New songs for September 9th, 2020

 here they are:

"I'm Ready" by Black Pumas: On the strength of three hugely successful and hugely soulful songs on adult alt radio, Black Pumas are now ready for a fourth song to hit the adult alt airwaves. Their latest song, "I'm Ready", is actually a bonus track from their debut album (another of which is a lovely cover of the classic Tracy Chapman song, "Fast Car.") "I'm Ready" is a more upbeat song from Black Pumas' catalog, like most of their material so far has been. Lead singer Eric Burton talks a few times about being born in California in the song, though his band is based in Texas (another state he makes reference to later on in the song.) Like most Black Pumas songs, "I'm Ready" is essentially a love song, but the title of the song could mean other things, like how Eric is ready to make his music known to the world!

"Impossible Weight" by Deep Sea Diver (featuring Sharon Van Etten): You might not know Deep Sea Diver offhand, but if you're a fan of contemporary indie/alt music, chances are you've heard lead singer Jessica Dobson providing backing guitar for major acts of the genre like The Shins and Beck. It's taken us almost a decade to hear Jessica strike out with her own band to score an adult alt radio hit, but with "Impossible Weight", it looks like she's finally achieved her goal! The song, not surprisingly, bears resemblance to groups like The Shins, if St. Vincent somehow got involved with them. Providing additional support to Deep Sea Diver in "Impossible Weight" is indie-folk cult fave, Sharon Van Etten, who has scored a few adult alt radio hits of her own within nearly the last decade. For those are fond of hearing women in the indie scene rock out, "Impossible Weight" might just be the song for you!

"Lonely Heather" by The Nude Party: The revitalized, Stones-esque rock and roll flavor of this song is only one aspect that makes this song worth reviewing. The other is its stunning music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FteAfB5Sw9A&ab_channel=TheNudeParty)!! It seems almost "BoJack Horseman" influenced, albeit with more actual humans than human-animal hybrids (a few wolf-people are featured at the beginning of the video, though.) There's something that just screams "adult animation" about this video, but not in a gross way, more in a subtle way, as BoJack has been known to have. The animator for this video, however, was never involved in that show. "Lonely Heather"s animator is a man named Parker Worthington, and not much else is known about him. The song itself is a mere two-and-a-half minutes of joyously fun rock music, capped off by the rebel yell (or should I say "rebel L") of "Luh-luh-luh-Lonely Heather" during the chorus!

"Mind Eraser" by Nicole Atkins: The unexpected darkness of 2020 has certainly impacted Nicole Atkins! As the pandemic was just beginning to rage earlier this year, she gave us "Domino", a deceptively catchy song that was actually about the end of the world. Now, we have the even darker "Mind Eraser", a seductive, bass driven, funky song (with a surprisingly blues-y guitar solo midway through) that seems to be about questioning the very nature of reality! Nicole talks throughout the song about how "it seems (her) mind's erased", as well as how, if that's the case, she "never wants to leave again." Wow! Chilling lyrics! However, they are strangely befitting for the time being!

"The World" by Pete Yorn: A short but sweet folk-rock tune, Pete Yorn's "The World" is about...well...the world! More specifically, though, it's about how unpredictable Pete feels the world is. It seems to let him down. Having had nearly 20 years in the music biz, one might expect Pete to feel a little world weary right now, but this song almost feels like a reflection on just what a sad state the world is in right now. There are many songs in Pete Yorn's catalog that can be called "bittersweet", but this one probably tops 'em all so far in that regard!

"Time Is Wasting" by Josh Ritter: This upbeat folk-rock tune, which has a similar beat and sound to Paul Simon's "Graceland" (albeit without the rhythmic African influence the song was known for), was supposedly a song Josh Ritter originally wrote for a movie, although what movie that was is currently unknown. Upon actually releasing the song, Josh found it to be strangely fitting for our present coronavirus pandemic, and then decided to write other songs with a similar theme for his latest album. However, "Time Is Wasting" is the song that got the ball rolling for Josh in 2020. Underneath the song's happy sound, there is a rather disquieting sense of desperation in the lyrics. How will the other songs on Josh's new album pan out? Well, we'll just have to wait and see!

