Song of the Day
Discover a different song every day. There's no limit to the artists, genres and albums; it's a great way to find something new to listen to.
Sep 5, 2008
from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Perhaps the greatest musical piece of the latter half of the twentieth century, "A Day In The Life" combines the eager pop of McCartney and the psychedelic balladry of Lennon that have been dominating the album to create a perfect end.Lennon's maudlin ode to a depressive young man taking in popular culture, combined with McCartney's cheery bridge, bring this piece to a haunting peak (specifically when McCartney sings "I went into a dream," allowing Lennon to carry the listener into an almost orgasmic and dream-like aura, only to be overtaken by the powerful gloom of the orchestra).
The orchestration of the song, which required 42 instruments (string, woodwind, and brass) as well as the Beatles themselves, make this a soundscape unmatched before or since its production. Credit must be given to George Martin, who stretched the microphones at Abbey Road to their limits. In fact, on the original vinyl, the instruments go so low and the recording was so sensitive that, if you listen carefully, you can hear the air conditioners in the studio.
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Sep 4, 2008
from the album Weezer (Blue Album) (1994)
We begin with a sweet harmonica-tinged litany of everything that comforts our protagonist:I've got a Dungeon Master's Guide
I've got a 12-sided die
I've got Kitty Pryde
And Nightcrawler too
Waiting there for me
Yes I do, I do
We later add Kiss posters and (surprise!) an electric guitar to the list. And while the dangers that lurk outside are never revealed (or even hinted at) we can guess that the world for this Kiss-worshiping Dungeon Master is not a happy place.
In fact this youngster's garage sounds a lot like Brian Wilson's room: a safe haven from a scary world.
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Sep 3, 2008
from the album Tonight's the Night (1975)
A melody borrowed from the Rolling Stones' "Lady Jane", and Neil "too wasted to write my own", just about straight enough to put new words to it. Watching the world go by from the window with glazed eyes, wondering what it's all about, if there's actually any point to it at all:I hope that it matters
I'm havin' my doubts
Neil's delicate piano playing and plaintive harmonica provide the only accompaniment as he sits "alone in this empty room". His voice is saturated with desperation, exhaustion and resignation; on the edge of a razor blade coated with honey.
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Sep 2, 2008
from the album Nevermind (1991)
Cobain and Courtney Love were both addicted to drugs. Years later, the ex-members of Nirvana would recall her as a bad influence on the vocalist, and as being responsible for the end of the band.With eyes so dilated
I've become your pupil
You've taught me everything
About a poison apple
Sharing drugs is another way of making love deeper:
You're my vitamins
Cause I'm like you
Nevermind was recorded under the influence of the medicines Cobain had to take for his stomach pain, caused by his addiction to heroin.
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Sep 1, 2008
from the album Tommy (1969)
"Sensation" is sung from Tommy's point of view after he is cured of his deaf, dumb and blind conditions.This song is not a favourite of mine; it's quite soft and subtle, which does not win merit in my book. It's an awkward song, but not for the mood, for the music. Moon's drumming sounds clumsy and the lyrics are completely nonsensical.
It is quite short though, which is agreeable considering my distaste for it. I wouldn't recommend it, but it is necessary, I am afraid, if you want the whole album experience.
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Aug 31, 2008
from the album Forever Changes (1967)
One of the more psychedelic songs on the album, "The Red Telephone" gets its lysergic soundscape not from strange (or even unconventional) sounds, but from a melody that repeatedly turns subtly, and ominously, darker. "Sitting on a hill-" begins the first line, before the melody suddenly drops, followed by the strings: "siiiide".Lyrically, the song professes unawareness of what's going on around the singer, and a wish to not be included anyway. This is the dark side of psychedelia, full of voices from beyond, the abandonment of ones psyche, and the paranoia that that abandonment might not be temporary - or reversible.
Like the dual-title idea mentioned earlier, Lee here puts two things in one: vocal lines end sometimes with two different words, overdubbed on top of each other. "Paint me white" vs. "paint me yellow". It's like John Lennon's "don't you know that you can count me out - in". Choose one; the narrator certainly isn't going to help.
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Aug 30, 2008
from the album Speak & Spell (1981)
One of the two songs written by Martin L. Gore, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" borrows the name of a 1970 film about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The lyrics reflect about the consequences of war. Referring to bombs, he says:They were raining from the sky
Exploding in my heart
Is this love in disguise
Or just a form of modern art?
