A Song-by-song Review of 311's Uplifter.
I know this is not "Why I'm an Idiot" fart 7 or whatever, but I don't care. That post is coming, and this one needs to be done. Today is the one-year anniversary of the release of Uplifter and in three posts-time (roughly a month, at my rate,) this post will most (likely) be remembered as "retarded," and "non-canon.*") Information found in previous posts do still apply, however. Deal with it.
ANYWAY, this is a review of 311's NINTH studio album, Uplifter, (technically) released June 2, 2009. I will review (sometimes at length, sometimes with one or two words) each track, followed by a short overall analysis. This is my first attempt ever at something like this, so just bear with me. Yes, it is playing right now, thank you for asking. Also, I had an extra week, as it leaked the last week of May before release, and I downloaded the shit out of it. Obv.
Here we go.
Hey You. Ok, so in February or so, 311 released this video, and it made me lol. It also got me mildly excited for this song. Then the album came out, and this song opens it. Overall, it's catchy. The riff is really neat, but it's lifted (no pun intended - Ed.) straight out of "Don't Tread On Me," (Don't Tread on Me.) The first thing I notice about this song is that Chad's drums sound terrible, and that if Nick keeps singing about how great everything is, I might throw up. There are some nice moments here, and the song is indeed quite catchy (and then Nick shouts "MUSIC!" at the tail end of it, and I skip to "It's Alright,") and the stop-time during the last chorus is awesome. I probably may not have opened the album with this track, but I guess it makes a decent single.
It's Alright. Chris gave me the best review of this song a while back: "Yeah, there is nothing tangibly good about this song." Done. I didn't get a chance to mention this previously, but the vocal line for the chorus is in the same rhythm as the guitars. WTF is that? Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.
Mix It Up. This song starts out promising, sounding like it could fit on Transistor, then Nick starts singing... and never really stops. He's really just saying the same shit over and over and over. Kinda reminds me of my dad. The vocal line of the chorus is similarly boring as above (starting to notice a trend here) and the song never really climaxes the way it totes could.
Golden Sunlight. I. Love. This. Song. I really can only describe it as "epic," and "awesome." The hook is gentle, as is Nick's singing, and though the song is CLEARLY directed at Nick's wife and his soon-to-be daughter, these lyrics seem legit, and not... the same old shit. The heavy guitars that accompany the chorus make this a pretty distinctly old-school 311 song, and whatever they did to the drum kit for this song they should have kept. When chorus 2 makes an appearance, it almost always gives me chills, as well as SA's epic breakdown in the bridge, which clearly was taken from what probably would have been a terrible song. I am going to use this in a marching band show as my ballad. Book it. Great song.
India Ink. This is another song that got myself and fellow BBers excited. The riff is familiarly 311, yet unique in it's own right. Then Nick fucks it up by singing again (another trend?) The change in the riff is cool, perhaps I would have capitalized by changing the verse a little bit, but whatevs. The chorus defines the word "lame," and just when you are about to give up hope... is that... a sitar? IT IS A SITAR. "Oh, so that's why it's called 'India Ink.'" The bridge is OK, but IT'S STILL THE SAME LYRICS. Then it ends, and it doesn't matter.
Daisy Cutter. I definitely feel like I should like this song more, I don't really know why I don't. It has an interesting opening, and the drum entrance is my second favorite musical moment of the whole album. I guess this song just falls into the category of, "Once You've Heard the First Verse and First Chorus, You've Heard the Whole Song." Because it's true. And the bridge is lame. Yeah, now I remember.
Too Much Too Fast. Well, they got this one half right, I guess. This song is not too fast, but it is most definitely too much. SA does some good singing, but my guess is that Nick wrote the lyrics. FML.
Never Ending Summer. This is the song I would have opened the album with, and indeed, 311 opened every show of their summer tour with this song. I guess? It's a neat little anthem. The song is totally not even worth it until miT's EPIC guitar solo during the bridge. So good, it's a screamer unlike anything he's done in a while (Thanks, Bob Rock.)
Two Drops in the Ocean. There's really no need for you to listen to this song.
Something Out Of Nothing. The intro is familiar ("Freeze Time," from Soundsystem) and the riff is decidedly badass, as is SA's rapping on this song. And, if you can hear the chorus without listening to it, it's pretty neat. The lyrics to the chorus were CLEARLY written by Nick (please stop) but this time around it's not enough to ruin the song. A short solo by Tim saves it. His second solo (which follows the second verse and chorus) saves it further, and is far superior to the first one. This song would be the nuts on Guitar Hero. Not bad.
Jackpot. This riff is so weird that it's awesome. (Woo!) This song was obviously written to be played live. Nick is rapping again, and not about his wife, which makes me happy. This is overall a good song, but the chorus is borderline super-lame. There is a lot to this song that is really really good, but the chorus comes close to ruining it all. Again, if you can hear the chorus and not listen to it, this is a great song; there are a lot a lot of distinct 311 things in here, and it's exciting to hear that they're still capable of maturing, but still writing an old-school track.
My Heart Sings. We know, Nick. Go solo, so I don't have to listen to it.
I Like the Way (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track). The lyrics to this song are actually pretty fun to sing. I don't know why this is a bonus track, it fits right in with the album: cool instrumental, lame chorus lyrics, a bridge that's just not enough... not enough to call it great, but good enough that you wouldn't call it bad.
Get Down (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track). Finally, a song with some depth. You can't listen to this song and not know why it's a bonus track: it's good. Truth be told, the first time I heard this song, about 20 seconds in, I was like, "Yeah, I don't like this song," AND SKIPPED IT. Then, next listen through (roughly an hour later,) I let it play through, and found out that IT FUCKING ROCKS. This song would fit on ANY of 311's first 4 albums, most likely Transistor. The progression of the song is great, and the message isn't the same shit from the rest of the album. And, thank God, they FINALLY made good use out of the bridge.
How Long Has It Been (iTunes Album Pre-Order Bonus Track). Not long enough. This song is not good.
Sun Come Through (Amazon.com Bonus Track). People give this song a hard time, but it is very clearly the best song on the album. Everything about this song is effing awesome. I'll just let you listen to it. It's a great step in a great direction, and I hope much of what 311 still has to offer is in said direction.
OVERALL ANALYSIS. I listen to this album a lot, but I don't really know why.
*The only exception being that I've abandoned the Songs in Italics and "Albums in Quotations," because I'm an idiot. Go ahead and reverse that. Kthx.
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