here they are:
"Big Boys" by Chuck Berry: Long live the King!! No, we are not talking about Elvis Presley here, we are talking about rock and roll's other King who lived to see 90 until a few weeks ago. If you guessed Chuck Berry, then you're absolutely right! A few weeks after his recent departure into Rock and Roll Heaven, a new song of his, "Big Boys", was released. For fans of the rock 'n' roll pioneer, "Big Boys" is guaranteed to please, as it features the trademark rhythms and guitar licks featured in most of Chuck's material. The song appears to be an ode to being young and having fun, fitting for a man whose music was full of relentless energy no matter when he performed it. Here's to a true rock legend! Without him, other recently deceased performers like Prince and David Bowie just wouldn't have been the same!
"Here Come the Girls" by Trombone Shorty: And speaking of musicians from the 1950's, this next song is actually a cover of a song by early R & B one-hit-wonder Ernie K Doe (best known for "Mother In Law"). How Trombone Shorty knew this song is anyone's guess, but its saucy, jazzy, soulful vibe is right up Trombone Shorty's alley! Shorty does Ernie K justice with his cover version of "Here Come the Girls", which retains the charm and sass of the original. Aside from their musical talent and style, another thing that Ernie K Doe and Trombone Shorty share in common is that they were both born and raised in New Orleans! Hardly surprising, as both versions of this song pack a punch as powerful as Cajun spice, but still worth your musical knowledge, as far as I'm concerned!
"Hope the High Road" by Jason Isbell: If this song is more rock than you're used to than that of the typical Jason Isbell solo song, that's partly because he is using his backing group, The 400 Unit, on it. Part of the reason that Isbell is opting for a rock sound here is because of the political outrage he is currently feeling, along with many other rock, folk, and alternative musicians. The chorus of "Hope the High Road" makes this clear when he says things like, "I know you're tired and you ain't sleeping well", and, "Uninspired and likely mad as hell." Yes, these lines are pointed towards the current leader of the United States. Isbell also hails from Alabama, so if you thought that most Southerners were Republicans, this song (and its musician) will challenge you to think again about things like that!
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
New songs for March 22nd, 2017
here they are:
"Baby I'm Broken" by The Record Company: Their debut album's only a year old, and already blues-rock outfit, The Record Company, are hot on the heels of a brand new album for this year! Perhaps this was a result of songs like the saucy "Off the Ground" and the sizzlin' "Rita Mae Young" becoming such big hits on adult alt radio stations. The Record Co's third big song, "Baby I'm Broken", seems poised to do the same as its predecessors, and for the same reasons as well. In a year when rock and roll had continued to diminish into a desert island, The Record Company satisfied the thirst of classic rock and blues-rock fans everywhere, and that is why they became such a big hit with their listeners! "Baby I'm Broken" is twice the rock and twice the roll, with a fuzz soaked blues-y sound and vamp that probably brings bands like The Black Keys to mind.
"Restart" by BNQT: Banquet?! No, I think that "Bee-En-Kyoo-Tee", the individual letters of the band's name, is how you pronounce this one, although supposedly, "Banquet" was the original name of the band. BNQT are actually an indie-rock supergroup featuring members of Band of Horses, Grandaddy, Travis, and Franz Ferdinand, the first two of whom collaborated on a Christmas song together a few years back (I suppose that's how they know each other). Anyway, their debut song, "Restart", has a rather T. Rex-ish glam rock groove that none of the other bands the members are in have really achieved aside from possibly Franz Ferdinand. The song's chorus states that, "We could all use a restart". I would say that the phrase "throwback" is more accurate in terms of describing this song than "restart" is, but there's nothing wrong with a good throwback once in a while!
"Baby I'm Broken" by The Record Company: Their debut album's only a year old, and already blues-rock outfit, The Record Company, are hot on the heels of a brand new album for this year! Perhaps this was a result of songs like the saucy "Off the Ground" and the sizzlin' "Rita Mae Young" becoming such big hits on adult alt radio stations. The Record Co's third big song, "Baby I'm Broken", seems poised to do the same as its predecessors, and for the same reasons as well. In a year when rock and roll had continued to diminish into a desert island, The Record Company satisfied the thirst of classic rock and blues-rock fans everywhere, and that is why they became such a big hit with their listeners! "Baby I'm Broken" is twice the rock and twice the roll, with a fuzz soaked blues-y sound and vamp that probably brings bands like The Black Keys to mind.