"Under the Table" by Fiona Apple: There hasn't been a Fiona Apple album as heavily anticipated as her latest one has been since...well...since her debut in 1996! Quite a bit of time has passed by between her debut album and our current year, but Fiona's sense of confessional, wounded angst has remained all these years! Songs like "Under the Table" are like the opposite of the cliche about fine wines. Instead of tasting sweeter over time, Fiona's songs seemed to have grown more sour with each passing year. On the subject of wine, apparently "Under the Table" was inspired by an actual dinner, not a metaphorical one like one might expect, that Fiona had where a lot of expensive wine was involved. It's not the food and drink that's important here, though. What is important in the subject of this song is how Fiona felt used by the guy who hosted the dinner. To put it in more polite-ish terms, this song is basically a "screw-you" to the guy who used her. Ah, the beauty of songs! They can mean so many things...and yes, that includes how songs can be a kiss-off to someone you really don't like! 

New songs for June 5th 2019

here they are:


"Calm Down" by Pete Yorn: Pete Yorn released an album in 2009 that yielded three adult alt radio hits with "Don't Wanna Cry", "Last Summer", and "Paradise Cove". I would not have anticipated that exactly one decade later he'd still be doin' stuff in the music biz. Yorn's career has gone on for almost 20 years now, and his latest song, "Calm Down" seems to combine the best of the moody, introspective folk-rock he went for in the 2000's with the more indie-pop direction he seemed to take in the 2010's. The keyboards in "Calm Down" give it a pop-y aspect, but the melancholy folk-rock guitars remind me of why I fell in love with Pete Yorn's music way back in 2001 when he debuted! I loved the bittersweet flavor of his breakthrough song, "Strange Condition", and it looks like with "Calm Down", Pete has finally found his way back to doing what he was so great at doing in the first place. Welcome back, Pete!


"Chevrolet Van" by The Nude Party: This song is not as glam-rock as their debut single, "Feels Alright", but it still sounds retro. This time, The Nude Party are going for a Bob Dylan sound, circa the mid '60s when Dylan "went electric". Much like Dylan, the lyrics to "Chevrolet Van" seem oblique yet somewhat caustic as well. Hard to believe this is the same band who did "Feels Alright", one of the hardest rocking songs of 2019 to hit the adult alt airwaves. "Chevrolet Van" is a much more mellow song, but still one that feels like it might still have some edge in terms of its lyrical content.


"Gotta Get to Know Ya" by Seratones: For those who like a bit of sass in their rock and soul songs, "Gotta Get to Know Ya" might just be for you! The song seems a bit like what The Black Keys might be like if their lead singer was a black female, as opposed to a white male. That singer's name is AJ Haynes, and boy, does she deliver in this track! You know AJ means business when she says, "I know what I'm doin', baby, so don't f**k with me!" Wowzer! I guess I won't mess around with her! But still, she makes some mighty fine music that will keep both rock and roll and R & B chugging on into the next decade!


"Help Me Stranger" by The Raconteurs: Earlier this year, The Raconteurs pulled off a rare feat of getting two hit singles to hit the adult alt airwaves within a single day! A little less than half a year later, The Rac's are back with "Help Me Stranger". The song's vibe is much like their previous songs, with a blues-rock sound that's both roots-y and punchy, and equally blues-y lyrics like, "Help me, stranger. Brother can you spare the time?" being repeated many times during the song. "These 16 strings we're strumming will back up every line" might just be the best line in the song for a few reasons. For one, does this mean that Jack White and Brendan Benson are each playing guitars with EIGHT strings instead of six?! If so, I wanna see those! Second off, note the alliteration of "sixteen", "strings", and "strumming". Last but not least, the line does exactly what the band members are doing at that very moment. The action of the lyrics describe guitar playing accompanying the lyrics, and...well...that's exactly what they're doing!


