CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
28th October 2011. HMV Forum, Kentish Town (The Town & Country, call it by its name)
What do I write about Bowling For Soup? Two awesome shows in a week. Saw them in Oxford on the 22nd, but didn't take any photographs. I also started writing an actual gig-report, then realised it was sort of redundant. Here's the short version:
Orange: Not for me, but the kids seemed to be enjoying them. Suburban Legends: Loads of fun, I was very impressed. Bowling For Soup: Excellent (as usual), even though the entire band and crew are (/have been) ill with this cold-thing thats been doing the rounds.
Anyway, I figured I'd post the photos I took at the London show. The principle's simple enough: Bad photographs look slightly less bad when they've been filtered through PolaDroid. Click on any of these to see the bigger version over at FacePage.
And big hugs to the awesome folks from the BFS Army who made it all even better:
I'm not saying that BFS have 'the best fans', but they're definitely the best people.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
And so, 2011 gives us the 11th studio album from Texas' Bowling For Soup, Fishin' For Woos.
This was originally going to be an EP released last October, but various issues pushed it back, and it became the new album. So as not to disappoint the fans too much, BFS released a few of the tracks early, staggered over ensuing months. We also found out that one of the tracks was a song they've been playing for a few years but never got to putting on an album. What this means is, it's hard to be objective about the whole album because I already know four of the tracks off by heart.
Anyhoo, here's a breakdown of Fishin' For Woos…
1. Let's Pretend We're Not In Love This was one of the preview tracks (via the street team). Love it to bits! Classic BFS, if not usual single-material, it's got a steady pounding beat, great melody and harmonies, and nicely flowing lyrics. This is a fave of mine now, and I look forward to seeing it live.
2. Girls In America Another corker. A fast, rocking track about the ladies of the USA. Again, classic BFS, harkening back to the days of Drunk Enough To Dance, with slightly lighter production. This will be another good one for the live shows if you feel like jumping around for three minutes.
3. S-S-S-Saturday This is the first proper single from the album. As a song it's pretty great, but personally I don't think it's one of the strongest tracks on the album. There's no doubt that it's a great live-anthem though (I saw BFS play two acoustic shows in April and it worked even in that setting). I'm not sure why it doesn't gel properly with me, but it almost feels too restrained for The Soup. Probably just me.
4. What About Us The first ballad of the album, and it's an instant attention-grabber. Again, the style of the song is classic BFS in the mould of Where to Begin and When We Die (I'm pretty sure that the three-word-combo / beginning-with-W is just a massive coincidence). Normally, this would be a stand-out, but there's a track later that trumps this, no matter how much I love it. Particularly liked the lyrical reference to losing keys in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. This was a tale that BFS' Jaret told on an episode of his podcast at the beginning of the year. It's easter eggs like that which geek me the fuck out.
5. Here's Your Freakin' Song From drama, straight to comedy, it's what BFS do best. This one's cut from the same cloth as Scaring Myself and Luckiest Loser, about a girl who's an absolute pain in the arse. With a steady tempo, it's a stomper rather than a jumper, and there are plenty of shouty sing-along lines as well as the title.
6. This Ain't My Day This one hasn't quite bedded in with me yet. Musically I love it, but I can't get my head around the lyrics because a lot of the verse-lines don't rhyme. Smashing chorus though, if a little wordy, and it'll be interesting to hear them play it live as that'll be inevitably faster, and it sounds pretty tight as it is…
7. Smiley Face (It's All Good) Another one that's growing on me but threw me off at first. It remind me of their rendition of 5 O'Clock World from the …Movies album. Also, I'm not sure what it's about, lyrically. It just seems a bit vague to me, and that's not their style. I'd say it's definitely an album-track, but what do I know? I still rate BFS album tracks above most band's singles, so make of that what you will.
8. Turbulence You know a BFS track is a keeper when you can sing along before the end of your first listen. This happened in Oxford and London in April; goosebumps both times - this song just fucking captivates me (and I know I'm not the only one). It's essentially a massive feelgood ballad. Musically, lyrically, just perfect. It's the band's next single, so you'll be able to look out the video soon.
