Shearwater - Home Life

Today's song is Home Life by the band Shearwater. It is from their 2008 album Rook. The band started out in 2001 as a side project of Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff of Okkervil River. Starting in 2005 Will Sheff lessened his role with the band, focusing mostly on Okkervil River, with Jonathan Meiburg taking over Shearwater as his main band. Since then they have released 3 new albums. If you enjoy the song, be sure to check them out live at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS on April 8.

The song is in a triple meter; I'm not sure of the exact time signature but it definitely has a waltz-feel. I really love the instrumentation in the song. The addition of the clarinet, strings, and piano to the traditional rock setup works really well for this song. The song builds up to a nice climax at 3:45, which is my favorite part of the song. I absolutely love the drums during the climax, and I think using the snare drum with the snare off was definitely the right choice.

When it comes to the lyrics of this song I am absolutely clueless on the meaning. I have been listening and staring at the lyrics for a good 30 minutes, and can't make any progress. What do you think the song is about?

Explosions in the Sky - Your Hand in Mine

Today's song is an instrumental song by the band Explosions in the Sky. It's titled Your Hand in Mine and is from their 2003 album The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place. They are a post-rock band, playing almost exclusively instrumental music, from Austin, TX. For most of their songs they use 3 guitars and a drum set.

This song is probably one of the band's more famous songs. A shortened version of it was featured in the film Friday Night Lights, following the inspirational half-time speech. It starts out with a single guitar, and throughout the song the two additional guitars and drums come in and fade out. I've always had a thing for songs with good vocal harmony, and after listening to this song quite a few times I think I may just have a thing for songs with good harmony in general. Most of the band's songs have harmonizing guitars, and I think this song especially is a good example of it.

There are no lyrics in this song, but I think there is still a lot of meaning to the song. In my mind the song conjures up a very strong feeling of hopefulness. I think this was probably their intention, as that is how the song was used in Friday Night Lights. I think the song title, Your Hand in Mine, is the idea of two people who care for each other, hand in hand, saying "we can do this." No matter what "this" is, they know they can accomplish it, and that is the great sense of hopefulness that I think this song brings about. For me, the biggest realization of this hope is between 6:09 and 7:48.

Ours - Live Again

Today's song is Live Again by the band Ours from their 2008 album Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy). They are led by singer Jimmy Gnecco, who has a singing voice reminiscent of Jeff Buckley. My friend Matt introduced me to this band several years ago, and I have since had the chance to see them live a couple of times.

The song starts out pretty intense with the drums and guitar followed by Jimmy's singing a bit later as the intensity dies down shortly, before building back up. This is a very good example of Jimmy's vocal capabilities and the power he puts into his singing. You can hear him doing all sorts of things on this song, as he is harmonizing with himself by doing multiple takes of his vocals and layering them. This harmonizing is especially apparent around 2:20. My favorite part is probably the intensely powerful scream at 3:26 following the musical buildup. It's simply spectacular, and even more so when heard live.

I'm having a bit of trouble analyzing the lyrics for this song; though maybe I'm just terrible at analyzing lyrics in general. I think it's supposed to be a hopeful song. It's about someone that has had a past full of depression and who is unable to feel. They have been stuck in a cycle of cutting, in an attempt to help, but it has only led to the cycle repeating itself. The lyrics suggest instead "forgive yourself and then you're gonna heal" and then this person can "live again".

Deer Tick - Smith Hill

Today's song is Smith Hill from the album Born on Flag Day, released in 2009 by Deer Tick. Deer Tick is a folk/blues/alt-country band from Providence, Rhode Island. They are led by singer-songwriter John McCauley who sings with a very growly/rough-sounding voice. I discovered this band while investigating the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup, and was able to see them perform live at the show. They will also be playing at the Jackpot Saloon in Lawrence, KS on April 11, so if you like this song be sure to check them out.

This song is in a 12/8 time signature with the hi-hat on the drums really pushing the waltz triplet feel. It starts out simple with a single guitar and vocals, and slowly adds additional instruments, with tambourine and bass guitar coming in second. Eventually the full band comes in with so many instruments blending together wonderfully. They have the traditional bass guitar, drums, and electric guitar, but there is also at least one violin during certain parts, and an acoustic guitar. One of my favorite things about this song are the sections of two-part vocal harmony between 1:21-1:52 and 2:22-3:18. The combination of the vocal harmony and all of the instruments give this song a very full sound.

Listening to the lyrics, I think the song is about someone that feels trapped in a small town. While he's been there he's "seen so many grow and die". Indicating to me that he has watched, as many friends have been able to escape the town; others not able to escape ultimately dying there. The lines "Or I could stand and give a toast / to those who made it out alive / It's you I'll miss the most" show that he is envious of those that were able to escape. It sounds to me like the person in this song had found his true love, but she was one of the people that was able to escape the town. He wants to leave the town to be with her, but he is too afraid, and it's much easier for him to hide.