The Wall: Part One

For such a monumental album, I am going to need a monumental post. There are 26 songs on Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, and unlike “Nostradamus”, I am going to go through each and every one and what it means to the story. This will not be the most difficult of tasks, determining the meaning behind the tracks, because there has already been a Wall movie released, telling the story of the album. So without further ado, The Wall!

In the Flesh?:The song opens with a soft, soft melody, and then randomly bursts into guitar, startling me every time. This song basically sets the scene for the movie: you hear the plane crash that killed the main character. Pink’s father, and set off the chain of events that led to The Wall being built and subsequently Pink’s isolation.

The Thin Ice:”Mommy loves her baby, and Daddy loves you too…” That is how the song begins, so we see here that early on in Pink’s life, his mother tries to overcompensate for the loss of his father, and that means smothering him with extra love, which we will see later in

Mother.The idea of thin ice is interesting. The song warns Pink not to be surprised when “a crack in the ice appears under your feet.” This could be reference to the instability of Pink’s mind, which could at any time come crashing down, weighing down the thin ice.



Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1:”Daddy’s flown across the ocean, leaving just a memory…” With these lines, it becomes pretty clear to us that. Pink’s father fought in what seems to be WWII, and he later in the song questions his father, angrilly, saying “Daddy, what’d ya leave behind for me?” He concludes by stating that “All in all it was just a brick in the wall”. This shows us that the first half of this album consists of Pink building up this wall of total isolation from humanity, and this is one of the bricks.

The Happiest Days of Our Lives: This song title to me appears sarcastic, saying that school years were supposed to be the happiest days of children’s lives but for the reasons specified were not for Pink and his classmates, because “there were certain teachers who would hurt the children any way they could, by pouring their derision upon anything we did, exposing every weakness however carefully hidden by the kids.” He does take pleasure in the fact that “when they got home at night their fat and psychopathic wives would thrash them within inches of their lives!”

Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2: This song basically continue the theme of the previous, and states that this too was another brick in the wall.

Mother: This is one of my favorite songs on the first half of the album, and it consists of Pink asking questions to his mother and his mother responding later on in the song. She is visibly overprotective and harmful to Pink, stating that she “won’t let you fly, but she might let you sing.” She doesn’t want Pink to end up killed in the war like his father. She also states “of course mommy’s gonna help build the wall” but at the end of the song Pink asks “mother did it it need to be so high…?” This shows that his overprotective mother was multiple bricks in the wall.

Goodbye Blue Sky: "Look mommy, there’s an airplane up in the sky!" Could this be another airplane crash reference and one to Pink’s dad? Maybe. But this song is basically saying goodbye to Pink’s innocence, and that is the main point. Enter Empty Spaces.

Empty Spaces:"How will I complete the wall?" There is still, at this point, at least one more brick to put in the wall. how will Pink fill the spaces, he wonders?

Young Lust:Pink goes out looking for women, dirty, naughty women, to be exact. He finds one in one of his groupies., which he brings to his home in the UK while his wife, as heard in the end, continues to try and call him collect from America, a call which he keeps hanging up on. “This is the United States calling, are we reaching?… See he keeps hanging up!”

One of My Turns:One of My Turns is essentially the breaking point for Pink. He lashes out at this woman and presumably hits her (hinting that he also hits his own wife) and freaks out and screams at her until she runs away.

Don’t Leave Me Now:Pink is distraught that this woman is running away from him, but I believe it also represents him getting caught having these affairs and his wife leaves him (“remember the flowers I sent?” why would he send flowers to a groupie?) So his life falls down around him, and he loses it.

Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3:This is the last straw for Pink, as he exclaims, “I don’t need no arms around me, and I don’t need no drugs to calm me, I have seen the writing on the wall.” He has filled up his wall.

Goodbye Cruel World:Pink is leaving the world as he knows it. He isn’t committing physical suicide as the title might suggest, rather he is committing what I will call social suicide, in which he completely isolates himself from the rest of the world. The way the song ends, we can almost imagine him literally placing the last brick into the wall as the sounds go silent and it’s done, The Wall is complete.

Nostadamus

The album “Nostradamus” by Judas Priest was like nothing I had ever heard before. It was so lengthy, but I really thought the length was appropriate for the story and the music fit very well. Unlike the album, the review will not be very lengthy due to the fact that the story needs not much explaining. The first half of the album consists of the main character, Nostradamus’ prophecies. Nostradamus was an actual figure who really made prophecies during his lifespan and some have become quite famous and have been said to have predicted things such as World War II. In this section, he predicts things such as War, Pestilence and Plague,and Death.Perhaps afraid of these predictions or believing him to be an abomination to God, the people shun and exile Nostradamus, leading us into the second half of the album. In my opinion, it all starts with Lost Love,which I believe to be strictly Nostradamus’ lost love. It is this love that sends him into despair, and I also interpret that the village or city in which he lived blamed Nostradamus for his love’s death, and persecute him and exile him for this and his predictions, believing them to be evil. I interpret the remainder of the album to be about Nostradamus’ struggles to cope with his loneliness and his ability to prophesy dwindles by the end of the album. However, in Nostradamus,the band hints at his return to fame (or infamy) in the future, and Future of Mankindis up to interpretation, but I believe it to be that Nostradamus’ predictions will be important to the rest of the world and their future, and he will be known forever. Wonderful album, good story, and classic Priest sound.

