Songs Of The Week #92: TCDroogsma

Hurray For The Riff Raff, Thievery Corporation, Pink Mountaintops, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, & Little Man...

Well hello again, MP3 fans! Welcome To Songs Of The Week #92!

For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story:  TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast.  They're also both opinionated and have access to computers.  Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column.  Over a year later later and here we are.

Unfortunately, this week MinneSarah took the week off due to what could kindly be called "Current-based fatigue."  Trust us, her words were considerably more harsh.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself.  It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page.  The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.

So... Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Hurray For The Riff Raff - I Know It's Wrong (But That's Alright) (from the album Small Town Heroes)

 
TCDroogsma:

     The story of Hurray For The Riff Raff's lead singer & songwriter Alynda Lee Segarra is a long & winding tail.  She's of Puerto Rican descent, was raised by her aunt in the Bronx, spent her teen years indulging in the punk scene on the Lower East Side, started hopping trains at 17, came out as a lesbian, picked up a banjo, and started writing songs.

     That's quite a journey.  As such, "I Know It's Wrong" has a ramshackle quality to it.  Segarra's vocals bounce along a piano line straight from a spaghettie Western while pedal steel guitars & banjo licks provide some color to the proceedings.  For better or worse, though, "I Know It's Wrong" is a pop song (and not a particularly interesting one).  The melody is catchy, but doesn't offer any surprises.  Lyrically, Segarra's journey has left her with the same problems as all of us: love, lust, loneliness, and the always romantic I'd-break-the-rules-for-you dream.  It's a pleasant enough, but instantly forgettable.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Thievery Corporation - Depth Of My Soul (from the album Saudade) 

 
TCDroogsma:

     From the very beginning, the idea behind Thievery Corporation's core members Rob Garza & Eric Hilton has been to create something that sounded both modern & timeless.  They lean heavily on scratchy samples, insistent vocals, & some live instrumentation to achieve this goal consistently.

     "Depth Of My Soul" continues their winning streak. Turning their focus to something that wouldn't sound out of place in a smoke-filled, stylish club (or, I suppose, a commecial for high-class liquor), they've enlisted Shana Halligan to croon soulfully over strings, piano plinks, & sorta-hip-hop sounding percussion.  The end result is a beautiful, soulful, lyrically vapid song.  Considering that Thievery Corporation has never been about lyrics and more about mood, there's nothing wrong with that.  "Depth Of My Soul" would sound best in one of those aforementioned clubs, where all anybody would notice are the strings, drums, and singing.

Final Score: 3.5/5

03. Pink Mountaintops - Ambulance City (from the album Get Back)

TCDroogsma:

     Pink Mountaintops is the side project of Black Mountain's Stephen McBean.  Despite Black Mountain's penchant for psychedelic rock, Pink Mountaintops are allegedly a "more psychedelic" outfit.

     Whoever wrote that must have missed the memo regarding "Ambulance City."  McBean ditches most of the psychedelic's (though he can't help himself with the vocal reverb) and bangs out a good old fashioned punk rock song.  As far as I can tell the lyrics aren't anything but placeholders (and the fact that the third verse doesn't even contain any vocals speaks to that theory).  Those verses, however, act merely as a buildup to the screaming catharsis of the chorus.  "Ambulance city, station to station!" means something, maybe, or maybe it doesn't.  I don't know.  Frankly, they could have recorded this song in German and it would have been just as good.  Nobody ever said rock n roll had to be smart.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Spottiswoode & His Enemies - No Time For Love (from the album English Dream)

TCDroogsma:

     I'll throw this out here right from the jump:  If you're going to give your band a name as stupid as Spottiswoode & His Enemies you're already starting with one strike against you.  It's not personal, but the same rule has been applied to poorly named bands in the past (The Magnetic Zeroes, TuNe-YaRds, etc...) and typically strikes two and three come quickly.  Sorry, Spottiswoode.  Blame your peers.

