As the most unexpected battle in centuries continues to rage on, a few more artists, such as Jackson Browne, Mavis Staples, Andrew Bird, and Death Cab for Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard, have offered up their opinions. Here are those songs (plus one more):
"A Little Soon to Say" by Jackson Browne: Jackson Browne - rocker, singer/songwriter, activist...and unfortunately, recent Coronavirus victim. Being in his '70s, Browne is on the more vulnerable side of the Coronavirus spectrum, so this decade (or year) may be his last, but while he's still alive, he wants to offer us his own perspective on our potentially perilous predicament. Well, actually, the song was written prior to the pandemic's impact, but Browne decided now would be the perfect time to release it. This sad song, which could also end up being his swan song, was inspired by young activists, including heroic Aspie, Greta Thunberg, and how they have spoken out against people not taking action against threats to future generations, such as climate change. This six-and-a-half minute song is one of the most melancholy that Jackson Browne has done since "Fountain of Sorrow" in 1974. Actually this song is even more melancholy than that one was, lacking the light but noticeable rock and roll drums and electric guitar soloing in the background that "Fountain of Sorrow" had. This year has not been kind to some of my favorite musicians, which also include power pop singer Adam Schlesinger, folk-rocker John Prine, and soul musician Bill Withers, two thirds of whom died from Coronavirus. I've never said R.I.P. to three musicians in one post, but since none of them have released (or likely WILL release) any new material, this seemed like an appropriate time to do so.
"All In It Together" by Mavis Staples: Yet another song dedicated to fighting COVID-19 by a revered musician, Mavis Staples' "All In It Together" is a plea for unity during a time of separation. Having now entered her octogenarian years, it's quite remarkable that Mavis is still alive, and I am hoping with all my might she doesn't become victim to the Coronavirus. With her can-do attitude, optimistic outlook, and almost spiritual vibes, it doesn't seem very likely, but one never knows in this day and age. Mavis realizes, as we all should, how the virus is not "blind" in who it affects. One's financial status, gender, race, and other such factors become irrelevant in this song where the only race that matters is the human race itself and how it will cope with unprecedented disasters like our current situation. As human rights activist (and all-around model musician) Bob Marley once said in one of the last songs he recorded, "the darkness must amount to light". "All In It Together" seems to share the same message, one we have all needed to hear and heed right now!
"Capital Crimes" by Andrew Bird: Like the Jackson Browne song I reviewed earlier in this blog, Andrew Bird's "Capital Crimes" is a song written before our present pandemic that is now being connected with it. The song was originally meant as a protest song against capital punishment, but has now become a protest song against the way COVID-19 is being handled as well. And what a protest song it is! If you can imagine Bob Dylan collaborating with King Crimson and a classical music string orchestra, you've got "Capital Crimes" in a nutshell. This epic, six-and-a-half minute song is both lyrically and instrumentally agitated. The instrumental agitation slowly creeps in and is made apparent by the time the song is halfway over. Violin hasn't sounded so violent since John Cale played it furiously in The Velvet Underground's Heroin" back in 1967! Both the music and lyrics of "Capital Crimes" are somewhat Dylan-esque, with Bird essentially spending the song interrogating the government about whether or not they are truly protecting their citizens. A song like this perfectly captures the anguish and despair of the present day in a way that is deliciously dark!
"Held Down" by Laura Marling: Yet another song about a pessimistic, desperate situation, although this one seems more personal than universal. Still, there is no denying all the sadness and disappointment Laura Marling must have experienced in writing her latest song, "Held Down". The song seems to encapsulate feelings of being cheated and let down by whoever her current lover is, though it could also extended to just feeling cheated and let down by everything that's been going on around her. The song itself is as bittersweet as its lyrics would suggest it is. No one seems to know what to do with their lives anymore, and it's a theme expressed in all five songs of this week, but this one stands apart from the others with its more intimate, personal subject matter.
"Life In Quarantine" by Benjamin Gibbard: Death Cab for Cutie, as well as lead singer Ben Gibbard's solo recordings, have always sounded a bit melancholy and stark. But this song, consisting solely of acoustic guitar and Ben's vocals, might just be his saddest one yet. In this three-minute song, the theme of quarantine is expressed quickly yet sorrowfully, with places of entertainment such as bars and cafes being described as "empty", while more essential services like airports and train stations are "full of desperate people". Wow, how sad! Life just isn't what it used to be. Mercy, mercy, me!! I weep for humanity just hearing songs like this one. I'm trying to get over my current state of sadness, but it's been very hard lately. At least music is here to tell me, as always, that I'm not alone!
Showing posts with label Mavis Staples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mavis Staples. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
New songs for June 5th 2019
here they are:
"Calm Down" by Pete Yorn: Pete Yorn released an album in 2009 that yielded three adult alt radio hits with "Don't Wanna Cry", "Last Summer", and "Paradise Cove". I would not have anticipated that exactly one decade later he'd still be doin' stuff in the music biz. Yorn's career has gone on for almost 20 years now, and his latest song, "Calm Down" seems to combine the best of the moody, introspective folk-rock he went for in the 2000's with the more indie-pop direction he seemed to take in the 2010's. The keyboards in "Calm Down" give it a pop-y aspect, but the melancholy folk-rock guitars remind me of why I fell in love with Pete Yorn's music way back in 2001 when he debuted! I loved the bittersweet flavor of his breakthrough song, "Strange Condition", and it looks like with "Calm Down", Pete has finally found his way back to doing what he was so great at doing in the first place. Welcome back, Pete!
"Chevrolet Van" by The Nude Party: This song is not as glam-rock as their debut single, "Feels Alright", but it still sounds retro. This time, The Nude Party are going for a Bob Dylan sound, circa the mid '60s when Dylan "went electric". Much like Dylan, the lyrics to "Chevrolet Van" seem oblique yet somewhat caustic as well. Hard to believe this is the same band who did "Feels Alright", one of the hardest rocking songs of 2019 to hit the adult alt airwaves. "Chevrolet Van" is a much more mellow song, but still one that feels like it might still have some edge in terms of its lyrical content.
"Gotta Get to Know Ya" by Seratones: For those who like a bit of sass in their rock and soul songs, "Gotta Get to Know Ya" might just be for you! The song seems a bit like what The Black Keys might be like if their lead singer was a black female, as opposed to a white male. That singer's name is AJ Haynes, and boy, does she deliver in this track! You know AJ means business when she says, "I know what I'm doin', baby, so don't f**k with me!" Wowzer! I guess I won't mess around with her! But still, she makes some mighty fine music that will keep both rock and roll and R & B chugging on into the next decade!
"Help Me Stranger" by The Raconteurs: Earlier this year, The Raconteurs pulled off a rare feat of getting two hit singles to hit the adult alt airwaves within a single day! A little less than half a year later, The Rac's are back with "Help Me Stranger". The song's vibe is much like their previous songs, with a blues-rock sound that's both roots-y and punchy, and equally blues-y lyrics like, "Help me, stranger. Brother can you spare the time?" being repeated many times during the song. "These 16 strings we're strumming will back up every line" might just be the best line in the song for a few reasons. For one, does this mean that Jack White and Brendan Benson are each playing guitars with EIGHT strings instead of six?! If so, I wanna see those! Second off, note the alliteration of "sixteen", "strings", and "strumming". Last but not least, the line does exactly what the band members are doing at that very moment. The action of the lyrics describe guitar playing accompanying the lyrics, and...well...that's exactly what they're doing!
"Hurry On Home" by Sleater-Kinney: The piercing electric guitar attack of indie darlings, Sleater-Kinney, is normally a lot more vicious and gritty than it is on their latest song, "Hurry On Home". However, rest assured, the song still has an edge of its own that will probably please their longtime fanbase. Instead of taking from punk rock like The Sex Pistols and Patti Smith, "Hurry On Home" takes more from post-punk like Siouxsie and The Banshees and Joy Division. Joy Division particularly comes to mind here with "Hurry On Home"'s combination of techno beats and angry, brooding guitars that never spiral out of control yet still seem on edge. Lead singer Corin Tucker's voice quakes with urgency as she sings the words of the song's title, as though she's expecting someone to clean up her emotional mess. One also senses both jealousy and spite when she claims she's "unlovable" and "unf**kable" midway through the song. (That's the second time I've used a word that I don't normally use in real life on this blog this week. How weird! Well, for me, that is...)
"Live Wire" by Sheryl Crow (featuring Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples): I get the sense that Sheryl has tired from the folk-pop/rock image that songs like "Soak Up the Sun" and just about every other song she did during the first 10 years of the millennium gave her. Within the past three or so years she's tried to escape that by getting back to her blues-rock roots with Gary Clark Jr., as well as her "alternative" roots with St. Vincent. "Live Wire" is yet another attempt, and quite a successful one, at that, for Sheryl to get in touch with her blues-rock roots, enlisting the help of legendary blues-y women who inspired her like Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. The song has a very Bonnie Raitt-ish vibe to it, and since she is one of the three people featured on the track, it's not hard to see why. In addition to a theme of femininity, a theme of motherhood might also be present on "Live Wire". Sheryl has been greatly inspired by Bonnie Raitt, and Bonnie has been greatly inspired by Mavis, thus uniting three generations of blues and country inspired rock together. Sheryl has been a mother for quite some time now, so this might just be her way of passing down the wonderful gift of music to her own children!
"Losing Battles" by Josh Ritter: Much like "Old Black Magic" from earlier this year, "Losing Battles" is yet another Josh Ritter song that moves away from his folk-rock roots and goes more into scorching Southern rock territory. The lyrics to this one evoke Southern rock and roots-rock here as well. In "Losing Battles", Josh mentions Colorado and Tennessee. A lot of "road trip" rock songs, such as The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'", use names of states and cities to give their songs a distinctly roots-y feel, and it looks like that's what Josh is going for here on "Losing Battles". I mean, don't lyrics like, "Drifted down to Tennessee/Lost my girl to a heart of silver" sound like they wouldn't be too out of place in a song by a group like The Allman Brothers or The Black Crowes?! Well I'd say they do!
"When We Drive" by Death Cab for Cutie: Death Cab's latest album seems to be a trip back in time across alternative rock history. Their previous single, "Northern Lights", evoked both The Smiths and R.E.M. Death Cab's latest song, "When We Drive", seems somewhat inspired, musically, by David Bowie's "Heroes", with its spacey, pulsating guitar and synth combo droning dreamily in D major. This seems like the perfect song to listen to when you just want to stare out into space at the stars with your loved one, imagining you and that special someone drifting into outer space and uniting in the cosmos!
"Calm Down" by Pete Yorn: Pete Yorn released an album in 2009 that yielded three adult alt radio hits with "Don't Wanna Cry", "Last Summer", and "Paradise Cove". I would not have anticipated that exactly one decade later he'd still be doin' stuff in the music biz. Yorn's career has gone on for almost 20 years now, and his latest song, "Calm Down" seems to combine the best of the moody, introspective folk-rock he went for in the 2000's with the more indie-pop direction he seemed to take in the 2010's. The keyboards in "Calm Down" give it a pop-y aspect, but the melancholy folk-rock guitars remind me of why I fell in love with Pete Yorn's music way back in 2001 when he debuted! I loved the bittersweet flavor of his breakthrough song, "Strange Condition", and it looks like with "Calm Down", Pete has finally found his way back to doing what he was so great at doing in the first place. Welcome back, Pete!