Techno, a genre considered unimportant, would show (with songs like this and "Enola Gay" by OMD) that it could be as deep as any other genre.
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Aug 29, 2008
from the album Tommy (1969)
"Pinball Wizard" is one of the best-known songs from the album, as it is the most radio-friendly and therefore memorable. It follows the format of a normal rock song, which is much unlike a song by the Who. It has many verses and each verse is followed by the chorus. It is most memorable for the acoustic guitar played by Pete Townshend."Pinball WIzard" is enjoyable and very well played and written, but has very little grounding in the rest of the album. Although this may make it unnecessary for downloading, I urge you to download it anyway, as it is a good song.
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Aug 28, 2008
from the album Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
Young Robert had indeed travelled the great north-south Interstate four years earlier, still called Zimmerman, on his pilgrimage to NYC to become Dylan. This trip begins with another crucial piece of Jewish History: "God said to Abraham, 'Kill me your son!'" We're not hanging around: foot on the floor and out of here! Or maybe we're clinging onto the back of the Triumph motorcycle which Dylan's T-shirt endorses on the album cover (and on which he nearly broke his neck the following summer).Leaving the sacrificial preparations behind, we run past a series of crooks, crazies and misfits along the way, all trying to make a buck out of the highway. If you're after kicks, check Route 66; don't come here looking for good times!
The song's another great example of the 'loose-but-all-together' feel the band (whoever it included at any given time) achieved on the album. Dylan switches his harmonica for 'Police Car' - one of those silly whistles with a little propellor inside - adding to the paranoic chaos of the caper.
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Aug 27, 2008
from the album Aftermath (1966)
This song could be just another pop/rock song. But it is not, for various reasons.First of all, lyrics like "What a drag it is getting old" don't sound like typical holding hands stuff. And it really isn't: the song tells about a housewife and mother who needs "Mother's little helper" to get through a busy day. This helper is a "little yellow pill".
Musically, too, the song is not ordinary, especially when it comes to the instruments. Brian Jones plays an Indian sitar, something that was also heard on the Beatles' album Rubber Soul around the same time.
This song was not included in the US version of Aftermath, instead being held back for the Stones' next US single. It reached number 8 on the charts.
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Aug 26, 2008
from the album Actually (1987)
Evoking images of the King's Cross area of London, with its prostitution and crime problems, the song juxtaposes these images with the train station as the gateway to London from the north-east of England.Lyrically these ideas form the basis of a scathing attack on Thatcherite Britain. According to Tennant, "it's about hopes being dashed... the first line sets up the song. It's an angry song about Thatcherism."
Continuing another of the album's themes, the song features references to AIDS:
The dead and wounded on either side
It's only a matter of time
A video by Derek Jarman was made as a projection during the 1989 tour.
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Aug 25, 2008
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)"
from the album Wish You Were Here (1975)
From the icy gale which obliterates the previous track grows an ominous bass pulse. The full nine-part suite was usually perfomed live either in its entirety, or with "Have a Cigar" passing it from the cool sax to the steel breeze. On the 2001 Echoes compilation, the alpha and omega of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (parts I-VII, at least) were mixed into a majestic 17 1/2 min near-whole. Funny, that... I remember clumsily trying to accomplish it on cassette about thirty years earlier!On the album, the sixth movement begins to pick up momentum: a second hypnotic bassline and electronic drone. Gilmour cranks the starting handle, but the motor won't kick in: it takes Mason's assistance to jumpstart it. With the engines idling on the rhythm section, a stately synth and sedate slide calmly carry out the cockpit check, revving guitar clanking impatiently. Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten you safety belts, we are ready for launch!
The track takes off on the swooping and soaring of Gilmour's pedal-steel solo, but the flight plan is executed by the incredible fusion of sounds and feelings provided by all the members of the band. It's like riding some monstrous theme park attraction: white knuckles, clenched teeth, churning guts, spinning head, wondering just why you got on in the first place.
Then just when you think you can't take it anymore, a strident electric guitar reintroduces the "Shine On" melody refrain from Part One.
Nobody knows where you are
How near or how far
Nobody had clapped eyes on Syd Barrett in more than half a decade. And no one recognised him to begin with when he ambled into the studio during sessions for the song written to him. He'd piled on weight and shaved his head (and the rest of his facial hair) and he clearly wasn't on the same planet as anyone else.
The band were distraught, but none more than Roger Waters, who was only too aware of the delicate state of his own mental and emotional health.