     To their credit, "No Time For Love" is nowhere near as bad as anything Edward Sharpe or Merrill Garbus has put their name on (then again, it's nearly impossible for anything to be that bad).  The band aims for both epic & personal with this piano-based stomper and, for the most part, hits the mark.  It's smartly devoid of universe-conquering declarations and insufferably specific details.  Rather, it's an ode to sacrificing some personal happiness in the name of spending that time trying to create something bigger.  I can't help but think that's subject matter Spottiswoode & His Enemies are familiar with intimately.

Final Score: 2/5

05. Little Man - Medicinal (from the album Original Face)

TCDroogsma:

     It's been two months since Little Man last appeared on SOTW, which means we're long overdue for another track.

     With "Medicinal" (his SIXTH SOTD track), Chris Perricelli sticks with the same formula that has built up his following in the Twin Cities.  While I can't help but suspect that his dogged adherence to playing clever, T. Rex-inspired pop has also led to a glass ceiling of sorts for his popularity, there's just no arguing with his hooks.  "Medicinal" was released as an SOTD track the same week that Minnesota legislators OK's marijuana use for medicinal purposes.  Whether that was a move by Perricelli or the jackasses running The Current is unknown to me, but considering how "har, har, this will be clever" the whole thing seems, I'm willing to blame MPR.  Nobody likes pretending they're clever more than those folks.

     But I digress... "Medicinal" is either an ode to marijuana in the same "no, it's about a significant other" way that Paul McCartney's "Got To Get You Into My Life" is or, in our post-everything world, it's a clever turn of ideas and is really a love song that people would initially think was about pot.  I'm not smart enough to figure out which is which, but given Little Man's previous work, I'm just going to assume it's about weed.  Doesn't really matter. Smart, snappy, hooky... It's everything you want from a Little Man single.  See you in another month or two, Chris.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Well there you have it, MP3 junkies!  Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR.  We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio









For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Newest Industry Presents - Flatbasset Radio: Episode #37

When I start to feel that pull, turns out I just pulled myself...

For those of you who are unaware of the Flatbasset Radio format, here's what you're looking at: TCDroogsma is our resident MP3 junkie. As you've probably noticed in his Songs Of The Week column, he's not always the most positive music fan. In an effort to prove that he is, in fact, a fan of music, we give him an hour each week to play the songs he's digging and talk a little bit about them. Once he's recorded his podcast we put it right here on the website for free to stream and/or download!

This week's episode finds TCDroogsma throwing together an episode for the Memorial Day weekend.  He decided to steal an idea from his nemesis The Current and play three song blocks from three of his favorite artists.  Along the way he confesses that he's not working too hard on this one, tries to get a sponsorship from "whoever makes falafel chips," celebrates an icon's birthday, discusses just what's going to be written on his tombstone, triples down on the podcast's second-ever request, goes on "a" Weezer rant, but not all of his Weezer rants, puts on for his old minivan, shouts out his parents, and celebrates the 20th anniversary of "The Blue Album" by explaining how a Weezer track laid the blueprint for the rest of his life.

You can download the podcast for free by clicking the episode's title or stream the episode by clicking on the Mixcloud player below.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #37 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #37


01. Morrissey - Sister I'm A Poet
02. Morrissey - Jack The Ripper
03. Morrissey - A Song From Under The Floorboards
04. Beastie Boys - An Open Letter To NYC
05. Beastie Boys - The Sounds Of Science
06. Beastie Boys - Pass The Mic
07. Weezer - Pink Triangle
08. Weezer - Photograph
09. Weezer - Love Explosion
10. Weezer - The World Has Turned And Left Me Here

There you have it, music fans!  Enjoy!

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.          

Songs Of The Week #91: TCDroogsma

Saintseneca, Wye Oak, Marissa Nadler, Sharon Van Etten, & Black Diet...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #91!
 
For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story:  TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast.  They're also both opinionated and have access to computers.  Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column.  Over a year later later and here we are.

Unfortunately, this week MinneSarah took the week off due to what could kindly be called "Current-based fatigue."  Trust us, her words were considerably more harsh.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself.  It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page.  The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.

So... Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Saintseneca - Happy Alone (from the album Dark Arc)

 
TCDroogsma:

     I'd never heard of Saintseneca before being given "Happy Alone" this week.  According to the internet, Saintseneca is the brainchild of band leades r Zac Little, who writes relatively sparse folk songs and then builds a world around them with the rest of the band.

     "Happy Alone" definitely seems to fit that mold.  Lyrically, "Happy Alone" sounds like some lonely singer/songwriter type of shit (though the line, "to presuppose this precipice could be scaled by any one of us..." deserves credit for its unique ridiculousness).  Fortunately, Little's lament/desire to be alone is relegated to the background while the band works up an indie rock storm around him.  The drums hit hard, the piano pounds, there's a welcome little synth swirl post-chorus to give the song some character, I think there's a woodblock in there somewhere... The band really does a great job off turning what was likely an insufferable demo into a pleasantly swinging spring jam.

Final Score: 3.5/5

02. Wye Oak - Glory (from the album Shriek)

 
TCDroogsma:

     I've stumbled across a few columns lately that have made a big deal about how Wye Oak is moving away from guitar music on their new album and venturing more toward left-of-center R&B.  Those columns then went on to discuss whether or not this was a good thing, whether or not guitar music was dead, and whether or not this "indie R&B" moment has passed.  As you can see, it was a super busy week for people with nothing to write about.

     None of that mattered much to me, as I don't know any Wye Oak songs.  As far as I know they've always played bouncy, keyboard-heavy indie pop.  Maybe "Glory" loses something without the context of their style change, but to my ears it sounds like a fine, if inconsequential single.  Singer Jen Wasner is desperately trying to write "smart" lyrics, but ends up with a chorus that begins, "And in the telling of the story I lose my way inside a prepositional phrase..."  Gripping stuff.  Nice groove, though.

Final Score: 2.5/5

03. Marissa Nadler - Drive (from the album July)

TCDroogsma:

     I think it's a real testament to level of fatigue instilled in me by listening to all these Current SOTD tracks that a song that is merely a woman with her acoustic guitar (no bed of keyboards, no unnecessary dance grooves, no vocal yips) can seem so refreshing.

     Nadler begins the song lamenting a career that never began.  "17 people in the dark tonight, familiar faces behind the cellular lights..." probably describes the view from the stage at hundreds of shows each night, musician's dreams crashing coldly into reality.  On that note, Nadler takes to the road with an organ, a pedal steel guitar, & her own echo as co-pilots.  "Nothing like the way it feels to drive..." is a universal truth, delivered here with both optimism & sadness, an open road promising no answers but, thankfully, no questions either.

Final Score: 3.5/5

04. Sharon Van Etten - Taking Chances (from the album )

TCDroogsma:

     Further proving my point that there just wasn't anything happening in the indie rock world last week, Pitchfork put together a lengthy column on the deep emotional resonance of Sharon Van Etten's songs of love & longing.  After reading the article I went back and listened to "Taking Chances" again just to see if I'd missed anything.  Turns out, not really.

     Credit where its due, though.  Most of the lyrics are a jumble of nonsense ("When you love all of you, they know all of you" "Turn on the charm, call to response now..."), however, Van Etten hits a moment of brilliance on the plaintive, simple chorus, elongating "Even I've taken my chances on you..." with a sense longing & regret" as an electric guitar shows up to give the lyrics a dash of anger.  The rest of the song is dressed up quite well instrumentally, but doesn't really go anywhere.  Still, most songs don't have a transcendent moment.  "Taking Chances" has a fine one.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Black Diet - Nothing To Say (from the album Find Your Tambourine)

TCDroogsma:

     Black Diet appears to be 2014's Next Big Thing here in the Twin Cities.  Frankly, after years of Lizzos & Messersmiths & Southwires, I couldn't be happier.

