This week's songs? "From Above" and "Rhythm of Love" - kinda funny how the titles rhyme (hence the title of this week's post) - so here goes!!
"From Above" by Ben Folds: Ben might have been a one-hit wonder on the Top 40 charts with "Brick" back in the mid-'90s, but on adult alt. stations, he's been played plenty of times since! Perhaps it's that irresistibly snarky combination of Elton John style melody with Elvis Costello style cynicism that makes him so likable on such stations. "From Above" is MUCH more Elvis Costello than it is Elton John, though. It sounds like a very upbeat new wave song, with a rhythm that's been used in many rock songs through the ages, from The Doors "Touch Me" to Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" The lyrics are more Costello-esque as well, telling the story of a love affair gone wrong, with Ben giving his opinion on the situation during the chorus ("It's so easy from above/You can't really see it all" - basically Ben's commentary about how relationships aren't as easy as they seem). Leave it to Ben Folds to continue to expand his horizons, both musically and lyrically!
"Rhythm of Love" by Plain White T's: This is probably going to end up being the "guilty pleasure" song of the summer for me! This song is so catchy and almost kid-friendly in a way, that it's no wonder The T's turned their biggest hit, the bittersweet "Hey There Delilah" into a "Sesame Street" song about the letter "T". Pretty much all of their hit songs after that one ("1, 2, 3, 4" among them, not to be confused with the Feist song of the same name) seem like they wouldn't be too out of place on the "For the Kids" compilations, which feature contemporary folk-pop/rock and alt/indie musicians doing children's songs, quite a few of which happen to be from "Sesame Street". "Rhythm of Love" kind of sounds a little like Jason Mraz, whom I typically can't stand, but somehow the T's have managed to make me smile with their latest little ditty! Perhaps it's because they're one of the few bands in the alt-rock universe that come off so...ummm...cute, for lack of a better term. Whether bittersweet like "Delilah", or catchy like "Rhythm of Love", their songs are still "cute" to me. And perhaps that's not such a bad thing!
