I’m a music slut. A music rut slut to be exact. I’m sure some of you out there are as well—you know what I mean. For the others, let me explain…I love music, 80’s glam or hair band if you prefer that term. I love to dissect the songs, thus the slut part. However, when I dissect a song it is with repetitive precession, thus the rut.
I listen to everything…each note, tone, high hat hit, scratch, note bend, lyric—you name it. I don’t do it for 5 minutes or an hour. I do it for weeks. Mega rut slut would probably be more accurate. Going to work, base turned up, replay was hit 3 times. Coming home…same.
My brother once asked me how I could listen to the Shout At The Devil album ALL the time as a kid. I guess that’s where my issues began…
The song I have been doing a musical autopsy on now is Ugly Kid Joe’s “Devil’s Paradise”. If you know who they are, this song is out of character for them. They are usually a band that is about tongue in cheek songs: “I Hate Everything About You”, for example. This song is not that. The song is about drugs, whores and the like. Dark. That’s what started the slide for me.
The song starts off with a very melodic guitar riff. The tone is perfect. The bass line sounds like a caged demon working up spell that’s about to totally fuck your day up. Not complex, but it makes the hair on your sack tingle…thus the reason I am stuck on this song.
To be very precise, the second verse. I don’t know how many times I have hit replay after the second verse just to listen to the second verse again and again…and again. I love the singer’s voice. It’s kind of nasally with a tad of grit and a low register. When the second verse hits it is a perfect storm: guitar, bass, crisp high hat, drums then the vocals:
“We all know why we’re here,
The smell of cheap perfume.
Sixty for the girl,
Twelve bucks for the room.
Every kind of pill,
Drinking and cocaine.
Lots of dirty women
Goddamn this shit’s insane.”
If you listen closely between these lines you will hear the demon I mentioned above. Grumbling, angry fucker. For some reason I hear it better on the second verse. It’s just as clear in the first verse but between the singer’s breaths in the second verse is when I really hear it. Maybe it’s the lyrical cadence and the way the bass fills the void that makes it for me…..
I also love the chorus. The lyrics, the barre chord slides on it and the hypnotic, crisp high hat hits….
“Taking the pill,
Slowing the race,
Straight down to heaven we go now.
Shooting the thrill,
The smile on the face,
It’s all just south of the border now.
Walking through the gates.
I don’t think twice.
Welcome back my friend,
To the Devil’s Paradise.”
If you are still reading this up to this point, you might as well listen to the song. Go ahead. I’ll wait…..
Can you hear it?
No?
Keep listening. Focus grasshopper, focus.
Pick the instrument out and listen. Don’t hear it…. listen to it.
Let all other noise fade away.
Yeah? second verse yet? Ahh, there it is. Grumbling base line. Angry little fucker.
You can thank me later for this diamond in the rough.
You can curse me later as well because you’ve hit replay 100 times…
PJ