Tag: Beneath the Fireworks

Turntables & Vinyl #26 – The Matt Nathanson Collection

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic20 Comments

Discogs is dangerous. Let’s be honest about it. I am a huge fan of a few bands that I want to collect as much as I can. And Discogs lets me know what I am missing and I can buy off it as well which is even more dangerous. After a lot of work, I think I have one of everything listed on Discogs for Matt Nathanson with only a few minor exceptions. I have a total of 37 pieces in the collection. I say they are minor because 2 I’ve never ever seen for sale…ANY WHERE!! And the other isn’t even listed on Discogs yet and is related to Matt’s most expensive fan club which we’ll talk about later.

Matt came out with his first album in 1993 and it was a time when there was really only CDs and his first set of albums were only released on CDs and as a result that is what I had to collect which I did.

His debut was 1993’s Please…

Then in 1997 was Earnst…

Continue reading “Turntables & Vinyl #26 – The Matt Nathanson Collection” →

Matt Nathanson – ‘When Everything Meant Everything E.P.’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic10 Comments

It had been three years since Matt had released a full studio album, and in November 2002, he finally released a 5 song E.P. titled ‘When Everything Meant Everything’ on an indie label called Acrobat. Within a year, Matt would finally sign his first major label record contract and he would release ‘Beneath the Fireworks’ on Universal. Three of the five songs on this E.P. would appear on that album, however, they would be completely different mixes which makes this E.P. really cool for fans as 2 songs were never released on an album and the other 3 are previously unreleased original mixes. Yes please, I’ll take a copy!! All the song were written by Matt Nathanson and his writing partner at the time Mark Weinberg.

The first track is “Pretty the World” which would be on ‘Beneath the Fireworks’ but this version is over 30 seconds longer due in part to a soft acoustic opening that is omitted from the album version which is to its detriment because I like that part. And the end of the song fades out more and again I think makes a better version. The song is a high energy pop song about him being with a woman that sees life through a beautiful perspective and he wants to see the world through her eyes. It is a contagious song that sees Matt developing in to a great singer/songwriter as his confidence as certainly grown since his last studio album 3 year prior.

Continue reading “Matt Nathanson – ‘When Everything Meant Everything E.P.’ – Album Review” →

Matt Nathanson – ‘Plus E.P.’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic3 Comments

In my quest for Matt Nathanson music I don’t have, I found another E.P. in my hunts. This one is called ‘Plus’ and was a promotional CD and released on October 14, 2003 which is the same date as his 2003 album ‘Beneath the Fireworks’. That album is the one I feel where Matt was finding his voice as both a singer and a songwriter. It is from this point on that his writing develop and went to another level. The stories were so much better and his vocals were hitting on another level. This is also around the time I started to discover his music and it would suck me in.

There were 3 songs on this album and all were recorded live and done acoustically. Two of the songs were off the album ‘Beneath the Fireworks’ and was from his debut album ‘Please’ from 1993 which was a collection of songs he wrote in high school and college. Lets go through the songs, shall we.

The first song is “Lucky Boy” which was off the album ‘Beneath the Fireworks’ but originally was off his 1999 album ‘Still Waiting for Spring’. It was recorded live on August 20, 2003 at Ned’s Studio. Now I don’t know who Ned is but apparently he has a studio. The song was written by Matt Nathanson and Mark Weinberg and is done acoustically like I mentioned earlier. It features Matt Fish on Cello which is a really cool acoustic element to add. The song is about a friendship where the boy wanted more and was always there for her to comfort her at every turn. She treated him like a rug and walked all over him. He feels it is a cruel world, but he was still lucky to be with her and in her presence despite it never going anywhere he wanted it to go.

Continue reading “Matt Nathanson – ‘Plus E.P.’ – Album Review” →

My Sunday Song – “Suspended” by Matt Nathanson

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic14 Comments

For My Sunday Song #215, we are going to discuss “Suspended” by Matt Nathanson off his 2003 album ‘Beneath the Fireworks’. The album was one of the first I heard by Matt and helped me get on board to become a full-fledged fan. “Suspended” was a single off the album but failed to chart. His first charted single didn’t come until his next album, ‘Some Mad Hope’ in 2007.

The song seems to be about being with someone that that you think is pretending you are the one. You are scared. You are feeling things that you haven’t felt before. You are alive, no longer numb. You feel she might actually be the one, but you are scared that she is. You freak out a little, but you finally suspend disbelief and except her for what this is and it could be beautiful. For me, it is a song about hope in finding your true love. I find it it to be a beautiful and the way he captures the emotions in the lyrics is amazing.

Musically, it is a pop song, plain and simple. Nice beats, good grove, great vocal delivery. There is nothing special about it, no outstanding moment. It perfectly captures the tone of the lyrics and it is catchy, fun and pleasant. Sometimes, the beauty is in the simplicity.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Suspended” by Matt Nathanson” →

Matt Nathanson – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic9 Comments

As you know if you follow this site at all, I am a Matt Nathanson fan.  I think he is a fantastic songwriter/singer and an all around marvelous person. I have seen him live only three times and each time he keeps getting better.  His live shows are something you have to see as his banter with the crowd is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!  He is witty, funny and damn, the man can sing.  Matt is also a lyrical painter. He pays so much attention to the lyrical phrasing that it paints such a vivid picture or touches you in ways that only music can do.

Matt Nathanson, the studio musician, is broken down in two categories for me.  The 90’s Matt is is an indie rocker that is still trying to find his voice both lyrically and vocally.  But the shades of what is to come is in dimly shining in there.  Then there is the Matt of 2000’s that has seen his songwriting and singing grow by leaps and bound.  He has a confidence that shows in his music and definitely shows when he is on stage.   There are those that find his early stuff more raw and pure and it is that, but as you will see with the list, I find his 2000’s self to be the better half.

So, you now have my overall reasoning behind my picks and with that, we need to dive in and rank Matt Nathanson’s albums from The Worst to the one I think is First!  And sorry I don’t have all his albums in the Header photo as the site I use only offers 8 frames otherwise I would have had all 10 included.

THE WORST – PLEASE (1993):

Now here is the good news, there really isn’t a bad choice among all the albums, this is all about preference.  I have this as the Worst mainly because it is an album with a rough production and Matt’s vocals aren’t quite what they become.  And yes I do know that these are mostly demos thus the explaining the quality.  The cool thing about it is that the songs were all written while he was in high school or during his freshman year at Pitzer College in California.  There are hints of the Matt I grew to love, but it is the one album I go to the least.

Continue reading “Matt Nathanson – The Albums Ranked Worst to First” →