"Chevrolet Van" by The Nude Party: This song is not as glam-rock as their debut single, "Feels Alright", but it still sounds retro. This time, The Nude Party are going for a Bob Dylan sound, circa the mid '60s when Dylan "went electric". Much like Dylan, the lyrics to "Chevrolet Van" seem oblique yet somewhat caustic as well. Hard to believe this is the same band who did "Feels Alright", one of the hardest rocking songs of 2019 to hit the adult alt airwaves. "Chevrolet Van" is a much more mellow song, but still one that feels like it might still have some edge in terms of its lyrical content.
"Gotta Get to Know Ya" by Seratones: For those who like a bit of sass in their rock and soul songs, "Gotta Get to Know Ya" might just be for you! The song seems a bit like what The Black Keys might be like if their lead singer was a black female, as opposed to a white male. That singer's name is AJ Haynes, and boy, does she deliver in this track! You know AJ means business when she says, "I know what I'm doin', baby, so don't f**k with me!" Wowzer! I guess I won't mess around with her! But still, she makes some mighty fine music that will keep both rock and roll and R & B chugging on into the next decade!
"Help Me Stranger" by The Raconteurs: Earlier this year, The Raconteurs pulled off a rare feat of getting two hit singles to hit the adult alt airwaves within a single day! A little less than half a year later, The Rac's are back with "Help Me Stranger". The song's vibe is much like their previous songs, with a blues-rock sound that's both roots-y and punchy, and equally blues-y lyrics like, "Help me, stranger. Brother can you spare the time?" being repeated many times during the song. "These 16 strings we're strumming will back up every line" might just be the best line in the song for a few reasons. For one, does this mean that Jack White and Brendan Benson are each playing guitars with EIGHT strings instead of six?! If so, I wanna see those! Second off, note the alliteration of "sixteen", "strings", and "strumming". Last but not least, the line does exactly what the band members are doing at that very moment. The action of the lyrics describe guitar playing accompanying the lyrics, and...well...that's exactly what they're doing!
"Hurry On Home" by Sleater-Kinney: The piercing electric guitar attack of indie darlings, Sleater-Kinney, is normally a lot more vicious and gritty than it is on their latest song, "Hurry On Home". However, rest assured, the song still has an edge of its own that will probably please their longtime fanbase. Instead of taking from punk rock like The Sex Pistols and Patti Smith, "Hurry On Home" takes more from post-punk like Siouxsie and The Banshees and Joy Division. Joy Division particularly comes to mind here with "Hurry On Home"'s combination of techno beats and angry, brooding guitars that never spiral out of control yet still seem on edge. Lead singer Corin Tucker's voice quakes with urgency as she sings the words of the song's title, as though she's expecting someone to clean up her emotional mess. One also senses both jealousy and spite when she claims she's "unlovable" and "unf**kable" midway through the song. (That's the second time I've used a word that I don't normally use in real life on this blog this week. How weird! Well, for me, that is...)
"Live Wire" by Sheryl Crow (featuring Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples): I get the sense that Sheryl has tired from the folk-pop/rock image that songs like "Soak Up the Sun" and just about every other song she did during the first 10 years of the millennium gave her. Within the past three or so years she's tried to escape that by getting back to her blues-rock roots with Gary Clark Jr., as well as her "alternative" roots with St. Vincent. "Live Wire" is yet another attempt, and quite a successful one, at that, for Sheryl to get in touch with her blues-rock roots, enlisting the help of legendary blues-y women who inspired her like Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. The song has a very Bonnie Raitt-ish vibe to it, and since she is one of the three people featured on the track, it's not hard to see why. In addition to a theme of femininity, a theme of motherhood might also be present on "Live Wire". Sheryl has been greatly inspired by Bonnie Raitt, and Bonnie has been greatly inspired by Mavis, thus uniting three generations of blues and country inspired rock together. Sheryl has been a mother for quite some time now, so this might just be her way of passing down the wonderful gift of music to her own children!
"Losing Battles" by Josh Ritter: Much like "Old Black Magic" from earlier this year, "Losing Battles" is yet another Josh Ritter song that moves away from his folk-rock roots and goes more into scorching Southern rock territory. The lyrics to this one evoke Southern rock and roots-rock here as well. In "Losing Battles", Josh mentions Colorado and Tennessee. A lot of "road trip" rock songs, such as The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'", use names of states and cities to give their songs a distinctly roots-y feel, and it looks like that's what Josh is going for here on "Losing Battles". I mean, don't lyrics like, "Drifted down to Tennessee/Lost my girl to a heart of silver" sound like they wouldn't be too out of place in a song by a group like The Allman Brothers or The Black Crowes?! Well I'd say they do!
"When We Drive" by Death Cab for Cutie: Death Cab's latest album seems to be a trip back in time across alternative rock history. Their previous single, "Northern Lights", evoked both The Smiths and R.E.M. Death Cab's latest song, "When We Drive", seems somewhat inspired, musically, by David Bowie's "Heroes", with its spacey, pulsating guitar and synth combo droning dreamily in D major. This seems like the perfect song to listen to when you just want to stare out into space at the stars with your loved one, imagining you and that special someone drifting into outer space and uniting in the cosmos!
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
New songs for March 27th 2019
here they are:
"Change" by Mavis Staples: Perhaps the most active "old school" R & B musician of the 2010's, Mavis has practically reinvented herself through the course of the 2010's while still keeping her old sound intact. Her latest, and perhaps last, song of the 2010's, "Change", has her close the decade the same way she started it, with a straight up blues-rock number! She kicked off the 2010's with a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Wrote A Song For Everyone". "Change", however, is an original Mavis number, urging people to improve their actions and their lives through a simple but catchy blues riff in E major. Here's hoping people will listen to the song's message and do what it says!
"Different Kind of Love" by Adia Victoria: Our only other song of the week also happens to be from a black female blues-rock musician. Unlike Mavis, though, Adia Victoria has only been in the music scene for a few years. Adia's breakthrough song, "Different Kind of Love", seamlessly mixes blues, pop, and rock into a single vernacular, in a similar manner to Elle King's "Ex's And Oh's" from a few years earlier. Adia playfully teases the listener throughout with her persistent "Who do you love?" The answer, of course, is Adia herself, but the answer is only hinted at and never revealed. Adia not only breaks down the walls between rock and soul on "Different Kind of Love", she also does so with a secret weapon known as temptation!
"Change" by Mavis Staples: Perhaps the most active "old school" R & B musician of the 2010's, Mavis has practically reinvented herself through the course of the 2010's while still keeping her old sound intact. Her latest, and perhaps last, song of the 2010's, "Change", has her close the decade the same way she started it, with a straight up blues-rock number! She kicked off the 2010's with a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Wrote A Song For Everyone". "Change", however, is an original Mavis number, urging people to improve their actions and their lives through a simple but catchy blues riff in E major. Here's hoping people will listen to the song's message and do what it says!
"Different Kind of Love" by Adia Victoria: Our only other song of the week also happens to be from a black female blues-rock musician. Unlike Mavis, though, Adia Victoria has only been in the music scene for a few years. Adia's breakthrough song, "Different Kind of Love", seamlessly mixes blues, pop, and rock into a single vernacular, in a similar manner to Elle King's "Ex's And Oh's" from a few years earlier. Adia playfully teases the listener throughout with her persistent "Who do you love?" The answer, of course, is Adia herself, but the answer is only hinted at and never revealed. Adia not only breaks down the walls between rock and soul on "Different Kind of Love", she also does so with a secret weapon known as temptation!
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
New songs for September 12th, 2018
here they are:
"Bambi" by Hippo Campus: I'm not sure if Hippo Campus' lead singer meant something allegorical by the title of this song (which does not appear in its lyrics), or if he's just a really big Disney fan, but either way, "Bambi" is a quirky, synth driven indie-pop song. Nothing new under the sun for today's generation, but for Hippo Campus, it kind of is. Most of their other songs have guitar in 'em, and there's nary a lick or riff to be found in "Bambi". Despite its pleasantly goofy sound, "Bambi" has somewhat depressing lyrics that seem to revolve around the repressed, confused emotions of the lead singer.
"Cringe" by Matt Maeson: Newcomer Matt Maeson combines the best of both worlds with his brand of indie-pop. In other words, he uses a folk-pop base for his debut song, "Cringe", but adds in more of that electronic instrumentation that all the kids seem to be craving these days as the song progresses. The chorus has Matt pondering if he makes the subject of his song "cringe". Well, Matt, that depends on who you're talking to. People who think that "good music" ended during a previous decade probably will cringe over this song. Not me! Although the style of this song does seem to be getting increasingly more common on both pop AND rock radio by now, so I dunno...
"Nina Cried Power" by Hozier (featuring Mavis Staples): A rising star from the 2010's and a risen star from the '60s and '70s sounds like it'd be quite a powerhouse to listen to, doesn't it?! Well, you'd be right! In "Nina Cried Power", neo-soul meets old school soul, with interesting results from both parties. The song is probably Hozier's darkest sounding since his debut (and so far, best known) song, "Take Me to Church", and for Mavis Staples, it provides proof that you can be almost octogenarian and still stir peoples' souls of all ages! The "Nina" in question is legendary jazz musician, Nina Simone. She, along with Joni Mitchell, are mentioned in the song as examples of people who have "cried power" (in other words, started a revolution). Though many tend to dismiss Hozier as a one-hit wonder, he actually has 7 songs (this one being # 8 in his catalog) that are just as powerful, if not more so, than the one he's known for. His songs will always "cry power" for me! Ditto Mavis Staples, whose star has continued to rise throughout this decade!
"99" by Barns Courtney: 99. 99 WHAT?! Bottles of beer on the wall?! 'Fraid not. It actually isn't 99 of anything, but the year 1999. Prince already sang about the year, famously, but his standpoint was predicting 1999 as a future year. It has now been 19 years SINCE 1999, and Barns Courtney looks back on the year as actually being nostalgic in comparison to what people are currently facing financially. The song is about how Barns once thrived on money and thought he'd be a millionaire, but is now coming to the realization that this is just not so. Sooo...what's gonna happen 20 years from 2020?! I guess we'll never know 'till we get there!
"Teenage Superstar" by Scars on 45: If only Prince was alive today. If he was, he'd know that he's now no longer the only one singing about 1999. In addition to the Barns Courtney entry I talked about previously, this song is ALSO about 1999! Once again, unlike what Prince predicted, the year is being sung about nostalgically instead of apocalyptically. And once again, the song looks at the present as being dismal and disappointing in comparison. Danny Bemrose and Aimee Driver wax nostalgic throughout the song about their glory days when they wanted to BE rock stars. Ever since 2011, their dream has come true...well, sort of. Only a handful of people know who Scars on 45 are. They haven't become near as big as, say, Mumford and Sons, or The Black Keys. But ever since "Give Me Something" came out, the sweet, gentle folk-rock of Scars on 45 has captivated me enough to think of them as rock stars, because their songs have ended up meaning a lot to me over the years!
