Hidden Track: CEO - "Harakiri"

CEO

"Harakiri"

wonderland

Sincerely Yours

Grotesque is the exact word that's able to capture the quiddity of CEO's Eric Burgland's sophomore album, wonderland. The obscure, yet stunning cover album, showing Berglund in kaleidoscopic color palettes doesn't veneer the fact wonderland is indeed grotesque, distorted, yet harmonious and amazing, proving that Burgland doesn't produce his sophomore album half-assedly. It's opened by such a strong first track--that's also used as the first single--"Whorehouse"--a perfect pop-dance song that sounds salacious, but actually describes the sense of Burgland's entrapment and confusion that he feels like "lost in the whorehouse". The track is so damn good, that every time you ask other people about CEO, the first response that pops up in their head is either "Who is CEO?" or "Oh, that dude who sings 'Whorehouse'? Yeah, he's good". But, Burgland doesn't become CEO of Sincerely Yours because of nothing. He still has so much to offer. Hidden after "Whorehouse", the second track of the album, "Harakiri". is actually the true gem of wonderland. 

At first, "Harakiri" sounds dreamy and tranquilizing. The soothing violin that begins the song may lull you, along with the soft synthed cadence and Burgland's brittle voice, "Your glitter rains on my face." "Harakiri" is so picturesque that you probably don't realize you've been deceived by the song. When Burgland continues, "Forming patterns of horror" and you realize that harakiri isn't something you'd consider as something picturesque--unless you are those kind of guys who enjoys profuse gory stuffs--you will have a moment of clarity. No one knows what's  actually hidden beneath the glittery lyrics, mesmerizing rhythm and composition. It may be Burgland's ode for seppuku, or it's probably a representation of his shame and sacrifice. That's the mystery that's better left unsolved because that's the beauty and grotesqueness of wonderland.

Hidden Track: Japandroids - "Crazy/Forever"

Japandroids
"Crazy/Forever"
Post-Nothing
Polyvinyl

Seven years ago, Japandroids fell in love. Their debut album, Post-Nothing, which is released on April 27, 2009 becomes their pedestal to showcase and flaunt their declaration of love. You can feel their ephebic recklessness and high school spirit that heavily influence their debut album. They elaborate what it looks like when a bunch of punk boys fall in love. They sound harsh, surprisingly shy and (unsurprisingly) cheesy. Post-Nothing becomes their pioneer opus that records their roughness, a stepping stone which will later help them establish their position in the world's punk rock industry. 

It's an interesting thing to notice that the longest song in Japandroids' debut album, "Crazy/Forever"--its duration is more than six minutes--only consists of ten words while majority of the song is filled with an extravagant concoction of Brian King's guitar riffs and David Prowse's drum beat. With throaty voice, King and Prowse romantically whisper their cheesy lines, "We'll stick together forever/ Stay stick together/ Be crazy forever" over and over, but it doesn't sound monotonous. It's fine, though, to be cheesy as we all can't deny that we have undergone a cheesy and corny phase, when stupid love songs are our best friend, we're aggressively obsessed with our crush, and we're unable to live without her or him. "Crazy/Forever" reminisces us that phase, celebrating our youth when we bumptiously believe that nothing can destroy us, until the reality hits us. Even if it's not until 2012 before they start celebrating anything, but Post-Nothing, and especially "Crazy/Forever", paves their way to that celebration.

Hidden Track: Black Kids - "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"

Black Kids

"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"

Partie Traumatic

Self-released

The first time I heard (not listened to) Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You", was in 2008, the year when I started vagabonding and wandering in this so-called pretentious world called music. I was in junior high school and made my own Top 40, taking references from Prambors' radio website, back when they still provided a healthy amount of good and unsung songs. Until now, I still save the Word file of my Top 40 where Black Kids was still there on my computer. But, it was seven years later, in 2015, when I, for the first time, listened to "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You", and I was instantly hooked. 

Black Kids is indeed an interesting case of study. They started out as nobody, an obscure band from Jacksonville, Florida, consisting of singer/guitarist Reggie Youngblood, keyboard-playing backup singers Ali Youngblood, and Dawn Watley, bass player Owen Holmes, and drummer Kevin Snow. They began their own journey in Myspace--that's, young people, an ancient social media where people can share their music--in 2007 by releasing Wizards of Ahhhs EP. And that's when their ball of stardom started rolling. 

"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend" is a fun pop song, heavily imbued with synthesizer and ambiguous verse, "You are the girl that I've been dreaming of/ ever since I was a little girl", even though they defensively state that it's just an inside joke between lead singer Reggie Younglood and his sister, Ali. But, that's not the only thing that makes "I'm Not Gonna Teach" fun. The scintillating covetousness when we see our crush kissing his/her significant other and our inability to act are relatable experience for most of us, and Black Kids wittily analogizes this with a dancing scene where the significant other "got two-left feet and bites my moves", and we are just schadenfreude-ing seeing the significant other's incompetence. 

"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend" may be a one hit wonder, but if being covered by Glee is any indication that a song is popular (bizarrely, "I'm Not Gonna Teach" is more popular in UK than in their native country), then Black Kids leaves us some good legacy. 

