New songs for September 15th 2021

 here they are:


"Certainty" by Big Thief: I don't know Big Thief's music too well yet, but of the few songs I know of theirs so far, "Certainty" seems like the gentlest and the sweetest of their already mellow catalog. The song is an unabashed declaration of love delivered in a quaint, folksy manner that brings to mind musicians like Lucinda Williams and Iris DeMent. "My certainty is wild, weaving/For you I am a child believing," lead singer Adrianne Lenker softly croons in a charming Southern drawl (despite actually being a New Yorker) during the song's chorus. The "child believing" part of the song seems to serve as a focal point for the song's video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1eypolupH0), which is little more than an uncolored, pencil-sketched drawing of a bear, dinosaur, and two other animals gathered around a campfire with very little movement. This is an indie-folk song whose lyrics are as charming as the tune itself!

"I Can't Remember the Dream" by They Might Be Giants: Perhaps the only alternative group besides Barenaked Ladies who fit the energetic, silly aesthetic of Nickelodeon more than the trendy aspect of MTV, They Might Be Giants have been making their charmingly offbeat brand of music since the mid 1980's, and they show no signs even now of slowing down! Their latest song, "I Can't Remember the Dream," is another of many goofy songs in their catalog. It opens with a guitar riff similar to "Louie Louie" if a band like Fountains of Wayne were covering the song. "Dream," in this case, does not refer to an aspiration, but to an actual dream - the kind you have at night. The song is literally about the speaker not remembering the dream they had. TMBG typically don't have themes that are too morose or weighty (though they sometimes surprise us, like with "Don't Let's Start"). Heck, sometimes their songs are about subjects as seemingly juvenile and obscure as nightlights ("Birdhouse in Your Soul")! This odd song is accompanied by an equally odd video with a faceless man in a costume doing mundane activities like laundry and dishes, before proceeding to destroy a rock music video award towards the end of it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9Zj8ZSz6dE)

"If You Say the Word" by Radiohead: This song is actually a Radiohead B-side, released 20 years after the album it was originally set to be included in! Given that it's a "Kid A" bonus track, it serves as one of Radiohead's trippier, less explainable songs. Amidst its weirdness, though, it is also an incredibly soothing song, combining electronica, trip-hop, and post-psychedelic rock all in one. Lyrically, it seems like one of many Thom Yorke songs that concerns the topic of isolation (or possibly drugs), opening with lyrics like "If you're in a forest out of your mind," and, "If you're stuck in the rainfall of shattering glass. The song is definitely a mind trip, but it is also one meant to ease your pain.


"Long Way" by Eddie Vedder: In 2016, both Sting and his daughter were each releasing songs to adult alt radio stations. This year, Eddie Vedder and HIS daughter, Olivia, are competing with one another on the format, though her dad has been more successful so far this year. Perhaps part of the reason for this, apart from Pearl Jam being a super successful band that has been around for nearly 30 years, is how Eddie's latest song, "Long Way," is a road-weary tune that evokes the sounds of Tom Petty circa Full Moon Fever. The song's Petty-esque sound is no mere coincidence either, as Eddie did enlist help from The Heartbreakers' organ player, Benmont Tench, on his latest album. The lyrics of the song have an almost Springsteen-ian vibe about two lovers who initially seem destined to be together but end up going their separate ways to explore both love and life a little more.

"The Sun Hasn't Left" by Modest Mouse: A fun, quirky little song that opens with a xylophone riff before adding in some synths and vocals shortly afterward, Modest Mouse's "The Sun Hasn't Left" is a song that attempts to dispense good advice to its listeners while still acknowledging the negativity of the world, with messages like "Relax your breath, lean into yourself" and "Not everything is gonna be the best, but there's still something left." While the song seems to criticize technology for taking over flesh-and-blood friendships and relationships during its later verses, "The Sun Hasn't Left" is not a completely bitter song. It seems to mostly serve as a way to comfort us as our world descends into chaos around us, while not completely ignoring that fact either. The song also has a very summery sound, which is funny considering we're on our last gasp of summer right now. 

New songs for May 12th 2021

 here they are:


"Echoing" by Kings of Leon: Once again opting for the key of C major, like they did in their previous single from this year, "The Bandit," Kings of Leon storm the alt and adult alt radio charts again just in time for summer with "Echoing." "Echoing" has an almost U2-ish vibe to it, with its fittingly echoing chamber of guitars ringing loud and clear throughout while never quite climaxing to a hard rock sound. The song revels in and revolves around the thrill of adventure!

