was hooked to the sound of the album right away. I bought the album on CD**, something I wasn’t doing a lot of at the time, given my lack of disposable income. And when I went back to sample the music of the previous two albums, I didn’t find them nearly as compelling. So something truly clicked here.

“It’s not as if I need the extra weight
Confused enough by life so thanks a lot”

“Spitting games” was the first of five singles to be released off the record. It was and still is my favourite of the bunch. At just shy of four minutes, it is one of the longer tracks, especially on the first side but it is no less driving, nor hard-hitting for all that. It is brash and breathless, starting off all guns ablaze, a punishing drum beat and raging guitars, and it never really lets up. The verses all have the same energy as the non-chorus, where Lightbody just lends his voice to a raging wordless melody. It all leads to the feeling of nervousness and anxiety of someone that has feelings that he doesn’t know what to do with, the confusion of youth and the uncertainties of love.

“Spitting games” is a track, much like the rest of the album, that is raw and passionate and hints at the success that the band will find a few years later.

*Um, Belle & Sebastian.

**And I’ve since replaced that with a copy on vinyl.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2003: #14 The New Pornographers “From blown speakers”

<< #15    |    #13 >>

I’ve said it before and it’ll likely come up again: I was an avid user of Ottawa’s public library services back in the early 2000s.

I didn’t have a lot of money after relocating to Canada’s capital so almost as soon as I updated my drivers license with my new address, I checked out the main branch to start borrowing books. When I discovered they also loaned DVDs and CDs, I started borrowing those as well, often spending hours perusing their virtual shelves on their website for material to request and consume. The three week loan period for CDs allowed for plenty of opportunity to explore and to discover music before making a decision to purchase for the long haul.

I’d previously heard friends talk about The New Pornographers so when I saw the library had one of their albums in their collection, I put in the request and didn’t even have to wait that long for it to arrive at my local branch for pickup. So in this way, “Electric version” was my introduction to Canada’s indie rock supergroup. Of course, I only really googled them for more info after they made a great first impression and I learned then of their background and the various members’ collective experience as part of the Vancouver area music scene. Of their membership, I’d only heard of Dan Bejar (of Destroyer) and Neko Case before, the latter from my friend Tim, who I think was in love with her at the time, and thinking back, he was probably one of the friends that had talked up The New Pornos as well.

“Electric version” was the group’s sophomore record and was seen by those familiar with “Mass romantic” as a tighter and more polished effort, the sound of a real group finding its footing, rather than a collective of individual artists collaborating on a one-off piece, which is what many expected the debut to be. On the followup, there were lots of catchy power pop gems to shake sticks at, but none as immediately captivating as track two.

“Just a contact high, one in every mood I’ve ever declined to fight
One in every single exchange you might find
From blown speakers, time came out magical”

“From blown speakers” is just shy of three minutes and features call and answer guitars and keys, as well as Carl Newman harmonizing with the lovely Neko Case and a plethora of exclamation marks on the snares. It’s an obvious high that we never wanted to come down from.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2003: #15 Camera Obscura “Suspended from class”

<< #16    |    #14 >>

Well here we are, four days into the new year: 2024. New years bring new hopes and positivity and of course, the promise of new music. Of all the new albums that are hotly anticipated, the long awaited return of Glasgow, Scotland’s Camera Obscura is one of those that will be the most welcome in my books. They had originally hinted at a full return back in 2019, after a hiatus that began with the death of their long-time keyboardist, Carey Lander, in 2015, but then the pandemic pushed things back a few years.

So it’s almost too perfect that this song should come up in my Best tunes of 2003 list, given that Camera Obscura’s sophomore record, “Underachievers please try harder”, was my introduction to band and still one of my favourites of their works. I had picked this one up after reading comparisons to and affiliations with Belle & Sebastian, another Scottish group with whom I was already a fan. And I found myself really digging the twee-heavy indie pop, especially of those sung by Tracyanne Campbell, who would eventually take over all vocal duties with the departure of founding member John Henderson after this album.

“Suspended from class” is the opening number on said album and a perfect mood-setter. It’s a jangly and peppy piece of sunshine pop but if you listen closer and on repeat listens, you’ll realize that there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

“I should be suspended from class
I don’t know my elbow from my arse”

This couplet is more than just a cheeky turn of phrase. It is a play upon words and hearkens back to a time when being “suspended” was the worst thing possible that we could think of to happen to us. It is the punishment for stepping out of line, for doing something that doesn’t follow the heavily regimented rules of the educational system. And here, it is a metaphorical kick in the pants for crossing the friend zone boundary, for taking a chance at something more, and being shrunk back down to size when those feelings go unreciprocated. The morning after, that eternal and timeless moment when regrets are enlarged to colossal catastrophes, tear-soaked pillows and mascara smears are all spelled out in Campbell’s delicate vocals and are felt in each tug on the guitar strings and accentuated by horn flourishes.

This is the kind of thing we’ve been missing for these last eight years. Such great storytelling and musicianship.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2003 list, click here.