Hidden Track: Explosions in the Sky - "Your Hand In Mine" and W.G. Snuffy Walden - "Friday Night Lights Theme"

Yesterday, I finished watching one of the best TV shows all time, Friday Night Lights. This doesn't seem like myself, because I am probably the most couch potato person you'll ever meet, and the idea of doing sports pretty much gives me a heart attack. Hence, watching a TV show about a bunch of sweaty jocks should've made me cringe. But, I have heard nothing but positive reviews about the show and when I have the inspiration to write Chasing Atalanta, about a legendary quarterback in a small town called Rosefield who had to go back to his hometown to teach Drama class, I know I have to force myself to watch the show.

Which turns out not to be bad at all. It is amazing, instead. It makes me laugh, and it makes me cry, an indication that this is a good show. Friday Night Lights, based on H.G. Bissinger's nonfiction book of the same title, is first adapted into a movie screen in 2004 directed by his cousin, Peter Berg. Berg, who's really unsatisfied with the movie because he felt like he can explore the depth of the characters more, decided to turn it into a TV series which premiered in 2006 on NBC. It received acclaim, but not a good rating. Thankfully the show had a good five seasons run. 

Part of the reason why Friday Night Lights (the TV show, not the movie because I haven't watched the movie) is great, apart from its top notch script and performances by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, is its music. The show perfectly harmonizes the song to the scene, perfectly capturing the spirit of a football in a small town, and strengthening the emotion that those scenes have built. For example, when Tony Lucca's "Devil Town" is heard when the audiences see that folks of Dillon, the setting of the show, were a sinner. That small town wasn't as perfect as it appears to be. Its folks went to church regularly, but they had sinned, committing adultery, killing people, using drugs, being covetous, cheating, and anything. This juxtaposition is bound perfectly by Lucca's "Devil Town". Other songs perfectly match the scenes as well. The music of Friday Night Lights is so good that they make the unofficial musical performance of Friday Night Lights. 

That's when the opening theme of Friday Night Lights comes in. Explosions in the Sky fills the soundtrack of the movie, and when the TV producers ask them to lend one of their songs to the TV show, Explosions in the Sky turn them down. But, this band's touch on Friday Night Lights is really essential, and it's not Friday Night Lights without Explosions in the Sky's music. Feeling desperate, the producers turn to Emmy-winning composer, W.G. Snuffy Walden, to "rip" "Your Hand In Mine" off. He does a good job, captivating the quintessence of Explosions in the Sky's "Your Hand In Mine". Walden starts the theme with soft guitar string, and as the song crescendos, the emotion of the song bursts out. In just less than a minute, "Friday Night Lights" fills me with abundant of emotion, the town spirit, and Friday night anticipation in a small town in Texas. The opening credit is basically cuts of main casts, taken from the episode, with their names are written in glinty fonts. "Friday Night Lights" theme is compact with melancholic emotion at the climax, before it decrescendos at the end of the song. The theme is like the concise version "Your Hand In Mine", while still maintaining the key point of the song. That's why Explosions in the Sky's "Your Hand In Mine" and Walden's "Friday Night Lights Theme" are so inseparable. These songs are where true spirit of Friday Night Lights is hidden.

Hidden Track: Angelo Badalamenti - "Laura Palmer's Theme"

Angelo Badalamenti

"Laura Palmer's Theme"

Soundtrack From Twin Peaks

Warner Bros

The reason why I watch Twin Peaks at the first place is because of its soundtrack. I mean my friend had lauded and praised how great Twin Peaks was, but I didn't ever bat an eye to watch the series. However, one day, when I just listened to Deezer and utilized Flow feature--the feature that allows you to listen to infinite random songs and for me it's a great way to discover great stuffs out there. I couldn't remember what I was doing back then--probably I was writing 'Chasing Atalanta'--then Deezer played this song and suddenly there was an inconsolable sadness that crept up in me, and I had the urge not to cry. That's what's Badalementi's "Laura Palmer's Theme" able to do to you. 

Back in 1990-1991, when one of the greatest TV shows on earth, Twin Peaks, was on TV, it marked some major breakthrough at the time. Its sick, twisted, dark theme was a pioneer back then as we follow FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper who must resolve an uncanny murder of a young girl named Laura Palmer in a fictional town in Washington called Twin Peaks, a town that ostensibly hid something inside its woods. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, this show does not only have great script, characters, and acting, but it also has such an amazing score. It proves that TV shows also deserve great score that supports the show per se. 

"Laura Palmer's Theme", the highlight of Badalementi's Soundtrack From Twin Peaks--which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album-- does not only successfully capture the dark theme of Twin Peaks, but also the mysterious and enigmatic nuance of the show. It starts with a heavy piano sound, and it gradually grows into an intense, heart-wrenching climax that makes you hold your tears because even if you haven't watched the series, you can still feel its grief, you can feel how a death of a young girl--I hope it's not a spoiler--can affect the whole town in sinuous way, how a death of a young girl finally unravels the dark side of the town. This almost-5-minute song may sound monotone with the same structure, but it's just a pure perfection, a moment of triumph in the scoring of TV shows, a proof that TV shows also deserve great score from best of the best. 

Hidden Track:

Hidden Track is a new feature in my blog which talks about an old song that I just recently discovered, or an old song that I don't enjoy, but I enjoy it a lot now, or an old song that's been overlooked that I enjoy.