here they are:
"Mind Your Manners" by Pearl Jam: In spite of what songs like "Just Breathe" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In A Small Town" might indicate, Pearl Jam are not always a band who plays nice. After all, they were a major part of the grunge era, and they had an ongoing feud with Ticketmaster back in the day. Their latest song, "Mind Your Manners", is probably their hardest rocking song since "Even Flow". This song does not concern itself with melody or harmony much at all, which most of Pearl Jam's songs do. Eddie Vedder has never been more openly atheistic or antagonistic as he has in this song. Other than the fact that Pearl Jam are typically a hot item for adult alt playlists, I'm not exactly sure what "Mind Your Manners" is doing on so many adult alt stations. The intensity of this song makes all the songs on Led Zeppelin's fourth album sound like they were done by a folk band (including "Stairway to Heaven" in its entirety).
"Mystic Highway" by John Fogerty: And now, yet another song from a famous rock 'n' roller, but thankfully for the average adult alt audience, this one has a calmer feel to it. As its title implies, "Mystic Highway" has an almost country-rock-ish feel to it, and a rather dreamy sound, at least for CCR's leading man. John Fogerty has many "road songs", both with and without CCR, and "Mystic Highway" makes for a great "road song" for traveling on the way back home from a vacation. With this song, Fogerty is still doing what he's done best since the 1960's - feel-good music with a Southern twang.
"Stare At the Sun" by Eleanor Friedberger: Anyone else find it a little odd that this is the only indie-pop song I'm reviewing for this week?! Well, anyway, "Stare At the Sun" makes for a fine slice of summery indie-pop, with a bit of a snarky attitude underneath its upbeat sound. For those familiar with the duo, The Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Friedberger comprises one half of that band. As a solo artist, Eleanor is quite intriguing to listen to. She dryly quips about how fast-paced technology has gotten in the 21st century in the opening lyrics ("In the back of your taxi, you turned off the TV, and read me a book on your phone"), over a guitar riff that falls somewhere between Rilo Kiley's "Portions For Foxes" and Television's "See No Evil". For those who like to listen to sunshiny pop music with some bite underneath it, "Stare At the Sun" makes for quite an excellent song!
