New songs for January 6th, 2021

 Happy New Year, everyone! At least I HOPE it'll be a happy one...maybe I should just wish everyone a good New Year instead?! Haha. Anyway, here are the first five songs I've chosen to review in 2021. Enjoy!

"Find My Way" by Paul McCartney: Let's start this year off optimistically, shall we?! Does anything embody the spirit of optimism better than the sunny, melodic music of ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney? Well, I dunno, but I'd say it's hard to top! McCartney, who is now two years shy of 80, continues to make sweet and spirited music well into his later years with "Find My Way." The song is a message of hope with an upbeat sound that comes off, not surprisingly, like what a 21st century Beatles song might have sounded like if they stuck around that long.

"Plastic Beach" by Future Islands: Like "For Sure" from last year, "Plastic Beach" is yet another Future Islands song where the title doesn't appear in the song. The song's energetic yet minor key sound gives "Plastic Beach" an element of mystery that separates it from other Future Islands songs, and it's also the first song I've heard of theirs that isn't in B flat or F, opting instead for C sharp minor. These surprisingly dark elements all seem to fit the lyrics of the song, which is about regret. "I spent a lifetime in the mirror, picking apart what I couldn't change," Sam Herring sings in both the second and third verse of the song. Trying to avoid change when change is inevitable. Yeah...I've been there.

"Redemption" by Nathaniel Rateliff: How Nathaniel Rateliff went from spirited, feisty blue-eyed soul performer to moody country-rocker is anyone's guess, but the latter sound appeared on both of Nathaniel's singles from last year, "And It's Still Alright," and "Time Stands." With "Redemption," Nathaniel goes for the moody country-rock sound yet again (albeit with an electric guitar solo in the middle). As one might infer from the title of the song, "Redemption" is a bittersweet song about wanting to be free from a world that holds you back. This is what we all need from the surprising debacle that was last year! A very timely release, if I do say so myself!

"The Only Thing" by Travis (featuring Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles): After her career with '80s pop sensations, The Bangles, Susanna Hoffs went on to do a few albums of cover songs with '90s power pop master, Matthew Sweet. Fitting to Susanna's (and Matthew's) musical roots, a lot of those cover songs had a jangle-pop vibe similar to groups like The Byrds and Big Star. "The Only Thing" is not a cover song, and its moody, bittersweet flavor seems much closer to the melancholy folk-y Britpop of Travis than it does to the more high-energy vibe of The Bangles. Not a lot of people would probably peg Travis' Fran Healy as being a Bangles fan, but perhaps he was if he enlisted Susanna's help in this song for backing vocals. The song is mostly a typical "love gone lost" song, although the second verse contains memorably quirky lines like, "you are the record in the record shop nobody wants to buy," and a line after that that cleverly makes use of both "metaphor" and "meta for." 

"Trick to Happy" by Bahamas: Bahamas previous single, "Own Alone," was the happiest Bahamas song that I'd ever heard! "Trick to Happy"? Well...not as happy...but still mellow, in typical Bahamas fashion. "Trick to Happy" is not about BEING happy, but instead about asking if there's a "trick" to being happy. What does that even mean? Is Afie trying to imply that happiness doesn't just come naturally, and that you have to work for it to get it?! Bahamas have always been a fun and catchy band to listen to, but in "Trick to Happy," they show lyrical prowess as well! 

New songs for June 24th 2020

here they are:


"A Ghost" by Travis: Though Travis are actually Scottish, they have often been lumped under the "Britpop" category that also includes groups like The Verve and Radiohead, and (early on), Coldplay. Travis are typically on the melancholy side of the Britpop spectrum, like Radiohead are, but the eerily titled "A Ghost", ironically, is one of the happiest songs I've ever heard by them! The song is bouncy and jangly enough that I could picture it being done by some of British rock's founding fathers, like The Beatles or The Kinks. The titular "ghost" in the song is one that Fran Healy claims to "see in the mirror", according to the lyrics. More than likely, "ghost" is being used as a metaphor for confronting one's past self here. In "A Ghost", Fran gives a kiss-off to his past by unexpectedly embracing his happiness. Go figure!


