Varien – Pick Your Poison Vol 1 (2013 album)

Album Links

 

Bandcamp: https://subterrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/pick-your-poison-vol-01

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fixt/sets/varien-pick-your-poison-vol-1

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4zGzLF81ic2CJiOlagTSVe?si=PnhZghijSquetTbLGXeM1A

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxPSxNNXfbdCo7vJ6lOTF7WSNtZGtMVhS

 

Introduction: Today, I’m introducing yet another artist to you all, giving my reviewing repertoire a little bit more variety: Varien, a man that I’d discovered quite early on compared to many of the other artists, I’ve reviewed other than perhaps Andy Hunter (who as I’ve said before is the first when it comes to electronic. I’d discovered Varien via Monstercat, a label that a stranger that I’ve completely forgotten had suggested to me, so thanks random person who I’ll never know. I don’t listen to Monstercat as much these days, but you’ve contributed to me expanding my taste a little bit more, eventually leading me to where I am today.

 

Now, while I know Varien for his work on Monstercat and the song’s he’s left since leaving the label, I still want to take a step back and look at some of the first albums he’d released under the Varien alias (he’d had previous aliases that I don’t listen to as much but I probably won’t be looking at those ones as much). Part of what attracts me to Varien so much is his combination of electronic, my favorite genre, with other styles, including energetic orchestral pieces, acoustic relaxation and today’s focus: cinematic rock.

 

So, let’s dive into the shortest album I’ve reviewed so far and inspect the various choices of poison Varien has presented.

 

 

Varien – Death Call (6.25): There is a cry in the night. An endless high-pitched tone, that never ceases. This is Death’s Call. Accompanied by a cinematic drumbeat  during the calm builds of suspense, this call screams through the night eventually leading to harsher sections filled with dubstep basslines, jumping back and forth between full- tempo and half-tempo, keeping any listener on their toes as it beckons to the last point in the drop where the highest tone and the harsh growling basslines synchronize and become one. Twice it calls. Twice I ignore.

 

I don’t plan on answering this call and I would highly recommend ignoring it for as long as you can, but seeing as this album is all about picking a poison it seems that this call is the force that’s about to present the poisons this album presents. Or perhaps it is a form of poison to choose… Let’s look at the rest.

 

Varien – Shadow People (7): Do you hear the melody in the darkness. Eight notes. Two similar sets of four rising and falling softly, behind the deep guttural growls in the night. This is a warning of what approaches. The Shadow People. The warning grows more intense as time goes on. A bassline and wavering strings raise the intensity of the call as the Shadow People draw closer and closer…

 

And then it’s all shrouded in darkness. Everything goes near silent. Only a drowned-out bassline remains struggling to be set free from the clutches of those that lurk in the dark. And if you listen closely… you can hear a heartbeat. But it’s temp and pattern… it isn’t quite human as the title, Shadow People Suggests.

 

The ominous warning breaks free. Switching back and forth between the echoing drumbeats and the bassline now screaming with intensity, louder than ever in a rushed attempt at foreboding suspense. And right when it reaches its climax, you hear five stabs…

 

Then nothing.

 

You have one short minute to escape… before they catch you.

 

Varien – Scrap Metal (5.25): Scrap Metal doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. It comes from a source. A broken-down car or some other defunct piece of machinery. As long as it’s made of metal and no longer of use, then it can be scrap metal. But it always has a history.

 

So, what happened in this metal’s history to make it sound so violent?

 

True, all of the poison in this album is rather aggressive, but an inanimate hunk of metal shouldn’t really be that intense what with the overwhelming dubstep vibe throughout the song. It’s all filled with growls and screams which frankly seem to be a bit of overkill in my book as I’d rather here some of the more cinematic suspenseful portions and while there’s a little bit in this song at the midway point, it’s not quite up to my expectations.

 

And then a possibility lurking in the back of your head begins to awaken.

 

Scrap metal must come from somewhere. A broken-down car or some other form of defunct machinery. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the machinery met its end due to overuse. There’s something out there. Something violent and destructive towards our industrial creations.

 

And all it leaves behinds are scraps.

 

Varien – Mother Superior (7): I would agree it’s always a good idea to respect one’s mother. And it seems that Mother Superior is quite demanding of respect. As soon as she appears on the scene, there’s a familiar vibe that you may be getting used to by now, overwhelming suspense created by simple creepy melodies and echoing electronic stabs with some heavy hitting cinematic drums. A clock ticks in the background counting down to the oncoming wrath. And a mother’s wrath is something to be feared.

 

Mother Superior’s theme hits a lot of the same notes as the Shadow People. That creepy melody and bass heavy suspense leading working together with intense drums into a dubstep drop? Exactly the sense of foreboding that the Shadow People presented. Oh but the wrath here is so much stronger, the growls hit harder and the theme lasts twice as long with a second heavy attack near the end with a slight syncopation to upset the balance before once again hitting the ending of the song with some rapidfire stabs before strangling what’s left of the warnings. It’s possible that Mother Superior is the leader of them, I don’t know how this poisonous world I’m imagining from Varien’s music works down to the letter. Anything’s possible.

 

Regardless, it’s a good idea to respect your mother, but in the case of this song’s poison, it might be a matter of life or death.

 

Varien – Welcome to Hell (7.25): Oh, well what a warm welcome to Hell itself. I guess this is a fair location to visit with all the poison that’s been presented in this album. Oh, but Hell is not a place for relaxation. I have no idea why you’d ever expect that looking at any of the religious sources describing the torturous side of the afterlife. Also, the theme of this album does seem to be quite the gritty violent vibe.

 

Oh, it’s a quiet welcome at first. Just a slight rumble with ever approaching growls echoing in the distance, but when the drums begin and the growls become more prominent, the song takes a slightly more upbeat distorted vibe providing a slight distorted note on every beat. And of course, as it continues on, there’s a climax midway through the song where the basslines reach their full potential with a violent depiction of the horrors that await. I even believe I hear some screams in there at some points, though perhaps the late night is making me delusional.

 

The song ends just as it began, with the faint growls echoing in the distance as they fade away…

 

But they’ll be back.

 

Hell is eternal.

 

Varien – Technical Difficulties (8): Anyways, after abandoning the absolute most horrifying place in all of existence, it’s time to move on to perhaps the best theme in the entire album. Oh, I’m not even going to try and hide behind some lore this time. I’m mostly just trying to use that to give a little bit of variety and atmosphere to the review, but this song? This one needs some special attention to its music.

