"G" Whiz!!

The punny title comes from how both song titles for this week begin with the letter "G" (and you can't have the word "goofy" without the "G", right?!) Anyway, here they are:


"Get Out" by Frightened Rabbit: Probably the closest to a pure rock and roll sound (albeit with techno beats) that Frightened Rabbit have come to so far would be their latest song, "Get Out". The normally folk-rock-y Scottish group amps it up a bit for this song, which has quite interesting lyrical metaphors for love. These include lines like, "I'm a worshiper, a zealot king, cursed, a devotee of the heady golden dance she does", and "She's an uncut drug. Find the vein and pulse". Strange yet somewhat insightful and clever lyrics, if I do say so myself. If Scott Hutchinson's girl is an "uncut drug" then I guess sooner or later he's gonna have to face that he's addicted to love!


"Gimme the Love" by Jake Bugg: Yet another former folk-rocker trying to get away from the sound he's become known for. Jake Bugg actually has had some pretty hard rocking songs before, like "What Doesn't Kill You", the sound of which bore slight resemblance to bands like Green Day. Normally, though, Jake is like a slightly edgier Mumford and Sons. "Gimme the Love" sounds like neither Mumford nor Green Day. Instead, it sounds like an outtake from U2's "Achtung Baby", fusing rock and techno into one fluid musical movement.

New songs for March 5th, 2014

here they are:


"Come With Me Now" by Kongos: Considering the amount of influence this song seems to have from Paul Simon's South African sounding "Graceland" record, the name "Kongos" seems quite apt for this band! The accordions in the intro seem to come straight from "The Boy In the Bubble", and it has a similar rhythm to the song as well. The "Graceland" influence is not the only thing "Come With Me Now" has going for it, though. It also has a Kings of Leon/Killers style guitar solo in the middle of it. World music and alt-rock haven't fused together so smoothly since U2's "The Joshua Tree"! As if that wasn't enough, a friend of mine online also informed me that "Come With Me Now" is the "theme song" for Chicago ice hockey team, The Blackhawks, so perhaps THAT has something to do with its current success!


"Me And You" by Jake Bugg: This song also seems Paul Simon influenced, but more for the songs he did in the '70s than what he did in the '80s. It is, perhaps, the most heartfelt song so far from U.K. folk-rock sensation, Jake Bugg, whose songs are normally underscored with sarcasm and/or street smarts of some sort (both of these factors came to an extreme in his punk-y "What Doesn't Kill You"). "Me And You" has neither, and is more of a sincere love song, though it also seems to be about escaping societal pressures. It lacks the defiance of Jake Bugg's other material, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. After all, every tough guy has a soft side! Perhaps the only blow to this song is how it is the first Jake Bugg song that has been featured in "American Idol". How that happened, I have no idea!! Maybe this means that "Idol" has been getting more folk-rock friendly, though, as the show has with musicians like Phillip Phillips.


"Shelter Song" by Temples: "Eight...miles...high!!" Oh wait, wrong song!! This does sound an awful lot like The Byrds, though! "Shelter Song" has been out since January of this year, but it seems to have been only recently that the song has received a significant boost in airplay on adult alt stations. Boy, was I missing out!! Anything that sounds like The Byrds (R.E.M., anyone?! Gin Blossoms?!) I seem to take an immediate liking to, and "Shelter Song" is no exception! Both the sound and lyrics of this song ("take me away to the twilight zone", "I read a poem aloud", etc.) are pure '60s. Groovy, man, groovy!!


"Supernova" by Ray LaMontagne: Until now, I had thought of Ray LaMontagne as being a "poor man's Van Morrison". Though I admire Van the Man very much, Ray always seemed like he was trying a bit too hard to emulate Van's sound. Thankfully, Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys came to the rescue for Ray's latest album, and, as a result, produced catchy songs like "Supernova" that float between folk-rock and psychedelia! There is noticeably more mingling of electric and acoustic guitars in "Supernova", which give it a sound that seems vaguely like something from Crosby Stills & Nash, or perhaps Fleetwood Mac. "Supernova" has something that no other Ray LaMontagne songs have had for me so far. It has the power to get stuck in my head!!


"The Struggle" by Grizfolk: The last song for this week's blog has much in common with the first song of this week's blog! Both songs are "fusion" songs of sorts (this one combines Elvis Costello-esque organs, folk-rock guitars, and a Killers-ish dance floor ready alt-pop sound), and both songs have gotten a sudden boost in popularity due to being featured in non-radio media ("The Struggle" has been featured on the supernatural drama series, "The Originals"). The title of this song tells all as far as the lyrics are concerned, and it all comes to a head in the end of the song, which explains that "The struggle you are up against makes you what you are". The theme of the song may revolve around hardships, but it is no struggle at all to listen to a tune that's as catchy as this one!

