It's freezing outside

Hey all, it’s that time again. Another week; another song. Who else is thrilled about the freezing weather out there? It’s as if we’ve skipped right through fall. In order to bring back that long gone summer feeling, I’m going to pick another ska song and what better band to pick a song by than one that comes from California. The band is called ‘The Dirty Heads’. They hail from Orange County, California. The band might not be that well known to a few but they’ve got this one song that I’m sure many have heard on the radio like two summers ago. Maybe three, don’t remember. Even though the song is at least a couple years old, it is one of those songs that I believe will last the test of time. Does anyone remember Sublime? They are (or were, depending what way you want to look at it) the godfathers of modern ska and have shaped the sound that we hear today. RIP Bradley Nowell. I feel like The Dirty Heads really tried to capture that Sublime sound with the song that I’ve chosen.

The name of the song is ‘Lay Me Down’. The perfect imagery description of this song is definitely along the lines of being on a beach. The off-beat guitar, running basslines, bongo percussion to compliment the standard drums and the rap-like flow in the verses are stand-out features of this song. The song features a guest vocalist/guitarist that goes by the name of Rome. Rome has also been picked up by the surviving members of Sublime a couple of years back to fill in for Bradley as Sublime planned on doing a come-back tour and eventually a new album. In order to not bring outrage to their fans that believe Bradley should not be replaced or dishonoured, they have called themselves ‘Sublime with Rome’. Most of the fans have come to terms that if you want to see Sublime live again since 1996, this is the closest you will ever get to the real thing.

Lay Me Down is an infectious song because of how catchy it is. It does a great job at showcasing simplicity at some of its best points. The rhythm of this song is pretty much the general ska rhythm of mute, then strum. My take was fairly sloppy but I tried to save myself losing count by adding a swing feel at those parts. Didn’t work out too well, but oh well. The chord progression in the chorus and breakdown part is just G and Am. The verse progression is Em, Am and B.

Check back next week for the next post, enjoy the rest of the week!