"Bambi" by Hippo Campus: I'm not sure if Hippo Campus' lead singer meant something allegorical by the title of this song (which does not appear in its lyrics), or if he's just a really big Disney fan, but either way, "Bambi" is a quirky, synth driven indie-pop song. Nothing new under the sun for today's generation, but for Hippo Campus, it kind of is. Most of their other songs have guitar in 'em, and there's nary a lick or riff to be found in "Bambi". Despite its pleasantly goofy sound, "Bambi" has somewhat depressing lyrics that seem to revolve around the repressed, confused emotions of the lead singer.
"Cringe" by Matt Maeson: Newcomer Matt Maeson combines the best of both worlds with his brand of indie-pop. In other words, he uses a folk-pop base for his debut song, "Cringe", but adds in more of that electronic instrumentation that all the kids seem to be craving these days as the song progresses. The chorus has Matt pondering if he makes the subject of his song "cringe". Well, Matt, that depends on who you're talking to. People who think that "good music" ended during a previous decade probably will cringe over this song. Not me! Although the style of this song does seem to be getting increasingly more common on both pop AND rock radio by now, so I dunno...
"Nina Cried Power" by Hozier (featuring Mavis Staples): A rising star from the 2010's and a risen star from the '60s and '70s sounds like it'd be quite a powerhouse to listen to, doesn't it?! Well, you'd be right! In "Nina Cried Power", neo-soul meets old school soul, with interesting results from both parties. The song is probably Hozier's darkest sounding since his debut (and so far, best known) song, "Take Me to Church", and for Mavis Staples, it provides proof that you can be almost octogenarian and still stir peoples' souls of all ages! The "Nina" in question is legendary jazz musician, Nina Simone. She, along with Joni Mitchell, are mentioned in the song as examples of people who have "cried power" (in other words, started a revolution). Though many tend to dismiss Hozier as a one-hit wonder, he actually has 7 songs (this one being # 8 in his catalog) that are just as powerful, if not more so, than the one he's known for. His songs will always "cry power" for me! Ditto Mavis Staples, whose star has continued to rise throughout this decade!
"99" by Barns Courtney: 99. 99 WHAT?! Bottles of beer on the wall?! 'Fraid not. It actually isn't 99 of anything, but the year 1999. Prince already sang about the year, famously, but his standpoint was predicting 1999 as a future year. It has now been 19 years SINCE 1999, and Barns Courtney looks back on the year as actually being nostalgic in comparison to what people are currently facing financially. The song is about how Barns once thrived on money and thought he'd be a millionaire, but is now coming to the realization that this is just not so. Sooo...what's gonna happen 20 years from 2020?! I guess we'll never know 'till we get there!
"Teenage Superstar" by Scars on 45: If only Prince was alive today. If he was, he'd know that he's now no longer the only one singing about 1999. In addition to the Barns Courtney entry I talked about previously, this song is ALSO about 1999! Once again, unlike what Prince predicted, the year is being sung about nostalgically instead of apocalyptically. And once again, the song looks at the present as being dismal and disappointing in comparison. Danny Bemrose and Aimee Driver wax nostalgic throughout the song about their glory days when they wanted to BE rock stars. Ever since 2011, their dream has come true...well, sort of. Only a handful of people know who Scars on 45 are. They haven't become near as big as, say, Mumford and Sons, or The Black Keys. But ever since "Give Me Something" came out, the sweet, gentle folk-rock of Scars on 45 has captivated me enough to think of them as rock stars, because their songs have ended up meaning a lot to me over the years!
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
New songs for September 20th, 2017
here they are:
"Around the World" by Kings of Leon: Sometimes, the best thing a song can do for you is make you feel good. That seems to be exactly what the aim of Kings of Leon's latest song, "Around the World", is. There's nothing really "deep" about this song, but there doesn't need to be. Both the sound and lyrics of this song just seem to be about having fun. So go ahead. Spread your love around the world!
"If All I Was Was Black" by Mavis Staples: Clearly, Mavis Staples is far more than an American woman of African descent. First and foremost, she is a musician, a legend of the soul genre who also mixed in the occasional blues and gospel influences whose popularity peaked in the '60s and '70s. She's two years shy of 80 now, but she can still belt it out just as great as ever! In this funky blues-y number, Mavis points out another thing that unites her with the human race, and that is love. After attacking the current president in "I Give You Power" earlier this year, perhaps she felt she needed a positive song to balance things out. If that's the case, this song definitely does the trick!
"Los Ageless" by St. Vincent: The exquisite, Tori Amos-sounding ballad, "New York", from earlier this year, was a bit of a departure in sound for St. Vincent. "Los Ageless", the latest song from the artist also known as Annie Clark, is a return to the more quirky, Bjork-ish songs that St. Vincent has become known for. And yes, "Los Ageless" is not a typo. It is a scathing way of describing the place which just happens to be my hometown (Don't worry, Annie, all is forgiven!) It is interesting how St. Vincent has romanticized New York and trashed Los Angeles on the same album! "Los Ageless", according to St. Vincent, is a harsh and unforgiving city where "mothers milk their young" and where people are bound to lose their minds. The song comes off as a slightly more venomous version of Depeche Mode's "Policy of Truth" in terms of how it sounds. As for St. Vincent's criticism of L.A.? I think I'm gonna have to side with Randy Newman, who declared that he "loved" the city in one of his biggest hits (though it was probably a tongue-in-cheek declaration). Everyone's entitled to their opinion, though, and I have always wanted to visit New York.
"O Me O My" by Son Little: Interesting how both of the even numbered songs in this edition of my blog (Mavis Staples' song was # 2, and this one is fourth) are R & B styled tunes. The slinky, seductive sound of this song hearkens back to Son Little's first big song, "The River". "O Me O My" is less blues-rock and more straight up retro R & B, with its funky guitar sound being used mainly for rhythm here. The minor key of the song is reflective of its rather dystopian theme. Apparently, it's about the stress people face in contemporary society. Specifically, Son Little contemplates on the idea of people someday colonizing Mars, and how that might not be such a good idea. Deep soul with deep thoughts! Does it get any better than this?!
"Around the World" by Kings of Leon: Sometimes, the best thing a song can do for you is make you feel good. That seems to be exactly what the aim of Kings of Leon's latest song, "Around the World", is. There's nothing really "deep" about this song, but there doesn't need to be. Both the sound and lyrics of this song just seem to be about having fun. So go ahead. Spread your love around the world!
"If All I Was Was Black" by Mavis Staples: Clearly, Mavis Staples is far more than an American woman of African descent. First and foremost, she is a musician, a legend of the soul genre who also mixed in the occasional blues and gospel influences whose popularity peaked in the '60s and '70s. She's two years shy of 80 now, but she can still belt it out just as great as ever! In this funky blues-y number, Mavis points out another thing that unites her with the human race, and that is love. After attacking the current president in "I Give You Power" earlier this year, perhaps she felt she needed a positive song to balance things out. If that's the case, this song definitely does the trick!
"Los Ageless" by St. Vincent: The exquisite, Tori Amos-sounding ballad, "New York", from earlier this year, was a bit of a departure in sound for St. Vincent. "Los Ageless", the latest song from the artist also known as Annie Clark, is a return to the more quirky, Bjork-ish songs that St. Vincent has become known for. And yes, "Los Ageless" is not a typo. It is a scathing way of describing the place which just happens to be my hometown (Don't worry, Annie, all is forgiven!) It is interesting how St. Vincent has romanticized New York and trashed Los Angeles on the same album! "Los Ageless", according to St. Vincent, is a harsh and unforgiving city where "mothers milk their young" and where people are bound to lose their minds. The song comes off as a slightly more venomous version of Depeche Mode's "Policy of Truth" in terms of how it sounds. As for St. Vincent's criticism of L.A.? I think I'm gonna have to side with Randy Newman, who declared that he "loved" the city in one of his biggest hits (though it was probably a tongue-in-cheek declaration). Everyone's entitled to their opinion, though, and I have always wanted to visit New York.
"O Me O My" by Son Little: Interesting how both of the even numbered songs in this edition of my blog (Mavis Staples' song was # 2, and this one is fourth) are R & B styled tunes. The slinky, seductive sound of this song hearkens back to Son Little's first big song, "The River". "O Me O My" is less blues-rock and more straight up retro R & B, with its funky guitar sound being used mainly for rhythm here. The minor key of the song is reflective of its rather dystopian theme. Apparently, it's about the stress people face in contemporary society. Specifically, Son Little contemplates on the idea of people someday colonizing Mars, and how that might not be such a good idea. Deep soul with deep thoughts! Does it get any better than this?!
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
New songs for May 3rd 2017
here they are:
"Canyon" by Joseph: This song has the same sort of wistful, bittersweet vibe as the first two big songs Joseph have released, "White Flag" and "S.O.S. (Overboard)". A major difference is that "Canyon" is not written in D major, but instead in G sharp minor, giving it a bit more of a melancholy sound than their previous two singles. Lyrically, it seems to be about trying to attempt a relationship with someone else who does not want one. I'm noticing a little theme in their songs. "White Flag" symbolizes surrender, and "S.O.S." signifies a call for help. There's probably a number of ways to interpret the title and lyrics of the song "Canyon", but I would venture to say that it is most likely a metaphor for viewing relationships as deep, endless, and hard to fathom, much like canyons are in real life.
"J-Boy" by Phoenix: J-Boy?! What's a J-Boy?! Is it someone who goes on "Sesame Street" to talk about the letter J and carry it around?! Is it a boy whose name begins with the letter J?! Because the song's title isn't mentioned in the lyrics, we may never know the answer to this one. What we do know, however, is that Phoenix, the French indie-pop quartet best known for irresistibly quirky and danceable songs like "1901" and "Lisztomania", have released a new song that shows a bit more cynicism within its lyrical content than they have usually been known to do. "J-Boy" presents itself as a love song, but with lines like "The truth is that we're all to blame. There are lies and moral consequences", "Stealing money from a homeless girl", and "Kamikaze in a hopeless world", it becomes apparent that Thomas Mars might just be weeping for the future of humanity and masking his opinions with a catchy dance-pop sound designed to distract the "casual listener" from its lyrical content.
"The Night We Met" by Lord Huron: This song is now two years old, so why is it just now getting attention? Apparently, this is because the song was just recently featured in the controversial Netflix drama series, "13 Reasons Why". I know pretty much nothing about this series because I'm an old fogey (not really) who is more nostalgic about the shows of the past than those of the present, but "The Night We Met" is the slowest and saddest song I've heard from Lord Huron's "Strange Trails" album. A great number of those songs followed a pattern of going between F sharp minor and A major throughout, as does this one. It is the slow, almost waltz-like pace of "The Night We Met" that sets it apart from the others. The song is probably meant to be a way of expressing nostalgia for a lover that the leader singer knew in his past, but adding it to the soundtrack of "13 Reasons Why" seems to give it a sadder tone given how dark I've heard the series can be.