MY RATINGS:

Music: 9/10

Story: 7/10

Concepts: 7/10

Overall: 7.67/10

Animals

Pink Floyd’s “Animals” is the the first album you pick up when you are starting to listen to them. That spot is reserved for “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall”. However, “Animals” is a marvelous album in its own right, and one of the absolute cornerstones of the Pink Floyd discography. “Animals” is based of of George Orwell’s famous “1984”, but it has differences. The main similarity is the the animals mentioned in each all represent a different type of human. By doing this, Pink Floyd successfully portrays capitalism as they view it: flawed and merciless. Although “1984” is a commentary on socialism, “Animals” is anti-capitalist in origin. Waters divided the capitalistic society into three different types of animals: Dogs, Pigs, and Sheep, each receiving a track on the album, sandwiched between the more hopeful Pigs on the Wing Parts I and II.

Dogs:The first type of human to be represented by an animal on the album is a dog. The dogs are high-powered businessmen. They are combative and cutthroat, they will stop at nothing to reach the ultimate standard of wealth and achievement. The dog has mastered the art of business, with the “sudden look in the eye, and an easy smile.” If you are a dog, you “have to be trusted by the people that you lie to, so that when they turn their back on you, you’ll get the chance to put the knife in.” This line is one of my favorites, as it shows the backstabbing nature of these businessmen. These businessmen, however, are not the super rich and wealthy, they have superiors, and are “given a pat on the back” when they do well. These men are “fitted with collar and chain” by their superiors, like dogs on leashes, and are “stranger(s) at home”, showing how they spend more time at work than with their families. However, this lifestyle catches up with them, as he becomes “a sad old man, all alone, dying of cancer.” He is dragged down by the “stone” which, in the song, symbolically fades into a sort of a barking sound, representative of a dog. The way of a Dog will not last.

Pigs (Three Different Ones): The Pigs are the super rich, the CEO’s, the billionaires, what have you. Three Different Ones refers to three specific individuals, of which only one is known for sure, because she is mentioned: Mary Whitehouse, who is notable for her anti-liberalism. Waters wrote Pigsto represent the super rich as incredibly manipulative, stopping at nothing to keep their wealth, control others, and remain on top of the social and economic ladder. He tells his employees to “keep on digging” while he relaxes and continues to make his money, and is portrayed by the media as a morally superior citizen, all through manipulation. The Pig truly is a disgusting example of Waters’ idea of Capitalism gone wrong.

Sheep: The Sheep are the final animals portrayed by Waters and they represent the common idea of sheep: followers. It is most likely that Waters meant this to be religious people. The Sheep are very united as a group, and they believe it is their duty to stay out of the way of things. “You better look out, there may be dogs about!” If you are a sheep, you are “harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away, only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air…” They either do not understand or choose not to acknowledge what is wrong with the world, for fear of being “devoured” by the dogs. They are “meek and obedient” and “follow the leader”. Then, an edited version of Psalm 23:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we’ll make the bugger’s eyes water.”

This shows, at least to me, that Waters is referring mainly to certain Christians showing blind faith and feeling morally superior. The edited Psalm shows that the Sheep plan to rise up as their God has made them strong. They decide to kill the other animals, perhaps due to their “moral insuperiority”. 

"Bleating and babbling I fell on his neck with a scream.
Wave upon wave of demented avengers 
March cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.”

This is one of my all-time favorite song lyrics as it flows so well. In addition, demented avengers is the perfect way to describe the scene that I see in my head when I listen to this part of the song. Incredibly, after they overpower the other animals, they return to their homes and “do as [they’re] told”! They maintain the idea that they really are morally superior, even after causing the death of others.

"Animals" is a very politically charged album that once again showcases the magic of Pink Floyd with its metaphorical lyrics and mesmerizing music. It offers a view of capitalism that is both eye-opening and familiar at the same time, but the real reason the album shines is the music, which is an absolute joy to listen to.

