So in the Year of Our Lord 199..8? 9? 2000? I was in this band called Medication. It featured myself on guitar and mouth organ, Chris Hill and Brandon Dalida from Mercurial Rage on bass and lead guitar, respectively; Marc Iwanin on drums; Jesse Peterson on rhythm guitar; and Allison Hill on backing vocals.
And boy howdy did we sound like Oasis. No kidding. I mean, okay, sometimes we sounded like the Verve, and sometimes we sounded like Doves and sometimes we sounded like Travis, but those bands all kind of sound like Oasis anyhow and really, in the final analysis, we sounded like Oasis. A lot.
It didn't stay that way, though -- at some point about halfway through the band's run I went insane and told everybody hey, guess what, we're going country now. And I wrote a whole bunch of country songs and brought 'em to the band, and we did them and baffled the crowd and everybody said "Jon, we're not doing this fucking country stuff anymore, okay?" And so then I wrote a whole bunch of psychedelic dark shit that sounded like Brian Jonestown Massacre and it was pretty effing cool and then we broke up the band. As usual.
But this song is an artifact from when we sounded, y'know, like Oasis. Except the thing is, you can totally hear where Chris Hill and I were listening to "Echoes" by Pink Floyd a lot in the early 90s and smoking too much dope because in the middle of the song it suddenly flips into "Echoes" mode and turns into Pink Floyd before I start Liam Gallaghering it up again at the end. "Nya nya nya nya" indeed. Lordy.
But anyway, its kind of a nifty track, even though it does totally sound like Oasis. Download it here. It's from Radio K's "Off The Record" program, live in the studio.
(Oh, PS: I never wrote lyrics in those days. I just didn't. I wasn't in a terribly confessional mode -- not like now, anyway -- and anyway, all I'd have to write about was my miserable failing marriage, and at the time I didn't feel like letting anybody know I was in a miserable, failing marriage and so I just wrote gibberish, and frequently sang the same verse twice. You'd think if you were going on the radio you'd at least try to FLUFF some lyrics, and write SOMETHING to sing, but I didn't even. I sang gibberish. The same gibberish. Twice. Brilliant.)
(PSS: Going back and relistening, I was at least trying to cry for help. "I feel my life passing by, I watch my soul hit the sky, but there's nothing left to do but try, and don't look back." Even when I sing gibberish, I can't help but wear my heart on my sleeve. Sheesh.)
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4 comments:
Yes you sang subliminal gibberish twice. I had given up trying to help write verse by then, like I used to back in the shag and L9. There was someone else in the band who I won't mention who drove me nuts always trying to exert creative control but never really doing anything. That's why I said fuck it, I'll write my own goddamned songs. I can succeed at not getting any respect from local radio on my own.
We did sound good though. And we did the country later with L9 phase 3. Sigh. I didn't want the band to break up when it did, but it was really already dead wasn't it? Well anyway I stole Minneapolis' best guitar player out of the deal, so yay for me. I rule!
That was so much fun for me though. I was honored just to be able to finally play with you guys after years and years of dutifully standing front and center in the Entry.
I like this, especially the fact that it's so resigned with "love's not suicide" and "don't look back" stance..but then you always make the melody on the chorus sound uplifting, especially with the nice backup vocals.
Oh wow, this is real smooth. I'm not sure if this would be the right word, but that melody is delicious.
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