"Didn't Want to Be This Lonely" by The Pretenders: Here is yet another song whose sound reaches back to the past. The Pretenders have already become "classic" in and of themselves, but here, they reach for influences that came along before their 40-plus-year career even began! There is a clear influence from proto-classic rockers like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley here. After the melancholy folk-rock/power pop of The Pretenders' "The Buzz" from earlier this year, it's nice to see Chrissie and the gang pick themselves back up again! Like our previous entry, this song also seems like an upbeat tune that masks more negative emotions, and could also be viewed as being somewhat therapeutic in that regard.


"I Do" by Wild Rivers: Have we finally reached a point where neo-folk-rock has hit saturation point? This song from Canadian quartet, Wild Rivers, is one of the few songs of said genre to give me mixed reactions. On the one hand, the guy/girl harmonies of folk-rock that have been essential to the sub-genre since the days of The Mamas and The Papas are present here, which I like. On the other hand, though, the girl's vocals here remind me too much of Colbie Caillat, whom I've never liked, and the production of the music seems squeaky clean in comparison to the more rustic and ragged sound of most folk-rock. The jury's out on this song, but I've reviewed it here just in case I someday grow to like it more than I do now.


"My Own Soul's Warning" by The Killers: Brandon Flowers and co lived up to their name once again in spring and early summer of this year by burning up the alt and adult alt radio charts with the anthemic song, "Caution". The song seemed to evoke the new-wave-meets-Heartland-rock sound that groups like The War on Drugs have cultivated recently. The Killers' latest song, "My Own Soul's Warning", seems to head in this direction as well. Like many Killers songs from 2006 and onward, "My Own Soul's Warning" seems to have somewhat Springsteen-ian instrumentation, which meshes well with its cryptic yet soul searching lyrics. The opening lyrics of the song, "I tried going against my own soul's warning, but in the end something just didn't feel right", kind of sum up what the song is about. In other words, it seems as though during the course of the song, Brandon Flowers tries to find his own purpose in life without listening to the guidance of others, but he veers off course and ultimately decides that such advice might have been worth listening to after all. Flowers might not be near as good a lyricist as his idol, Bruce, but he certainly does try sometimes, and it really shows, too!


"No Time For Love Like Now" by Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine: Sometimes music from two different eras can share a common aesthetic. Such is the case with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and The National's Aaron Dessner (with a little help from members of Bon Iver), all of whom have collaborated with one another on the song, "No Time For Love Like Now". Though Stipe takes on the vocal parts here, it is Dessner who heads the musical composition of this number, filled more with the icy electronics of The National than the bittersweet, autumnal jangle of R.E.M. I'm not sure how they found out about one another, perhaps it is because both have proven to be influential in the world of alternative rock at some point in time, but the combo seems to work here. The song seems at least in part to be about the negative and surprising changes our world has experienced this year so far. The title of the song tells of love, but it's more a sense of sadness that permeates through this track.


"Proxima B" by Benjamin Gibbard: Death Cab's lead singer released what could have been his most depressing song ever with "Life in Quarantine" earlier this year around spring. The lyrics to his latest song, "Proxima B", though still somewhat sad, aim to subvert the sadness a bit. Unlike the stark folk-rock of "...Quarantine", "Proxima B" has a more bouncy, power pop/jangle pop sound, not uncommon in Death Cab's own material, such as "Crooked Teeth". The subject of "Proxima B" is basically Ben's desire to have somewhere to escape from the chaos and imminent danger the world is currently facing. With Planet Earth on the wane, Ben suggests Proxima B, the name of a distant planet in another galaxy (a real one, not a fictional one), as a place to be "careless and free", away from all the troubles of our current biological home.