Pile on many more layers
And I'll be joining you there
The final six minutes or so, Parts VIII and IX, are in contemplative mode. Moments of poignant introspection, waves of overwhelming self-realisation. You can ponder what you like. The latter history of Pink Floyd, for example. The gloomy grandeur of The Wall, 'Pink' Geldof hacking at his eyebrows with a razor in the movie, the lasers and lightshows, the bitter acrimony of the breakup and its aftermath.
Only the combined talents of the band could really be the real thing: the way they interweave in this passage is a sublime example. The Live 8 reconciliation. Shine on!
Thudding drums announce a solemn synthesiser solo. Don't forget Syd: the burnt out supernova of a former Floyd. He died in 2006, having sought no further contact with his former bandmates and little with the world outside his head. A childlike spirit, shattered by reality. "Winner, loser, miner for truth and delusion." Shine on!
Crashing piano and that soul-tingling steel guitar again. Think some more about anyone and everyone you're wishing were here. We're all crazy diamonds. Float away on the fade-out (if you listen very carefully you can hear Emily playing again). Meditate your past, your present, your future, your universal uniqueness. And SHINE!!!
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Aug 24, 2008
from the album Flush the Fashion (1980)
Side 1 of the original album closed with this song, one that could have been on a Kinks album between 1977 and 1984. The lyrics tell of a poor soul who has had a migraine since someone ran away — his lover, we shall assume.The runaway, however, is mentioned only once. The only thing the narrator is really concerned with is that no one told him about aspirin damage. The guitar line harkens back to Cooper's early classic "Be My Lover." A competent rocker, but nothing too substantial.
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Aug 23, 2008
"Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)"
from the album Led Zeppelin II (1969)
To write reviews on www.Music-Nerds.com, it's generally necessary to listen to the songs a few times to be as accurate as possible in your descriptions. To be very honest, I wasn't looking forward to having to listen to this song. It was just by chance it flicked over to this song when I was polishing off "Heartbreaker."I must not have given "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)" a huge chance to win me over at first, but with fresh ears, I heard an entertaining song that is quite timeless.
The song is a reminder of the music of the 1950's and early 60's, and maybe also a trendsetter for the rock & roll of the 70's. It's weird like that.
If, for whatever reason, you only want to get the songs that you'll instantly like, I wouldn't recommend this song, but perhaps if you could spare the change and space on your computer, I would say buy "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)," put it in a cellar and age it two months or so. Then listen to it again and you'll find it's developed a much more palatable bouquet.
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Aug 22, 2008
"I Just Want To Make Love To You"
from the album The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hitmakers) (1964)
By the time of this album, rock 'n' roll was "dead". Everybody played either pop or beat. (Or sappy ballads.)Others, like the Stones and some other British bands, concentrated on music they called rhythm and blues (R&B).
This blues song was written by the godfather of R&B, Willie Dixon, and is a classic, having been recorded by many 50s artists. Again, the Stones make the song their own, speeding up the tempo and changing the rhythm to a Bo Diddley beat.
It works well. The sound is rough and the lyrics are far from "holding hands". Baaaad stuff!
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Aug 21, 2008
from the album Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
The most Fables-sounding song on the album, this lovely, slow lament, driven by a ringing bell, Stipe's murmured vocals, and Buck's meandering arpeggio, refers to a graveyard. Like its subject matter, the track appears beautiful and sedate on the surface, but there are stories lurking behind the peaceful exterior, some of them perhaps more upsetting than expected.The band members pick up the pace for the more strident choruses, and Stipe's vocals match them by gaining a clarity and confidence, seeming to wake up from the gently sunlit afternoon to hint at the darkness underneath:
Amanita is the name
They cover over everything
The flowers cover everything...
Don't look into the sun
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Aug 20, 2008
from the album Grace (1994)
This one also took some time to grow on me. It sounds a bit like church music, which threw me off at first. Its production, like Hallelujah, is rather sparse. The story dates back to the 1500's and there is much debate about its meaning. Buckley interpreted it as follows: "The 'Carol' is a fairytale about a falcon who takes the beloved of the singer to an orchard. The singer goes looking for her and arrives at a chamber where his beloved lies next to a bleeding knight and a tomb with Christ's body in it."Read whole album review (all songs)
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Aug 19, 2008
from the album Seven Swans (2004)
The title song is about Jesus' second coming. It has a very strong climax, and during that climax it becomes clear that there is no place to hide from God.When the volume is turned up, you may feel that there really is, physically, no place to hide from God. "Seven Swans" is very persuasive! It is both relaxing and imposing, depending on the state you're in while listening. I think it is one of the best songs on the album, and really reveals Sufjan's intentions.