 

Technical Difficulties has absolutely every strength from any of the other songs on this album and even more. Oh, the beginning has those intense wavering strings that began in Shadow People and of course that leads to the intense bass heavy cinematic drumbeat combo that is present in pretty much every build-up in this album. But after that. Every single moment of this song is absolutely unique.

 

There’s a melody coming from a distant guitar playing off in the middle of all the calm ambience, providing a different strangely soothing flavor foreign to the rest of the album. And the strings do a great job of building up a bit of suspense towards the climax of this song. But unlike the other final drops. This song instead opts to just play a bassline in the background while still focusing on the guitar melodies and strings for the main forefront. It’s actually a beautiful refreshing change of pace with some good drumbeats mixed in there. Making it one of the best songs on the album.

 

Varien – The Sickness (6.5): It’s no surprise that since we’re about two thirds through this album of poison that the sickness is starting to creep in. Poison isn’t the healthiest substance. Oh, and the suspense as this sickness seeps into the body is absolutely overwhelming. Just listen to those quiet voices of longing underlying the bassline and the drums at the beginning there, the moans of those dying from a disease that they’ve inflicted upon themselves. A slightly discomforting bassline rumbles growing ever closer as the drums, as always, build the short song to its climax as the sickness truly begins to take hold. Drums of war. An unbeatable war.

 

The distorted sickness takes a form of a sick bassline that dominates the song by playing long dark notes that display the cinematic dubstep vibe that infects this entire album. The note sometimes holds strong, and yet other times, it begins to waver, showing perhaps a weakness. Perhaps it can be cured. Or perhaps it’s merely strangling the body from the inside out before leaving the song ending the song climatically.

 

Does the end represent death? Perhaps if it were the last song on the album, but there is more to come.

 

Varien – Future Funk (7.75): This is the one of the only songs that could compete Technical Difficulties for the top spot on this album (it loses in the end, but it still stands out among the rest). And so, made up lore is once again not required to make the review of this particular song stand out among the rest. Oh, I could try to make up some story about some sort of funky time travel, but I can’t seem to make the edginess fit with that anyway. But what I can talk about is the variety that this track holds.

 

The first thing I want to highlight is the drum variety this song has over the rest of the songs. Most of the other songs have just the cinematic stabs in the build-ups and a steadier drumbeat, usually at a dubstep tempo, when it comes to the drop. However, this song explores a bit further than that simple pattern. At first, it starts following the two, section trend that the majority of the album uses. Cinematic drums with an unsteady tempo at first, followed by a half-time section at the drop (though interestingly this drumbeat is actually combined with the irregular cinematic drumbeat instead of outright abandoning in it). The second half is where the true variety comes in though. It starts out with the cinematic drums again at first, but then it introduces a new syncopated drumbeat (And if anyone knows me, they know I love syncopation). The syncopation adds a new groove that’s a bit more unique compared to the rest of the album, and it’s allowed to breathe for a second, without the cinematic drums getting in the way (though said drums do come in again a bit later). Long story short, the drumbeat is constantly changing and developing over the course of the entire album.

 

But the despite taking an entire paragraph, the drumbeats aren’t all that’s special about this song. Obviously a song called Future Funk has to have a bit of a groove to it. And that groove is created by the melodies and basslines that are scattered throughout this track. The most noticeable of these is the synth smoothly transforming between several different notes, creating a groove that surprisingly fits quite well with the more cinematic style this album presents. And under that melody, there’s plenty more, an atmospheric vocal sample that serves as the backbone of the track and a wavering simpler synth adding a secondary underlying melody to compliment the first And in the second half, a new bassline is introduced with a low growling arp accentuating that groovy funk to the maximum.

 

I haven’t quite decided whether or not I prefer this over Technical Difficulties, but both are incredibly solid additions to this album that easily stand out above the rest.

 

Varien – Schizophrenia (5.5): The bass heavy stabs at the beginning, overwhelming the forefront of the song during its stay. And yet, everything else sounds distant, a whisper of an arp, a slight build of chaotic strings in the background, and thunderous drums that leave a wavering cry in their dust. Everything in this song is so distant. Except for the bass. The bass. It’s absence in the middle third is welcome, but the song spends much of the time slamming the bassline over the rest of the track, making every other element of this song’s identity seem distant, almost non-existent.

 

What is left of the song when the harsh bass overwhelms every other piece of its identity?

 

What is left of you when harsh thoughts overwhelm every other piece of your identity?

 

Varien – Meteorite (7.75): As the album comes to a close, all that remains is Meteorite: the ultimate mysterious element of the world I’ve attempted to imagine for this album. Perhaps not quite as horrifying as the Shadow People and their Mother Superior. Perhaps not as existentially terrible as Death’s Call that welcomes you to hell. Perhaps not as dangerous as a creature that consumes metal, or a disease that consumes the mind. But Meteorite remains to be the most mysterious of the bunch. Sure, I couldn’t really think of much of an imaginative recreation of Technical Difficulties or Future Funk, but this is different.

 

Looking at the surface, yeah, a meteorite crashed. It happens sometimes. But like I said, there’s an overwhelming aura of mystery. Just listen to that piano melody at the beginning. it starts out soft, distant, combined with what sounds to be a slightly distorted guitar that muffles the simple melody. But as the melody approaches closer and closer to the core of this song, the meteorite that had shattered the surface of this world, the piano becomes stronger, nearly overwhelming the bass as the drums walk closer and closer to the otherworldly wreckage.

 

And then the song explodes into energy, the bassline once again taking the forefront, but unlike in Schizophrenia, the bassline doesn’t completely overtake the song. In fact, the piano is really still thee star of the song, increasing the mystery as it keeps up well with the more intense elements, as we get closer and closer to what appears to be a meteorite. But the guitar and bassline suggest that this isn’t just a hollow husk of extraterrestrial rock. There is something more here. You can hear it, even as the song once again fades into its previous calm demeanor. A subtle bassline stuttering along with the ambience echoing from the drums.

 

And then, for this album’s finale, the final climax of the song depicts an increase in intensity unlike any other on this album. The melody has been cut short, unable to keep up with the ever-accelerating tempo, a combination of the echoing drums from earlier and the rolling bassline that had previously appeared at the midpoint climax. But there’s no more time for the drums to echo. No more time for the bassline to catch a breath as it rises.

 

There’s no more time.

