New songs for November 18th, 2020

 here they are:


"Are You Bored Yet?" by Wallows: This song has been popular on alternative rock stations for quite a few months now, but it's only started its impact on adult radio. The song is a fun, upbeat pop song on the surface, but the lyrics reveal it to be about dissatisfaction in a relationship. The title alone could probably tell you that, though. Wallows' Dylan Minnette spends the song pondering whether he will regret his relationship later on in life. Boredom can sometimes be hard to tell in a relationship. Thankfully, though, the song itself isn't that boring.

"Leave Me Alone" by I Don't Know How But They Found Me: It's fitting that a band named for a quote from "Back to the Future" has such an '80s sound, isn't it? Well, this is exactly what to expect with I Don't Know How But They Found Me's breakthrough hit, "Leave Me Alone," which mixes '80s synthpop with funky basslines in the background. But one question still remains. WHO does the lead singer want to "leave him alone"? The answer is actually my hometown, Los Angeles, and more specifically, Hollywood. When lead singer Dallon Weekes says that the subject of the song is a "big shot here, "here" means Hollywood. Weekes is deriding the typically selfish lifestyle of actors and actresses there. I'm not always cool with someone dissing SoCal, but in this case, I'd say it's warranted. Not a big fan of the egomaniacs who dominate Hollywood myself.

"Run It" by My Morning Jacket: My Morning Jacket's "Feel You" has ended up becoming one of the biggest smashes on adult alt radio this year. Its comforting yet trippy sound seemed like exactly what fans of the band wanted to hear during this uncomfortable and trippy year. With "Run It," MMJ continue to provide a sense of comfort, perhaps even more so than their previous single did. "Run It" also runs just 10 seconds over the 5-minute mark, unlike its predecessor, which ran for a little over 6 minutes, so it will probably end up being more palatable for those unfamiliar with MMJ. Jim James' central message in the song is to "get back to water." What he means by this is anyone's guess, but I'd venture to guess that it means to return to a state of calm and fluidity. Jim speaks the truth here!

New songs for November 11th, 2020

 here they are:

"Headstart" by Jade Bird: The sassy, catchy folk-rock of Jade bird rose onto the adult alt radio airwaves in 2018 and 2019 and quickly became a fave of radio programmers of such stations! Most of her hit songs didn't last past 3 minutes, and her latest song, "Headstart," is another very short song of hers, at only 2 minutes and 21 seconds. Bringing electric guitars a bit more to the forefront than her previous songs did, "Headstart" still has a folk-rock-y feel to it, and it concerns the subject of unrequited love. Angst-ridden songs about ex-lovers seem to be a theme with Jade, which has garnered her a few comparisons to Alanis Morissette, albeit in a more millennial, indie-folk-rock sorta way.

"Shame Shame" by Foo Fighters: Dave Grohl has said of this song that its album was supposed to be like the Foo Fighters equivalent of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" album. I can kind of see why, as it lacks the crunchy hard rock guitar sound typically present in the Foos' material. In fact, there's barely any noticeable guitar hooks in it at all! Instead, the song is more dominated by drums and (surprise!) a string section, of all things! The song doesn't start at a medium tempo and climax into a full-blown rock song either. It just stays the same at a relatively tepid pace. Not a song for a more rabid Foo Fighters fan, but for those who are in favor of the band exploring more eclectic musical venues, it could be worth the listen. 

New songs for November 4th, 2020

 here they are:


"One More Second" by Matt Berninger: Matt Berninger and his band, The National, could probably be described as "bitter", among other adjectives, in terms of both their music and their lyrics. Having recently struck out on his own, Matt has gone from bitter to bittersweet with "One More Second." There is a good reason that this song sounds sweeter than most of the tunes that Matt has done with The National. He wanted to write a song that was on par with songs like Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" that elicited similar emotions from listeners. While the song will likely never achieve the level of fame and love that that one did, the effort Matt put into "One More Second" really shows, and you can tell he put more heart into this song than he has into anything he did previously!

