Song of the Unquan

I've tried a couple of times to do album reviews for some of the music I've picked up recently, but have failed repeatedly. Not for lack of stuff to write about -- quite the opposite. As always, I tend to be very verbose and just run on and on [b]forever[/b]. So in interest of keeping things brief, I've decided to just review (or just talk about) certain songs that grab me. Thus, Song of the Unquan. What's an unquan you, ask? It's a word I made up. Isn't creative license fun? It essentially refers to anything unquantifiable. Since this won't be a "Song of the Day" or "Song of the Week" (as consistency isn't my strong suit), I'll be pretty much writing about a song whenever I damn well please. So there.

So, at the moment, the song that's grabbing me is "Doesn't Remind Me" by Audioslave. It's from the new disc, Out of Exile. It's actually rather uncharactistic if you've listened to the first Audioslave album. Whereas Tom Morello's ridiculous guitar playing was almost omni-present on the self-titled album, this song is pretty low-key (don't worry, Morello hasn't lost his edge -- this song has a great solo and album has plenty of tracks that feature insane solos and sounds that a guitar just shouldn't make).

So the verse part of the song is, like I said, low-key and mid-tempo. Just a simple, acoustic-sounding strum pattern with a thick bass-riff behind it. It's a nice change-up, and they pull it off well -- let no one say Morello is a one-trick pony. Singer Chris Cornell tones it down a bit too. For the verse, he drops his characteristic hoarse croon and adopts a more wistful tone.

The lyrics are the real standout though. The song seems to encapsule a life of loss and regret, but it doesn't bludgeon you over the head with it's angst. It's more of a resigned thing. It's as though the singer has so much to regret that he does things just because they are unfamiliar, that they won't bring back any painful memories. The verses are somewhat simple, but between the clever imagery and Cornell's soulful singing, they really strike you:

"I like studying faces in the parking lot,
'cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like driving backwards in the fog,
'cause it doesn't remind me of anything"

The chorus is a pretty much a total 180, as the band enter full on hard-rockin' mode -- sounds much more like the Audioslave you may be used to. Here we're keyed in more to the singer's emotional state:

"The things that I've loved, the things that I've lost,
the things I've held sacred... that I've dropped
I won't lie no more, you can bet,
I don't wanna learn what I'll need to forget"

As always, you really need to hear the song to "get it," but there you have it. You can see the full lyrics here. This is the kind of song that I love though -- brilliantly understated, powerful but not heavy-handed. It gets the point across in a beautiful and creative way but without compromise. And of course, Chris Cornell sings his ass off and Tom Morello makes sweet, sweet love to his guitar. Beautiful stuff.