MY RATINGS:

Music: 9.5/10

Concepts: 9.5/10

Story: N/A

OVERALL: 9.5/10

Warp Riders: A Metal Sci-Fi Story

\By all intensive purposes, the album Warp Riders by The Sword is a Science Fiction novel. The band even opted to have a cover similar to those of old science fiction novels. But don’t be fooled. Warp Riders is a behemoth riff monster, complete with instrumentals, great lyrics, and a killer story to boot. Although brief, this blogger will attempt to explain to the best of his ability, the story of Warp Riders. It is a little unclear without having read the novel it is based on, so I will do my very best and give my own interpretation. The main character, known as Ereth, is an Archer who has discovered a mystic orb. He is banished, for unknown reasons, from his tribe on the planet Acheron, which is about to undergo a lot of trouble. It is becoming Tidal locked, meaning that half of the planet will be scorched by three suns, and the other half will be shrouded in total darkness. Unless Ereth can stop it, this will cause a huge war to break out between good and evil, and nothing will be able to stop the destruction. He is told by a mysterious old man, about challenges he must face along the way, specifically Tres Brujas (spanish for Three Witches) that will help him along his way. “The first at twilight, the second at night, and the third at the coming of day”. The impression I get is that he meets these witches and they tell him he will die before he can stop the war. He refuses to believe this, and he continues on his trek. The old man gives him more advice in Arrows In the Dark.Chronomancer I: HubrisDescribes what I believe to be the spaceship that visits Acheron, carrying the one who begins the war, the Android,referred to in the second part of the album , The Android and The Sword, The Sword referring to the time-travelling spaceship with which they travel. This android appears to stop at nothing to bring ruin upon the planet/ Lawless Landsconsists of Ereth the Archer travelling away from his tribe from which he was banished, presumably from finding the sacred orb, and across the land towards some unknown destination, with what the Three Witches said in the back of his mind, eating at him. Thus begins part II. The second half begins with an instrumental, and the proceeds with The Warp Riders.This is the name for the Android and his warmongers who wage war on Acheron after tidal locking it, giving them the advantage. As Ereth arrives in Night City, he must fight the space pirates and murderers before he finally comes face to face with the Android, known simply as Nemesis in The Chronomancer II: Nemesis.

The bearer of the orb awaits the sacred key
Into the world anew once more what was will be

Racing through the netherworld outside of time and space
He has found a hidden path to pass forbidden gates
Body left to rot as the great tidal lock sets in
The cord is cut, the way is shut, the orb goes dim

Ereth is killed by Nemesis, and the orb, the one that could save the world of Acheron, goes dim. The tidal lock sets in, and Nemesis prevailes. All we see next, in (the Night The Sky Cried) Tears Of Fire,is the vision of the armada, ready to destory the world of Acheron in the war as Ereth is destoryed and all hope is lost.

Not a happy ending with my interpretation, but I believe there will be a true savior of Acheron before it’s all said and done.

Marvellous Album!

MY RATINGS

Music: 9/10

Story: 9/10

Concepts: 5/10

Overall: 7.67/10

Clockwork Angels: A Steampunk Odyssey

I call this album a “steampunk odyssey” because that is what it appears to be to me. It is a wonderful concept album, and for Rush to turn such a masterpiece out at such old ages is truly sensational. Peart is a marvellous songwriter and we all know what he can do on the drums. So without further ado, let’s analyze Clockwork Angels:

(Big thanks to Rushvault.com and their analysis which helped mine!)

Caravan:The story begins with the protagonist, Owen Hardy. Hardy is a farmer on a small farm on a world that may or may not be Earth, but it certainly is a fictional setting. The Caravan in the song seems to refer to the Caravan-like passing of the monstrous steamships overheat. Think steamboats, but in the air, expelling much gas and steam, huge hunks of metal, very BioShock like, in my opinion. In any case, we don’t know this yet, (he has not been mentioned yet) but the benevolent “watchmaker” is the ruler of this world and he does not want any interference. While benevolent, this watchmaker has more up his sleeve than we originally see. Owen Hardy decides to “Think Big” as it says in the song, and he decides to explore this world. He leaves his farm and goes on his own.

BU2B:As you come to see in the song, BU2B stands for “Brought Up To Believe”. The basis of this song is discussed in Rushvault, but it isn’t connected to the story. According to the Gottfried Leibniz, we live in the best possible world due to the fact that the world was created by God. Evil exists to make us better people because of it. So it seems to be no surprise that people in this world do not question authority: they are all brought up to believe that they live in the best possible world: since they are lower class, it is best they remain that way: it is best that way! Owen Hardy is beginning to think otherwise. Enter Clockwork Angels

Clockwork Angels:Simply put, these clockwork angels are mere symbols of the inevitability of fate, or at least that is what the rulers of this world want Owen Hardy and his people to believe. I think of the angels as saints, icons you pray to that enable your hopes and dreams, yet take away your individual ability to create your own fate. That is what this song is all about: the robbery of individualism and the creation of the icons to teach us that we have no choice, that these angels have more power than us, if we live in Owen Hardy’s world.

The Anarchist:Owen Hardy has successfully left his farm and moves to the city, where he receives a job as a carnival worker. But meanwhile, there is a dangerous anti-hero,so to speak, even more bent on rocking the boat than Hardy. He is the anarchist, and the song showcases his discontent with the world, how it is unfair to him, how it needs to change. So he shows up near Hardy’s carnival with a bomb. The two character’s fates are about to take shape.