New songs for March 22nd, 2017

here they are:


"Baby I'm Broken" by The Record Company: Their debut album's only a year old, and already blues-rock outfit, The Record Company, are hot on the heels of a brand new album for this year! Perhaps this was a result of songs like the saucy "Off the Ground" and the sizzlin' "Rita Mae Young" becoming such big hits on adult alt radio stations. The Record Co's third big song, "Baby I'm Broken", seems poised to do the same as its predecessors, and for the same reasons as well. In a year when rock and roll had continued to diminish into a desert island, The Record Company satisfied the thirst of classic rock and blues-rock fans everywhere, and that is why they became such a big hit with their listeners! "Baby I'm Broken" is twice the rock and twice the roll, with a fuzz soaked blues-y sound and vamp that probably brings bands like The Black Keys to mind.


"Restart" by BNQT: Banquet?! No, I think that "Bee-En-Kyoo-Tee", the individual letters of the band's name, is how you pronounce this one, although supposedly, "Banquet" was the original name of the band. BNQT are actually an indie-rock supergroup featuring members of Band of Horses, Grandaddy, Travis, and Franz Ferdinand, the first two of whom collaborated on a Christmas song together a few years back (I suppose that's how they know each other). Anyway, their debut song, "Restart", has a rather T. Rex-ish glam rock groove that none of the other bands the members are in have really achieved aside from possibly Franz Ferdinand. The song's chorus states that, "We could all use a restart". I would say that the phrase "throwback" is more accurate in terms of describing this song than "restart" is, but there's nothing wrong with a good throwback once in a while!

New songs for August 14th, 2013

here they are:


"Another Is Waiting" by The Avett Brothers: Seemed like only yesterday that The Avett Brothers released a new album (though it was actually a year ago). Anyway, their latest song, "Another Is Waiting", is one that really seems to put the "rock" in "folk-rock". Part of the uniqueness of this song comes from how the instrumentation is led by a banjo (and not an acoustic guitar, as far as I can tell), but backed by an electric guitar and drums. That's right, DRUMS!! An instrument that is not typically featured on The Avetts' material, at least not prominently. Perhaps they have created a whole new subgenre with this song - "banjo rock". To accomplish all these instrumental feats in just a little over two minutes shows how amazing the band truly is to me!!


"Moving" by Travis: There's progressive rock, and there's progress-ING rock. Scottish indie-pop group, Travis, fits the latter category here. Their song "Moving" is all about...well...moving. Moving on through life, that is. Instrumentally, this song could easily be mistaken for a Radiohead or Snow Patrol song (though a lot of their material could be), but Fran Healy's distinctive vocals set Travis apart from such bands here. The recurring theme of going outside one's comfort zone becomes apparent in the ending lines of the first verse ("Home isn't where you are"), and third verse ("Home isn't where you stay"). Travis might not be "moving" from their typical sound, but they are making strides lyrically here, and that's a start!


"Shake" by The Head and The Heart: When The Head and The Heart debuted back in early 2011, their plaintive song "Lost In My Mind" won the hearts of many indie-folk fans, and the success of two more songs of theirs ("Down In the Valley" and "Ghosts") made them a household name among musically mellow twenty-somethings everywhere! So how does their newest song, "Shake", hold up in comparison?! The first few seconds of it make it sound noticeably different from most Head and The Heart songs because of the use of the electric guitar, but the piano that seems to serve as the central instrument in The Head and The Heart's music gradually makes its entrance shortly afterwards. "Shake" seems to have a similar rhythmic pattern to the band biggest hit so far, "Lost In My Mind", and perhaps The Head and The Heart purposely chose this rhythm for the song in hopes of making it another hit for them, and so far it's working! As for the use of electric guitar on the song?! Well, the band had their reasons. Though they don't mind doing folk-rock music, being likened to an "American Mumford and Sons" was not exactly what they wanted. The Head and The Heart desired to be a more musically eclectic band, and "Shake" is heading them in that direction so far!


