Blue October - Any Man In America (2011)

Soot and Stars

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Blue October, driven by the mind of vocalist/writer Justin Furstenfeld, may be the most intimate affair you'll ever have with a rock band. That is perhaps a huge part of the bands appeal and why their growing fan base has followed them faithfully from album to album making their newest release "Any Man In America" their best charting album to date. Justin Furstenfeld is the bands focus perhaps not unlike my other favorite group, The Smashing Pumpkins. This is not to say the musicians, including Justins brother Jeremy, don't have merit. Multi-instrumentalists, Ryan Delahoussaye in particular has definitely played a huge part in defining the bands sound with the prominent use of Violins and his own unique techniques he uses. Regardless, it's obvious to everyone that Justin is the show and the music is the backdrop to his words.

Justin Furstenfeld
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Justin Furstenfeld is not who you'd picture being the type of confessional artist who tells you their every thought, weakness and experience openly. He looks like he could kick your ass with the greatest of ease and at times he looks a little scary. In some ways, Justin is a little scary and when you get inside his head, which you do with each album, you see a very open book of a very layered complex individual. Part of the complexity comes from the fact that Justin has bipolar disorder which has affected him to the point of blackouts and stays at a Mental Hospital which he chronicles on the album "Consent to Treatment". With Justin, you know that the music may be his only outlet. Justin grew up listening and being influenced by a multitude of genres which has had the band experimenting with different sounds throughout their career. Every song within the Blue October catalog has meaning and every album plays as a chapter in Justins life. It's this open discourse to the listener that brings such a loyal audience and in their own way each listener can relate to it in the context of their own lives knowing someone is struggling and working through their lives as well.

From Then To Now
The newest chapter of Justin's life started being displayed in part on the previous album:

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"Approaching Normal" was the followup album to "Foiled" which was their breakthrough album with two hit singles. One of those singles "Hate Me" was their highest charting to date and even Justin admits on the new album will be his only Billboard hit. Between the period of time between "Foiled" and "Approaching Normal" Justin got married and had a baby girl Blue. Justins perspective took a turnaround after she was born and reached sobriety. The marriage began suffering regardless because of Justins being away from home due to touring. Justin got hit with a huge pill to swallow when he came home one day to his wife confessing that she had been involved with another man for ten months who his daughter recognized as a father and that she wanted a divorce. All this with the daughter nearby in which Justin did his best to hold his composure for her. Following these events, Justin reached his breaking point and the tour was cancelled for a period of time due to extreme anxiety attacks. With the "Approaching Normal" album you saw glimpses into Justins family life which was mostly positive at the time of writing but one song really takes a harsh reality when you hear it after knowing the events that transpired.

Here's Justin talking about the background to one of the songs on "Approaching Normal" followed by the song itself:

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Blue Does

As you may have heard Justin describe this song came towards the end of the album and contrast the darker vibe it had towards the beginning. It really reflects the transition he described himself being in before and after he had his child. One song, though chronologically doesn't fit but seems a lot eerier now considering events that transpired, is the closing track "The End". While the album was written before the events of infidelity this track in which Justin said was an exercise in going to the darkest place he could go lyrically seems like an omen especially when you listen to the track "The Flight (Lincoln to Minneapolis" on "Any Man In America". I now listen to this track in a much different light.

The End


Here alone, standing barefoot in our lawn,
Worms squeezing their way through my toes
Tonight that’s how it goes.
I’m at your window kneeling quiet,
I thought at least I’d maybe try to get your head right
Get your heart right
“Let him go!”

Then through the glass I see your dress fall to the floor
As he embraces every inch of you
The woman I adore.
I can’t believe the way you’re bending
Can’t believe this neverending moaning asking him for more
I heard you begging him for more

How far will I go
To make it feel right? “Come home”
I have to fix this on my own

Replace my heart,
Cause I’m convinced mine broke the day I let us end
Replace my heart,
I don’t wanna live by coping, I’m done with hoping…..end

I creeped in close enough to see the way he touched her,
From her feet across her knees, inside her sweetest spot
he pleased and pleased her.
I turned around and tried to take control, but no control was capable
It was a centerfold of how less than low can possibly go.

