here they are!
"My Time" by Minus the Bear: What can I say? Some indie bands are good at simultaneously pulling off a cool song with a cool music video to go with it!! "My Time" by Minus the Bear is one such song! The psychedelic rainbow imagery of the video tends to synch up well with the Gnarls Barkley-meets-MGMT feel of the music. "My Time" has enough of a groovy electro-pop feel in its music to land it a spot on a car commercial (it's probably already been on one, though it's hard for me to say since I don't watch much TV these days). The music video will probably become a "viral video" on YouTube if it hasn't already. To sum it all up, "My Time" is gonna go somewhere, I can just feel it!
"National Ransom" by Elvis Costello: The "other Elvis" seemed like he almost had some sort of musical bipolarity in the '00s, switching off between awesomely spiteful indie rock numbers ("No Hiding Place", "Monkey to Man") and more low-key material with equally clever lyrics (most notably "Complicated Shadows"). So what's he up to this time?! He's decided to turn his amp up once again, folks!! Though one could probably tell quite easily from the production of the song that it's not one of his late '70s songs with The Attractions, it seemed like he tried to evoke that vibe with "National Ransom", with its electric guitars going face to face with the same organs he was famous for using on songs like "Radio Radio" and "Pump It Up". As one of the many "classic rock comebacks" of 2010, Elvis continues to stand out among them!
"Precious Stone" by Pete Yorn: Yorn's uniquely grunge-y brand of indie rock gets grungier than ever in this tune! The beginning of it almost sounds like a Pearl Jam song, as does the solo (which Pete Yorn typically doesn't have in his music!) "Precious Stone" might as well BE a Pearl Jam song in all but the vocals, which are uniquely Pete Yorn. But seriously, Yorn has even managed to capture the FEEL of a typical Pearl Jam number in "Precious Stone", with its lovesick, but somewhat sullen, achingly bittersweet vibe. To me, though, Yorn and Vedder are both masters in their own right, so "Precious Stone" is still a winner for me!
"Sick of You" by Cake: And speaking of Pearl Jam...bet you never thought Cake, who made two of the most enduring songs on alt-rock radio of the '90s ("The Distance" and "Never There") would come back after 2001. But...SURPRISE!!! They did! The same fun-loving, self-consciously goofy spirit Cake had in "The Distance", "Never There", and "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" can be found once again in "Sick of You". The organs, the pseudo-surf-turned-alt-rock guitar riffs, their trademark brass section, and of course, John McCrea's wry, detached sing-speak vocals and sarcastically quirky lyrics - it's all there!! Unfortunately, the "sing-speak" vocals don't come in until the later half of the song, but other than that, no complaints! This one's clearly a winner!!
