here they are:
"Breaking Down the Door" by Santana: The trademark Santana guitar is still featured on this song, but "Breaking Down the Door" is a song that digs more into Santana's Hispanic musical roots than it is a rock song. If not for Carlos' distinctive guitar sound, this song could be mistaken for something by a more roots-y group like Los Lobos. Perhaps not what you'd expect from Mexico's answer to Jimi Hendrix, but still quite a breath of fresh air in comparison to the glut of autotune pop and hip-hop dominating the airwaves today. It doesn't try to sound like a star studded pop song the way "Smooth" did either. Instead, it's just earthy, roots-y music with a slight tinge of that spicy salsa flavor.
"Doin' Time" by Lana Del Rey: Of all the bands that comprised the '90s ska revival movement, the biggest was probably Sublime, whose best known hits cheekily combined sunny melodies with dark subject matter. "Doin' Time" was one such song, copping a tropical summertime sound (and even sampling from George Gershwin's "Summertime") while singing about a promiscuous and somewhat violent woman that lead singer Bradley Nowell was involved with. Sublime have since become revered among stoners, alternative rock fans, and the rock and roll world in general. Lana Del Rey has yet to reach that level of respect, but she's trying. It's a bit strange hearing her cover a song that kind of wasn't meant to BE covered, what with its self-referential lyrics mentioning Bradley Nowell, Ras MG (the song's guest DJ), and Brad's dog, Louie, who figures into many of Sublime's songs (he's mentioned twice in "What I Got", arguably their greatest hit). However, Lana appears to be doing so because of how her and Bradley both share a view of California as being a much more seedy place than it appears to be on the outside. Listen, guys, I'm Californian myself! Do I agree with this opinion of California having a "seedy underbelly"? Yeah, I kinda do, actually, but more from what I've heard about it than what I've seen.
"Go" by The Black Keys: "Go" is exactly what The Black Keys do on their latest song! They go! And how!! The Keys give it their all here as one of America's last hopes for a rock and roll band for today's youth. With a chord progression and rhythm slightly similar to "What I Like About You", "Go" proves that Dan and Patrick have still got it after almost a decade in the limelight and over that amount of time in the music biz altogether!
"You And I" by Barns Courtney: Barns Courtney is a musician whose first hit was his best! His song, "Fire", scorched up the alt and adult alt charts like few other songs did in 2016. He's had other hits since, but few that compare to that song. "You And I" might just be his most lackluster effort yet. The execution of the song sounds like the folk-rock and dance-pop combination Imagine Dragons have been known for using, and it also uses the same three chords in succession as two of the 2010's biggest hits: Vance Joy's "Riptide" and Of Monsters & Men's "Little Talks". I like this song, but sadly it does seem to be proof of originality in music becoming rarer and rarer these days.
Showing posts with label Santana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santana. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
New songs for February 10th 2016
here they are:
"Anywhere You Want to Go" by Santana: Could it be?! A Santana song with NO special guest appearances that sounds more like rock than pop?! This is what old-school Santana fans have probably dreamed of since 1999, back when "Smooth", Santana's duet with Rob Thomas, was the mega-hit of the year! Perhaps there's a good reason that the Latino rockers wanted to get back to their roots. According to Carlos Santana himself, he was upset that pop stars (Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars) played the Superbowl this time around instead of rock groups (he cited The Steve Miller Band, Metallica, and Journey, as well as his own band, as good examples of who SHOULD be playing the Superbowl instead). Given what a soppy and somewhat unenthusiastic performance Coldplay gave at the Superbowl, Carlos has a very good point! "Anywhere You Want to Go" revitalizes what Santana has been missing for nearly 40 years!! It is a song of pure, unadulterated, free-spirited, non-homogenized rock and roll!! Thanks for keeping the vim, vigor, and vitality of your band alive for us, Carlos!
"Capsized" by Andrew Bird: And speaking of rock and roll...Andrew Bird?! Wait a minute!! The guy who makes a one-man show out of violins, baroque-pop, and whistling?! Yeah, this is him! I guess even HE is getting tired of how calm the whole "indie" thing has become, so he decided to amp things up a bit in his latest song, "Capsized", which one YouTube commenter aptly summed up as "Andrew Bird meets Alabama Shakes". "Capsized" also has a more groovy beat than most Andrew Bird songs. It's not the first Andrew Bird song I've known to have drums, but it is the first one in which drums take on a prominent role. There probably hasn't been any Andrew Bird song that you've wanted to "shake it" to. Until now, that is.
"Ophelia" by The Lumineers: While Andrew Bird continues to experiment further and further with new sounds, The Lumineers, a folk-rock trio that won the hearts of millions in 2012 with their happy sounding earworm, "Ho Hey", prefer sticking to the tried and true. The Lumi's latest song, "Ophelia", is a song that has a rather down-home-y charm like a lot of their songs tend to have. It is a mellow but fun piano-based song with a downright infectiously catchy chorus, which has probably made it the most anticipated new song of the week. Don't be fooled by the innocent sound of the song, though. The "heaven help the fool who falls in love" part of the chorus is actually a subtle reference to how easily people can be drawn into the idea of being famous. This song sure is bright and chipper nonetheless, though!
