new songs for November 15th 2017

here they are:


"I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" by Jim James: The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" is widely considered to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time (despite getting virtually no airplay on today's "rock" stations). There's a good reason it is, though. The album, along with The Beatles' "Rubber Soul", which it was inspired by, were some of the first albums to showcase rock as an emotionally diverse art form. With the news spreading that My Morning Jacket's Jim James was going to be covering one of my favorite songs from that album, "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", my first thoughts were, "You can't top a classic!" As much as I love Jim and MMJ, it's a hard feat to pull off trying to cover the sweet but troubled genius work of Brian Wilson. However, I'll still give Jim credit where credit is due. He doesn't drastically change the song in any way, and he tries his best to stay faithful to the bittersweet, sympathetic tone of the original. He alters the melody of the chorus a bit, and he also adds in some brass instruments where they aren't needed, but other than that it's a pretty decent cover!


"Losing All Sense" by Grizzly Bear: As if by coincidence, our next song is inspired by "Pet Sounds" as well! However, it is not a cover of a song from the album. The ultra eclectic, artsy indie quartet, Grizzly Bear, have always tried experimenting with different sounds on each of their albums. Their latest song, "Losing All Sense", sounds similar to "Two Weeks", the song that first made Grizzly Bear popular among indie fans, and it also contains a brief "slow" section like their song "Sleeping Ute" did. Its happy, piano and orchestra based sound seems like it might be derived from Beach Boys songs like "I Know There's An Answer". "Losing All Sense"'s spacey, psychedelic lyrics (for instance, "Like a rogue wave, you wash right over me") seem like they'd fit right in with some of the best '60s rock songs.


"Motion Sickness" by Phoebe Bridgers: You might not have heard of Phoebe Bridgers yet, but other musicians you might like have heard of her. Her debut record was released under Ryan Adams record label, and she has toured with Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes. Fans of Adams and Oberst would probably be fans of Phoebe Bridgers as well, as she evokes a similar sense of pathos and sensitivity to such musicians. The "motion sickness" she mentions, as she states in the song, is an emotional one. The song is basically Phoebe's sad but sweet sounding attempt to try to right all the wrongs in her life. Between the hushed but weary vocals and the sighing of the instruments in the song, it's pretty easy to tell what's going on here!


"Plastic Soul" by Mondo Cozmo: Mondo Cozmo are a rarity in this decade. On their first album alone they've gone through folk-rock with "Shine" and Beck-ish attempts at blending hip-hop with alternative pop with "Automatic". Their third hit, "Plastic Soul", does not sound like either one of those songs. Instead, it has a piano based '60s R & B sound that samples from an actual '60s R & B song, "Piece of My Heart" by Aretha Franklin's older sister, Erma (yes, this was the same "Piece of My Heart" that Janis Joplin later made famous - Erma did it first). "Plastic Soul" is very soulful, but it sure ain't plastic! This is the real deal, folks!


"Run For Cover" by The Killers: With all the people who have been accused of sexual abuse lately, I'm sure glad The Killers aren't one of 'em! Why am I bringing this up in my review for this song? Because "Run For Cover" is actually a song that speaks out against those who have been sexually abused. In this song, the beat of which is reminiscent of INXS's "Don't Change", Brandon Flowers points a finger at all the carnally depraved men out there, perhaps one in particular, given such lines as, "Are your excuses any better than your senator's?", "It's even harder when the dirtbag's famous", and even a brief mention of "fake news". I don't think it's too hard to figure out who this might be about, but it's ultimately up to your imagination to figure that one out!


"Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons: Imagine Dragons aren't what you'd call a "hard rock" band by any means, but some songs of theirs are still softer and more melodic than others. "Whatever It Takes" just happens to be one of the softer songs in Imagine Dragons' catalog. Starting with a pristine piano that gets taken over by artificial percussion, "Whatever It Takes" has a similar sound to Imagine Dragons' other songs, except for in terms of how it is sung (or rather, delivered). Lead singer, Dan Reynolds, does the closest thing he's ever done to a rap during the verses of the song, speaking a bit too fast for anyone to understand him upon the first few listens of this song. The way Dan rhymes in this song could even be compared to people like Eminem (although Dan is far more wholesome in terms of his lyrical content).

New songs for December 9th 2015

here they are:


"Alone On Christmas Day" by Phoenix (featuring Bill Murray): Yes, THAT Bill Murray. The one from films like "Scrooged" and "What About Bob?" The reason being is that this song is a part of his "A Very Murray Christmas" special, in which the veteran comedian hobnobs with recent stars like "SNL"'s Amy Poehler, Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, pop sensation Miley Cyrus, and all four members of the French indie-pop band Phoenix. When it comes to Bill's interaction during the special with Phoenix, he asks the quartet to "play something that nobody knows", which they do! (Unless you happen to be a hardcore Beach Boys fan - even I didn't know that this was originally one of their songs until recently). "Alone On Christmas Day", as its title implies, is a rather melancholy song, which is rather unusual for the typically energetic, hyped up music that Phoenix has become known for. It's probably one of the most heartwarming things you'll ever hear from Bill Murray OR Phoenix, and it's endearingly odd enough that I'd venture to call it the 21st century equivalent to the Bing Crosby and David Bowie Christmas duet from '77!


"Sound And Color" by Alabama Shakes: What?! ANOTHER Alabama Shakes song?!? But I just reviewed them the LAST time I did this blog! I guess their latest album is just THAT good! Like a lot of the songs from "Sound and Color" (the album, not the song), this song could be considered "funk from outer space", but its title track differs from the other four songs that have become singles from the album in that it doesn't feature that much guitar. Instead, it features more xylophone (at least I THINK that's what they're using - it's hard to tell), synthesizer, and string orchestras. It's a slow jam, but its sound is more the sophisticated jazzy neo-soul of Erykah Badu than it is the raw, earthy soul of Pickett, Redding, James Brown, etc. Its hypnotic, trance induced sound could also be compared to groups like TV on the Radio.