Carnies:Hardy catches a glimpse of this man, the anarchist with the bomb, and catches it, presumably just as people are taking a good look at him. He (Hardy) is thought now to be the anarchist because he is the one with the bomb! “Shout to warn the crowd, accusations ringing loud. A ticking box, in the hand of the innocent. The angry crowd moves toward him with bad intent” The lyrics clearly show here what is happening. As a result, Hardy has to flee. Where he ends up is coming soon.

Halo Effect: What would a good story be without a love interest? Owen becomes infatuated with a dancer he meets on his travels, but it is a fantasy. The song is about the Halo Effect, what Rush describes as projecting our hopes and dreams into attractive people, we only believe what we want to believe about them. We are disillusioned

Seven Cities of Gold:Our hero reaches his escape: the outer reaches of civilization and the Seven Cities of Gold. Here, like El Dorado, it is gold, but perhaps it is just a metaphor for the pure marvel of the city. In any case, the lyrics state that “A man could lose his way, in a country like this”. Perhaps this isn’t referring to the size but the evil of the city, the man could lose his morals here. He mentions, however, that the city was his dream at the end of cruel fate. Then, he decides to leave.

The Wreckers: Here, Hardy’s boat gets caught at sea, but he sees a light. While heading towards the light, he discovers it is a trick, but it is too late, the boat is destroyed and plundered, however Owen survives.

Headlong Flight:Owen Hardy realizes that although he has endured the worst human cruelty and manipulation and struggles and pain, he would not change his life at all. He continues to trek, perhaps going back home now, but he realizes that these experiences made him who he now is, and his adventurous spirit is finally being quelled

BU2B2:An interlude, which hearkens back to BU2B, but now Hardy knows the truth: you can make your own fate and not have to rely on anyone or anything else

Wish Them Well: this is the second to last song in the album, and Rush makes it clear that Hardy wishes no ill on those that did him wrong: not the wreckers, the anarchist, the watchmaker, nobody. This is because he knows that these experiences, again, have shaped him.

The Garden:The final chapter in Rush’s beautifully crafted musical novel, he discovers a beautiful garden in which he will live out the rest of the days. He now knows that nobody is truly in control of fate or destiny, not even the watchmaker. He can control his own fate now.

SUPER thank you to Rushvault.com for their interpretation of this album, without which I couldn’t make mine!

Tools of Escape

The Dark Side of the Moon: As a Matter of Fact, It's All Dark

What can be said about this album that hasn’t already been said? It has consistently over the years charted again and again. It is the best rock album of all time, the greatest concept album of all time, and in my opinion, one of the greatest pieces of art of all time. In my attempt to analyze the deepest of albums, I will delve into each track, looking for meaning, symbolism, and anything else that I can possibly find. Let’s start from the first track (or tracks)

Speak To Me/Breathe: The opening track to this rock masterpiece begins with a heartbeat, along with some other samples that you will hear throughout the album. The heartbeat represents a child being born, the start of new life in the world, and as the heartbeat and sounds get louder, we hear a man’s voice: “I’ve been mad for fucking years…”. An odd placement for this quote? Not at all. The first thing this child is exposed to in the world is madness, but that is not, of course, all it experiences. There is a whole world of experiences in life. Once the baby is born, we enter the Breathe section of the track, in which the child is given his first advice: “breathe, breathe in the air. Don’t be afraid to care.” We could all use this advice sometimes when we need to slow down and take a break, and when we think that caring is not appropriate: the advice giver (presumably the parents) believe it is always alright to care about things. The song also mentions “Racing towards an early grave”. This becomes a theme throughout the album, as Gilmour, Waters, and the rest of the band challenge us by saying: slow down! Take in what life has to give you, you are racing towards you’re own death. Enter On The Run.

On The Run: On The Run is a set of about 7 synthesizer notes played over and over again with different filters and waveforms for 2-3 minutes. During this time we hear sounds of a man running, and a woman on the loudspeaker listing the names of flight destinations such as Rome and Cairo. The man is late for his flight. He is running for this flight, but we do not find out if he makes it or not. But then we hear the plane. With quotes during the song such as “Live for today, gone tomorrow, that’s me…” we hear the plane go down, but the quoted man is not crying, rather laughing. This is strange, but not really. At this point the man believes he can do two things: either laugh, or cry. He chooses to laugh, and then the plane crashes, after which we hear the sound of running footsteps: The man was running for a plane that would have killed him, but he missed the flight. I love the irony here.