New songs for October 23rd, 2013

here they are:


"Best Day of My Life" by American Authors: Basically, this song could be likened to an Imagine Dragons song with a banjo in it. The anthemic feel of the song, and even the vocals of it, sound quite similar to Imagine Dragons. There is one thing that differentiates Imagine Dragons and American Authors from each other, though. The themes of Imagine Dragons' music is mostly dark, but it seems like American Authors prefer to focus on happier topics. "Best Day of My Life"'s theme should be pretty obvious from the title of the song, but their other (minor) hit song, "Believer", is also positive, with its lyrics centering around hope. Perhaps American Authors aren't the true "authors" of their music after all, as they seem to take after other bands a bit too much. This song is definitely a good one, though.


"On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons: What a coincidence! A comparison to Imagine Dragons in the previous entry, and now an actual song of theirs! "On Top of the World" pretty much describes what Imagine Dragons are at this point in their career! It's also an appropriate title for what could just be the happiest Imagine Dragons song I've heard so far! It almost sounds like Jack Johnson collaborating on a song with fun., although it's better than both of them if you ask me! Who knew these guys had some pep in their step?! I sure didn't, but they pull it off pretty well!


"Pumpin' Blood" by Nonono: Nonono?! As in, "the opposite of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs"?! Wouldn't it be funny if those two bands toured together!! Their debut song, "Pumpin' Blood", seems like one of those songs that will end up defining the 2010's. It is done by a band whose main members consist of one female and one male, and its sound is halfway between electronica and rock, while managing to sound somewhat more pleasant than most songs of either genre. Nothing remarkable here, but it's still got that sound of become accustomed to hearing in the 2010's, so I thought I'd give it a go and review it. Not much else to say about this song, though.


"The Walker" by Fitz and The Tantrums: "Napoleon Dynamite" meets "Batman: The Dark Knight"?! This is NOT the direction I thought alt-pop's answer to Motown would go in, but their music video for "The Walker" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGBLlFMn9Xc) certainly seems that way! It centers around a man who seems to be suffering from a dramatized version of some sort of psychosis at first, but during the chorus, he does a strange but memorable dance that reminds me of the one from "Napoleon Dynamite"! Go figure!! As for the song, it's pretty catchy, like most of FATT's material tends to be. Don't think it is? Well then just try to get that whistling they do in the song out of your head!


"What Doesn't Kill You" by Jake Bugg: You know how The Goo Goo Dolls originally did more punk-ish material (like "Long Way Down") before they had more acoustic guitar centered songs?! Well U.K. folk-rocker Jake Bugg is doing the exact opposite on his latest song, "What Doesn't Kill You"! The man behind the Dylan-esque adult alt mega-hit "Lightning Bolt" has now decided to go for a blazing, almost Ramones-esque rocker in "What Doesn't Kill You". Like most of The Ramones' material, "What Doesn't Kill You" has only three or so chords, is 3 minutes long, is defiant as it is catchy, and doesn't contain any complicated guitar solos. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Jakey Ramone!!

New songs for April 10th, 2013

here they are:


"Lightning Bolt" by Jake Bugg: Like Jake's previous hit, "Two Fingers", "Lightning Bolt" is full of musical homages to the 1960's, which is incredibly unusual for someone who's only 18 years old! "Lightning Bolt" has a bit more of a fast, rock-y feel to it than the folk-y "Two Fingers" did, and it almost sounds like a White Stripes style cover of a Bob Dylan song circa 1965. At only two and a half minutes, Jake Bugg packs a powerful punch into "Lightning Bolt", with both the steady, catchy beat of the song, and Jake's fast-paced, rambling vocals. Not a hard song to perform by any means, but it still takes an awful lot of skill to pull a song like this off!!


"Never Wanted Your Love" by She & Him: The third record from Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Zooey Deschanel, and her quieter backing singer, M. Ward, is finally out!! The record's first single, "Never Wanted Your Love", is a catchy song, like most of Zooey's material tends to be, and it has a "retro" flavor to it with its somewhat rockabilly inspired beats. The rushing, mariachi influenced sound of the violins in the intro also make "Never Wanted Your Love" a memorable song in the She & Him catalog. Then again, though, what She & Him song isn't?!


"The Ceiling" by Wild Feathers: While roots-rock has come to be a defining feature so far of 2010's music, there have only been a handful of bands (Black Keys, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, etc.) that have gone more for the electric side of the genre than the acoustic side. Enter Wild Feathers. Their debut song, "The Ceiling", proves that the band have somehow managed to be a TRUE "folk-rock" band for the second decade of the 21st century, placing equal emphasis on electric and acoustic guitar, and they also have a vaguely bluegrass-y sound that, amazingly, does NOT require a banjo or mandolin! The freewheeling, unabashedly retro style of Wild Feathers might bring to mind bands like The Black Crowes. Ha! Crows, Feathers!! I wonder if there's a connection there?! Well, like they say, birds of a feather flock together, and Wild Feathers certainly know how to do so!!