"The Adults Are Talking" by The Strokes: What a year it has been for The Strokes!! 20 years after their debut, during which their hit song, "Last Nite", raced up the alt-rock charts, their song "Bad Decisions" not only raced up both the alt-rock charts and the adult alt charts, but it is also likely to be my number one song of the year! (Which is scarily apt, considering how many bad decisions we've all made this year so far!) To top it all off, they were also the most recent musical guests on SNL! Their followup song, "The Adults Are Talking", doesn't seem near as catchy as "Bad Decisions", but it still memorable in its own way. "The Adults Are Talking" has a mellower sound and beat, but Julian Casablancas' guitar work still shines through in a more subtle manner here. Lyrically, "The Adults Are Talking" continues in the pattern of "Bad Decisions" of being about a bad decision, specifically one person cheating on another. The song is executed in such an insouciant manner, however, that you'd never be able to tell unless you listened carefully enough!

"The Valley of the Pagans" by Gorillaz (featuring Beck): Gorillaz latest album, "Song Machine", is to them what "Supernatural" was to Santana: an all-star album! Musicians ranging from cult faves like St. Vincent and Joan As Policewoman to major stars like Elton John to alt-rock legends like The Cure and Beck can all be found on this album! Not bad for a band that's comprised of fictional cartoon characters! "The Valley of the Pagans" is stellar track for both Beck and Gorillaz! It's an uber-catchy song whose lyrics are reminiscent of the "word salad" lyrics that Beck had on his breakthrough hit, "Loser." The chorus of "The Valley of the Pagans" mentions the phrase "it feels so good" four times. You don't need to think too hard to understand why. This song is one that makes you feel good, that's why! 

New songs for October 28th 2020

 here they are:

"Fire For You" by Cannons: Disco meets techno in "Fire For You," the breakthrough song from L.A.'s own electro-pop group, Cannons. Apt to its title, the song has a sultry vibe that really pumps up the heat within its listeners. The stone-cold good looks of lead singer Michelle Joy, as well as her passionately seductive delivery in the song's music video, really help to sell this song to a wider audience! It has already been pretty popular in the alt-rock charts, but it has only just begun to burn up the adult alt charts. May your heart burn brightly with romantic desires as you listen to this truly torrid tune!

"Over You" by Aaron Frazer: In the space between the more blues-focused R & B from days of yore and the more contemporary rhythm-focused R & B blazing up today's charts sits "Over You" by Aaron Frazer. It has enough of an urban "hip" vibe to be liked by today's R & B fans, but its rhythm guitar is clearly derived from classic soul from the '60s and '70s. In barely under 3 minutes, Aaron sings a lovesick plea to the object of his desires about how much he feels attracted to her. "Over," in this song, does not mean "done with." It instead means "because of" (as in, "I'm just another lovesick fool over you," sung during the song's chorus.) 

New songs for October 21st, 2020

 here they are:


"Skin And Bones" by Cage the Elephant: A rarity in this day and age, Cage the Elephant are now on to the FIFTH single of their latest album! That song is "Skin And Bones", a song that goes for the psychedelically tinged indie-pop that CTE have used on pretty much all the tracks for their latest album. The song itself seems to be about trying to survive in a difficult world for so long that, "all that's left is skin and bones." Lead singer Matt Shultz turns to love and comfort to guide him through the hard times he's been through. Keep in mind the song came out LAST year, not this year, but a lot of us have been facing difficulty for roughly the last four years, to be honest.

"Survivin'" by Bastille: Our only other song of the week, as you can tell from the title alone, is also about trying to survive! Like "What You Gonna Do?" from earlier this year, "Survivin'" marks another turning point in Bastille's musical style. The former of the two songs had more of a rock sound than fans were used to. "Survivin'" is more of a hip-hop/jazz/soul hybrid, with particular emphasis on the saxophone that comes in during the chorus. Dan Smith and co try to be optimistic in this song, but the verses of the song trend more towards uncertainty. 

New songs for October 14th, 2020

 here they are:


"Lifetime" by Romy (from The xx): The female half of the guy/girl electro-indie-pop duo, The xx, Romy is striking out on her own this time around. Her debut solo single, "Lifetime", sounds like an odd cross between Madonna and Imogen Heap. How this came to be is anyone's guess. "Lifetime" is both energetic dance-pop and soothingly ambient. As it turns out, there is a reason this song sounds like something Madonna might have done in the '90s. The Material Girl's fave sound engineer, Mark "Spike" Stent, was the one who mixed this track. Who would have guessed?!