"Hurry On Home" by Sleater-Kinney: The piercing electric guitar attack of indie darlings, Sleater-Kinney, is normally a lot more vicious and gritty than it is on their latest song, "Hurry On Home". However, rest assured, the song still has an edge of its own that will probably please their longtime fanbase. Instead of taking from punk rock like The Sex Pistols and Patti Smith, "Hurry On Home" takes more from post-punk like Siouxsie and The Banshees and Joy Division. Joy Division particularly comes to mind here with "Hurry On Home"'s combination of techno beats and angry, brooding guitars that never spiral out of control yet still seem on edge. Lead singer Corin Tucker's voice quakes with urgency as she sings the words of the song's title, as though she's expecting someone to clean up her emotional mess. One also senses both jealousy and spite when she claims she's "unlovable" and "unf**kable" midway through the song. (That's the second time I've used a word that I don't normally use in real life on this blog this week. How weird! Well, for me, that is...)


"Live Wire" by Sheryl Crow (featuring Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples): I get the sense that Sheryl has tired from the folk-pop/rock image that songs like "Soak Up the Sun" and just about every other song she did during the first 10 years of the millennium gave her. Within the past three or so years she's tried to escape that by getting back to her blues-rock roots with Gary Clark Jr., as well as her "alternative" roots with St. Vincent. "Live Wire" is yet another attempt, and quite a successful one, at that, for Sheryl to get in touch with her blues-rock roots, enlisting the help of legendary blues-y women who inspired her like Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. The song has a very Bonnie Raitt-ish vibe to it, and since she is one of the three people featured on the track, it's not hard to see why. In addition to a theme of femininity, a theme of motherhood might also be present on "Live Wire". Sheryl has been greatly inspired by Bonnie Raitt, and Bonnie has been greatly inspired by Mavis, thus uniting three generations of blues and country inspired rock together. Sheryl has been a mother for quite some time now, so this might just be her way of passing down the wonderful gift of music to her own children!


"Losing Battles" by Josh Ritter: Much like "Old Black Magic" from earlier this year, "Losing Battles" is yet another Josh Ritter song that moves away from his folk-rock roots and goes more into scorching Southern rock territory. The lyrics to this one evoke Southern rock and roots-rock here as well. In "Losing Battles", Josh mentions Colorado and Tennessee. A lot of "road trip" rock songs, such as The Grateful Dead's "Truckin'", use names of states and cities to give their songs a distinctly roots-y feel, and it looks like that's what Josh is going for here on "Losing Battles". I mean, don't lyrics like, "Drifted down to Tennessee/Lost my girl to a heart of silver" sound like they wouldn't be too out of place in a song by a group like The Allman Brothers or The Black Crowes?! Well I'd say they do!


"When We Drive" by Death Cab for Cutie: Death Cab's latest album seems to be a trip back in time across alternative rock history. Their previous single, "Northern Lights", evoked both The Smiths and R.E.M. Death Cab's latest song, "When We Drive", seems somewhat inspired, musically, by David Bowie's "Heroes", with its spacey, pulsating guitar and synth combo droning dreamily in D major. This seems like the perfect song to listen to when you just want to stare out into space at the stars with your loved one, imagining you and that special someone drifting into outer space and uniting in the cosmos!

New songs for February 6th 2019

here they are:


"Exits" by Foals: The fusion of electronica and rock in Foals latest song, "Exits", is nothing new. However, its length of nearly 6 minutes IS something new! Why did they decide to go for such a long song this time around?! Perhaps they wanted the "epic" feel of the song to go along with their video for it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6YMCjpfH0c), which was inspired by "Game of Thrones". This the second GOT inspired music video we've had so far in 2019, the first of which was Beirut's "Landslide". However, unlike that video, there is nothing silly or "Monty Python"-esque about the video for "Exits". Both the song and the video are meant to serve as a reflection of just how backwards and scary society has become for humanity today. How apt, also, that the song is called "Exits", as it will be one of many songs that the 2010's itself will exit with! Not exactly the exit I was hoping for, though. Oh well. There's always next decade to set things right again, right?!


