Author Archives: Lav G.

SIngle Review and Analysis: Neutron Star Collision [Love is forever]

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Throughout the winter season, a song that caught my attention is Neutron Star Collision [Love is Forever] by Muse. This Single was released on May 17th, 2010, and was not immediately popular when it was first announced, and later released. However, it did gain a resurgence of popularity in 2013.

This song stands out to me due to its piano usage at the beginning of the song in the first verse. The piano is accompanied by the vocalist, Matt Bellamy. Bellamy’s usually strong, bold, dramatic vocals begin with a more gentle, slower, approach than usual. Bellamy then picks up speed and adds more projection in his voice during the pre-chorus, then slows back down in the last line, “With no trace of fear that.”

Picking up from the last line in the pre-chorus, the Chorus continues with, “Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together.” The vocals become increasingly stronger and more emotional, further portraying the anguish Bellamy possibly felt while reflecting on his recent breakup of the time. Finally, at the end of the Chorus, the instrumentals are completed with an added electric guitar which is essentially motif of the band during this era.

This section of the song focuses on the build-up of tension and the expression of intense feelings. Emphasis is added to phrases and words to get the message across to the listeners. My favorite component of the song is the guitar usage that conveys and maintains emotion alongside the vocals. The fluctuations in speed also make the song all the more appealing.

In the 2nd verse, the tempo is increased from the Chorus preceding it, holding a steady yet quick pace. This adds contrast and variety to the verses. Following, the pre-chorus brings back build-up by dragging out words and slowing back down again in the last line, similar to the previous pre-chorus.

This section ends with the Chorus being extremely similar to the last, nevertheless, there are small yet impactful differences in phrasing. The first Chorus refers to “Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together. Lie, I said never. ‘Cause our love would be forever.” However, in the second chorus, Bellamy changes to “Love is forever. And we’ll die, we’ll die together. Lie, I said never. ‘Cause our love could be forever.” This single has been incredibly interesting to analyze since there are so many shifts in both mood and details. These changes stand out to me significantly, especially when looking at the lyrics carefully.

Ending the song is a guitar solo followed by the pre-chorus, chorus, and outro. The solo mimics the second verse. The sound of the guitar is high-pitch with echos and a very electric sound. Muse’s music is very appealing to me because of this aspect. My favorite part of their songs are always their guitar solos because of how they find ways to vary the sounds while still fitting the mood of the song.

After the solo is the final pre-chorus. This final pre-chorus references the first, copying it almost exactly but has now changed the message. The singer goes from using diction that details a desperate feeling, saying “I had nothing left to lose.” to “Now I’ve got nothing left to lose.” which further represents the changes that have undergone in the relationship. It also does a great job at subtly showing passage of time, going from past tense to present. We can also conclude that there is a new sense of independence and confidence when comparing lines from the first pre-chorus “Then we told each other. With no trace of fear that…” to the last pre-chorus “I can tell you now. Without a trace of fear…”

Last, the chorus is very similar to the previous choruses, making some slight changes to represent the passage of time and changed feelings. These small changes make a very large impact on the deeper meaning and truly show how people gradually move apart and fall out of love. The subtle changes may also represent how changes in a partner may not be noticeable due to being used to being around them so often, making differences in feelings and character difficult to pick up on.

Closing, The outro of the song shares characteristics with the beginning of the song. This can be seen even in the music video, where in the intro Bellamy is seen playing alone on a piano with slow, gentle vocals. The intro and outro being similar in style ties together the song even with all the variety within it. Overall, this song is one of my favorites and I never get tired of hearing it come up on my playlist.

EP Reveiw: Tremolo

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My all-time favorite band has got to be My Bloody Valentine, and during the winter their dreamy tone feels just right with the cold weather. While looking for something new to listen to, their EP Tremolo caught my eye due to its interesting composition of the cover and choice of colors.

Since I already knew I enjoyed both their older and more recent albums, I thought listening to their EPs would be interesting and I could possibly gain a new favorite. My Bloody Valentine is very instrumental-oriented and might not be for everyone, but if you’re a fan of experimental and hazy music I would definitely recommend giving them a listen if you haven’t already. A good album to start off with is Loveless. It is their most popular album and could be appealing to a variety of music enjoyers.

To Here Knows when

First on the EP is To Here Knows When. What I noticed immediately about this track is that it was also featured on the album Loveless. Overall there are no major differences between the two releases besides a 30-second extension on the recording. This extension adds to the outro of the song with a peaceful and serene mood with the usage of a synthesizer and a variety of sampled instruments creating diverse tones. Generally what I find most appealing in the track is the humming and peaceful vocals in contrast to the louder more convoluted instruments paired in the background.

Swallow

The track Swallow is extremely unique. It was unlike any other track I had heard up until this point and the samples used in their piece are incredibly unique. When further researching the samples used in the song, I learned that the unique sound of percussion and wind instruments came from a Turkish Belly dance song that the band members had found on a cassette tape. Overall, this song comes off to me as tranquil and I find the versatility admirable.

