Song Of the Week Jack's Mannequin

"Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)" 

Jack's Mannequin 

Each week, until I hopefully start the interviews with some unsigned, minor lable indie bands and artists, and hopefully every week afterwards, I'll be writing about a song I'm liking that week. Always up to suggestions also about different artists you think I should try, artists you want me to talk about, anything of the sort. 

This week as may seem obvious by the title I have chosen one of the songs off of recently released 'The Glass Passenger' by Jack's Mannequin. A little background though most of you are probably already aware of this very talented band.  The person in the picture, the founder of the band, was previously in a band called Something Corporate, an amazing duo band that was around for years, some of their larger hits being "Down" and "Hurricane", with many many others. Something changed all that though when Mr. McMahon recieved the news that he had been diagnosed with leukemia. He beat the cancer a few years later but at the news did have to leave something corporate. From his own words at a Montreal concert I recently attended  on his previous headlining tour, "The Hammers and Strings Tour", he discussed what made him want to try another band again.  He had spent the summer after he beat leukemia smoking alot and just sitting back and relaxing but a man like Andrew cannot just sit around when the world moves around him. He called up some old friends and now we have Jack's Mannequin a few years in with hits you may recognize like "Bruised", "Dark Blue" and "The Mixed Tape", the latter two featured on One Tree Hill back in the third season when on the show they performed in a concert alongside another main stay of mine Fall Out Boy.  Hilarie Burton, who plays Peyton on the show actually was the girl in the video for "The Mixed Tape".  

Now to the song of the week, one of my absolute favorites off the new album, though I have a soft spot for them all, the namesake of the tour "Hammers and Strings ( A Lullaby)". Like most of the songs Jack's Mannequin puts out lately, it is once again piano based as the main instrument but this rarely changes. The introductions to their songs are always tinged with a romantic mood (examples being Caves and many others...check them all out!) for the start out as alike this song. Being a repeat of the most classic songs by Jack's Mannequin is this one and it is not a bad thing, ever.  From what I get from this song and I am one of those people who try and dig into every lyric they here, this is what I got from this song itself.  What I see is that the song is a story of Andrew McMahon being a refreshing return to performing, doing shows in a million places all over the world, not just the big happening cities that we see some artists doing. How many people stop off in Nebraska for a show?  This song seems to be filled with imagery of haunting old memories of Something Corporate and the passion that he seems to put in all his shows for "the people" and lately, it's not a dream it's reality. 

This was a pretty in depth "song of the week". Not sure if this is how they'll always be, but sometimes there are just those songs that have just a huge affect on you and sometimes, like this and maybe my two bit brownies and coffee all day but I hope to do more of it, no matter how I got there. 

Any artists you want to see? Any songs you want reviewed? Any people you think are crucial for me to know? I'd love it all (: This has been a dream of mine all my life to be a music blogger, ever since AP Alternative Press magazine so let me know how you feel about it, any constructive criticism is not only crucial but well-appreciated! :)

xo

Colleen.