"Old Black Magic" by Josh Ritter: Josh Ritter is normally more mystical and folk-y than he is on his latest song, "Old Black Magic". This song sounds more like an angst-ridden country-rock song, and there's a good reason for that. This is because of country-rocker Jason Isbell's production of the song. Isbell had a politically angry song back in 2017 with "Hope the High Road", and the mood (though not necessarily the lyrics) of "Old Black Magic" is meant to evoke the disaster in the air that many Americans are continuing to experience day after day. Isbell's influence is especially apparent on "Old Black Magic"'s guitar solo, which sounds like a Lynyrd Skynyrd song if it was suddenly induced with paranoia. Yet another dark song to end the decade with! Keeping my fingers crossed that the coming years and coming decade won't be as fraught with turmoil as this one has turned out to be.


"Ready to Let Go" by Cage the Elephant: Our last song of the week is yet another dark entry, but not one of a political nature. "Ready to Let Go" does tackle another subject of a controversial nature, though, and that is the subject of divorce. The divorce happened for CTE's lead singer Matt Shultz within a matter of just 5 years. Since their separation happened in Pompeii, the song is filled with metaphors relating to volcanic activity, such as "At times I wonder, are we just a puff of smoke?" and "Underneath this bed of ashes". Explosion in both the literal AND metaphorical sense?! I can see why the song is called "Ready to Let Go", because if that happened to me, that's exactly what I'd wanna do!

New songs for January 17th 2018

here they are:


"Connected By Love" by Jack White: The eerie synths that open the latest song from the famed White Stripes frontman don't exactly define this song. About 15 seconds into the song, those instruments get supplanted by Jack's soulful delivery, both vocally and instrumentally. The chorus almost seems gospel influenced, and it uses female backing vocals that wouldn't sound too out of place in an actual gospel song. The organ solo in the song further accentuates its spiritual fervor. I have said before that music is like a religion to me. "Connected By Love" makes me feel like I'm in a church listening to a choir and soaking in each note and the overall passionate message of the song!


"Dream" by Bishop Briggs: In the summer of 2016, Bishop Briggs (then known simply by her first name) won over the alt and adult alt charts with "River", a song that combined soulful, impassioned vocal delivery, folk-rock guitar instrumentation, electronica ambience, and stomp-and-holler rhythms into a neat little musical package. On "Dream", Bishop uses this same combination of elements and manages to win over her target audience once again! Perhaps the biggest attraction, though, for "Dream", is in its lyrics. Bishop bares her heart and soul with lyrics like, "I wanna wake up where your love is, 'cause your love is always waking mine", and "I wanna break down where your heart gets so torn it's breaking mine". Bishop could be speaking to a lover, a close friend, or a higher power, but it's up to the listener to decide which suits them the best, ultimately. Such is the beauty and impact of music!


"Feels Like Lightning" by Josh Ritter: From the clippety-clop rhythm in the opening, you know that folk-rocker Josh Ritter wants to make "Feels Like Lightning", well, feel like lightning! The song's unique, memorable rhythm feels like a horse trampling through a field at lightning speed. Though horses aren't mentioned anywhere in the lyrics, there is quite a bit of nature related imagery in the song nonetheless. Wind, cherry blossoms, bluebirds, and fields are among the many choice words Josh uses to evoke the mood of being surrounded by scenery that is at once vibrant and pastoral. So let your heart run free and stir up some excitement whenever you listen to this one!


"Taste" by Rhye: It's rare these days for an electronic song to be so poignant and emotionally bare, but this is what Rhye excels at. They seemed destined for one-hit-wonder status in spring 2013 with their intimate and aptly titled song, "Open", but "Taste" has proven me wrong. "Taste" has a bit more energy than "Open" did, but still manages to have a calming, ethereal atmosphere nonetheless. The words "I'll lick your wounds. I'll lay you down" are repeated during certain sections of the song, illustrating the song's intent of comfort and reassurance to the individual who happens to be listening to it. Just as they did with "Open", Rhye have once again managed to succeed at making music perfect for wanting to escape into a world full of billowy clouds!


"You Worry Me" by Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats: Nathaniel and his spunky, blues-y, R & B revival group don't worry ME, that's for sure! As with most of their material, this song makes me wanna get up and dance! Along with Jack White's latest song, "You Worry Me" is one of the most heavily anticipated new songs of the week, and it's not hard to see why! Though the song might not have the fiery, no-frills attitude of their breakthrough song, "S.O.B.", "You Worry Me" has still managed to win me over and remind me of why I like this group so much! Though the song is written in a minor key (a first for the group, as far as their better known songs are concerned), it still feels more like a major key song for its sheer exuberance and fervor. Well, what are ya waitin' for?! Let's boogie down!!

