Aside from Last.fm not scrobbling my plays from yesterday from my new toy, I love my iPod. I’ve started the process of putting a bunch of albums that I haven’t listened to in ages onto the iPod… Then I pick one at random, listen to it and think “wow – this is brilliant! Why did I ever stop listening to this?”. Today’s choice was “These Days” by Bon Jovi.

Before Jovi became a bland caricature of themselves, they were actually very good. This is probably why their recent efforts leave such a bitter taste in my mouth – I know they’re capable of so much more. As far as I’m concerned, “These Days” was their last great album. Those that followed were rather lack-lustre affairs that have been gathering dust in my CD collection pretty much since they were released (although, to be honest, I didn’t even bother buying the last two). The sad thing is that I’ve also kind of neglected Bon Jovi’s other albums as if they were guilty by association. But, thanks to my iPod, I’ve found myself rediscovering them. Jon Bon Jovi should probably send Steve Jobs a Thank You card and a fruit basket or something

This album is a little ballad heavy (“Lie To Me”, “This Ain’t a Love Song” “(It’s Hard) Letting You Go”, “Hearts Breaking Even”…), but it’s the darkness and the melancholy in the other tracks that I like. Bon Jovi not being uber-positive is strangely pleasing – I guess it makes them seem more human. I know they have their big ‘tear-jerking’ ballads, but I’m talking about the songs that aren’t pure love songs. I love the attitude in “Hey God” (yes, Bon Jovi had attitude… albeit briefly), the sod’s law aspect of “Damned”, the jaded outlook on “These Days”, the darkness in “My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms” (a HUGELY underrated song!), the crisis of faith on “Something to Believe In”…

The “Keep The Faith” album had a similar sound, but the silver lining and the ray of hope was always made abundantly clear… “These Days” is like Bon Jovi saying, ‘hey, do you know what? Sometimes life just sucks.’ It may sound odd, but I kinda like that… because, well, sometimes life does suck. There are days when things don’t go to plan… there are days when you’re a day late or a dollar short (ok, different band, but sweeties will be awarded to those of you that comment with the name of the band that that’s a reference to!)… there are days when Tommy and Gina don’t ‘make it’. Back when I was really into my Jovi, I used to listen to this album a lot whenever I had a bad day. There’s something comforting about knowing you’re not the only one having a crap day. Although, on the other hand you could say that if someone like Jon Bon Jovi can be on a bit of a downer with his lifestyle then what’s the fuckin’ point in the rest of us even trying? I could say that… but its nice sunny day, I’m feeling nostalgic and, apart from an extreme case of the sniffles, I’m in a relatively good mood.

So, to sum it up…
I really like this album. I’m going to make a promise to myself to listen to it more often.

bonjovi.com