"Witness" by Benjamin Booker and Mavis Staples: The seamless blending of soul and rock makes Benjamin Booker's latest song, "Witness", sound a bit like a Joe Cocker song, albeit with more of a gospel flavor (perhaps the gospel influence in this song is due to Mavis Staples' presence on it). Mavis has been quite the busy lady this year, having appeared earlier on a notably fiery protest song by Arcade Fire. As for Benjamin, he is relatively new to the music scene in comparison, having released only one other album so far, and that was three years ago. His debut album had a very raw, in-your-face blues-rock sound. "Witness" continues the blues-rock pattern, but with a more soft, melodic flavor to it. It is yet another protest song, probably against the current state of American political affairs, that Mavis Staples has contributed to in 2017. The central point of the song could be summarized in the last lines of the first verse, "When your brother's dying, mother's crying, TV's lying, all the reasons in the world don't mean sh*t to me now!" Ben and Mavis both continue to inject their venomous yet righteous anger throughout this song!
"Canyon" by Joseph: This song has the same sort of wistful, bittersweet vibe as the first two big songs Joseph have released, "White Flag" and "S.O.S. (Overboard)". A major difference is that "Canyon" is not written in D major, but instead in G sharp minor, giving it a bit more of a melancholy sound than their previous two singles. Lyrically, it seems to be about trying to attempt a relationship with someone else who does not want one. I'm noticing a little theme in their songs. "White Flag" symbolizes surrender, and "S.O.S." signifies a call for help. There's probably a number of ways to interpret the title and lyrics of the song "Canyon", but I would venture to say that it is most likely a metaphor for viewing relationships as deep, endless, and hard to fathom, much like canyons are in real life.
"J-Boy" by Phoenix: J-Boy?! What's a J-Boy?! Is it someone who goes on "Sesame Street" to talk about the letter J and carry it around?! Is it a boy whose name begins with the letter J?! Because the song's title isn't mentioned in the lyrics, we may never know the answer to this one. What we do know, however, is that Phoenix, the French indie-pop quartet best known for irresistibly quirky and danceable songs like "1901" and "Lisztomania", have released a new song that shows a bit more cynicism within its lyrical content than they have usually been known to do. "J-Boy" presents itself as a love song, but with lines like "The truth is that we're all to blame. There are lies and moral consequences", "Stealing money from a homeless girl", and "Kamikaze in a hopeless world", it becomes apparent that Thomas Mars might just be weeping for the future of humanity and masking his opinions with a catchy dance-pop sound designed to distract the "casual listener" from its lyrical content.
"The Night We Met" by Lord Huron: This song is now two years old, so why is it just now getting attention? Apparently, this is because the song was just recently featured in the controversial Netflix drama series, "13 Reasons Why". I know pretty much nothing about this series because I'm an old fogey (not really) who is more nostalgic about the shows of the past than those of the present, but "The Night We Met" is the slowest and saddest song I've heard from Lord Huron's "Strange Trails" album. A great number of those songs followed a pattern of going between F sharp minor and A major throughout, as does this one. It is the slow, almost waltz-like pace of "The Night We Met" that sets it apart from the others. The song is probably meant to be a way of expressing nostalgia for a lover that the leader singer knew in his past, but adding it to the soundtrack of "13 Reasons Why" seems to give it a sadder tone given how dark I've heard the series can be.
"Witness" by Benjamin Booker and Mavis Staples: The seamless blending of soul and rock makes Benjamin Booker's latest song, "Witness", sound a bit like a Joe Cocker song, albeit with more of a gospel flavor (perhaps the gospel influence in this song is due to Mavis Staples' presence on it). Mavis has been quite the busy lady this year, having appeared earlier on a notably fiery protest song by Arcade Fire. As for Benjamin, he is relatively new to the music scene in comparison, having released only one other album so far, and that was three years ago. His debut album had a very raw, in-your-face blues-rock sound. "Witness" continues the blues-rock pattern, but with a more soft, melodic flavor to it. It is yet another protest song, probably against the current state of American political affairs, that Mavis Staples has contributed to in 2017. The central point of the song could be summarized in the last lines of the first verse, "When your brother's dying, mother's crying, TV's lying, all the reasons in the world don't mean sh*t to me now!" Ben and Mavis both continue to inject their venomous yet righteous anger throughout this song!
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
New songs for January 25th 2017
here they are:
"All I'm Asking" by Band of Heathens: Band of Heathens have actually been around for awhile, but this is the first song I've heard of theirs so far. It is a roots-y rock number slightly reminiscent of acts like The Band. It starts out with a thumping, funky bass line, but as a honky-tonk sounding piano and various string instruments in the background start to come in, "All I'm Asking" starts to get a bit more of a shape as a song. The chord progression from A major to F sharp minor is a bit like The Small Faces' "Itchycoo Park". A song like this one wouldn't have been out of place in another decade, and it is only from the production of the record that you can tell that this is not actually an older song.
"Angela" by The Lumineers: First "Ophelia", then "Cleopatra", now "Angela"?! Is it just me, or does Wesley Schultz have more girls on his mind than just his bandmate, Neyla Pekarek?! Of the three titular girls, "Angela" seems to suffer less than the other two characters. Ophelia and Cleopatra both suffered in their respective songs, which I suppose makes sense since the names of both are synonymous with Shakespeare characters, but Angela is a more liberated character, one who feels "home at last", as the refrain in her song states. The epic saga of The Lumineers only continues from here!
"Friendship (Is A Small Boat In A Storm)" by Chicano Batman: You're not gonna hear bands with a name like "Chicano Batman" every day, are you?! Didn't think so! Well, as it turns out, you're not gonna hear their kind of music every day either! The weirdly named quartet (who are, in fact, Chicano, but sadly not alternate identities for Batman), have an eclectic blend of late '60s styled soul music, Latino rhythms, swirling psychedelic guitar riffs, and groovy organ riffs, all in one brightly colored package! To top off all the excitement you might be getting just from reading this, Chicano Batman happen to hail from my hometown, which is none other than Los Angeles!
"Hungry Ghost" by Hurray for the Riff Raff: It's not even the second month of the year and already I have a good song for this year's Halloween playlist! The mysterious, spooky (but fun) vibes of Hurray for the Riff Raff's "Hungry Ghost" go perfectly with its haunting title! The electro-rock instrumentation of "Hungry Ghost" is a bit closer to Bat for Lashes than it is for Hurray for the Riff Raff. Come to think of it, the lyrics the song has, largely concerning isolation and alienation, seem a bit inspired by Bat for Lashes as well. Happy Halloween, 10 months in advance!
"I Give You Power" by Arcade Fire (featuring Mavis Staples): With a sound that comes off as an unlikely cross between Talking Heads and Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire's latest song is, as you might have guessed, a protest song about the person who now occupies the position of being the 45th President of the United States of America. "I give you power", Win Butler sings, followed by, "and I can take it away", immediately afterwards. Soul mistress Mavis Staples joins Win on what could be described as her darkest song yet! Arcade Fire giveth, and Arcade Fire taketh away. No more Mr. Nice Indie Rocker! When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
"Push Off" by The Palms: "Palms", perhaps, refers to palm trees in this case, and not to the palms of our hands, but I guess we'll never know for sure. The reason I say palm trees is because the music of The Palms' debut song, "Push Off", is gentle like palm trees swaying in the breeze, at least in the musical sense it is. Lyrically, it's a bit more bitter. It's clearly about a relationship that the lead singer wants to brush aside and forget about, as evidenced by him calling his former lover a "push off" and then telling them to "push off" afterwards. What a calming song, though! This mostly acoustic guitar based rock song even has a soft piano solo in the middle of it to add to its already breezy flavor! If you've had a bad breakup but you still wanna play it cool, then this song is for you!
"Shakedown" by Valerie June: After the heavenly, ethereal "Astral Plane" from fall of last year, we now have the more gritty, blues-y "Shakedown" from Valerie June. Not as mean and funky as her debut song, "You Can't Be Told", but it still has a more electric guitar based sound than some of what Valerie's fans might be used to at this point. "Shakedown" is probably one of a growing number of songs that is reflective of how uncertain many people think the world has become today. With its rollicking, catchy, "Lust For Life"-like beat, though, some people might be more under the impression that "Shakedown" could just be your basic blues-y rock song about dancing and falling in love. Valerie June's lyrical themes have never been basic, though, so I'm willing to bet that there is some righteous anger behind "Shakedown".
"Strange Or Be Forgotten" by Temples: The leap from a '60s homage to an '80s homage seems to be becoming increasingly common in today's indie-pop groups. Temples debuted back in 2014 with "Shelter Song", which sounded to many like a long lost Byrds tune. The fluttering synths in Temples' second big tune, "Strange Or Be Forgotten", make it clear that their musical time machine can travel to multiple eras. "Strange Or Be Forgotten" is still somewhat an ode to psychedelia, but with more keyboards than guitars. This is the sort of song that would be likely to play during a scene in a movie when someone is tripping out on drugs at a dance club. So are Temples strange, or do you think they will be forgotten?! I would go with "strange"!
"The Lost Sky" by Jesca Hoop: Jesca Hoop (yes, that's how she spells her first name) is nominally a folk-rocker, but "The Lost Sky" truly has flourishes of folk music in comparison to the only other Jesca Hoop song I currently know, "Born To", which was essentially a blend of indie-pop and singer/songwriter with a sound that was more like a melodic electric guitar distortion than a pure acoustic sound. "The Lost Sky" is primarily an acoustic-guitar-and-vocals-only song and it seems to be the name of a fictitious location that Jesca uses as a metaphor for her means of escapism, presented in poetic lyrical fashion laden with vocals that are as bittersweet as the song itself. It is a place known only to the dreamers of the world, both the aspirational kind and the nocturnal kind.
"All I'm Asking" by Band of Heathens: Band of Heathens have actually been around for awhile, but this is the first song I've heard of theirs so far. It is a roots-y rock number slightly reminiscent of acts like The Band. It starts out with a thumping, funky bass line, but as a honky-tonk sounding piano and various string instruments in the background start to come in, "All I'm Asking" starts to get a bit more of a shape as a song. The chord progression from A major to F sharp minor is a bit like The Small Faces' "Itchycoo Park". A song like this one wouldn't have been out of place in another decade, and it is only from the production of the record that you can tell that this is not actually an older song.
"Angela" by The Lumineers: First "Ophelia", then "Cleopatra", now "Angela"?! Is it just me, or does Wesley Schultz have more girls on his mind than just his bandmate, Neyla Pekarek?! Of the three titular girls, "Angela" seems to suffer less than the other two characters. Ophelia and Cleopatra both suffered in their respective songs, which I suppose makes sense since the names of both are synonymous with Shakespeare characters, but Angela is a more liberated character, one who feels "home at last", as the refrain in her song states. The epic saga of The Lumineers only continues from here!
"Friendship (Is A Small Boat In A Storm)" by Chicano Batman: You're not gonna hear bands with a name like "Chicano Batman" every day, are you?! Didn't think so! Well, as it turns out, you're not gonna hear their kind of music every day either! The weirdly named quartet (who are, in fact, Chicano, but sadly not alternate identities for Batman), have an eclectic blend of late '60s styled soul music, Latino rhythms, swirling psychedelic guitar riffs, and groovy organ riffs, all in one brightly colored package! To top off all the excitement you might be getting just from reading this, Chicano Batman happen to hail from my hometown, which is none other than Los Angeles!
