here they are:
"All For One" by The Stone Roses: Contrary to popular belief, The Stone Roses' name actually has nothing to do with The Rolling Stones, but rather to do with a novel from the late 1950's. That hasn't stopped The Stone Roses from trying to rock it like The Stones can in "All For One", though, The Roses' first song in over 20 years! Despite nominally being a "rock band", The Stone Roses songs don't often SOUND like rock, with the notable exception of the blues-y "Love Spreads". "All For One" lays it heavy on the rock instrumentation, though. Based around a rhythm that can be found in many rock songs ranging from The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" to David Bowie's "The Jean Genie" and a three-chord vamp in the key of G major, "All For One" combines the fervent passion for melodies that power pop has with the red-hot punch of garage rock. The rock 'n' rollers among my followers will probably also dig the brief but noteworthy guitar solo in the middle of the song, too!
"Not A One" by The Young Wild: Hmm, it's Hall and Oates...or is that Bruce Hornsby...Richard Marx, perhaps?! Well it definitely isn't ANY of those musicians, but there's something I can't put my finger on that makes 'em sound like they'd fit right in with an '80s soft rock playlist. Decidedly modern sounding guitars can be heard in the background during the chorus, but other than that it sounds kinda cheesy, albeit enjoyably so. It's like Grouplove trying to cover an '80s Billy Joel song. Awkward, to be sure, but endearingly awkward. That piano hook is also catchy enough to be used on commercials, too.
"The Community of Hope" by PJ Harvey: Fittingly, I first heard this song by '90s proto-hipster queen PJ Harvey at an independent record store while purchasing a book about alternative rock music from the '90s. PJ is still just as left-of-center as ever, but the unbridled rage she was known for the '90s calmed down by the time the next decade rolled around. Her latest song, "The Community of Hope", sounds unusually happy for a PJ Harvey song. Behind that happiness, though, lies Harvey's typical cynicism. "The Community of Hope" is actually about the Hope VI, a project in which the central aim was gentrification of neighborhoods. Harvey unleashes her negative opinions of the Hope VI, even going so far as to refer to it as a "Demolition Project" in both this song and its album. Elsewhere, she refers to South Capitol as "the highway to death and destruction", aptly so considering the city's crime rates. Towards the end, she repeats the phrase "They're gonna build a Wal-Mart here" as though it is a madness mantra. Miss Harvey, tear down those walls!
