Angus Stone, Antibalas, John Mark Nelson, Fawn, & Cjell Cruze...
Hey music fans! Welcome to the inaugural edition of Songs Of The Week in which we ask a couple of our contributors to give us a brief review of the previous week's 'Song Of The Day' tracks provided by The Current.
If you're unfamiliar with the 'Song Of The Day,' it's basically a free song given out each weekday. To check it out for yourself, follow this link to The Current's Song Of The Day page. As an added little bonus, a local artist is spotlighted with each Friday post.
This week TCDroogsma & MinneSarah had a go at the tracks and gave them scores out of 5.
So if ya don't know, now ya know. Let's get to the reviews:
01. Angus Stone - Wooden Chair (from the album Broken Lights)
MinneSarah:
The whistles and handclaps and your friend letting out a little "hey" in the studio has got to stop, people! I mean right now. This song was a perfectly vanilla song recounting the age old realization that time passes and things change. The singer's voice sounds young, making me think that this is what Ben Lee's solo stuff would be like were he fifteen years younger. As the embellishments really date this song - the highest praise I can give it (besides that comparison to Ben Lee, that was free, Angus) is that I might invite this song to any pity party I have before it expires in the next five months.
TCDroogsma:
According to Last.fm, Angus Stone is half of a folk duo with his sister Julia. Could you imagine being a sensitive, bearded Australian guy singing these sweet, emotional songs with his sister to a crowd full of women with that accent?!? Dude must have crazy amounts of easy sex. Of course, he probably cries during most of it, but still... Good gig.
Anyway, this song had me with the strumming and, 'Hey!' bit at the beginning, but once he started singing about how he used to be in love I checked out pretty quickly. I did perk back up when the whistling started as nothing annoys me more than whistling in songs. When did we decide this was OK, America? I'm going to pistol whip Andrew Bird next time I see him.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 1/5
02. Antibalas - Dirty Money (from the album Antibalas)
MinneSarah:
Hit me! This song makes me imagine I'm in a club on sunset strip in the sixties experiencing an African cultural revival, that was hip, right? The intro is groovalicious, but lasts forever. Lyrically, I'm not trying to knock any cultural heritage, but song lyrics about mangoes falling from trees in this day and age makes me wonder how much Harry Belefonte's banana lyrics influenced the group while they were growing up. I do enjoy how many instruments are included, as soon as I get sick of horns, the organ kicks in vying for some attention. Overall, if afrobeat ain't your scene (and if it is, you may well be in the minority), you probably won't want to listen to this song through again.
TCDroogsma:
Afrobeat? I'm fucking out. Squeaking horns? Bland organs? No way. Where do people even listen to shit like this? Driving? At home? I feel like only Dave Sitek could listen to something like this and actually enjoy it.
During the call and response bit, I thought the background singers were yelling 'New Order!' after the lead guy said the 'dirty money' bit. For a second I thought this was a beef track between Antibalas and Bernard Summer, which is genuinely the only circumstance that will get me to listen to an Antibalas track.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 0/5
03. John Mark Nelson - Reminisce (from the album Waiting And Waiting)
MinneSarah:
This song starts out like the theme from a 1950's movie - a sweet basic repetitive melody, Polynesian beat accents behind a gradual increase from a string ensemble, and soft vocals. However, the lyrics to this song sound more like they would be on a brat pack soundtrack. The song adds a few handclaps for good measure, but falls short of anything but bittersweet background music.
TCDroogsma:
Honestly, there was a lot of things to like about this song. The strings/marimba bit was a good start. The verse builds into the chorus nicely. Unfortunately, the lyrics sound like they were written by the bastard child of Conor Oberst & Justin Vernon except they never bothered to teach him what a metaphor is. And he has a learning disability. And he's been drinking.
The lesson, as always, don't trust people with three first names.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5
04. Fawn - Hurricane Fire (from the album Coastlines)
MinneSarah:
I honestly had to look up this band just to make sure that Thurston Moore didn't kidnap Franz Ferdinand and make them record this song. While I personally don't enjoy female/male vocal harmonies, it is a defining aspect of this song, there's no escaping it. I did enjoy the layering of the guitars - I appreciate anything that combines shoegaze with poppiness. Reverb can be your friend, and Fawn sure does embrace this idea. This song didn't really do it for me, but I wouldn't discount what the rest of this album may hold.