 

Conclusion: Pick Your Poison Vol 1 is a bit on the shorter side of the albums, seeing as ach of the song is no longer than a movie trailer (for good reason). Ten songs, seventeen minutes. If you read this review at a slow enough pace, you could actually finish listening to the album before reaching the end of this review. It’s not cream of the crop for Varien. It’s in fact the first album I’ve reviewed so far where none of the songs have reached an 8 or higher. Now, that doesn’t make it a bad album. None of the songs are bad per se. It’s a shorter experience so it doesn’t need to be exceptionally solid. It’s just a quick exploration into the harsher more cinematic side of Varien. There are a few small duds, but none of them are atrocious enough or long enough to ruin the experience of the album.

 

 

Final Score: (6.75/10)

Mind.in.a.box – Revelations (2012 album)

Album links

Bandcamp: n/a

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mindinabox/sets/revelations-12

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0MKOj0fFRuue84xqbwVRcd?si=AWIBEhVURhSEG4o9hjU-iA

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIuADMrDKIYAWxu4bxbkhW37ohF1aqvv

 

 

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Last time on Mind.in.a.box: Our story begins with an agent. We know him as Black. Employed by White, Black searches for the key to a reality beyond the physical world known as the Dreamweb: a virtual world that people known as the Sleepwalkers have escaped to, putting them out of White’s grasp. Black is a Stalker, a man put under White’s control to tail members of the Sleepwalkers in hopes of finding out how to access the Dreamweb. In particular he targets a man (now known as the Friend) and a woman (now known as Night).

 

But something goes wrong. As Black trails Night to a club, the music there overwhelms him, causing him to Black out and lose track of Night, but not before seeing a glimpse of the Dreamweb. His mind is broken by the experience, but through this he begins to discover that perhaps his mind wasn’t sound to begin with. Missing memories, nightmares of someone controlling him, feeling utterly lost in the world around him. In exposing him to the Dreamweb, the Sleepwalkers have freed Black’s mind from White’s control. He is no longer a Stalker. He has redefined his identity into something new. He has made a decision to depart from The Agency and follow the Sleepwalkers. But after such a life changing event, Black must first contemplate the events that have unfolded over the past several months. Several revelations may occur.

 

Now that his eyes have been opened, nothing will ever be the same.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Remember (8.5): Remember is quite the interesting introductory song for this album. The last two albums had explicit recaps of the events so far, but this one follows a slightly different method, focusing solely on Black’s current emotional state and his newly changed view on White and the Agency. Throughout its duration, this song develops from quiet ambience filled with whispers from the past to simple melodic verses depicting Black looking back to the conflict that has now arisen between him and White. His entire worldview has been shattered and he has found himself lost without direction.

 

From there, the song reaches its more energetic chorus, adding in some guitar riffs and much more violent introspection, focusing on Black’s regrets of his past actions. He never knew true reality until the moment the Sleepwalkers had freed him. He never knew the truth about his employer until he discovered the truth of the Agency and the Stalkers. And now that the truth has been revealed to him, he finds himself trapped in a state of turmoil as it all falls apart.

 

Outside of the obvious lyrics depicting Black’s current struggles, I found something incredibly interesting in the calmest sections of the song. There are some faint whispers that slipped past my ears a first, and even now they are so faint that it’s rather tricky to figure out exactly what’s being said. Though I believe I have noticed that the first line whispered, “Do you see the confusion,” comes from Certainty back on Dreamweb, even though the rest of the lines don’t quite match. So, if I were to guess, the rest of the whispers come from other pivotal songs in the past three albums. I don’t really have the time or energy right now to figure out what the rest are, but perhaps I’ll return later to decipher exactly what pieces of the story the Black is remembering at this moment.

 

But the past is behind him. The important decisions reside in the future.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Cause and Effect (7.25): So, we move onto Cause and Effect, which has a slight bit of a grittier vibe in comparison to our introduction. The bassline is probably the main reason for this as it takes a prominent role throughout much of the song. In fact, until 4-minutes in, it feels like the rest of the song is incredibly subdued in the background. With just the groovy bassline periodically coming in and out with a slightly syncopated drumbeat, though it’s more of an extra beat between the third and fourth rather than a delayed third beat, and the bassline seems to bounce back and forth between the groovy feeling and a slightly harsher tune intermittent throughout the track. And that’s pretty much the entirety of the song up until the 4-minute mark.

 

Okay, I’ve mentioned the 4-minute mark quite enough times. There is a game changer that occurs right here and it’s time to mention it. While the arps and the melodies do develop a small bit before this moment, it’s only here that they truly take the spotlight as they set the bassline into the background for once and let the arps take the spotlight along with some extra distorted vocals. Not quite the same as the gritty vocals that take up the majority of this track, but instead a more robotic voice that sings long notes. Thankfully, despite their distortion, I was able to parse these lyrics unlike all of the whispers in the last song. Speaking of lyrics…

 

This song further expands on Black’s regrets of the past. He was blind to reality, but instead had unquestioningly followed White. Now that the Sleepwalkers have freed him, Black sees the world for what it truly is. And he sees that White’s lies (not to be confused with white lies), have led him down a path that destroyed his identity in favor of trying to break into the Dreamweb, which upon retrospection, might not be the best thing for White to have access to. And so, now that his mind is free, he expresses his anger at the one who’d held him unwittingly in a mental prison for so long. For now, he blames White for his actions. But is his role in the Agency really that simple?

 

Mind.in.a.box – Transition (7.5): Now that we’ve reached the third song, it’s time to make up for lost time with the Mind.in.a.box arp, because it is much more prominent in this song than it was in Cause and Effect, taking the main stage for the majority of the song. In fact, other than the drums and vocals, the arps dominate this song so much that there is so little else to talk about, which gives me more time to go into the much more interesting lore.

 

In this song, Black returns to the club that he’d visited on that fateful day when he’d lost is trail on Night and first glimpsed into the Dreamweb (Check out Dead End from Dreamweb for the story on that). However, things have changed since he’d last visited the Dreamweb.

 

The club is empty. It had been teaming with the chaos of people and dancing when he’d first arrived at the club, but now the entire club has been abandoned. No music. No people. No sign of the Sleepwalkers. No answers to the questions that he’d hope to answer by finding the club once again. There is nothing left here.

 

Until he revisits the alley outside of the club. Here, he finally here’s the music.

 

It’s in his mind.

 

The time for action is at hand.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Doubt (9): Alright enough with the lore, let’s dive right back into Black’s mind and look further into the regrets that are arising as he gains freedom from White’s control. It is now that he feels doubt.

