Songs Of The Week #37

Young Man, The Thermals, Mudhoney, Cayucas, & Web Of Sunsets...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #37!

For those of you who aren't quite sure what you're looking at, here's the story: Each week we ask our resident music dork TCDroogsma to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending a few days with the tracks we ask him to give us his thoughts on the songs and to give them a score of 1-5.

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We'd also love for you to share your opinions of the songs by voting for your favorite in the poll to the right of the page. The winning artist receives the validation of winning an anonymous internet poll on a blog, arguably the highest achievement a musician can attain.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Young Man – In A Sense (from the album Beyond Is All Around Me)

TCDroogsma:

     When I first saw that I was downloading a song called "In A Sense" I was nearly certain that it was a play on the word "innocence."  While Colin Caulfield never overtly says that, the song does take on one of those last moments of innocence: a truly rough breakup that requires one to choose between forgiveness and bitterness.

     As a man who's prone to bitterness, it's admirable that Caulfield would approach his situation by, "waiting on another wasted afternoon, spent up long in thought, forgiving you..." Mentioning the end result of this thoughts softens the blow of the chorus in which he rattles off more than enough reasons to wallow into bitterness.  In a way, by forgiving this person he's preserving his own innocence.

     As if the lyrics aren't enough, the song carries a peaceful melody, as if he's merely recapping the thought process rather than considering options.  "In A Sense" is, um... in a sense, an end to that small chapter in the book of Caulfield's youth.  He remains charmingly innocent for now.

Final Score: 3/5

02. The Thermals – The Sunset (from the album Desperate Ground)

TCDroogsma:

     The Thermals is another in a surprisingly long list of band that I know only through the Song Of The Day podcast.  I don't know enough of their stuff to say, "Oh, I'm a fan of The Thermals," but, with "The Sunset" I've also heard at least one song off of each of their last three albums.  It's actually kind of a fun way to follow a band, receiving these songs like postcards from old friends that can only say so much in the small space allotted for notes.

     So what's their to take away from "The Sunset?"  Well, The Thermals don't sound like they've calmed down too much.  The guitars are nowhere near as wiry or bouncy as they used to be, implying either a level of growing up or growing bored.  Without hearing the rest of Desperate Ground it's impossible to know which.

     One thing remains, though, Hutch Harris knows how to sell a song.  My favorite song by The Thermals, "Now We Can See" was a nice, punky rave-up held together by Harris' belief in both his lyrics and his vocal chords.  "The Sunset" deals vaguely with a sense of paranoia.  Harris opens the song by claiming, "I am never alone, my shadows are close where I need them to be, I keep them with me."  Like an army of one, those shadows are Harris proof that he's not alone.  Whether they're haunting or helping remains to be seen.  Again, it's possible that I'm reading too much into this since I only deal with The Thermals one song at a time, but "The Sunset" seems like the middle of story started years ago when emotions ran more wildly.  Where The Thermals go next is bound to re-frame "The Sunset."  Until then, enjoy it for what it is.

Final Score: 3.5/5

04. Mudhoney – I Like It Small (from the album Vanishing Point)

TCDroogsma:

     For anybody who grew up in the 90's, Mudhoney was always the litmus test to differentiate between the kids who liked Nirvana & Soundgarden songs on the radio and the kids who really "got it."  The riffs were always a little gnarlier, the lyrics more caustic, more straightforward, and more funny.

     To hear Mudhoney in 2013 is, for those of us who grew up in the 90's, a real treat.  I feel like anybody younger than 30 won't quite get it.  The fact that Mark Arm (who's quickly turning into the American Mark E. Smith) spends, "I Like It Small" mocking/glorifying a concept of "selling out" that is foreign to those under 30 (and quaint to those of us over 30) leaves this song with a relatively small demographic of people who would "get it."  Though, of course, maybe that was the point all along.  It's really hard to tell.

     Mudhoney works up the kind of pop-grunge groove they've been making for 20-odd years.  Arm, as I mentioned above, doesn't so much sing as he does rattle off a list of things that could be taken as sincere ("minimum production, low yield, intimate settings, limited appeal"), but, given Mudhoney's career trajectory, have a bit of a curmudgeonly "You can't fire me, I quit!" vibe.  At least, Arm retains his sense of humor when he claims that, "when I orgy, I cap it at 12, any more than that and I get overwhelmed."

Final Score: 3.5/5

04. Cayucas – High School Lover (from the album Bigfoot)

TCDroogsma:

     With it's sorta-indie, sorta-african sound, "High School Lover" comes on like a track from Now! That's What I Call Indie Rock 2008!  Is that a band thing?  Not really.  It's catchy enough and definitely makes a fine warm weather jam.

    
     Still, the sentiment of the songs protagonist (who sounds like he's just returning home from his first year of college), is hard to fathom.  He claims that he hasn't read the letters she sent him while he was away (because evidently he's going to college in a world without e-mail, Facebook, GChat, or Twitter) and that, after accidentally seeing her undress, he couldn't help but claiming they should have been together in high school.  Call me crazy, but who comes home from college pining for the girls in high school?  Dude probably just spent a whole season wowing freshman gals into bed with his charming little indie songs.  I'm not buying it.

Final Score: 2.5/5

05. Web Of Sunsets – Fool's Melodies (from the 7” Fool's Melodies)

TCDroogsma:

      Just in time for spring, we get Web Of Sunsets "Fool's Melodies."  It's easy guitar strumming and air-y vocals make the song sound like it's being performed while sitting around a bonfire on the beach.  The lyrics carry the echo of pain and disappointment that comes to thousands of couples around the Twin Cities who stayed together through the winter only to split up once the temps went up.  Not a sad song so much as one tinged with instant nostalgia.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Well there you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please remember that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors are 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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