"Hungry Ghost" by Hurray for the Riff Raff: It's not even the second month of the year and already I have a good song for this year's Halloween playlist! The mysterious, spooky (but fun) vibes of Hurray for the Riff Raff's "Hungry Ghost" go perfectly with its haunting title! The electro-rock instrumentation of "Hungry Ghost" is a bit closer to Bat for Lashes than it is for Hurray for the Riff Raff. Come to think of it, the lyrics the song has, largely concerning isolation and alienation, seem a bit inspired by Bat for Lashes as well. Happy Halloween, 10 months in advance!
"I Give You Power" by Arcade Fire (featuring Mavis Staples): With a sound that comes off as an unlikely cross between Talking Heads and Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire's latest song is, as you might have guessed, a protest song about the person who now occupies the position of being the 45th President of the United States of America. "I give you power", Win Butler sings, followed by, "and I can take it away", immediately afterwards. Soul mistress Mavis Staples joins Win on what could be described as her darkest song yet! Arcade Fire giveth, and Arcade Fire taketh away. No more Mr. Nice Indie Rocker! When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
"Push Off" by The Palms: "Palms", perhaps, refers to palm trees in this case, and not to the palms of our hands, but I guess we'll never know for sure. The reason I say palm trees is because the music of The Palms' debut song, "Push Off", is gentle like palm trees swaying in the breeze, at least in the musical sense it is. Lyrically, it's a bit more bitter. It's clearly about a relationship that the lead singer wants to brush aside and forget about, as evidenced by him calling his former lover a "push off" and then telling them to "push off" afterwards. What a calming song, though! This mostly acoustic guitar based rock song even has a soft piano solo in the middle of it to add to its already breezy flavor! If you've had a bad breakup but you still wanna play it cool, then this song is for you!
"Shakedown" by Valerie June: After the heavenly, ethereal "Astral Plane" from fall of last year, we now have the more gritty, blues-y "Shakedown" from Valerie June. Not as mean and funky as her debut song, "You Can't Be Told", but it still has a more electric guitar based sound than some of what Valerie's fans might be used to at this point. "Shakedown" is probably one of a growing number of songs that is reflective of how uncertain many people think the world has become today. With its rollicking, catchy, "Lust For Life"-like beat, though, some people might be more under the impression that "Shakedown" could just be your basic blues-y rock song about dancing and falling in love. Valerie June's lyrical themes have never been basic, though, so I'm willing to bet that there is some righteous anger behind "Shakedown".
"Strange Or Be Forgotten" by Temples: The leap from a '60s homage to an '80s homage seems to be becoming increasingly common in today's indie-pop groups. Temples debuted back in 2014 with "Shelter Song", which sounded to many like a long lost Byrds tune. The fluttering synths in Temples' second big tune, "Strange Or Be Forgotten", make it clear that their musical time machine can travel to multiple eras. "Strange Or Be Forgotten" is still somewhat an ode to psychedelia, but with more keyboards than guitars. This is the sort of song that would be likely to play during a scene in a movie when someone is tripping out on drugs at a dance club. So are Temples strange, or do you think they will be forgotten?! I would go with "strange"!
"The Lost Sky" by Jesca Hoop: Jesca Hoop (yes, that's how she spells her first name) is nominally a folk-rocker, but "The Lost Sky" truly has flourishes of folk music in comparison to the only other Jesca Hoop song I currently know, "Born To", which was essentially a blend of indie-pop and singer/songwriter with a sound that was more like a melodic electric guitar distortion than a pure acoustic sound. "The Lost Sky" is primarily an acoustic-guitar-and-vocals-only song and it seems to be the name of a fictitious location that Jesca uses as a metaphor for her means of escapism, presented in poetic lyrical fashion laden with vocals that are as bittersweet as the song itself. It is a place known only to the dreamers of the world, both the aspirational kind and the nocturnal kind.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Nine New Songs for a Nifty New Year!!
Happy New Year everyone!! Did ya miss me?! Well, I'm back! Here are 9 brand new songs for you all to enjoy!
"Bring My Baby Back" by Dr. Dog: Dr. Dog's voyage of psychedelic-tinged folk-rock continues with their latest tune, "Bring My Baby Back". The sound of the song is pretty normal for Dr. Dog, or any indie-pop band for that matter, but what has made a lot of Dr. Dog's songs so special to me is the cleverness they exude. The cleverness factor just doesn't seem to be as strong on "Bring My Baby Back". The folk-rock factor is also more present on this song than it is on most Dr. Dog songs (with the notable exception of the Neil Young-esque "Shadow People", although even that one sounded more like a "Sgt. Pepper" song somewhere in the middle). This is a good song, don't get me wrong, but I do feel like Dr. Dog could be doing better than this.
"Cautionary Tale" by Dylan LeBlanc: Been awhile since we've had a newcomer to the music scene, eh?! Well here's one (at least as far as his airplay on adult alt radio stations is concerned). His name is Dylan LeBlanc and, perhaps not surprisingly, he sounds pretty influenced by a well-known musician whose last name is his first. Unlike THAT Dylan, THIS Dylan has a sound that's more dreamy than it is raw, and would probably be liked by fans of acts like Ryan Adams or Iron & Wine. The soul-searching lyrics of "Cautionary Tale" are well-suited to its tune, which is also rather yearning. So far, so good!
"Delilah" by Florence and The Machine: Who is Delilah?! Well, the only thing we know about her is that she taught Florence Welch how to dance, at least according to the lyrics of this song. Most of "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" has been surprisingly guitar-centric, from the funky, Prince-esque hooks of "What Kind of Man" to the epic, Springsteen-ian rush of "Ship to Wreck". "Delilah" is a song that is more focused on piano hooks and clap-along rhythms than those two songs were, which make it a strangely fun combination of indie-pop and gospel music! Flo's latest album has been a great experience so far. Hoping "Queen of Peace", a sweeping, orchestral slice of baroque-pop ear candy, becomes the fourth single off the album! In the meantime, you can dance to the "different kind of danger" that is "Delilah" 'till the day is done!
"Gypsy In Me" by Bonnie Raitt: Flo may charm me with her cute and quirky ways, but Bonnie will always have a special place in my heart! She has, ever since I was little and my mom would play her records for me on road trips. Speaking of road trips, that pretty much seems to be the vibe that Bonnie's latest song, "Gypsy In Me", is going for! The lyrics play out like a more accessible and less drug-addled version of The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'". That is to say, "Gypsy In Me" is a song about being on the road nonstop. It's also about the joy of being a restless, energetic, unstoppable spirit! Bonnie has certainly proven herself to be unstoppable, still kickin' plenty of big ol' blues-y butt at age 66. Way to go!
"High Note" by Mavis Staples: While on the subject of legendary blues-y ladies, Mavis Staples, who has been recording even longer than Bonnie Raitt has, also has a new one out! Mavis started out as a gospel style singer, turned to more mainstream R & B during the peak of her career, and seems to have dabbled in blues-rock during the last few years. Mavis also seems to be pretty hip on singers of the new(er) generation, such as Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, whom she has duetted with at least once, as well as Valerie June, a blues/folk-rock musician who was probably heavily influenced by Mavis. Valerie actually helped to write Mavis' latest song, "High Note". Her new album is actually full of newer folk-rock and blues-rock musicians. Two of them, Benjamin Booker and Son Little, are also heirs to Mavis' musical throne, so I'm looking forward to hearing their contributions to her new album as well!
"Lazarus" by David Bowie: From a high note to a (very) low note, both literally and figuratively in this case. "Lazarus" is a minor key song, and from its opening lyrics, "Look up here I'm in heaven/I've got scars that can't be seen", one might get the hint that the song is about death, and they would be correct in assuming this. In fact, Bowie's entire newest (and, sadly, last) ALBUM is about death, and his self-awareness of exiting the Earth. Tragically, David Bowie recently died of cancer at age 69, and he was aware about his cancer the entire time he was recording his latest album, but no one knew about it until after the fact. "Lazarus" is a great reminder of the man we have lost. That man is a man who has influenced many subgenres of rock, from the punk sound of his contemporaries (and friends) like Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, to the quirky new wave of Talking Heads and Devo, to the entire "synth-pop" scene that dominated the '80s, icons of the '90s like Kurt Cobain (who famously covered his "The Man Who Sold the World"), and even more recent alt-rockers like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand. That may be a lot of examples for some of you, but it just goes to show what a tremendous impact he had. David Bowie, you will be missed!
"Overnight" by Wild Feathers: They were a little bit country, but now they're a little bit rock 'n' roll. Wild Feathers' latest song, "Overnight", has a bit more of a crunchy, electric guitar based rock sound. Perhaps the more forceful sound is fitting with the rather forceful, critical lyrics they have to offer in "Overnight", such as, "You can't wait 'till the morning light, 'cause you want it all right now". The song is basically Wild Feathers' way of pointing fingers at those who demand instant success, which Wild Feathers themselves have certainly not begged for. They are nowhere near as well-known as, say, The Lumineers or The Civil Wars, but they don't seem to have a problem with that. Just as it should be, I say.
"Under the Influence" by Elle King: It took awhile for Elle King to taste the surprising amount of success she had with the spirited jazz-rock tune, "Ex's And Oh's", but once she got it, she got it big! The song was even huge enough for her to perform it at New Year's Rockin' Eve 2015, which is pretty unbelievable to me (but in a good way)!! Can her second big tune, "Under the Influence", measure up to the crazy catchiness of "Ex's And Oh's"?! You might not think so at first, but "Under the Influence" is the type of song that can sink under your skin within a matter of minutes! It is a slow song, but it is also rather seductive, as Elle seems to simultaneously complain and contemplate about just how intoxicating falling in love can be!
"Wide Open" by The Chemical Brothers (featuring Beck): I've never been that into The Chemical Brothers, as I'm really not much of a fan of techno music to begin with, but with Beck on their side, The Chemical Brothers seem as though they've been touched by magic. "Wide Open" is still techno enough for Chemical Brothers fans to enjoy, but it also has a sound that's more catchy and memorable than it is repetitive, and with Beck featured as the song's leading vocalist for most of it, he seems to give "Wide Open" the Midas touch and make it his own. It's the type of song that would feel equally at home in a club as it would in a bookstore. Music for your feet as well as your mind! How about that, eh?!
"Bring My Baby Back" by Dr. Dog: Dr. Dog's voyage of psychedelic-tinged folk-rock continues with their latest tune, "Bring My Baby Back". The sound of the song is pretty normal for Dr. Dog, or any indie-pop band for that matter, but what has made a lot of Dr. Dog's songs so special to me is the cleverness they exude. The cleverness factor just doesn't seem to be as strong on "Bring My Baby Back". The folk-rock factor is also more present on this song than it is on most Dr. Dog songs (with the notable exception of the Neil Young-esque "Shadow People", although even that one sounded more like a "Sgt. Pepper" song somewhere in the middle). This is a good song, don't get me wrong, but I do feel like Dr. Dog could be doing better than this.
