Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
May 24th 2008 17:59
Urban Hymns by The Verve
With its lush, illustrious strings that are no less than haunting, Bitter Sweet Symphony is the magnum opus of the British alternative rock band, The Verve. It is a solemn scorn about the materialistic order of the world and an ironic praise on being true to one's self regardless.
Members of The Verve met in 1989 while they were at college with the exception of Simon Tong who joined the group later on. Their gradual success reached at its peak with Urban Hymns which came out in 1997, skyrocketed in the charts and received immense critical acclaim. Selling 6 million copies worldwide since its release, Urban Hymns did not only mark The Verve as one of the most prestigious alternative rock bands in music history but also is still considered one of the best albums ever made. It received "Q Classic Album" award at the 2007 Q Awards and was also nominated for a Mercury Prize back in 1998 while its opening track, Bitter Sweet Symphony, holds a Rolling Stone ranking of 352nd best song of all times.
During 10 years of their legacy, the band broke up and came together many times until their big split in 1999. It lasted for 7 years before coming to an end in 2007 as they reunited on a tour and announced that an album is due the following year. The Verve is still on tour as of May 2008, visiting different festivals throughout Europe, Far East and U.S.A. Tickets can be bought via their official site whose link can be found among the Ink Marks below.
The band's copyright controversy with The Rolling Stones about Bitter Sweet Symphony has only intensified the song's fame. It resulted in favor of the Rolling Stones and caused The Verve to loose copyrights and composer credits for the song. Originating from the fact that Bitter Sweet Symphony's legendary string riffs being "sampled a bit too much" from a Rolling Stones cover of Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra, the band has received little to no financial gain from the sales of their most renown song. As if to ironically reflect this issue, the track begins with,
"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life.
Trying to make ends meet,
You're a slave to money then you die"
Trying to make ends meet,
You're a slave to money then you die"
The ephemeral fabric of life and the meaninglessness of material concepts across the inevitable that wait all living things, ie. death, has not prevented human beings from creating a corporeal world.
Live to work and work to live. These two might sound as if they are on two different ends of the spectrum but they actually stem from the same matter. Life for humans is made dependent on money.
To further hone the satire, life has been on this planet for billions of years without the need for any sort of currency. The planet provides its inhabitants with all the basic needs for survival but one species, a homo sapiens who was in charge of those living around him (the king of Lydia to be exact), decided that man could come up with a better means of exchanging services than barter. That means has shaped and reshaped the life on this planet since 560 BC.
Then again, life goes on no matter what. It does not care what shapes what. It is neutral and closely related with things that humankind has no control over Like time... like death... like change.
"No change, I can change, I can change, I change
But I'm here in my mold
But I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold"
But I'm here in my mold
But I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold"
Change outside is inevitable. Change inside, though, is another story. One can change the way they think, the way they act, their approach, their partner, their house, their hairstyle but they cannot change their very nature (mold) no matter how hard they might try.
One can only tame their nature, not change it.
There are those few who have managed to make peace with their nature in humble acceptance (they are the enlightened, the sage, the master, the content). Others are in conflict against their nature (the heart saying something but the mind saying another, the heart saying something but the circumstances provide another etc.) but accept it as it is whether they like it or not and join the flock to survive and continue living.
Finally there are those who don't accept it as it is and embark on a journey on their own. A journey to find themselves, a journey to find better understanding regarding their mold. Sometimes, this journey does not fit a lifetime. Some see life as this journey, itself.
Bitter Sweet Symphony reflects the failure to find one's way in this last path and the feeling of loneliness in its desolate inns as,
"Well, I've never prayed but tonight I'm on my knees
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now"
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now"
Written by Richard Ashcroft (and actually talking about his friends who are heroin addicts and see life as it is told in this song -- very Trainspotting), the lyrics paint a picture of one who walks against the crowd , shouldering anyone who comes their way. Whether it is acceptable or not, it is a theme for those who manage to live life their way.
A theme we all desire to call our own.
Ink Blots
Bitter Sweet Symphony can also be found in Cruel Intentions Soundtrack alongside Colorblind.
Browse music online at IMEEM
Buy Urban Hymns online from Amazon
Meet the artist The Verve at The Verve - Official Website
Read the entire lyrics at metrolyrics
Bitter Sweet Symphony can also be found in Cruel Intentions Soundtrack alongside Colorblind.
Browse music online at IMEEM
Buy Urban Hymns online from Amazon
Meet the artist The Verve at The Verve - Official Website
Read the entire lyrics at metrolyrics
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Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
Comment by Ayda
Phantasmelodia
On a side note, you can literally sing Bitter Sweet Symphony over the strings of Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra's arrangement of Rolling Stones' "The Last Time". It is this arrangement that BSS samples and develops on. The original Rolling Stones song sounds nothing like it.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Ayda
Phantasmelodia
Thanks for referring to the video. Did you know it was postponed a day because during the first day of their shooting, a guy Richard bumped into snapped back and caused a stir? So they hired "walker-on"s for the second day. Better safe than sorry, huh?
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Great photo, Ayda, what do you call them, avatars? And I really like your blog name. They drew me in!
Comment by Ayda
Phantasmelodia
Oh now you make me blush. Thank you for the sincere compliments, you are a doll, yourself, indeed.
I so agree with you. Urban Hymns is one of those milestones in music. You can never get enough of it. Back in the day, I remember listening to it on loop day in day out. The Drugs Don't Work is like the brother of BSS. Even its video starts where Bitter Sweet Symphony's left off and let me give you a secret -- I like Drugs Don't Work a wee bit more.
Take a seat, lean back comfortably, enjoy the ride and don't you let anything turn that beautiful smile of yours into a pout.