• Voto:
Dopo alcuni anni iniziali di crossover vivace e brillante devoto a Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers e in qualche misura anche ai Primus, nel 1999 gli Incubus danno alle stampe MAKE YOURSELF, l'album che li consacra definitivamente a livello mondiale grazie soprattutto all'accattivante hit Drive, un delizioso e un pò ruffiano pop acustico. Benché questo sia il pezzo più fruibile in catalogo, non è difficile intuire il corso intrapreso dalla band californiana, la quale ha virato verso un sound più melodico e disteso. Il peculiare "background" funky e modernista resta intatto, così anche certe caratteristiche: l'iniziale Privilege riprende lo stile potente di S. C. I. E. N. C. E. , Make Yourself e Out From Under, i pezzi più tirati, rimandano ancora ai Faith No More, la strumentale Battlestar Scralatchtica è un funky spigliato alla Red Hot Chili Peppers condito dal lavoro in consolle di Dj Kilmore, allora nuovo membro (subentrò infatti a Dj Lyfe); inoltre la voce calda e giovanile di Brandon Boyd ricorda parecchio Mike Patton e in qualche frangente anche Anthony Kiedis, del quale tuttavia, con tutto rispetto, è molto più capace.
Ad ogni modo questo disco risente parecchio dell'influenza grunge: i caratteristici midtempo e chitarre al contempo melodiche e grintose si incastrano perfettamente con i groove funkeggianti affidati alla sezione ritmica, il bassista Dirk Lance e il batterista José Pasillas. Nowhere Fast e Pardon Me alternano strofe rispettivamente funky e drum'n'bass a ritornelli distorti; Clean si dispiega in modo analogo, combinando percussioni effettate e lo scratch di Kilmore con le chitarre energiche di Mike Einziger; The Warmth e Stellar sono tradizionali ballate che partono in punta dei piedi per poi potenziarsi nei refrains, mentre la romantica I Miss You è una ballad pò alla Smashing Pumpkins.
Grunge il loro (sarebbe meglio dire post-grunge) che non suona carico di spleen e di nichilismo esistenziale come dovrebbe essere da copione, ma che risulta garbato, edulcorato nei toni ma piacevole all'ascolto. Degni di menzione allora anche i testi, che, a maggior riprova dell'assenza del lirismo cupo e pessimista del grunge, tessono una trama vagamente concept consistente in una sorta di incentivo all'autodeterminazione e al rifiuto delle convenzioni sociali e alla mentalità di massa. La dice lunga dunque il titolo dell'album e della title-track, MAKE YOURSELF, ovvero "forma te stesso, costruisci il tuo ego".
I dettratori di questo album imputano al gruppo un ammorbidimento sonoro a fini di lucro poco nobili. In parte è vero: S. C. I. E. N. C. E. è più originale e complesso del lavoro in questione e non è detto che la band non avesse intenzione di ragginugere il successo internazionale. Ma che c'è di male? D'altronde le canzoni non sono così spudoratamente commerciali, eccezion fatta forse per Drive, che comunque non è affatto brutta. Cosa che, col senno di poi, non si può dire degli album successivi, ma ad ogni modo Brandon e compagni hanno sempre prodotto musica gradevole, anche quando è divenuta "radio friendly". Dunque va precisato che MAKE YOURSELF non ha sancito la loro fine, ammesso che gli Incubus siano un gruppo finito, il che, a parere del sottoscritto, non è affatto vero.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Privilege (03:54)
Isn't it strange that a gift could be an enemy?
Isn't it weird that a privilege could feel like a chore?
Maybe it's me but this line isn't going anywhere,
maybe if we looked hard enough, we could find a backdoor.
(find yourself a backdoor).
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your privilege. (chorus)
Isn't it strange that the man standing in front of me
doesn't have a clue why he's waiting, or what he is waiting for?
Maybe it's me, but i'm sick of wasting energy.
Maybe if i look in my heart I could find a backdoor.
(Find yourself a backdoor).
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your
That is your privilege.
(Find yourself a backdoor).
I see you in line, dragging your feet
you have my sympathy.
The day you were born, you were born free.
That is your privilege. *2
02 Nowhere Fast (04:30)
Will I ever get to, to where it is that I've been going?
Will I ever follow through with what I, with what I have planned.
I guess it's possible that I have been a bit distracted
and the directions for me are a lot less in demand,
in demand.
Will I ever get to where I'm going?
If I do, will I know when I am there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
would I even care?
I would. (chorus)
I take a look around; it's evident the scene has changed.
And there are times when I feel improved, improved upon the past.
Then there are times when I can't seem to understand at all
and yes it seems as though I'm goin nowhere...
really fucking fast, nowhere fast.
Will I ever get to where I'm going?
If I do, will I know when I am there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
would I even care?
I would, I would.
Will I ever get to where I'm going?