Time:Time is one of the greatest rock songs, nay, greatest pieces of music in history. Maybe because it is so Timeless, but in any case, time is a lament on the passing of time, an ode to the never ceasing never stopping trudging of time, and how it races by you. “No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun…” laments the fact that so much of one’s life is wasted waiting for life to begin, when in reality life is ever-present. So Pink Floyd sees a balance between RUSHING around all the time and doing nothing. There must be some balance between the two ends of the spectrum. Time ends with a reprise of Breathe in which people attend a funeral, whispering :”softly spoken magic spells”. These are presumably prayers at the funeral, the idea of which Waters is perhaps mocking. Time comes, goes, and then there is Death.

The Great Gig in the Sky: The female vocalist, Clare Torry, was told she had to sing a song about Death without any lyrics. This masterpiece was the result of her and Pink Floyd’s working. The idea of death to the band was so incredible, so absolute, there were no words that did it justice, so they just omitted all the words altogether. Brilliant, really. The song is an ode to Death, and at the beginning, we hear the only words in the song “I am not afraid to die, anytime will do, I don’t mind. Why should I be afraid to die? No reason for it, you’ve gotta go sometime…” This quote is profoundly unafraid, and although violent, the song ends with a sense of peace at last, a sort of quiet coming to terms with the circumstances. This is the end of Side One, if you were listening on Vinyl.

Please flip the record (or tape) over to Side Two.

Money: Ah, money, what makes the world go round. Waters and company portray it as the “root of all evil today”. Money is what makes things happen, it is what makes the world go round, it drives people mad and kills them. but more than that, it is a false prophet. The Bible mentions that man cannot serve both God and Money. That is what Pink Floyd is basically saying: you cannot live both for enlightenment and for personal profit: you must choose.

Us And Them:A great song, but what does it mean? Think war: There are two sides: us and them. The good guys, the bad guys, whatever. But it also refers to human nature. The war represents the human nature of conflict, and how we are quick to send others into trouble while avoiding our own, as the general who cries “Forward!” In the song witnesses the entire front rank die. Human nature, therefore, can be quite cruel.

Any Colour You Like:This is a musical interlude, with no lyrics or quotations, but the title alone suggests to me that there are many different people in the world, and these people help make life what it is: different and interesting every day. Any Colour You Like refers, to me, to making life any thing you want it to be. The title is a reference to Henry Ford’s quote about the Model T, saying a customer could have it any color he wanted so long as it was black. What Gilmour and crew is saying is that people have the illusion of choice, that the colour you choose is irrelevent: everything is black in the end.

Brain Damage:This song is all about insanity. It represents the sector of humans that do suffer from insanity. This song is perhaps a tribute to Syd Barrett, who began the band back in the 60’s. Syd Barrett eventually went insane, perhaps from all the drugs he took, perhaps from other reasons, but this song which mentions “if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes, I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon” They want to see Syd again, but it’ll be on the dark side of the moon.

Eclipse:The final track on the album is my favorite. It brings the entire album together. It lists all of the things that make life, well, life. It is a summation of all that you touch, see, beg, borrow, steal, etc. But the meaning of the album, shrouded in mystery to this point, is finally revealed: It is about going insane! All of the tracks of the album are things that contribute to human insanity! Money, Time, Death, Feverish Hurrying, Brain Damage, War, The Illusion of Choice, everything from Birth to Death leads us to insanity, meaning that the Dark Side of the Moon is actually referring to the insane mind, as it becomes cold and dark, as people creep into your brain that are not really there. It is all about going insane. The final quote of the album: “There is no Dark Side of the Moon really, as a matter of fact it’s all dark.” This is so profound. The Dark Side of the Moon is the ENTIRE Moon. Every human being experiences the "Eclipse" of the brain. “The Sun is Eclipsed by the Moon” Even though everything under the sun is in tune, the sun is eclipsed by the moon, bringing out the insanity in all of us eventually. It is inevitable. An incredible, incredible album. One for the ages

My Ratings: 

Music: 10/10

Story: N/A

Concepts: 10/10

Overall: 10/10

The greatest album in music history

Crack the Skye: A Metal Masterpiece

Let’s get this straight: Crack the Skye is confusing. I needed some help interpreting this one. First of all, let’s look at the basic concept behind the music. Mastodon has 4 albums that have used Elemental themes: Remission was fire, Leviathan water, Blood Mountain earth, and this masterpiece, Crack the Skye, is Ether, an ancient element that was believed to be the medium through which light travels, which makes sense if you look at the story of the album. The story begins with a paraplegic. He cannot move his arms or legs and can only travel using astral travel, travelling along the astral plane. inOblivion, the boy paraplegic, who is astral travelling using a golden umbilical cord attached to his solar plexus, gets said cord burnt off as he “flew beyond the sun before it was time, breaking all the fingers and the nails from my hand”. He believes himself to be dead, but he is told by spirits in the spirit realm that he is not dead. In the song Divinations, he is summoned into the body of Rasputin, an ancient Russian historical figure who was believed to have special “super” powers. As Rasputin tries to assassinate the Czar in The Czar, he himself is murdered, and the two souls (Rasputin and the boy) fly out into a Crack in the Sky (Crack the Skye) By this time, the boy’s parents believe him to be dead, so Rasputin tries to help the boy find his way back before they lose all hope and before it is too late to do so. Then, the two encounter the Devil, who tries to steal their souls and bring them to hell in The Last Baron. The story is never resolved, and it is the reader’s interpretation of what happens next. 

