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We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. After a long hiatus, today marks the fifth installment: "I'm With You." If you missed our introductory statement, check it out here! - Ed. "I'M WITH YOU"  Written by: Ancient Hand
Balladry is an art form long explored, revered, and judged by humans. The act of composing a ballad is a long-documented and discussed one, with many people seeing William Shakespeare as a popularizer, pushing balladry to the forefront of human entertainment. While he certainly did write entertaining ballads that have withstood the test of time, his reputation has stretched beyond the intent of his work. While there are moments of genius relating to the communicability found in his catalog--most notably Romeo and Juliet--this can give us an interesting insight into responses to the plague during his time. His works were created to simply be entertainment, and this should be kept in mind when we run the risk of pushing an artist that only seeks to entertain us into a spotlight deemed for legends. You may be asking yourself, “Uh… did this guy just say don’t elevate people too high, but he’s calling Avril Lavigne’s Let Go one of the single most important pieces of art ever created?” And to that, I would say: yes! You are exactly right! Because while we run the risk of idolizing people that are undeserving of being placed on a pedestal so high we can’t see the top, Let Go is being examined, in the context of this long-winded review, as a piece of art to be studied and applied to the world around us, not as a person we should be praising and considering the savior of art and integrity.
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Every Friday--in today's case, Saturday--a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! On the docket for today, July 4th, 2020: Ancient Hand, Northern Crown, Gramma Vedetta, and Pale Witch
We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. Today marks the fourth installment: "Sk8er Boi." If you missed "Complicated" or our introductory statement, check 'em out here! - Ed. "SK8er Boi" Written by: Ancient Hand
In the nearly-wholly and disappointingly misguided series finale of the critical darling and money-printing Game of Thrones, we are treated to a monologue from fan-favorite character, Tyrion Lannister. In his monologue, Tyrion discusses the importance of good stories. To many, this was a snide and woefully misplaced self-congratulatory pat on the back for and from the show writers. To others, this was a concession of sorts, detailing the importance of the story itself--not just the disappointing ending. Snide or sorrowful, this monologue does raise some good points. Stories take on a life of their own and can often not be destroyed by anything: man, machine, or …meme. Avril Lavigne’s profound and prophetic story of the titular "Sk8er Boi" and his numerous female counterparts is the definition of a good story. A good story has many definitions from many different scholars that believe they are the final intellectual to serve the grisly details on what makes the best hero’s journey, or how these specific famous characters from world fiction are the most relatable and original. At the end of the day, though, a good story is simply one that makes the audience feel. I doubt this is something many people would argue with, and I feel comfortable using it as the definition for a good story in the remainder of this review. Stories make people feel in all sorts of ways-- some use spectacle, some use terror, some use sorrow, some use forceful and attention-grabbing imagery, and the list goes on. Our Queen of Music, Avril Lavigne, utilizes multiple storytelling strategies in her conceptual-chart topping single, “Sk8er Boi.” We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. Today marks the third installment: "Complicated." If you missed "Losing Grip" or our introductory statement, check 'em out here! - Ed. "COMPLICATED" Written by: Ancient Hand
Beginning to discuss Avril Lavigne’s masterpiece, “Complicated,” is like choking down a deep breath before taking a plunge into crystal-clear waters…but you can’t get enough air. The fear of doing any form of injustice against what is considered by many to be the punky anthem of their personal revolution in the early 2000’s is indescribably palpable. My palms are sweating at the prospect of causing any offense by what I say-- or, even more frightening-- what I don’t say. That being said, it is too much pressure to place upon myself to expect my discussion of a perfect song to be perfect itself. Perfection does not beget perfection; perfection begets insecurity. Thus, this is an undertaking that I am going to plunge into despite the feeling of my heart pounding upon the walls of my throat. We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. Today marks the second installment: "Losing Grip." If you missed last week's introductory statement, check it out here! - Ed. "LOSING GRIP" Written by: Ancient Hand
The introductory track to one of the most important pieces in the artistic realm of music begins with a delayed bassy beat that leads in to Avril’s vocals smoothly. This small introduction tells the listener a few things: electronic elements are present on this record, Avril is adaptable and capable, and her lyrics are incredibly commanding. We start off with a simple and concise question: “Are you aware of what you make me feel, baby?” Lavigne’s incredible knack for storytelling is abundantly obvious on this song as we transition into the real story behind her and this “baby” she refers to. She thrusts the narrative forward by making the lyrics more first-person oriented, focusing on her own feelings in this relationship: “Right now I feel invisible to you, like I’m not real.” These lyrics slowly build with lines discussing the issues present in this relationship, and then…the album really starts. We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop monarch Avril Lavinge. I won't attempt to justify this miniseries, as the author does a significantly better job than I ever could. Thus, I'll leave you with this: Refusing to Let Go is significantly more than a considerable effort. This is much grander than a mere celebration. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it. The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts, beginning with today's introductory statement. Tune in on a weekly basis to dive into the latest installment! - Ed.  Written by: Ancient Hand
Music is one of the most widely recognized, cherished, and commodified art forms this world has ever seen. Nowadays, music is present in nearly every aspect of our lives: scores for films, in shopping plazas, on public transit, in our homes, and even in our ears through wireless earbuds. The incredible popularity of this art form has been rising steadily over the years as music itself has undergone many evolutions with different branchings of genres and levels of experimentation. Music is even an identifier of cultures across the globe. What about albums that transcend culture and seem to be the epitome of music to an entire generation? This happens on occasion; an artist will seem to take over the world and garner the attention and acclaim of not only many different people--but many different types of people. While some artists don’t necessarily have the acclaim of everyone, and sometimes they are simply the poster child for the vocal majority, some artists are able to exist in the culture of a time rather than a culture of a group of people. One such artist is Avril Lavigne. Anyone over the age of 20 knows who she is and heard her anthemic choruses blasting out of 2001 Honda Civics nearly two decades ago. The particular album in question is her critically acclaimed 2002 album, Let Go. |
Welcome!We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry. What are ye
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