 

But first, before I get distracted by the inner turmoil Black is going through, can I just comment on the brilliant arpwork this song in particular has? I know. I’m repetitive. Mind.in.a.box is always fantastic when it comes to the arps. But this one does rise above the bar with several different layers to each and every arp, And it isn’t just the arps that are outstanding, there are some points where the arps go absent and what’s left is a simple rising chord progression and a good peaceful melody that highlights my favorite part of the song (though it’s actually my favorite part for lyrical reasons).

 

Doubt is a song of rising uncertainty. While under White’s control, he may have had some questions about his memories and where he precisely belonged, but none of these questions truly took form until the Sleepwalkers freed him. And now that he’s begun to redefine himself, he questions his past actions and whether they were truly the best ones he could have taken. He now dwells in the past when he should be living in the present, looking to the future. He dwells on what cannot be changed and throughout most of the song, falls into a deep depression, adapting a nihilistic view on his life, ruined by his past.

 

But thankfully this song takes a turn for the better. Despite being crushed by his past actions, Black eventually musters up the strength to live with it all the same. Yes, his past my be dotted with several failures, but that doesn’t mean he has to define his life by those failures. What matters is the present. What matters is that he redefined his life into something new, independent of White’s control. His doubt might not leave him completely, but he can thrive despite it.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Control (8.75): One of the main desires I have in life is to find a way to remain in control of it all. All too often, I find myself struggling to keep my head above the water. And so, to hear a this soothing relaxing track titled Control really washes over me. There’s a slower more introspective vibe created by the steady drumbeat and the simple bassline and underlying arp that set up the main structure of the song. And thanks to a few melodies, some fitting the calmer vibe and others with a more victorious feeling (the latter present in the chorus and the former being present pretty much everywhere else). This song really does have a solid feeling that matches its name.

 

Sound is deceptive. For this song describes the darkness Black feels after setting his life on autopilot. For so long he’d simply lived assignment to assignment, working under White’s command to fulfill the goals of the Agency, particularly uncovering the Dreamweb. He’d given up control to the whims of others and for a while he’d been content there.

 

But now that he’s freed, he feels lost. Yes, freedom from White’s control is definitely a victory for him and the Sleepwalkers, but now he feels lost in the chaos, tumbling down the void of the unknown, horrified by his past actions and vowing not to repeat them. But where does he belong now that he’s in control. Does he strive to make his own path. Does he blindly follow the Sleepwalkers instead? And how does he deal with White?

 

Chaos isn’t always easy to overcome, but Black has taken steps towards feeling in control. No more autopilot. No more mindless wandering under another’s guidance. Srive to escape the endless whole of darkness, not embrace it.

 

It’s time to take control.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Fragments (8): Alright, it’s time to dive a bit into the lore and maybe get a little bit meta. Musically, this song has just about nothing special to it. Good arp and that’s about all I have to say. Typical Mind.in.a.box stuff. But the lyrics. Oh, Black has many questions of the events of Dead End. Questions are eternal. Will they ever be answered?

 

Well, regardless of whether or not certainty will continue to escape Black’s grasp, he has found a place to look for answers, the club that had changed his life forever. He’d found it in Transition and now that he’s found the music playing in his head, he begins to piece together the events of that pivotal elusive night. The club has fallen apart, remaining in shambles, destroyed by something (or someone) referred to as a screamer, a currently unexplored concept, which raises more questions than it answers. The screamer could be involved in the music that allowed Black to glimpse into the Dreamweb, but that seems unlikely as the music, while initially harsh, doesn’t sound very destructive. More likely that music came from mind.in.a.box, a fictional band that had been playing at the club, likely one of the bands on the list mentioned on Into The Night from the last chapter in the story. And yes, I realize that mind.in.a.box being the name of the band within the story is incredibly meta and provides an entirely different layer of mystery to this story. Perhaps I’ll find time to conquer the ramifications of that another day.

 

But Black’s memory is starting to return. He remembers the music and the Dreaweb, the former seeming to be the key to the latter (a major development that will be important in the next chapter of Mind.in.a.box). He recalls the struggle between the Agency and the Sleepwalkers, and he recalls that he’d been rescued by two of those Sleepwalkers, Night and the Friend. But he knows so little about either group, despite both being intertwined with his life.

 

All that matters now is to fight against the Agency that had imprisoned him for so long and finally discover the true reality. To recall the memories that remain elusive and hidden.

 

But that’s a story for another day.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Unknown (7): Unknown, interestingly has a more controlled feeling than control. Simple smooth bassline that follows a more easily identified chord progression as well as a very subtle arp that follows it. There’s not really much of a melody. There’s the occasional one note in the verses that echoes before it leads to the next note, all of it continually following the chord progression. This song doesn’t really do a very good job of breaking bounds. It almost feels like filler. But when it comes to lyrical content and storytelling ramifications, there is no filler.

 

For quite a long time, Black has been pondering his life thus far, hoping to find answers to the Agency that plagued him and the Dreamweb that seems to loom in his future. Enter Night, the woman who’d eluded Black the most as he searched the club for answers. While the club was empty when Black had first investigated, I do believe that this song does depict Night reaching out to Black, beckoning him to join her and The Friend in the Dreamweb. Into the unknown.

 

The Dreamweb is unlike anything Black has seen before. His time in the Agency could not prepare him for such an experience. And neither can Night or the Friend, despite them visiting the Dreamweb themselves. All Black can do is blindly accept Night’s invitation into the Dreamweb. It’s acceptable that he can’t yet comprehend what the Dreamweb truly is. There will always be something unknown in his life.

 

For now, it’s the Dreamweb.

 

The music is the key…

 

Mind.in.a.box – Not Afraid (7): I really tried to find some parallels between this and Fear as I can’t help but feel that the two songs should be intertwined with development, much like the relationship between Machine Run and Redefined (though not quite as much because that matchup was flawlessly executed and can never be beaten). Unfortunately, other than them both relating to the concept of fear, these two songs have very little in common.

 

And yet, even without direct parallels, I do believe that the comparison between the two songs in significant as it does reveal a bit more about Black’s development. The best way to compare these two songs is to look at a specific element of the fear, not just on the personal level of Black, but also on the rest of society. Looking back to Fear, one of the lyrics in the song claims that everyone is afraid, but that’s no excuse. This song also explores the entirety of the people around Black, displaying them as empty shells, stuck in their darkest dream, living their lives in constant fear.

 

But there’s a major difference. Black is no longer afraid. He still lives his life as a dark dream, a never-ending nightmare of unknown reality, but he’s coming to find peace within that chaos. Peace with the unknown. This is likely the best relationship to have with the unknown. You can try to ignore it. You can cower in fear, letting it paralyze you, or you can stand up to the unknown and stride forward.

