New songs for October 5th, 2022

 here they are:


"Do I Love You? (Indeed I Do)" by Bruce Springsteen: A few weeks after the Boss's late September birthday, he releases a song that's not actually his. "Do I Love You? (Indeed I Do)" was originally done by soul musician, Frank Wilson, in 1965, but Bruce makes it his own here! Even into his septuagenarian years, the Boss still proves once and for all why people call him that! No other performer in their 70's has quite the energy and dynamism Bruce does, and he makes the soul classic he's covering here sound just as invigorating as it must have been when it first came out! Do we love the Boss? Indeed, we do!

"Go Through You" by Rhett Miller: "Go Through You" sees Old 97's singer Rhett Miller at his most George Harrison-esque. The late Beatle has inspired a lot of songs he's done, both solo and with the 97's, but there's something especially Beatlesque about this one. In "Go Through You," Rhett combines George's trademark twang with Paul McCartney's brightness and chord progressions. In true Rhett fashion, "Go Through You" is about a jaded lover in a relationship gone wrong, contrasting with the song's bright, sunny sound. The most lyrically interesting aspect of this song is probably during the chorus where he says, "If I'm gonna get to Heaven, I'm gonna have to go through you." The capitalization of the "H" in "Heaven" in the lyrics suggest something of a religious nature, but the "you" remains lowercase, so the song is not about God or Jesus, but perhaps Rhett is making something of an oblique comparison in these lyrics. Perhaps he feels like a martyr to his lover, thereby evoking quasi-religious imagery. 

Funk-tober!!

I noticed all three entries this week were a blend of funk and rock, hence the silly name I gave this week's blog entry. Here are the songs:


"Colors" by Black Pumas: Neo-soul group, Black Pumas, made the adult alt charts not once, but twice, both times with the funky yet haunting, "Black Moon Rising". Their second song (and third entry?) on the adult alt charts is "Colors", one of the few songs I know that could be called "acoustic funk". The song starts out with a vaguely acoustic strum, only for a soulful rhythm to be gradually added into the song as it progresses. What the song is about could be up for debate. Some of the lyrics hint at the colors of nature, but during the chorus when he talks about "all my favorite colors, my sisters and my brothers", it could be symbolic of the idea of racial harmony, an idea that is desperately needed in today's increasingly divided world.


"Hey Rose" by Son Little: Son Little's slinky, catchy mix of blues and funk continues in his latest song, "Hey Rose". The song is unique in Little's catalog for its use of handclaps. The earthy yet gutsy vibes he got across in his debut single, "The River", back in 2014, are shown prominently on "Hey Rose". The song seems to be about wanting to fall in love with someone by inviting them to a concert, as evidenced by the "big brass band" that Son Little keeps telling the titular Rose about, despite there being no brass instruments on the song itself.


"Over You" by Seratones: The combo of funk and rock music seems to be pretty trendy this week since it makes up the entirety of this week's blog! Our last entry for the week comes from Seratones, the sassy soul sensations from Shreveport who brought us "Gotta Get to Know Ya" in spring of this year. "Over You" is considerably less loud than "Gotta..." but it's just as jagged and unapologetic in its lyrics. "We made love like pianos falling down the stairs", AJ Haynes viciously sings during one part of the song. If that's not proof she's "over" the subject of her song, I dunno what is!

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!