My Favourite Songs of 2018: Be More Kind - Frank Turner (May 2018)

Be More Kind - Frank Turner
From the album 'Be More Kind' 

(Interscope Records/Polydor/Xtra Mile Recordings)
Released 4th May 2018

Be More Kind

written by Frank Turner
History's been leaning on me lately;
I can feel the future breathing down my neck
And all the things I thought were true
When I was young, and you were too
Turned out to be broken
And I don't know what comes next

In a world that has decided
That it's going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind

They've started raising walls around the world now
Like hackles raised upon a cornered cat
On the borders, in our heads
Between the things that can and can't be said
We've stopped talking to each other
And there's something wrong with that

So before you go out searching
Don't decide what you will find
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind

You should know you're not alone
And that trouble comes, and trouble goes
How this ends, no one knows
So hold on tight when the wind blows

The wind blew both of us to sand and sea
And where the dry land stands is hard to say
As the current drags us by the shore
We can no longer say for sure
Who's drowning, or if they can be saved

But when you're out there floundering
Like a lighthouse I will shine
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind

Like a beacon reaching out
To you and yours from me and mine
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind

In a world that has decided
That it's going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind  

"In a world that has decided
That it's going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind"

Yesterday was apparently World Kindness Day so in one sense I'm probably a little late posting this but in another sense I'm not. Kindness is not something that is just for one day in the year but should be an attitude of heart on a daily basis.

I first heard Be More Kind by Frank Turner back in 2017 sometime if I remember correctly and I recall thinking that this song could actually be one of the finest he's written to date. I was more than pleased when it was announced that it would be the title track to his seventh studio album. The fact that the subject matter of the song is extremely relevant to the days in which we are living makes it even more of an impressive song. 

This actually almost ended up as My Favourite Song of 2018 but it was just pipped at the post by something else equally as gripping (that I will post within the next couple of weeks or so).

The inspiration for the song if I have this correct was a line from a Clive James Poem that was published in The New Yorker magazine back in 2013 in which he describes his own mortality called "Leçons des Ténèbres". The line which inspired the title reads: "I should have been more kind. It is my fate. To find this out, but find it out too late."

The last line of the song, "In a world that has decided that it's going to lose its mind" is such a powerful statement about the world in which we live. 

People's reactions to things which they dislike, whether it be politics, music, sport, fashion, books, film, the media in general, religion/faith, and sexual orientation are sometimes so shocking to read. Many times I've read an overly agressive comment on a Facebook post or even on a You Tube video that has been so full of hatred that I have often wondered what on earth that person had actually been watching or reading to provoke such an OTT response. Even on posts that seem incredibly harmless there are people venting their spleens for one reason or another and that seems to stir others to respond in like manner leading to "raising walls around the world" instead of creating bridges! The message of this song though is to put across the totally opposite reaction (and to quote an old House of Love song, "But I won't fight and I won't hate").

I would count myself among the many who have often said a word that has been harsh toward someone (especially toward folks I don't really know on Social Media) but it's not just words that are the driving force of Frank Turner's song but also our actions. 

The call of the song is to act with kindness rather than putting up barriers and making judgements about situations and people before we have even given a moment to actually consider what on earth is really going on. 

 

This song certainly came as a rebuke to my own hot-headedness and I trust that in more ways than one that I have sought to do exactly what the song says, "Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind".   

New Music 2018: Be More Kind - Frank Turner

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Be More Kind - Frank Turner

Xtra Mile/Interscope Records/Polydor

Produced by Austin Jenkins, Joshua Block and Charlie Hugall

Released 4th May 2018

Listen Here To Tracks from

Be More Kind

Songs on the Playlist above include:

Don't Worry (Live at SXSW 2018)

1933 (Album Version)

Little Changes (Promo Video)

Be More Kind (Album Version)

Make America Great Again (Promo Version)

There She Is (Live Acoustic Version)

Blackout (Promo Video)

Get It Right (Live Version with the bonus of Get Better from Swindon show in January 2018)

Personnel
Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls

    Frank Turner – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
    Ben Lloyd – electric guitar, backing vocals
    Tarrant Anderson – bass guitar, backing vocals
    Matt Nasir – piano, organ, synthesizer, backing vocals
    Nigel Powell – drums and percussion, backing vocals

***************

Be More Kind is the seventh Studio Album from Frank Turner and once again he's backed by his impressive band The Sleeping Souls.

Read NME Interview with Frank Turner (January 2018) Here.

