Michael Koby

Last week, we concluded our look at the songs from the band Anberlin. Since I have come to like this series idea for most of my topics, I decided we would look at one of my favorite bands, Poor Old Lu. While no longer in existence, they did release some great tunes. I also hold a soft spot for Poor Old Lu because they were the first truly “alternative” Christian Rock band that I had ever heard. As we discuss the music and lyrics of Poor Old Lu, I would like you to keep in mind that several of the members are still doing music today. Most notable is Aaron Sprinkle and we will transition from Poor Old Lu into Aaron Sprinkle songs, including Aaron’s most recent project Fair.

This week, I wanted to look at the song “Do I?” which comes off of Poor Old Lu’s first “major” label release, Mindsize. The reason I wanted to start with this song is because it is one of those songs that I did not pay much attention to until the release the only Poor Old Lu live disc, In Their Final Performance… because on the version on this album is probably the better of the recorded versions of the song, but it made me go back and re-evaluate the original. I find that this often happens with live versions of songs. Good musicians do not just play the album version of a song live, they are constantly adapting, changing, and re-editing their songs as they grow as musicians so often times a live version recorded 10 years after the initial album release is better than the recorded version.

This song is mainly important because of the chorus and how it ties the rest of the song together so well. When the singer sings “I don’t know love, do I?” it really ties the song together, however it only does it when you understand that the song is about the singer sharing his faith with his brother and finding it difficult to come through with the right words to do it. While the song only makes sense best when you understand the point of view of the writer, the chorus still anchors the song extremely well.

Lyrics after the jump…

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This week, we close out our series on the songs from Anberlin. While this series might be done, it is important to note that there are many more great Anberlin songs available on their three albums. This week song comes from the album Never Take Friendship Personal and is entitled “Day Late Friend”.

This song is really interesting in that it is extremely common subject matter, but no one seems to really discuss it a whole lot. Anberlin does a great job here with the line “You say now you loved me all along, what made you hesitate to tell me with words what you really feel.” The lines are so straight forward that they are beautiful. But when they close the first verse with a line like “Insignificantly enough we both have signficant others” it really brings to point the reason I love this band so much.

What is interesting is that Anberlin, lyrically takes the right side of the road with this issue saying, “well, that’s too bad you waited to long to tell me” and as such everyone moves on. Most people would look at this as a chance for a one night stand with the lover that got away, but instead says “no thank you.” This does not mean the temptation is not there, in fact it is discussed in the second verse in a straight forward manner. The line specifically is “but i must confess you’re so much more then i remember, can’t help but entertain these thoughts, thoughts of us together.”

So they do not ignore the feelings that exist but instead acknowledge they exist and then make right decision by moving on.

This brings this series to a close. I really would encourage anyone to go and listen to Anberlin. They are a great band and when it comes melody, these guys have it in spades. However, since no “Songs & Such” is complete without the lyrics, you will find them after the jump… Read more »

First and foremost, let me apologize for missing last week’s “Songs & Such” article. I spent last week handling stuff for a new job that I will be starting soon and forgot to write the article. I will try and see that it does not happen again.

Anyways, we are continuing our look at the songs from the Tooth and Nail band, Anberlin. This week, we are going to look at the song “There is No Mathematics in Love and Loss” from their most recent album Cities. While Cities has many great songs on it, I picked this song for two reasons: 1) it is not the current radio single and 2) I really like the way this song sounds overall. It is not that this song sounds more special than any others on the album, but the way it starts “If you’re leaving, leave the cigarettes. You’ve already got the lighter and the keys” just really helps put you in the conversational frame of mind for a song that is anything but conversational.

What really hits home with me (because something similar has taken place in my life before) was the line “He knows that she’s serious, Not by the look in her face but by the lack of rings.” That “by the lack of rings” is exactly how I knew one of my relationships was over. I am sure that a lot of people have been in a similar situation in their own lives, but for me that was a line that had a nice sting to it. While some might view that sting as a bad thing, it is a testament to just how a song can touch us on a level we never saw coming. When a song can touch the listener on a level they did not expect or in a way that really speaks to them, the songwriter has done their job well.

We still have a couple of songs from Anberlin to look at and we will get those in the coming weeks. Be sure to check back next week for a new song break down. If you have a song or band that you would like to see featured here, please email me and I will see what I can do about bringing articles for those songs/artists. Until next week, check out the lyrics after the jump…

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Last week, we looked at the song “Foreign Language” by Anberlin. This week, we continue our series of looking at songs by the Tooth and Nail band by looking at the lead off track from their second album, “Never Take Friendship Personal”.

This title track makes for a great opener. They set the mood early on with the open “A” chord done in just away that it basically says “hey this is the opening track” and that is a good thing. When the lead singer pseudo-screams “There’s a hatchet, got a knife” only to follow it up with the melodic vocal “when I awoke there was nothing real in this life” the mood for the entire album is set. You know you are going to get the rock with the melodic, right off the bat, without question.

Setting the tone for an entire album with one song is hard to do, and very few bands have pulled it off with great success. However, it seems that most truly good albums follow this trend (at least the one’s I consider “truly good”). However, what makes this song really work is the play on words in the chorus. The switching between “Innocence gone” and “In a sense gone” right before the line “never take friendship personal” is something incredibly interesting yet deeply disturbing. The reason it is both interesting and disturbing, is because of the incredible difference in meaning in the two lines, that when sung, sound exactly the same.

The title of the song itself lends to a great play on words.  Rumored to be about one of the band’s former guitarists upon their departure, it is interesting to look at the lyrics as a farewell message to a former colleague.  However, friendship is something that is in fact deeply personal, so is it really possible to not take it personally? Is it possible to view a friendship like a business or a temporary alliance? That is something that only the listener can decide, but the line itself begs to be debated, questioned, and contemplated throughly.

Lyrics after the jump… Read more »