here they are:
"Bad Dreams" by Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johannson: Folk-rocker Pete Yorn and actress turned singer extraordinaire Scarlett Johansson have duetted before, but it's been almost a decade since they last did so. I never thought I'd hear the two of them after their 2008 song, "Relator", but now here they are together again. This time, the two opt for a cover of a song by indie-pop group, The Echo Friendly, and for some reason, the song has been retitled from "Worried" to "Bad Dreams". (It's not the first time this has been done. When Southern rock group Molly Hatchet covered The Allman Brothers' "Dreams", they retitled it as "Dreams I'll Never See", even though the two songs were actually the same one). Further immersing himself in the works of the indie pop groups he probably inspired, Pete Yorn adds a dark but catchy indie pop flavor to "Bad Dreams" that seems to stray a bit from the folk-rock he did when his career first started out. "We will always have bad dreams", Yorn and Johannson sing together in harmony during the chorus. I think The Echo Friendly's bad dreams have become a reality since someone took their song and changed its title!
"Fine Line" by Parker Millsap: Parker Millsap first arrived onto the adult alt airwaves two years ago, with a fun, charming acoustic rock song called "Pining" that easily brought to mind early Elvis Presley tunes. With "Fine Line", Parker continues churning out retro rock, but this time he goes one decade forward and amps it up a bit, bringing to mind the blues-ier side of groups like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, a bit like The White Stripes had done as their career started to progress. "Honey I don't bite", Parker yowls during the chorus, "I'm just a little bloodthirsty". No, Parker hasn't been reading too many "Twilight" books (thankfully), he's just using a strange yet appealing metaphor to describe a typical day in the life of a rock and roll musician!
"Guilty Party" by The National: The National made two of their most rockin' tunes yet on their latest album, with the fast paced, frantic, "The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness", as well as the U2-esque, "Day I Die". Their third single from "Sleep Well Beast", "Guilty Party", dials things back a bit. "Guilty Party" depends more on keyboard than it does guitar, and it's noticeably softer than the other two songs as well. It's as though Matt Berninger partied too hard at first, and that this song was the aftermath. "Guilty Party", as its title implies, sounds sorrowful and somber. The National are known for being one of the more pessimistic groups in the indie scene, but this might be their saddest one yet.
"In Chains" by The War on Drugs: The National aren't the only band coming up on their third single from their latest album. The War on Drugs are as well, and this time around, Kurt Vile and his Pennsylvanian indie rock ensemble once again walk the line between Springsteen-esque arena rock and Roxy Music influenced prog-rock and sophisti-pop. The three singles from The WOD's latest album could be seen as a trilogy of sorts, each spiraling further downward into despair than the other. There was the hopeful "Holding On", the bitter sting of "Pain", and now it seems to be culminating in the realization of being "In Chains" as a result of all the negative emotions Kurt Vile is going through in this song. Out of the darkness comes light, though, as Kurt has been able to take all his frustration and turn it into aching, bittersweet beauty in his 7 and a half minute magnum opus, "In Chains".
"Just A Fool" by Jim James: Opening with a fuzzed out, Jack White-ish guitar solo, My Morning Jacket's Jim James' latest song, "Just A Fool", deals with the realization of just how foolish Jim feels as a member of contemporary American society, a theme that recurs throughout his latest album. Jim claims he's "just a fool gettin' by" in this song, but the struggle to "get by" is not one he shrugs off too easily, feeling cheated and used by the media and its spread of fast but often false information. Jim, you're no fool at all! Everyone else is!
"Life to Fix" by The Record Company: The most anticipated song of the week on adult alt radio is also the blues-iest and most upbeat! The Record Company are like the Black Crowes of the 2010's, out of step with current musical trends, but embracing blues-rock with such unabashed passion that people can't help but love them anyway! Their latest song, "Life to Fix", has a blues-y Southern rock groove that wouldn't sound out of place in an Allman Brothers or early ZZ Top song, except The Record Company aren't from the South. In fact, this blazin' rock trio are actually from my neck of the woods, Los Angeles! Maybe you don't have to be from a certain area of The States to appreciate what real rock and roll is all about! Oh, and dig those funky bass riffs in the opening, too!
"Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way" by U2: U2 might not have had a consistently good ALBUM since 2004, but they have been able to provide some powerful songs since then, and their latest song, "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way", just happens to be one of them. The message of the song is simple, but still very universal. It's the old "love conquers all" adage, essentially, put to song. Leave it to Bono and the boys to continue the spread of peace and love through difficult times!
Showing posts with label Parker Millsap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parker Millsap. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
New songs for March 30th 2016
here they are:
"Brazil" by Declan McKenna: It only figures that a man with Elvis Costello's real first name would be at least a little stylistically similar to Elvis Costello in his early days, wouldn't it?! Then again, maybe it's just coincidence. Either way, Declan McKenna's "Brazil" has an infectiously catchy faux-retro British rock sound that is rapidly becoming a fave of alt-rock fans this year. With its bright, bouncy melody, fresh guitar sound, and raspy British vocals, it's not hard to see why! Also, Declan McKenna was born on Christmas Eve during the year I was in 5th grade!! Who knew such great music could come from a 17-year-old?! I sure didn't!!