I squeezed the life into my brain
Like pushing knives into a vein
I’ve gotta get, I’ve gotta get, I said I’ve gotta get inside
So to the back window I crawl in silent standing in the darkness
Of my living room, my living room
This used to be my home

How far will I go
To make it feel right? “Come home”
I’m moving forward to the bedroom door

Replace my heart
Cause I’m convinced mine broke the day I let us end
Replace my heart
I don’t wanna live by coping, I’m done with hoping…end

I turn the doorknob with two fingers to be slow
Enough to sneak into the room among the corner darkness gloom
I had to see this happening.
He pushed himself so deep inside her clapping rang and bounced off every wooden walled room
And that’s when all went silent blank except the color red
As I walked calmly numbing paralyzed beside the bed
I said “I know I’m not allowed to be here. I just had to see
How good this new man really ****s you. Cause you both been ****ing me.”

“So now I planned the last thing you can both do as a pair
I tie both blindfolds tight around your ****ing eyes to blind your stare
I don’t want to alarm you, but I figured we could end this in what seems easy quick and painless
So I’ll get down to business
I choose you first, there’s a gun, its at your head
So laugh at me just one more time but keep your face inside the bed
You sit and watch me while I do this shit and learn from what I’ve said.”
I cocked the pistol pulled the trigger, and all I saw was red

Then the screaming oh the screaming
It’s nice to see you scared
Of such a weak and stupid husband
Who knows you never really cared
I’ll leave you with a question that I need to hear from your head
Was all this worth it knowing u have just seconds left to live?

Now think about your answer, laying face down on the bed
I cocked the pistol pulled the trigger and all I saw was red
I gently stroke her arm as she lies lifeless on her back
Then placed the barrel in my mouth
All I saw was black.

So all this leads to the main attraction which is the culmination of events in which Justin lost a wife, a large portion of his livelihood and most importantly custody of his daughter. While this is one side of the story it's one the listener will be intrigued by, sympathize with, relate to in parts and overall feel like part of something. It's one mans story filled with accounts and doses of real life as real life phone calls and segments of all the players are filtered throughout the album. Justin sings, speaks, semi-raps, screams and emotes his story to the audience in yet another unfiltered portrayal of his life and psyche at the time. The album is:

Any Man In America
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I'll be doing a song by song breakdown and try to relate what I've read of the events and music with anecdotes relating to the past as well as my own personal impressions. I absolutely LOVE this album so I hope I've got everyones interest at this point in following me through this! :grinthumb
 

METALPRIEST

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

Well I have to say Soot you gave me a new appreciation for these guys. Don't know too much about them as a whole and didn't know the dude has been through that much. Wow.

I dug the Blue Does tune...very nice and the End is pretty deep. Looking forward to your track for track break down

:grinthumb

I see their discs from time to time at the used shop I go to and I may have to gamble on a disc or two. :cheers2
 

Soot and Stars

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

The album starts with a short 50 seconds of ambiance that leads to the first track "The Feel Again (Stay)". This despite being the second single, though the first to get the video treatment, was the song that had me anticipating the album avidly. The song vocally has a very Peter Gabriel feel to it especially in the vocals which is not surprise since Justin considers him a huge influence as well as Genesis. The bands second albums cover is actually influenced by the video for "Sledgehammer":

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The sparse echoey vibe with the drumbeats also echoes (no pun intended) another Genesis alumni to me with Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight". I think this song is the perfect time to reflect on something I said earlier. No more than ever Justin's vocals and words are the show. One thing that I read that was criticized is the bands push to the background as everything is mixed while Justins vocals are pushed to the forefront more than ever on this album. The album is very synthesizer heavy and the beats sound more part of drum machines than actual drumming. You can hear that very much in this song but in no way is this not a music piece. The structure and storytelling in this song is amazing.

The first time I heard this song I had no idea of the back story. I thought it was a typical breakup song. I didn't even no he was married but by the time he got to the verse:

"There's just three of us to think about now, in our show......"