9. I've Never Done Anything Like This This one was previewed through Jaret's podcast and is another one that just instantly clicked with me. The style of song is closer to their Hangover You Don't Deserve album. Ace melody, harmonies and tempo, and female vocals courtesy of Kay Hanley from Palmdale. Kay's vocals give the song that edge to push it above the other tracks on the album. This is another perma-fave for me.
10. Friends, Chicks, Guitars This was the first track to be released from the album (then, EP) back in Oct'10. As great as it is, I've listened it to death since then and it doesn't feel new at all. The only thing that bugs me about the song is that it's fast and wordy, making it difficult to sing along with. But BFS manage it live, and that's what's important.
11. Guard My Heart And this is the one we all know and love! Originally recorded back in '05 for the HBO movie Sardines, it made it onto that soundtrack, but never onto an official BFS release. It's long been a live-fave, and now it' s been re-recorded for this album with a much lighter production sound. This song's great, with the lyrics by bass player Erik being on the more introspective side.
12. Graduation Trip This has a different feel to the other BFS acoustic songs, and I can't quite pin down why. Not a bad thing, by any means, but different certainly. Again, it feels awkward lyrically in places, and while I like the song, it doesn't feel like a BFS song to me (yet). It seems closer in style to the People On Vacation project. Ah well.
BONUS TRACKS:
13. My Girlfriend's An Alcoholic (iTunes/Bandwear exclusive) Why didn't this make it onto the album? Reminiscent of Bipolar and Straight to Video, this is one of the best BFS songs that most people won't hear! It's an air-pounder and a great party-track. You can buy this on its own on iTunes (ie, it's not album-only). I recommend you go get this.
14. Dear Megan Fox (7" Vinyl exclusive) Again, a brilliant track! It reminds me of Other Girls (another b-side track). There aren't any Star Wars references on this album (hey, we got two last time round), but because of the subject matter, this song namechecks Megatron, and what the hell could be better than that?
15. Evil All Over The World (7" Vinyl exclusive) This is like a b-side to Girls In America. Again, a fast rocker, but reminding you that all of the great things said about chicks in GIA aren't exactly the whole story. Bonus points for an old-school metal feel for the whole song.
16. What About Us? (Acoustic) (from the SXSW4Japan album) One of the best things about BFS songs is that they generally work as well with an acoustic guitar as they do with a while band playing them. This song is no exception. This is available on iTunes and Amazon as a single track (or you can buy the whole album, it's for an excellent cause). You pretty much know what you're going to get with this, but that's enough for me to buy it.
All in all:
Some jaw-dropping tracks, some great ones, and some that I'm still waiting to bed-in. In all honesty, there are no sub-standard tracks on here, but the boys from Denton do occasionally out-do themselves.
You can buy the old fashioned compact disc from Amazon, HMV or Play. The ultra modern 12" vinyl for your gramophone player is also available at Amazon and HMV. The 7" single with tracks 14 & 15 (above) is on sale at Amazon and HMV . You could also use one of those olde tyme record shops (if you can find one) to buy your shiny discs of goodness.
If you're living in the 21st century and have no time for the clutter of physical items, you can get magic digital versions of the album from iTunes, Amazon, HMV and Play. Have fun unwrapping your confirmation e-mail, you soulless robot.
Track 14 is available from the ol' iTunes. Track 16 is also at iTunes and Amazon.
There are many, many more outlets selling Fishin' For Woos, but I have neither the time or patience to investigate and link to all of them. It's not difficult to find if you can type. Besides, I already gave you a shit-load of links, what do you want? Go buy the album!
Is it my favourite Bowling For Soup album? Afraid not. Does it have some of my favourite Bowling For Soup songs on?Fuck, yeah.
Best lyric: "It's not like I don't understand the ass of Kim Kardashian has powers beyond anyone's control".
Ace.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. This particular one also includes badly (if at all) researched scientific theories. Reader discretion is advised.
So, yeah. In case you didn't know, I'm part of the BFS Street Team, an online/physical promo-army for Bowling for Soup. We spread the word about how great the band are, have a great community, and in return get exclusive merch/content from the band, opporunities to meet them etc.