Sêan Reid of Already Heard awarded the album 2/5 stars, referring to the album's varied sonic palette as "uneasy and somewhat inconsistent" and stating that "Be More Kind is a record that requires patience, yet the musical substance that supports his empathetic lyrics makes for a difficult listen." I don't want to seem picky with a music critic but sometimes they just have to get their head out of their rear ends and just enjoy music for what it is, music, rather than trying to treat it as if it is some kind of world changing ideology to be pulled apart piece by piece at the Debate Society to make sure it fits with their own perspective on life!

I've listened to the album three times today and I really don't see how Frank's lyrics make this a "difficult listen", infact, I think this is some of the best Songwriting that Mr Turner has put out and there's an immediate connection for those who are maybe going through tough days and also a lovely sense of humanity, especially with the title track:

 "In a world that has decided
That it's going to lose its mind
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind"

There's nothing too "difficult" with that is there?

Frank is also one known to speak his mind a little and in Make America Great Again he sets it out clearly:

"Let's make America great again
By making racists ashamed again
Let's make compassion in fashion again
Let's make America great again"

 

He won't be getting much love from the Republicans and the Alt-Right crowd for singing stuff like:

 

 "Let's be a friend to our oldest friends
And call them out when they're faltering"

 

The decision though, as to whether this is a good album or not, ultimately comes down to you and not the critic in his office tyring to make a buck for a living. For me, I think it's fabulous. It's a nice mix of sounds as well from the loud to the quiet and actually I sometimes prefer Frank Turner when he gets a bit quieter as the sheer quality of his lyrics shine through much better.

 

Frank Turner

SXSW 

16th March 2018

Music Is The Answer #2: Is Music Really Dead?

No doubt over the years you have read the stories in the papers that Music is Dead! Infact, the story is so old that the Pallbearers have aged and are barely able to carry the coffin! 😀

Back in the 1970's Don McLean sang about "the day the music died" in American Pie. Bob Dylan, in 1978 was declaring that "rock and roll was dead". Anarcho punkers Crass were singing "Punk is Dead" and The Knack were belting out "Pop is Dead". "Rock is finally dead," Gene Simmons (Kiss) declared in an interview with Esquire. "The death of rock was not a natural death. Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered," he added.

For all the woe, stays of execution, miraculous coming back to life, and dirt on the grave pronouncements Music is still very much alive and kicking in 2017. Yes the business models might have changed a lot down through the years but as long as we are in the world and are experiencing life with all its joys and heartbreaks, its pleasures and its pain and things that excite us and things that anger us, there will always be a need for music in whatever style it comes!

Three songs that prove to me that Music is the Answer and stll matters and is to valued are:

Music - John Miles

Music was my first love
And it will be my last.
Music of the future
And music of the past.

To live without my music
Would be impossible to do.
In this world of troubles,
My music pulls me through.

Lyrics and Music by John Miles

I Still Believe - Frank Turner

And I still believe (I still believe) in the saints.
Yeah, in Jerry Lee and in Johnny and all the greats.

And I still believe (I still believe) in the sound,
That has the power to raise a temple and tear it down.

And I still believe (I still believe) in the need,
For guitars and drums and desperate poetry.

And I still believe that everyone,
Can find a song for every time they've lost and every time they've won.

So just remember folks we not just saving lives, we're saving souls,
And we're having fun.

And I still believe.

Lyrics and Music by Frank Turner

100% Dynamite - Lulubelle III

I - wanna be around when the needle touches down and it makes a lovely sound
I - when it sinks into the groove, makes your body want to move like it's got something to prove

When the needle hits the plastic, it makes me feel alive
All that warmth and beauty makes me feel 100% Dynamite!

I - nothing can compare to the sound of bass and snare and a finely tuned guitar
I - wanna dance like a fool, like I'm real real cool, like I'm bustin' outta school

When the needle hits the plastic, it makes me feel alive
All that warmth and beauty makes me feel 200% Dynamite!

I got blues, I got country, I got glam rock, I got soul
I got electronic music, I got psychedelia, I got my rock 'n' roll

When the needle hits the plastic, it makes me feel alive
All that warmth and beauty makes me feel 300% Dynamite!

I - why don't you follow me around to the dirty part of town where your troubles can't be found
I - gonna break your mama's heart, gonna break your daddy's heart, gonna break you right in two

When the needle hits the plastic, it makes me feel alive
All that warmth and beauty makes me feel 400% Dynamite!

Lyrics and Music by Ronnie Carnwath

********************

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 351 - Frank Turner

Last Minutes and Lost Evenings - Frank Turner

Epitaph Records/Xtra Mile Recordings

Released 2nd October 2012
US Release

Tracklisting

Links Below are for either Promos or Live Versions of the songs represented on the Compilation.

