here they are:
"Bad Luck" by Neko Case: Neko Case is a clever musician riddled with contradictions. She's a folk-rocker with the attitude of a punk musician, not to mention a musician with honey sweet vocals that sing to rather dark and world weary lyrics. "Bad Luck" is yet another example of what a contradictory performer and songwriter Neko can be. The title of the song already lets you know this is not going to be a happy song, yet that's exactly what it sounds like it is! It's the closest she's gotten so far to a straight up alt-pop song. One more thing. She states early on in the song that she's "tired of trying to make everyone happy", yet it sounds like her aim in the song, as far as its sound is concerned, IS to make everyone happy. Talk about bad luck!
"Heart Killer" by Dr. Dog: This song opens with a weird but interesting sounding psychedelic keyboard sound making a rather dissonant note, but perhaps that part is only there to lure the listener in with a, "Whoa! That was trippy!" reaction to make them keep listening, as the rest of the song isn't really like that. The remainder of Dr. Dog's latest song, "Heart Killer", sounds more like a Wilco-esque attempt at glam rock. Throughout the song, one of Dr. Dog's two lead vocalists tells the tale of a girl who did him wrong, in an urgent "stay away from this person" vibe slightly reminiscent of songs like Lou Reed's "Vicious", which this song might just have been influenced by. What else is there to say? Sometimes the best way to warn someone about a contemptible person is to turn that warning into a catchy rock and roll anthem!
"Wildfire" by Big Something: Jam band rock makes a comeback with the cleverly named Big Something. Their breakthrough song, "Wildfire", is a whopping 8 and a half minutes long and, much to the delight of Deadheads and Phish-heads the world over, their album will be officially released two days from now, which just so happens to be 4-20. There's nothing too druggy or hazy about this song, but "Wildfire"'s incredible length and guitar/keyboard noodling are both staples of jam band material. The song also bears similarity to prog-rock with its Moog dominated sound, as well as its slight change of time signature midway through the song. To those who want to relive the album rock glory days when groups like The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd ruled the FM rock airwaves, go ahead and jam on to all 8 and a half minutes of this song. To those who prefer their songs a bit less lengthy and ambitious, stop this song at around 4 and a half minutes and you should be fine. Either way, Big Something's retro sound is a welcome breath of fresh rock and roll air to the increasingly pop music dominated airwaves of today!
