Vague Similarities; Single Information
Vague Similarities
The opening piano keys, played by Greg Oldson, immediately set the chilling vibe that the remainder of the song follows. Eric Quillington sings in a low, almost mumbled, singing voice that is completely removed of all emotion. This creates the most striking aspect of the song; the descriptive and emotional lyrics are sung with an almost passive indifference, suggesting that the narrator no longer cares about the outcome of the conflict. Each verse also has progressively increased instrumentals: the first simply contains Greg's keyboard-playing and Eric's singing, the second brings in Matt Robert's bass-riff and Quillington's subdued and distorted guitar, and so forth. This reaches it's climax in the third verse, which is essentially a nightmarish collage of music consisting of wailing guitars, distorted bass, faint background noises of fires and screams, all played against Quillington's almost monotone singing.
All sounds then abruptly end, with the mournful piano opening brought back to center stage. Quillington sings a fourth and final verse of how 'all past rights have been wronged', before the piano riff closes the song. Lyrically, this song is about the quiet hatred many civilians can feel towards a revolution, especially if they don't support the causes. Quillington has stated that this song is influenced by the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the horrifying effects the resulting Soviet Union had on it's citizens. The sarcastically indifferent line, 'it brings me down' that serves as the end of each verse effectively sums up the themes of this song.
"The boiling of the bloodstream is building up inside of me
Air is so black, the air is so black
It brings me down
The endless possibilities are shot down before they can bloom
Skin is so blue, the skin is so blue
It brings me down
The windows are shut to blind ourselves of what’s outside
Eyes are so white, the eyes are so white
It brings me down
The city is so silent now that past rights have been wronged
Water is so red, the water is so red
It brings me down"
Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
Soft acoustic strumming opens the song, giving way to a false sense of security. Eric Quillington sings with a rare tone of sincerity in his voice, making it seem as though this song is a ballad.From the second verse onwards, however, the proceedings take a nose-dive into the claustrophobic atmosphere found on 'Insomnia'. Pounding piano notes hover ominously, the bass-line rumbles, and out-of-tune guitar chords chime. All the while, Quillington's voice has also become electronically distorted, adding to the disturbing vibe. Each noise abruptly cut after the final two lines, leaving only the piano in it's wake. There is a jumpy quality to the audio at this point, as if this song is being played on a broken record. The sound of Quillington's whistling can be softly heard in the background as 'Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces' reaches it's end.
Lyrically, this song is a satirical look on love songs. Spinning the lyrics to a point that it speaks of schizophrenia, 'Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces' comes off as one of Infinite's darkest songs to date. Despite the undertones, Quillington still considers this to be, "The song everybody will be requesting at their Proms this year. Mark my words, I will be proven right."
"You can’t make pretty pictures, you can’t make pretty poems
It doesn’t matter, because you simply view the world differently
Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder
It’s only a matter of time before the loneliness evaporates
After all, you’ll never be alone
You can’t find inspiration, you can’t find a shred of success
It really doesn’t matter, because you simply view the world differently
Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder
If you’re scared of the silence, we’ll be there with comforting words
After all, you’ll never be alone
This is your statement; everything has it’s time
This is our statement; everything has it’s place"
Like Spinning Plates (Radiohead Cover)
Less ambient and experimental than the original version, Infinite's cover is focused solely on Quillington's singing and Oldon's piano playing. This song was selected by Infinite because it carries on the sinister concepts from the previous two songs perfectly, a conclusion to a single the band regards as 'the darkest, and most bleak, collection of sounds we'll ever make.'
"While you make pretty speeches,
I'm being cut to shreds
You feed me to the lions,
a delicate balance
And this just feels like spinning plates
I'm living in cloud cuckoo land
And this just feels like spinning plates
My body is floating down the muddy river"
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PersonnelEric Quillington- Lead Vocalist, Lyricist of 'Vague Similarities' and 'Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces', Guitarist,
Greg Oldson- Drums, percussion, pianist, back-up vocals
Matt Roberts- Bass
Special thanks to;- Cassie Bitch, for calling me a weed on numerous occasions. It's nice to know that people can't come up with original insults.
- The writers of @ChaosOnline, for giving me huge pangs of regret for wanting to know more about the Coyle/Vanity story.
- Anybody who voted for us at the Birdies. Thanks to you guys, Infinite won awards for 'Best Album' and 'Best Band'. It's all we could've hoped for.
Edited by user 18 May 2011 05:48:28(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified