Douglas Laman Gets A Tune-Up (Entry #6): The Clash by The Clash

DOUGLAS LAMAN GETS A TUNE-UP

ENTRY #6: The Clash by The Clash

Douglas Laman Gets A Tune-Up is a series of essays wherein Douglas Laman listens to an album of music he's never fully listened to before (though he may have heard one or two songs from it) and writes up his brief thoughts on it. 

Rock n' roll has taken on many different forms over the years, with each generation bringing something new to the table in terms of thematic content and instrumental composition that differentiates themselves from the past. But in its many forms, there's always been one common thread linking the various incarnations of rock n' roll; rebellion. From the time rock n' roll as we know it really took off in the mid-20th century, the artform has been always known as something meant to raise a middle finger to authority and provide an outlet for frustration at conventionality, structure and all other things that listeners felt were hindering their full potential.

Douglas Laman Gets A Tune-Up (Entry #5): Blue by Joni Mitchell

DOUGLAS LAMAN GETS A TUNE-UP

ENTRY #5: Blue by Joni Mitchell

Douglas Laman Gets A Tune-Up is a new weekly series wherein Douglas Laman listens to an album of music he's never fully listened to before (though he may have heard one or two songs from it) and writes up his brief thoughts on it.

Tonal versatility is a great tool for any musician to have, but sometimes, it's good to just have an album where an artist indulges a singular particular mood. After all, some singers are just so exceedingly good at capturing intensity, happiness, sadness or any sort of emotions that it feels like a dream come true to have them create music revolving around that particular emotion for the entirety of an album. Joni Mitchell was a woman known for her more somber tunes and the 1971 album Blue allows her to deliver ten tracks that predominately (though not exclusively) around a more melancholy atmosphere that prove why she became so well-known for more restrained and solemn pieces of music.