"Restart" by BNQT: Banquet?! No, I think that "Bee-En-Kyoo-Tee", the individual letters of the band's name, is how you pronounce this one, although supposedly, "Banquet" was the original name of the band. BNQT are actually an indie-rock supergroup featuring members of Band of Horses, Grandaddy, Travis, and Franz Ferdinand, the first two of whom collaborated on a Christmas song together a few years back (I suppose that's how they know each other). Anyway, their debut song, "Restart", has a rather T. Rex-ish glam rock groove that none of the other bands the members are in have really achieved aside from possibly Franz Ferdinand. The song's chorus states that, "We could all use a restart". I would say that the phrase "throwback" is more accurate in terms of describing this song than "restart" is, but there's nothing wrong with a good throwback once in a while!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
New songs for March 15th 2017
here they are:
"Don't Leave Me Here" by Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo': Two bluesmen, and one epic performance! Taj Mahal has been performing blues music since the 1960's and Keb' has done the same since the '90s. As has long been tradition in the blues, various locations of the U.S. are mentioned throughout the song. Taj and Keb' warn the listeners of the song that "if (they're) going to Mississippi, where the Delta sky is sweet and clear", that they should at least consider not leaving the singers in Chicago, since they are currently stuck there. This song boasts the trick up the blues musicians' sleeves in which they are able to turn sad subject matter into a soulful, toe tappin' tune!
"Face Like Thunder" by The Japanese House: Don't be fooled by the name of this band. There is absolutely nothing Japanese about them, though they probably have at least a few fans who actually are Japanese. Actually, The Japanese House is not even a "they", but one person, 21-year-old Amber Bain from London, England. Her sound is a dreamy, ethereal one which manages to combine "Hejira" era Joni Mitchell with the first few solo records of Annie Lennox. The lyrics, about someone who has a "face like thunder", are almost as alluring and exotic as the music itself. Amber sounds wise far beyond her years in this song. Hard to believe she's only 21!
"Third of May" by Fleet Foxes: It has actually been about 6 years since Fleet Foxes last released a new album. Between 2008 and 2011, they were on a pretty steady roll, but all of the members except for Josh "Father John Misty" Tillman seemed to disappear from the music world after that. This song is pretty much packed with everything Fleet Foxes fans tend to love about the band, so "Third of May" will definitely be hailed as a great "comeback" song within the coming weeks, if not sooner. Instrumentally, it is a beautiful song with folk-rock instrumentation and feedback that sounds more like echoes in a canyon than it does electronic static. It also wins in the lyrical department, at least as far as Fleet Foxes songs are concerned, with its nature related imagery serving as the surface words of a song about some sort of internal struggle between the sacred and the profane. Well, truth be told, this is really more like the first three and a half minutes of the song. After that it turns into a song that sounds like one The Moody Blues might have done had they still been together today. Yes, that's right, a prog-rock Fleet Foxes song! That's a first, specifically of the songs that the band has marketed to adult alt radio stations. It is soft prog-rock, but prog-rock nonetheless, as it meanders into more experimental territory after the first few minutes. This section of the song even has another name, "Odaigahara" (don't ask me to pronounce that, 'cause I haven't a clue). Well at least the the first couple minutes are fun to listen to!
"3WW" by alt-J: How nerdy is alt-J?! Well, they not only named themselves after the computer command for the "delta" symbol, but just take a look at how they came up with the title to this song! To start with, March 3rd (3-3) was when the band first had a tiny section of the song available online, they released the full song 3 days after that, and in 3 months and 3 days from now, the whole album will be released! Perhaps these guys have listened to the old "Schoolhouse Rock" tune, "3 Is A Magic Number", one too many times (three too many times)?! Yet, in spite of all these quirky qualities (or perhaps because of them), alt-J have still managed to score some of the biggest alt/indie hits of the 2010's, like "Breezeblocks" (which is about famed children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are"), and "Left Hand Free". "3WW" itself is actually the calmest song I have heard so far in alt-J's catalog. It is largely acoustic guitar, piano, vocals, and a string section in the background, and not much more. It's not often alt-J release acoustic guitar songs, but I must say that they're pretty good at it! Hope to hear more like this from them in the near future!