Whew. What a story.

Amid all the spirtual meaning of the album is the simple concept of Ether. This Ether allows the boy to astral travel. Among other things, there is a special meaning to the extra ‘e’ in Crack the SkyE. Skye was the sister of drummer Brann Dailor, and he has dedicated the album to her, a fine thing to do, especially for such a masterfully done album.

The Black Parade

Listen On Spreaker:

(Part One): http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/the-black-parade-part-one

(Part Two): http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/the-black-parade-part-two

The Black Parade is one of my absolute favorite albums, because it combines the elements of alternative rock and pompous fanfare that, to me, classifies it as an "Alternative Rock Opera" (yes, I call lots of things operas: get used to it). The story centers around a character known simply as "The Patient", and I do not believe this patient is ever actually mentioned in any of the songs. The story is mainly a reflection of his or her life as they are dying and beyond.

The album begins with a heartbeat meter, *beeeeeep* *beeeeeep* *beeeeeep* signalling to us that the patient is still alive, although not for long. The track is entitled The End, a sort of poetic way to start off the album. It is essentually the prelude to the album, but it does hearken back to the beginning of the patient's life. "When I grow up, I want to be nothing at all..." This patient had few expectations or aspirations, but that doesn't mean he didn't have heartbreak or rejection along the way. The End feeds directly into the appropriately titled Dead! as the patient dies. This is not a concrete death, in my opinion, rather, I believe this songs sparks the beginning of the patient's death which encompasses the rest of the album. Perhaps it is the knowledge that the character is going to die. In any case, the line "no one ever had much nice to say" leads me to believe not necessarily that The Patient was unloved, but more unknown. The Patient was inconspicuous and unknown to many around him and probably lived a relatively quiet life. After Dead! we step into This Is How I Disappear, referring most likely to how The Patient's death will have him disappear, a phrase not common with the theme of death, but appropriate here given the obscurity of The Patient, who seemingly has very few close family members (except for Mama, but we will get into that later). The Sharpest Lives, to me, is a plea of The Patient, in a way. "The Sharpest Lives are the deadliest to lead..." But he is pleading that others not follow into his obscure footsteps, rather, he wants them, although it may be deadly, to lead "Sharper Lives". The next track  is one of my all-time favorite songs, Welcome to the Black Parade. Gerard Way, the lead singer, has told us that it is based of the belief that death comes to you in the form of your fondest memory. Watch the music video, and picture that. It really is a great representation. The Patient's best memory in this case is a parade with a marching band that his father took him to see. In my interpretation of the events, the father is now dead, and this is why it is such a fond memory for The Patient, who I see as being around 25-28 years of age. Welcome to the Black Parade is filled with the pompous rock that rock operas are truly made of, which represents the grandeur and bizarre nature of the scene. Death is coming for our hero, The Patient. I Don't Love You is next, and represents, in my opinion, the loss of love that The Patient's first love interest encountered. "I don't love you like I loved you yesterday" she exclaims before leaving him forever. This rejection is one of the important events in his life that flashes before his eyes as he lies in the hospital bed, dying. House Of Wolves is a plea for help. The Patient believe he is going to hell, which may or not be true, but judging by the lyrics, he is very afraid and believes himself to be a sinner. Perhaps this occurs as he is receiving some sort of Last Rites from a priest. Cancer is a very revealing track in that we finally know why The Patient is dying: some form of cancer. The Patient reflects on how he first learned about the cancer, how he felt about his few friends and relatives visiting him "Turn away, because I'm awful just to see...". This moment was the turning point, the start of a downward health spiral in his life. Mama comes immediately afterwards, and describes his mother's anguish as the young man went to fight a war. He talks about the war, about how he should have been a better son for his mother, and how guilty he feels. The war continues, but after it is complete, he has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from his experiences, which are described in Sleep. Where a tape recorder mentions "terrors", "tremors", and "feels as if somebody was gripping my throat". He sees "images of loved ones dying". Teenagers describes his feeling of fear towards others as a teenager. They scared "the living shit out of me" and the anguish he feels as a teenager is also described. He mentions sleeping with a gun for fear of his life, and gives hints of self harm. His memories are coming faster now, almost as if he is watching it on a screen, described in Disenchanted. He says "I hate the ending myself, but it started with an alright scene". The beginning of his life was fine, but the end was horrible, with the cancer, the war, and the pain of loss. The memories come faster, as this song seems to be chock full of them, as it mentions "the roar of the crowd" and "as we ran from the cops". Finally, we get to his very last thoughts in Famous Last Words. "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone...Nothing you can say can stop me going home." He is finally comfortable with where he has ended up, what has become of him. He is no longer afraid. I believe he has found some sort of spiritual peace and rebirth during his last few minutes, as he describes death as life. He is not afraid to keep on living, meaning he believes he will live on, but he is not afraid. He is going home, and nothing can stop him.

