here they are:
"Colors" by April Smith and The Great Picture Show: After having heard this song and April's previous hit, "Terrible Things", it's becoming increasingly clear to me that April Smith and The Great Picture Show have a knack for catchy, somewhat bubbly indie-pop tunes! Adding to the already peppy, colorful (no pun intended) flavor of this song is what I think is the best part of the song in the middle, a KAZOO solo!! I can't say I know too many songs, even among indie bands/musicians, that even USE that instrument!! Though "Colors" and "Terrible Things" both have that "deceptively cute" vibe about them, there are some definite differences between the two songs. Where "Terrible Things" was suggestive, slinky, and sexy, "Colors" is more bubbly, blissful, and buoyant! Looking forward to whatever irresistibly catchy indie-pop tune April rolls out next!
"Rock 'N' Roll Is Free" by Ben Harper: Rock 'n' roll...well, it's many different things to many different people. To Lenny Kravitz, it's "Dead" (or so he sang back in '95, come on, Lenny, we know you don't REALLY feel that way about rock 'n' roll!), to Electric Light Orchestra, it's "King", and to AC/DC, it (ain't) "Noise Pollution". Now, Ben Harper has come to state what he feels rock 'n' roll is - "free"! Though Ben has really only delved into rock music for the past two years of his nearly decade long career, he's done remarkably well at it, and even has a backup group, The Relentless 7, whenever he decides to perform rock songs/albums. I thought The Relentless 7 would just be an album-long project for Ben Harper, but he has since extended it into 2011, and rocks just as hard and convincingly as he did with them two years ago! "Rock 'N' Roll Is Free" has a steady enough rhythm and melodic enough vocals to be considered "mellow", yet it also has enough grit in both the guitar's sound and riffs to be considered "hard". It's hard to believe Ben has revealed his true musical genius just within the past two or three years, but I'm SO glad he is, and I hope he continues to do so!!