1 I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous    
2 I Still Believe    
3 Try This At Home    
4 The Real Damage    
5 Father's Day    
6 Nashville Tennessee    
7 Dan’s Song    
8 Substitute    
9 Reasons Not To Be An Idiot    
10 Sons Of Liberty    
11 The Road    
12 Long Live The Queen    
13 The Next Round    
14 Photosynthesis    
15 The Ballad Of Me And My Friends

**********************

"It's OK thinking me and all my friends are just wasters" 

- (from Reasons To Be An Idiot - Frank Turner)

As I'm preparing this (Thursday night) I have a bunch of friends (affectionately called Wasters would you believe? We were that before Frank used the term in his song as it is reference to a long running forum/group that we are a part of!) who are in Nottingham for the 2,000 show by the man Frank Turner. Some have not traveled far to the show (though Simon has come up from Wales) but one of my friends Kim has flown all the way from California to see Frank and hang out for a night with some fellow Wasters! She seems to take special delight in sending me pictures on Facebook of Cali hipsters with their man buns and also photos of salads! - I am hoping that she doesn't think that I am part of hipster nation! Not that this particular titbit of information actually has any bearing upon the subject of today's post. 

The Compilation above was a US release that was bundled together with the DVD of Turner's 2012 Wembley show. It was aimed at new fans mainly and offered a nice overview of what had previously been issued. Frank Turner himself chose the tracks, so if you don't like it, take it up with him not me!

Since 2005 after his hardcore band Million Dead split Frank Turner has spent about half of the past 11 years on the road playing shows! Inbetween that he has released 6 Studio Albums Sleep is For The Week 2007, Love Ire and Song 2008, Poetry of the Deed 2009, England Keep My Bones 2011, Tape Deck Heart 2013 and Postive Songs For Negative People 2015), a bunch of compilations, a live album, a dozen singles, half a dozen EP's, a good bunch of promo videos and a few video albums, some split singles and a collaboration album with Jon Snodgrass (Buddies), and has appeared on around eight various albums guesting alongside other groups.

Now, I only really started to listen to Frank after Poetry of the Deed came out and so had missed the first two albums, but it was Love Ire and Song that made a huge impression on me more so than Sleep Is For The Week or Poetry of the Deed (I know, all you crazy hardcore Frank fans can pummel me later!). Since then there's been a number of songs of Turner's that I've really enjoyed.

With his fourth album, England Keep My Bones there were a few real gems on it. I Still Believe had been released on an EP (Rock & Roll) and then a couple of really wonderful tracks I Am Disappeared and Peggy Sang The Blues were also standout tracks for me. 

Tape Deck Heart followed and that was a very different album to England. It was also one of his most successful chartwise as it peaked at #2 in the UK (#52 in the US). The focus here was on relationship breakdowns, failure, change etc. Personally I was not too fussed with Turner's over use of the F-Word  on a couple of the songs on the album (and on a few of his earlier ones) as I feel that you can communcate frustration, anger etc without slipping into using profanities, but maybe that's just me. As someone who used to swear a lot and having sought to actually refine the way I speak to others and conciously not use bad language it irks me a little if I hear too much swearing that more often than not seems unecessary. The songs that really jumped off the record for me were Recovery, The Way I Tend To Be, Polaroid Picture (which is one of my absolute favourite Frank Turner songs), We Shall Not Overcome and Undeveloped Film.

His sixth studio album that came out in 2015, Postive Songs For Negative People, showed a couple of sides to Turner's delivery: a senisitve side (The Angel of Islington, Song For Josh) and one where he seems to strain too much (Out of Breath, Josephine). The standout songs though were the ones that appeared prior to the album's release - Get Better and The Next Storm (which in my book is one of his finest to date). Glorious You is another favourite.

Just prior to posting this morning I was trying to find out how last night went in Nottingham but there's maybe some sore heads among my Waster friends and it's possible they are still asleep somewhere!

Two thousand shows though is a nice number, I'm pretty sure he's got a lot left in the tank! 

I forgot to mention that amid all of this that he also has another hardcore side project called Möngöl Hörde who released an album and toured as well in 2014. That's not for the faint of heart by the way!

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

250,000 Views! Really!

 

A huge thank you to everyone who has visited this blog in the past, present and for those who will do in the future! It means an awful lot to me to know this blog is being read all over the world when I only really started it for my own amusement.

Thanks again.