MY RATINGS:

Music: 8/10

Story: 6/10

Concepts: 9/10

Overall: 7.7/10

American Idiot: A Punk Rock Opera

Listen on Spreaker:
(Part One): http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/american-idiot
(Part Two): http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/american-idiot-part-two

If you were at all alive during 2004, you have probably heard of Green Day's smash hit album, American Idiot. Everything about this album, from the artwork to the story to the music, is top notch. it truly is a punk rock masterpiece, but it transcends punk music and becomes something more. Since its release it has become a centerpiece of alternative radio stations and even has been turned into a broadway musical. Here's the story. The album begins with American Idiot, a charged up, heavy anti-American anthem that screams punk. Then the story begins with the next track, broken up into several sections. Jesus of Suburbia/City of the Damned/I Don't Care/ Dearly Beloved/Tales of Another a Broken Home. Rolls right of the toungue, doesn't it? In all seriousness, this is one of my favorite songs on the album, and sets the stage for the entire story. We are introduced to our main character, Jesus, who is the self proclaimed "son of rage and love", who lives in the suburbs. Simply put, he cannot stand it. He needs something more, some excitement, something new. He visits the shopping mall and reads the graffiti on the wall, and it says that his town, The Center of the Earth, is the end of the world, meaning you can live and die in that suburb without ever really living. He says he could really care less, but he knows better. He needs out. He also mentions that "they say home is where the heart is but what a shame cause everyone's heart doesn't beat the same... It's beating out of time..." This is not where his heart is, this isn't for everyone. In the further sections, we will learn why. In I Dont Care, Jesus of Suburbia shows his apathy towards the suburbs and his home and where he lives. Dearly Beloved at first glance at the title would appear like a love song, but it is in fact, in my opinion, a sarcastic blow towards his parents. "I can't remember a word that you were saying" means he never listened to them, never took them seriously, and in the final section we learn why. Tales of Another Broken Home gives us the impression that he comes from one (a broken home). He finally iTunes away from the suburbs towards the excitement of the city, and he won't apologize for he feels no shame. Another thing: he brings followers, what I will call disciples, other individuals from similar situations. Next up is the anti-war Holiday, which is classic driving punk rock. Towards the story, it gives us Jesus' anti-war ideals. I can picture our character screaming into the rain, on his way to the city, all these dead ideas until hoarse. His followers slowly thin out until it is just Jesus remaining, walking the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. In this song, the main character now walks "a lonely road", the only one he has ever known, hardening back to how he always felt alone in his broken home, possibly abused by his parents and ignored by his peers. Then he sees the city: enter We Are The Waiting. I picture our hero standing, stunned, as the rain begins to slow as the city seems to rise up out of the mist and the fog. It gives a grand sort of feel to the city, he is awestruck: it is something he has never experienced before. When entering the city, he meets a new character: St. Jimmy. But here's the thing: St.Jimmy is merely Jesus' alter ego, not a new person, in my opinion. St. Jimmy is, for lack of a better word, a total punk badass. He also does drugs, nicknamed Novocaine by Jesus. Give Me Novocaine is a reference to Jimmy getting Jesus hooked on drugs, saying it is better than air. The next song opens up instantly, it's as if the girl, Whatsername, walks by and makes Jesus stop what he is doing, he is awestruck, how rebellious this girl is! She's a Rebel also has Jesus wondering aloud, "is she trouble like I'm trouble?". His alter ego, St. Jimmy, seems to gnaw at him, telling him not to fall for her, but it is too late. In Extraordinary Girl, we get a look into her mind and her life. "She's all alone again, wiping the tears from her eyes..." She has been hurt one too many times to feel love, she is hardened, cold. In Letterbomb she exposes St. Jimmy to be nothing more than "a figment of your fathers rage and your mothers love" and openly mocks him, which destroys him, in the radio show, I left out Wake Me Up When September Ends, as it does not, in my opinion, relate to the story, rather, it is a node to Billy Joe's late father. The second to last track is the longest on the album, clocking in at just under ten minutes. Homecoming/The Death Of St. Jimmy/East 12th Street/Nobody Likes You/Rock and Roll Girlfriend/Were Coming Home Again is the most important and in my opinion the best song on the album. It features the suicide of Jesus' alter ego after his exposure by Whatsername. He "blew his brains out into the bay" and it is described by Jesus as his "own private suicide". He is sitting at his new job filling out papers on East 12th Street, when he realizes he has to escape again. He cannot take the city, he realizes it is just like the suburbs. I draw a similarity to Born To Run here, as this Springsteen album is all about getting out, escaping, it is the motif, the theme of the album. I also see a biblical theme here. The death of St. Jimmy represents the death to self, but a spiritual rebirth for Jesus of Suburbia, in a sense, St. Jimmy dies, and takes all of Jesus of Suburbia's sins with him, cleansing him. Nobody Likes You harkens back to what Whatsername has said, echoing within Jesus' mind. Finally, in We're Coming Home Again, it is rather self explanatory, except that it references WE. Who is we? The answer, in my opinion, is all the experiences that Jesus has had in the city, coming home with him, making him a more complete person. It is as if he is dragging the dead body of St. Jimmy along with him as he treks back home. The album closes with Whatsername which has Jesus wondering if he will ever see her again, maybe he already did on the street the other day....

