Hello again, mp3 junkies, and welcome to the 11th Edition of Songs Of The Week. For the uninitiated, this is a weekly column in which we ask two of our contributors to listen to The Current's free Song Of The Day podcast. Yet again, we've asked MinneSarah & TCDroogsma to give the tracks a go and let us know what they think.
If you'd like to play along at home, click here and download the podcast for yourself. Highly recommended.
All that being said, please keep in mind that this blog is not in any way affiliated with Minnesota Public Radio, The Current, or any of the artists. We just like writing about music.
Be sure to vote in the poll on the right side of the page for which of these songs was the best Song Of The Day.
As always, MinneSarah & TCDroogsma have not seen each other's comments prior to posting.
Kids, what'd you think?
Melody's Echo Chamber - I Follow You (from the album Melody's Echo Chamber)
MinneSarah:
This song has a dissonant guitar riff
which makes it sound like a melancholy 50's song. The singer's
voice is very sweet and lithe while she sings about admitting
she was wrong. It actually is uncanny how much this song
reminds me of the later albums of the Northern Irish formed, Ash,
from the vintage pop and pulling guitars, especially at the end of
the song. This song is good for fall, due to the downtempo
ennui.
TCDroogsma:
This one really grew on me as the week wore on. The band catches the same sort of "60's pop" vibe as that Ariel Pink song from a couple weeks back, but then they filter it through some 90's feedback giving it a bit of a Mazzy Star vibe. I can definitely get behind that.
Final Score: MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma -3/5
Benjamin Gibbard - Teardrop Windows (from the album Former Lives)
MinneSarah:
Brenda? Did I hear this song in
the early 2000's? No, this is Benjamin Gibbard's solo work -
although it's hard to escape that signature voice. This song is
about an old shut down hotel, which I think is a metaphor
for loneliness. I've been watching a lot of Ghost
Adventures lately, so I think the premise was rife for some
poltergeist activity. That's not how Benjamin rolls though.
The more I listened to this song, the more I realized how
catchy it is - it reminds me of the song structure of some very
popular Weezer songs. I'm sure Benjamin has a lot of practice
from Postal Service and Death Cab, writing songs that indie kids want
to play at their weddings and all...
TCDroogsma:
Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard got divorced and now Ben Gibbard is sad like a building. Pass.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 3/5
TCDroogsma -2/5
Mark Mallman - Double Silhouette (from the album Double Silhouette)
MinneSarah:
Thank you, Current! Talk about
catchy songs - Mr. Mallman knows how to write little gems that can
make you nostalgic for something you've never heard before.
In the past two days, I've jammed out to this song more than
any other Current Song of the Day. The lyrics are clever, "Nobody
every dies in nightmares, so I guess I must be living the dream,"
the chorus is contagious, his vocal range is superb, and he gets away
with throwing Christmas bells into the mix. "Double Silhouette" is
the kind of song that gives you faith in pop music.
TCDroogsma:
I bet Mark Mallman feels a lot like Matthew McConaughey's character in Dazed In Confused: He keeps getting older but his fanbase remains the same. I mean, really, this is music for dorky 17 year olds. Back when I was a kid Mark Mallman was known as "Ben Folds" and I loved Ben Folds.
Don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoy Mark Mallman records. Hell, I own five of them. "Double Silhouette" is another in a long line of good-but-not-great songs. Part-ELO and part-Elton. That's not a bad thing to be at all.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 4.5/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
Tilly & The Wall - Love Riot (from the album Heavy Mood)
MinneSarah:
Yay for rock music! This song is
grrrrrl rock at it's above average. It has high energy guitars,
a pulsing bongo beat (yeah, I didn't just make that up), crazy
tambourines, and screaming! The lyrics are pretty one
dimensional, but it's about getting your point across, not being a
poet. This song gets to the point. Kathleen Hanna is
smiling somewhere in L.A. right now.
TCDroogsma:
It's nice that someone still wants to be CSS (since CSS has little desire to). If you had told me Tilly & The Wall were going to bust out a screamy, surfy, sex-bomb of a single I would have told you to get off my lawn. And yet, here we are, you on my lawn and me thoroughly enjoying a new Tilly & The Wall single.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 4/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
Wiping Out Thousands - Midtown Beach (from the album This Came First)
MinneSarah:
This song has a dreamy electronic
quality, with trip hop drums and barely emotional female vocals.
This song is very chill and has a lot of those slow drums and
slow transitions, with an Amon Tobin guitar breakdown at three
intervals. The lyrics are about, wait for it, relationships and
being together/apart, fine line between loving/hating - but the song
is so chill it doesn't sound as angry as the lyrics are trying to
convey. Two things I don't love - the song starts with the
vocals covered up by synth and drums - it sounds like she is talking
underwater. I also think the electronic talking part at the end
should have been left with Ladytron in 2003. Overall, this song
will put you in a chill mood.
TCDroogsma:
I was really digging this song for the first 35 or 40 seconds. It lost me a bit when the vocals kicked in. I was really hoping it was just going to be a five minute, percussion heavy, schizo beat. Still, after a week of listening to it the vocals really got to me. Not too mention the guitar, which sounds something like a handsaw. If this is the direction Minnesota music is going then I'm all in.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 4/5
TCDroogsma - 3.5/5
Well, there you have it, everybody. Another week's worth of free music heard, reviewed, and tossed by the wayside. Thanks to MinneSarah & TCDroogsma for sharing their thoughts.
For more of MinneSarah, be sure to give here a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram (@MinneSarah). She makes a killer homemade butternut squash ravioli.
For more of TCDroogsma, give him a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram (@TCDroogsma) or check out his own blog Flatbasset. He makes a killer scrambled tofu breakfast. Then again, so does everybody.
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