New songs for July 26th 2017

here they are:


"Showboat" by Josh Ritter: Two years ago, Josh Ritter startled us with the surprisingly upbeat and soulful, "Getting Ready to Get Down". His newest song, "Showboat", seems to go in that direction as well, but with a bit more of the roots-y feel that Ritter's fans are used to by now. "Showboat" is an attempt for Josh Ritter to basically expose his true self and true emotions through song, like he never has before. In other words, this upbeat tune with seemingly happy lyrics is really just a veneer for Josh's insecurity, which he supposedly introduces us to more of through other songs on his latest album, "The Gathering". That being said, hopefully this will not be the only hit from "The Gathering". Hearing about the diverse emotional pallet Josh has in store for us on this album through an NPR review of it got me pretty excited about it!


"Two High" by Moon Taxi: Yes, the title is intentionally punny. It is not a misspelling of "too high" as much as it is a way of saying "put your two (hands) up high". The goofy title and sunny sentiment of this song pretty much captures what Moon Taxi seems to be all about. They're like Vampire Weekend without the collegiate "hipster" aspects, which leaves just tropically influenced indie-pop music. Not much more to this song aside from what I've described here, but sometimes we need songs like this during the summertime!

New songs for January 27th, 2016

here they are:


"Confession" by M. Ward: Until he came out with the pseudo-blues-rock number, "Never Had Nobody Like You", back in 2009, I didn't really know M. Ward as anything other than the "Him" to Zooey Deschanel's "She" in "She & Him". Since then, I've heard a few other M. Ward solo songs. Most of them tend to be gentle indie-folk-rock tunes. "Confession" is a bit like that, but with the electric guitar sound that first put him on the map as a solo artist with "Never Had Nobody Like You". Like most of Ward's songs, "Confession" is short, at only 3 minutes and 14 seconds. There is one thing that makes "Confession" stand apart from the rest of his material, though, and that is the mariachi horn sound featured near the end of the song, which was perhaps inspired by fellow indie-folk-rockers, Calexico.


"Hey No Pressure" by Ray LaMontagne: The little folk-rocker that could! Until two years ago, Ray's songs were rather mellow folk tunes, which were occasionally spiced up with the use of a sax and a rhythm section, but not much more. "Supernova" really put the "rock" factor in his typically folk-y material, sounding reminiscent of groups like The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, and "She's the One" heavily recalled the pounding blues-rock of The Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post". "Hey No Pressure" is both the hardest rocking AND longest (at around 6 and half minutes) song that Ray has put out so far! If not for Ray's trademark husky yet yearning vocals, this song could well be mistaken for a song by The Black Keys, or perhaps even Tame Impala, given its length and its oddly placed synth solo towards the end. "Hey No Pressure" brings about the most pressure you can imagine in a Ray LaMontagne song, but in a good way!


"Pink Balloon" by Ben Harper: Can Ben Harper survive without The Relentless 7? The answer to that, apparently, is yes. Although "Pink Balloon" starts with an acoustic guitar, it still rocks pretty hard for a Ben Harper song without The Relentless 7 backing him up. "Pink Balloon" is an interesting song. A bit like hearing a roots-y Delta Blues version of Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On", complete with an electric guitar solo in the middle of the song. The lyrics of "Pink Balloon" don't have very heavy subject matter, as it just seems to concern a girl who walks around with a pink balloon, not much more. "Pink Balloon" is probably one of Ben Harper's finest songs, with a sound that would more than likely please both his original roots-rock fanbase and his later hard(ish) rock fanbase.


"Where the Night Goes" by Josh Ritter: If "Getting Ready to Get Down" was too upbeat for most Josh Ritter fans, then "Where the Night Goes" should win them back. Although the song features an electric guitar solo (a rarity so far in Ritter's material), it still features the bittersweet mellow sound and mystical lyrics of the typical Josh Ritter song. One thing that makes "Where the Night Goes" distinct from other Josh Ritter songs is the sudden change of key from D sharp to F that occurs in the middle of the song, as Josh's songs don't usually feature key changes. "Let's see where the night takes us, let's see where the night goes", Josh Ritter sings for the chorus of the song. The night seems to be taking us to an imaginary place where city cafes meet the woods of nature!

