Palm Trees Song Download [BETTER]
David Barrientos
I'm looking to expand my driving list a bit more. I've got a really good retro synthwave playlist, but I'm looking to add some of my older favorites and songs that sound similar. Great examples would be....
Palm Trees and Power Lines received mixed reviews from music critics, some praising the quality of songwriting, while others felt that the music was uninspiring and lacked originality. It peaked number 46 on the Billboard 200. Following the album's recording, the band went on a headlining tour of the United States and supported Good Charlotte in Japan and the United Kingdom. Following another support slot, this time for MxPx and Simple Plan, "Memory" was released as the album's lead single in March 2004. The band then went on headlining stints of the US and Japan, leading into an appearance on the Warped Tour. She's the Blade" was released as the second single form the album in August 2004.
Sugarcult released their third studio album Start Static in August 2001, which had two successful singles "Stuck in America" and "Bouncing Off the Walls",[1][2] through Ultimatum Music in the United States and Epitaph Records in Europe.[3] Drummer Ben Davis went to rehab[3] and was replaced by Lefty drummer Kenny Livingston in September 2002;[4] Davis officially left the group by Thanksgiving.[5] With Livingston's arrival, the group was impressed by his skill level and inspired the members to improve their own skills on their respective instruments.[3] The band then rented a rehearsal room and spend each day working on new material, writing all of the songs that would later feature on their next album in less than two months.[6] The band supported Start Static with two years of tours,[6] running into February 2003.[7] By this point, frontman Tim Pagnotta had accumulated 16 new songs, with which he was hoping to expand on the "moodier" tracks from 'Start Static.[8]
Musically, the sound Palm Trees and Power Lines has been described as pop punk[11] and power pop,[12] drawing comparisons to Blink-182.[13][12] The title for the album was the result of DeSantis standing in the studio's back alley, look up at the skyline, where all he could see was palm trees and electrical lines,[14] a view that Pagnotta saw as a combination of "beauty and harsh reality co-existing."[9] It is named after the scenery in California where the band members live.[3] Retaining the format of Start Static, Palm Trees and Power Lines consists of several uptempo rock songs with ballads placed throughout.[15]
All of the lyrics were written by Pagnotta, while all of the music was credited to Pagnotta and the band.[10] He would show a rough sketch of a song to the rest of the group, at which point they'd flesh it out. The tracks talk about the preceding two and half years of Pagnotta's life as a touring musician,[3] touching on the theme of being a traveller, determination to return home provoked by a relationship, with psychological and social struggles.[9] All of the material that ended up on the album was written over a six-week period.[16] DeSantis referred to the album as a "document of the end of our innocence; we had toured for over 2 years non-stop and kind of became alienated from our old selves".[17]
"Crying" was written over the course of six months, with Pagnotta only having a guitar riff for the pre-chorus and main chorus for long period of time. He said the bridge section was reminiscent of U2, specifically the use of a floor tom to keep time, as heard on some U2 songs on their War (1983) album. He added a guitar solo to the track, three days prior to it being mixed. Though Pagnotta disliked it, MacKillop kept it in the final mix. Cullen is singing harmonies on the song; during the recording of this, and since he felt the ending was too sparse, Pagnotta came up with a lyric for the song's outro.[9] "Memory" was first song finished for the album, dating at least a year prior to when they recorded it.[6] Pagnotta wrote it about a person he met while touring in Boston, Massachusetts. During this time he had just gotten out of a relationship and was cautious about starting another. He began daydreaming about how a relationship with the person from Boston wouldn't work. He then picked up his guitar and started strumming chords, writing what would ultimately become "Memory".[9]
Pagnotta kept "Worst December" a secret for sometime, he reasoned that as the lyrics were "a bit confessional in regards to a relationship", he worried that his partner would find the lyric sheet and they'd "have to confront our issues."[9] The music of the track was influenced by Bright Life, a band from the group's hometown, who Pagnotta applauded for the usage of open chords in their material. Livingston keeps time in the song using the edge of his tom, resulting in a clock-like ticking sound which gave the track "a nice ambient space."[9] It ties into one of the two lyrical themes (space), with the other about being away from home.[9] "Back to California", which had a similar structure to "Stay Together for the Kids" by Blink-182,[13] was written about returning home from touring solely to break up with a partner.[3] When Pagnotta showed the track to Livingston, the pair started talking about Jimmy Eat World's use of hand percussion, which found its way into the song's intro. It featured several stacked vocal parts and call-and-response harmonies during the chorus, which Pagnotta heard when listening to Carpenters albums during his childhood.[9]
