Music Review: Moby "Extreme Ways"
Moby
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Extreme Ways
Album: 18
Year: 2002
Moby cannot escape his spotty, dangerous past in the well-written but undistinguishable "Extreme Ways."
A siren opens the single. Laid-back, moody guitars join in followed by the strings from previous single, "Porcelain." Moby says he has go back to his old habits, which he would rather forget. He thought he shed his former self. However, he destroyed everything he had - family, friends, home, car. The past follows him no matter where he goes. His sea is rocky and midnight blue, which aptly describes his personality. ("Extreme ways are back again/Extreme places I didn't know/I broke everything new again/Everything that I'd owned/I threw it out the windows, came along/Extreme ways I know move apart/The colors of my sea/Perfect color me.")
It's his old habits which has allowed him to survive the seedier places he's gone to. The places (as well as the people) were hidden and corrupt. It was only him he had to rely on. It was a life he intially wanted and set the course for it to happen. ("Extreme ways that that help me/Help me out at night/Extreme places I had gone/But never seen any light/Dirty basements, dirty noise/Dirty places coming through/Extreme worlds alone/Did you ever like it planned.")
However, he lives for the rush of being in a risky situation. ("I would stand in line for this/
There's always room in life for this.")
But then the rush led to regret. He got in over his head and faced serious consequences for is illegal actions. He didn't expect it he would be caught so soon. It would farther down the road, but not now. ("Oh baby, oh baby/Then it fell apart, fell apart/Oh baby, oh baby/
Then it fell apart, it fell apart/Oh baby, oh baby/Then it fell apart, it fell apart/Oh baby, oh baby/
Like it always does, always does.")
He responded by locking himself out from the world and listening to depressing music. He didn't want to talk to anyone or look himself in the mirror. He was felt ashamed and miserable. He didn't want anyone to help him. ("Extreme songs that told me/They helped me down every night/I didn't have much to say/I didn't get above the light/I closed my eyes and closed myself/
And closed my world and never opened/Up to anything/That could get me along.")
He pulled himself out his desolation by shutting himself off. He made himself a ghost and a recluse, repressing every bad memory he made. If he took the time to contemplate the seriousness of what he'd done, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. All the casual sex, strangers he screwed for some money, and other things he prefer not to disclose would make him feel guilty. ("I had to close down everything/I had to close down my mind/Too many things to cover me/Too much can make me blind/I've seen so much in so many places/So many heartaches, so many faces/So many dirty things/You couldn't believe.")
He repeats he would do it all over it again, if given the choice. Then, he would destroy his life, which he could do without. ("I would stand in line for this/It's always good in life for this/Oh baby, oh baby/Then it fell apart, fell apart...like it always does, always does.")
Moby's approach to the allure of darkside is presented in a gray manner. He's been on both sides: good and bad. However, if it were up to him, he would be a bit of both. But he's not sure how. He believes it to be one or the other. The atmosphere is brooding and reflective. Moby effectively captures the urgency. It's as though the character is running and out of breath, then he speds up again, only to collapse. Moby's crack in his voice is yearning yet self-loathing.
But there is one major mistake - the music itself sounds exactly like "Porcelain" but slightly tweaked. If he would've made an effort to change or eliminate the strings altogether, the single would've be generic.
Album: 18
Year: 2002
Moby cannot escape his spotty, dangerous past in the well-written but undistinguishable "Extreme Ways."
A siren opens the single. Laid-back, moody guitars join in followed by the strings from previous single, "Porcelain." Moby says he has go back to his old habits, which he would rather forget. He thought he shed his former self. However, he destroyed everything he had - family, friends, home, car. The past follows him no matter where he goes. His sea is rocky and midnight blue, which aptly describes his personality. ("Extreme ways are back again/Extreme places I didn't know/I broke everything new again/Everything that I'd owned/I threw it out the windows, came along/Extreme ways I know move apart/The colors of my sea/Perfect color me.")
It's his old habits which has allowed him to survive the seedier places he's gone to. The places (as well as the people) were hidden and corrupt. It was only him he had to rely on. It was a life he intially wanted and set the course for it to happen. ("Extreme ways that that help me/Help me out at night/Extreme places I had gone/But never seen any light/Dirty basements, dirty noise/Dirty places coming through/Extreme worlds alone/Did you ever like it planned.")
However, he lives for the rush of being in a risky situation. ("I would stand in line for this/
There's always room in life for this.")
But then the rush led to regret. He got in over his head and faced serious consequences for is illegal actions. He didn't expect it he would be caught so soon. It would farther down the road, but not now. ("Oh baby, oh baby/Then it fell apart, fell apart/Oh baby, oh baby/
Then it fell apart, it fell apart/Oh baby, oh baby/Then it fell apart, it fell apart/Oh baby, oh baby/
Like it always does, always does.")
He responded by locking himself out from the world and listening to depressing music. He didn't want to talk to anyone or look himself in the mirror. He was felt ashamed and miserable. He didn't want anyone to help him. ("Extreme songs that told me/They helped me down every night/I didn't have much to say/I didn't get above the light/I closed my eyes and closed myself/
And closed my world and never opened/Up to anything/That could get me along.")
He pulled himself out his desolation by shutting himself off. He made himself a ghost and a recluse, repressing every bad memory he made. If he took the time to contemplate the seriousness of what he'd done, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. All the casual sex, strangers he screwed for some money, and other things he prefer not to disclose would make him feel guilty. ("I had to close down everything/I had to close down my mind/Too many things to cover me/Too much can make me blind/I've seen so much in so many places/So many heartaches, so many faces/So many dirty things/You couldn't believe.")
He repeats he would do it all over it again, if given the choice. Then, he would destroy his life, which he could do without. ("I would stand in line for this/It's always good in life for this/Oh baby, oh baby/Then it fell apart, fell apart...like it always does, always does.")
Moby's approach to the allure of darkside is presented in a gray manner. He's been on both sides: good and bad. However, if it were up to him, he would be a bit of both. But he's not sure how. He believes it to be one or the other. The atmosphere is brooding and reflective. Moby effectively captures the urgency. It's as though the character is running and out of breath, then he speds up again, only to collapse. Moby's crack in his voice is yearning yet self-loathing.
But there is one major mistake - the music itself sounds exactly like "Porcelain" but slightly tweaked. If he would've made an effort to change or eliminate the strings altogether, the single would've be generic.