 

The only way to overcome the unknown is to face it without fear.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Second Reality (9): This song is incredibly deceptive in its tone. The overly distorted vocals emanate a feeling of darkness and confusion, but this song is actually one of the most uplifting songs of clarity in Mind.in.a.box so far. It’s not quite on the same level as Redefined, but I feel like continuing to compare future songs in this discography to Redefined will reflect the newer songs poorly. All will seem flawed next to perfection.

 

But before I get to the lyrics, I want to give a final quick look at the aforementioned grit. The darker tone of this song is created by the already mentioned distorted vocals as well as a slightly grittier bassline. There are a few more instruments in there, such as the occasional arp and piano melody, that prevent the song from becoming overly dark. And there is eventually a change in the vocals near the end, allowing the clearer and cleaner side of Poiss’ vocals to shine. Giving the song a powerful sense of victory. That is, after all, what this song is about: victory, particular over the past.

 

The past two chapters of Black’s story in the Mind.in.a.box discography have been incredibly life-changing. Everything that he’d known about White, the Agency, the Sleepwalkers, Night and The Friend, had been falsities made by the first two on that list. And now that he’s escaped White’s clutches, now that’s he’s found his freedom, the world around him has completely changed. An entirely new reality.

 

A reality in which in which all the barriers that once limited him have been torn down, allowing him to finally be free. A reality in which he can let go of his dark lie-filled past and find the truth in the future. A second reality.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Sanctuary (7.75): And so, Black once again returns to the club, enraptured by the music that had changed his fate. What was once a harsh overbearing melody as seen in Dead End, has now transformed into a song more gracefully orchestrated with calmly layered arps and discernable melodies that reflect the melodies created by the vocals. Oh yes there’s some more intense slightly bassier portions near the end, but that section has more a victorious feeling to it rather than the overwhelming chaos that throbbed in his head so long ago. This song overall is much more inviting now that Black is beginning to understand the Sleepwalkers and their Dreamweb. He now sees that music not as a distraction leading him away from his lead on Night, but now as what it truly is. Mind.in.a.box’s music is the key to the Dreamweb, a sanctuary where Black can truly find a life filled with meaning and hope, a life he can define and control. The music leads the way to Black’s second reality and the identity that was erased by White now begins to take shape once again.

 

Perhaps the memories shall fall into place as well.

 

Conclusion: This album has a slightly different feel to it, focused even more on introspection than usual. While Crossroads explored Black’s choice between the Agency and the Sleepwalkers, Revelations takes a look at the ramifications that choosing the latter has on Black’s life, focusing mostly on his shrouded past. I don’t believe that there’s quite as much worldbuilding in this chapter as it focuses more on Black reflecting on the events that have occurred so far as well as a nostalgic return to the club. That is, outside of the discovery that the music is the key to the Dreamweb. That’s a game changer that will define the next chapter of Black’s journey into the Dreamweb. But that’s a story for another day (I’ll review it sooner than I’d reviewed the last one. It’s been nearly 5 months since I’d reviewed Crossroads).

 

Final Score: (8/10)

 

Scatman John – Scatman’s World (1995 album)

Bandcamp: n/a

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/scatman-john-official/sets/scatmans-world-3

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/album/2MRWFajfjxfLAF3wwmdv5j?si=ZxNoY9ZJRt6vrauiGx3fvw

Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lmeQahtfdGYSLdbE9cbxdec2dwOotyopY

 

Introduction: And now for something completely different!

 

Seriously after dealing with the edgy rock Celldweller for the past three weeks, I need a good palette cleanser. I like the edgy stuff and all, but sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming in all the bad ways. So this week, I’m going to explore an artist that has no edge, but isn’t really overly sappy either (I hate pure sap). So welcome to the first review of the down to earth Scatman John as we explore his most iconic songs.

 

Scatman John – Welcome to Scatland (6): Let’s start this album off with the short piano (and bird?) based intro that welcomes the listener to the wonderous utopian paradise that is Scatland… Scatman’s World? I’m not sure. The terminology keeps on changing, but they sound like the same place from what I’m hearing here.

 

Like I said, Scatland is a utopian paradise, a land in which many of the divisive conflicts of modern day have been eliminated. It’s an ideal dream that should be strived for. Is it possible? Well we’re a couple decades past Scatman John’s career and I am unfortunately not seeing the idea of Scatland taking hold yet. For now, it’s still just a dream.

 

A dream we must strive for.

 

Scatman John – Scatman’s World (6.75): And we’re already at the title track of the album, as well as one of the most iconic tracks. Now, a lot of Scatman’s songs have a bit of a similar style so I shan’t be too long in the instrumental analysis for many of these songs. In fact, even here I shan’t be long. It’s an upbeat pop song with some simple melodies and the rise and fall of some arp in the background (almost sounds like acid, but I could be totally off base). Oh, and there’s some pads too, but outside of a couple of exceptions, pads are never really interesting to talk about. This isn’t one of those exceptions.

 

As for the vocals, Scatman is most known for certain sections of his songs that are a bit less lyrical than others. That’s right, I’m talking about the scatsinging. It’s in the name. All the names. Artist name! Album name! Song name! Well, that last one is pretty obvious because it’s the titular track of the album, but there’s 4 other songs with the word “scat” in the title so it’s not like this is the only occurrence. And while these sections are meaningless, they are quite fun. I am not ashamed to admit that at least half of the enjoyment of singing along with Scatman’s songs is the scatsinging, even if some parts in more complex songs (this one is pretty simple) are impossible for the average human being.

 

But even with his superhuman scatsinging abilities, John here still brings his songs down to earth to convey some authentic human messages. They are in no way existential or edgy like the mindbending thought experiments that is Mind.in.a.box or the tortuous edginess that I’ve reviewed from Ashbury Heights’ and Celldweller’s early works. Instead they convey an idealistic world that displays the innermost human desire for what kind of world they want to live in. Well, at least this is the type of the world I want to live in. And while we’re not living in that world yet, I do think that working towards that world can result in a more enjoyable life. Don’t hold back your turmoil and let it eat you up inside. Express yourself. Allow others to help you through life. And help others if need be. I mean, this probably sounds like some cheesy hippie rambling, and in a way, that is what a lot of Scatman’s lyrics focus on.

 

But if a message of hoping for and striving for peace and happiness in a world that seems to deny it is frowned upon, then that’s not a world I want to live in.