Doug

Positive Songs For Negative People (Deluxe) - Frank Turner (August 2015)

Positive Songs For Negative People (Deluxe) - Frank Turner

Xtra Mile Recordings

Released 7th August 2015

"Let's begin at the beginning", as Frank so wonderfully put it in his song I knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous. The title of the album is a good place to begin because more often than not it sets the scene for what's to come. Positive Songs For Negative People - it's easy being negative in the world in which we live at the moment, there are politicians who rile us to anger for their mistreatment of those struggling in our society, or there are wars in many lands that cause us to ponder how little life is valued in some of these lands as the body count is recited day by day on the news. Talking of the news that plays an increasing role in our negativity because it is loaded with "bad news" and the only time we get a good story is if they show some cuddly animal story in the final 30 seconds of the show or if England actually manage to win anything at all anywhere in the sports world (because even a win in the World Tiddlywink Championship is a win, isn't it?). So, like a number of songs by Frank Turner there is Positivity even among the Negative. Songs like Get Better, with the lines:

 "I'm trying to get better because I haven't been my best
She took a plain black marker, started writing on my chest
She drew a line across the middle of my broken heart,
And said: "Come on now, let's fix this mess"
We could get better
Because we're not dead yet"

Or in The Next Storm:

"But I don't want spend the whole of my life indoors
Laying low, waiting on the next storm
But I don't want spend the whole of my life inside
I wanna step out, and face the sunshine

So open the shutters, raise up the mast
Rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed
Cast off the crutches, cut off the cast
Rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed

I'm not gonna live the whole of my life indoors
I'm gonna step out, and face the next storm" 

Next up are the words "Deluxe". Thank goodness that Frank Turner and his record label Xtra Mile Recordings know exactly what that means. The album comes with a second disc of  ten Acoustic versions from the main disc, yes TEN, you did read correctly! There can be nothing so disheartening to a music fan than to decide to pick up the album and then a week later to see a release of the album as a "Deluxe Edition" and it only contains one additional song (I could point my finger here at a certain young lady called Joss Stone who has just released a brand new album - Water For Your Soul - and the Deluxe Edition only contains one extra song!). But hey, we are trying to be Positive here, so a round of applause for Frank and Xtra Mile Recordings for giving value for money with a great Deluxe Edition.

Thirdly, a wee visit to Frank's Website and it opens with an encouragement to perform Random Acts of Kindness and it's great reading some of the tweets posted on the page of people being human showing care and concern for others.

Now onto the music. I decided I'm gonna go through track by track and just say a few things about them, not necessarily serious. If you want to read a proper review then there are a couple of links at the bottom of the page.

The Angel Islington

Oh that's a quiet start. Sounds like Frank walked in the room pulled up a box and started playing this beautiful little tune about how messed up he is and how he intends to fix himself. Nothing to do with the Tube Station at all!

Get Better

I liked this one when I first heard it awhile ago. Another one about getting fixed (no not that kind of fix), old Frank must go through a lot of gaffer tape holding himself together.

The Next Storm

There's always one or two tracks on a Frank Turner album that absolutely thrill me to bits and this is it. For the record here are the others: on Tape Deck Heart it was Polaroid Picture; England Keep My Bones - I Still Believe (and I am Disappeared); Poetry of the Deed - The Road; and Love Ire and Song - Reasons Not To Be An Idiot (and Photosynthesis). Rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed - that's going to be my favourite line for the summer I think.

 

The Opening Act of Spring

Quite a cheery tune for such a lyrically traumatic song. But I have to say that sometimes when Frank does these type of songs he does sound like he's straining his voice too much. He's probably never used autotune in his life and I wouldn't want him to start.

Glorious You

This is another one that I really like. Great lyrics and a nice rocking tune. "C'mon now if we all pull together we can lift up the weight of the world from your shoulders just for a moment or two".

Mittens

Not too sure about this one. Sounds like he's trying too hard and it's a bit shouty! Next play of the album I'd probably skip it...sorry Frank.

Out of Breath

I can imagine that this one is going to go down a storm live as it's one of those mad thrashy type of songs, the piano work on is brilliant though. I feel knackered listening to it!

Demons

Mmm. not overly keen on this one, I'm always a bit perplexed when he encroaches on territory that deals with God and the Devil/Hell etc. I'm sure he gets a kick out of singing "I make my own way down to hell without your help" and "Life gave me demons but I made friends with the devil so I'm invincible" and personally I find it hard to believe him. If he was a member of a Black Metal band maybe, but not cuddly Frank Turner! I know others will like it but it's not for me.

Josephine

I think Frank has set himself up for every girl fan called Josephine to "show herself" to him and "give" him what he "needs"...maybe a stalker alert or two on the way Mr Turner! Not a fan of this one either.