"I Don't Care About You" by Lake Street Dive: With the way that Lake Street Dive's "Call Off Your Dogs" from fall of last year sounded like a '70s disco song, I was expecting more of the same with "I Don't Care About You". However, "I Don't Care About You" has a sound that's closer to the soul inflected blues-rock of the typical Lake Street Dive song. At least during the first two or so verses of the song, it does. However, during the last verse, it starts speeding up a bit to sound more like a song from the blues-rock side of the British Invasion (think early Rolling Stones, Animals, Yardbirds, etc.), which is fitting, considering how "I Don't Care About You" sounds like it could be the title of a '60s garage rock song. The message of this song may be "I don't care about you", but I do care about listening to groovy tunes like this one!
"I Need Never Get Old" by Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats: Nathaniel and co continue to wow the indie generation with their brand of '60s influenced R & B and rock with "I Need Never Get Old", currently their third big hit! Imagine what it would be like if Ray Charles, Janis Joplin, and The Four Tops started jamming together. Chances are, whatever you imagined probably sounds like "I Need Never Get Old". The song itself is as saucy and sassy as its titular statement! You need never get old listening to songs like this one. Stay young, my friends, stay young!!
"Pining" by Parker Millsap: Here is yet another song that sounds influenced by early R & B music, just like the previous two I've reviewed for this week. There is something that sets this one apart from most songs of this style, though. This song's central guitar is acoustic, not electric. Yet somehow, Parker Millsap still manages to inject some soulful vim and vigor into his first major breakthrough song, "Pining". What starts off as a happy folk song soon turns into a powerhouse of other instruments, such as piano and percussion, making it seem more like what a more energetic "oldie" might sound like to contemporary ears. Parker may be pining for his lost love, but he sure seems glad about something nonetheless!
"Where'd You Go?" by Boy and Bear: In fall 2015, Boy and Bear probably shocked many of their core fans by releasing the rocking, Cars-sounding "Walk the Wire", a significant departure from the folk-rock they had become known for previously. "Where'd You Go?" is a song that seems to have a folk-rock-y mood while still making prominent use of the electric guitar, particularly during the chorus. Somewhat mythical sounding imagery (i.e. "an ancient shrine that has swallowed your mind") seems to dominate the lyrical themes of this song, which is not entirely new for Boy and Bear.
"Brazil" by Declan McKenna: It only figures that a man with Elvis Costello's real first name would be at least a little stylistically similar to Elvis Costello in his early days, wouldn't it?! Then again, maybe it's just coincidence. Either way, Declan McKenna's "Brazil" has an infectiously catchy faux-retro British rock sound that is rapidly becoming a fave of alt-rock fans this year. With its bright, bouncy melody, fresh guitar sound, and raspy British vocals, it's not hard to see why! Also, Declan McKenna was born on Christmas Eve during the year I was in 5th grade!! Who knew such great music could come from a 17-year-old?! I sure didn't!!
"I Don't Care About You" by Lake Street Dive: With the way that Lake Street Dive's "Call Off Your Dogs" from fall of last year sounded like a '70s disco song, I was expecting more of the same with "I Don't Care About You". However, "I Don't Care About You" has a sound that's closer to the soul inflected blues-rock of the typical Lake Street Dive song. At least during the first two or so verses of the song, it does. However, during the last verse, it starts speeding up a bit to sound more like a song from the blues-rock side of the British Invasion (think early Rolling Stones, Animals, Yardbirds, etc.), which is fitting, considering how "I Don't Care About You" sounds like it could be the title of a '60s garage rock song. The message of this song may be "I don't care about you", but I do care about listening to groovy tunes like this one!
"I Need Never Get Old" by Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats: Nathaniel and co continue to wow the indie generation with their brand of '60s influenced R & B and rock with "I Need Never Get Old", currently their third big hit! Imagine what it would be like if Ray Charles, Janis Joplin, and The Four Tops started jamming together. Chances are, whatever you imagined probably sounds like "I Need Never Get Old". The song itself is as saucy and sassy as its titular statement! You need never get old listening to songs like this one. Stay young, my friends, stay young!!
"Pining" by Parker Millsap: Here is yet another song that sounds influenced by early R & B music, just like the previous two I've reviewed for this week. There is something that sets this one apart from most songs of this style, though. This song's central guitar is acoustic, not electric. Yet somehow, Parker Millsap still manages to inject some soulful vim and vigor into his first major breakthrough song, "Pining". What starts off as a happy folk song soon turns into a powerhouse of other instruments, such as piano and percussion, making it seem more like what a more energetic "oldie" might sound like to contemporary ears. Parker may be pining for his lost love, but he sure seems glad about something nonetheless!
"Where'd You Go?" by Boy and Bear: In fall 2015, Boy and Bear probably shocked many of their core fans by releasing the rocking, Cars-sounding "Walk the Wire", a significant departure from the folk-rock they had become known for previously. "Where'd You Go?" is a song that seems to have a folk-rock-y mood while still making prominent use of the electric guitar, particularly during the chorus. Somewhat mythical sounding imagery (i.e. "an ancient shrine that has swallowed your mind") seems to dominate the lyrical themes of this song, which is not entirely new for Boy and Bear.
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