"Don't Leave Me Here" by Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo': Two bluesmen, and one epic performance! Taj Mahal has been performing blues music since the 1960's and Keb' has done the same since the '90s. As has long been tradition in the blues, various locations of the U.S. are mentioned throughout the song. Taj and Keb' warn the listeners of the song that "if (they're) going to Mississippi, where the Delta sky is sweet and clear", that they should at least consider not leaving the singers in Chicago, since they are currently stuck there. This song boasts the trick up the blues musicians' sleeves in which they are able to turn sad subject matter into a soulful, toe tappin' tune!
"Face Like Thunder" by The Japanese House: Don't be fooled by the name of this band. There is absolutely nothing Japanese about them, though they probably have at least a few fans who actually are Japanese. Actually, The Japanese House is not even a "they", but one person, 21-year-old Amber Bain from London, England. Her sound is a dreamy, ethereal one which manages to combine "Hejira" era Joni Mitchell with the first few solo records of Annie Lennox. The lyrics, about someone who has a "face like thunder", are almost as alluring and exotic as the music itself. Amber sounds wise far beyond her years in this song. Hard to believe she's only 21!
"Third of May" by Fleet Foxes: It has actually been about 6 years since Fleet Foxes last released a new album. Between 2008 and 2011, they were on a pretty steady roll, but all of the members except for Josh "Father John Misty" Tillman seemed to disappear from the music world after that. This song is pretty much packed with everything Fleet Foxes fans tend to love about the band, so "Third of May" will definitely be hailed as a great "comeback" song within the coming weeks, if not sooner. Instrumentally, it is a beautiful song with folk-rock instrumentation and feedback that sounds more like echoes in a canyon than it does electronic static. It also wins in the lyrical department, at least as far as Fleet Foxes songs are concerned, with its nature related imagery serving as the surface words of a song about some sort of internal struggle between the sacred and the profane. Well, truth be told, this is really more like the first three and a half minutes of the song. After that it turns into a song that sounds like one The Moody Blues might have done had they still been together today. Yes, that's right, a prog-rock Fleet Foxes song! That's a first, specifically of the songs that the band has marketed to adult alt radio stations. It is soft prog-rock, but prog-rock nonetheless, as it meanders into more experimental territory after the first few minutes. This section of the song even has another name, "Odaigahara" (don't ask me to pronounce that, 'cause I haven't a clue). Well at least the the first couple minutes are fun to listen to!
"3WW" by alt-J: How nerdy is alt-J?! Well, they not only named themselves after the computer command for the "delta" symbol, but just take a look at how they came up with the title to this song! To start with, March 3rd (3-3) was when the band first had a tiny section of the song available online, they released the full song 3 days after that, and in 3 months and 3 days from now, the whole album will be released! Perhaps these guys have listened to the old "Schoolhouse Rock" tune, "3 Is A Magic Number", one too many times (three too many times)?! Yet, in spite of all these quirky qualities (or perhaps because of them), alt-J have still managed to score some of the biggest alt/indie hits of the 2010's, like "Breezeblocks" (which is about famed children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are"), and "Left Hand Free". "3WW" itself is actually the calmest song I have heard so far in alt-J's catalog. It is largely acoustic guitar, piano, vocals, and a string section in the background, and not much more. It's not often alt-J release acoustic guitar songs, but I must say that they're pretty good at it! Hope to hear more like this from them in the near future!
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
New songs for March 8th 2017
here they are:
"A Little Uncanny" by Conor Oberst: In the fashion of his idol, Bob Dylan, Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes attempts here to make a roots-y folk-rock tune that contains plenty of name dropping and cryptic but interesting lyrics. Ronald Reagan, Robin Williams, Sylvia Plath and Jane Fonda are all mentioned here in this song. It's hard to tell what the central message of it is, but my best guess is that it gets spelled out towards the end of the song when Conor says, "They say a party can kill you. Sometimes I wish it would." As for what that means, perhaps he's trying to indicate that self-medication can sometimes feel painful after a long time of doing it. Given how critical Mr. Dylan tends to be of many things, I'm not sure if he'd find this song flattering or overbearing, but "A Little Uncanny" does seem to be the most Dylan-inspired song yet from Conor Oberst, who has done many other songs in his style as well.