"Sun Song" by Laura Veirs: Already, we have seen The Avett Brothers and The Head & The Heart leaning more towards the electric guitar than the acoustic for this week's reviews. Laura Veirs seems to have been the opposite. Her breakthrough song was the bubbly, neo-psychedelic pop song, "Galaxies", but every song since seems to have focused more on acoustic guitar than electric for her. Many of Laura's songs deal with an almost Neo-Paganistic view of nature and the universe, and her latest song, "Sun Song", is no exception to the rule (though the title of the song should make that obvious). This song "revolves" around the sun, so to speak, with every verse leading up to a chorus that praises how the sun makes many things possible. Neko Case also lends backing vocals to "Sun Song", which is interesting considering how defiant her song, "Man", from earlier this year was.

The Novemberists...ummm...I mean The Decemberists release a newbie (plus 6 other goodies!!)

here they are!

"Bitter Pill" by Mt. Desolation: Mt. Desolation is Tim Rice Oxley's side project for his more well-known band, the British contemporary soft rock group Keane, so, not surprisingly, "Bitter Pill" sounds a lot like a Keane song. It's funny, then, that I actually like this song despite the fact that I'm not a fan of Keane's music (except for possibly "Is It Any Wonder?") I guess the main thing about "Bitter Pill" that I LIKE is that it doesn't sound like Tim's trying too hard to emulate the more crowd-pleasing side of Coldplay's music that he often seems to emulate with Keane. Instead, it comes off sounding more like a lightweight yet genuine contemporary British alt-rock/indie tune, with the bouncy, charming qualities of Aqualung (the band, not the song), the honest, heartfelt qualities of Snow Patrol, and the lilting, wistful melodies of Travis (whose lead singer Fran Healy is going to be reviewed later during this blog!) While "Bitter Pill" definitely doesn't have the more lasting qualities of established "piano-rockers" like Elton John, Tori Amos, and Ben Folds, it definitely has a more unique sound quality than most "Britpop" piano-rock tunes.

"Down By the Water" by The Decemberists: Hmmmm...interesting...The DECEMBERists decided to release their latest tune in NOVEMBER!! This is just too funny!! (Their last release was in late February of last year, which wouldn't have been as funny). Also, this is not a cover of the sublimely dark PJ Harvey tune of the same name for those wondering. Joking aside, though, "Down By the Water" represents yet another eclectic facet of The Decemberists' career that I don't think they've taken on yet. So far, the adventurous indie rock group have taken on folk-rock of both buoyant ("16 Military Wives") and somber ("The Hazards of Love 1") qualities, R.E.M./Smiths influenced indie-pop tunes that have so far become their biggest hits ("O Valencia!" and "The Perfect Crime # 2"), minor key post-punk influenced tunes ("The Rake's Song"), and even various concept albums/songs worthy of Pink Floyd/Jethro Tull comparisons! So how does "Down By the Water" compare to their already diverse library of songs?! Well, it seems with this song, The Decemberists have explored yet another side of their inner classic rocker(s), as "Down By the Water" shares instrumentation somewhat similar to Bruce Springsteen's "The River" and chord progression similar to Tom Petty's "Flirting With Time". I'm just a little disappointed by this, as I was expecting more of either an adventurous and/or hypnotically melodic tune from The Decemberists, as opposed to the heartland/roots rock revival they have set up in "Down By the Water", but The Decemberists, so far, have a certain charm to all the songs I've heard of theirs that has never failed to please me. This song is no exception to the rule!!

