Song facts: Deftones

BACK TO SCHOOL (MINI-MAGGIT) by DEFTONES

This isn't about school at all. The whole taking notes thing is just a metaphor. The song is an attack on all the bands that stole their sound, meaning the rap-metal genré they helped create.

This bitter attack on school cliques was recorded, according to singer Chino Moreno, when the Deftones' record company requested a hit for White Pony that would compete in the nu-metal market. The band reluctantly reworked that album's closer "Pink Maggit" and White Pony was then re-released with "Back to School" in a contentious move by the label. "I thought, I'm gonna show those f---ers how easy it is to create a hit," said Chino. "And so I rapped a hip-hop part on that song, we shortened it and half an hour later, the hit-single was ready to roll on."

DIAMOND EYES by DEFTONES

This is the title track and second single from the Californian Rock band Deftones' sixth studio album.

Diamond Eyes is the first Deftones release since bassist Chi Cheng was seriously injured in an automobile accident, leaving him in a coma. Sergio Vega, the former bassist of post-hardcore band Quicksand, subsequently stepped in. Kerrang! asked vocalist Chino Moreno if he wrote about Chi on the album. He replied: "Of course there're a few lines inspired by Chi but I'm clever enough not to write about him directly. If anything it's a celebration of my friend and a really positive twist on where we are right now. It's a little more fantasy orientated but inspired by nightlife, feeling alive and being grateful for everything you have. It's good, positive stuff. It's about the underbelly of the world and about going out and living. I like to think of it as a record you could put on when you're ready to go out, and as a soundtrack to everything from that point of view until the sun comes up."

This song contains plenty of enigmatic imagery. Moreno told Spin Magazine about the lyrical direction that this track and the rest of the album takes: "I've been wanting to record a fantasy album like White Pony, where the lyrics are less, 'This is my life and this is what we're going through.' It helps take us away from reality. I don't like listening to people's problems - I like music. Music has been smothered with that complaining since the early-'90s. It gets old. Instead of going to the opposite side of the spectrum and listening to Black Eyed Peas, which is just straight silly, I choose to listen to more instrumental music. I do very little singing about myself on this record. I love songs where I can totally take myself out of being human. I can sing about really odd things, and they don't necessarily have to pertain to me at all. It paints a picture. Those are the kind of lyrics I grew up with - like the Cure. Really visual images and no storytelling."

Robert Schober, also known as Roboshobo, directed the song's music video. He has also helmed clips for Metallica and Mastodon. The video finds the band performing on a black soundstage as tiny pieces of broken glass float around Moreno.

Moreno explained to Spin magazine how the addition of Sergio Vega affected the record. Said Moreno; "It brought us closer together than we've been in a really long time. Musically, we were really clicking, and Sergio really fits with the band. But he's a different type of player than Chi; Chi plays with his fingers, Sergio plays with his pick. We're just appreciative that we're still alive and able to make music. The recording process was very different - we didn't use ProTools. We wrote each song in a practice place and played them a million times 'til they were perfect. That approach goes back to our earlier days, and it's a lot more personable. We work better when everybody's together - and the songs benefit."

MY OWN SUMMER (SHOVE IT) by DEFTONES

This is the biggest hit for the Deftones, who released their first album in 1995 and spent time opening for Ozzy Osbourne and Korn. It's one of their few songs to get airplay on MTV and radio.

Some lyric analysis:

"Cloud come shove the sun aside" - sadness against happiness.

"And no sun in my summer" - The bad luck of being sad and poor in this world.

"There are no crowds in the streets" - Loneliness caused by social discrimination.

"The shade is a tool, a device, a savior" - Living in the shade is a solution to get far away from this.

"I try and look up to the sky, but my eyes burn" - Someone wants to bring us down everyday.

"Shove It" - These people don't care for anyone but themselves. These people are the "sky" (because they've got the cash), and when we try to get next to them, we want to return to our shade and just say, "Shove It."

According to thedeftones.com, this was written in Seattle during the hot summer of 1994. Trapped inside of his room by the heat and sun, Chino Moreno boarded up his windows with aluminum foil and wished for "An apocalyptic-type thing" where all of the people on the streets would disappear and the sun would go away. He called this dream world "his own summer," which is where the song title comes from.

The video features a great white shark. Chino Moreno told NME: "I paid the bill for the director to go to Australia to collect footage to put in the video. The actual sharks in the video were mechanical except the footage they Cgied in at the end."

STREET CARP by DEFTONES

Frontman Chico Moreno (from Deftones World): "It's a classic Deftones song, with a rolling riff and some really interesting chords in the chorus. the vocals are kinda crazy - I'm singing out loud over the top of the music, like (The Smiths front man) Morrissey or something, a cool contrast."

