The band: The Bravery
The blurb: We're back on this side of 'the Pond' this week to talk about the Bravery, an American made band from New York City (New York City!?).
Shamelessly stolen from wikipedia (hence the rampant linkage):
Frontman-songwriter Sam Endicott and keyboardist John Conway were classmates at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY in the late '90s. As freshmen, their musical partnership began inauspiciously, playing local bars in mock-ska band Skabba the Hut, which also included CSI: Miami star Jonathan Togo. The two went on to play together in numerous bands and recording projects, including new wave outfit Conquistador. Upon moving to NYC in early '00s, Endicott switched from bass guitar to vocals and began writing the music that would later become "The Bravery".
Guitarist Michael Zakarin joined after answering an advert in a local paper, and brought with him bassist Mike Hindert, a classmate of his from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Drummer Anthony Burulcich was living in Boston where he had studied percussion at Berklee College of Music. After the death of his sister, Burulcich moved back to his childhood home in Long Island New York to be with his family. On the day Burulcich was moving, while driving with his belongings in a Uhaul truck, Endicott called him. Endicott and Burulcich were introduced by mutual friends in NY band Bishop Allen.
The music:
Song: An Honest Mistake
The rampant use of synthesizer in this song really takes me back to the 80's, but in a good way. This was the big hit off the band's first, self-titled, album.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
Lyrics:
People
They don't mean a thing to you
They move right through you
Just like your breath
But sometimes
I still think of you
And I just wanted to
Just wanted you to know
My old friend...
I swear I never meant for this
I never meant...
Don't look at me that way
It was an honest mistake
Don't look at me that way
It was an honest mistake
An honest mistake
Sometimes
I forget I'm still awake
I fuck up and say these things out loud
My old friend...
I sweat I never meant for this
I never meant...
Don't look at me that way
It was an honest mistake
Don't look at me that way
It was an honest mistake
An honest mistake
Don't look at me that way
It was an honest mistake
Don't look at me that way
It was an honest mistake
An honest mistake
Song: Fearless
While not as immediately appealing as the previous song (at least to me) I still enjoy the song, and the video is an added bonus. Sure it's just a gimmick, but I thought it was a cool, which I guess is the point.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
Lyrics:
Too many fingers, too many thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
The best time I've ever had
Waiting around for something bad
Fearless, fearless, ohh
And I know that's why you love me
Fearless, fearless, come on
And I know that's why you love me, chica
And I know that's why you love me, chica
And I know that's why you love me, chica
Oh, so fearless
Oh, so fearless
Oh
This is what it's all about
Take me in and eat me out
Pins and needles in my arms
Lucky eyes and lucky charms
Fearless, fearless, ohh
And I know that's why you love me
Fearless, fearless, come on
And I know that's why you love me, chica
And I know that's why you love me, chica
And I know that's why you love me, chica
Oh, so fearless
Oh, so fearless
Oh, so fearless
Oh, so fearless
Oh, yeah
Song: Time Won't Let Me Go
The rest of the songs here will be from their sophomore album, The Sun and the Moon. This particular song is one of my favorites from the album. I really enjoy the music, but the lyrics are key here. Instead of the typical philosophy in most songs where they talk about how if they could go back they wouldn't change a thing, here the guy is saying he'd do it all different if he had another chance.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
Lyrics:
Whenever I look back
On the best days of my life
I think I saw them all on T.V.
I am so homesick now for
Someone that I never knew
I am so homesick now for
Someplace I will never be
Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If I could do it all again
I'd go back and change everything
But time won't let me go
I never had a 'Summer of 69'
Never had a Cherry Valance of my own
All these precious moments
You promised me would come in time
So where was I when I missed mine?
Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If you gave me back those years
I'd do it all better I swear
Time won't let me go
Ba ba ba ba ba...
If I could go back once again
I would change everything, yeah
If I could go back once again
I'd do it all so much better
Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If I could do it all again
I'd go back and change everything
But you won't ever let me go
Ba ba ba ba ba...
Song: This is Not the End
So the link is good, the video is a fan sub, but the song is NOT 7 and a half minutes long...it ends around the 3:30 mark, so the rest is just dead air. I bet this guy's mixed tapes = FAIL. Anyway good song...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=x5_
Lyrics:
Tell me
Come on tell me what you can
Even as you wait for death you're wiser than I am
Tell me what does it mean to exist
I am not a scientist I must believe in more than this
And I can not accept
That everything is real
Is only what our eyes can see
And our hands can feel
[chorus:]
Not even earth can hold us
Not even life controls us
Not even the ground can keep us down
The memories in my head
Are just as real the time we spent
You always be close to me
My friend
This is not the end
I see
I can see you're so afraid
You wear it like a silver hood on you even fear looks good
I wish I wish I had some words to give
But all I can think to say
Is I'll be with you everyday
[chorus]
Not even earth can hold us
Not even life controls us
Not even the ground can keep us down
The memories in my head
I just realized the time we spent
You'll always be close to me
My friend
This is not the end
La la la la la
This is not the end
La la la l al la
This is not the end
I don't care
I don't care what you believe
As long as you are in my heart
You're just as real as me
Maybe even more
Someone has touched so many lives
Can never never die
[chorus]
Song: Believe
So yeah, maybe this makes me a fanboy, but I really like this song. If you were to sit 10 different 'music fans' down and ask them what is it they like most about their favorite music, chances are you'll get 10 different answers. For me, it's lyrics. Tell a good story and I'm hooked. Convey your message with the right amount of passion and I'm with you. This song speaks to me. I was going to use bold font to show you my favorite lines from the song, but dammit they're all so good you should just read the whole damn thing.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
Lyrics:
The faces all around me they don't smile they just crack
Waiting for our ship to come but our ships not coming back
We do our time like pennies in a jar
What are we saving for [x2]
There's a smell of stale fear that's reeking from our skins.
The drinking never stops because the drinks absolve our sins
We sit and grow our roots into the floor
But what are we waiting for? [x2]
[chorus:]
So give me something to believe
Cause I am living just to breathe
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for
So give me something to believe
Something's always coming you can hear it in the ground
It swells into the air
With the rising
Rising sound
And never comes but shakes the boards and rattles all the doors
What are we waiting for [x2]
[chorus]
I am hiding from some beast
But the beast was always here
Watching without eyes
Because the beast is just my fear
That I am just nothing
Now its just what I've become
What am I waiting for
Its already done
Oh
[chorus]
So that's it for this week...if you liked what you heard, definitely check out the rest of their work. Some suggestions: Tragedy Bound, Above and Below, and Split Me Wide Open.
Next week I field another request...after that I might take a turn for something a little different...who knows.
Later!
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