If I do, will I know when I am there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
would I even care?
I would, I would, I would, I would, I would.
03 Consequence (03:19)
Blink and you miss a beat
Keep one of your eyes open at all times.
Think that you're on the brink?
The shit hasn't even begun to hit the fan.
Consequense you'll see will be
Stranger than a gang of drunken mimes.
Situation has a stink,
Better clear the air before your son becomes a man.
Before your son becomes a man.
Blink, everything's been augmented,
You've been left so far behind.
I think, for sure, next time you should
Wear a pair of eyes in the back of your head.
Consequense you've seen has been
Stranger then sci-fi of any kind.
Situation baffles me.
I guess it's true you too are one of the walking dead.
You better think fast, think fast
'Cause you never know what's coming round the bend.
You better not blink, or breathe.
For consequense is a bigger word than you think.
Its bigger than you or me.
You or me.
You or me.
You better think fast, think fast
'Cause you never know what's coming round the bend.
You better not blink, or breathe
For consequense is a bigger word than you think.
Its bigger than you or me.
You or me
You or me
04 The Warmth (04:24)
I'd like to close my eyes and go numb,
But there's a cold wind coming from,
The top of the highest high rise today.
Its not a breeze 'cuz it blows hard,
Yes and it wants me to discard,
The humanity I know,
watch the warmth blow away...
CHORUS
So don't let the world bring you down,
Not everyone here is that fucked up and cold.
Remember why you came and while you're alive,
Experience the warmth before you grow old.
So do you think I should adhere,
To that pressing new frontier,
And leave in my wake, a trail of fear,
Or should I hold my head up high,
And throw a wrench in spokes by,
Leaving the air behind me clear?
CHORUS
So don't let the world bring you down,
Not everyone here is that fucked up and cold.
Remember why you came and while you're alive,
Experience the warmth before you grow old. (x2)
Before you grow old...
Where did it go ? (x4)
05 When It Comes (04:00)
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again, again
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again, again
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again, again
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again
When it comes, it comes abrupt and it feel
it feels like trading brains with an imbecile...
For real
Yes, I feel emphatic about not being static
and not buying philosophies that are sold to me, oh, no
At a steal
Just when you thought it was safe to think, in comes mental piracy
What I'm looking for (for)
cannot be sold to me... (me)
I wish they all would stop trying...
'Cause' what I want ('cause what I want)
and what I need (and what I need)
is and will always be free
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again, again
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again
When it comes, it comes unannounced
And it feels like a matador is taunting me with his reddest red cloth
and I am the bull
Yes, I feel emphatic about not being static
and not eating the bullshit that's being fed to me no more...
'cause now I'm full
Just when you thought it was safe to think, in comes mental piracy
What I'm looking for
cannot be sold to me...
I wish they all would stop trying...
'Cause' what I want (what I want)
and what I need (what I need)
is and will always be free
It's comin' around again
they're letting it out again, again...
They're letting it out again, again!!
06 Stellar (03:20)
Meet me in outer space.
WE could spend the night; watch the earth come up.
I've grown tired of that place; won't you come with me?
WE could start again.
How do you do it?
Make me feel like I do.
How do you do it?
It's better than I ever knew.
Meet me in outer space.
I will hold you close, if you're afraid of heights.
I need you to see this place, it might be the only way that I can show you how it feels to be inside of you.
How do you do it?
Make me feel like I do.
How do you do it?
It's better than I ever knew.
How do you do it?
Make me feel like I do (do).
Ohhhhh
You are stellar.
You are stellar.
How do you do it?
Make me feel like I do.
How do you do it?
It's better than I ever knew.
How do you do it?
Make me feel like I do.
How do you do it?
Make me feel like I do.
Yeah
07 Make Yourself (03:03)
If I hadn't made me, I would've been made somehow
If I hadn't assembled myself, I'd have fallen apart by now
If I hadn't made me, I'd be more inclined to bow
Powers that be, would have swallowed me up
But that's more than I can allow
Bow yeah, bow yeah
If you let them make you, they'll make you paper mache
At a distance you're strong, until the wind comes
Then you crumble and blow away
If you let them fuck you, there will be no fore-play
Rest assured, they'll screw you complete
Til your ass is blue and gray
You should make amends with you
If only for better health, better health
But if you really want to live
Why not try, and make yourself
Make yourself
Make yourself
If I hadn't made me, I'd have fallen apart by now
I won't let them make me, It's more than I can allow
So when I make me, I won't be paper mache
And if I fuck me, I'll fuck me my own way
Pow! I'll, fuck me in my own way
Pow! I'll, fuck me in my own way
Pow! I'll, fuck me in my own way
Fuck me in my own way
You should make amends with you
If only for better health, better health
But if you really want to live
Why not try, and make yourself
Make yourself
Make yourself
Make yourself
Make yourself
08 Drive (03:52)
Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear.
