Classics

Everclear: Sparkle and Fade

Though Everclear had previously released World of Noise, Sparkle and Fade is the album that put Everclear on the map. The first single of the album was "Heroin Girl" is an upbeat song about a girlfriend dying of a heroin addiction. Yes, you read right: upbeat. Everclear music, then and now is mainly a dichotomy--two conflicting ideas--of happy, upbeat pop-rock songs that feature angry lyrics about drug addiction, suicide, divorce, rage, and pain. This concept may not sound appealing to someone who has never heard Everclear, but the music quickly seduces one into forgetting whether or not the lyrics make sense. "Heroin Girl" starts slow, but becomes quite fast, with powerful guitar that gets to you at a visceral level if nothing else, and vocals that fully express the anguish of watching a fellow drug addict, one you were in love with, die. When Alexakis mourns, "I heard the police man say just another overdose/just another overdose!", it becomes your pain and rage. Alexakis' distinctive vocals convey emotion perfectly without resorting to screaming or shouting.

The second single off of the album is "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore." Accurately, the video takes place in a fast food kitchen, where the band members play employees being hassled by the customers and their manager. This video taps into the feeling that "feeling like a whore" applies to more than the personal relationship mentioned in the song. The song starts out right away with a catchy guitar riff, typical of many Everclear songs, and continues rocking you straight until the end. Again, despite the "happy" melody, the anger is a tangible presence in the song.

The third single, however, is the single that put Everclear on the map. "Santa Monica," a lighter, poppier tune that again is imbued with a catchy, repetative guitar melody throughout, gained massive radio play. Almost as catchy as the guitar is the chorus, "We could live beside the ocean/leave the fire behind/swim out past the breakers/watch the world die."

There are a lot of other great songs on the album, including:





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Summerland	Another song about wanting to "get away." This song has a longing, and a loathing of everyday life that is obvious in both the lyrics and the angst in the deliciously rough vocals. One of the albums few slow songs.
Pale Green Stars	This was Everclear's unhappy childhood song long before "Wonderful" or "Father of Mine." The focus of the song is a girl named Amanda, who has to deal with her parent's divorce, from the point of view of her father, who can see how much it is tearing her up inside. This slow (for Everclear) song builds tension gradually until the breaking point, where Amanda's dad begs, "Please don't yell at me."
Strawberry	This song is about how hard it is not to just give up after something bad happens. The chorus warns, "Dont' fall down now, you will never get up." This one builds up to a more dramatic breaking point than "Pale Green Stars," a car crash. The protagonist's rage is turned inward, confessing, "Yes, I guess I fucked up again."
Heartspark Dollarsign	A song about the love affair between a black woman and a white guy, and how the guy's family doesn't understand. This, however, is a song with a happy message. The man and the woman stay together because they're, "Possesed with a power bigger than the pain." And it has another great guitar melody.
Nehalem	This is one of Everclear's harder songs, angry and it sounds like it should be angry
Her Brand New Skin	This is a more cheerful song, though the singer is kind of being drawn in a direction kind of against his will, by an optimistic woman.
Queen of the Air	Talk about depressing...at first you don't know exactly what this song is about, he keeps talking about his "Aunt Virginia, and how she "Took to the air." By the end of the song, you realize (as the narrator slowly realizes) that his "Aunt Virginia" was his real mom, and that he witnessed her jumping off a bridge. A very compelling song.

As you can see, the lyrics and topics discussed are meaningful and strongly emotional.The other songs are highly worth listening to as well.
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 1:33 PM  |