During an off-day in the first week of pre-production, Pagnotta arrived at the studio early and began playing drums while vocalising melodies. He based this off the group Spoon, whose music arrangements revolved around the drums and vocals. He began singing what would become "Destination Anywhere"; when Livingston arrived at the studio the pair started fleshing out the remainder of the song. At the group's next practice session bassist Airin Older came up with a riff that Pagnotta said was a mix between "New Year's Day" by U2 and several Motown tracks, while DeSantis added stabs in the vein of British mod music. Upon MacKillop hearing it, he remarked it sounded like INXS, to which the band was "all shocked in horror."[9] The vocals for the track had to be re-recorded twice over as MacKillop thought it need to come across as intimate-sounding; a moog riff was added in the bridge.[9]
"Champagne" is about Pagnotta's relationship with the group's former drummer Davis. He started writing it before Davis' departure when he noticed how different Davis was acting since he became an alcoholic.[3] It bounces between first-and-third person views; Pagnotta referred to it as the Cars "on steroids."[9] It was the last track finished during recording, and was mixed by Trombino, which Pagnotta felt added a denser layer to the song that they hadn't thought about. "What You Say" resulted from an in-the-moment jam session between Livingston and Pagnotta.[9] It was compared to the Foo Fighters;[12] the guitar riff specifically recalled the one heard in "Breed" by Nirvana.[13] "Over" existed as a verse section for a few weeks; Pagnotta didn't feel it was fleshed out enough to share with the rest of the band. When the band was recording drums, Pagnotta showed Livingston and MacKillop a complete chorus section. The trio worked on it and planned to record it the following day, which by then they tracked it in 30 minutes. DeSantis suggested a rhythm break before the last chorus, which was then added to the track.[9]
"Head Up" evolved out of an idea that was written backstage during a show while in Belgium. The opening act was playing onstage upstairs while Pagnotta was downstairs attempting to track the idea into his recorder. Unable to hear the key of the chords, he recorded a tiny bit and fleshed out the song during soundcheck with the rest of the band the following day. It talks about remaining positive when you're doing something that other people may not like, something that Pagnotta felt after dropping out of education to focus on music. The chord progression for "Counting Stars" existed for about two months, during this time Pagnotta was unable to come up with any melodies or lyrics.[9] Pagnotta said he received test results from his doctor saying he was ill, only for further results nine days later to say he was okay. Between these results he wrote the lyrics to "Counting Stars", which acted as "an apology for anything I may have done wrong to hurt the world, people, friends."[3] On the final recording, a friend of the band contributed what Pagnotta referred to as"sounds with his guitar that sounded like animals dying."[9] The closing track, "Sign Off", was written by Pagnotta as he sat on the end of his bed. He explained that partway through the making of the album he felt lonely, confused and sad while questioning his life.[3] It was recorded in the back room at the studio solely by Pagnotta, with some overdubs from MacKillop.[9]
After being originally scheduled for release on March 9,[18] Palm Trees and Power Lines was eventually released on April 13.[19] The artwork continues the Californian theme of the title with an actress in front of the palm trees and electrical lines that make up the album's namesake. Though DeSantis claimed it wasn't wholly a tribute to California, he explained that with the band frequently touring other countries "you sort of have a concept of home, and the more you're gone ... it becomes even more blurry, but it is home nonetheless. And California represents that for us."[3] Ultimatum Music sold the rights to Palm Trees and Power Lines to Artemis Records, who partnered up with Fearless Records. Pagnotta explained they need a larger amount of label staff to handle the album; Ultimatum had downsized its operations while the group now worked with the same people at Artemis that had helped for Static Static. Epitaph wasn't interested in the album, after struggling to break the band in the UK/Europe, resulting in Rykodisc handling the release for that region.[3] The Japanese edition, released through independent label Maximum10, featured "Blackout" as a bonus track.[25]
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