And I, I can't help but ask myself how much I'll let the fear
take the wheel and steer.
It's driven me before,
and it seems to have a vague,
haunting mass appeal.
And lately I'm beginning to find that I
should be the one behind the wheel.
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there
with open arms and open eyes, yeah.
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there,
I'll be there.
So if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive
will I choose water over wine
and hold my own and drive? oh oh oooh.
It's driven me before
and it seems to be the way
that everyone else gets around.
But lately I'm beginning to find that
when I drive myself my light is found.
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there
with open arms and open eyes, yeah.
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there,
I'll be there...
Would you choose water over wine....
hold the wheel and drive?
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there
with open arms and open eyes.
Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there
I'll be there
Dududuu Dududu Dududududu
Tomorrow Dududududuu
Dududuuu Dududu Dududududu
Tomorrow...
09 Clean (03:55)
Today, everything was fine fine fine
Until roundabout quarter to 9
Suddenly found myself in a bind, a bind
Was it something I said
Something I read and manifested that's getting you down
Don't you dare come to bed with that ambiguous look in your eye
I'd sooner sleep by an open fire and wake up fried
Say what you will
Say what you mean
No, you could never offend
Your dirty words come out clean, clean
Tomorrow, what price will I pay
Could I make it all up to you by serving coffee for two in bed, would you then give me
the time of day
I need a map of your head, translated into English so I can learn to not make you frown
Feel better if you vent, put your frustrations into four letter words and let them out on
mine
The most weathered ears in town!
Say what you will
Say what you mean
No, you could never offend
Your dirty words come out clean
Clean (x6)
Say what you will
Say what you mean
No, you could never offend
Your dirty words come out clean
Say what you will
Say what you mean
No, you could never offend
Your dirty words come out clean, clean
11 I Miss You (02:48)
To see you when I wake up
Is a gift I didn't think could be real.
To know that you feel the same as I do
Is a three-fold, utopian dream.
You do something to me that I can't explain.
So would I be out of line if I said
I miss you.
I see your picture,
I smell your skin on the empty pillow, next to mine.
You have only been gone ten days
But already I'm wasting away.
I know I'll see you again
Whether far or soon.
But I need you to know that I care
And, I miss You.
(I miss you)
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
12 Pardon Me (03:44)
Pardon me while I burst
Pardon me while I burst
A decade ago, I never thought I would be
At twenty-three on the verge of spontaneous combustion
Woe is me
But I guess that it comes with the territory
An ominous landscape of never-ending calamity
I need you to hear, I need you to see
That I have had all I can take
And exploding seems like a definite possibility to me
So pardon me while I burst into flames
I've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games
So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame
Pardon me, pardon me
They'll never be the same
Not two days ago, I was having a look in a book
And I saw a picture of a guy fried up above his knees
I said, "I can relate,"
'Cause lately I've been thinking of combustication
As a welcomed vacation from
The burdens of the planet Earth
Like gravity, hypocrisy, and the perils of being in 3-D
But thinking so much differently
Pardon me while I burst into flames
I've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games
So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame
Pardon me, pardon me
They'll never be the same
Never be the same, yeah
Pardon me while I burst into flames
Pardon me, pardon me, pardon me
So pardon me while I burst into flames
I've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games
So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame
Pardon me, pardon me
They'll never be the same
Pardon me
Never be the same, yeah
14 Crowded Elevator (04:44)
Fifteen minutes to six and fourteen floors to go
Thirteen suited strangers makes a crowded elevator slow
And I've got a million words and phrases on the tip of my tongue
For the only non stranger next to me soon she'll know
Know, know
So let them stare
If I could think I would give in
And let you in on how I feel
Need to spill
Let all of it out right now
And expose every inch in front of them
Twelve more floors; your eyes and mine are all I need to come clean
Or should I wait for the lobby, spare the lives
Of some 26 nervous eyes
Being occupied by little red numbers passing by
If I wait one minute longer, I think I will die
Die, die.
So let them stare
If I could think I would give in
and let you in on how I feel
Need to spill
Let all of it out right now
And expose every inch in front of them
If I could think I would give in
and let you in on how I feel
Need to spill
Let all of it out right now
And expose every inch in front of them
Front of them
You help me to feel, see and know
While all the while I've been so inquisitive
I can't go back cuz now I know how it feels to open up and breathe
I can't go back cuz now I
I can't go back cuz now I
I can't go back cuz now I
I can't go back cuz now I know
If I could think I would give in
and let you in on how I feel
Need to spill
Let all of it out right now
And expose every inch in front of them
If I could think I would give in
and let you in on how I feel
Need to spill
Let all of it out right now
And expose every inch in front of them
Yeah
In front of them
In front of them
In front of them
Carico i commenti... con calma