MY RATINGS-

Music: 9/10

Story: 9/10

Themes: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, In Narrative Form

First of all, thank you to Ryan Bassil for his interpretation of this album, you can find his interpretation at http://noisey.vice.com/blog/the-narrative-guide-to-kendrick-lamars-good-kid-maad-city. He inspired me to post the album in its narrative order rather than the given album order. That order is also found at that link.

The album is what I would like to call a "Rap Opera". The main character of this opera is K.Dot, a young man who lives in the thug-life city of Compton. The opening "scene" of this opera is the opening credits, so to speak, and Compton plays during these credits, minus the ending narrative section in which K.Dot grabs his mother's keys to the car and says he will be back in 15 minutes, as this happens later. The first real part of the story is the skit at the end of Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe in which one of K.Dot's "homies" pulls up to him and tells him he has some cigars and a beat CD, and K.Dot hops in the car, wanting to be one of the in-crowd. This begins Backstreet Freestyle, in which K.Dot is presumably freestyling over the beat CD in the car that he is picked up in. The Art of Peer Pressure begins, in which K.Dot describes how he does things he does not usually do when he is with his "homies", like drugs, alcohol, etc. in order to fit in. They had been camping a house for a couple of months and finally go in and rob it. They are pursued by the police, who make a wrong turn and K.Dot and company escape. The character of Sherane is introduced as the love interest of K.Dot, as his homies mention that K.Dot is probably going to "fuck on Sherane tonight". When K.Dot can no longer wait, he grabs his mother's car keys and says he will be back in 15 minutes (this is found at the end of Compton). Sherane AKA Master Splinter's Daughter then begins, and he describes how the two met and their relationship. By the end of the song, he has reached her house, but two figures in black hoodies confront him when he is about 250 feet away from Sherane's house, as his phone rings. It is his mother, telling him that he said he would be back in 15 minutes, that she needs to pick up the food stamps for food, and that K.Dot's father keeps asking for Domino's Pizza (which I find hilarious). Poetic Justice then plays, and by the end, we hear the two hooded kids giving K.Dot a hard time, and presumably he is beaten. The next day he reflects on what happened in the song Good Kid, saying that he got "eaten alive" last night and that he is an easy target. This is one of his revelations that perhaps the thug life of Compton is not for him. m.A.A.D City is next, and he describes an incident at a burger stand in his past in which he witnessed his friend killed by a rival gang. Then comes the skit after Money Trees, in which K.Dot's dad has forgotten (almost) about the Domino's pizza and his mother is aggravated and says she will just reschedule the appointment and she just wants her car back. When, after Swimming Pools, which is another reference to pressure to drink alcohol with his friends, his friends decide to enact revenge on the ambushers of K.Dot. As they make their plan and enact it, one of the gang, Dave, gets shot. This is the final piece of the pie for K.Dot, now fully transformed into Kendrick Lamar. Sing About Me/I'm Dying of Thirst is a final plea of Dave to sing about him when he is gone, but he dies before he can finish his sentence. The song switches to the viewpoint of a girl, Keisha's sister (Keisha is referenced on Lamar's first album, Special.80) who describes that she doesn't want anything to do with Kendrick anymore. Kendrick apologizes, and his transformation is complete after his neighbor sees him and his friends with guns, and asks them to pray and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is the final step toward Kendrick's enlightenment, and on Real he finally feels complete and comfortable with himself and who he has become. The "closing credits" as described by Ryan Bassil is Compton, which you can picture playing as the screen fades to black. The album is over, and Kendrick Lamar is born.

My Ratings -
Story: 7.5/10
Music: 9/10
Themes: 8/10
OVERALL: 8.2/10

LISTEN at http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/m-a-a-d-city (Part One)
and http://www.spreaker.com/user/djsteele/m-a-a-d-city-part-two (Part Two)

Welcome

Welcome to The Deep End, a blog and mirroring radio show dedicated to the meanings behind concept albums, songs, and album art. I bring you but one interpretation of these albums, but yours are always welcome in the comment section and through email. I look forward to diving into the meanings behind some of music's most meaningful albums.
To listen to the radio station, please visit the Spreaker profile at http://www.spreaker.com/show/the-deep-end