April 25, 2021 Seether, my gateway drug

My title is not all that accurate since I continue to enjoy my "gateway drug" the most, but their music has lead to other music and musicians. Amazon Music and Spotify have Seether Radio which gives you Seether songs plus related music by other bands.  This is not perfect, of course.  The Seether songs played are the most well know selections, that is mostly those played on the radio as singles such as Fake It, so the music played by the other bands are often the same ones, but I get a taste of music I may want to hear more of.  I've also found music I have heard before, in the past.  In listening to interviews with Seether, one of the questions often asked is their musical influences and who they listen to.  Shaun has mentioned Nirvana, of course, Rage Against the Machine and both Shaun and Dale mentioned Pantera.  Bands they've become fans of through hearing them during tours and those they listen to before a show to get them going include Chevelle, Sevendust, Finger Eleven and Dark New Day.  John, of course, is a Kiss fan, but also mentioned a variety of influences such as Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Van Halen and Motley Crue.

There is some tendency in the Seether posts to say this Seether song sounds like this other band's song or even accusing them of imitating or even borrowing music from other bands.  But the music is not linear and separated from band to band.  They all have the same number of notes to work with.  They listen to each other, they play music with each other, they are fans of each other.  The musicians move from band to band or help out on tours.  They are often friends and sometimes family.  The music is a joint creation of influences, sounds, contributions and is a woven, interconnected piece.  The bands and the music are not created in a vacuum.  The threads weave in and out, winding around, stopping and starting endlessly.

So my top 10 Seether Radio songs that are not Seether.  I keep wanting to play these over and over. In no particular order:

1.    I Hate Everything About You. Three Days Grace (2003), it has great angsty music and lyrics building to the chorus, "I hate everything about you.  Why do I love you"  Except for the fact that they hate everything about each other, they can have a loving relationship as long as they don't think.  They also sing Never Too Late.

2.    Headstrong. Trapt (2002) Wow, I used to listen to this one all the time on the radio.  I just didn't know what it was about, which didn't stop me from belting out the chorus, "Back off I'll take you on. Headstrong to take on anyone."  Who can resist?

3.    Last Resort. Papa Roach (2000) The marching cadence of the music and vocals and the juxtaposition of the wildness and chaos of the lyrics is so strong and keeps building all the way through. Scars is another Papa Roach song I love listening to.  And singing along with.  Added bonus, he happens to sing in my key.  Shaun goes lower than I can quite manage.

4.    Black Honey. Thrice (2016) The first time I ever heard this was the Seether cover from the Live Sirius XM performance in 2017.  I was thrilled when the original Thrice version came up in the queue.  It's hard not to listen to this one over and over.  Strong, dark and beautiful.

Interlude here.  Remember back at the end of February when I was trying and failing to learn how to play Gasoline?  Well, I'm currently trying to learn the guitar part to Black Honey, which is going well, sort of, because I have a fellow on You Tube with the TAB above a video recording of  his fingers on the frets  of his guitar playing the notes with the playback set at 3/4 speed.  My point is, how the hell did Shaun learn the entire Nirvana Nevermind album with just the music playing on a CD?  The man's a genius, I swear.

5.     Down With the Sickness. Disturbed (2000) David Draiman's voice is stellar.  The drums are very Jumanji.  It's the sound he makes that does it for me.  You know that sound.  The closest I can get is the "Waka, waka, waka" sound Fozzie Bear makes on the Muppets.

6.    Monster. Skillet (2009) The vocals are rough, the music fast.  If you feel like head banging, this one will keep you going.  Bad to play while driving.  Too easy to go somewhat above the speed limit.

7.    Zombie. Bad Wolves (2018) Originally the 1993 song by the Cranberries, an alternative rock band from Ireland, Bad Wolves do a incredible cover.

8    It's Been Awhile. Staind (2001) The repeating of the title phrase is mesmerizing. Harmony vocals and the music is worth listening to over again.  The acoustic version is lovely as well.  And Seether did a cover of it in 2011.  Outside and So Far Away are two others by Staind that stand up on repeat.

9.    Simple Man. Shinedown (2009) Just plain gorgeous. Two or three songs have come up on "My Soundtrack" list on Amazon Music and I like them all.  A lot.  If You Only Knew.  45. Call Me. Simple Man is originally a Lynyrd Skynyrd song (1973)  December 2024 Many others.  I like Shinedown so much, I have the Planet Zero and Attention, Attention CDs.  Also saw their show twice so far.  Delightful, joyful experience.

10.    Hunger Strike. Temple of the Dog (1991) Another song I heard first as a cover on 360 VR sung by Shaun and Adam Gontier.  December 2024 Which lead me to Chris Cornell, Soundgarden and Audioslave and Chester Bennington and Lincoln Park.

Songs that I love because they make me laugh.  Sarcastic and just plain fun.  Fake It is like that for me. It makes me happy listening to it.:

Rx (Medicate) Theory of a Deadman (2017) First time I heard him sing, "I am so freakin' bored" I just laughed.  It's a good thing I wasn't drinking something, I would have spit it all over my steering wheel. And listing all the people that are high right now.  It's so jolly and sarcastic at the same time.  I love Bad Girlfriend for the same reason.  Such a great love song.  "She may be awful, but she's mine!"  

A Little Bit Off. Five Finger Death Punch (2020) Anyone can sympathize and join in.  Having crap day?  Here's a band you can commiserate with.  Or visa versa. December 2024.  Also love Blue on Black (cover of a song by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band) and Jekyll and Hyde.

She Hates Me. Puddle of Mud It's just so bouncy and happy.  "She fuckin' hates me.  La-la-la-la".  Also Control, which is another "I hate you, you hate me but we can't get enough of each other" song but the line, "I love the way she smacks my ass" gives me a little hope for this relationship.

Beyond the 10.  These have only come up once or twice so far, so I haven't heard them much but on first listen they will likely join the top ten:

3 Doors Down. Kryptonite. When I'm Gone.

Stone Sour. Through Glass. Bother. December 2024 Taciturn. 

Theory of a Deadman great songs so far.  Not Meant to Be. Angel. The above mentioned Rx.

Chevelle. The Red.

System of a Down. Chop Suey!  What beautiful voices.  Such a mixture of music in one song.  No idea why it's called Chop Suey. 

Saliva A devilish part of me wants to pronounce the band name SAL-i-va with the emphasis on the first syllable or SAL-via (which is a plant).  Rest in pieces. Click, Click, Boom.

 Breaking Benjamin. I Will not Bow.

Hinder. Lips of an Angel. Without You.

Saving Abel.  Addicted.  I was discussing this list with my daughter.  I said, "I'm not sure about that 'I'm addicted to you' song" and she starts singing, "I'm so addicted to, all the things you do when you're going down on me between the sheets".  "Exactly" I interrupted "That's more than I want to know about his sex life. Then he sings 'Ooh girl, let's take it slow' Really? I think he's passed taking it slow at this point."  She just laughed at me.  Contradiction aside, it is a really good song.

I'm very new to this, I've only been listening to Seether since last fall.  [i.e. Fall 2020] There are so many more bands and so many more songs.  It's likely I've missed your favorite.  My next favorite.  Your sister's dog's vet's favorite.  Yeah, I know.  Please recommend anything you think is worth listening to.  Try to keep the sarcastic comments to a minimum.