Stewart Copeland, Clem Burke, Neil Peart, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Bill Ward have all given me funny feelings deep inside at various intervals of my youth.
“Woke up this morning, can’t believe what I saw. 100 billion bottles washed upon the shore. It seems I’m not alone in being alone. 100 billion castaways, looking for a home.” Wow
I think the song is about writing a song, pouring his heart out, sending it out into the world, and waiting... not knowing if it will resonate, if people will relate. Then a year later, massive success as people from all over the globe respond.
Eric Reynolds interesting take. To me it’s about depression. I struggle with my depression everyday and sometimes it does feel like your stranded on an island. However you eventually come to realize there are countless others who feel similar. To me it’s a “Being sad and lonely is okay, it happens to the best of us, just don’t let it take over.” Type of message
Andy Summers' guitar sound is unmistakable. I'd say is The Police's ID along with Sting's voice. But Stewart Copeland's drumming and Sting's bass playing are just masterful. Like Rush, or The Jam, three guys creating a compact, powerful, unique sound. "So lonely" is a rock anthem, the soundtrack of my youth...
These guys are talented on another level. This British band swept the charts . Copeland’s drumming is sheer brilliance. Andy’s riffs are precision. Their songs are all catchy . You can’t help but feel their energy. Sting ..what can you say . I must have played this song a million times in the day ..my kids were little . I think we danced around the house cause we loved this reggae beat ..yes it’s groovy !!!! Enjoy ..this is a treat ….
You've got it right, Jamel; it's a metaphor for loneliness and longing for connection. This was a huge hit for The Police, one of my all-time favorite bands. So lucky to have been able to see them twice in concert, and Sting once in a solo concert tour!
Stewart Copeland is on fire right from the jump on this and just when you think he can’t possibly be any better, he lets it all out as the song is ending. His drumming on this continues to amaze me and I’ve listened to this song more times than I can count over the years. Every time I listen to this I hear more of what he’s doing and I’m stunned at how good he is.
It's a metaphor for loneliness. And they may not have had the budget for a beach The Police, IRS and CIA are connected. The Police's drummer was American Stewart Copeland. His brother Miles managed the band for awhile. Miles founded IRS Records which brought us R.E.M. and others. Their father was in the actual CIA.
At this time, they were only just getting big. Also, in 1979, when the album came out, music videos as an idea was very new and MTV had not even started broadcasting. Hence, the extreme low budget video shot in the dressing room while they were on a packed tour. By the time Synchronicity came out, MTV was in full swing and the Police had the budget for music videos.
@@picmajik Definitely "Invisible Sun", yes, my favourite as well. It would be hilarious to watch Jamel's reaction to "Walking In Your Footsteps" & "Mother".
When Sting broke away he started a catalog of music of many genres. Incredible.I have seen him so many times the last time he was with Shaggy at House of Blues in Boston. It was AWESOME. He did a whole set of Police songs in the middle the place went WILD.
"Hole in my life" and "Can't stand losing you" The groove in those two songs is incredible. "Everything she does is magic" is the finest example of pop ear candy from the time. Amazing band.
when I lived in Anchorage Alaska I had one of the black synchronicity jackets that say The Police on the front and have the picture on the back I showed up at an after hours party and knocked and I heard someone inside freaking out saying The Police are here and a friend peeked out the peephole and said that's not the Police it's Don man he's cool. LMFAO
Damn! This was my music growing up. Especially this song. Stuart is a fantastic drummer. So, underated. Sting is the perfect voice for their sound. Just a great group all around.
"Is he using this as a metaphor?" Chocked on my drink at that one. Hell yes, he is. I have to remember you havn't heard the song before. I once saw an interview with Sting about how he wrote his songs (I think it was around Ten Summoners Tales) and I distinctly remember he said, that he always started with a metaphor an worked out the lyrics with that as the center of it.
You nailed it!!! Great job.... here again, this is why I only watch your reaction videos now....you get it, in most songs, there’s a hidden message and you always seek it out.
I saw The Police on their reunion tour in 2007 and they opened with this song... the crowd went absolutely BONKERS. Easily one of the top 3 concerts I've ever been to.
Getting there.... two you gotta play together.. “Driven to Tears” and “When the World is Running Down” played back to back... you have lots to react to with these 3 lads
The Police and Sting are the reason I fell in love with music cuz there are so my styles fused into this band..Reggae,Punk,Rock,blues and jazz. Then with solo Sting it was the Heavy JAZZ and CLASSICAL music influences. Listen to Fortress around your Heart, Be still my beating heart, Englishman in New York, Fragile, Shape of My Heart, or It Was Probably Me... all good ones by STING.
There are people that hate Sting cuz how he left the band in its prime or how he’s a pompous douchebag and it’s understandable. Still one of my favorite musicians.
One of my favorite bands if all time. Stuart Copeland is an incredible drummer. All three of them are so talented. This is a band where you can react to dozens of their songs and they will all be excellent. ❤️
I love how the drummer is playing a chair, and a countertop, and whatever else, so cool. And I think you have the best insights of any reactor on RU-vid.