"Cautionary Tale" by Dylan LeBlanc: Been awhile since we've had a newcomer to the music scene, eh?! Well here's one (at least as far as his airplay on adult alt radio stations is concerned). His name is Dylan LeBlanc and, perhaps not surprisingly, he sounds pretty influenced by a well-known musician whose last name is his first. Unlike THAT Dylan, THIS Dylan has a sound that's more dreamy than it is raw, and would probably be liked by fans of acts like Ryan Adams or Iron & Wine. The soul-searching lyrics of "Cautionary Tale" are well-suited to its tune, which is also rather yearning. So far, so good!
"Delilah" by Florence and The Machine: Who is Delilah?! Well, the only thing we know about her is that she taught Florence Welch how to dance, at least according to the lyrics of this song. Most of "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" has been surprisingly guitar-centric, from the funky, Prince-esque hooks of "What Kind of Man" to the epic, Springsteen-ian rush of "Ship to Wreck". "Delilah" is a song that is more focused on piano hooks and clap-along rhythms than those two songs were, which make it a strangely fun combination of indie-pop and gospel music! Flo's latest album has been a great experience so far. Hoping "Queen of Peace", a sweeping, orchestral slice of baroque-pop ear candy, becomes the fourth single off the album! In the meantime, you can dance to the "different kind of danger" that is "Delilah" 'till the day is done!
"Gypsy In Me" by Bonnie Raitt: Flo may charm me with her cute and quirky ways, but Bonnie will always have a special place in my heart! She has, ever since I was little and my mom would play her records for me on road trips. Speaking of road trips, that pretty much seems to be the vibe that Bonnie's latest song, "Gypsy In Me", is going for! The lyrics play out like a more accessible and less drug-addled version of The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'". That is to say, "Gypsy In Me" is a song about being on the road nonstop. It's also about the joy of being a restless, energetic, unstoppable spirit! Bonnie has certainly proven herself to be unstoppable, still kickin' plenty of big ol' blues-y butt at age 66. Way to go!
"High Note" by Mavis Staples: While on the subject of legendary blues-y ladies, Mavis Staples, who has been recording even longer than Bonnie Raitt has, also has a new one out! Mavis started out as a gospel style singer, turned to more mainstream R & B during the peak of her career, and seems to have dabbled in blues-rock during the last few years. Mavis also seems to be pretty hip on singers of the new(er) generation, such as Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, whom she has duetted with at least once, as well as Valerie June, a blues/folk-rock musician who was probably heavily influenced by Mavis. Valerie actually helped to write Mavis' latest song, "High Note". Her new album is actually full of newer folk-rock and blues-rock musicians. Two of them, Benjamin Booker and Son Little, are also heirs to Mavis' musical throne, so I'm looking forward to hearing their contributions to her new album as well!
"Lazarus" by David Bowie: From a high note to a (very) low note, both literally and figuratively in this case. "Lazarus" is a minor key song, and from its opening lyrics, "Look up here I'm in heaven/I've got scars that can't be seen", one might get the hint that the song is about death, and they would be correct in assuming this. In fact, Bowie's entire newest (and, sadly, last) ALBUM is about death, and his self-awareness of exiting the Earth. Tragically, David Bowie recently died of cancer at age 69, and he was aware about his cancer the entire time he was recording his latest album, but no one knew about it until after the fact. "Lazarus" is a great reminder of the man we have lost. That man is a man who has influenced many subgenres of rock, from the punk sound of his contemporaries (and friends) like Iggy Pop and Lou Reed, to the quirky new wave of Talking Heads and Devo, to the entire "synth-pop" scene that dominated the '80s, icons of the '90s like Kurt Cobain (who famously covered his "The Man Who Sold the World"), and even more recent alt-rockers like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand. That may be a lot of examples for some of you, but it just goes to show what a tremendous impact he had. David Bowie, you will be missed!
"Overnight" by Wild Feathers: They were a little bit country, but now they're a little bit rock 'n' roll. Wild Feathers' latest song, "Overnight", has a bit more of a crunchy, electric guitar based rock sound. Perhaps the more forceful sound is fitting with the rather forceful, critical lyrics they have to offer in "Overnight", such as, "You can't wait 'till the morning light, 'cause you want it all right now". The song is basically Wild Feathers' way of pointing fingers at those who demand instant success, which Wild Feathers themselves have certainly not begged for. They are nowhere near as well-known as, say, The Lumineers or The Civil Wars, but they don't seem to have a problem with that. Just as it should be, I say.
"Under the Influence" by Elle King: It took awhile for Elle King to taste the surprising amount of success she had with the spirited jazz-rock tune, "Ex's And Oh's", but once she got it, she got it big! The song was even huge enough for her to perform it at New Year's Rockin' Eve 2015, which is pretty unbelievable to me (but in a good way)!! Can her second big tune, "Under the Influence", measure up to the crazy catchiness of "Ex's And Oh's"?! You might not think so at first, but "Under the Influence" is the type of song that can sink under your skin within a matter of minutes! It is a slow song, but it is also rather seductive, as Elle seems to simultaneously complain and contemplate about just how intoxicating falling in love can be!
"Wide Open" by The Chemical Brothers (featuring Beck): I've never been that into The Chemical Brothers, as I'm really not much of a fan of techno music to begin with, but with Beck on their side, The Chemical Brothers seem as though they've been touched by magic. "Wide Open" is still techno enough for Chemical Brothers fans to enjoy, but it also has a sound that's more catchy and memorable than it is repetitive, and with Beck featured as the song's leading vocalist for most of it, he seems to give "Wide Open" the Midas touch and make it his own. It's the type of song that would feel equally at home in a club as it would in a bookstore. Music for your feet as well as your mind! How about that, eh?!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
New songs for May 29th, 2013
here they are:
"Better Days" by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, perhaps the best nine or ten piece indie rock group since Arcade Fire, seem to have a knack for sounding like a band from the 1960's. Even their techniques for production sound like something from 45 or so years ago. Their sound leaned mostly towards folk-rock until their latest song, "Better Days", though. This song sounds more like a long lost "Sgt. Pepper" track, with its steady, marching drumbeat, swirling, psychedelic electric (gasp!) guitars, and shiny, upbeat brass section. Seems like every band is trying to veer off in a new direction these days, and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros are no exception. At least they're staying true to their "retro" sound, though, which is a large part of what makes them so appealing.
"Can You Get to That?" by Mavis Staples: The soul legend, Mavis Staples, seems to have been all about cover songs in the 2010's. At the start of the decade, she did a rather roots-y rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Wrote A Song For Everyone". This time around, she's covering a Funkadelic song (which was covered earlier this year by indie-pop group, The Living Sisters, coincidentally). Her choice is interesting, considering that this is sort of a folk-rock song, which was an extremely uncommon style for Funkadelic to perform in (though Funkadelic are a pretty eclectic group, esp. when it comes to songs like the not-so-funky, 8-minute, Hendrix-ian guitar jam-fest, "Maggot Brain"). Regardless, though, Mavis injects enough soulfulness and talent to make her take on "Can You Get to That?" shine through!
"Get Lucky" by Daft Punk: Yet another retro-soul styled song, but reminiscent of a different era (it sounds a bit like a disco song circa '78), and from a group I never would have expected, either! Daft Punk are typically more of a techno group - not only in sound, but in looks as well (their members regularly dress up in robot costumes!!) The instruments don't sound very Daft Punk-ish. There is clearly an electric guitar keeping rhythm throughout the song, and nary a synthesizer in the whole thing! The "robot voice" present in most Daft Punk songs only appears twice in "Get Lucky". The vocals that take place in most of "Get Lucky" sound more...well...human!! A refreshing, unique song for the guys whom I previously knew for doing a song whose sole "lyrics" were "Bow...now now now now nowww...bow now now nowwww...bow now now now nowww..."
"I Will Steal You Back" by Jimmy Eat World: In the early '00s, Jimmy Eat World had one of the catchiest power pop mega-hits with "The Middle", a song that, in my opinion, rivaled the catchiness (and, arguably, popularity) of power pop classics like "My Sharona" and "What I Like About You". However, Jimmy Eat World's other songs seemed more like that messy cross between power pop and grunge that groups like Weezer (whom I've honestly never quite warmed up to) became known for. About the closest I came to liking a Jimmy Eat World song other than "The Middle" was their surprisingly neo-folk-rock-y cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas". That being said, I was NEVER expecting Jimmy Eat World to come out with a song like "I Will Steal You Back"!! While it is nowhere near as catchy as "The Middle", it is a lot more tolerable than most of their material to me. It starts out with an acoustic guitar, for one, an instrument that is usually not present on their material. The song builds up to a chorus that has a bit more punch to it than the verses, but still manages to remain relatively mellow, almost like one of the "lighter" songs that The Foo Fighters have done, though the vocals on "I Will Steal You Back" are a bit too harmony laced to be Foos-ish. It took almost 10 years for Jimmy Eat World to win me over again, but now they finally have!! Wonder if they'll continue in this direction?!
"Pour A Little Poison" by David Ford: One of the most bitter, sarcastic folk-rock songs I have ever known is "I Don't Care What You Call Me" by David Ford, which, up until now, was the only song I knew by him. The title alone of "Pour A Little Poison" made me think it was gonna be a similar song to "I Don't Care What You Call Me", and lyrically, it is ("Pour a little poison on my good name"), but instrumentally, it sounds like an unusually catchy Bob Dylan song, complete with a "clap-along" rhythm section, a huge departure from the world-weary sound of "I Don't Care What You Call Me". "Pour A Little Poison" is also much shorter in length, clocking in at only 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Perhaps David has been taking cues from other "sarcastic but catchy" indie-folk-rock singers, like Jake Bugg and Frank Turner. It certainly sounds that way to me!
"That's Who I Am" by Neko Case: Neko Case has always peppered her brand of alt-country with a bit of snark, and "That's Who I Am" is no exception. What makes this song different is that (surprise!!) it's actually a cover of a John Mellencamp song!! Even stranger than that is that it's from a musical that John Mellencamp wrote with Stephen King (yes, THAT Stephen King). To warp your opinion of this song even further, Neko's take on this song has a sound that suggests what it might be like if Johnny Cash started doing cabaret material!! Well it sounds like that to me, anyway. See for yourself, though!!
"Better Days" by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, perhaps the best nine or ten piece indie rock group since Arcade Fire, seem to have a knack for sounding like a band from the 1960's. Even their techniques for production sound like something from 45 or so years ago. Their sound leaned mostly towards folk-rock until their latest song, "Better Days", though. This song sounds more like a long lost "Sgt. Pepper" track, with its steady, marching drumbeat, swirling, psychedelic electric (gasp!) guitars, and shiny, upbeat brass section. Seems like every band is trying to veer off in a new direction these days, and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros are no exception. At least they're staying true to their "retro" sound, though, which is a large part of what makes them so appealing.