"Since You Been Gone" by The Heavy: The Heavy's signature brand of indie-pop meets funk appears once again on their latest song, "Since You Been Gone". Between this one, "How You Like Me Now?", and "What Makes A Good Man?", I'm convinced at this point that The Heavy know how to mix together the perfect combination of danceable and catchy into pretty much all of their songs! It might be worth noting that unlike their previous two hits, "Since You Been Gone" is in minor key. However, that does little to affect what a joyride people are in for when they hear this one! Is there anything these guys can't do?!
"Welcome to My World" by Widespread Panic: We started with a band who is legendary among classic rock fans, and we've ended this week with a band who SHOULD be, but isn't. Widespread Panic's loose and funky brand of Allman Brothers-style jam-band rock has been going strong for 25 years, though a lot of their songs sound like they're from even longer ago. "Welcome to My World" is one such song. It's a catchy little Southern rock ditty that bears resemblance to both The Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" and pretty much anything that Lynyrd Skynyrd have done. The song is a reminder of the freewheeling, breezy, fun vibe that rock and roll was meant to have all along! Welcome to their world, a world where every night is a wild party!!
"Anywhere You Want to Go" by Santana: Could it be?! A Santana song with NO special guest appearances that sounds more like rock than pop?! This is what old-school Santana fans have probably dreamed of since 1999, back when "Smooth", Santana's duet with Rob Thomas, was the mega-hit of the year! Perhaps there's a good reason that the Latino rockers wanted to get back to their roots. According to Carlos Santana himself, he was upset that pop stars (Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars) played the Superbowl this time around instead of rock groups (he cited The Steve Miller Band, Metallica, and Journey, as well as his own band, as good examples of who SHOULD be playing the Superbowl instead). Given what a soppy and somewhat unenthusiastic performance Coldplay gave at the Superbowl, Carlos has a very good point! "Anywhere You Want to Go" revitalizes what Santana has been missing for nearly 40 years!! It is a song of pure, unadulterated, free-spirited, non-homogenized rock and roll!! Thanks for keeping the vim, vigor, and vitality of your band alive for us, Carlos!
"Capsized" by Andrew Bird: And speaking of rock and roll...Andrew Bird?! Wait a minute!! The guy who makes a one-man show out of violins, baroque-pop, and whistling?! Yeah, this is him! I guess even HE is getting tired of how calm the whole "indie" thing has become, so he decided to amp things up a bit in his latest song, "Capsized", which one YouTube commenter aptly summed up as "Andrew Bird meets Alabama Shakes". "Capsized" also has a more groovy beat than most Andrew Bird songs. It's not the first Andrew Bird song I've known to have drums, but it is the first one in which drums take on a prominent role. There probably hasn't been any Andrew Bird song that you've wanted to "shake it" to. Until now, that is.
"Ophelia" by The Lumineers: While Andrew Bird continues to experiment further and further with new sounds, The Lumineers, a folk-rock trio that won the hearts of millions in 2012 with their happy sounding earworm, "Ho Hey", prefer sticking to the tried and true. The Lumi's latest song, "Ophelia", is a song that has a rather down-home-y charm like a lot of their songs tend to have. It is a mellow but fun piano-based song with a downright infectiously catchy chorus, which has probably made it the most anticipated new song of the week. Don't be fooled by the innocent sound of the song, though. The "heaven help the fool who falls in love" part of the chorus is actually a subtle reference to how easily people can be drawn into the idea of being famous. This song sure is bright and chipper nonetheless, though!
"Since You Been Gone" by The Heavy: The Heavy's signature brand of indie-pop meets funk appears once again on their latest song, "Since You Been Gone". Between this one, "How You Like Me Now?", and "What Makes A Good Man?", I'm convinced at this point that The Heavy know how to mix together the perfect combination of danceable and catchy into pretty much all of their songs! It might be worth noting that unlike their previous two hits, "Since You Been Gone" is in minor key. However, that does little to affect what a joyride people are in for when they hear this one! Is there anything these guys can't do?!
"Welcome to My World" by Widespread Panic: We started with a band who is legendary among classic rock fans, and we've ended this week with a band who SHOULD be, but isn't. Widespread Panic's loose and funky brand of Allman Brothers-style jam-band rock has been going strong for 25 years, though a lot of their songs sound like they're from even longer ago. "Welcome to My World" is one such song. It's a catchy little Southern rock ditty that bears resemblance to both The Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" and pretty much anything that Lynyrd Skynyrd have done. The song is a reminder of the freewheeling, breezy, fun vibe that rock and roll was meant to have all along! Welcome to their world, a world where every night is a wild party!!
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