Songs Of The Week #30: TCDroogsma

Veronica Falls, The Spinto Band, John Grant, Big Harp, & Van Stee...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #30!

That's right, folks, it's the big 3-0 for Songs Of The Week. For those of you who have missed the previous 29 installments, here's what you're looking at:

Each week we ask two of our regular contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending a few days with them we ask that they send us a review of the tracks. Each track also receives a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly urge you to subscribe to the podcast yourself by clicking here. It's free music and it's fun for the whole family! Plus, it will give you added time to properly digest the songs and vote for your favorite song of the week in our poll to the right of the page. At the end of the week the winner of the poll receives... well... the validation of strangers on the internet. It's a pretty big deal.

As has been the case for the last couple of months, only one of our contributors has undertaken the Songs Of The Week task. So, for better or worse, you're stuck with TCDroogsma flying solo again.

So, Droogsy, thoughts?

01. Veronica Falls – Teenage (from the album Waiting For Something To Happen)

TCDroogsma:

      As James Murphy once said, “sound of silver, talk to me, makes me want to feel like a teenager...” From the title of this song to the title of their album to the name of the band (at least to me “Veronica” will always call to mind Archie's perpetually-teenage counterpart), Veronica falls makes no secret of their desire to inhabit those rose-tinted memories of confusion and excitement that come with adolescence.

      Over a some beautifully fuzzed-out guitar work (the type that recalls the discovery of rock n roll as a teen while retaining the hooks that appeal to the pre-teen), singer Roxanne does a tremendous job romanticizing those moments when everything is being done for the first time. From the sexual potential of “driving late at night” to the ultimate teen sacrifice of giving up control of the dial, it seems that the characters in the song won't be waiting for something to happen much longer.

      To paraphrase another cultural icon, Jacques from the Simpsons, it's not the deed, not the memory, but rather, the moment of anticipation. In the excitement of the shared harmonies of the boy/girl combo (Clifford and, I'm assuming, guitarist James Hoare), “Teenage” reminds us of those times when every emotion was heightened, every passing glance was a sign, and every hand held felt like it would never let go. It may not happen that way in real life, but I'll be damned if it doesn't feel good to remember it this way.

Final Score: 4/5

02. The Spinto Band – Shake It Off (from the album Cool Cocoon)

TCDroogsma:

      The Spinto Band occupies a peculiar space in my head in the sense that (including “Shake It Off”) I only know three of their songs and all three of those songs have come via this Song Of The Day podcast.

      The first song I heard by them was “Summer Grof” from November of 2008. It was an upbeat number that hung on some great vocal hooks (which masked the bitterness of the lyrics). In July I was treated to the track “The Living Things,” which slowed things down considerably, sounding both more professional but less urgent.

      Which brings us to “Shake It Off.” The band sounds more polished in this one than either of the other two and that's probably not for the best. Where “Summer Grof” was a bundle of mean-spirited energy and “The Living Things” was a plea for recognition, “Shake It Off” is the sound of the excited, angry young man of "Summer Grof" settling into the expected disappointment that comes with the end of one's 20's. Nick Krill does his best to sound like he cares when he sings, “Shake it off, I'm leaving...” but it's clear that he's not feeling much. Shake it off, tomorrow's going to be 95% the same as today, he just won't be there.

Final Score: 3.5/5

03. John Grant – Black Belt (from the album Pale Green Ghosts)

TCDroogsma:

      To finish a thought from earlier... “Until you remember the feelings of a real, live, emotional teenager...”

      John Grant is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore! On “Black Belt” he's lashing at, um... Preppie girls? Misguided English majors? Reblogging Tumblr girls? Gold diggers? It's never really established, but he's going to try his damndest to put them in their place.

      Unfortunately, his scattered targets leave for scattered shots. Ending the first couplet of each verse with, “Would you not say that you agree?” brings to mind another Simpsons character, the preacher leading the tent revival (“People, the answer I'm looking for is 'yes.'”). I'm as big a fan of a good kiss off as anybody, but a chorus of, “What you've got is a black belt in b.s., but you can't hock your pretty wears up in here anymore / hit your head on the playground at recess, Etch-A-Sketch out of this one reject” leaves nothing but questions. What 'pretty wears?' Up in where? A playground? How would someone Etch-A-Sketch there way out of something?

Final Score: 2/5

04. Big Harp – You Can't Save 'Em All (from the album Chain Letters)

TCDroogsma:

      Ever wonder what the Silver Jews would sound like if David Berman drank some codeine and tried to write a sea-shanty? Turns out its pretty average.

Final Score: 2.5/5

05. Van Stee – Color In The Paper Planes (from the album We Are)

TCDroogsma:

      It was exactly a year ago that Van Stee made their first appearance as a Song Of The Day with the song “We Are.” That song was a synth-y, groove-based heavy track that sounded like Halloween, Alaska without the nuance.

      Fortunately, they've come a long way with “Color In The Paper Planes.” This song moves Van Stee away from the precise-sounding keyboard scene that threatened to ruin the Twin Cities indie rock scene and aligns them with a new breed of bands that focus on hooks, energy, poppy-profesionalism, and electric guitars. This track snuggles up nicely against band like Carroll, BNLX, Nallo (though less scruffy) and Gloss (though less music-nerdy). All in all, I say this progress. “We Are” was a track that I was bored with by the end of the week. “Color In The Paper Planes” is a sugar rush that's not wearing off.

Final Score: 3.5/5

There you have it everybody! Another week's worth of songs listened to, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please remember that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio. We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.

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