TCDroogsma:
You can plug in guitars and "amplify" their sound with electricity?!? After those first three songs I had totally forgot that you could do that.
It's possible that this song only sounds so good because of the three songs before it, but I really liked this one. I've always been a sucker for the boy/girl approach to vocals. It catches a real nice groove. When it all comes together in the last third of the track with the girl doing one bit, the guy doing the 'people keep on talking' bit and then meeting up for the 'oohh-oohh-ooh-oohh' was pretty fucking stellar.
Plus, let's be honest, this is a song about how haters gon' hate. Of course I like it.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
05. Cjell Cruze - Train Song (from the album The Ropes)
MinneSarah:
Harmonica...tambourine...overstressed vocal harmonies...this does not bode well. The feigned dopey vocal delivery creates an effective droning that pushes the song through harmonica and guitar solos. The vocal delivery mirrors the story told through the song, an onerous journey through the Midwest, a hard cross to bear on his way to a new life in California. We don't know that he makes it, but can tell that he obviously thinks something better awaits him. I have that hope as well. As for me, I'll take my chances on the Empire Builder without my headphones.
TCDroogsma:
So this is what we're doing this week, Sota? Sweet fucking Christ I hate music like this. Harmonicas, lyrics about 'the conductor' and shit... Are you really hopping fucking trains? Are you trying to find a job picking fucking lemons? Will you tell me again about the rabbits? Fuck this song.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 0/5
Well there you have it folks. Thanks to MinneSarah & TCDroogsma for taking time out of their busy, busy lives to break down this week's tracks for us.
Obviously, the opinions posted here are merely the opinions of the contributors. This site and its contributors are in no way affiliated with MPR, The Current, or these artists.
For more of the always charming MinneSarah she can be found on Twitter (@MinneSarah) and on Instagram as MinneSarah. She'd like to pet your cat, if you don't mind.
For more of the seldom charming TCDroogsma he can also be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma), Instagram (TCDroogsma) and on his own blog Caffeine & Obscenities. He would rather you didn't try to pet his dog, if you don't mind.
Of course, this blog is on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) and has a Facebook page. Be a pal and give us a 'like' if you, errr... like what we do here.
Hey music fans! Welcome to the inaugural edition of Songs Of The Week in which we ask a couple of our contributors to give us a brief review of the previous week's 'Song Of The Day' tracks provided by The Current.
If you're unfamiliar with the 'Song Of The Day,' it's basically a free song given out each weekday. To check it out for yourself, follow this link to The Current's Song Of The Day page. As an added little bonus, a local artist is spotlighted with each Friday post.
This week TCDroogsma & MinneSarah had a go at the tracks and gave them scores out of 5.
So if ya don't know, now ya know. Let's get to the reviews:
01. Angus Stone - Wooden Chair (from the album Broken Lights)
MinneSarah:
The whistles and handclaps and your friend letting out a little "hey" in the studio has got to stop, people! I mean right now. This song was a perfectly vanilla song recounting the age old realization that time passes and things change. The singer's voice sounds young, making me think that this is what Ben Lee's solo stuff would be like were he fifteen years younger. As the embellishments really date this song - the highest praise I can give it (besides that comparison to Ben Lee, that was free, Angus) is that I might invite this song to any pity party I have before it expires in the next five months.
TCDroogsma:
According to Last.fm, Angus Stone is half of a folk duo with his sister Julia. Could you imagine being a sensitive, bearded Australian guy singing these sweet, emotional songs with his sister to a crowd full of women with that accent?!? Dude must have crazy amounts of easy sex. Of course, he probably cries during most of it, but still... Good gig.
Anyway, this song had me with the strumming and, 'Hey!' bit at the beginning, but once he started singing about how he used to be in love I checked out pretty quickly. I did perk back up when the whistling started as nothing annoys me more than whistling in songs. When did we decide this was OK, America? I'm going to pistol whip Andrew Bird next time I see him.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 1/5
02. Antibalas - Dirty Money (from the album Antibalas)
MinneSarah:
Hit me! This song makes me imagine I'm in a club on sunset strip in the sixties experiencing an African cultural revival, that was hip, right? The intro is groovalicious, but lasts forever. Lyrically, I'm not trying to knock any cultural heritage, but song lyrics about mangoes falling from trees in this day and age makes me wonder how much Harry Belefonte's banana lyrics influenced the group while they were growing up. I do enjoy how many instruments are included, as soon as I get sick of horns, the organ kicks in vying for some attention. Overall, if afrobeat ain't your scene (and if it is, you may well be in the minority), you probably won't want to listen to this song through again.