"We Are Between" by Modest Mouse: It's been 7 years since we last heard from Modest Mouse (and it was also 7 years since THEN that we had last heard a full Modest Mouse album). While Mouse seem to have embraced a Talking Heads-ish sound from about 2004 onwards, "We Are Between" hearkens back to MM's pre-fame years, during which time the band made more sweet, wistful, Shins-ish indie-pop songs like "Gravity Rides Everything." The central subject of "We Are Between" is the titular pronoun: "we." Isaac Brock is addressing our own species in the song, and the many observations he has made about us. "We are made up of rocks and salt." "We are the mirrors of our own faults." It's true. Humans are faulty creatures who, like all living things, are an improbable yet amazing combination of elements that fused together to create entities that survive on eating, breathing, and growing. In "We Are Between," Modest Mouse mull over life in a way that is anything but modest in a way that speaks to all of us!

New songs for the New Year!! 2015

Got five great ones for ya!! Here they are:


"Chateau Lobby # 4" by Father John Misty: Ah, a nice pleasant, folk-y tune about...having "Satanic Christmas Eve"?!? Whaaat?!? Seriously, though, what else would you EXPECT from the guy whose best known solo tune has enigmatic lyrics like "I'm no doctor, but that monkey might be right" and "Heidegger and Sartre drinking poppy tea"?! Even the subtitle of the song (in C for Two Virgins) is kinda weird! The brass instruments in the background are a nice new touch for Father John, as his music is mostly the basic guitar/bass/drums setup. The only thing that really makes sense about this song is how the subtitle states that it is "in C", which it is (C major). If you like your folk-rock to be out of the ordinary, this one's for you!


"I Blew It Off" by Punch Brothers: Fans of Punch Brothers might think that the title to this song fits perfectly with how it sounds! Punch Brothers do sound like they're "blowing it off" in this song. That is to say, they've traded in their more traditional sounding bluegrass-y sound for something that sounds closer to folk-rock. Rest assured, the bluegrass-y violins are still in this song, but they're most audible during the verses of the song. The chorus is electric and acoustic guitars mingling with one another, backed by drums (another instrument uncommon to most Punch Brothers songs).


"Lampshades On Fire" by Modest Mouse: So what have Modest Mouse been up to for the past 6 years?! Perhaps the reason their hiatus from the music world was so long this time around was because they wanted another uber-catchy funk/ska inflected hit single to catch the world by storm! Songs like "Float On" from their first big breakthrough album, and "Dashboard" from the album that followed it gave them chart success like they had never experienced before! Somehow "Satellite Skin" from their third album just didn't do as well, so perhaps they were trying to get over what little success that song had in comparison to their two biggest hits so far. Their latest song, "Lampshades On Fire", continues in the direction of the songs that put Modest Mouse on the map in the first place! It's a catchy song that features Isaac Brock's signature quavering vocal style and a ska influenced rhythm that wouldn't sound out of place in a song by The Specials or Madness. No surprise that this is the most anticipated new song of the week, is it?!


"Loop de Li" by Bryan Ferry: Perhaps the name "Bryan Ferry" isn't exactly a household one overall in the music world, but he's been a hard working, accomplished musician with a career that dates back to 1972 with alt-rock pioneers, Roxy Music. Ferry is known for being as glitzy and seductive as he is detached and ironic, and the icy cold vibe of the music mixed with the allure of the saxophones and Ferry's dreamily hushed vocals on "Loop de Li" basically make this like a vintage Ferry tune that just happened to be released during the modern era. And for the record, no, I do not know what a "loop de li" is. Probably just filler words.


"Mess Is Mine" by Vance Joy: A folkie from down under with a somewhat Irish influence in both his music and vocals, Vance Joy first hit the big time with "Riptide" two Septembers ago, though it took a while for the song to be played on multiple formats. Beneath the sunny vibe of the song were dark lyrics about a relationship gone bad. "Mess Is Mine" is similar, but it has a more serious, contemplative sound than "Riptide" did, so its lyrics, which also concern a relationship on the fritz, fit better with the overall mood of the song. There's a bit more electric guitar in the background to this song than most of Vance's material, but it is still a folk-rock song, complete with acoustic guitar as its central instrument, personal, thought-provoking lyrics, and some handclaps added in towards the middle of the song.