New songs for August 5th, 2015

here they are:


"Getting Ready to Get Down" by Josh Ritter: Could it be?! An upbeat song from the normally calm Josh Ritter?! Yes, it is!! The title alone kinda proves it. It's not typical of Josh Ritter to use a phrase like "get down" in one of his songs, but here, he does. It sounds more like Barenaked Ladies attempting to emulate Josh Ritter's vocal style than it does an actual Josh Ritter song, but it actually works here! Josh reveals his sense of humor in this song, too, with lines like "Jesus hates your high school dances", and many other lines that attempt to satirize the concept of religion.


"Gimme All Your Love" by Alabama Shakes: For their third single off of their latest album, Brittany Howard and co return to the '60s soul/rock combo that they initially became known for. "Gimme All Your Love" sounds an awful lot like Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby", with its tender, soulful verses, and blasts of rock 'n' roll guitar sound in the chorus, expressing a deep sense of passion either way. At least for the first two and a half minutes it sounds that way. After that, though, it goes for more of a sound that mixes the early funk of James Brown with the emotionally charged blues-rock of The Allman Brothers. The last 10 seconds or so of the song return briefly to the slower start of the song before closing with a loud, solid guitar sound. Brittany gives more than just all her love here, she gives her soul!!


"The Healing" by Gary Clark, Jr.: In addition to Alabama Shakes, Gary Clark Jr. is yet another blues-rock revivalist who emerged in the 2010's and gained an unexpectedly large audience, so perhaps it's fitting that their newest songs were introduced side by side for this week's blog! What better way to celebrate the joy of music than by singing about music?! Gary does so in his latest song, "The Healing", in which he proclaims that "music is (his) healing". Amen, brother! I can totally relate!

New songs for the first day of May

here they are:


"Hopeful" by Josh Ritter: Just the title of this song alone indicates happiness, and its sound does, too, but such exuberant, upbeat emotional quality is not typical of Josh Ritter's mostly melancholy musical catalog. However, Josh's poetic persona is still present on "Hopeful", though, what with its reference to Alfred Lord Tennyson (the poet famous for saying, "'Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all") during its opening lyrics. A lot of the lyrics of "Hopeful" are just that - hopeful. That is, except for the fact that the song ends with the lyrics, "Everybody's gonna hurt like hell sometimes". Way to switch the moods on us, Josh! Just kidding, this song is a good one any which way you look at it.


"Love Letter" by Clairy Browne and The Bangin' Rackettes: Somewhere between Amy Winehouse's authentic re-styling of '60s girl group soul and the more "white soul" flavor of bands like Fitz and The Tantrums is where the sound of Clairy Browne and The Bangin' Rackettes lies on the musical map. Clairy and The Rackettes' first big song, "Love Letter" (not to be confused with the Bonnie Raitt song of the same name), sounds like it actually could have been released sometime around 1965, and no one would know the difference! There have been many bands and musicians who have joined the "neo-soul" bandwagon since sometime in the mid 2000's, so I tend to be somewhat critical of it occasionally, since it has long passed its days of being a "unique" sound. However, I think that Clairy Browne and The Bangin' Rackettes have both a "retro" sound and passionate delivery that most musicians who are trying to revive pre-rap R & B tend to lack in their performances. This song just screams "retro" all over the place, really, from its colorful band name, to its amount of members, which come close to the amount that groups like Chicago and Sly & The Family Stone had!


"The War Within" by Churchill: When reviewing Churchill's breakthrough song, "Change", back in September of last year, I remarked that "Churchill" sounded more like the name of a folk-rock group than an alt-pop group. Perhaps "Change" was an anomaly for Churchill, though, since "The War Within" actually DOES sound like a folk-rock song, without all the disco and No Doubt-style influence that "Change" had. The guy-girl harmonies and banjo based sound can draw easy comparisons to groups like The Lumineers and The Civil Wars, which is not what I would have expected to hear from Churchill back when "Change" was a big song. "The War Within"'s message of having hope through the hard times and starting anew seems to make Churchill sound more like what the name of their group evokes in my mind, which is not a church, or a hill, but there is something about a name like "Churchill" that makes it sound kind of old-time-y. It would be nice to hear the band continue in this direction for their future material, but if they decide to go some other direction with it, then that's fine, too.