     As I understand it, the idea behind Black Diet is a combination of garage rock & R&B.  If that's the goal, "Nothing To Say" hits the nail on the head.  The songs chugs along on some low-fi drums & cooo-ing girl group harmonies, but the star of this show is singer Jonathan Tolliver.  The energy of "Nothing To Say" is high, but Tolliver spends the track channeling Lou Reed singing Motown's Classics.  Lyrically, he sticks to Reed's straightforward "there was a chair, I sat in the chair" style.  "I got real drunk & said some things that I really didn't mean, and now I'm hear alone wishing you would pick up the phone, I'm lonely, I'm horny, I wish I had you girl."  It doesn't get much more Blunt than that.  That's kind of the point though.  Tolliver stays relatively deadpan, only breaking his nasal, conversational tone to to sell the chorus.  This matter-of-fact style gives the song a charm all its own.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Well there you have it, MP3 junkies!  Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR.  We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio









For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Newest Industry Presents - Flatbasset Radio: Episode #36

I think I'm on another world with you...

Hello again, free music fans! Welcome to Flatbasset Radio: Episode #36!
 
For those of you who are unaware of the Flatbasset Radio format, here's what you're looking at: TCDroogsma is our resident MP3 junkie. As you've probably noticed in his Songs Of The Week column, he's not always the most positive music fan. In an effort to prove that he is, in fact, a fan of music, we give him an hour each week to play the songs he's digging and talk a little bit about them. Once he's recorded his podcast we put it right here on the website for free to stream and/or download!

In this week's episode TCDroogsma is flying solo yet again.  Along the way he laments the Wild's loss to Chicago, explains his absence by admitting he's a very tired guy, celebrates the anniversary of a classic hip-hop album, mispronounces some more artists' names, gets skeptical about The Replacements hometown show, confesses to being a very simple man, celebrates Twin Shadow going "full R.E.O. Speedwagon," claims that "sometimes the world needs more big & stupid," plays the first ever request on the podcast, gets a little bro-mantic, makes his peace with great Brit-Pop wars of the 90's, and celebrates one of his favorite band's greatest records.

You can download the podcast for free by clicking the episode's title or stream the episode by clicking on the Mixcloud player below.

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #36

Flatbasset Radio: Episode #36 by Tcdroogsma on Mixcloud

01. La Sera - Losing To The Dark
02. Big K.R.I.T. (w/A$AP Ferg) - Lac Lac
03. Badly Drawn Boy - My Friend Cubilas
04. The Replacements - Another Girl, Another Planet
05. Supperbell Roundup - Come In Through The Side Door
06. Nas - Memory Lane (Sittin' In Da Park)
07. Twin Shadow - To The Top
08. Luna - Lovedust
09. Gang Starr - Moment Of Truth
10. Timber Timbre - Black Water
11. Blur - End Of A Century

There you have it, music fans!  Enjoy!

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  Previous episodes of Flatbasset Radio are archived on his Mixcloud page.  Stop by Flatbasset Radio's Facebook Page & give it a "Like" if you have the time.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.      

Songs Of The Week #89 & #90: TCDroogsma

Wild Ones, Lyla Foy, Katie Herzig, Dean Wareham, Buildings, Little Barrie, Phox, Eagulls, Future Islands, & Sonny Knight & The Lakers...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #89 & #90!
 
For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story:  TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast.  They're also both opinionated and have access to computers.  Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column.  Over a year later later and here we are.

Unfortunately, MinneSarah is continuing her sabbatical this week. Without his co-reviewer, TCDroogsma got lazy and took a week off.  Fortunately, taking a week off from reviewing songs didn't mean taking a week off from listening to the songs. He's back this week & making up for lost time with a double-dose of reviews.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself.  It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page.  The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.

So... Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Wild Ones - Golden Twin (from the album Keep It Safe)

 
TCDroogsma:

     Golden Twin is, as far as I can tell, a five piece out of Portland that consists of four different versions of the same guy and a woman.  They play exactly the type of synth-pop you would expect from looking at that picture above.  The woman goes by the name Danielle Sullivan and she sings adorably in the same style that keeps Caroline Smith in sundresses.  There's some girl-group-style harmonies and a guitar solo to remind you that this a "rock" band, though, in actuality, it's basically just a canvas for Sullivan's vague pining.  I don't really know what "Golden Twin" is about lyrically, but I doubt that's really the point.  Golden Twin isn't trying to re-invent the wheel and, to that end, they're succeeding wildly.