"Golden State" by Delta Spirit: This song, the second single off Delta Spirit's 2010 release, "History From Below", should probably come as a breath of fresh air to those who found the first hit off the album, "Bushwick Blues", to be too punk-y and/or depressing. "Golden State" is neither of these things, and marks a return to the fun, bouncy, roots-y indie-pop/rock of their 2008 song, "Trashcan". It even has the exact same rhythm as "Trashcan", though perhaps that's just what Delta Spirit typically sound like when they're at their happiest. While "Bushwick Blues" certainly distinguished itself from other Delta Spirit songs (and probably became their most successful song to date, aside from possibly "Trashcan"), "Golden State" is the kind of song that doesn't NEED distinguishing, "different" qualities in order to make it stand out. It's fine the way it is!

"Howlin' For You" by The Black Keys: If The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, Kings of Leon, and/or Muse (or Wolfmother?) covered Gary Glitter's glam rock classic "Rock And Roll Part 2" (you know, the one with the guitar riff that goes "da-NANANA-NA-NA-nuh..HEY-EYYY!!...da-na-na-nahh...), it would probably sound a lot like "Howlin' For You". Actually, it also takes quite a bit of its vocal rhythmic patterns from The Yardbirds' "I'm A Man", in addition. The Black Keys are a band who wear their classic rock influences on their sleeve (especially T. Rex) and proudly so, but "Howlin' For You" actually sounds like a COMBINATION of classic rock songs that would sound as much at home on an alt-rock station as it would a classic rock station! It has catchy enough qualities to it that the very moment after one first hears it, it takes control of your ears in a very similar manner to "Rock And Roll Part 2", and should, someday, get played at sporting events like that song often does! Ordinarily I wouldn't say that about an indie song/band, but this one has potential! And sorry folks, unlike "Tighten Up" (and its mid-summer follow-up song, "Next Girl"), this song does NOT feature a video with Frank the Funk-a-saurus Rex (that I am aware of).

"Money Grabber" by Fitz and The Tantrums: I'm not aware of the show "Criminal Minds", but apparently this song became the surprise hit of early November 2010 because of that show (and also thanks to a T-Mobile commercial, apparently). Anyway, the name "Fitz and The Tantrums" sounds like the name of an indie band, right? Heheh...WRONG!! Well...kind of. It's really an "indie soul" group, in the manner of Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, and the later work of Jamie Lidell. For a good description of this song, imagine what it would've been like if The Temptations, The Four Tops, etc. covered Electric Light Orchestra's "Evil Woman". In other words, this song is probably what some would be tempted to call "retreaux" (a portmanteau of the words "retro" and "faux"). I'd say it's just plain "retrO", though, it's a catchy, feel-good song that captures the feel of a typical Motown tune without being too pretentious.

"Raise Your Right Hand" by Hill Country Revue: If you've heard Hill Country Revue's song "You Can Make It", which came out a year before this one, you probably wouldn't expect the same guys who did a mellow but kind of catchy country-blues influenced number like "You Can Make It" to follow it up with a Skynyrd/ZZ Top/Joe Walsh-ish powerhouse classic rock revival number like "Raise Your Right Hand"! I was pretty surprised by how hard-rocking (well, for Hill Country Revue, anyway) this song really is!! It even has about a minute long guitar solo that was probably influenced by the three classic rock acts I previously mentioned in this review! A band with a name like "Hill Country Revue" probably wouldn't be one you could expect to sell out arenas, but if they keep on churning out material like "Raise Your Right Hand", you can bet that'll happen one of these days!!

"Sing Me to Sleep" by Fran Healy (of Travis) and Neko Case: Perhaps this duet is trying to one-up the one Greg Laswell did with Ingrid Michaelson earlier this year. If so, it's doing a good job at it! For starters, I like Fran better than Greg, and Neko MUCH better than Ingrid. Where Greg and Ingrid's "Take Everything" was merely light, buoyant folk-pop, "Sing Me to Sleep" tugs a bit more at the ol' heartstrings. The chemistry between Fran and Neko's vocals is cute, romantic, and almost dreamy (for both of them!) If high school proms start playing indie tunes, this would make for a mighty fine slow dance song!

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".