New blog for the New Year Part 1 - Leftover from December 2012

Whew!! Had a lot of catching up to do within the past couple weeks, so much so that I missed some good ones from December that I'm just now starting to pay attention to. So here they are:


"Cut Me Some Slack" by Paul McCartney, Pat Smear (Foo Fighters), and the remaining members of Nirvana: Paul McCartney and WHO?!? I like Paul McCartney, and I like Nirvana, but putting them together is like having jalapeno flavored ice cream!! Or so I thought before I actually heard the song. Although Macca is mostly known for softer material, he can crank out a solid hard rocker every once in a while (just look at The Beatles' "Helter Skelter", which McCartney sang the lead vocals on!!) Sir Paul lets out a primal scream of angst throughout "Cut Me Some Slack". Sure, Paul's no Kurt Cobain, but he must have been channeling Kurt's spirit (or maybe John Lennon's) when he did this song. After listening to "Cut Me Some Slack", all I can say is, "I've got blisters on me fingers!!"


"Hang Loose" by Alabama Shakes: A catchy Creedence Clearwater Revival style guitar riff, Memphis soul saxophones, and raw, passionate vocals that would make Janis Joplin proud can only mean one thing. Alabama Shakes are back again!! For their third major song, "Hang Loose", they do exactly as the title says. That is to say, Brittany Howard and co just take things easy in "Hang Loose", a song that is as mellow as it is danceable and soulful. My only complaint about this song is that it's only two and a half minutes long. I wish it were longer!!


"Joy to You Baby" by Josh Ritter: The song's title might indicate "joy", but the song itself is more of a melancholy one, though I've come to expect this from Josh Ritter. It's what makes his music likable, after all. Ritter's clever lyrical imagery, however, is what makes his latest song, "Joy to You Baby", so memorable. For instance, he sings about how, when he goes to parties, he drinks "cups of who cares", and how ghosts in the graveyard float between "what is" and "what if". Of course, the song wouldn't be complete without his capoed acoustic guitar either, as that is central to both the mood and the melody of the song. "Joy to You Baby" is as lovely as it is witty, a rare, but certainly enjoyable feat in music these days!


"New Alphabet" by Eels: New alphabet?! OK!! Z Y X, W V, U T S, R Q P!! Oh wait, it's not THAT kind of "new alphabet"?! Oh. What Mark Everett (better known simply as "E") means by "new alphabet" is (probably) that he wants a new way to express himself "When the words just sound like noise", and "when the world stops making sense". Like most of The Eels' material, "New Alphabet" sounds like the kind of song Beck might do, both vocally, lyrically, and instrumentally (but keep in mind that Eels have been around since 1996, a mere three years after Beck's debut in the music scene, so it's not exactly a "rip-off"). Most of the songs Eels have done within the past couple years have a soft, almost billowy sound to them. "New Alphabet" has a bit more "meat" on it, so to speak, but it's still as melodic as ever, and it has a neat little plucked string section between the verses and chorus.


"Nowhere, Massachusetts" by Black Prairie: When it comes to country-rock, the music is usually a bit more upbeat than its plain ol' country counterpart, but Black Prairie are different than that (what else would you expect from a band whose first known song was called "How Do You Ruin Me?") Country-rock probably hasn't been this sad (and especially with such authentic sadness) since the late '60s, when The Flying Burrito Brothers did their tearjerker of a song, "Hot Burrito # 1". "Nowhere, Massachusetts" is even sadder than that, at least in terms of its lonesome, homesick sound. The acoustic guitar and vocals at the beginning are already bittersweet enough, and it only gets more so from there, especially with the sighing violin in the song. This was the very last "new" song I heard in 2012, so I guess it's only fitting that it sounds like a "goodbye song".


