years, ambition takes hold and disappointment soon follows. Then there are those who make their mark and are compared to those who have changed the world forever, and many times join those ranks. These people succeed because this was never their sole purpose, only a result of an unassuming attempt. Not all efforts lead to the golden road of succe ss but the pretentious ones will never find their pot of gold because they were searching for it from day one. They disregard the fact that you can’t create something extraordinary when you loose your integrity along the way or never had it in the first place.
So of whom am I speaking of? In this oversaturated materialistic world we live in, unfortunately most everyone but for now I would like to focus on a few that make this decree a rule in music. The Killers, Sam’s Town is “one of the best albums in the past 20 years". If only someone other than Brandon Flowers had said this they might not fall into my law of egotism. Unfortunately, Flowers was quoted saying this while still recording the record. Sam’s Town is definitely an attempt at greatness but the blatant goal of being the next Pink Floyd is more apparent than their talent in the 12 tracks that litter the polycarbonate plastic it resides in.
So what was running through Flowers mind as he crafted the imagery of cliché archetypes, religious references and imitated personas? When one tries too hard it becomes blatant in what they create. After a few times through Sam’s Town it becomes sadly apparent that while writing the album Flowers was not only listening to Springsteen, he was studying it. When Springsteen recorded Nebraska in his room on a four track player I doubt his ambitions took over as The Killers did. This unpretentious effort is what allowed Springsteen to create musical masterpieces. Hot Fuss came out of nowhere and although it wasn’t an album to remember for centuries, it introduced a few well crafted pop songs. Whether Mr. Brightside was a fluke or someone in that band happens to be a genius is not the issue at hand. The fact is the band still had the opportunity to make a decent follow up but their success from their debut overshadowed any integrity they at one time possessed. Unless a miracle occurs I predict their third album will be the beginning of the end and they will soon fall into oblivion.
Now to those who achieve greatness while exerting humbleness. Arcade Fire’s most recent creation, Neon Bible exemplifies this fact. The record showcases a darker side while every song has a strong driving force behind it that emits a certain feeling to the listener, reminiscent of Born to Run. Already many people have compared Neon Bible to Springsteen and the similarities are clear. However, they are in no way carbon copies of each
other, but each reflecting the same key elements that create these amazing records. Neon Bible doesn’t make me think that Arcade Fire set out to write the next Born to Run, where Sam’s Town does just that. Neon Bible has already surpassed my expectations and has forced me to throw it on repeat. It’s not just the power of the album but the overall feeling I get from the band that are just trying to make good music and won’t let fame, hype or ambition cloud that purpose.
By the time Arcade Fire releases their third album, Brandon Flowers will meticulously be listening to Queen, Zeppelin or even Funeral trying to scrape together some sort of sound he can pass off as original and epic, still in an attempt to make the next best album of the century. Unfortunately for him ambition fueled by arrogance will only lead to a very public failure.
So of whom am I speaking of? In this oversaturated materialistic world we live in, unfortunately most everyone but for now I would like to focus on a few that make this decree a rule in music. The Killers, Sam’s Town is “one of the best albums in the past 20 years". If only someone other than Brandon Flowers had said this they might not fall into my law of egotism. Unfortunately, Flowers was quoted saying this while still recording the record. Sam’s Town is definitely an attempt at greatness but the blatant goal of being the next Pink Floyd is more apparent than their talent in the 12 tracks that litter the polycarbonate plastic it resides in.
So what was running through Flowers mind as he crafted the imagery of cliché archetypes, religious references and imitated personas? When one tries too hard it becomes blatant in what they create. After a few times through Sam’s Town it becomes sadly apparent that while writing the album Flowers was not only listening to Springsteen, he was studying it. When Springsteen recorded Nebraska in his room on a four track player I doubt his ambitions took over as The Killers did. This unpretentious effort is what allowed Springsteen to create musical masterpieces. Hot Fuss came out of nowhere and although it wasn’t an album to remember for centuries, it introduced a few well crafted pop songs. Whether Mr. Brightside was a fluke or someone in that band happens to be a genius is not the issue at hand. The fact is the band still had the opportunity to make a decent follow up but their success from their debut overshadowed any integrity they at one time possessed. Unless a miracle occurs I predict their third album will be the beginning of the end and they will soon fall into oblivion.
Now to those who achieve greatness while exerting humbleness. Arcade Fire’s most recent creation, Neon Bible exemplifies this fact. The record showcases a darker side while every song has a strong driving force behind it that emits a certain feeling to the listener, reminiscent of Born to Run. Already many people have compared Neon Bible to Springsteen and the similarities are clear. However, they are in no way carbon copies of each
By the time Arcade Fire releases their third album, Brandon Flowers will meticulously be listening to Queen, Zeppelin or even Funeral trying to scrape together some sort of sound he can pass off as original and epic, still in an attempt to make the next best album of the century. Unfortunately for him ambition fueled by arrogance will only lead to a very public failure.
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