here they are:
"Come On" by Mondo Cozmo: As cool and edgy as "Black Cadillac" was, there's probably a reason its success crashed. Mondo Cozmo's latest song, "Come On", has two important words that "Black Cadillac" didn't: Anna Faris! No, she doesn't sing on the track, but she is in its video, which seems to have gotten a lot of attention specifically for that reason (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2FImefxs9s). The song is otherwise kinda cool, but doesn't have much to offer other than a Pennsylvania native pretending to sound like a Brit.
"Go Crazy" by G. Love (featuring Keb' Mo'): G. Love has a rather eccentric approach to the blues, while Keb' Mo's is more on the "traditional" side, but anyone who knows either musician knows how much they love the blues! The song has more of the laid back vibes that Mo' has been known for, but the "Looney Tunes"-ish music video for the song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2Licd-XbHc) seems like it's more suited to G. Love's kookier style. Both musicians look like "Merrie Melodies" cartoons from the 1930's in the song's video. Why? Darned if I know! But it's still pretty entertaining both to watch and to hear!
"Trouble In Paradise" by Rufus Wainwright: Rufus was pretty active in the music biz in the '00s, but until this point, he had only released one record during the 2010's, so I thought he had called it quits for awhile. After 7 years of absence, Rufus is back! Mixing the twang of George Harrison with the elegant piano-pop of Elton John, "Trouble In Paradise" seems like the sort of song Elton could write AND perform! The song reflects on the fashion industry, and how critical Rufus feels towards it. While most of the big reunions being poised for the 2020's tend to focus on hard rock, Rufus offers us some musical calm amidst the brewing storm (though perhaps "reunion" is the wrong word to use for Rufus, since he's only one person). Hopefully, more folks on the fluffier, prettier side of the rock spectrum will take his lead pretty soon. In the meantime, at least Rufus is there to offer us paradise amongst a sea of troubled bands with "Trouble In Paradise".
Showing posts with label Keb' Mo'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keb' Mo'. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
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, June 8, 2011
New songs for June 8th, 2011
here they are:
"Jejune Stars" by Bright Eyes: I don't exactly know what "jejune stars" are supposed to be, but both the music and lyrics of this song are absolutely wonderful! The themes of karma and redemption appeal very much to my "inner Buddhist" and philosophical side, and the rather abstract lyrics of the chorus ("So I go umbrella under my arm, to the green of the radar"), just add to how creative this song truly is! You would think that with such spiritual lyrics that this would be one of the more calming, folk-y songs from Bright Eyes, but it isn't. Instead, its sound is rather new wave-y and Cars-y, which makes this song all the more worth listening to for me! With only two songs for this week, I would highly recommend this one!
"The Whole Enchilada" by Keb' Mo': The few songs of Keb' Mo' that I've heard were mostly acoustic guitar based contemporary blues songs. With his latest song, "The Whole Enchilada", Keb' adds in a '70s soul/funk influence along with his typical blues fare. As with most Keb' Mo' songs, the appeal of "The Whole Enchilada" is more in the guitar riffs (and, in this case, the rhythm) than it is in the lyrics. To answer Keb's question in the chorus ("Now that you got-a the whole enchilada, what'cha gonna do, what'cha gonna do?"), I'm gonna try to listen to this song enough times to learn both the lyrics and the licks of this song!
"Jejune Stars" by Bright Eyes: I don't exactly know what "jejune stars" are supposed to be, but both the music and lyrics of this song are absolutely wonderful! The themes of karma and redemption appeal very much to my "inner Buddhist" and philosophical side, and the rather abstract lyrics of the chorus ("So I go umbrella under my arm, to the green of the radar"), just add to how creative this song truly is! You would think that with such spiritual lyrics that this would be one of the more calming, folk-y songs from Bright Eyes, but it isn't. Instead, its sound is rather new wave-y and Cars-y, which makes this song all the more worth listening to for me! With only two songs for this week, I would highly recommend this one!
"The Whole Enchilada" by Keb' Mo': The few songs of Keb' Mo' that I've heard were mostly acoustic guitar based contemporary blues songs. With his latest song, "The Whole Enchilada", Keb' adds in a '70s soul/funk influence along with his typical blues fare. As with most Keb' Mo' songs, the appeal of "The Whole Enchilada" is more in the guitar riffs (and, in this case, the rhythm) than it is in the lyrics. To answer Keb's question in the chorus ("Now that you got-a the whole enchilada, what'cha gonna do, what'cha gonna do?"), I'm gonna try to listen to this song enough times to learn both the lyrics and the licks of this song!
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