"The John Wayne" by Little Green Cars: THE John Wayne?! Not sure why there's an article preceding the title, because it makes it sound like the latest dance craze (as in, "Come on everybody, let's do The John Wayne!") However, "The John Wayne" is FAR from a dance craze. It is, instead, a bittersweet sounding song about how it's "easy to fall in love", and the dangers that come with doing so. The title of the song comes from how the lead singer feels "shot down" (as though he's in a John Wayne movie) by the one he has fallen in love with. More melancholia?! Sounds like more music for me to become enamored with!!


"Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg: Aside from his last name, one of the most memorable things about Jake Bugg is that he's only 18 years old!! He sounds like he's in his late 20's or early 30's, but he isn't, and he's also British (take THAT, One Direction!!) It's also pretty easy to get the impression that Jake probably enjoys his parents' music more than that of his own generation, since he sounds like a cross between The Beatles and Bob Dylan. "Two Fingers" is also a very deep and somewhat depressing song, lyrically. No one I know of has written a song like this in their teens since Jackson Browne did with "These Days" when he was only a year younger than Jake!

New songs for Apr. 14th, 2010

Here they are!!

"Burning the Bowery" by Jesse Malin: Seems like "going electric" has become somewhat a trend among indie-folk-rock artists, particularly those inspired by the one who started it all (a.k.a. Bob Dylan). My Morning Jacket and Ryan Adams have already done so, and Jesse Malin and his band, The St. Marks Social, are the latest to jump on to this bandwagon. It sounds a little like My Morning Jacket's "I'm Amazed", which seemed like their big "going electric" breakthrough, and probably the hardest-rocking MMJ song that I know of. "Burning the Bowery", similarly, has ended up being the hardest-rocking Jesse Malin song I've known of (though perhaps that shouldn't be as surprising to me considering that Jesse got his start in the cleverly named punk band "D Generation"). This might not be the same Jesse Malin as the one in folk-rock-y songs like "Mona Lisa" and "Don't Let 'Em Take You Down", but it's a fun song to rock out to (and jam to) so check it out!

"Change of Time" by Josh Ritter: Unlike Jesse Malin, Josh Ritter has remained loyal to his acoustic roots, and perhaps even more so on this song than most of his other material. The first half of the song is entirely acoustic, and wistfully so, in the manner of the typical Nick Drake song (only slightly more optimistic). Despite the fact that an electric guitar gets added into the mix of instruments during the second half of the song, it still manages to sound like a pleasant, winsome song. Lyrically, "Change of Time" is also interesting, particularly in that in each of the song's three verses, Josh "has a dream" that he describes in great detail that ends up sounding adventurous, as though the listener is listening to a story more than he/she is listening to a song. This is the type of song I oughta write someday - a song that's compelling enough for listeners to get lost in both the music and the lyrics that tells a story!

"Spinning" by Malea McGuiness: Nobody seems to know who Malea McGuiness is so far (even me!!) After listening to "Spinning", however, I feel like people oughta know who Malea McGuiness is. She seems to be filling what has long been a void in adult alt. music (and alt. music in general). Malea takes after that class of female musicians who both rock out and have vocals and lyrics that are expressive enough to deliver poetry through their songs, ranging from Patti Smith, Liz Phair, Alanis Morissette, Chrissie Hynde, and everywhere in between (though Malea seems to add more "traditional" elements such as '70s-style organs in her music). Although musicians like Feist, Regina Spektor, and Joanna Newsom are excellent, charming, clever musicians, their music (for the most part, at least) is rather benign and gentle in comparison to people like Smith, Phair, Morissette, and Hynde. Malea McGuiness seems like she might just be next on the bandwagon of artists who seemed to have gone either missing, underrated, or changed in format (in the case of Phair and Morissette in particular) in the 2000's. Girl rockers might just finally be makin' a comeback - let's hear it for them!!



EXTRA BONUS FUN TIME!!! I almost forgot - since I reviewed The Black Keys' "Tighten Up" last week (or, rather, 2 weeks ago) and talked about its hilarious music video, I thought y'all might want a link to the video...so here it is!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNXwicxlsvI

Enjoy!! Oh and please feel free to comment on it! :)