"Can You Get to That?" by Mavis Staples: The soul legend, Mavis Staples, seems to have been all about cover songs in the 2010's. At the start of the decade, she did a rather roots-y rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Wrote A Song For Everyone". This time around, she's covering a Funkadelic song (which was covered earlier this year by indie-pop group, The Living Sisters, coincidentally). Her choice is interesting, considering that this is sort of a folk-rock song, which was an extremely uncommon style for Funkadelic to perform in (though Funkadelic are a pretty eclectic group, esp. when it comes to songs like the not-so-funky, 8-minute, Hendrix-ian guitar jam-fest, "Maggot Brain"). Regardless, though, Mavis injects enough soulfulness and talent to make her take on "Can You Get to That?" shine through!
"Get Lucky" by Daft Punk: Yet another retro-soul styled song, but reminiscent of a different era (it sounds a bit like a disco song circa '78), and from a group I never would have expected, either! Daft Punk are typically more of a techno group - not only in sound, but in looks as well (their members regularly dress up in robot costumes!!) The instruments don't sound very Daft Punk-ish. There is clearly an electric guitar keeping rhythm throughout the song, and nary a synthesizer in the whole thing! The "robot voice" present in most Daft Punk songs only appears twice in "Get Lucky". The vocals that take place in most of "Get Lucky" sound more...well...human!! A refreshing, unique song for the guys whom I previously knew for doing a song whose sole "lyrics" were "Bow...now now now now nowww...bow now now nowwww...bow now now now nowww..."
"I Will Steal You Back" by Jimmy Eat World: In the early '00s, Jimmy Eat World had one of the catchiest power pop mega-hits with "The Middle", a song that, in my opinion, rivaled the catchiness (and, arguably, popularity) of power pop classics like "My Sharona" and "What I Like About You". However, Jimmy Eat World's other songs seemed more like that messy cross between power pop and grunge that groups like Weezer (whom I've honestly never quite warmed up to) became known for. About the closest I came to liking a Jimmy Eat World song other than "The Middle" was their surprisingly neo-folk-rock-y cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas". That being said, I was NEVER expecting Jimmy Eat World to come out with a song like "I Will Steal You Back"!! While it is nowhere near as catchy as "The Middle", it is a lot more tolerable than most of their material to me. It starts out with an acoustic guitar, for one, an instrument that is usually not present on their material. The song builds up to a chorus that has a bit more punch to it than the verses, but still manages to remain relatively mellow, almost like one of the "lighter" songs that The Foo Fighters have done, though the vocals on "I Will Steal You Back" are a bit too harmony laced to be Foos-ish. It took almost 10 years for Jimmy Eat World to win me over again, but now they finally have!! Wonder if they'll continue in this direction?!
"Pour A Little Poison" by David Ford: One of the most bitter, sarcastic folk-rock songs I have ever known is "I Don't Care What You Call Me" by David Ford, which, up until now, was the only song I knew by him. The title alone of "Pour A Little Poison" made me think it was gonna be a similar song to "I Don't Care What You Call Me", and lyrically, it is ("Pour a little poison on my good name"), but instrumentally, it sounds like an unusually catchy Bob Dylan song, complete with a "clap-along" rhythm section, a huge departure from the world-weary sound of "I Don't Care What You Call Me". "Pour A Little Poison" is also much shorter in length, clocking in at only 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Perhaps David has been taking cues from other "sarcastic but catchy" indie-folk-rock singers, like Jake Bugg and Frank Turner. It certainly sounds that way to me!
"That's Who I Am" by Neko Case: Neko Case has always peppered her brand of alt-country with a bit of snark, and "That's Who I Am" is no exception. What makes this song different is that (surprise!!) it's actually a cover of a John Mellencamp song!! Even stranger than that is that it's from a musical that John Mellencamp wrote with Stephen King (yes, THAT Stephen King). To warp your opinion of this song even further, Neko's take on this song has a sound that suggests what it might be like if Johnny Cash started doing cabaret material!! Well it sounds like that to me, anyway. See for yourself, though!!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
ELEVEN SONGS!!
Eleven songs?!? THIS is gonna be GOOD!!! Here they are:
"Boy" by Ra Ra Riot: This song has done two fantastic things for me! First of all, it's keeping the uniquely quirky new wave influenced indie sound of bands like Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, and Phoenix alive and well, but it also has an incredible music video. Why? 'Cuz it has KITTIES!! (I'm a cat lover, so please bear with me here). An orange tabby cat (and his orange tabby cat friends, or perhaps clones of his) appear on and off throughout the video, and during the chorus, their eyes glow in the dark to make one giant cat's eye! As if that wasn't neat enough, the instrumentation in "Boy" is also very well-crafted. Unlike the typical Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, or Phoenix song, this song does NOT start out with a guitar, but rather a new wave-y keyboard sound backed up by a loud, thumping bass. The guitar comes in during the chorus, as does some random orchestral instrumentation (Arcade Fire, anyone?) There's also a brief guitar solo in this song as well. All in all, "Boy" is a very entertaining, catchy, and well-thought out piece of music.
"Buttercups" by Fran Healy: Make no mistake, "Fran" is not a girl's name in this case. It is, instead, the name of British indie-folk-rock band Travis's first name. "Buttercups" could easily be mistaken for a Travis song, rather than just one by the lead singer of the band, for its full-band instrumentation, passionate vocals, and wistful tones. Travis' songs typically have quirky lyrics and one-word titles (the most well-known being "Sing" and "Side"), and "Buttercups" continues in that tradition, of being both one word long and having charmingly unusual lyrics (The best one being, "If I had a diamond ring, I'd wear it through my nose". I'd like to see Fran Healy try to do THAT sometime!!)
"Coquet Coquette" by of Montreal: "Coquet Coquette"?!? Is there an echo in here, is there an echo in here?!? No, there isn't, it's just the title of of Montreal's latest tune that seems to be influenced largely by the "retro rock" sounds of such bands as The White Stripes and Muse. For of Montreal, I'm not sure if this shift in sound is a good thing or a bad thing. It's not like this is the first time the oddly named indie band has gotten attention, as "Wraith Pinned to the Mist And Other Tales" was featured in an Outback Steakhouse commercial, and they even did a children's song about brushing teeth for the neo-"Sesame Street"-ish kid's show "Yo Gabba Gabba" that received a fair amount of attention as well. However, both of those seemed more like psychedelic pop tunes than attempts to receive airplay on major alt/modern rock stations. "Coquet Coquette" still features the psychedelic element that is present on most of of Montreal's material, but it seems to be filtered through '70s classic rock a la Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, etc. the way that many of The White Stripes and Muse's material seems to be. Nevertheless, "Coquet Coquette" is still worth listening to. Oh, and one more thing, "coquette" is a term that basically means "flirt" and mainly applies to women (I believe of Montreal made up the counterpart term, "coquet", to add more flavor to the song).
"Indecision" by Steven Page: The former Barenaked Ladies member proves he still has the flair for catchy melodies and clever lyrics, even as a SOLO artist! Some feat for a man from a band that's been around for nearly 20 years!! Instrumentally, Page tweaks up his typical sound a bit (think "The Big Bang Theory" theme mixed with a Sergio Mendes tune!) Who would have thought he'd use Latin jazz-style instrumentation in the verses of "Indecision" and STILL sound good?! As in the usual BNL lyrical fashion, there are some witty, tongue-in-cheek lyrics to be found in this song as well (like in the chorus, in which Page sings, "Then again, my addiction to indecision keeps me here"). "Addiction to indecision" sounds like it could function simultaneously as an oxymoron AND a tongue-twister. Some of my own poetry and music has a tendency to sprinkle in some wordplay like this does. What can I say, great minds think alike!
"Lasso" by Phoenix: If I had to describe Phoenix's music in one word, I'd choose the word "catchy". "1901" and "Lisztomania" have already been stuck in my head numerous times, and probably in the minds of many others as well since they both became massive hits! Though "Lasso" hasn't quite received the amount of attention that the aforementioned two songs have, I think it has the potential to do so sometime soon. It uses the basic Phoenix formula of danceable, stick-in-your-head song, easy to memorize chorus ("Where would you go, where would you go, would you go with a lasso?/Could you run into, could you run into, could you run into me?"), and quirky lyrics (see the chorus that I typed earlier in this sentence). "Lasso" also seems to be more straight-up rock music than the techno/rock hybrids that "1901" and "Lisztomania" ended up being. It has a sound that's probably comparable to bands like The Killers and the "edgier" side of Snow Patrol. Think of those two bands, backed by a consistently organized rhythm section, and add just a small dash of The Police's "Message In A Bottle", and you should have a pretty good idea of what "Lasso" sounds like!
"Paris (Ooh La La)" by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals: Grace Potter normally has a sound that might remind one of the organic, earthy country sounds of Lucinda Williams. This year, however, Grace and The Nocturnals proved they could rock out with the best of 'em, earlier this year with their cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", and now with the Lenny Kravitz-esque "Paris"! Perhaps Grace is trying TOO hard to let out her inner rock star with the lyrics of this song (i.e. "You got me up on your swing/So when you gonna shake that thing?", a BIG departure from the down-home-y, humble flavor of "Ah Mary", her debut single). However, "Paris" is a darn catchy song with guitar riffs that would make Jimi Hendrix proud! (Or at least entertained). And if Grace wants to be more of a Janis than a Lucinda, well then, she's found just the right sound to please my ears!!
"Radioactive" by Kings of Leon: Ever since their 2008 breakthrough record, "Only By the Night", all sides of the rock 'n' roll spectrum just couldn't seem to get enough of Kings of Leon. With their latest release, it's seems like KOL fever has only continued to rise, as it has received IMMEDIATE attention on the adult. alt charts, the "regular" alt charts, and the mainstream rock (combination of classic rock and "harder" modern rock) charts simultaneously!! So how does "Radioactive" measure up to the contagious melodies and hooks of "Sex On Fire", "Use Somebody", and "Notion"?! It could easily join the ranks of those songs for sure! (It already HAS on many rock stations of all kinds!!) However, a major difference between those songs and "Radioactive" is a shift in influence from '70s rock to '80s rock. "Radioactive" sounds like a mix of U2 and some of the more "spacey" David Bowie songs (i.e. "Ashes to Ashes"). Perhaps it doesn't matter what era of music KOL want to emulate, as long as their music is able to stick in the heads of millions of fans!!
"Spectacular Girl" by Eels: Despite their slimy name, Eels have a rather mellow sound for the most part, much like many of the songs Beck did in the 2000's. Sometimes it almost seems as though E (Eels' frontman, born Mark Oliver Everett) and Beck have composed songs cut from the same cloth (in fact "Spectacular Girl" reminds me a great deal of Beck's '08 hit, "Orphans"). Both "Orphans" and "Spectacular Girl" use electronic instruments in a soothing fashion, and add in more typically calming instruments, such as flutes, as the songs progress. Although "Spectacular Girl" is basically a Beck soundalike, it's still a great song to me, with its breezy, chillout vibe that I often crave in the songs I listen to to make me feel happy and satisfied inside!
