Mothers Pride – Wasted Years
Similar artists: Oasis, The Stone Roses, The Verve
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
It’s hardly a secret that the creative individuals who achieve the greatest amount of success are also the ones who make their work not about themselves but about everyone. When you say that out loud, you may decide that this is not such a difficult thing to do. After all, the human experience is remarkably similar whether you’re a prince or a pauper.
But I am sure that you’d be wrong. Noel Gallagher once said that if he could figure out what made songs like “Don’t Look Back in Anger” any good, he’d own more houses than he does. In fact, talking about others in your songs and making them feel exactly what you want them to is the greatest gift a songwriter can have. The first step is to attempt it.
Mothers Pride’s tuneful, Britpop-inspired “Wasted Years” is meant to be the kind of nostalgia-rock tune that people can chant along and feel included. It speaks of not valuing advice and about wasting opportunities. It is, however, not a song of despair but rather one in which the songwriter manages to find hope and attempts to put it into the hearts of those listening. Most aspects of living are the same for all of us, but usually, it takes a song to remind us of this.
Sorry Monks – Wasting My Time
Similar artists: Elliott Smith, Wavves, The Olivia Tremor Control
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock
Classic rock radio has brainwashed us! If you’re a faithful listener, it has made you believe that the world is much more interesting than it really is. For most of us, that is simply not the case. Someone ought to have broken it to you: Life is often tremendously boring, and many of the things that you are asked to do will bore you right out of your skull.
The quicker you learn this, the better. Just take a look at the folks who refused to come to terms with this. Yes, a minority of them made it so that their lives were more exciting than most. The others, however, sought their kicks through the things that give them a quick fix of dopamine and a lifetime of pain. There are too many stoner video game junkies who ought to blame “38 Great Driving Hits” for their troubles.
There’s beauty in boredom, too, and someone ought to remind us of this once in a while. It’s a task many will fight to take on. Sorry Monks’ “Wasting My Time” comes close to revealing the truth. But just so that the truth won’t hurt too much, Oliver Flanagan packs it all in a layer of breezy jingle-jangle guitars and warm, earnest vocals. You might think that you’re wasting your time! You may well be right! But it’s actually not quite so bad when you take a birdseye view of it all.