I got that there was another whole depth to the song to think about. It may be just me but this was the first song I'd heard prominently feature this theme about keeping the family unit together and how much more weight the one in the middle of it all, the child adds. It may be a futile cry but the emotion behind the singer and the importance of rekindling and mending what went wrong is chilling. You hear it in his voice and see it vividly in his face as the whole video is brilliantly just him. The simplicity of that adds more depth to the song than anything else possibly could. This seems to be the early stages when he thought reconciliation was possible as he even holds up the words:

"It's not all your fault"
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The song is just beautiful. Every effect paints an inflection and serves as an emotion. The song builds, ebbs and flows and pulses. It's a song you feel and has a vital energy to it. The signature violin comes sweeping in when it's need and serves to bring in my favorite moment of the song. From the echoed verses where he saw the transition happening you feel his feelings of losing control and the world he knew slipping from his grasp. It's a mix of desperation, hopeless romanticism and despair. At times the song just slaps you out of nowhere with an echoed cry and elevates you into false security as Justin delivers glimmers of light and a sales pitch that will fall flat in reality. This song is the most ambiguous on the album but leaves listeners wanting more details. The listener will get plenty as hope turns to sadness, anger and regret as the album unfolds.

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I see the sun go down on the river
I feel the wind blow out, would've stayed to gray
I feel the air around you, it's kinda closing in
Do you feel it fall, or do you feel at all, I can!

I see the world keep moving as I stumble
They seem to move much faster than me
And while I sit in my four cornered room dividing hearts for a little girl
Well I can't be anything but who I am

And I wish you'd stay
That was the beginning of the two of us, the start of our show
Stay, stay, stay...
Now I would never have let go

And I see the sun go up as your image
And I feel the weight of your eyes as you stare
I feel it all when you, when you first, when you kissed my lips
You used to make me feel at home, you made me feel at home, you made me
Feel again

Oh and that's when you use to say, "Will you stay, and not let go?"
That was just the two of us to think about, the stars of our show
And you would say, "I wish you'd stay and I'd never go"
Oh I would never have let go!

So take this heart of mine
You've taken it a hundred thousand times
But this time, this time, I'm gonna take it with me

I see the door close down behind you
I watch your face turn from glow to straight gray
I see the moon go up and it shines this glory on my face
Who would know? Who would know? Who would know?

How we would stay, and we should stay and never let go, oh hell no
There's just three of us to think about now, in our show, our show, our
Show
I think we'd stay, we'd just stay, and then we'd know
That we should never let go

Something to think about, her heart
Just look into those big brown eyes, and you'd just fall apart
We should stay, at least we'd stay, at least she'd know
That we should never let go
No, no, let go, go, oh...

I wish you'd stay
I wish you'd stay...
 

Soot and Stars

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

Well I have to say Soot you gave me a new appreciation for these guys. Don't know too much about them as a whole and didn't know the dude has been through that much. Wow.

I dug the Blue Does tune...very nice and the End is pretty deep. Looking forward to your track for track break down

:grinthumb

I see their discs from time to time at the used shop I go to and I may have to gamble on a disc or two. :cheers2

Well I started! :D I was hoping this thread would get people curious so that's good to hear! It's one of those groups I didn't get into write off but you kind of unwrap them by layers and once you're hooked you are hooked dude! From their prior album forth I've been a fanboy of them moving backwards and anticipating what they do next which was this album. I got into this new album more than any other thus far! :cheers2
 

METALPRIEST

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

Yeah you've been loving this for awhile now, and it seems like a winner.

Didn't know about the strong Genesis influence either...cool. :****:
 

Soot and Stars

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

Yeah you've been loving this for awhile now, and it seems like a winner.

Didn't know about the strong Genesis influence either...cool. :****:

That's not the only influence either! There are some surprising influences from a couple different genres here! :grinthumb
 

LyricalLaurel

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

OK you've peaked my interest too. And with all the detail you give, and with this sad but riveting story... I can't help but be hooked. Oh, yeah, and by that song he did for his daughter. Sweet. :D
 

Soot and Stars

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Glad you are on board Laurel! Definitely a sweet song but you are in for quite a ride after this as it's going to be a lot more rough edges content wise before the album ends! :D There's a nice sweet song by the last quarter of the album though! :grinthumb
 

METALPRIEST

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Re: Blue October "Any Man In America"

STAY!!! WOW! What a powerful tune...let me tell you I LOVED it!!

Great chorus, and a touching song from start to finish. Love the production and the violin section as well. Very effective video with just his face singing to the camera. Gets the point across well...and I dug the sign at the end too.

:grinthumb :cheers2
 

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