"Making Do" by Lake Street Dive: Lake Street Dive have been making blues-y R & B revival music since 2014. A lot of it has sounded fun and energetic, and the lyrical themes usually revolve around romance. "Making Do" is not such a song. It still has that chugging retro R & B flavor to it like most of their songs do, but this time it's a bit slower. What's most noticeable about "Making Do", though, is how serious the subject matter is! When a band as (typically) carefree as Lake Street Dive wants to shift gears into making protest songs, you KNOW something is wrong with the world! "To the next generation, Merry Christmas", lead singer Rachael Price half-sarcastically states in the opening of the song, following the line with the more truthful whammy of, "You're working harder than ever now, and the coffee sucks." Rachael continues addressing problems ranging from climate change to unfair pay throughout the song. Many more painful reminders of reality can be heard during the rest of the song, as Rachael questions where the heroes are in this day and age. Having just been married last year, the "baby girl" mentioned in the song is literally Rachael's own baby, not even a year old yet. Rachael brings her up to complain about how irresponsible contemporary society has been in creating a world where people are more physically vulnerable than ever before. My heart weeps for humanity!

"Shaken" by David Shaw (from The Revivalists): David Shaw from blues-rock group, The Revivalists, has struck out on his own now, after having been in a surprisingly successful band for 6 years. His debut solo song, "Shaken", doesn't sound too different from his material with The Revivalists. The song does have noticeably more acoustic guitar than most Revivalists songs do, but that just provides as a backdrop here for the more blues-y instruments up front. The song appears to be about a breakup of sorts. As much as I like songs with metaphorical messages, I'm glad that "Shaken" is NOT some sort of allegory for the present crisis we've been facing. Sometimes, songs with simpler topics are just easier to take!

New songs for October 7th, 2020

 here they are:


"Leave Virginia Alone" by Tom Petty: Rock legend Tom Petty left us three years ago, sadly, and his latest, "Leave Virginia Alone", was actually a song that was supposed to be on his 1994 album, "Wildflowers." Petty felt that the song sounded too similar to another he was already doing at the time, giving it away to Rod Stewart in the process of making this decision. Now, almost 25 years later, we finally get to hear "Leave Virginia Alone" the way it was meant to be heard. Not surprisingly, the song sounds very Petty-esque, and it probably wouldn't sound out of place as a Traveling Wilburys song either. "Virginia," in this case, is the name of a woman, and not the name of the state. The titular Virginia appears to be a sex, drugs, and rock & roll fiend on the fringes of society. Why does Petty want people to leave her alone? According to the lyrics, it's because "she's not like you and me." In other words, she's basically a societal rebel that doesn't want people to mess with her.

"Let Down" by Michigander: Michigander, who are, in fact, from Michigan, debuted late last year with the indie-folk-rock tune, "Misery," which was really anything but miserable. Similarly, "Let Down" is anything but a let down. The song has a bit more of a rock oriented sound that separates it from the band's previous single. It has a very mid-2000's indie-pop feel to it, as if The Killers were covering Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)." It combines the flashy, electric guitar dynamics of the former with the charging, B-flat piano of the latter. Perhaps the reason that "Let Down" sounds uplifting as opposed to melancholic is because lead singer, Jason Singer (yes, that's his actual name), says that song reflects on his tendencies to have big aspirations (only to have them torn down afterwards). He seems to be trying to offer his audience hope amidst a dismal time, like many singers and performers have done lately.


"Officer of Love" by Caamp: Ohio indie-folk quartet, Caamp, have had two hits on the adult alt charts so far with the energetic bluegrass influenced rocker, "Peach Fuzz" and the more purely bluegrass sound of "By And By." Their third Triple A single, "Officer of Love", appears to combine the two sounds, not unlike what groups like Buffalo Springfield and The Flying Burrito Brothers were doing decades ago. The song is basically a love song, but with somewhat quirky lyrics. The chorus of the song claims that its subject is an "officer of love" and that the lead singer will "obey her every word." Not every day that you hear references to law enforcement in a love song, is it?! The quaint charm of this song's sound combined with its outlandish lyrics seems to make it work somehow.