Seriously Great trio. The different styles they played around with. Tops... If you want to try a bit more. Try "Canary in a Coalmine " I think you will enjoy
This has got to be one of my favorite reaction channels just in terms of your understanding of the various lyrical messages of the music you're reviewing.
I can see ur into this 80s vibe you HAVE to react to Men at work - “Down Under“ Thats their most famous song but they have soo many other amazing songs youd like em
Can I get some New Order? Jamel, you're the only "reaction" I've subscribed to, based on your real authentic & even emotional response to the music (and your well deserved new found love of Weird Al)!
@@matthewdrake4385 ABSOLUTELY! I think this would be a great addition to Jamel's reactions. Jamel, you've shown your real love of all good music & I'd love to get your reaction to a new genre...I 99.999% guarantee you will love Joy Division & New Order.
Massive hit in the UK when I was 6 and oddly spacious compared to the over-busy rock that preceded it. 'Walking on the Moon' (another chart-topper here) takes that minimalism even further.
Commenting on all the praise he receives for forming the Police as well as his excellent drumming, Stewart Copeland said, "Yeah, but I didn't write Message in a Bottle."
The Police. the most important and most influential band in my entire childhood and teenage. I grew up with them, Sting they inspired my first English lyrics at that time. I believe There's no greatest band in music history than Police. The Police is definitely for me the best band ever existed... they wrote the most iconic and mind-connecting songs ever written, every single song is a stone into a whole of majestic beauty proportion, every single song is a pearl in such a short discography... their two disks album is the best Live ever recorded, a true masterpiece. I might make a list of songs by them and might take ages to fill it up. I'm not a musician, I could have be but I'm not, and I was told they were so great they needed only 3 damn chords to compose those songs and man.... I dare you to find musically richest songs than theirs with such a simplicity. besides let's not forget Sting "on-sage" unmatched mastery... he stands right there, in the middle of the stage without doing nothing but stare into your eyes and you're hooked, man, there's no way for you to escape anymore. He's magnetic as hell. Put him together with a brilliant guitarist like Andy Summers and a Drums & Percussion God like Steward Copeland who later composed soundtracks for an impressive numbers of movies and such... I dunno man... is hard for me to not praise this trio of all wonders. Sting and The Police... the greatest!
Backstory: members of the band were in bands called Curved Air, Last Exit, Animals. Their manager was formerly in the CI A, and his brother was the drummer. They were originally a punk band, mixing in elements of ska, reggae and jazz. Each member is now considered very influential and one of the best in their respective fields:Sting as a vocalist, bassist and songwriter/lyricist, Andy Summer as a guitarist/composer and Stewart Copeland as a drummer/ composer. All had successful careers after the breakup, with Sting being the most successful and well known. The band, along with UB40, Madness and others introduced English style reggae to the US.
What I love is that I spent 6 yrs heavily concentrated on The Police and Sting almost 30 yrs ago and well I put their albums aside for many years so to see u experiencing them first hand brings me as much joy when I first experienced them
"So Lonely" Shot and filmed mostly in Hong Kong as far as the video goes. It seems to share the tone of this tune by a lot. Stewart's little surprise ending to the video was very genuine, and still brings a smile to my face. "Walking on the Moon"... The video could not be set in any other time. Iconic. Somehow they got to film right beside NASA field stuff. I'll leave it there for now. You've got enough on your plate. :D
The Police and Sting have R-A-N-G-E! Message in a Bottle is a great example of 80’s pop (but with a stealthy dose of super smart lyrical content).Tea in the Sahara is COMPLETELY different, then there’s Englishman in NY, or Fields of Gold, or Russians! All of it will catch your ear on first hearing. Second time through the lyrics, third time should send you to the interwebs to find the source/background info.
Fascinating historical fact for these guys.. Sting explained in an interview that when they first played in the US, one of the early gigs had a showing of only a few fans. . many bands might have thought "nah, it's not worth playing" and blown the gig off, but not these guys. They did what any professional and honestly motivated band would, gathered those few fans together, all introduced one another and proceeded to play their hearts out.. One of those fans came up to them at the end of the gig, said that he was a local DJ and did they have anything they could give him to play on the radio..? They passed him a single and that airplay was a fixed point that began their career in the US.
The Police were a mix of rock, pop and reggae. 70's and 80's saw a huge reggae (and west indian) influence in London, music, food, culture. It was a rich cultural phenomenon and deeply imprinted on an entire generation of British youngsters. This was the music I grew up with, and though my tastes lie elsewhere, these tracks feel like home.
"Seems I'm not alone in being alone a hundred billion castaways looking for a home" That part especially gets me every time. A reaction to "Invisible Sun" would be awesome, a very powerful song.
Thanks for that recommendation- Weird how only 2 months later no one needs to go look at anything to capture the irony of this circumstance huh? But that’s also why I’m sat on RU-vid watching reaction vids to connect with other cool people. And why I had time to check out Edward Hoppers paintings and really, really like them, thank you! There’s a lot of one off works of artists i love but rare to find a new painter who’s entire style I can appreciate 🙂👍🏼
Yeah, he's saying he was so wrapped up in his inability to connect that he didn't see everyone else is stuck on their island. I was fortunate enough to see them in fall of '83 when I was 15 as my first concert right before they broke up. Such a cool band!
