Today's songs are the same amount of leaves you would count on a four-leaf clover (plus one!) Enjoy! Here they are:
"Be Sweet" by Japanese Breakfast: No, "Japanese Breakfast" is not the name of some obscure anime, and nor was it just a completely random name. The lead singer of the band IS Asian. However, she is from Korea, not Japan. She had chosen "Japanese" as the nationality for her band name since Japan is a better-known country to the Western world than Korea is. Their latest song, "Be Sweet," is exactly what its title suggests it is. It's a sweet song, with funky guitar riffs and a synthpop sound that sounds like it time traveled from "Back to the Future" into the actual future. More specifically, it is a very yearning song, in which lead singer, Michelle Zauner, states in a bubbly, irresistible singing voice that she "wants to believe" in the subject of the song after telling them to "be sweet."
"Follow You" by Imagine Dragons: You should know by now that if Imagine Dragons come out with a new song, it's going to explode into popularity at some point or another. The sweet, chill sound of their latest song, "Follow You," is probably no exception to this category. Dan Reynolds and co also seem to know that not everyone who knows them likes them, the aspect of which is highlighted in the intro to "Follow You"'s self-deprecating music video, in which a young adult male is excited that his girlfriend has gotten The Killers to perform on his birthday...except, oops! She actually got Imagine Dragons, HER favorite band, to perform on his birthday instead. "I don't wanna hear these guys," her boyfriend states unenthusiastically, before Imagine Dragons launch into their latest hit song. While the song may be a bit lackluster to those who want "alternative rock" to actually sound alternative and rockin' again, at least those who aren't fans of the band's music can enjoy their humor! The video can be viewed at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3zimSRKqNw
"Open Up the Heavens" by Jade Bird: Probably the hardest-rockin' Jade Bird song so far, but certainly not her longest (ALL of her songs seem to clock in under three minutes). Many of the best-known and best loved women in rock, such as Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, and Patti Smith, seem to have inspired Jade in her latest song, "Open Up the Heavens," perhaps her first song not to have a hint of acoustic guitar at the forefront. Despite briefly resolving to major key and bright instrumentation during the chorus, "Open Up the Heavens" is a pretty angst-ridden song overall, typical of Jade's material. It's a bit more direct than most of her songs, though, confronting the subject of the song and asking them how it feels to be stood up by someone. The title of the song is only mentioned once, during the middle part of it, as a plea requesting the subject of the song to change their mind, while Jade is also fully aware that she will probably not get what she wants.
"The Last Man on Earth" by Wolf Alice: The latest song from British alt-pop quartet, Wolf Alice, finds lead singer Ellie Roswell contemplating the selfish side of human nature, and why we feel this need to project our own experiences onto everything we see, feel, think, etc. Initially inspired by the Kurt Vonnegut quote, "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God," Roswell alludes to the quote in the first verse of "The Last Man on Earth," and uses it as a springboard for the rest of the song to suggest that not everything is a "lesson from God" or whatever else you might think sounds profound or meaningful. Over a bittersweet piano ballad, Ellie achingly croons a brokenhearted melody which is actually trying to warn us NOT to see ourselves in her song, or to try to identify everything with our own experiences. Sounds challenging, doesn't it?!
"You Saw Me Coming" by Tom Petty: Petty's posthumously released "Leave Virginia Alone" from last fall was only a taste of the outtakes from his 1994 album, "Wildflowers." Where "Leave Virginia Alone" could be described as a laid back rocker, "You Saw Me Coming" is a more poignant song. Ex-Heartbreaker Benmont Tench even thought it was the perfect song to close out Wildflowers, with its sense of wistful longing. The original release of Wildflowers did close with a similarly bittersweet song called "Wake Up Time," but it hasn't been until now, almost half a decade after Tom Petty's departure from Earth, that we've been able to hear his underrated '94 masterpiece of an album the way it was supposed to. Better late than never, Tom!