Love Forty Down

This one conjours up the image of our Frank playing tennis! I know bizzare image isn't it? Our tattooed troubadour in his summer whites with a racquet instead of a guitar guzzling a bottle of Robinsons Lemon Barley! Maybe he was watching Andy Murray play or something! I like it because it's all the quirky things you like about his songs, this feeling of inferiority and need to rise about the difficulties even in the face of difficult odds.

Silent Key

Interesting one this as it deals with the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in 1986 and in particular Christa McAuliffe. This is Turner writing at his best I think about someone and a situation that is very very real (though being the ham radio guy is obviously not real). Whilst not the typical sing-a-long with Frank it's an interesting song to have on the album about overcoming loss, defeating storms etc and giving a voice to someone who no longer has a voice herself.

Song For Josh

A very moving tribute to a friend. A live recording at the club that Josh Burdette used to work at in the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.

All the links below are not necessarily for the song as they appear on the album, some are, but others maybe live versions etc. Click on the links to enjoy the songs.

Disc One

1.     "The Angel Islington"       2:26
2.     "Get Better"       2:46
3.     "The Next Storm"       3:34
4.     "The Opening Act of Spring"       3:00
5.     "Glorious You"       3:15
6.     "Mittens"       4:30
7.     "Out of Breath"       2:06
8.     "Demons"       4:05
9.     "Josephine "      3:22
10.     "Love Forty Down"       2:30
11.     "Silent Key"       4:40
12.     "Song for Josh"       3:28

Disc Two

 1.     "Get Better" (acoustic version)     2:50
2.     "The Next Storm" (acoustic version)     3:34
3.     "The Opening Act of Spring" (acoustic version)     3:20
4.     "Glorious You" (acoustic version)     3:51
5.     "Mittens" (acoustic version)     4:18
6.     "Out of Breath" (acoustic version)     2:00
7.     "Demons" (acoustic version)     4:26
8.     "Josephine" (acoustic version)     3:29
9.     "Love Forty Down" (acoustic version)     2:35
10.     "Silent Key" (acoustic version)     4:26

There is a bonus track on itunes if you had pre-ordered it called Old Flames (the link here is for a version performed with Billy the Kid. 

Review from The Guardian.

Consequence of Sound Review.
Interview with Frank Talking His Way Through The Album.

Tidy Tunes 2015: Polaroid Picture - Frank Turner

Apoligies for Frank's poor use of the English language in the introduction!

For The Wasters!

Frank Turner - The Next Storm (new video released today)

Frank Turner released a new video today as the pace gathers toward the 7th August 2015 and the release of his brand new album 'Positive Songs For Negative People'.

The Next Storm

Get Better

Frank Turner - Get Better (Lyric Video) - (March 2015)

Get A Free Download of the song HERE!

Tidy Tune #342: The Way I Tend To Be - Frank Turner

Live Version

The Way I Tend To Be Documentary.

Frank Turner - We Shall Not Overcome (Animated Video)

  

"Be a fan of every band who ever made you wanna move your feet
Fall in love with every person whoever made your heart wanna skip a beat"

Frank Turner

One never needs an excuse to publish a blog regarding the erstwhile talents of Mr Frank Turner. But I was aghast when I discovered that I actually had not done a blog about him before!

I was watching the highlights of his set at this years T in the Park Festival and once again was struck with what a great showman he is. He has a pretty basic no thrills band in the Sleeping Souls (and they are pretty tight and help Frank to convey the message of his music) and a heart full of songs that provoke a response in one way or another. I know there are a lot of people who dislike him but I know even more who are flat out all for him and see everything he does as gold of the highest quality.

Anyway, enough of my waffling. I want to share some of the music of Frank from a few different places. So just click on the song titles and enjoy. "Who'd have thought that something so simple...."

The Eden Project 1st July 2012

If Ever I Stray

The Road

Reasons Not To Be An Idiot

English Curse

I Am Disappeared

Long Live The Queen

Four Simple Words

Love Ire and Song

Photosynthesis

I Still Believe (Reading Festival 2010)

Thunder Road (The Regal, Oxford 5th December 2010)

The World Turned Upside Down (Reading Festival 2011 with Chuck Ragan)

Rivers (Crossings Festival, Antwerpen 19th November 2011)

The Out Door Type (Hay Festival 2012)

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Postal Service cover Tornoto 19th May 2012)

Peggy Sang The Blues (Sydney 12th May 2012)

Time Machine (Ottawa, Canada 26th April 2012)

American Girl (Tom Petty Cover. Record Store Day 2012 - Winnipeg)

Dan's Song (13th April 2012 Wembley. Frank's Mum on the Harmonica!)