Hey everybody! We're back with Songs Of The Week #4. Again this week we've asked MinneSarah & TCDroogsma to give us their thoughts on last week's batch of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. As we've mentioned many times, be sure to go here and subscribe to the blog yourself.
Alright, kids. What did you think?
The Antlers - Crest (from the album Undersea)
MinneSarah:
This song is pretty downtempo, but I
like how it starts with the drums. I wonder if Tricky got
together with Morphine and Jeff Buckley if this is what would have
come up? Maybe? It's sort of boring and drones on for an under four
minute song. Here are three places you would get the maximum
enjoyment of this song: walking home in the rain from the
grocery store, on a boat at sunset but the sky is cloudy, on the KIDS
soundtrack (they dealt with some real stuff, for kids). They
get an extra half a point because I seem to recall they are on
Frenchkiss Records which usually always has exceptionally good taste.
TCDroogsma:
I really like the vibe this song has
going. The instrumentation in the song has a really cool 'film-noir'
type vibe to it, especially the distant trumpet sound.
Lyrically, it's fine, but the real
problem with the song lies in the fact that the vocal melody never
seems to materialize. Now, for the record, I'm a big fan of bands
like Supergrass & E-LO, bands that stack hooks on hooks on hooks.
There is some virtue in stepping back from the microphone and
letting the instruments sell the song, but I feel like this song is
one killer chorus from being a real gem. Still, I can appreciate
this song for what it is rather than what it isn't. Plus, it
definitely gets better with repeated listens.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 2.5
TCDroogsma - 3 Dan Deacon - True Thrush (from the album America)
MinneSarah:
More is more. I said that last
week with that Leisure birds track, but this time it's too much. The
weird baby and backward talking vocals is doing nobody any favors.
Only Missy Elliot can pull that off. There is so much
going on in this song, it actually makes me nervous. It did
when I heard it the first time, and also after three glasses of wine.
Don't do drugs, kids. Or do, maybe you would get this
song and could explain it to me. I do enjoy the uptempo-ness of
this song. Places you could listen to this song: A
fireworks party (don't blow your hand off), an elfen toy factory
(Matel go real hard), a waterpark where there are dogs in sunglasses
present.
TCDroogsma:
When I was in New York I actually had a
bit of a Dan Deacon phase (yeah, it was a strange time in my life).
His album Bromst
& Spiderman Of
The Rings
got the most plays. Part of what made them great was the fact that
they were relentless. Everything all the time, everything all the
time!
With “True Thrush” he seems to have taken a step away from that
attitude and landed somewhere closer to Dosh on the musical spectrum
(although the Daffy Duck vocals, his trademark, do turn up). I
actually really enjoy this song, but I'm not totally sure if someone
who's completely new to Dan Deacon would 'get it,' y'know?
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1
TCDroogsma - 3.5 Lydia Loveless - Can't Change Me (from the album Indestructible Machine)
MinneSarah:
Alright. I don't like twangy
songs, female vocals, or most things in general. However, the
lyrics to this song are fantastic. "That's gonna change
how you feel about me, baby, but it won't change me" is akin to
my favorite White Stripes song, "Ball and a Biscuit" (yes,
I like 7 minute songs sometimes) in which Jack White proclaims, "it
was the other two that made me your third, but it's my mother that
made me the seventh son." I love lyrics that are drunken
"you don't know me," and "I'm nobody but in relation
to myself." Every lyric in this song is my favorite. "But
i swear that every hangover is gonna be my last, and it looks like
only whiskey's gonna kick my ass and have me still come back."
Yeah, I like it. "Being good is killin' me inside."
Places you could listen to this song include: The Turf
Club, Lee's Liquor Lounge, and surprisingly, The Amsterdam.
TCDroogsma:
It's appropriate that this song came
out during State Fair week because that's exactly what it sounds
like. I know nothing of Lydia Loveless except this song, but she is
definitely giving off that 'country girl gone bad' vibe. Of course,
with a name as constructed as 'Lydia Loveless' I have a hard time
believing that vibe is anything but constructed as well.
She has a great, Neko Case kind of
voice, but these 'You don't know me!' lyrics are straight out of an episode of The Jenny Jones Show. If she was actually the drunken spitfire
she's pretending to be in this song she never would have gotten her
ass to the studio to record it. There's nothing wrong with building
up a fake persona in pop music, but Christ, make up something
original.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 4
TCDroogsma - 1 Alt-J - Fitzpleasure (from the album An Awesome Wave)
MinneSarah:
No. I like the epic transitions in this song, but ummmm, does anyone else realize, these aren't real lyrics? Like this isn't English, this isn't Spanish, this isn't Klingon. This guy is singing in what those little magnetic hair heads guys sing in. That is not a compliment. The saving grace is that the rest of the song sort of sounds like a Chris Martin/Bono mashup, so yeah. Not happy. Epic transitions. Where could you listen to this?: Shopping at the mall in an ironic grandpa sweater and a backpack, Manu Chau's son's third birthday party, the beaches of Jupiter (I am so confused).
TCDroogsma:
Have you ever been listening to a
hip-hop track and thought to yourself, “Damn, this beat bangs. Too
bad the rapping is terrible?” Well, welcome to the indie-pop
version of a Common album.
The instrumentation on this track is
fucking awesome. It builds and crumbles all based on that
rib-rumbling bass line. Unfortunately, the vocals are the worst kind
of hipster weird-for-weird's-sake bullshit (copyright Moe Scizlak).
Take the brutal singing off this track and it's a 4 of 5 song. As it
stands, you're looking at 2 of 5.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5 Ben Rosenbush & The Brighton - This Fire (from the album A Wild Hunger)
MinneSarah:
Nobody told these guys that Mumford and
Sons aren't really all that. I don't blame them, that is some popular
musicness. But that doesn't make it good. I'm not a fan.
This is very chimey, and droney. Hipsters may give this
fantastic marks. I am bored. It actually sounds better
than Mumford and Sons, there I said it. Places this would sound
good: a fire, that show with Dennis Leary about Firemen, the
Winnipeg Folk Festival.
TCDroogsma:
If we rounded up every
singer-songwriter Minnesotan who uses nature as a metaphor for their
personal life and put them all in one place I'm pretty sure it would
be the third largest city in the state. Mason Jennings would be the mayor.
Frreal, is there an assembly line at
MPR studios that keeps spitting these things out? Jesus....
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 0/5
There you have it, everybody. We hope you enjoyed these songs and, again, strongly suggest that you subscribe to the podcast yourself. Be sure to check out the poll to the right and cast your vote for the best song of the week.
As always, this blog and its contributors are in no way associated with any of the acts above, The Current, or MPR. We just have a lot of time on our hands.
For more of MinneSarah you can find her on Twitter (@MinneSarah) and Instragram as MinneSarah. She's currently debating the merits of changing her name to all caps like DOOM.
For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma), Instagram as TCDroogsma, or over at his own blog Caffeine & Obscenities. If you like pictures of donuts or cats, or if you like people who use swearing as a crutch for their limited vocabulary, you should check those out.
This blog maintains a Twitter account (@NewestIndustry1) and a Facebook page here. Stop by and give it a 'like' if you dig what we do.
This blog maintains a Twitter account (@NewestIndustry1) and a Facebook page here. Stop by and give it a 'like' if you dig what we do.
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