Chino Moreno had placed a little Easter egg in the song, which no one appeared to have caught on to. He told Kerrang! years later: "There is a recurring line 'Here's my new address…' and on the last time I say, '6150 I confess.' That was my Gmail account for years and years yet no-one ever contacted me."

WHEN GIRLS TELEPHONE BOYS by DEFTONES

This song is a fine example of what happens when you want to be in love with the wrong person. After too many failures, you want the person to just go away. When you get back to being yourself without this person, you don't care about them anymore, but in typical human fashion, they want to come back into your life. But now you just say no, because you're so much better than they are. You get the chance to say, "Something's wrong with you and I hope we never do meet again."

2011 BIRTHDAY FORTNIGHT: Part II: Deftones

Felipe M

As mentioned before on this website, I really do not like commercial music of any kind, including commercial/major label rock/alternative/metal bands.  However, Deftones have always had a special place since I was in high school listening to other commercial bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, System of a Down, Staind, etc., I always felt that Deftones would stand the test of time.  A decade and a half later, Deftones, despite a lot of internal turmoil, strenuous touring, extensive drug and alcohol use, breakups and divorces, and being lumped in the whole Nu-Metal movement, they are still making music, performing live in front of thousands of people all over the world, and still being one of the most liked and respected bands in the genre.  

The biggest test for this band occurred in November of 2008 when long time bassist, Chi Cheng was involved in a horrible car accident that left him in a coma.  The band was so distraught of the event, that the last album that Chi Cheng and his bandmates were working on, Eros, was supposed to be released as early as late 2008, was put on hold as the band did not want to release the album with Cheng in a coma.  So the band instilled the services of Sergio Vega as their new bass player (for now?) and almost on the fly, created a totally different album, one with a more optimistic and positive vibe and called it Diamond Eyes.  It would prove to be popular among fans and critics alike.

So that is the backstory of this band leading up to their Chicago stop on their 2011 spring tour:

APRIL 30, 2011: THE RIV, CHICAGO, IL-- What started out as an optimistic night of metal goodness ended up in slight disappointment as even arriving at The Riv, presumably early at 7PM or so, was not early enough to catch the opening act.  Just a little band that call themselves The Dillinger Escape Plan.  

Even worse was the fact that we were met by a jammed-packed venue as already we were ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK near the corridors that take you to the exit.  One thing I absolutely hate is being far away from the stage.  It's standing room only so I should be able to fight my way to the mosh pit.  Well, let me tell you why The Riv is the absolutely worst concert venue in Chicago:

1. Very uptight security--I know it's a lot of people to watch over, but I wouldn't be surprised if sneezing in public would be enough to get you kicked out of the venue.  You're not allowed to walk in certain areas, not allowed to stand in certain areas, it's very frustrating to deal with them.
2. Obstructed views everywhere--Even if we decided to just sit back and enjoy the show from the safest and highest slope of the venue, apparently, all the tall people like to hang out where we were stuck in the back and secondly, the 2nd floor balcony hangs almost above the mosh pit area, creating the biggest obstructed view in the whole venue. So with the tall people and balcony, we had to seperate and fight for a better view.
3. Getting to the mosh pit area is a pain--The problem with seeing a popular band like Deftones is that it brings a lot of fair-weathered fans who are just standing like statues trying to figure out when they will play songs from White Pony.  If fighting the hordes of drunk and high people and trying to reason with them to let you through is hard enough, there are levels you need to climb down in order to get to the mosh pit area.  Easy, right?  That's what stairs are for!  Unfortunately, the stairs are located in the middle of the venue and each level is barricaded by black rails.  You can hop over the black rails I suppose, but again, uptight security might kick you out for pulling such a stunt. So just fight towards the middle of each level and start going down the steps--well, again, the hordes of statues that call themselves people (or "fans") are obstructing your view of the rails and the stairs.  

Anyway, moral of the story is that The Riv sucks as a concert venue (always has and always will) and I only wish that Deftones perform at The Congress Theatre on their next Chicago date.

As far as the setlist, they kicked off by playing their first two singles from Diamond Eyes and then playing four consecutive songs from their 1990s releases, including "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)," which is the first time I've heard it live.  Also hearing it live for the first time was "Hexagram" (which was everything I had hoped for).  It was pretty cool how they played, relatively "soft" songs "Sextape" and "Beauty School" back-to-back which was followed by "Feiticeira," which is full of bondage overtones.  

Overall, it was another solid performance from Deftones.  Chino Moreno proved once again why he might just be the best front man right now and I even caught a guitar pick from guitarist Stephen Carpenter.  Only wished that I could catch The Dillinger Escape Plan, but the night was still young.  Also, spending half the show trying to make it to the pit area was absolutely unnecessary as well.  

On a more serious note, please check out this website to continue to check on the status of bassist Chi Cheng and to donate money to help with medical expenses.  

So what's the big deal about The Dillinger Escape Plan?  Click here and find out!

To find out why Felipe hates commercial music, click here.