here they are:
"Anywhere You Want to Go" by Santana: Could it be?! A Santana song with NO special guest appearances that sounds more like rock than pop?! This is what old-school Santana fans have probably dreamed of since 1999, back when "Smooth", Santana's duet with Rob Thomas, was the mega-hit of the year! Perhaps there's a good reason that the Latino rockers wanted to get back to their roots. According to Carlos Santana himself, he was upset that pop stars (Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars) played the Superbowl this time around instead of rock groups (he cited The Steve Miller Band, Metallica, and Journey, as well as his own band, as good examples of who SHOULD be playing the Superbowl instead). Given what a soppy and somewhat unenthusiastic performance Coldplay gave at the Superbowl, Carlos has a very good point! "Anywhere You Want to Go" revitalizes what Santana has been missing for nearly 40 years!! It is a song of pure, unadulterated, free-spirited, non-homogenized rock and roll!! Thanks for keeping the vim, vigor, and vitality of your band alive for us, Carlos!
"Capsized" by Andrew Bird: And speaking of rock and roll...Andrew Bird?! Wait a minute!! The guy who makes a one-man show out of violins, baroque-pop, and whistling?! Yeah, this is him! I guess even HE is getting tired of how calm the whole "indie" thing has become, so he decided to amp things up a bit in his latest song, "Capsized", which one YouTube commenter aptly summed up as "Andrew Bird meets Alabama Shakes". "Capsized" also has a more groovy beat than most Andrew Bird songs. It's not the first Andrew Bird song I've known to have drums, but it is the first one in which drums take on a prominent role. There probably hasn't been any Andrew Bird song that you've wanted to "shake it" to. Until now, that is.
"Ophelia" by The Lumineers: While Andrew Bird continues to experiment further and further with new sounds, The Lumineers, a folk-rock trio that won the hearts of millions in 2012 with their happy sounding earworm, "Ho Hey", prefer sticking to the tried and true. The Lumi's latest song, "Ophelia", is a song that has a rather down-home-y charm like a lot of their songs tend to have. It is a mellow but fun piano-based song with a downright infectiously catchy chorus, which has probably made it the most anticipated new song of the week. Don't be fooled by the innocent sound of the song, though. The "heaven help the fool who falls in love" part of the chorus is actually a subtle reference to how easily people can be drawn into the idea of being famous. This song sure is bright and chipper nonetheless, though!
"Since You Been Gone" by The Heavy: The Heavy's signature brand of indie-pop meets funk appears once again on their latest song, "Since You Been Gone". Between this one, "How You Like Me Now?", and "What Makes A Good Man?", I'm convinced at this point that The Heavy know how to mix together the perfect combination of danceable and catchy into pretty much all of their songs! It might be worth noting that unlike their previous two hits, "Since You Been Gone" is in minor key. However, that does little to affect what a joyride people are in for when they hear this one! Is there anything these guys can't do?!
"Welcome to My World" by Widespread Panic: We started with a band who is legendary among classic rock fans, and we've ended this week with a band who SHOULD be, but isn't. Widespread Panic's loose and funky brand of Allman Brothers-style jam-band rock has been going strong for 25 years, though a lot of their songs sound like they're from even longer ago. "Welcome to My World" is one such song. It's a catchy little Southern rock ditty that bears resemblance to both The Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" and pretty much anything that Lynyrd Skynyrd have done. The song is a reminder of the freewheeling, breezy, fun vibe that rock and roll was meant to have all along! Welcome to their world, a world where every night is a wild party!!