The banjo fits very well in this very special track. And I think that "Seven Swans" may differ from all the other tracks because it combines its specific sound, straight lyrics (no stories to tell, like "A Good Man Is Hard To Find"), and climax.
To me, "Seven Swans" is gorgeous: the pace, the intimate sound (during the first four minutes), the lyrics, its persuasiveness... it all comes together to create this great track. And the ominous end, despite its serious nature, makes me feel safe (and I admire the heavenly choir).
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Aug 18, 2008
"It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)"
from the album Document (1987)
The first of two major hits from Document, this one starts off with one of the most famous drum intros in rock history. The band and singer hit at the same time — "That's great!" — and Stipe's jumbled-up words tumble out a mile a minute, eventually turning into a lengthy monotone rant while the band two-chords it merrily underneath. This is actually a re-write of a Pageant outtake called "PSA", which itself would be resurrected years later by the band and released as "Bad Day."While having no overt, direct point, the general impression is one of being surrounded by chaos, with lyrical references to earthquakes, hurricanes, and (again) fire emphasizing the maelstrom of the vocals. The frightening blitz of words only lets up during the wry choruses, where Stipe sings the song's title with a curiously dispassionate pokerface, and the alternate background vocal offers the scale-descending "It's time I had some time alone."
The song everyone wants to sing along to but almost nobody can, there are a few moments that became favorites of the ever-growing crowds to shout out at R.E.M. shows, such as "I decline!" and, of course, "Leonard Bernstein." This is the sound of a mature, experienced band, still taking chances, but overflowing with confidence and courage.
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Aug 17, 2008
from the album Nevermind (1991)
On "Lounge Act," Cobain confronts somebody he accuses of having slept with his girlfriend. At first, the tone of his voice is calm, but after the guy starts with the excuses, Cobain turns fierce. He's enraged, and needs to let it all out because he's very jealous:I still
Smell her on you
Even so, he strikes a cooperative tone; that was the past, it was a mistake, so let's just overcome that situation and move on.
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Aug 16, 2008
from the album GodWeenSatan: The Oneness (1990)
With its "My Sharona" drum beat and chugging guitar riff, Ween take us on a wild ride into trad metal territory on "Old Queen Cole." The vocals are especially strange, but more disconcerting is the second vocal set very low in the mix."Old Queen Cole" is the kind of song that sums up the whole CD: it's short, not terribly serious and whole lotta fun.
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Aug 15, 2008
from the album Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 (1988)
Tweeter and the Monkey Man were hard-up for cashSo they stayed up all night selling cocaine and hash
To an undercover cop who had a sister named Jan
For reasons unexplained, she loved the Monkey Man
So we are introduced to the main protagonists of this screen-shattering 'Late Show' feature: an everyday tale of vendetta, betrayal and vengeance, which unfolds along the length of Thunder Road. Bob out-Bosses Bruce in one of his strongest compositions - and vocal performances - of the whole of the '80s, a five and a half minute mini-epic: "In Jersey anything's legal - as long as you don't get caught!"
Scouser and the Brummie Man were finding an 'Americana' conversation between Dylan and Petty completely incomprehensible, but recorded it onto a cassette. The song was built from the transcript, and Bob recorded the vocal in two takes, before heading off on tour. The massed guitars, together with the understated percussion and sax compound the sense of urgency, whilst Jeff Lynne's keyboards have the tyres squealing and sirens wailing. "And the walls came down: all the way to hell!"
A must for any self-respecting late-night driving compilation.
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Aug 14, 2008
from the album From Under the Cork Tree (2005)
This song is about finding a girl in a club, getting drunk off your face and going back to the hotel with her, then waking up in the morning and realizing what you've done. "To drinks at the club, to the bar, to the keys in your car / To hotel stairs / To the emergency exit door" seems to portray a series of events."To the love / I left my conscience pressed / Between the pages of the Bible in the drawer / What did it ever do for me? I say" seems to refer to a hotel, as there always seems to be a Bible in hotels.
This song again is typical of the genre of Fall Out Boy. It's jumpy, catchy and definitely worth a listen! It starts out quite slow but tends to speed up later in the song.