"Witchcraft" by Matt Costa: Most people who are familiar with Matt Costa's music probably know him best for taking an indie rock approach to the "ultra-mellow" sounds of musicians like Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews. However, Matt decided to trade in that mellow acoustic sound for some Donovan-esque psychedelia and turn up his amp on "Witchcraft"! Though Costa is not British, his voice (and a little bit of his music) sounds much like The Zombies' Colin Bluntstone, who is British, on this track. If Costa continues in this psychedelically influenced trend, he'll likely be remembered as a 21st century version of Donovan for going from folk-rock to psychedelia. Even the theme of this song tends to evoke Donovan somewhat ("Season of the Witch", anyone?!) Lyrically, it takes on the familiar '60s rock theme of singing about a girl who messes around with a guys emotions (so much so, in this song, that Matt Costa proclaims in the chorus that the girl in question "must be using witchcraft"). This song is an absolute must for any fans of The Zombies, Donovan, Jefferson Airplane, etc!
"Wrote A Song For Everyone" by Mavis Staples: The former '70s soul woman returns after many years with a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover! Staples seems to cover the CCR tune pretty accurately, to the point of which it SOUNDS like something CCR (or similar acts, like The Band) might have done, complete with a guitar solo! Her version actually seems more rock 'n' roll oriented, at times, than CCR's original version. It's neat to hear an early '70s musical icon covering yet another early '70s musical icon! I would love to know John Fogerty's reaction to Mavis Staples' version!
"You Can Dance" by Bryan Ferry: Before I begin, is it just me, or is it a bit odd that both of the leading musicians in Roxy Music were named "Brian"?! (the other being Brian Eno) The two of them are both fairly well-known both in Roxy Music and as solo performers in the music world, though Ferry went in more of a pop-oriented direction, and Eno in a more "experimental" one. Ferry continues doing the same "sophisticated" pop music he did with his biggest hit of the '80s, "Slave to Love" (in fact "Slave to Love" and "You Can Dance" actually sound quite similar). "Slave to Love" was probably a more compelling, seductive sort of song, but Ferry's attempts to repeat this on "You Can Dance" aren't bad. However, I would still recommend his older material much more than "You Can Dance".
"Boy" by Ra Ra Riot: This song has done two fantastic things for me! First of all, it's keeping the uniquely quirky new wave influenced indie sound of bands like Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, and Phoenix alive and well, but it also has an incredible music video. Why? 'Cuz it has KITTIES!! (I'm a cat lover, so please bear with me here). An orange tabby cat (and his orange tabby cat friends, or perhaps clones of his) appear on and off throughout the video, and during the chorus, their eyes glow in the dark to make one giant cat's eye! As if that wasn't neat enough, the instrumentation in "Boy" is also very well-crafted. Unlike the typical Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, or Phoenix song, this song does NOT start out with a guitar, but rather a new wave-y keyboard sound backed up by a loud, thumping bass. The guitar comes in during the chorus, as does some random orchestral instrumentation (Arcade Fire, anyone?) There's also a brief guitar solo in this song as well. All in all, "Boy" is a very entertaining, catchy, and well-thought out piece of music.
"Buttercups" by Fran Healy: Make no mistake, "Fran" is not a girl's name in this case. It is, instead, the name of British indie-folk-rock band Travis's first name. "Buttercups" could easily be mistaken for a Travis song, rather than just one by the lead singer of the band, for its full-band instrumentation, passionate vocals, and wistful tones. Travis' songs typically have quirky lyrics and one-word titles (the most well-known being "Sing" and "Side"), and "Buttercups" continues in that tradition, of being both one word long and having charmingly unusual lyrics (The best one being, "If I had a diamond ring, I'd wear it through my nose". I'd like to see Fran Healy try to do THAT sometime!!)
"Coquet Coquette" by of Montreal: "Coquet Coquette"?!? Is there an echo in here, is there an echo in here?!? No, there isn't, it's just the title of of Montreal's latest tune that seems to be influenced largely by the "retro rock" sounds of such bands as The White Stripes and Muse. For of Montreal, I'm not sure if this shift in sound is a good thing or a bad thing. It's not like this is the first time the oddly named indie band has gotten attention, as "Wraith Pinned to the Mist And Other Tales" was featured in an Outback Steakhouse commercial, and they even did a children's song about brushing teeth for the neo-"Sesame Street"-ish kid's show "Yo Gabba Gabba" that received a fair amount of attention as well. However, both of those seemed more like psychedelic pop tunes than attempts to receive airplay on major alt/modern rock stations. "Coquet Coquette" still features the psychedelic element that is present on most of of Montreal's material, but it seems to be filtered through '70s classic rock a la Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, etc. the way that many of The White Stripes and Muse's material seems to be. Nevertheless, "Coquet Coquette" is still worth listening to. Oh, and one more thing, "coquette" is a term that basically means "flirt" and mainly applies to women (I believe of Montreal made up the counterpart term, "coquet", to add more flavor to the song).
"Indecision" by Steven Page: The former Barenaked Ladies member proves he still has the flair for catchy melodies and clever lyrics, even as a SOLO artist! Some feat for a man from a band that's been around for nearly 20 years!! Instrumentally, Page tweaks up his typical sound a bit (think "The Big Bang Theory" theme mixed with a Sergio Mendes tune!) Who would have thought he'd use Latin jazz-style instrumentation in the verses of "Indecision" and STILL sound good?! As in the usual BNL lyrical fashion, there are some witty, tongue-in-cheek lyrics to be found in this song as well (like in the chorus, in which Page sings, "Then again, my addiction to indecision keeps me here"). "Addiction to indecision" sounds like it could function simultaneously as an oxymoron AND a tongue-twister. Some of my own poetry and music has a tendency to sprinkle in some wordplay like this does. What can I say, great minds think alike!
"Lasso" by Phoenix: If I had to describe Phoenix's music in one word, I'd choose the word "catchy". "1901" and "Lisztomania" have already been stuck in my head numerous times, and probably in the minds of many others as well since they both became massive hits! Though "Lasso" hasn't quite received the amount of attention that the aforementioned two songs have, I think it has the potential to do so sometime soon. It uses the basic Phoenix formula of danceable, stick-in-your-head song, easy to memorize chorus ("Where would you go, where would you go, would you go with a lasso?/Could you run into, could you run into, could you run into me?"), and quirky lyrics (see the chorus that I typed earlier in this sentence). "Lasso" also seems to be more straight-up rock music than the techno/rock hybrids that "1901" and "Lisztomania" ended up being. It has a sound that's probably comparable to bands like The Killers and the "edgier" side of Snow Patrol. Think of those two bands, backed by a consistently organized rhythm section, and add just a small dash of The Police's "Message In A Bottle", and you should have a pretty good idea of what "Lasso" sounds like!
"Paris (Ooh La La)" by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals: Grace Potter normally has a sound that might remind one of the organic, earthy country sounds of Lucinda Williams. This year, however, Grace and The Nocturnals proved they could rock out with the best of 'em, earlier this year with their cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", and now with the Lenny Kravitz-esque "Paris"! Perhaps Grace is trying TOO hard to let out her inner rock star with the lyrics of this song (i.e. "You got me up on your swing/So when you gonna shake that thing?", a BIG departure from the down-home-y, humble flavor of "Ah Mary", her debut single). However, "Paris" is a darn catchy song with guitar riffs that would make Jimi Hendrix proud! (Or at least entertained). And if Grace wants to be more of a Janis than a Lucinda, well then, she's found just the right sound to please my ears!!
"Radioactive" by Kings of Leon: Ever since their 2008 breakthrough record, "Only By the Night", all sides of the rock 'n' roll spectrum just couldn't seem to get enough of Kings of Leon. With their latest release, it's seems like KOL fever has only continued to rise, as it has received IMMEDIATE attention on the adult. alt charts, the "regular" alt charts, and the mainstream rock (combination of classic rock and "harder" modern rock) charts simultaneously!! So how does "Radioactive" measure up to the contagious melodies and hooks of "Sex On Fire", "Use Somebody", and "Notion"?! It could easily join the ranks of those songs for sure! (It already HAS on many rock stations of all kinds!!) However, a major difference between those songs and "Radioactive" is a shift in influence from '70s rock to '80s rock. "Radioactive" sounds like a mix of U2 and some of the more "spacey" David Bowie songs (i.e. "Ashes to Ashes"). Perhaps it doesn't matter what era of music KOL want to emulate, as long as their music is able to stick in the heads of millions of fans!!
"Spectacular Girl" by Eels: Despite their slimy name, Eels have a rather mellow sound for the most part, much like many of the songs Beck did in the 2000's. Sometimes it almost seems as though E (Eels' frontman, born Mark Oliver Everett) and Beck have composed songs cut from the same cloth (in fact "Spectacular Girl" reminds me a great deal of Beck's '08 hit, "Orphans"). Both "Orphans" and "Spectacular Girl" use electronic instruments in a soothing fashion, and add in more typically calming instruments, such as flutes, as the songs progress. Although "Spectacular Girl" is basically a Beck soundalike, it's still a great song to me, with its breezy, chillout vibe that I often crave in the songs I listen to to make me feel happy and satisfied inside!
"Witchcraft" by Matt Costa: Most people who are familiar with Matt Costa's music probably know him best for taking an indie rock approach to the "ultra-mellow" sounds of musicians like Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews. However, Matt decided to trade in that mellow acoustic sound for some Donovan-esque psychedelia and turn up his amp on "Witchcraft"! Though Costa is not British, his voice (and a little bit of his music) sounds much like The Zombies' Colin Bluntstone, who is British, on this track. If Costa continues in this psychedelically influenced trend, he'll likely be remembered as a 21st century version of Donovan for going from folk-rock to psychedelia. Even the theme of this song tends to evoke Donovan somewhat ("Season of the Witch", anyone?!) Lyrically, it takes on the familiar '60s rock theme of singing about a girl who messes around with a guys emotions (so much so, in this song, that Matt Costa proclaims in the chorus that the girl in question "must be using witchcraft"). This song is an absolute must for any fans of The Zombies, Donovan, Jefferson Airplane, etc!
"Wrote A Song For Everyone" by Mavis Staples: The former '70s soul woman returns after many years with a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover! Staples seems to cover the CCR tune pretty accurately, to the point of which it SOUNDS like something CCR (or similar acts, like The Band) might have done, complete with a guitar solo! Her version actually seems more rock 'n' roll oriented, at times, than CCR's original version. It's neat to hear an early '70s musical icon covering yet another early '70s musical icon! I would love to know John Fogerty's reaction to Mavis Staples' version!
"You Can Dance" by Bryan Ferry: Before I begin, is it just me, or is it a bit odd that both of the leading musicians in Roxy Music were named "Brian"?! (the other being Brian Eno) The two of them are both fairly well-known both in Roxy Music and as solo performers in the music world, though Ferry went in more of a pop-oriented direction, and Eno in a more "experimental" one. Ferry continues doing the same "sophisticated" pop music he did with his biggest hit of the '80s, "Slave to Love" (in fact "Slave to Love" and "You Can Dance" actually sound quite similar). "Slave to Love" was probably a more compelling, seductive sort of song, but Ferry's attempts to repeat this on "You Can Dance" aren't bad. However, I would still recommend his older material much more than "You Can Dance".
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