TCDroogsma:
Afrobeat? I'm fucking out. Squeaking horns? Bland organs? No way. Where do people even listen to shit like this? Driving? At home? I feel like only Dave Sitek could listen to something like this and actually enjoy it.
During the call and response bit, I thought the background singers were yelling 'New Order!' after the lead guy said the 'dirty money' bit. For a second I thought this was a beef track between Antibalas and Bernard Summer, which is genuinely the only circumstance that will get me to listen to an Antibalas track.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 0/5
03. John Mark Nelson - Reminisce (from the album Waiting And Waiting)
MinneSarah:
This song starts out like the theme from a 1950's movie - a sweet basic repetitive melody, Polynesian beat accents behind a gradual increase from a string ensemble, and soft vocals. However, the lyrics to this song sound more like they would be on a brat pack soundtrack. The song adds a few handclaps for good measure, but falls short of anything but bittersweet background music.
TCDroogsma:
Honestly, there was a lot of things to like about this song. The strings/marimba bit was a good start. The verse builds into the chorus nicely. Unfortunately, the lyrics sound like they were written by the bastard child of Conor Oberst & Justin Vernon except they never bothered to teach him what a metaphor is. And he has a learning disability. And he's been drinking.
The lesson, as always, don't trust people with three first names.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5
04. Fawn - Hurricane Fire (from the album Coastlines)
MinneSarah:
I honestly had to look up this band just to make sure that Thurston Moore didn't kidnap Franz Ferdinand and make them record this song. While I personally don't enjoy female/male vocal harmonies, it is a defining aspect of this song, there's no escaping it. I did enjoy the layering of the guitars - I appreciate anything that combines shoegaze with poppiness. Reverb can be your friend, and Fawn sure does embrace this idea. This song didn't really do it for me, but I wouldn't discount what the rest of this album may hold.
TCDroogsma:
You can plug in guitars and "amplify" their sound with electricity?!? After those first three songs I had totally forgot that you could do that.
It's possible that this song only sounds so good because of the three songs before it, but I really liked this one. I've always been a sucker for the boy/girl approach to vocals. It catches a real nice groove. When it all comes together in the last third of the track with the girl doing one bit, the guy doing the 'people keep on talking' bit and then meeting up for the 'oohh-oohh-ooh-oohh' was pretty fucking stellar.
Plus, let's be honest, this is a song about how haters gon' hate. Of course I like it.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
05. Cjell Cruze - Train Song (from the album The Ropes)
MinneSarah:
Harmonica...tambourine...overstressed vocal harmonies...this does not bode well. The feigned dopey vocal delivery creates an effective droning that pushes the song through harmonica and guitar solos. The vocal delivery mirrors the story told through the song, an onerous journey through the Midwest, a hard cross to bear on his way to a new life in California. We don't know that he makes it, but can tell that he obviously thinks something better awaits him. I have that hope as well. As for me, I'll take my chances on the Empire Builder without my headphones.
TCDroogsma:
So this is what we're doing this week, Sota? Sweet fucking Christ I hate music like this. Harmonicas, lyrics about 'the conductor' and shit... Are you really hopping fucking trains? Are you trying to find a job picking fucking lemons? Will you tell me again about the rabbits? Fuck this song.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 0/5
Well there you have it folks. Thanks to MinneSarah & TCDroogsma for taking time out of their busy, busy lives to break down this week's tracks for us.
Obviously, the opinions posted here are merely the opinions of the contributors. This site and its contributors are in no way affiliated with MPR, The Current, or these artists.
For more of the always charming MinneSarah she can be found on Twitter (@MinneSarah) and on Instagram as MinneSarah. She'd like to pet your cat, if you don't mind.
For more of the seldom charming TCDroogsma he can also be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma), Instagram (TCDroogsma) and on his own blog Caffeine & Obscenities. He would rather you didn't try to pet his dog, if you don't mind.
Of course, this blog is on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) and has a Facebook page. Be a pal and give us a 'like' if you, errr... like what we do here.
No comments:
Post a Comment