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Aug 13, 2008
from the album Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
Something of a reflective moment for Stipe, as he gives what the title promises — advice. "When you meet a stranger, look at his hands ... Keep your hat on your head". Apparently, he is giving these "advices" to himself, because he eventually addresses someone directly, telling them coldly that he'll forget even their name when he moves on to the next town. Like "Kohoutek", he is describing a lamentable situation with a harsh air of finality. Better to cut it off completely than drag it out painfully.A particularly jangly, even stinging guitar from Buck keeps this poignant song from getting at all bogged down in any oversentimentality. Stipe's vocal melodies, too, are quite beautiful, and there is real emotion behind his weary "Home is a long way away".
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Aug 12, 2008
from the album Jarvis (2006)
"Black Magic" informs us of a place that invokes the peculiarity of the 70's film The Wicker Man. Awaking to bells ringing and characters that are "true believers of crash and burn" - this does make for a menacing drama, but it's the chorus that ties it all together with a sample from Tommy James & the Shondells' 1968 hit "Crimson & Clover."Black magic that blows your mind away
You only get to stay one day
Alice Cooper could have made a good run with this one.
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Aug 11, 2008
from the album The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hitmakers) (1964)
Instrumental. Some people may say this is not much more than filler, but it does show how the band could take a simple tune and make it swing.Gene Pitney, a friend of the band who had had several top 10 hits both in the US and the UK (including one Jagger-Richard song) plays piano here. Together with Ian Stewarts' organ and Brian Jones' harp, they really seem to enjoy themselves. Keith plays some Chuck Berry guitar and Mick adds the tambourine. Great fun.
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Aug 10, 2008
from the album Key Lime Pie (1989)
When a band titles the first song on their album "Opening Theme," they better take you on a musical journey. Otherwise they are just being self-promoting egomaniacs (I'm sure there is more than one rap album out there with an opening theme).In the case of Camper Van Beethoven, they deliver the goods. This first song is a violin and mandolin driven instrumental appetizer. The Eastern sound of this song also serves as a reminder that Camper has not totally abandoned its crazy alchemy of sounds that they regularly treated us to on their first three albums.
This song is so good that most bands would not be able to top it. Key Lime Pie, though, is definitely a journey, one with many peaks and valleys.
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Aug 9, 2008
from the album Actually (1987)
Written in 1984, "Rent" was originally a hi-energy stomper. Producer Andy Richards gave it a half-tempo feel and gave it the familiar ballad-esque feel. Stephen Hague re-edited the track for the single version.The lyrics concern a prostitute. According to Neil Tennant, "I've always imagined it's about a kept woman, and I always imagined it set in America." He continues to flesh out the song's story:
"This politician keeps this woman in a smart flat in Manhattan, and he's still got his family, and the two of them have some kind of relationship, and they do love each other but it's all kind of secret."
The song's video was directed by Derek Jarman. The track was covered by Liza Minelli on her Pet Shop Boys-written/produced album Results (1989). For that version, composer Angelo Badalamenti was drafted in to work on a string orchestration and the song was slowed down even more.
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Aug 8, 2008
from the album Infidels (1983)
One of the standout tracks on the album, this song is the purest of poetry. After repeatedly listening to the song, we are none the wiser about who The Jokerman might be. Is Dylan describing himself, Jesus, Hitler, Buddha, or a combination of these and others, when he sings?Well, the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy
The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers
In the smoke of the twilight on a milk-white steed
Michelangelo indeed could've carved out your features
Resting in the fields, far from the turbulent space
Half asleep near the stars with a small dog licking your face
(I always thought that last line was: "...with a small dark look in your face." Probably one of the very few times I would say that my line was better than his!)
But what works equally well on this track is the confidence and momentum of the music that goes with its inscrutably brilliant lyrics. Kicked along by the bass lines of Robbie Shakespeare, by the end, Dylan's vocals have built to a barking litany of evil doings:
He'll put the priest in his pocket
Put the blade to the heat
Take the motherless children off the street
And place them at the feet of a harlot
Oh, Jokerman, you know what he wants
Oh, Jokerman, you don't show any response
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Aug 7, 2008
from the album 1999 (1982)
A soaring falsetto, a half-empty singles bar and an embarrassing series of air travel-related puns would seem an unlikely combination for a classic song of seduction. But "International Lover" is a song like no other. How often, for example does a line like this kick start a union of unbridled passion:Darling, I know it's hard to believe
But this body here is free tonight
Your very own first class flight
My plane's parked right outside
And so it goes. The beginning of a wondrous love affair and the end of a classic album. All in all, an exhilarating ride.
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