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[miko2]

Today's Song: Century After Century by Idlewild

Several years ago I picked up the cd 100 Broken Windows by Idlewild, a Scottish noise punk band with a penchant for writing confusing lyrics that follow some private circular logic of their own. I bought this purely based on what I'd read online, but I fell in love with their music, and soon I'd ordered a copy of their previous cd, Hope Is Important.

I didn't like Hope at all. It was pure noise without melody, or so it seemed to me after one or two listens. So I didn't listen to it again.

When their third cd The Remote Part came out I was excited to buy it, but after reading many online reviews I had second thoughts. People said they'd sold out, gone commercial, had turned into an REM clone band. I ended up not picking the cd up, afraid that, just as with the first cd and the second, it would be different enough from the one I liked that I might not like it at all. Maybe 100 Broken Windows was just a fluke.

Well, with the advent of iTunes I don't have to depend on reviews and short music samples, or fork over $15.00 before I get to hear any of the songs in full. I downloaded two newer Idlewild tunes, one from their fourth cd Warnings / Promises and one from their most recent cd Make Another World. According to the reviews I read, their fourth cd was even more pop oriented than their third, but their most recent cd was a return to their roots, which sounded promising. (And again with the REM comparisons -- one reviewer said of their fourth cd that "an 'Automatic For The People' could be in their future." Which was, of course, one of REM's most successful cds, but also their most commercial and greatly disliked by many longtime fans.)

Well, basically, I've learned once again that I shouldn't listen overly much to what critics say. Yes, the song from their fourth cd -- I Understand It -- was much more pop oriented than their older stuff -- but they have always crafted pop tunes, and it doesn't really sound that different. What I liked about them were their melodies, their curious lyrics, and their singer. None of that has changed. And the song from their fifth cd, If It Takes You Home, is as intense a rocker as anything on 100 Broken Windows.

So I picked up The Remote Part from Ebay for just a few bucks, and I've been listening to it, and it's good. My favorite song so far is Century After Century. This is after just one or two listens, but it caught my ear. Naturally this isn't one of their hits, so I can't link you to a full track of the song, but here's some other Idlewild stuff:

Idlewild Wikipedia article
Idlewild Myspace page

Modern Way of Letting Go (from 3rd cdThe Remote Part)
Roseability (from 2nd cd 100 Broken Windows)
Little Discourage (from 2nd cd 100 Broken Windows)
If It Takes You Home (from 5th cd Make Another World)