Pop Goes Nintendo
Nintendo and videogames as a cultural phenomenon.(a.k.a. The blog formerly known as Ei Ei Poo: Enter the mind of a Monkey Ball Addict)
July 2008
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- Name: Ben Wood
- Location: Ottawa, Canada
- Favorite Game(s): Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Favorite Developer(s): Nintendo, Ubisoft, Atlus
Blog
Apr 10th, 2007Them Vs. You Vs. Me
I didn't know who Finger Eleven were until I was carving my way down the first few levels of 1080º Avalanche, which featured a couple of tracks from their third album. As my interest in them pushed beyond Good Times and Other Light, I went out and bought the self-titled album and was treated to track after track of awesomely written and arranged music. I found it surprising that these guys didn't really start turning heads until the big single from Finger Eleven, One Thing, hit the radio. Finally over three years and three games later (and a concert for me, they're really good live by the way), the rock band from Southern Ontario is back with Them Vs.You Vs. Me.
Paralyzer, both the first track and single from TYM is infectious. I love it, but the first thing I wondered after listening to the admittedly dance-driven song was whether the whole offering would push closer to mainstream pop than what Finger Eleven have done in the past. Finger Eleven certainly push and experiment more with melody on TYM, but they don't lose that rock edge that they do so well and that lead singer Scott Anderson is so great at pulling off with his voice.
There's a lot of diversity here. For every slower Window Song ("Wait ‘til it rains again / And I write all the words / That I never said / To you") and Change the World ("I won't be sorry if you leave me girl / ‘Cause I'm the biggest fan of clichés / I'll set you free then I'll love like I'm not / Hurting in the world's worst ways"), Them Vs. You. Vs. Me offers something with bit of sonic edge, like Falling On ("Don't let your courage get dissolved / Cause it's then that the fear grows") and So-So Suicide ("Don't bother pretending / That I seem fine / I'm trying to confess / I can't stand it much longer / In me head / But it's not time for bullets").
I think this balance does what so many in the music scene find really hard to do, which is to create something that will grow their audience while at the same time keeping their current fanbase happy and hungry for more. Lyrically and melodically, TYM is more accessible to a wider audience, but is still rockin' and hinting at the familiar. This is coming from someone who has a copy of Letters from Chutney (a CD they made as Rainbow Butt Monkeys before renaming themselves Finger Eleven).
Then there's the CD jacket (the part I love so much about getting a CD). TYM uses very stylized silhouettes of the band members playing their various instruments with simple splattery, colour-saturated backdrops. It's visually stunning, just like the cover.
I haven't been following music lately, but Them Vs. You Vs. Me is a great rock album, and a great starting point to get to know Finger Eleven. Do yourself the favour. They're definitely a band to be watching for this year.
Paralyzer, both the first track and single from TYM is infectious. I love it, but the first thing I wondered after listening to the admittedly dance-driven song was whether the whole offering would push closer to mainstream pop than what Finger Eleven have done in the past. Finger Eleven certainly push and experiment more with melody on TYM, but they don't lose that rock edge that they do so well and that lead singer Scott Anderson is so great at pulling off with his voice.
There's a lot of diversity here. For every slower Window Song ("Wait ‘til it rains again / And I write all the words / That I never said / To you") and Change the World ("I won't be sorry if you leave me girl / ‘Cause I'm the biggest fan of clichés / I'll set you free then I'll love like I'm not / Hurting in the world's worst ways"), Them Vs. You. Vs. Me offers something with bit of sonic edge, like Falling On ("Don't let your courage get dissolved / Cause it's then that the fear grows") and So-So Suicide ("Don't bother pretending / That I seem fine / I'm trying to confess / I can't stand it much longer / In me head / But it's not time for bullets").
I think this balance does what so many in the music scene find really hard to do, which is to create something that will grow their audience while at the same time keeping their current fanbase happy and hungry for more. Lyrically and melodically, TYM is more accessible to a wider audience, but is still rockin' and hinting at the familiar. This is coming from someone who has a copy of Letters from Chutney (a CD they made as Rainbow Butt Monkeys before renaming themselves Finger Eleven).
Then there's the CD jacket (the part I love so much about getting a CD). TYM uses very stylized silhouettes of the band members playing their various instruments with simple splattery, colour-saturated backdrops. It's visually stunning, just like the cover.
I haven't been following music lately, but Them Vs. You Vs. Me is a great rock album, and a great starting point to get to know Finger Eleven. Do yourself the favour. They're definitely a band to be watching for this year.