 

I’d rather live in Scatman’s world.

 

Scatman John – Only You (6.25): Again, Scatman adapts the upbeat fun vibe that will be the focus for a good 80% of this album. This one does kick the music up a notch with the song bouncing back and forth with a bouncy piano melody in the majority of the song, while giving it a slight break for the slight groove of a bassline to be spotlit in the verses. I wouldn’t say either part of this song is exceptionally stellar, but it still gives me a slight bit of nostalgia even though I hadn’t actually grown up with this song. My guess is that it reminds me a bit of one of my childhood games (Blinx: the Time Sweeper), but that’s a very loose reminder that probably comes from the arp I hadn’t mentioned yet. Something about it is just the right flavor to activate that memory in my brain.

 

Cryptic nostalgia aside, Only You is one of the few songs in this album that present a slightly different message than the aim for utopia. Instead we’re looking at a love song… I’m quite surprised that this is the first real love song we’ve seen in any of my reviews. Yes, there’s been plenty of toxic love songs in Ashbury Heights’ and Celldweller’s early discographies (as antitheses to Scatman John, I can see myself mentioning these two a lot in this review), but Scatman here is actually giving us a real wholesome love song, filled with a good ammount of adoration without dipping into addictive obsession, and an overall feeling of unconditional love directed towards the soul rather than the outward appearances. And all of it is well appreciated. Is this song for me. No, not really. I’m drawn to the more introspective stuff, but that doesn’t really detract from this song’s quality.

 

Not a huge fan of the slang “mama” though. I understand that there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with it in the song’s time period and its aim is to be endearing, but something about it just rubs me the slightly wrong way.

 

Scatman John – Quiet Desperation (5.5): So, after two upbeat songs that follow Scatman’s iconic style we have Quiet Desperation, a song that prides itself on a slower pace. There’s a soft syncopated drumbeat backing this track up, but it doesn’t reach the hight tempos of the dance songs that much of this album has. This is one to sit back and relax to. A little bit of simple piano here and there. A touch of trumpet for some melodic flavor. And of course, a nice bit of scatsinging that’s intrinsic to any Scamtan John song. Some might have more scatsinging than others, but they all have at least something in the language of “Scattish.”

 

This song’s focus forgoes singing of the fun of scatting one’s way to happiness and instead follows the life of a homeless person that John sees on the side of the road. Not the most uplifting theme. The song’s title refers to the plight of the homeless as he lives his life on the street, just getting by day to day.

 

The message of this song is a bit odd to say the least. Much of the song is spent painting the plight of the homeless. Desperately grasping at the little money that passersby provide. Longing for a place to call home but instead feeling empty inside. Trying to convince one’s self that this nightmare of desperation is only a temporary passing and that it isn’t nearly as bad as he thinks it is. It’s not really an uplifting situation.

 

And yet, Scatman seems to find something in this homeless person that reminds him of something that he’d lost. And I really wish I could tell you for certain what he meant by that, but I just don’t know. What has Scatman lost? Has he lost his focus on what really matters in life beyond the material he has? This one doesn’t quite feel right. The homeless person does desire a home and it’s perfectly reasonable to want at least a simple livable piece of shelter. Maybe it’s more about their similarities of feeling lost and empty, how they’ve both lost something to get them to their similar states of emptiness. But I feel like there needs to be more details for that one to work…

 

Overall, the song sounds pretty good, but the lyrics end up falling flat due to inconsistency… unless I’m missing something. If I figure out what this song is missing, I might come back and raise the score, but for now… eh

 

Scatman John – Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop) (8.25): And now, complete with some emotional whiplash from the last song, we have the most iconic Scatman song of all… Scatman! If you know Scatman at all, then you know this one. I’m not sure if I can say that about very many artists and their highlight song. But Scatman John’s Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop) pretty much defines his career. Yes, Scatman’s World is quite popular too, but most of his other songs seem to fall to the wayside. But there are definitely reasons this song is so icinoic.

 

First off, the simplicity of the name and its similarity to the artist, Scatman John, makes it clear that this song, from the beginning, was meant to be the iconic song for Scatman. His very name is the title of the song. But then there’s the second part of that title (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop). Absolutely false advertising. Well, the first part of the chorus does seem to follow the subtitle of the song quite similarly, but This simple string of syllables is nothing compared to the plethora and variety of scatsinging that is actually on this song. From the tongue twisting intro to the second half of the scat singing chorus to the absolutely impossible rapid buzzing that the man does in the song’s bridge. I’ve tried to imitate that zah- zah-zeyah portion to no avail. Scatman John is something else entirely. Really, the music is the simplest of dance tracks to be used on the album, but that just allows the scatsinging to take the center stage.

 

And this song didn’t have to have a good message to it, but it really does have a good focus on not defining yourself by your weaknesses, and instead pushing forward to follow your dreams and desires. Perhaps even using one’s weakness to their advantage. In Scatman’s case, he had an issue with stuttering ever since he was a child, and his life was all the more difficult because of it. He was bullied for his stuttering as a child. While he was eventually able to use his passion for learning music as an escape from his stuttering, he first used it as a front to hide his stuttering. Scatman is the song in which he bravely stepped out and use his talents and passion for music to sing this song despite his fears of his stuttering. He may have never been able to get rid of his stuttering, but he didn’t need to get rid of his weakness in order to be successful. Instead, he turned it into a strength.

 

This song is John Larkin’s life set to music and while it’s not my favorite from him, it is well deserving of his most popular song.

 

Scatman John – Sing Now! (7.25): Sing Now! brings us back to the dreams of a better world, Scatman’s World, a utopia worth striving for. But before I dive into the lyrics of international happiness, I do want to highlight the music as it really feels extra 90s this time. I can definitely hear it in that constant bouncy bassline that accompanies the drumbeat. There are a few other 90s dance melodies, but it’s really the bassline that stands out to me.

 

But Scatman’s strength is always his scatsinging and message. The scatsinging is on point as usual as it fills the instrumental portions in between the choruses and the verses with an extra feeling of joy and celebration. A celebration worth singing about. Sing now! dreams of a world where war has ceased, where division has disappeared, a peace and unity have taken their place. Oh, it’s a sappy idea to be certain and considering my usual distaste for sap, I should hate this song, but I just can’t. There’s something so sincere about the way Scamtan John sings this song, that I feel as if the sap can be ignored in favor of an uplifting message about the dream of peace come true, not by waiting for it to happen, but by stepping up and making it happen. We create or own happy ending.

