here they are:
"Empire" by Of Monsters and Men: "Crystals"? "Empire"?! Any Bronies noticing a pattern here?! Heheheh. Joking aside, though, "Empire" really is a good OMAM song, like most of their material. Much like their previous hit from this year, "Crystals", "Empire" doesn't stray too far from the standard OMAM pattern of gentle, pensive folk-rock combined with somewhat mystical, opaque lyrics. There are some things that set the two songs apart, though. First of all, "Empire" is in C minor (as opposed to the C major key "Crystals" was in), and it also features more male vocals than female vocals, the latter of which were used more on "Crystals". OMAM win once again with their nature oriented imagery ("river running wild", "feel the ocean as it breathes", "see the mountains where they meet", etc.)
"Fake Roses" by The Lone Bellow: As you might expect from a song that contains both "fake" and "roses" in its title, this is a rather melancholy song. It appears to be a song about being able to "see through" a relationship to know how bad it might have been. Quite a turnaround from a band whose last song was a rather confident number called "Take My Love"! Still, though, as the autumn season slowly approaches, "Fake Roses" is a very apt song for the somber season. What better way to shake off a negative relationship than to snuggle up inside surrounded by blankets, warmth, and a drink of hot chocolate? Songs like this certainly get me in the mood for that!
"Keep Going" by The Revivalists: "Keep Going" is exactly what the soulful, jazzy, and aptly named Revivalists are attempting to do here! With their solid, dynamic sound, they are out to convince the world that "Navigate Below" was not going to leave them branded as one hit wonders! The relentlessly happy "chugga-chugga" sound of "Keep Going" is enough to win over fans of the band (as well as fans of similar acts like Alabama Shakes, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, and Gary Clark, Jr.) Revivalists, keep going! Keep on doin' what you're doin'! You're good at it!
"Maggie I've Been Searching For Our Son" by Craig Finn: Classic roots-rock revivalist Craig Finn from The Hold Steady turns down the electric guitars on his latest song, which is a rather plaintive protest song. Finn still has the Springsteen-esque sound he usually has here, though it sounds more like something from The Boss's largely folk-rock-y "Greetings From Asbury Park" than it does the sweeping, epic anthems of "Born to Run". For a man whose band has become an adult alt radio staple within the past couple years, Finn has never focused on acoustic rock songs (surprisingly) until now. The angst and sarcasm typically present in Finn and The Hold Steady's material is replaced here by something of a more pensive, yearning quality. Surprisingly, it actually works here!
"Monkey Tree" by Mother Mother: After three plaintive folk-rock songs (and one soulful, blues-y number), it's refreshing to end this week's blog with a bouncier, quirkier pop song like "Monkey Tree". Even its title is kinda goofy! A song that opens with the lyrics, "I live in the jungle, I sleep in a monkey tree", is bound to make you smile! Well, it did for me, anyway. This song is also one that'll make you wanna dance! Come on and do the monkey, everybody!
Showing posts with label Craig Finn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craig Finn. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
new songs for December 7th, 2011
Here they are:
"Get Used to It" by Ben Lee: Ben Lee made his musical breakthrough back in the mid-'00s with the charmingly quirky, folk-pop-y "Catch My Disease". It didn't occur to me back then that his roots were not in folk-pop, but rather in power pop (i.e. Big Star, Elvis Costello, XTC, etc.) No song in Ben's catalog that I've heard so far illustrates his power pop influences better than his latest song, "Get Used to It". The sound of "Get Used to It" isn't the best part, though. It's how Ben takes a slow, slightly psychedelic detour midway through the song that makes "Get Used to It" really worth listening to for me! "Get Used to It", therefore, is the perfect title to a song that starts off catchy, gets a little weird (in a good way) midway through, and ends up as catchy as it was when it began. Now THAT's something to "get used to"!!
"Honolulu Blues" by Craig Finn: Craig is the lead singer of a roots-y, largely Springsteen influenced indie outfit called The Hold Steady, and, until now, has recorded pretty much all of his material with them. "Honolulu Blues" marks the first time Craig has struck out on his own, but he still retains the Springsteen-esque sound of The Hold Steady, and still has a (nameless) band backing him up! The opening chord sequence of the song seems like it's been used endlessly in rock/pop music (most recently, perhaps, in "Forget You [F**k You]" by Cee-Lo Green), but after that, "Honolulu Blues" becomes its own song. As indicated earlier, there's a definite Springsteen influence in this song, but it seems like this song goes back even further in rock 'n' roll history, as it also seems to heavily recall Chuck Berry (and perhaps The Rolling Stones as well) in its riffs! The angst-ridden but catchy poetic lyrics combined with the instrumentation also brings to mind even more rock 'n' roll greats, like Dylan during his "electric" period. Classic rock influences are present in nearly every song Craig has attempted, but none more so than "Honolulu Blues". Long live rock!!