Final Score: 2/5

02. Lyla Foy - Feather Tongue (from the album Mirrors The Sky)

TCDroogsma:

     Lyla Foy entered the indie-pop world under the name WALL.  For reasons I don't really know, she's back now and using her own name (which The Current's SOTD gurus tagged as "Lyla Fox."  Nice work, team).

     "Feather Tongue" is yet another slice of synth-heavy indie pop, which puts it right in The Current's wheelhouse.  Foy constructs a nice, atmospheric world that plays to her strengths as a singer.  The hooks here don't grab you by the headphones as much as they envelope you like a blanket.  While that's pleasant enough, it also leaves you without much to hold onto.  "Feather Tongue" drifts along without ever demanding you sit up and take notice.  It's three and a half minutes drift by like a dream and, like a dream, it's nearly impossible to remember even moments after it's finished.

Final Score: 2.5/5

03. Katie Herzig - Walk Through Walls (from the album Walk Through Walls)

TCDroogsma:

     Katie Herzig is a singer-songwriter out of Ft. Collins, Colorado.  "Walk Through Walls" is a lushly produced slice of synth-pop that glides by like a dream on the strength of some casual hooks and heartbreak.  To quote the legendary Morrissey, "Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before..."

Final Score: 2/5

04. Dean Wareham - Holding Pattern (from the album Dean Wareham)

TCDroogsma:

     To a certain sect of music fans, Dean Wareham is a bit of a legend.  That sect?  Early 30's white dudes who grew up on Galaxie 500 & Luna videos on 120 Minutes and now spend their time writing music blogs that nobody reads.

     And yet, I was still a little disappointed by "Holding Pattern."  From what I've read, Wareham's self-titled album (his first credited simply to "Dean Wareham") is a bit of a mid-life crisis album.  The problem with "Holding Pattern," it seems, is that he pulls it off a little too well.  While rattling off football scores & classic rock bands, Wareham presents himself as a man who's bored and, in his middle age, concerned that their really isn't a cure for that boredom.  While that's certainly a relatable concern, Wareham's defeatism is contagious.  "Holding Pattern" is wrapped up in the kind of guitar solos and everyman hooks that have marked his best work, but delivered with such depressing lyrics, those things almost seem just as expected as stumbling across football scores and Journey songs.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Buildings - Because It Doesn't Matter (from the EP It Doesn't Matter)

TCDroogsma:

     Holy shit!  Guitars?  Yelling?  There's no way the folks at The Current are actually playing this over the airwaves, right?

     In a way, Buildings are exploring the same themes as Wareham.  The difference is that they're younger and angrier about it.  They turn up their guitars and rally against the 9-5 life that inevitably leads to Wareham's mid-life crisis.  Both Buildings & Wareham are summoning their inner Kevin-Spacey-In-American-Beauty.  Both are frustrated, neither offer up solution, but that's not really their job. "Because It Doesn't Matter" is a warning, delivered with passion & a firm belief in the power of rock.

Final Score: 4/5

06. Little Barrie - Sworn In (from the album Shadow)

TCDroogsma:

     Oddly, Little Barrie is like Nottingham's version of Minneapolis' Little Man.  Both are named (roughly) for their lead singers.  Both are unabashedly in debt to the 60's world of blues-based power-pop.  Unlike Little Man (who leans heavily on the glam style of T. Rex, Bowie, & Mott The Hoople), Little Barrie takes its cues from The Birds & The Stooges.  The guitar work here is dirty, the hooks dynamic, and the originality nearly non-existent.  No bother, though.  As somebody who's just so goodamn tired of reviewing adorable synth-pop, Little Barrie is a reminder that sometimes you just need to turn up the guitars, write a good hook, and pretend you're a fucking star.

