The Music Journal: Entry #5

8/3/09

Kansas “Point of Know Return”

Kirshner Records

Today at work, mostly just to be funny, I put on “The Best of Kansas”. I thought it would annoy some customers or something…turned out it just annoyed me and the rest of my co-workers. We almost listened to the whole thing, though. Most of their output is complete shit, but I must say that I really like the song “Point of Know Return”. It’s gotta be their best song. “Carry on Wayward Son” is good, but it’s so overplayed nowadays. That little keyboard hook on the chorus of “Know” is just fucking badass—I’m not gonna try and get all analytical about this one. I just like it.

The Redwalls “Hung Up On The Way I’m Feeling”

Capitol Records

“Hung Up on the Way I’m Feeling” came up on shuffle during the car ride to KC when Katie and I were on our way to Screenland to see “Inglorious Basterds”. Katie said she felt the lead singer had a very distinct voice; I said he sounded exactly like John Lennon. She then said that since John Lennon is no longer making music, it can still be distinct because no one else sounds like him anyway (score another one for the ladies). Regardless of whether or not The Redwalls sound EXACTLY like the Beatles (which they do), is that really a bad thing? If you’re going to emulate something, you gotta set your standards pretty high, anyway. In that sense, The Redwalls are working from the highest tier. And this song, in particular, is gorgeous. It’s almost a combination of two late-Beatles Lennon classics, “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Sun King” (which are inherently similar anyway), fusing the bluesy wordiness of the former with the laid-back dreaminess of the latter.

Non-music-related points of interest: Work work work. Finished cleaning the office and all of my laundry, which took forever. Basement is flooding—some drain is clogged up—that was a lot of fun. Saw “Inglorious Basterds” and really, really dug it, especially the scene in the cinema. Wiley finally got a bath.

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