New blog for the New Year Part 1 - Leftover from December 2012

Whew!! Had a lot of catching up to do within the past couple weeks, so much so that I missed some good ones from December that I'm just now starting to pay attention to. So here they are:


"Cut Me Some Slack" by Paul McCartney, Pat Smear (Foo Fighters), and the remaining members of Nirvana: Paul McCartney and WHO?!? I like Paul McCartney, and I like Nirvana, but putting them together is like having jalapeno flavored ice cream!! Or so I thought before I actually heard the song. Although Macca is mostly known for softer material, he can crank out a solid hard rocker every once in a while (just look at The Beatles' "Helter Skelter", which McCartney sang the lead vocals on!!) Sir Paul lets out a primal scream of angst throughout "Cut Me Some Slack". Sure, Paul's no Kurt Cobain, but he must have been channeling Kurt's spirit (or maybe John Lennon's) when he did this song. After listening to "Cut Me Some Slack", all I can say is, "I've got blisters on me fingers!!"


"Hang Loose" by Alabama Shakes: A catchy Creedence Clearwater Revival style guitar riff, Memphis soul saxophones, and raw, passionate vocals that would make Janis Joplin proud can only mean one thing. Alabama Shakes are back again!! For their third major song, "Hang Loose", they do exactly as the title says. That is to say, Brittany Howard and co just take things easy in "Hang Loose", a song that is as mellow as it is danceable and soulful. My only complaint about this song is that it's only two and a half minutes long. I wish it were longer!!


"Joy to You Baby" by Josh Ritter: The song's title might indicate "joy", but the song itself is more of a melancholy one, though I've come to expect this from Josh Ritter. It's what makes his music likable, after all. Ritter's clever lyrical imagery, however, is what makes his latest song, "Joy to You Baby", so memorable. For instance, he sings about how, when he goes to parties, he drinks "cups of who cares", and how ghosts in the graveyard float between "what is" and "what if". Of course, the song wouldn't be complete without his capoed acoustic guitar either, as that is central to both the mood and the melody of the song. "Joy to You Baby" is as lovely as it is witty, a rare, but certainly enjoyable feat in music these days!


"New Alphabet" by Eels: New alphabet?! OK!! Z Y X, W V, U T S, R Q P!! Oh wait, it's not THAT kind of "new alphabet"?! Oh. What Mark Everett (better known simply as "E") means by "new alphabet" is (probably) that he wants a new way to express himself "When the words just sound like noise", and "when the world stops making sense". Like most of The Eels' material, "New Alphabet" sounds like the kind of song Beck might do, both vocally, lyrically, and instrumentally (but keep in mind that Eels have been around since 1996, a mere three years after Beck's debut in the music scene, so it's not exactly a "rip-off"). Most of the songs Eels have done within the past couple years have a soft, almost billowy sound to them. "New Alphabet" has a bit more "meat" on it, so to speak, but it's still as melodic as ever, and it has a neat little plucked string section between the verses and chorus.


"Nowhere, Massachusetts" by Black Prairie: When it comes to country-rock, the music is usually a bit more upbeat than its plain ol' country counterpart, but Black Prairie are different than that (what else would you expect from a band whose first known song was called "How Do You Ruin Me?") Country-rock probably hasn't been this sad (and especially with such authentic sadness) since the late '60s, when The Flying Burrito Brothers did their tearjerker of a song, "Hot Burrito # 1". "Nowhere, Massachusetts" is even sadder than that, at least in terms of its lonesome, homesick sound. The acoustic guitar and vocals at the beginning are already bittersweet enough, and it only gets more so from there, especially with the sighing violin in the song. This was the very last "new" song I heard in 2012, so I guess it's only fitting that it sounds like a "goodbye song".


"The John Wayne" by Little Green Cars: THE John Wayne?! Not sure why there's an article preceding the title, because it makes it sound like the latest dance craze (as in, "Come on everybody, let's do The John Wayne!") However, "The John Wayne" is FAR from a dance craze. It is, instead, a bittersweet sounding song about how it's "easy to fall in love", and the dangers that come with doing so. The title of the song comes from how the lead singer feels "shot down" (as though he's in a John Wayne movie) by the one he has fallen in love with. More melancholia?! Sounds like more music for me to become enamored with!!


"Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg: Aside from his last name, one of the most memorable things about Jake Bugg is that he's only 18 years old!! He sounds like he's in his late 20's or early 30's, but he isn't, and he's also British (take THAT, One Direction!!) It's also pretty easy to get the impression that Jake probably enjoys his parents' music more than that of his own generation, since he sounds like a cross between The Beatles and Bob Dylan. "Two Fingers" is also a very deep and somewhat depressing song, lyrically. No one I know of has written a song like this in their teens since Jackson Browne did with "These Days" when he was only a year younger than Jake!