"Black Tears" by Imelda May (featuring Jeff Beck): The wild, sassy Irishwoman who gave us fun ravin' rockers like "Mayhem" and "Inside Out" back in 2011 tones it down a bit for her latest song, "Black Tears", featuring legendary rock guitarist, Jeff Beck. This is also a calmer song for Jeff than most of his material as well, though he still shows his guitar wizardry in a more subtle manner here. The song bears similarity to the early '60s instrumental song, "Sleep Walk", by Santo and Johnny, in terms of both its slow doo-wop styled rhythm and its loopy Hawaiian influenced guitar sound. Imelda pours her emotions out like never before in "Black Tears" with a passion akin to musicians like Etta James and Janis Joplin. Bittersweet with a bite, "Black Tears" is a great song to listen to if you've recently broken up with someone.
"Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man: Portugal. The Man may be big among "indie" fans, but they've always had a bit of an R & B streak hidden behind their neo-psychedelic pop facade. "Feel It Still" starts out with just bass and vocals, but gradually gets other instruments added in shortly afterward, most prominently a brass instrument that, when combined with the bass and drums, sounds like it would not be out of place in a "James Bond" or "Austin Powers" movie. PTM clearly want to reflect the era of both cinema and music from the mid '60s in "Feel It Still", going so far as to mention the year 1966 by name in a lyric that ends up being a play on words of the Chuck Berry song, "Route 66". The last verse of "Feel It Still" makes it apparent that "Feel It Still" is not just a song written for fun, but also for the cause of ending war, similar to statements they've made in songs of theirs like "So American" and "Modern Jesus".
"Fight For Love" by Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors: You probably already knew that you had to fight for your right to party, but did you know you also have to fight for your right to love? Well, country-rocker Drew Holcomb certainly seems to think so! In this roots-y John Mellecamp-esque number, Drew passionately pleads for peace among everyone. In contrast with the slightly rocking sound of this song, Drew sounds almost sad but urgent at the same time with the delivery of his lyrics. Love should be free, but sometimes you just gotta work for it instead!
"Green Light" by Lorde: The now 20-year-old "Royals" hitmaker, Ella Yelich O'Connor, better known by her stage name, "Lorde", has returned to grace the pop and rock airwaves a little wiser for the wear than she once was. She had a few bittersweet songs early on, like "Team", but most of her songs went for a catchy but somewhat mystical sound. "Green Light" has a slightly more melancholy sound, at least initially. The song plays out like a Tori Amos tune that starts to sound more like a Madonna song as it progresses and starts gaining more instruments than just the keyboard. The song is centered around what Lorde's life became like after her high school years. In interviews, she came off as down-to-earth and not nearly as obsessed with her own image as most pop stars tend to be. She even thought it was funny when "South Park" decided to make fun of her, so she has a pretty strong backbone! Or so it would seem. Having a popular television show skewer your image for comedy is nothing like trying to build a new image for your own self so that people don't see you as a "glamor queen" and instead see you as a serious artist. Hints of not feeling like "part of the crowd" were already evident with songs like "Tennis Court", which served as her scathing indictment of the high school drama she was then surrounded with, but "Green Light" brings it to a whole new level! This song will probably make a huge impression on people who are fans of more music than just pop and rock!
"Wild Fire" by Laura Marling: This song may be gentle, but its words are most certainly not! Laura Marling's latest song, "Wild Fire", seems to emulate her idol, Joni Mitchell, both lyrically and musically. From the song's opening question, "Are you trying to make a cold liar out of me?" to its penultimate lyrical statement of, "You can stop playing that sh*t out on me", it's clear that "Wild Fire" is, well, wild and fiery! Laura is no soft, gentle hippie chick. She means business here! Then again, Joni Mitchell was never comfortable being referred to as a "hippie chick" either. For every whimsical musing like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Both Sides Now" Joni had, she also aimed caustic, stinging messages to her exes in songs like "Nathan LaFraneer" and "Raised On Robbery". Likewise, for every bittersweet song like "Sophia" that Laura has, she also has songs that are just plain old bitter, like "Wild Fire"!
"A Little Uncanny" by Conor Oberst: In the fashion of his idol, Bob Dylan, Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes attempts here to make a roots-y folk-rock tune that contains plenty of name dropping and cryptic but interesting lyrics. Ronald Reagan, Robin Williams, Sylvia Plath and Jane Fonda are all mentioned here in this song. It's hard to tell what the central message of it is, but my best guess is that it gets spelled out towards the end of the song when Conor says, "They say a party can kill you. Sometimes I wish it would." As for what that means, perhaps he's trying to indicate that self-medication can sometimes feel painful after a long time of doing it. Given how critical Mr. Dylan tends to be of many things, I'm not sure if he'd find this song flattering or overbearing, but "A Little Uncanny" does seem to be the most Dylan-inspired song yet from Conor Oberst, who has done many other songs in his style as well.