 

The sun will only rise on our lives if we let it.

 

Scatman John – Popstar (6.5): Popstar takes a step back to a calmer vibe. Not quite the same calm as Quiet Desperation, Song of Scatland or Everything Changes. Just calmer in comparison to the songs around it. What makes this stick out a tiny bit from the other calmer tracks is the little funky bounce it has. Not too much to remark about the music of this song except that bassline which really fits the whole tone it sounds like Scatman has been going for in these lyrics.

 

And what do I think of those lyrics? Well I used to hate them. When I’d first listened to this album, I’d quickly decided that this was my least favorite song of the bunch and much of that has to do with the song’s message. Or rather, it has to do with what the song’s message appeared to be. Because up until the last minute and a half of this song, the entire song is just endless bragging about being a hip and cool popstar. And it’s so self-centered and annoying that it just doesn’t fit the theme of the rest of the album in the slightest. Clearly, I wasn’t listening to that last little bit of the final verse, where Scatman says that everything he’s said up until this point in the song is a joke and how the whole status of a popstar doesn’t matter. All that matters is you. And that is a good message but it was lost on me once I started to tune out the bragging the first few times I listened. So, the twist was alright in the end, but I feel like a twist would be more powerful if it took a good song and made it great rather than taking a bad song and making it good. Thankfully Scatman will prove such a twist is possible later, but that’s for another review.

 

Scatman John – Time (Take Your Time) (8): And now this is some good upbeat funky Scatman. The slight funky of Popstar was nice, but this song is able to get just as much groove here with a much better upbeat tempo, immediately rendering Popstar obsolete as far as the music goes. Yes, a clock is supposed to tick 60 times a minute, but the BPM of this song is at least double that, bringing the whole drive to the fastest Scatman has ever done. The melodies aren’t too much to speak of, but the bassline is exceptionally better than Popstar’s and that one was already quite good. Most of the song it resides in the background with all the scatsinging and quick drumbeat giving the song a subtle but quite noticeable drive to it, but there are points like midway through the second verse where the bassline reaches the front for a rapidly paced breakdown. This combined with scatsinging more fast paced than even the more iconic Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop), makes this easily the most energetic song on the album.

 

And the basslines and scatsinging aren’t the only things running rapidfire in this song. The lyrical sections of the song are also jampacked with words so quickly expressed that makes deciphering this song quite impossible. Clearly he’s repeatedly saying “Take your Time” in the chorus, but he certainly isn’t taking his time enunciating every last line in the verses because the rest of the lyrics are completely up in the air, as both the lyrics I’m hearing on my own and the lyrics I’m looking up on the internet make very little sense outside of the fact that they are indeed words. So, can I tell you exactly what this song’s about? Well from what I can put together, the tone seems to suggest getting caught up in trying to figure out the chaos of existence, flipping frantically through an imaginary handbook of how to live life, while also juggling every single problem that hurdles your way.

 

Sometimes, you just need to take your time.

 

Or maybe it’s something else and I’m mixing up my lyrical extraction and my self-projection again. Who knows?

 

Scatman John – Mambo Jambo (6): And now, in between two of the most meaningful songs on the album we have Mambo Jambo. This one means nothing. I mean the lyrics are all about doing the Mambo Jambo, which is a play on words using Mambo, a Latin dance, and Mumbo Jumbo, a ritual intending to confuse. And it works because I am bobbing my head which is sort of dancing. I am also confused. It’s all scatsinging and the call to dance in bewilderment.

 

Yeah, I’m not going to analyze these lyrics. This song is clearly just meant for fun.

 

And the music only makes it clearer that fun is the goal. It’s a bit repetitive with nothing but a drumbeat with a slight jungle vibe and a harmonica. There’s a small bit of variety with the piano and its build two thirds through the song which gives it a nice little break from the scatsinging jungle harmonica. So that makes it my favorite part of the song. And besides this song is rather short so it doesn’t really overstay its welcome.

 

Scatman John – Everything Changes (8.5): And now for the best of the best. It takes a step back from the upbeat Scatman and instead focuses on feeling a little bit more laidback. Feels like elevator jazz with it’s simple nonintrusive chill vibe. A few soothing melodies and one little trumpet or saxophone solo. For someone obsessed with music, I’m afraid I have troubles telling a good trumpet from a saxophone sometimes. But both are good, so it doesn’t really affect my enjoyment all that much (pretty sure this one’s a trumpet though).

 

The lyrics of this song are the true highlight though. Everything truly does change. I’ve expressed this before, especially in my Mind.in.a.box reviews, but in case you don’t know or need a refreshing of memory, change is the central point of my worldview. Society and the people who make it up are constantly changing. And even looking at myself, the person I am is constantly changing. I see the world around me and see myself trying to strengthen my emotional fortitude while still trying to maintain the empathy that I hold dear to myself (though interestingly I don’t aim such empathy at myself, have to work on that).

 

But sometimes, it’s a bit too easy to get wrapped up in the constantly changing world and overworry about what the unknown future may bring. And so, the central message of this song declaring that sometimes it’s best to look at the present and live in that moment is quite a refreshing message of easing the stress of the future. I feel I definitely need this and I’m pretty sure there’s several people in the world that could use this line of thinking on occasion as well.

 

Scatman John – Song of Scatland (6.75): And for the last relaxing song on the album (the next two are quite upbeat), we have the ultimate depiction of Scatman’s utopia: Scatland. With a simple piano melody and a very smooth and soothing bassline, this song proves to be the most relaxing of them all. There’s a few other instruemnts, particularly the synth in the second verse and the sax in the instrumental bridge that contribute to the smooth relaxing vibe that brings the peaceful atmosphere to Scatland. But it’s the lyrics that prove to be most important to this song in particular.

 

Anyways, back to Scatland. If we look at the earlier more popular song, it seems that this land is located on Scatman’s World. Kind of like how the capital of Oklahoma is Oklahoma City, but on a larger scale. Plus, it’s also a fantasy, but it’s a fantasy worth striving for as usual. There are quite some interesting moments in this song detailing the way Scatland works, particularly the language of Scattish (not quite like a leprechaun), and the directions to Scatland (give yourself a hug and love yourself (which I have a hard time doing to be brutally honest)). And all of it does sound indeed like a paradise to strive for. It’s a bit sappy and I do find it to oversimplify the problems of this world a tiny bit, but’s still a good sentimental song.