Final Score: 4/5

07. Phox - Slow Motion (from the album Phox)

TCDroogsma:

     Phox is a six-piece out of Wisconsin that's riding high on internet buzz right now (they yet to release a full-length album, but you can purchase their "Live At iTunes Festival" LP on their Bandcamp page).

     Listening to "Slow Motion," it's pretty obvious why the internet is losing its shit over Phox.  It's a charming, dynamic song that puts lead singer Monica Martin front and center while the band around her constructs a canvas of piano pop.  She's clearly got the kind of star power that will make you the biggest fish in the pond that is Madison, Wisconsin.

Final Score: 2/5

08. Eagulls - Possessed (from the album Eagulls)

 
TCDroogsma:

     God bless you, England.  I don't know why your youth are so consumed with saving guitar-based rock n roll, but you're doing a bang-up job.

     "Possessed" comes roaring out of the speakers with a guitar line that's sounds like somebody sped up a My Bloody Valentine record.  Lead singer George Mitchell claims spends the chorus claiming he's possessed and, based on his singing/screaming vocals, he's possessed by the ghosts of Ian Curtis & Joe Strummer.  The whole song is loud, calamitous, and brilliant.  Eagulls wear their influences on their sleeve, but I mean that as a compliment.  Keep up the good work, lads.

Final Score: 4/5

09. Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You) (from the album Singles)

TCDroogsma:

     It's nearly impossible to talk about Future Islands without discussing their Letterman performance so let's just get right into it.

     I was aware that their performance had "gone viral," but I didn't watch it until after I had spent a few weeks with this song.  Frankly, the only reason I watched the performance was because the song itself seemed very vanilla the first few times.  I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

     After watching their performance I can say, without hyperbole, that I was floored.  I was partially moved by the performance itself, which was honest in a medium (indie music) that's as constructed these days as pop music was in generations past.  Singer Samuel T. Herring became an internet star because of those dance moves and honest/cornball gestures, but watch it again.  At the end of the performance he seems genuinely surprised that he's blown away the Ed Sullivan Theatre's audience.  He was just up their doing what he always does.  Which brings me to a second question.  Why did this blow up the internet?  Are people laughing at this performance?  Do people genuinely love it?  I mean, I genuinely love it (and that performance absolutely sold me on the song).  Is a guy just doing what comes naturally with his music (as corny as it may seem) just another joke in a world of indie pop that spends so much time trying to act cool & disinterested that it doesn't know any other way to process that type of performance?

     I don't know.  "Seasons (Waiting On You)" is a very good song being sold by a great frontman.  That's all I know for sure at this point.

Final Score: 4.5/5

10. Sonny Knight & The Lakers - Juicy Lucy (from the album I'm Still Here)

TCDroogsma:

     Sonny Knight & The Lakers is a curious case.  The group has found their long-overdue acclaim thanks to the guys over at Secret Stash Records unearthing some of their lost late 60's songs, cleaning them up, and presenting them to the Twin Cities as part of a lost R&B scene finally getting its due.  They put together some revue-style shows based on these lost "gems" and turned Sonny Knight into the star of the show.  By all accounts the shows were a great time and everybody should thank Secret Stash for preventing these songs from slipping through the cracks.

     However, now we're presented with the question of whether or not we actually need and/or want new music from Sonny Knight & The Lakers.  I mean, part of the appeal of those other songs was hearing them as "lost gems," artifacts from a scene that nearly all of us are far too young to have lived through.  For better or worse, context matters in music far more than people like to admit.  As such, "Juicy Lucy" certainly sounds like it came from that same scene (and, to make that point clear, plenty of ecstatic crowd noise has been left in the recording to make it sound like The Lakers are tearing up a small, secret room).  To my ears, "Juicy Lucy" is a pretty straight-ahead R&B song which, when divorced from that "lost gem" context, is nothing special.  As I've stated dozens of times on this blog, soul music is far from my scene.  I just don't know enough of it to judge these sort of things properly.  As a music fan, however, "Juicy Lucy" doesn't do much for me.

Final Score: 2/5

Well there you have it, MP3 junkies!  Two week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR.  We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio








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