here they are:
"House" by Ben Folds Five: Does anyone notice anything about the songs Ben released in the 2000's? Well, in case you didn't, here's what I noticed. None of them are with his "Five" (actually only two other musicians), they are all Ben Folds solo records. "House", then, marks an achievement for Ben that he hasn't done in ten years!! So how does "House" compare to other Ben Folds Five songs?! Well, it's not as heartbreaking as "Brick" and not as snarky as "Army", but it's still worth listening to. "House" actually sounds more like the melancholy but melodic, alt-rock version of Elton John of Ben Folds' solo records than it does the quirky, sarcastic sound of Ben Folds Five. Perhaps it's the lyrical narrative of "House" that gives it its "edge", that seems to be telling the story of an agoraphobic who has "had the nightmares, seen the counselors", but still doesn't want "to go back up in that house again".
"Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys: This garage-rock influenced indie band had the surprise hit of last year, "Tighten Up", which spawned two "viral" music videos (only one of which was made by the band themselves) and a spot as the number one song of 2010 on my blog!! The almost as catchy (but not quite) "Howlin' For You" followed in its footsteps with heavy airplay, but no memorable music video. The Keys' latest song, "Lonely Boy", continues, both musically and video-wise, in the direction of "Tighten Up"!! Already at spot number 14 on the Adult Alt Top 40 (and number 10 on the "regular" Alt Top 40) after a little less than a week of being on those charts, "Lonely Boy" is fast becoming all the rage both online and on the radio!! Its sound centers around a goofy but catchy surf guitar riff that mixes T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" with Cake's "The Distance". The music video for "Lonely Boy" also focuses on how catchy its sound is, with a middle aged African-American man dancing like crazy (in a good way) to the song throughout!! The video can be viewed here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_426RiwST8) Enjoy!!