 

Scatman John – Hi, Louis (7.75): S̶̗̠̘̫̦̟͚̝̦̔̈́Ǫ̴̨̮͇̙̞̗̫̫̭̒́̐̿͑̏̅̆͘͝N̶̼̤̼̭̞͇̏̑G̷̡̢̞͉̥̣̗̲͇̒̃̆̅̂̇̓́͠ A̷̡͙̹̳̜̳̤̼̤̲̩̰͉̗͚͚̹̳͊͜Ṅ̵̻͉͉̲̇͆̏̈̽̅̔́͑̋͒̊̋̑͂̉̀̔͂̏͗̈́̀̌̀͛͘͝A̵̡͕̪͈͙̪͚̙̳̰̹̭̠̼̭̠̗̓̉̌̊͛͒͐͒̑͛͗̆͆͑́̍̎̔͐̚̚͠͠L̸̺̺̟͔̳̇͐̽͊͐̌̉Y̵̠͂̽͗̋͐͑̂̔͋̍̏͑͑̒͊͘̕Ş̴̱͔̝̝̣̼͗̂̽̍̌́̓͆̑̒̈́̿͂̐͋̽̀̔͛̈͐̐̉̕̚͘̚̚͠İ̵̡̛̠̹̳͚̲̥̮̟̘͖̤̜͕̣̓̍̎̃͗̓̈́ͅŚ̸̨̺̭̺̻̞̝̉͑̍̌̅̃̒͂̕͠ Ư̷̧̡̧̡̻̟͉̩̗͔̮͖͚̺̖̬̥͉̩͙͛̂͂̒̄̃̓̈̅̾̓͋̍̌́̅̍̉̿̓͊̉̆̓̎̚͝͝͝ͅͅN̶̡̥͉̘̫̩̪͓͎̙̜̳͖͉͈͐̀͒̏̇̐́̄̿͆̒͌̆̐̃̈́͑̄̿̇͘͘̚͜͝͠͠Ą̶̨̨̨̧̧̛̞̮̖̫̩̦̰̜̺̤̙͈̫͈͚̘̖̥̝̗̟̬͔͖̲̠̭͚̤̯͍̭͇̥̳̭̤̖̲̹̘̩̟͙͓̳̼̩̍͒̅̀̓͗̈́̓̇̉̊͑̑̑̏̍̾̋̈̀͑̄̃̔́̈́̇̊̑̾͐͐͑̾̕̚̕̚̕͝͠͝͝͠ͅͅͅͅV̴̨̡̡̢͕͉̼̺͙̠̙͖͙̳̟̤̭͓̣͙̤̺̣͖͇̣̞̞̼̘̟̓͊̏́̋̐̄̔̊͒̀́͒͊̅̾͌̐͐͗̒̃̎͐͑̔͂͗̓̐̔̅̅̀̽͑́̈̓́̊̈́̽̎́̍̈̀̀̑͘͘͘͠͝͝͝ͅA̵̧̧̨̩̬͖͕̻͙̩̟͔̙̬̐̈͋͗͗̓͆͂̈̈́͗̔̉̃̃̈́͆̐͋̓̓̽͂̐͛̀̾̚̕͜͝͠͝ͅI̴̖̪̥̘̬̤̒͒́́́͑̓̈̍͆̍͋̉͋̑̕̚̕͠L̴̡̛̠͙̪͓̪̥͕̝͙̳̬̥͕͌̐̔̿̑̏̀̈̍̐̋͊̿̇́̂͒͛̎̍̀̉̈́͂͑͝͝͠͝͠ͅA̵̢̡̨̢̡̢̛̫̳͇͔̹̙͔̣͖̝̖̼̲͙̳̗͖̣͕͓̬̙̜̅̇̓̈͑̄̓̃͐̄͌̓̔̇̐̓̌͊̿̊͜͝ͅͅB̷̡̨̢͍̥̰̘̞͍͓̤̜͎̤͇͚̻̯͙̘̬͔͚̙̻̲̫̣͇̳̘͍̯̼̗̘͈̖̤̦̤̮͚͉̖̮̮̱̦̪͉͔̆́̾̑̾̋̑̍̑̎̃̐̔̉̓͛̍̂̄͗̆́͗͌̉͑̈́̓̄̀͋̐̑̈́̀̂͊͛̋̅̇̾͘͘͠͝͝͝ͅĻ̴̡̰͇̥͎̝̗̮̮̰̮̖̲͔̞͇̙̖͉̪̯̟̤̺̺̲̣̅̀͌̐̈́̀̓͊̆͐̀̎͂̿́̀͊͂̈́̈́́͌̍̿̈́͋̀͑̋̓̋̔̂̽̕͘͘͝ͅE̶̡͖͎͍̣̖̣̰̜̦̓͛͋̾̀̄̈̽̔̍̈̐̂͋̋̃͛̅̂̌̆͆́́͑́̀́̂͒͆̈́̋͋̉͐̀̕̕̚͠͝

 

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Scatman John – Scatman (Game Over Jazz) (8): You know, these last two songs on this album are just about having a good ol’ fun time. I… can’t quite remember what I said for the last song. I think I blacked out… But knowing me, it must have been completely articulate and some good song analysis. But that song is already in the past, we’ve got to live in the moment of this song right here. This one is a remix of the famous ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop that defines Scatman’s career, and while it doesn’t quite match up in meaning to the original version (the verses are completely absent, it’s just the scatsinging), it definitely makes up for it with the absolutely amazing funky jazz it has. The groove that bassline provides throughout the song definitely helps give the song a nice bounce to it and the rest of the instruments make this song work flawlessly with the jazz. Scatman’s vocals are a special instrument of their own that fit quite well with the piano. And of course, there’s the brass that steals the spotlight. I, once again, am not fully certain if this is a saxophone or a really good trumpet, but right now, I’m actually leaning towards the saxophone. Either way, this song is great jam to conclude Scatman John’s debut album.

 

Conclusion: Scatman is quite different from any of the artists I’ve reviewed. The era, genre and overall mood are completely alien to any song I’ve reviewed in the first half of this year. I can’t really hold my taste to omne area to be honest and while I do usually ten to the edgier songhs, there is something refreshing with the occasional more uplifting song. Scatman does seem like he should be one of those sappy artists I hate, but there’s something so sincere and authentic about the way he presents his optimism that really sweeps me up into a temporary elation of humanity’s potential. Of course, in iorder to harness this potential and embrace the utopia Scatman presents we all will have to commit a lot of effort to creating it. But I like to believe that it is possible, despite the chaos in the present, that we can find peace in the future.

 

That we can find Scatman’s World.

 

Final Score: 7/10