Honey Power

The track that stood out to me the most and ultimately became my favorite from the EP was Honey Power. The strong, layered, loud guitar paired with the usage of drums gave a fast, yet appealing tempo and sound. This combination is what I found captured me during my listening. The shift from rough instrumental to quite gentle vocals during the verses provided a contrast that is overwhelmingly appealing to my own personal taste. As I’ve gotten to experiment with different genres of music over the years I’ve found that songs with stark contrasts are almost always my favorite. The ending of the song is also very peaceful and relaxing with soft vocals and a soothing background.

Moon Song

Ending the EP is Moon Song. With a slow tempo in both instrumental and vocals, it serves as a very good closing of the tracklist and fits the dreamy tone that is present throughout the EP. The messy guitar and chimes truly represent a state between reality and dream, while simultaneously giving a shimmery image to the song. The initially confusing composition is tied together with the percussion, giving a somewhat tropical feel to the song. Concluding, the unique sound of the track and the variety of sounds used to convey a soothing feel is remarkable.

Conclusion

This EP really shows the creativity and flexibility of the band when it comes to instrumentals, which can be seen from the variety of samples to the unique usage of guitar by vocalist and lead guitarist Kevin Sheilds. In the future, I plan to look into more of their EPs and singles throughout this winter season and find my perfect winter song. I would most definitely recommend those who enjoy shoegaze, alternative rock, noisy instrumentals, enchanting sound, and fuzzy music to give Tremolo a try.

Shin Splint Recovery

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shin splints

During Track season, I have found a recurring issue that comes back around the same time every year, and that issue is both shin splints and soreness. To fix this problem I have started my journey of using a variety of techniques both individually and in combination with other methods listed.

  • Proper warmup/cooldown and agility stretching

Proper warmup/cooldown and stretching are essential for any runner who wants to avoid injury. From my experience, however, you should not rely on warmups or stretches alone to avoid or get rid of shin splints and soreness. This method works best to prevent further or new injuries, shin splints, and soreness when it is in combination with good running technique, other injury recovery methods, proper breaks between reps, and listening to your body. Nevertheless, this does not in any way mean that warmup/cooldown and agility stretches should be neglected because they don’t show immediate results. In the long run, a good warmup with agility stretches will get your body ready for plenty of running exercises. And a proper cooldown will prevent build up of soreness and tense feeling in your body.

  • Hand Massage

Overall, I did not find hand massages very effective in my recovery journey. However, this may be due to my massages being done at home with not much information. If you are looking into hand massages I recommend going to a sports massage therapist directly or talking to your schools sports trainer for tips on shin splints, injuries, or soreness. In the future I plan to try hand massages out again after finding more information on this technique.

  • Foam + handheld Rollers
foam roller
handheld roller

Foam rollers and handheld rollers have been one of the most useful items I’ve used for recovery and injury prevention. I definitely recommend getting a foam roller if you can. When I was recovering from soreness over winter break I used a foam roller to roll out. Over the next couple days with the use of a roller, the soreness went away very quickly and effectively. Foam rollers are very good for large muscle groups while handheld rollers may be better for more specific and smaller groups of muscles.

  • Ice Packs and Muscle Sleeves
ice packs for shins

Ice packs and muscle sleeves are good injury recovery items in order to reduce inflammation in muscle groups. Ice packs have proven to be very effective on my shin splints. Over the past couple of weeks of trying out ice packs my shin splints have gotten noticeably better and don’t get in the way of my workouts as much as they did before I used ice packs.

While using shin splint sleeves I have found that they provide good support, compression, and reduction of inflammation. I would however, definitely recommend that if you are going to use ice packs or shin sleeves, to combine them with another technique of recovery/prevention for a more effective and consistent result.

EP/ Album Review: All Creatures Great and Small

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During my winter break, I’ve had time to indulge in my hobbies, one of which is listening to music. I enjoy expanding the types of music I listen to and an artist who has piqued my interest as of late is Jesse Welles. Welles has started to gain popularity due to his bold statements and blunt messages he sends through his songs on all platforms including but not limited to, TikTok, Instagram, and Spotify. One of the most recent EP (standing for extended play) releases that have been released by Welles is “All Creatures Great and Small”. The EP centers around the environment’s condition, humans, and a variety of creatures. The first of these tracks is “Bugs”.

Bugs

Beginning, “Bugs” was first seen as a single and short Tik tok, Instagram, and Youtube prior to the release of “All Creatures Great and Small”. However, there is not a large difference between the single release and EP release. “Bugs” has a similar feel to a children’s song, it has a silly and “bouncy” feel. 

The thing that stood out to me the most was the “Bzz” bridges, my reasoning for this standing out is that Welles tends to have a very serious tone in a large majority of his prior releases. This “Bzz” comes off as out of character for Welles especially since it is the first song of the EPs and contrasts strongly with his other messages/songs if you were to listen to his other work before listening to “Bugs”. 