"Serpents" by Sharon Van Etten: In a long line of "angry young women" in alt/indie rock, starting, perhaps, with Patti Smith, continuing with PJ Harvey and Liz Phair in the '90s, and carrying through to the '00s with acts like The Dresden Dolls and Company of Thieves, Sharon Van Etten is the latest to follow in their footsteps with her seductively dark song, "Serpents". "Quirky young women" (Feist, Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom, Florence and The Machine, etc.) seems to have been the trend in the '00s/2010's, and, as great (and cute) as they are, sometimes it's good to have a little darkness to balance out the light! Sharon's voice might not have the same venom as Patti, Liz, and PJ, but the instrumentation here is pretty angst-ridden, as are the lyrics (which include, "You enjoy sucking on dreams, so I'll fall asleep with someone other than you"...Ouch!!). For those who like their gals with more of a gloomy, detached emotion in their music, I highly recommend "Serpents". Even the TITLE of the song indicates something not-so-friendly!
"Waiting For Something" by Nada Surf: The one regret I have about Nada Surf's music is that their most popular song, "Popular", sounded like a Weezer song (or, more accurately, a PARODY of a Weezer song), whereas all their other material is more beautiful and melodic than that, approaching the R.E.M./Radiohead category. Their latest, "Waiting For Something", continues in the beautiful but catchy alt-rock pattern of pretty much everything they released in the '00s (which was quite a bit, actually, and included songs like "Inside of Love", "Always Love", "See These Bones", and "Whose Authority"). "Waiting For Something" is a little different than the four songs I just mentioned, but in a VERY good way. Where those four songs were slower paced, "Waiting For Something" is a little faster. This is such a great song!! Great harmonies, great vocals, great instrumentation, tell-it-like-it-is lyrics (the chorus, for instance, "it always feels like I'm waiting for something"), what more could you ask for?! This is my fave release of the week and I highly recommend it!!
"Get Used to It" by Ben Lee: Ben Lee made his musical breakthrough back in the mid-'00s with the charmingly quirky, folk-pop-y "Catch My Disease". It didn't occur to me back then that his roots were not in folk-pop, but rather in power pop (i.e. Big Star, Elvis Costello, XTC, etc.) No song in Ben's catalog that I've heard so far illustrates his power pop influences better than his latest song, "Get Used to It". The sound of "Get Used to It" isn't the best part, though. It's how Ben takes a slow, slightly psychedelic detour midway through the song that makes "Get Used to It" really worth listening to for me! "Get Used to It", therefore, is the perfect title to a song that starts off catchy, gets a little weird (in a good way) midway through, and ends up as catchy as it was when it began. Now THAT's something to "get used to"!!
"Honolulu Blues" by Craig Finn: Craig is the lead singer of a roots-y, largely Springsteen influenced indie outfit called The Hold Steady, and, until now, has recorded pretty much all of his material with them. "Honolulu Blues" marks the first time Craig has struck out on his own, but he still retains the Springsteen-esque sound of The Hold Steady, and still has a (nameless) band backing him up! The opening chord sequence of the song seems like it's been used endlessly in rock/pop music (most recently, perhaps, in "Forget You [F**k You]" by Cee-Lo Green), but after that, "Honolulu Blues" becomes its own song. As indicated earlier, there's a definite Springsteen influence in this song, but it seems like this song goes back even further in rock 'n' roll history, as it also seems to heavily recall Chuck Berry (and perhaps The Rolling Stones as well) in its riffs! The angst-ridden but catchy poetic lyrics combined with the instrumentation also brings to mind even more rock 'n' roll greats, like Dylan during his "electric" period. Classic rock influences are present in nearly every song Craig has attempted, but none more so than "Honolulu Blues". Long live rock!!
"Serpents" by Sharon Van Etten: In a long line of "angry young women" in alt/indie rock, starting, perhaps, with Patti Smith, continuing with PJ Harvey and Liz Phair in the '90s, and carrying through to the '00s with acts like The Dresden Dolls and Company of Thieves, Sharon Van Etten is the latest to follow in their footsteps with her seductively dark song, "Serpents". "Quirky young women" (Feist, Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom, Florence and The Machine, etc.) seems to have been the trend in the '00s/2010's, and, as great (and cute) as they are, sometimes it's good to have a little darkness to balance out the light! Sharon's voice might not have the same venom as Patti, Liz, and PJ, but the instrumentation here is pretty angst-ridden, as are the lyrics (which include, "You enjoy sucking on dreams, so I'll fall asleep with someone other than you"...Ouch!!). For those who like their gals with more of a gloomy, detached emotion in their music, I highly recommend "Serpents". Even the TITLE of the song indicates something not-so-friendly!
"Waiting For Something" by Nada Surf: The one regret I have about Nada Surf's music is that their most popular song, "Popular", sounded like a Weezer song (or, more accurately, a PARODY of a Weezer song), whereas all their other material is more beautiful and melodic than that, approaching the R.E.M./Radiohead category. Their latest, "Waiting For Something", continues in the beautiful but catchy alt-rock pattern of pretty much everything they released in the '00s (which was quite a bit, actually, and included songs like "Inside of Love", "Always Love", "See These Bones", and "Whose Authority"). "Waiting For Something" is a little different than the four songs I just mentioned, but in a VERY good way. Where those four songs were slower paced, "Waiting For Something" is a little faster. This is such a great song!! Great harmonies, great vocals, great instrumentation, tell-it-like-it-is lyrics (the chorus, for instance, "it always feels like I'm waiting for something"), what more could you ask for?! This is my fave release of the week and I highly recommend it!!
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