Executive decisions are defined as “made and implemented by a person in power or of authority, esp. one without the agreement of others”, it also happens to be a so bad it’s awesome action movie from 1996 (check it out people. It has Kurt Russell as well as Steven Seagal’s shortest role ever). Shufflers, this morning I had to make an executive decision, one that totally holds the world in balance. One so important that if I chose incorrectly than I’m pretty sure things as we know them would be changed forever… well it wasn’t that major of decision but for our project it was pretty important. I was given two choices and I went with my gut on this one folks. God help us all, I went with my gut (sorry I’m having too much fun speaking like a character from 24).
Today I encountered a problem that took me a bit off guard. There are some albums, a lot of them happen to be hip-hop albums, where before the song starts there’s a bit of an intro. It’s like a prologue to the actual song. They tend to be short in nature and wet your appetite for what’s about to come. These songs are separate tracks though, they are not a part of the actual song. Considering the nature of the project here this could bring about some problems. So today when Jay-Z’s Interlude started playing I was put in a situation. The track comes in at like a 1:30 and there is nothing really to talk about. The beat is pretty good, it has this funk/r&b vibe to it (it’s very smooth), but there is nothing else besides someone talking about something I can’t hear really well. My immediate thought was “what the hell am I going to talk about with an intro”? It’s a part of music that generally doesn’t lend itself to a large discussion.
Intros can be fun but for the most part there is no substance. Like I said before it’s an appetite wetter, if we were in a restaurant this would be the soup (not the soup of the day just the soup). It’s getting you ready for the main course. Don’t get me wrong I love soup but sometimes I just want to skip to the main course, stop teasing me with soup. If I was picking my favorite music appetizer from the Intro menu it has to be the one from Aerosmith’s Get A Grip album. It leads perfectly into Eat the Rich and it sets the album off in the right direction. Maybe it’s the simplistic “rapping” of Steven Tyler or maybe it’s the brief Walk This Way riff at the end, but whatever it is it has always been a personal favorite of mine (I even went so far to put it on my Aerosmith playlist).
This about covers all I could talk about with an intro song. It’s a very limited topic. So this lead me to make a decision that could alter the foundation of A Year of Shuffling (sorry back to the 24 talk). I decided that song two would actually be the song of the day. So yes fellow Shufflers we get two songs today!!! (gasp) It just seemed like the right thing to do. I felt ripped off and I could only imagine how you guys would have felt if I posted the above paragraph as today’s post. It would be kind of lame. I feel that this will be a problem we will face throughout the course of the year. Just to establish the rules here, I think on repeat songs or songs that I have multiple live versions of, comedy bits, and intros I’m going to defer to the second song so there is actually something to write about. It seems to be the fairest way to do things to keep everyone happy, myself included.
Some of you might remember this song from a commercial about HD TV’s, others of you will know it because it’s awesome! First things first, Queen is incredible. So incredible in fact that it’s hard to put it in words. I Want to Break Free helps to showcase some of what makes them so amazing. Listen to Freddie Mercury’s voice, it’s an additional instrument to the band. He was just able to do things with his vocal that singers dream of doing. I’ve had an ongoing debate with friends on who has the best voice in rock ‘n’ roll. If you’re asking me I think it comes down to Robert Plant and Freddie Mercury. The two of them just stand out above all the rest because their voices are just as important to the sound the band creates as the lead guitarist solo, these guys are not just the narrator of lyrics. I believe Mercury has a slight edge though. His voice just takes control of each track, and I’d rather hear him sing on a song then hear that songs guitar solo. Plant had Jimmy Page as his right hand and who wouldn’t want to hear Page jam out? As much as it was about Plant’s vocal it is just as much about Page’s guitar. It’s a tough debate and a lot of it depends on what mood you’re in I suppose.
I Want To Break Free is a love song that hinges on the hope of being comfortable enough to actually feel and express love. The person in the song knows that they’re in love but they don’t know how to show it, and when their lover expresses it they want to return the favor in full. I think the breaking free is being able to become open with yourself and properly express the feelings you have. It’s a song that is encouraging you to not be afraid of love but to embrace it. I’m not really sure how to describe it really. It’s a powerful message that I think today’s youth could use. In a time where it’s tough to have people to look up to and there is so much negativity in media, a song like I Want To Break Free could serve hope to those young ones who feel like nothing is going to happen for them. Say what you will about Lady GaGa but one thing she does promote is love who you are and be true to yourself. These are important messages for the young and impressionable to hear. No matter how crappy things may seem or how hard people can be on you, don’t shy away from what makes you happy because you deserve it. We need more lyrics like that in music.
See aren’t you guys glad we did two songs today? Who knows what tomorrow will bring…
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