Trees

Up next on the tracklist is “Trees”. Welles’s message in this track is to show appreciation for trees which usually go dismissed. Lines such as “You tell me your favorite, I’ll tell you mine. I like the tall ones, short ones, ones with great big roots,” illustrates Welles’ appreciation for nature and its variety. This track has a slow relaxed feel while still being slightly witty similar to his previous work. This can be seen in the line “Tree’s probably smarter than me and you”. The overall message of this song is to show how useful trees are for everyone and everything whether we, the listener, realize it or not. The general feel and tone of the track are enjoyable and I find myself singing the song throughout the day.

Turtles

Third on the EP is “Turtles” which covers the variety of abilities turtles have. Although the majority of people may view turtles as just slow creatures who are in need of help, Welles paints turtles as independent and determined animals. 

One of my favorite factors of this track is the lines “Turtles, ooh-oh-oh Turtle time” leading into a harmonica solo. I find this lead-up and solo to be very charming, and special, and serves as sort of a sparkle to the song to make it stand out giving it a quirk in a sense. This track is calm and informative about the struggles and strengths of the turtles’ everyday life.

Previously I viewed turtles mostly as sensitive and in danger but listening to this track has shown me that turtles are more than just their struggles. Not only are turtles more than their struggles, but they also need the same resources as us although they may physically look different turtles are just like everyone else as said by Welles “They need clean water and clean air, About the same things as we need up here.” I see that this track can help others be more open-minded to turtles and value them further than just struggling animals.

Squirrels

Fourth on the tracklist, and my personal favorite, is “Squirrels”.The overall composition of the song is incredibly enjoyable evoking an energetic and busy feeling with the quick pace of the guitar and chime of harmonica popping up throughout the song. This rhythm paired with the lyrics paints a picture of curiosity and adventure perfectly encapsulating the jumpy and fast life of a squirrel. Similar to the previous tracks “Squirrels” describes the intricate lives of squirrels, although we may only see the for short amounts of time they are just as equally busy, enthusiastic, and passionate as humans. We can see this theme of animals serving a purpose for themselves and the world, along with themes of appreciation and equality between humans and nature all throughout “All Creatures Great and Small”. Although squirrels may seemingly be lost as described by Welles Squirrels “You ain’t ever gonna find all them nuts. All froze up in the middle of the road. Can never decide which way to go.” They still continue to live on and find joy in their lives similar to humans finding happiness while passing through hardships. I find this song to be enchanting with its usage of different techniques while Welles backs up his vocals with his guitar to mimic a squirrel’s chattering of teeth. This extremely unique variety of sound makes this song stand out the most to me along with the announcement of squirrels besides the chattering. Not only did this song stand out to me, but it also got me to look more into the vast sounds squirrels make and why they do it.

Autumn

Fifth on the track is “Autumn” which was released alongside “Bugs” as a single before its release on EP and similarly to “Bugs” does not have any major differences between its single and EP release. Generally, the feeling I got from this song was a comforting and warm home feeling matching perfectly with the title. A slow yet quick pace of the guitar also produces a feeling of progression and confidence. I can also sense a scene of close connection and familiarity with lines such as “I wish you could see what my eyes see. As the summer slips out of view. Time’s gonna take me, baby, just as I am. It’s autumn here, how about you?”. These lines remind me of wishful thinking that you could spend a moment with someone dear to you when seeing a beautiful sight. This song also serves wonderfully as a representation of “The Road Back” similar to the way the hero’s journey usually flows. The journey painted by Welles is full of appreciation and new information. 

For example, the references to past tracks such as “As the squirrels squirrel away what they can for each day. For the old man is getting along” and ”The bugs of the summer grow quiet with wonder” wrap up the lessons learned and new experiences made throughout the story told by Welles. 

Whales

Concluding with the EP is “Whales”. Overall I find the choice of animal for concluding the song of the EP as a whale to be very fitting with the themes of open-mindedness and equality towards nature. Whales tend to symbolize peace and wisdom, and with further research, I have found that turtles also serve similar symbolism. These common characteristics and tiny details shared between tracks make the wrap-together of the EP between the closing song and the previous track all the more effective. With the messages of sensitivity towards whales’ purposes and environment, we can deduce that Welles truly wants the listener to take something away from the EP and see that it is not just music but a representation of everyone and everything’s struggles and that humans and nature are not as different as we think. Not only can we acknowledge each other’s similarities, we can also acknowledge the responsibilities we as humans have. Welles questions what will happen if we let nature go to ruins as seen with these lines “If the rivers turn to mud and blood. And cease to be, and naught to run. And the ocean loses all its air. And turns to plastic everywhere. To where will all the wisdom go?” This usage of rhetorical questions serves as a way for the listeners to think of their actions on a greater scale, not centered just on themselves but also on the beauty of nature although we might not completely understand it.

Conclusion

Ending the EP I would give the story/overall theme a 10/10. These themes match perfectly with his previous work and the pre-established messages he wishes to send with his art. The new direction of tune and delivery is new and almost breathtaking. I find it incredible how Welles impresses me with each new release and I can’t wait for more. In the meantime, I plan to listen to more releases and review them at a later date. Not only do I plan to listen to his online releases, but I also plan to see him live. Jesse Welles has certainly caught my attention and I recommend him to anyone open to new perspectives on the environment, the current changes within the world, and people who are fond of folk/punk music.