"Black Tears" by Imelda May (featuring Jeff Beck): The wild, sassy Irishwoman who gave us fun ravin' rockers like "Mayhem" and "Inside Out" back in 2011 tones it down a bit for her latest song, "Black Tears", featuring legendary rock guitarist, Jeff Beck. This is also a calmer song for Jeff than most of his material as well, though he still shows his guitar wizardry in a more subtle manner here. The song bears similarity to the early '60s instrumental song, "Sleep Walk", by Santo and Johnny, in terms of both its slow doo-wop styled rhythm and its loopy Hawaiian influenced guitar sound. Imelda pours her emotions out like never before in "Black Tears" with a passion akin to musicians like Etta James and Janis Joplin. Bittersweet with a bite, "Black Tears" is a great song to listen to if you've recently broken up with someone.
"Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man: Portugal. The Man may be big among "indie" fans, but they've always had a bit of an R & B streak hidden behind their neo-psychedelic pop facade. "Feel It Still" starts out with just bass and vocals, but gradually gets other instruments added in shortly afterward, most prominently a brass instrument that, when combined with the bass and drums, sounds like it would not be out of place in a "James Bond" or "Austin Powers" movie. PTM clearly want to reflect the era of both cinema and music from the mid '60s in "Feel It Still", going so far as to mention the year 1966 by name in a lyric that ends up being a play on words of the Chuck Berry song, "Route 66". The last verse of "Feel It Still" makes it apparent that "Feel It Still" is not just a song written for fun, but also for the cause of ending war, similar to statements they've made in songs of theirs like "So American" and "Modern Jesus".
"Fight For Love" by Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors: You probably already knew that you had to fight for your right to party, but did you know you also have to fight for your right to love? Well, country-rocker Drew Holcomb certainly seems to think so! In this roots-y John Mellecamp-esque number, Drew passionately pleads for peace among everyone. In contrast with the slightly rocking sound of this song, Drew sounds almost sad but urgent at the same time with the delivery of his lyrics. Love should be free, but sometimes you just gotta work for it instead!
"Green Light" by Lorde: The now 20-year-old "Royals" hitmaker, Ella Yelich O'Connor, better known by her stage name, "Lorde", has returned to grace the pop and rock airwaves a little wiser for the wear than she once was. She had a few bittersweet songs early on, like "Team", but most of her songs went for a catchy but somewhat mystical sound. "Green Light" has a slightly more melancholy sound, at least initially. The song plays out like a Tori Amos tune that starts to sound more like a Madonna song as it progresses and starts gaining more instruments than just the keyboard. The song is centered around what Lorde's life became like after her high school years. In interviews, she came off as down-to-earth and not nearly as obsessed with her own image as most pop stars tend to be. She even thought it was funny when "South Park" decided to make fun of her, so she has a pretty strong backbone! Or so it would seem. Having a popular television show skewer your image for comedy is nothing like trying to build a new image for your own self so that people don't see you as a "glamor queen" and instead see you as a serious artist. Hints of not feeling like "part of the crowd" were already evident with songs like "Tennis Court", which served as her scathing indictment of the high school drama she was then surrounded with, but "Green Light" brings it to a whole new level! This song will probably make a huge impression on people who are fans of more music than just pop and rock!
"Wild Fire" by Laura Marling: This song may be gentle, but its words are most certainly not! Laura Marling's latest song, "Wild Fire", seems to emulate her idol, Joni Mitchell, both lyrically and musically. From the song's opening question, "Are you trying to make a cold liar out of me?" to its penultimate lyrical statement of, "You can stop playing that sh*t out on me", it's clear that "Wild Fire" is, well, wild and fiery! Laura is no soft, gentle hippie chick. She means business here! Then again, Joni Mitchell was never comfortable being referred to as a "hippie chick" either. For every whimsical musing like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Both Sides Now" Joni had, she also aimed caustic, stinging messages to her exes in songs like "Nathan LaFraneer" and "Raised On Robbery". Likewise, for every bittersweet song like "Sophia" that Laura has, she also has songs that are just plain old bitter, like "Wild Fire"!
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