So a few weeks back, we got to ask the singer, Jaret, a question about the upcoming album, Sorry for Partyin'. He'd record a video answering a bunch of questions and one would get a prize. Now I've done a couple of web-chats with BFS, and my questions are always Star Wars based (I know, surprising, isn't it?). I've asked them if they could be any SW character which would they be, and if they could have any ship/weapon, which it would be.
The bizarre thing is, they always answer my SW questions. Maybe it's a generational thing, I'm around the same age as the band after all. Or maybe it's just a sign of how fantastic Star Wars is. It's definitely a sign of how fantastic BFS is, that's for sure.
So, back to a few weeks back. I asked two questions. The answers were put online in four parts. By the third part, I was no longer expecting my questions to be answered. Mainly because all of the q's by then had been perfectly valid, sensible questions O_o
My questions: 1) Are there any SW references on the new album, and if not, why not? Short answer, yes.
2) Did you all try on the Wena suit after the video shoot? Short answer, no.
So imagine my surprise/disbelief when this video cropped up on day four. My username on the site is Harrington, and I've edited this video down to just the bits relevant to this blog (it's meant to be an exclusive for the BFSarmy after all):
So yeah! The guys were going to send me a signed limited edition hand-screened 15th Anniversary poster, and the Tambourine of Death! The tambourine was found in the trash by Jaret, on the day they were in the studio recording No Hablo Inglés. This was also the day that Michael Jackson died. Were these incidents related? The tambourine may well have caused Jackson to die, then fled and took cover in the garbage. Or it could well be that when a callous studio-tech threw the tambourine into the bin and its jangly beat stopped, poor Michael's heart stopped as well. Like the picture of Dorian Gray, or the Grandfather clock in that old song. We'll never know.
The package arrived from Texas this morning, here's the poster:
And here's the Death Tambourine
By now, you either think this is seriously awesome, or you don't know what all the fuss is. Guess which one I think it is? Nothing else I can say now is going to change your mind, though. :P
So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Bowling for Soup, their techs, their roadies, and all the people that make the magic happen. You guys rule.
So pretty soon I can take to the streets in my shroud, scythe in one hand, tambourine in the other. Pruning humanity with only the rhythmic tinkle of bells as a warning. Jackson was only the first on my list...
Bwaha-ha-ha-ha-haaah!
Bowling for Soup are playing the UK in October, as part of their Party In Your Pants tour.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
CAUTION: Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
Pfff, six weeks. About half way I reckon, maybe just under? Being sober for this long has been the most boring part of my life to date. Not that I haven't enjoyed it, like, but I can't say that it's added anything to my life that wasn't already there.
It was my better-half's birthday last week. She went out with some friends for a few jars after work, and while I was allowed to drink, I just didn't fancy a night out. So, we ended up destroying several bottles of wine on Saturday night. I felt it kick in almost immediately.
I didn't get smashed, but I felt myself getting louder and sillier. As predicted, I also felt a... relaxation I'd been missing. But that said, it was still just a few glasses of wine with the in-laws, round at our place. No biggie, just a welcome break in the proceedings. I also slept late as usual on Sunday, so no trace of a hangover when I finally got up.
As I write this it's over a week later and I'm back to "not actually missing it that much". I'd still fucking love a bottle of Brown, but it's not on my mind all the time.
+++ +++
In other news, I've set up my Twitter account, and set up a new MySpace for me (as opposed to the band). Both of which social-networking ventures strike even me as unusual as I'm the most anti-social person I know. And no, I'm not self-centered enough to think that people care what kind of sandwich I'm having for lunch, it's more for me stalking celebrities etc, and for the promotion of...
Oh Yes! The boys from Denton are back! Bowling For Soup's new single, My Wena, precedes their album Sorry for Partyin', due out late September. I snagged a couple of VIP tickets for their show in Margate in October, which will be the seventh time I've seen 'em live.
If you haven't heard any Soup past Girl All The Bad Guys Want, I heartily recommend you pick up any album that's in the store. I find them all equally accessible, and while it's true that they've "got their own sound", I enjoy all of their stuff without it feeling repetitive (...last Oasis album anyone?).
Between the current flurry of BFS activity, and all of the Clone Wars news coming out of San Diego Comic-Con, the internet's keeping me fairly busy at the moment.
Too busy to miss beer? Who knows...
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
